We'd like to welcome you to Rise and Shine with Tony Melissa Hurst. We're excited about this opportunity to be able to share the truth of God's Word with you. We're going to be talking about the church in this last day. Are we going to be a church that's going to be pitiful?
Are we going to be a church that's going to be powerful? I believe that we're going to be a church that's powerful. And I believe that we're going to feel and complete the work that the Lord has for us so that we can get this thing wrapped up and get out of here. So join with us as we get into God's Word here in just a minute.
Please connect with The Rise and Shine by visiting our Facebook page at facebook.com slash arise and shine TV show or emailing us at arise and shine TV at gmail.com. We look forward to connecting with you. All right. Welcome and if you have your Bible that's getting into God's Word, we want to establish what we choose to believe, not just based on, you know, we ask people a lot of times, you know, if you just ask yourself, you know, why do I believe this or why do I believe that?
Many times we can't even find a solid foundation or a really a reason why, a describable reason why we believe it. We're not really sure. We've heard it somewhere. Somebody has said this or it's just been one of those things.
It's been out there so much. You know that it's just after over time you keep hearing something hearing something, hearing something even if it's wrong. Before you know it, you begin to accept it as a reality when in our reality, it's not real at all. It's so far from the truth that you can't even, you know, imagine.
So that's why we based our teaching off of God's Word because we know that God's powers in His Word and when we are willing to embrace and receive and accept God's Word into our lives and begin to walk in the light of it, begin to incorporate it into our daily lives, we begin to see change. You've got to be able to bring change. He wants to do so much for people, for believers, for his children. But he's unable to so many times because everything that we receive from Him comes only two ways and that's migration through faith.
You know, and you cannot have faith apart from God's Word. You can't have faith in God, I should say, apart from His Word. And so we're going to talk about the importance of the power of God in the life of ever believer, especially in these last days. And we've looked at so many scriptures and we're not going to go back and go over them again.
You can go back and possibly look at these others, you know, and kind of catch up to this. But we do want to put a little bit of emphasis on some of it. Number one, Jesus, in Acts 1, 4, and 5, He didn't suggest it in His disciples, you know, Terry and Jerusalem till they ended with power, He commanded them. So evidently it was very important to Him.
And then Acts 1, 8, you know, they changed the subject. Acts 1, 6, and 7, they start talking about something else. But see, He's focused because He's got something He's got to get to them. And that's like we are.
He's trying to get our attention. You know, you need this and this, but then we start getting distracted and we'll talk about this and this, but He brings them back and He says, but no, but, but, but you shall receive power after Holy Ghost has come upon you. And He didn't say within because He had already come within them in, you know, before, you know, especially like in the upper room when He breathed on Him and said, receive the Holy Ghost. So see, they had the Holy Ghost in them.
And if you are genuinely born again, everybody's generally born again has the Holy Spirit living inside them. Now you may never be conscious of Him. You may never be aware of it. You may never be able to take advantage of the fact that He's in there.
You know, you may not have to be able to enjoy all the benefits of Him being there. But if you are born again, He's in there, you know, but He not only wants to be in you, He wants to come on you. And that coming on you, according to Acts 1, 8, that represents that empowering or that supernatural ability to do in life what you cannot do. See, He didn't want to leave us by ourselves.
He want when Jesus left, He said, you know, it's important for you that I go away. It's more important for you that I go away than for me to stay why, because the Holy Ghost will come. See, I'm not inside you, basically, it's what Jesus said, but the Holy Ghost will be inside each one of you all individually. And He will empower you to do the things that I've done, you know, and to be able to live this life and to do what I've called you to do.
And that's why the Holy Spirit is so crazy important in the life of every believer. And there's a scripture that keeps coming to me. And it's, I believe it's, I believe it's 2 Corinthians 15, could be 1 Corinthians 15. I want to look at it if you can.
And, and I'll help, because you may not, you don't even know what I'm talking about. So I hadn't even said anything to you, you know, which one it is. But there was a scripture that Paul gives this revelation that, you know, after Jesus was raised from the dead, that He didn't appear to everybody. He only appeared to those that had, you know, put their faith in their trust in Him and believed on Him.
And it was just a select for you. But it wasn't, you know, just three or four, you know, there it Paul says in 1 Corinthians, I believe it's, it may be one of the books, don't even have 15 chapters rather. Okay, 1 Corinthians 15. He says that He appeared unto 500 at one time.
You see that? You find that? Because I just want to show that to them so that they can see that. So you can see that for yourself in your Bible.
And so this is, I'm going to take the minute here and find it. That's not in our notes. It's just something that I wanted to bring in here because it's important because when you see that, then you see some other things that transpired. You find it?
Mm-hmm. Yeah. We'll, we'll get to it. We'll find it for you later and bring it to your attention.
