All Things Common

Praise the Lord. It's good to be here tonight and know that the Lord is with us and blessing us. We feel that God really has something for us if we can just take a hold of it. I'll ask the brother if he'll come back and make a little adjustment here. I know it's too loud because it's got a little kind of a roar like there when you speak. But tonight we're very thankful for the Word of God. I wish that it was possible that we could really get hungry. You know. Perhaps you don't realize it, but a minister knows when you're hungry and when you're not hungry. He just automatically knows. You know, it would be a bad thing if God just sent a minister into the world and sent him to preach the gospel, he didn't know nothing about the people, didn't know the condition of the people, didn't know the feelings of the people, couldn't tell when they're hungry. How many of you mothers can tell when your children are hungry, or when they're not hungry. All right. All right, now. You know, I think it's one of the most discouraging things that there is to a mother is to know that her child is under weight and health run down, and malnutrition setting in and still she can't get that child to eat. Why, you might be pretty fat otherwise. I'm pretty fat myself. But I'll tell you I see some folks that's got malnutrition around here. That's right. And you need to hunger for God and for God's word and for God's Spirit. You're spiritually run down and you're in bad shape. And just like a child — When a child gets run down it can die. And if you get spiritually run down you won't even be aware of it, but the first news you know you'll just be dead. And when you die spiritually you're in bad shape. Now a person is in bad shape when they die physically, but when a person dies spiritually they are twice dead and plucked up by the roots. So that's one thing you don't want to do. Now, it's one thing to die a natural death but it's another thing to die the death of the soul. That's real bad. So the one thing you don't want to do is die the death of the soul. Now then, I'd like for you to take your Bibles tonight and turn with me to the book of Acts. And I remember the prophet of our age making the statement not too long ago, he said that this last rain of the gospel — The Bible says I'll give you the former and the latter rain in the same season, and I'll pour it out upon you in the last day. And I remember the prophet speaking and saying that this last rain would be a teaching rain. And I have noticed that spiritual revelation, as I was telling the brother, having experienced it both ways, that there is a difference between preaching spiritual revelation and preaching an exhortation message. Now I can preach to you. If I don't get into spiritual revelation I just preach to you at random and whatever comes I just take it wherever it's at, and the children can leap over the benches and your mind can wander back out yonder somewhere and I can just continue on and on and on because I'm just reaching here and there receiving things at random. But now when you are preaching the revelations of Jesus Christ you don't do that. You have to have a congregation that's got their minds right in the channel of the spirit and they are drawing and pulling and hungering and thirsting after the Word of God, and after righteousness. Otherwise, every time one of those members suffer the whole body suffers. Every time one of them gets out of harmony you can feel a conflict in the spirit and it's just like making the lights go on and off, just like somebody standing jogging up in the circuit. They're all on the same circuit and they just go on and off. And the mind of the Lord is the same way because it's just a different anointing. It's the same anointing, the same spirit, but it's a different means of anointing from what the anointing you've been used to is. So, I ask you tonight to read with me and let's get our minds in the same channel together and let's talk together in the spirit and see if we can find something in the Lord. Now, I'm not surprised because our crowds are small. There's no need to be surprised for I said last night that God was weeding out the garden. He's getting all the weeds out of the garden. God is making a change in the life of humanity and you — In this hour people are just spiritually dying everywhere, all across the country. It isn't just here, but it's everywhere. People are spiritual dying. So then, the only thing you and I can do is to band ourselves together, love the Lord God and try to get in God's Word and get ready for the oncoming tribulation that's right at the door right now. I think it would be a terrible thing to have to go through the tribulation. I don't believe a person really knows what the tribulation holds if they are careless and just wander around. I don't believe they'd do that if they knew what the tribulation held. The tribulation is a terrible thing. And even though you might not be aware of it we're right there at it now. Now, I want to talk to you tonight, if the Lord will help us, on water baptism, or just baptism. It's not water baptism, but on the doctrine of baptism, and it's something I very seldom speak on because it looks like we've got people all over the country preaching water baptism. Everywhere you go you find somebody preaching water baptism, and they're always fussing over it and disputing over it. And it looks like they're just not doing much good fussing and fighting. I've been able to baptize more people in Jesus name in water by just preaching the gospel, the whole council of God, as Paul said, than just taking a Scripture and arguing and fussing over it and trying to prove whether there's one God, or three Gods, or whether it's Jesus name baptism, or whether it's three baptisms. So, I feel that what we ought to do — Paul said, I've not shunned to declare to you the full council of God. Now, I feel like a minister is called to declare the full council of God. But occasionally I preach on this and I'd like tonight to bring your attention to the book of Acts in the second chapter. We put out a little tract called The Faith. We put it out in Spanish and we've got out a good many tracts, but this one especially is scattered all around the country. And hundreds and hundreds of those tracts have gone out down in Mexico. A few thousand of them around through the country, and it has to do with baptism also. But tonight let's see if we can get our minds and our hearts in a channel of really drawing God's Spirit, of really getting a hold of the Word of God and seeing if we can get into spiritual revelation with God's word. Now then, if you and I can enter into the realm of revelation we can better understand baptism, and there won't be any dispute about it. But if we can understand it the way that God understands it then there won't be any dispute. We'll be able to talk to people about it without fussing and fighting over the Word of God. Now. Notice here in the book of Acts, in the second chapter it is. Most all of us have heard it, and most all of us have read it. We've taught it in our Sunday School lessons, but let's read it again tonight. Peter said even though you know these things, he said, yet I feel it meet to stir up your pure minds in Christ Jesus. So, tonight I'd love to stir up your pure minds in Christ on these things that you already know. Now, if you don't keep your pure mind, which is the mind of Jesus Christ stirred up then the old carnal man, or the old carnal mind, it soon rises up and it becomes so interested in the things of this life, and the things that are around you, the necessities of life until the mind of Jesus Christ that David called the pure mind, it soon just becomes swallowed up. And when you come to church, you know how you come to church? You come to church in that old carnal mind that the Bible says is enmity with God. Now it's no wonder that we don't get any more from God than what we do. First of all, we know that we're creatures of necessity. We know that we're pressed with necessity every day. We have to make a living. I've worked on the job when I'd be soaking wet. I've worked so hard on the job; My job was so strenuous that my shirt and my pants would be soaking wet and then go to preach a revival and when I'd get up behind the sacred desk I wouldn't even have any strength to preach. I'd absolutely have to just stop because I didn't have any physical strength to preach with. Now I don't know whether you believe it or not but preaching is one of the hardest things a man ever does. That's right. They say one sermon if it's really preached is harder on the human body than eight hard hours of labor. Eight hard hours of labor. Says it does more damage to the human body, and if you preach for a few years you'll find out that's true. After a while it gets to feeling like your stomach is scratching your backbone. So, it really tears you up. I preached for a number of years. I'd preach a revival and bleed just like a stuck hog, just like somebody had tore me all to pieces, just bleed for days and days. And then I'd take a day or two to get over it and go back to preach again and bleed and bleed and bleed again. Now. It takes something to really carry the gospel of Jesus Christ. So then, we know that we're creatures and we're pressed with necessity, but here is the thing that we've got to remember: that while you are out yonder in the world and you're trying to make a living and trying to do the things that's needful to pay your just and honest bills, and to feed your families, then God has ordained the ministry that they might give themselves continually unto the study of the word and unto prayer that they might be made in the mind of Jesus Christ, and when they come to the house of God that their minds are in the spirit, that their minds are in the Word of God, and that they might be able to stir up the pure mind within you and draw that mind of Jesus Christ to the surface and cause it to swallow up that carnal mind that's enmity with God. You have to go out there and make a living. And so then when you come to the house of God you come in your carnal mind. And the first thing that you do when you enter the temple of God you hinder the Holy Spirit. The very first thing you do when you come into the church you hinder the Holy Spirit because you've been out there in the mind that enmity with God. Now. That is unless you are a praying individual. That is unless you go somewhere and pray maybe thirty or forty minutes before church, or get into to a mind of meditation before you come to church. Unless you do that then you come with a mind of enmity. And so it makes it difficult for the minister to be able to minister the Word of God to you because you have spent seven or eight hours, or more, getting your mind set upon the things of this world, and he, within ten or fifteen minutes must re-adjust your spirit and your mind to be able to get it into a channel to where he can speak. So you see that — In other words, you can't feed the carnal mind. In fact I even say this a lot of times. The reason a lot of people never get their healing is because they stay in the carnal mind, which is the mind of reasoning and God cannot work through the carnal mind. It's enmity with God and God cannot work through it. And there's no faith in the carnal mind. But to be able to get your healing, the Bible says lean not to thine own understanding, but trust in the Lord with all of thine heart. Take His Word and His promises and say yea and amen to all of His words. The Bible says all of the promises God are yea and amen. So then, say yea and amen to every word of God, and just walk on by faith that cometh by the hearing of the Word and you'll receive whatever you want from God. Just don't waver from it. Just keep going. If you healing don't come today go on tomorrow. If it doesn't come tomorrow go on the next day. You'll get it. If you'll just stay there you'll get it. Praise the Lord! Just don't waver from it and it will come. All right, in the book of Acts, reading in the second chapter, and I trust tonight that we can stir up our faith and our mind in the Lord and really get into something. Last night I had a struggle trying to preach, and I already feel tonight it's going to be the same way unless I can get you hungry. Now, you say, Brother Pike, we're out here. We wouldn't be out here unless we were hungry. Oh, yes. You can come to church and not be hungry. My children come to the table a lot of times and aren't hungry. David will stick his finger in this and Sue will stick her finger in that and turn the tea over and just fumble around on the table. So you don't have to be hungry to come to the table. Now. You just know that's where the food is and you do it out of habit. But I'm not scolding you tonight. I'm just telling you that the Bible says he that hungers and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. In our last meeting those people were literally starving for the Word of God. Every night that I came into the sanctuary there were people when I'd look at their faces they were setting just like this. And their spirits were just crying out. I had one brother come to me. He said, I just can't hardly stay away from church. He said, I can't hardly leave church every night because the spiritual mind of Jesus Christ is revealing itself, and said, I'm so hungry that I can't – Said, I'm just starving to death. Now it isn't any trouble to preach to folks like that. But now, if the people are tired and weary and they've given all their time out yonder, and then they come to church, and they say, Well, I'm tired and then they flop on you. Now I know they're tired. You don't have to do nothing and you'll be tired at the end of the day. How many of you know that? I have felt better at the end of the day when I had worked eight hours, at the end of the day I felt better than I did when I didn't work on a job. So see? You can't go by that. Now, I know that you're tired. I know that you're weary. But the thing is: if we give our energy and our time out yonder to the world and then when we come to the house of God we don't have any zeal, any ego for God, then we'll never get anything from God. And I don't feel no drawing at all tonight. I tell you, I'm standing right here before you now and I just don't feel no drawing at all from you. Now, you might say that's surprising. I have known ministers, ministers that are gifted. I know one great minister, a minister that will stand behind your sacred desk (I was just in his meeting a few nights ago over in Memphis, Tennessee.) and I've known him to come behind the sacred desk and dismiss the service and go home. He'd say, There's no faith here. But I personally know that he can tell you your life. He can tell you your telephone number. He can tell you your house number. He can tell you what your name is. While I was in his meeting the other night over in Memphis he came to a lady, walked back to her sitting on the back seat and he said, Lady, he said, you are from Italy. And he said, You