That he did appear unto 500 at one time. And in my plump was going to be this. Jesus appeared to those. And so there could have been at least, there was at least 500.
There probably was more than that because you know there was the 12, well, they included the 500, well, we don't know. So we could say at least there was a minimum of 500 people that Jesus appeared to after He was raised from the dead. And then He gives those that were His disciples and His followers that command to tear you and Jerusalem. Don't go off until you've been in dude with this supernatural ability to do what I've called you to do because you're not going to be able to do it on your own.
Basically, that's what He was emphasizing. And so then we look in Acts chapter, well, Acts, you know, chapter two and actually the last part of Acts chapter one where it talks about that there was 120. So you have to ask yourself, where was the other 380? You know, where were they at?
You know, where was the ones that, you know, they heard as well. So that tells us, what'd you find? Look at you. So it's Acts 15 and what verse?
Start it for a word. It says, and it says, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures and that He was seen of C of us, which is Peter, then of the 12. After that, He was seen above, above, above it says, 500 brethren at once of whom the greater part remained until this present. There's another word just present time, but some have fallen asleep and some of them have already gone to heaven by the time Paul wrote this, but it says that it was above 500.
So you have to wonder where was that other 380-some people that did not take Him serious enough, you know, and obeying Him and go to the upper room and spend that time with Him so that they could get what He desired for them to have. Well, the last part of that verse says of whom the greater part remained until this present, but some are falling asleep. Some are falling asleep. Yeah, and what He's talking about there in that sleep is He's talking about where they've already gone on to heaven, but you have to wonder about people, you know, it's just like today.
Probably the hardest thing it is is to get people born again, to get people to see sometimes, and it takes the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. That's why I think that we struggle so many times in even getting people born again. So we try to talk them into it from an intellectual standpoint and try to reason it out with them why it's important for them to do it, but really unless the Holy Spirit's involved in that equation, it's not going to happen because you cannot open the eyes of somebody spiritually only He can. And I think when we are doing what we're called to do under that power or that anointing, you might say, that He's given us, that's when it begins to have the effect it's supposed to have.
And people are able to see things that they normally could not see. Because if we could do the work on our own, then really He wasted His time spending the Holy Spirit. He was just staying where He was at. Because in so many times I think that's what we're trying to do.
We're trying to accomplish in the natural with our own physical strength and ability and intellect what can only be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's like He and us working together. It's He and us working together. And so let's turn over to the book of Mark chapter 16.
Mark chapter 16. And let's look at this here. This is another, an account here of when Jesus was getting ready to ascend. And this is going to be, we'll start with verse 15.
You want to read that? 1615. Now this is His command. This is what He told them to do from this account.
16, 16, or 1615? I guess it's 15. That's 15. 16.
16. 16 chapter 15 and 16 first. And He said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and his baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe. And He gave us five signs there that would follow believers. Signs. Signs are proof.
It's validation. In other words, whatever you may not know, in other words, what I'm telling you, see, is being proven by these signs. He said, these signs shall follow them that believe. Now when he says believers, you just have to take that into context.
Who's he talking to? He wasn't just talking, well, he may have been talking to the 11 that was there, but he was talking to everybody. There had to be more than 11 that was probably even there in this situation. So he was talking to believers in general.
He wasn't just talking to the five-fold ministry or the preacher, so to say. He was saying, and he said, they will go forth. He said, they will go forth. He said, what do you say?
He said, go ye into all the world and preach this gospel to every creature. He said, as you go, he said, these signs are going to follow you. And he gave us some signs. And really, two of those signs is he said, three of those signs are something that we will do.
It's something that you will do. Number one, it says that you'll speak with new tongues. Well, here we go. We're right back to where we were before.
The importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but the evidence is speaking to other tongues. It's right here in the Great Commission. And it says, it says that you'll cast out devils. Well, that means you'll have power and authority over demonic activity.
When you run into it, you don't have to be intimidated by it. You don't have to be oppressed by it. You don't have to be stopped by it. You can simply take authority over it in the name of Jesus that he's given to us.
And we could put him in his place and accomplish what he's called us to do. And then he gave us two things of protection. He said, as you go, he said, I'll see to it that I protect you. I will watch over you no matter what comes your way because of what you're doing for me.
He said, I'll protect you. And the last thing he said was, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. See, that's a mandate. See, that's God's will for ever believer.
He wants ever believer. Believer just simply to take him out his word and be willing to lay hands on the sick and believe that when they lay hands on the sick. Now, this is primarily talking about taking this gospel into the world. This is as you go through life and you see someone they're not even saved.
Well, God, he'll say, maybe it's not saved. Evidently he would. He told us, as you go, preach the gospel. These signs will follow as you go who you preach in the gospel to those that have not been born again, those that do not know him.