have been in country seven years. Begin to tell her things just like that. Now. What is it? It's because you must hunger and thirst for the things of God if you ever get them. That's all. Now, you say, Well, I don't believe that, Brother Pike. If that isn't true why is it that in the days of Jesus when He walked along the shores of Galilee, that though there was hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that followed him, yet one woman got her healing out of the bunch. Why? The Bible says she was pushing her way through the crowd. She was pressing in. How many of you know the Bible says you press your way into the kingdom of God. You do. Somebody said, We're just sitting her waiting for you to feed us. I know, but the Bible doesn't teach that God feeds you like that. See? There's a wall between the gospel and you and you have to press your way into the kingdom of God. Press your way into it. That's the only way to get to it. She pressed her way in. And when she begin to press her way in she began to draw the virtue of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus felt a tie, an invisible tie between Him and her, and he felt virtue going out of His body. I'd line people up in my meetings and I'd pray for them and I'd go to lay my hands on one and I'd feel the virtue of God screaming out of my body just like you'd turned a hydrant on. And I'd go to lay my hands on another and I'd pray, Oh, God, help her faith. Oh, God, lift her up. Oh, God, strengthen her and didn't feel a thing because there wasn't any faith there. They didn't offer no faith, they didn't press in. Now, you say, Brother Pike, I've been this way a long time. It doesn't matter how long you've been in the way. It's what you've done since you go in the way. Why, I've seen people that have been in it ten years that have done nothing. I've seen people that's been in it fifteen and twenty years that don't know as much about it as somebody that's been in it five years. How long you've been in it has got nothing to do with it. It's what you've done since you've been in the way. So then, that's what matters. What have you done since you've been in the way? All right. Now then, let's turn to the book of Acts and let's read together, and let's just see if we can create a drawing tonight to where we can talk about the word of God. All right, in the book of Acts, remember — I'm going to say this and then we're going to read. Remember this one thing tonight: that we are not as we were a few years ago. A few years ago a person could preach one message. In fact they didn't even have to preach a message. As I said here last night, one woman could get up and testify and the altars would fill up. I've seen the time when you didn't even have to preach a message. Just get up behind the sacred desk and the Holy Spirit would start moving and somebody would get up and testify and everybody, just about in the whole building, would run to the altar. But they don't do that no more. You can have your organ and pianos and everything you want to, I've seen the gifts of God working, I've seen miracles take place, but people still wouldn't come to the altars of God. Why? Because the revival is over. That means if we get anything now we're going to have to press in. God was one time obligated to give us the gospel but now the gospel has gone into all the world and it's not obligated any more. So, therefore, He will not pour out His Spirit anymore except to those who desire His Spirit, and who walk to try to get a hold of the Word of God and hunger and thirst after the things of God. Praise the Lord! All right. Reading from the book of Acts in the second chapter. And I don't know what I'm going to say tonight because I've said a whole lot already and I still don't feel much hunger and thirst. All right. If you're not hungry I can't feed you. I mean I just can't do it. My heart is full of revelation. I've preached it for years but if you aren't hungry I can't feed you. I just can't go it. In other words, see? It isn't me. It's God within me. It isn't me. As I've heard Brother Branham say many times when he stood before the crowd, He said, I cannot work this gift that's within me. He said, You have to pull on it. You have to want it. You have to desire it. And so that's what works it. Said, Your faith is what works it. The ministry is the same way. I think our brother will admit right here and tell you that unless there is somebody that's hungry, or somebody pulling on the ministry that you don't get nothing. Now I could jump over the rail; that wouldn't be hard. I've seen them. I've even seen them do this. I've seen them go back to the back, or to the front door back there of church and I've seen them get a hard running start and stretch their long legs out and sail over the whole thing. I could do that. I could run around here, and jump, dance, and holler, and scream and whoopee, and do all of that, but that wouldn't be the anointing. The Bible says this anointing that abideth within you teacheth you all things. The anointing is when the Holy Spirit, when He said it's not you that speak but your Father. When He begins to speak then on the other end you feel the watering of the seed. The water begins to sprinkle. See? The water and the Word coming together. But the faith has to come before the water so you don't want rain before you put the seed in the ground; it would just make the ground hard. You want to put the seed in first and then the water; the faith. All right. Reading from the book of Acts over in the second chapter. We want to read tonight beginning right here at the — I think I'll start right here at the, maybe at the thirty-third verse. It might be good if we started right there. 

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. 

Now, I want you to notice here first. The reason these people had the power of God in their midst was because they were willing to hunger and thirst after the things of God. Now then, you have to be pretty hungry to go and sell your home and take what you've got and lay it down at the preachers feet and tell him to go feed the widows and the orphans with it. You have to be pretty thirsty for the Word of God to be able to take everything that you've saved in your life time and lay it down at the apostles feet and tell them to use it for the glory of God. Now you say, Brother Pike why is it that you say we're not hungry and not thirsty after the things of God. This is evidence of being thirsty. This is evidence of being hungry. It's when you surrender your every desire and bring it to God. When you're willing to leave everything alone and let everything be secondary in your life. When you're willing to lay aside everything that God has blessed you with, to give it to God and to walk after God, and to do the things that God said and put God first, then you're hungry and you're thirsting after the things of God. But in the day that we're living in why the people are not even hungry enough to even to take care of the ministry. In fact, I don't know just how it is around here, but in the places that I've been they want the preacher to quit preaching and go to work somewhere. As far as their concerned they don't care if the Word of God rots, if there is any such thing. They don't care whether you ever preach the Word of God or not as long as you come to the church and entertain them and never say anything contrary to the way their living, or their feelings, and just let them go on and do the way that they want to. Now, that's the way I find it in most places where I go. That's why God is through with this world, with this sin cursed world. God is through with it because they don't hunger and don't thirst after the Word and the things of God any more. Everything has the preeminence but God's Word. Years ago when you had a meeting you didn't even have to have a church building. You could put up a little brush arbor somewhere and people would just pile in there and fill that place up because they were hungry and they were thirsting after the things of God. Over across the waters, you can go over there. I have friends that I've talked to, they go over there and they people set all day long to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then when night comes and you dismiss the people they don't leave but they set around the little hut where you sleep until the next morning and Then comes the breaking of day they're right there to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ again. Now, you say, What do you mean hungering and thirsting after the Word of God? That's what I mean. I mean that when you get hungry, when you get thirsty for the things of God, God will pour out His Spirit upon you, or God will come on the scene and God will bless you. He'll give you His good Word, His good Spirit. He'll give you His good blessing. He'll open the windows of heaven and the treasures of God will be given unto you. Why? Because you hunger and you thirst for the things of God. You say, God, You're first in everything that I do. You're My desire. You're everything that I want, God. And then when you begin to get like that then God says, Now I'm ready to bless you. They had miracles in their midst. They had signs and wonders. Now, a lot of times we look at these big tents that go up through the country and we, as the Jesus name people, the Bible says they that are called by His name. Brother Sears, a lot of us look at those big tents and they say, Why is it that they have signs and wonders and miracles under those tents? The reason is they've give everything they've got. I've seen people give their cars away. I've seen them give their shoes away and go home without their shoes. I've known them to give tape recorders away and guitars away. I've seen them give their homes away and go away without a home to turn to. That's why God works signs and wonders and miracles under the big tents. Even though I'm not in agreement with the way that those preachers preach. A lot of them preach for the people to come and do that and then they take the money and instead of feeding the widows and the orphans they get them television programs and radio programs and they put their pictures in this and their pictures in that, and they are just continually lifting themselves up. I'm not in agreement with it, but there is one thing for sure, that what the people are doing is right, and God comes down and He honors it, too. They have miracles. I challenge anybody in here to take and sell your home. I challenge you to take your money out of the bank if you've got any in there. I challenge you to take your salary every week when you go to work on your job, the Bible says to love the Lord thy God with all your strength, heart, mind and body. I challenge you to go to work on your job, and when you go to work on Monday say, I'm working for Jesus. In other words, This is my ministry for God, and just as the minister gives all of his time, all of his life, I'm going to give my whole life to God. And every day that I work, or go to work and use this stand for Jesus Christ, this is my ministry to send the gospel into all the earth for a witness and for my Savior. (Begin tape one, side two.) I challenge you to do that, and with the doing of that you'll find out that God will come down in your midst like you've never seen Him come down before. Now then, as long as we just give God the overflow and we just say, If we can spare it we'll give some, and if we can eat ham, egg, and steak, and if we can have the very best and make no sacrifice, if we do over here like the rich man did when he went in. The Bible says as he started into the temple he dropped a little bit in there as he started in the temple, and Jesus just set off in the distance and watched. And when he dropped in, Jesus noticed it, Peter and them noticed it and somebody said, Lord, look at what he's done. Jesus said that he didn't do nothing. But the disciples said, Lord, look what he put in the offering. But Jesus said he didn't do nothing. Look how much God gave him. He just put a little bit in the offering. Why he didn't do nothing. After awhile here come along a little widow and the Bible says when she came along she dropped just a little bit in the offering. Well, the disciples didn't notice that much. But Jesus said she gave more than all of them. Said, Because what she gave was her living. Everything she had she put it in for the cause of Christ. He said she gave her living. Now, what was the difference? One of them cast in out of their abundance and it didn't ever move God. Why? It doesn't take an act of faith to just pay tithes. If you just pay tithes that's the very least you could do. If a man just gives tithes to God, why, that's the very least he could do is give his tithes. Why, he hasn't done anything when he gives his tithes. But the Bible says sell all that you've got and give unto the Lord. Lay up treasures in heaven. Turn to God and lay your treasures up in heaven, he said, because wherever you put your treasures that's where you heart is going to be. He said, This widow, he said, It took an act of faith to do what she did. It was her faith that moved God. It took an act of faith to step out like she did, but it didn't take faith for the rich man to do what he did because he hadn't done anything. If God gives me a million dollars and I drop ten dollars into the offering, somebody else might not be able to drop but fifty cents in but it might be more in the fifty cents that they dropped in than my ten dollars, because they might not have had but a dollar a half to start with. So then, they might have took all of their living practically. So, it's not how much you give, it's how much that you've got left after you finish giving that God's concerned about. He's not concerned with how much you give to Him. The Bible says, All the gold is mind, all the silver is mine, and he said the cattle upon a thousand hills, He said, All of this is mind. He said if I was hungry I wouldn't ask you to feed me. He said everything belongs to God. He said, The world, the earth and the fullness thereof belongs to God. So then, it isn't what you give, but the thing is, How much did you have left when you finish with giving? How much did you have left. The Bible says, As it is written, he that gathereth much had nothing left over. He's interested in how much you've got left. He that gathered much did not have anything left over. And he that gathereth little had no lack. Now, I've said this before. Here in this country we gather much. Because we're able to go out and work we can make a hundred dollars without any trouble, but Brother Al Gonzales, and not only him, he's just one of the few that's around the country. Missionaries around the world needs your support, and they need your help and they need you to get in and stand behind them and help them. God sees the little baby that's laying on the streets over yonder in Africa that doesn't have anything to eat. He sees the little boy and the little girl that's over there. Some of them in war torn areas that have