And he says, and you'll lay hands on the sick and he didn't say they might be healed or maybe they'll be healed or I'll think about it. He said, they shall be healed. In other words, they shall recover. And I like that last verse of the 20th verse of this same chapter read that one for us.
And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs falling. Now, I see that is so critically important right there. See, and it says, they listen to him. There was a portion that obeyed him.
It seems like there's always a portion that when they hear it, it's just like they'll receive it, they'll act on it and they'll re embrace it for what it is. But there's always the seems to be that percentage of people that will go, well, he said it right there. He said, preach the gospel. He said, they'll be those that don't believe and those that won't believe.
He said, but you don't let those that don't believe influence you. You just preach in the gospel because there'll still be others that won't believe, but then there'll be some that will believe in those that will believe that's the ones were after. He said, that's the ones that were after. And he didn't say, just go out and just preach, preach, preach, preach, preach, preach, no.
He said they went forth and they preached everywhere and what happened? Jesus was working hand in hand with them through the power of the Holy Spirit and he confirmed where they went with signs following. Now, see, church, that's where we're missing it. Without the signs, there really can be no genuine preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If there is, then evidently, this no longer means what it means. It means that what he's doing something different. No, he's not doing anything different. He's the same Jesus yesterday, today, and for evermore, he doesn't change.
He still wants this gospel preached to every creature and he still wants to confirm it with signs following. What do the signs do? What's the purpose of the signs? Doesn't it help to convince the hero?
Oh my gosh. This isn't, this just isn't some religious nut like you always see on TV. See, that's the way Hollywood portrays us. That's the way the world sees us.
But no, this is more than that because my gosh, look at this. Evidently, what this person is saying is so, it helps and enables people to be able to receive the gospel and realize that Jesus is real. He's not just some myth, you know, or some historical figure. He is a real person that's still alive and still doing things today, just like he's always done.
Right, right. And help me clarify this a little bit, but you know, we have people that try to accuse us of putting the Holy Spirit above Jesus and what you have to understand is, well, if you understand why Jesus came, Jesus came because there was a separation of us from the Father. So blood had to be shed to reen on us back to our Creator. So the Holy Spirit can't just come in somewhere and begin to take over or to do something without the acceptance of Jesus and the cleansing of us, the vessel, the Holy Spirit cannot come in and do the work.
So without Jesus, there is no work of the Holy Spirit. But at the same time, people have Jesus, but they're not taking advantage of why he came in the first place, which was so he could inhabit individuals. He was limited in his body on the earth. I mean, that's why he recruited the disciples, you know, was to try to get the message out before he was, before he became our salvation.
It could only be one place. At one time. And now see because he fulfilled his commission, now we've been given to extend that commission through his blood and through the power of the Holy Spirit. And the same way he accomplished what he did.
See, that's why a lot of people don't understand. Well, he's Jesus. He was God. Yes, but to flip his tooth, says he laid that aside and became a man just like us.
And Peter even says, you know, it preached to Cornelius. He said how God had knowned Jesus of Nazareth, not Jesus the Son of God. He was the good old boy that lived in Nazareth, whose daddy was a carpenter, who God raised up to be the Messiah. Nobody even knew who he was.
He was right there among them the whole time. And God had known it him because he was a man. He came as the second Adam as a man. He had to do that to be legal.
And it was his sinless blood that he shed. And the reason he shed his blood, the reason, the purpose of the blood is so the Holy Spirit could come and live inside you. He's what brings a new birth about. He's what recreates the human spirit and takes that old sin nature out and gives us that new nature of God.
Seeing it's him living inside us. And he's the one that's for us. I know people say it all the time. And they just don't, they've not really taken the time to study and think it out.
But you know, well, you know, I have Jesus in my heart. Well, really technically you don't. Because the Bible emphatically says over and over again that he has seated at the right hand of the Father. Now he is inside you in the sense because the Holy Spirit's in you, the Holy Spirit's in him, the Holy Spirit's in the Father.
That's how Jesus could say, Father, allow them to be aware of the fact that they are one. I am one with you and they are one with me and we are all one together. He said that in John. You know, that's how you do that.
It's by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit has that unique ability to be everywhere all the time in the same capacity. He doesn't, no matter if he's over here, he's full capacity. If he's over here, he's full capacity.
And that's just the way the Holy Spirit is. And we have to accept that by faith. I mean, our national minds can't comprehend that anymore than we can comprehend how Jesus is able to cleanse us, you know, from our sins. But it's by faith.
And once we accept that, then he's able to work and to do this. But see, that's the whole purpose of the Holy Spirit is, see, you can't even know you're born again without him. Because Romans 8 says that he bears witness with our spirit, that we are the sons of God. He, the Holy Spirit, bears witness with us.