no shelter, that have no clothes, that have no mother. I've made mention of this a number of times. I saw a picture where one little boy, just a little old bitty fellow about like Brother Sears boy sitting here on the end. I was a picture where he walked over to a little boy that was just about the size of this one right here. They were on the streets and this little boy, about night time, he walked over close to this little fellow and he put his head up close to him, took hold of him because it was his bigger brother, did not have a mother, no daddy, nobody to look to, and they laid down on the sidewalk and the little boy pulled up close to the bigger boy and there they made their bed for that night. And we sit over here and have everything we can desire. Don't you know that God sees that? The Bible says His eyes are through the earth beholding the good and the evil. Somebody said, I just don't understand why my little baby gets sick. I don't understand why something happens to my son or my daughter. I don't understand the problems that we have. The Bible says that which is highly esteemed in the eyes of men is an abomination in the sight of God. I have said again and again, when you give your baby two pairs of shoes and somebody over yonder doesn't even have one, when you store up food in your refrigerator and you take care of your needs and the people across the water doesn't have anything to eat, God will visit you for those things. God blessed America and God's given to America. He's given her the desires of her heart because He ordained that America should go and carry the gospel into all the world for a witness. What are we going to do? But the Bible says they had all things common, that they continued together, and they preached the gospel, and they worshipped together. And they had all things common. These people had all things common. Notice here in the second chapter. Said, And fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together. It didn't say there were separated. It didn't say that one was criticizing the other. It didn't say that one was backbiting over here, asking how could we get rid of the preacher and get us another one. It didn't say they were making war with each other. But the Bible says they all worked together. They came together to worship God, and they moved together when they started to do something for God. Why? Even the United Nations has a little saying that united we stand, divided we fall. Why, the Bible says the natural people out here, He said, even the children of darkness are wiser in their ways than the children of light. Even they know when they stick together they can get a job done. You watch a man that's opening up a big factory. It's not one individual that's involved, but it takes many stock holders. The first thing a company does, if it really wants to advance, is it opens its stock to stock holders, because every dollars that it gets it means greater prestige. It means more power. Look at the bank. Why, even the banker up here wants your nickels and your dimes. We're just poor folks but they know if they can get enough poor folks putting nickels and dimes in after awhile it's going to get to be millions of dollars. They understand that when they pool their efforts, and they pool money that they can get something done it this world. Why is it that we're divided and stand against each other and don't work together? and don't labor together? It's no wonder God don't bring us the deep mysteries of God. It's no wonder God doesn't feed us the deep things of God. We must do the other first. Now then. You say, Brother Pike, we're doing all that we can. I don't believe that. I don't believe that. I'm not doing all I can. I could say, well, I'm doing all I can. I left home and I left job and I've left everything else, and I could have a good job. I mean easy jobs. A job that would be easy. I wouldn't have to get out and labor with my hands. I've done it. But I wouldn't have to do that. I could have an easy job and make a good income, and just about be my own boss; do like I wanted to. In fact on numbers of jobs I've worked on I was the boss on it. Now, but the thing is I haven't done all that I could do, but I'm still trying. I'm still pressing in. I'm still making an effort. I'm still asking God to help me to be able to do more for Jesus. I can't afford to stop short of everything that I can do. God expects everything I can do. I don't believe that you're doing all that you can, folks. I just don't believe you are. I believe that if you'd come together and worship God, if you'd join hands I believe that this church would be blessed exceedingly. I believe your pastor would be taken care of. I believe that your work would go out all around the countryside. Do you realize that in that little apostolic church in the early days, that one little church evangelized the world? That one little church evangelized the world. Right here in this one little area you could evangelize the world. The money that comes in to one home right here, if you could figure it up you'd be astounded. Thousands of dollars every year comes in to one home. One home. What happens to it? New cars. Traded cars this year and got to trade cars again next year, and got to trade cars again next year, new home, got to do something to the house this years, do something else to the house next year, build another room next year. What else? Got to have a new living room suit this year and another living room suit next year. Always using up the substance of God instead of bringing it in to God and using it for the glory of God. What is it? The Bible says they sold all their possessions. Let's read it again. It says, "And all that believed were together and had all things common." How many of you know what all things common are? Now you say, Brother Pike, do you mean to stand there behind the sacred desk and tell me that I've got to give up everything I've got to be in this last church? Absolutely. Nothing less. You will not be in the Bride until you surrender your all to God. Now, I might go out here and I might marry a woman that wouldn't surrender her all to me, but Jesus Christ isn't going to do that. He isn't going to do it. Now some of you young fellows might go out here and tell some woman I'll marry you on a fifty-fifty basis but Jesus Christ doesn't do that. There no fifty-fifty basis in marriage. The man is the head of the body and the man is a type of Jesus Christ and there is no fifty-fifty about it. You must surrender to God. And his every desire you must surrender to it. When you come to get saved you say, God, I'll give you my all. How many promised God your all if He'd save you. That must be all the people we have saved, because if you had promised God your all He would have saved you. That's the only condition He saves you on is you've got to promise your all to God. He doesn't save anybody that doesn't promise Him their all. So then, it says here, it said that they sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as they had need. Everything that they had they sold it and they didn't just preach on the week-end. It said daily they continued in the temple. Every day they had church. We have to have a revival now, but along then it was just a common thing to have church every day. You say, Brother Pike, I don't like that kind of preaching. You've never liked the right kind of preaching. And you won't never like the right kind of preaching, because you're not of God. You're not of God. But those that are of God loves this kind of preaching because the Bible says preach the Word. And this is the Word of God. But He said in the last days they would not endure the sound doctrine. He said that they figure out somebody that would preach to them the way that they wanted them to and then set up their own discipline, and they set up their own dogmas, and they set up their own theology, and their own ideas. And they'd said, Well, now he's beside himself. Who does he think he is? Why, do you mean to tell me that I've got to get rid of what I've got? Yes. Do you mean to tell me that I've got to sell what I've got? Yes. Oh, we've never had a pastor like that. No! Why we don't want a pastor like that. Well, anyway I'm not a pastor. I'm an evangelist. I'm telling you, folks, that in this last church you can't hold anything back from God. You say, They isn't anybody ever going to do that. There are already people that's doing it. I just got through telling you about people that does it. I've seen my own brother give away at least two automobiles. Why, somebody perhaps in this very community if they had to give away a car they'd think that was just about — My! I don't know what they would think. And I've seen my own fleshly brother give away at least two automobiles. Why, they don't think nothing about that. One of my closest friends gave away his home and his land, and I talked to him about it. Why, he didn't think nothing about that. He thought that was the least he could do, was give his all. The Bible says when we give our bodies a living sacrifice unto God, he said we have done nothing but a reasonable service then. That's the least we could do. Why, if Jesus Christ left His home in glory, laid aside everything He ever had, came into the world to suffer shame for your sake, to give to you the eternal riches of glory, why the very least you could do is to give your body a living sacrifice. Now, I didn't know I was going to preach about this tonight. I was going to preach on water baptism. That's what I thought. I was going to preach revelation. That's what I thought, but here I am just preaching an old, good old countrified sermon right down the aisle. What is it? It's because we have to take first things first. All right. Let's notice it again here. It said, And they continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine. In other words they didn't change the doctrine. They didn't buck against the Word of God, but the Bible says they continued everyday in the very thing that I'm preaching right here. Now, did you know that this is the amazing thing about it, that Peter did not have to tell them to sell their homes. Peter did not have to tell them to sell their lands. Peter did not have to tell them to take what they had and give it to God. But the preaching that these preachers preached made them to know that they had to do that to get with this group of people. They saw them living having all things common. Now you say, Brother Pike, I believe in being in the church. I believe in doing my part, but a lot of people are like Ananias and Sapphira. They believe in joining the church. But the thing is, they want to hold back a little nest egg on the side. Why Ananias and Sapphira they wanted to give to the church. They didn't mind giving to the church. They didn't mind giving in the offering. In fact they even sold their land. And they sold their houses; they didn't mind doing that. But when they came before Peter — Somebody said, Now, Peter must have been greedy. Peter must have been greedy. He wanted everything. When he came before Peter, Peter looked at Ananias and Sapphira and said, Ananias and Sapphira, said, did you sell your house and land for so much? Yes, we sold it for so much. He said, Well, where's the rest of the money? You didn't give all of it. How come you just brought part of it? In other word, why come Brother Sears brought all of his and gave his all and you didn't give your all? Why come Brother Toby gave his all and you didn't give your all? What's the matter? Peter said. You didn't give your all. You promised you'd give your all and you didn't give your all. Why is it the preacher has to give his all and you don't give your all? What's the difference? I'd love for somebody to explain that to me. Why does God require the minister to give his all and you don't give your all? What's the difference? Oh, somebody said, Well, the preacher is going to get a special something in heaven. The Bible didn't say that he would. Said that God gave unto the last just as he gave unto the first. And when they entered into the vineyard out there the Bible says he gave the last man just like he did the first man. Then if God gives the last man just like he does the first man then he requires the same thing out of last man as he does the first man. Now, what does he require? His all. When you come into the vineyard, for instance the ninth hour, the eleventh hour, the tenth hour, he requires your all from the time you get in there. The Bible says they had all things common, "and all that believed were together and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need. And they continued daily with one accord in the temple. And breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Now then, I said a little bit ago, the people say, “Why doesn't the preacher go to work?” I hope you never said that. I don't know. I never have talked to you about your preacher. I guess you're pretty well satisfied with him. You act like you are and looks like he's eating all right. Looks like he's living all right. I trust that he is anyway. But I want to say this one thing. Now, why is it you say that the preacher ought to quit preaching and go to work on the job, quit talking the Word of God, quit seeking the revelations of Jesus Christ, and still come to the house of God and testify that you believe in the Word of God? The Bible says the Scriptures cannot be broken, and the Bible says God will not alter the thing that's gone out of His mouth. And the Bible says it's by faith, the hearing of the Word that you and I are saved. And the Bible says it's line upon line and precept upon precept and if any man take away from this Word then his part will be taken out of the Book of Life. And He said if any man break this Word, if he break one of the least commandments and teach men so he'll be called the least in the kingdom of God. Why is it that you want the minister to quit his job, or quit his preaching, get him a job and quit carrying the Word of God and then testify in the House of God that you believe in the Word of God? Don't you know you couldn't believe the Word of God and stand for any such thing as that. Because the very Word says he's not to leave the gospel. Peter said it's not meat for us to leave the gospel and serve tables. Why, they were so strict, God was so strict that he wouldn't even let Peter and them leave the Word of God. Said, We'll give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministering of the Word, take it everywhere we go, just be lead wherever the Spirit of God leads us. Said, We can't leave God's Word and serve tables. And this Word said render unto all of their needs. Not to give them ten dollars and say the tithes were fifteen dollars, the tithes were ten dollars. And say, Well, you'll just have to make out on it. But the Bible says for you to check on the minister and make sure that he's taken care of in every way. All of his needs. God will bless you for it if you'll do it. He'll curse you if you don't do it. He said, I'll curse your