So see, really, you don't even, you can't even be totally absolutely confident that you're born again without that inner witness. I remember that inner witness because I remember, I wasn't sure what happened to me. I mean, I knew I prayed a prayer and I knew I dedicated my life to the Lord and I knew I felt lighter, but I really did not understand what had happened until, as the days progressed and I began to realize the spirit of God was in me. And from that day forward, I began to develop a relationship with him.
And really, the religious world did me a favor. They didn't want anything to do with me because I got filled with spirits, but with other tongues. So they pushed me away. I couldn't go back to the world.
They didn't want anything to do with me because all I wanted to do was talk about Jesus and that made them nervous. So now I'm kind of home-owned. And so because of that, I was almost forced into developing that inner relationship I had with the person with the Holy Spirit. And I tell you what life has not always been easy, but he has never failed us.
He's always been there to show us what to do, where we've missed it, or whatever we needed to do to correct things, to get things right and how to have the victory. He has never, ever, ever, ever failed us. He's been so faithful all these years. And so to us, he's precious.
To us, you can't even begin to describe how important and how precious it is. He is really our only connection that we have to Jesus. See it's him that helps us to communicate to him. And he communicates with us.
He speaks to us. Jesus speaks to us through the person of the Holy Spirit. You know, and so it's so important. And he wants that individual relationship with us, and that's, you know, that guy.
But at the same time it's all for this commission. Yes, to do that purpose. He wants that relationship with us. He wants that fellowship.
And he wants to be able to empower us to do what he's calling us to do. So it's so important not to, you know, the Bible gives so many warnings. In fact, Jesus even said, you know, you can say bad things about me and I'm paraphrasing, but you can look it up. It's in there.
And Jesus said, you can say, you can bless me. You can talk about me. You can talk about the Father. He said to me, forgive me.
And the reason you can't is because he's the only one that can help you. See, he's. You shut him down, then you shut the door to Jesus and you shut the door to the Father. That's why you can't.
The blasphemy means to reject, to speak, ill of, you know, to push away, you know, and so it's so important. You know, the Holy Ghost is so very, very important in the life of every believer. Glory to God. And so we're going to put emphasis on this because where we are at today, you know, we don't have time to keep playing religion.
We have a work to do. We've got to reap this precious fruit of the earth as James 5 says and get this thing over with so we can get out of here. So that's what we need to be doing. Really nothing else on this planet at this point in time in our life.
And I'm saying this by the Spirit, I'm telling you, there's things that you've got to do and there's places you've got to be and there's things that you've got to accomplish. But I'm going to tell you something. This is the number one accomplishment and you can't let anything else take the place of this and the importance of this in our lives. And I believe God's working and I believe that we're in the situation we're in right now, economically, socially and emotionally, all the things that are going on in the world, the chaos and the craziness is going on because of the church's unwillingness to do what it's been called to do and that's reap the harvest in these last days.
And you're only going to be able to do it guys, do the power of the Holy Spirit. You can't do it yourself. If you can do it yourself, Jesus didn't even come. He didn't need to die.
You don't need to hold a ghost because you can do it yourself. See, that's nothing but pride. That's all that is. But it takes a humble person to say, you know, I can't do this morning.
I see this great task. I see this great thing that you need for me to do and I need to help you to get this done. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes. If it takes speaking in other times, so it means surrender in my life.
See, that's, oh gosh, that's it. What it is people want to go to heaven. They don't want to surrender their lives. They still want to go their own way and do their own thing.
And see, and being filled with the Spirit pushes you to surrender now. And so we're talking about surrender. We're talking about the presence of the Holy Spirit. And guys, that all begins when you make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life.
That's what this is about. If you're out there today and you've never made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, or you have and you're not living for Him, you know it. Nobody has to tell you. You know that.
You have that inner witness and you know that. And so if you are in that place and you're in that position right now, we want to pray with you. And I believe that this is your day and you need to pray this prayer and you not only need to just pray it, but you need to mean it with all your heart. You need to, I believe some of you are at the place where that you're willing to do that.
Surrender everything to Him. He is your Creator. You'll never find your purpose, your reason for being here. Ever.
I don't matter what you try to do until you find Him. He holds your purpose and your reason for existing on this planet in His hand. And He wants to reveal it to you and help you to be able to fulfill it. That's where true happiness is.
So pray this prayer with us. Say, Jesus, I'll take you today as my Lord and as my Savior. Sin, Satan, you don't own me. Jesus is my Lord.
Father, thank You for hearing my prayer and receiving me into your family. And I thank You for feeling me with the fullness of Your Spirit, with the evidence, speaking in other tongues. And I thank You for it and receive it right now by faith in Jesus' name, amen. Now if you prayed that prayer, let somebody know, tell somebody around you, let us know.
We would like to hear. You know, because it encourages us and we'd like to pray for you. If you have any prayer requests, you can get a hold of us through the different ways. And we'd be real glad to hear from you and pray and believe God with you.
God bless you until we get to see you again. God bless you.