blessings. Said, I've cursed them already. Now, the minister can't leave the Word of God. The Bible says he's not to leave God's Word. Now a lot of people they say, Well, what about Paul the apostle, that great Paul they say. I've seen them use that. An old mossy back hypocrite, will use that. What about the great Apostle Paul? He preached and carried the gospel. They'll run to that just like an old goat will to start trouble in the church. But that same Apostle Paul said, I've rob other churches to come to preach to you that wouldn't take care of me. Now, somebody said, Did he take the offerings of the people? Paul said there were some that gave so much. He said they gave, said, You were even will to pluck out your eyes and give them to me if it were necessary. He said some gave to me not sparing their own bodies and their own lives until they were at the point of death, trying to meet my needs. But you let me down here. Now, somebody said, Paul worked. Sure he worked. I work some here and there. Paul worked some here and there. He did it to be an example to the flock. I do it sometimes to be an example, but I don't leave God's work to go out here and take a job that's regular, to lay down the Word of God. I can't do that. This same Paul the apostle, that you might try to substantiate such a teaching with, that same Apostle Paul stated, he said, I've come to preach to some of you, and he said, You never gave to my needs. And he said, While I was preaching to you I had to reach way over here to another city and rob those people to preach the gospel to you. Said, They had to take care of me so I could stay here and preach to you. The Bible says you'll not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. Didn't he say that? Don't put him on a job. Don't you muzzle him. The Bible says he's treading out the corn. Paul said if I've sowed unto you carnal things why not reap of your spiritually. They that wait at the altars, he said, they're partakers with the altar. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. He said but if the ox is in the ditch you go get him out. Did Paul say that God said these things because he cares for oxen, or did he say them altogether for our sake? Now then. What are you talking about Brother Pike? I mean there are people that are in need around us. There are widows, and there are orphans in our own area that need help. There is the ministry that needs help. There are little children across the sea that needs help. There are men down in Mexico and Canada and other places that are trying to carry the gospel that needs your help. You need to — Somebody said, I've already done my part. You haven't done your part until you have nothing left over. How many of you have got something left over? How many of you've got something left over? You say, I've done my part. The Bible says, we're saved by faith in the Word. And the Bible says that the faith is shown by what we do. And the Bible says you had nothing left over. Nothing left over. He that gathereth much had nothing left over. Somebody said, I made a hundred and fifty dollars last week. How much did you have left over? Oh, somebody said, I didn't have none left over because I bought me a new car and I bought me a new this and I bought me a new that, had to pay on this and had to pay on that. God didn't mean nothing left over like that. I'm going to say this again. I think I said it one time before when I was here and I'm going to say this and I'm going to close. I'm just exhorting you tonight. But I went into a home one time and I started talking about the need of Christ, and the need of the ministry. And I started talking to these people and this lady said, Well, we just don't have nothing. You know, some folks say, We just can't afford to pay tithes. We just can't afford to give an offerings. I don't know how in the world they get such a thing. If a man makes a dollar God requires one dime, and why he can't give God a dime out of a dollar I'll never understand. But, anyway, I stood in this home and they said, Well, we just can't give nothing to God. I looked around and over here in one corner set a television. I looked over here and here set a telephone. And I looked around and here set this and that and around. I thought, Yes, you could give something to God if you were willing to take up your cross and follow the Lord and sell what you've got like they did in the early church. If you can afford a telephone, you can afford to do without a telephone and give to God. You don't have to have a telephone. You say, “Well, my business calls for it.” Then if you've got a business big enough to call for it, you ought to have an income big enough to give to God so you can keep your telephone. If you've got a television, you ought to have enough to give to God. You say, “I don't like that kind of preaching.” The Bible says they didn't like it when Stephen preached it. Said they got so mad they just railed on him, having gnashed on him with their teeth, and said, I don't like that kind of preaching, but he preached it anyway. He preached it anyway. Now, what are you trying to do, Brother Pike? I'm trying to tell you that the tares will not do this, that only the wheat will do this. And the reason that they'll do it is because they can't do nothing else. Paul said the love of God constraineth me. I can't do nothing else. Somebody said, Why did you give up your home? Why did you give up your job? Why did you leave to go preach the gospel? Because I can't do nothing else. Something in me won't let me do nothing else. If you've got the same Jesus on the inside of you that I've got you can't do nothing else. You'll toss in your bed at night, you'll rove about and you'll be so frustrated and fearful and you can't stop until you give your all. You'll be so restless you can't do it. Somebody said, Well, I can just lay down at night and rest and it don't bother me a bit. Listen, brothers and sisters, I speak to you in the name of the Lord, and in love tonight. If you can lay down on your bed and know that those little fellows are laying over yonder like I mentioned tonight, like one woman she walked up and looked at a picture and I had a picture there. I said, Lady, I'd love for you to look at this. She walked up and looked at it. She's a regular church member. She walked up and looked at it and it was just like somebody had stretched the skin over the bones on those little babies, and over those mothers and daddies, and it was just skeletons. It was so pitiful. She said, Oh, dear. Oh, dear. I can't stand that. I thought, No. You can't stand it, because I personally know you've got a big brick home. You've got carpet wall to wall. You've got a nice beauty parlor over there and you've got two automobiles and got a big income otherwise. A nice big house trailer and another home. I thought, No. You can't stand it because you know you've got blood on your hands. The Bible says someday the very stones of your house will cry out. They'll cry there's blood on your hands. The very rafters in the ceilings will cry out, and say you've got blood on your hands. That's going to be a sad time, isn't it. When the doors begin to speak to you, the ceilings begin to speak to you, and the walls begin to speak to you and say you built me out of blood money. You built me out of blood money so you could be comfortable. Somebody said, It will never happen. It did happen. When Cain slew Able the Bible says his blood cried out from the ground and said, You killed me. Listen, folks, if you can lay on your bed at night and sleep and rest knowing the circumstances around the world you absolutely haven't got Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and yesterday he gave his all, and if today you're the body of Christ and if you've got the nature of Christ, you'll give your all. If you don't give your all you just don't have it, that's all there is to it. Now that sounds close, but God knows that's the truth. In the early church they gave their all. I'm going to say this and close. In the early church they gave their all and God said, I will restore the early church. He said, In the last days I will restore everything that the locust have eaten, the caterpillar has eaten, and the years that the locust consumed. I will restore every bit of it, He said, in the last days. That means there's going to be a church just like the Pentecostal Church for the rapture. Pentecost was a type of the rapture. If you could see revelation you would understand what I mean. It was a type of the rapture. And in this day to be able to make the rapture you're going to see He's going to restore the apostolic church. Somebody said, I'm Jesus name. All right. Listen to me. Listen to me as I speak to you in love tonight. Just being Jesus name, why that's nothing. That's nothing. Telling people you've been baptized in Jesus name, there's people that's been baptized all over the country in Jesus name that will do anything. Just being — That don't make you in the church, being baptized in water in Jesus name. It's when you follow God and sell what you've got, give to the poor, and give your all to God, and follow God with all your heart, all of your mind, strength and body then you belong to Jesus Christ. Then you're His. Otherwise you're just playing church. Now what do we — Let's everybody stand together. I'm not trying to keep you late tonight. I don't mean to do that. I know you're tired, and I know you're weary. I know you have to work on a job and I understand that. And I didn't know I was going to preach to you like this, but God knows what you need. I think you need revelation. That's the way I feel about it. I preached a whole revival up yonder of nothing but revelation, because I felt like that's what they need. But about two or three revivals prior to that I preached so hard that people got up and walked out of the congregation while I was preaching. Some of them rebelled against me and had serious trouble between the times that I was there and when I went back. Serious things happened to them. Now then, I didn't know I was going to say this tonight, but I say one thing. It must be needed. It must be needed. Now I don't know what you're doing here, and God knows that's the truth. I don't know what you're doing here. I don't know, but I know one thing. I know this preacher’s been out looking for a job here and there and he has no business doing it. He asked me today what I thought about it and I said, "It's your own business." Now, I don't know whether you came and advised him to get a job or not, but if you have God have mercy on your soul. You better advise him not to get a job. That's the wife. That's the wife. I'm speaking of the wife, too. And I'm speaking to you, all of you. Advise him not to get a job because he's the bread winner here. He's your spiritual bread winner and if he goes out yonder and he gets in a carnal mind, and if he comes up here he'll have nothing to give you. Why he might make you shout a little bit but that isn't going to do you any good. The Bible says grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. He's got to have the knowledge of the Lord to give you, and to be able to do that he's got to stay with it. Brother, I know you've got to stay with it. You don't get spiritual revelation by running in and praying fifteen minutes. I've spent five to eight solid hours, I've spent nine solid hours on my knees waiting on God. You don't just run in and say, Hello, Jesus, give me revelation and run on. You don't work eight hours and come in and say, Lord, I've got to preach tonight; give me revelation. God don't do that. The Apostle Paul said he was away in the Arabian Desert for about three years just seeking revelation. Said, It was made known to me by revelation. He's your bread winner so whatever you do you keep him around to where you win the bread. Folks, you're going to need him. You say, Well, we were planning to change preacher anyway. Well, that's all right. That's your privilege. Paul said, I'll send to you whomsoever you prove by elect. But remember, if you switch pastors, if you switch preachers, you still have to do the same thing to the next one that comes here. You say, Well, we'll like him better. No you won't. I'm going to tell you something and then I promise you I'll close. I have never been to one church in my whole ministry, in Mexico or Canada or the United States, or wherever I've been, I've never seen one church where they were satisfied with the preacher. I have never seen one in the Methodist, the Baptist, the Presbyterian. I've preached to the Baptist folks, and I've preached to the Methodist folks, I've preached to the Assembly of God folks, and I've preached to the Church of God folks. I've never seen a church satisfied with the preacher. Not if he was a God called preacher. They weren't satisfied with Peter. They weren't satisfied with Stephen. They weren't satisfied with Jesus, and they're not going to be satisfied with a true minister. Now then. So whatever you do, if you want to switch preachers that's all right. That's all right. That's your privilege. But remember I'm not just preaching about Brother Sears. I've preaching about the minister that you have here, whoever he is. You've an obligation, and you've got to see to that obligation or the Lord's going to hold you accountable in the day of judgment. Let's bow our heads together just for a minute now. Father, tonight as we come to the close of another service, God, we're grateful tonight for just what you saw fit to give from heaven tonight. Lord, we've spoken these things in the integrity of our heart tonight, Lord, because we love you. Father, because we feel your divine inspiration, your glory, Oh God! Father, help us to realize the seriousness of what we're doing. Father, help us to realize our obligation to God, Father, to look around and see a lost and a dying world and be a light in the midst of a crooked and a perverse generation. Father, help us to realize that in all that we've done, Father, we've not done anything. Lord, but like the little widow, help us to give our all that we might find favor in your sight. Help us to do the way you told the rich young ruler to do, Lord. Just sell all that we've got. And Father, we realize that when this comes into our hearts and our minds to surrender our all, Lord, then God, it won't be no need for us to sell nothing, God, because you'll control everything we've got. Lord, you'll use it for your glory and you'll get glory out of it. Father, help us to be willing to follow thee. Help us not to use excuses, Lord, Father, to say in our hearts that we're willing, God, when we know that we're not willing to do those things. Help us not to blind ourselves, God, but Lord, let us prove that we're in the faith. Let us examine ourselves and prove ourselves to Thee, and prove that we're in the faith, Lord, lest we be reprobates. I ask you to bless these people tonight. Help them to take hold of these things that I've said, Lord, and realize that they're of God, and that they're needful in their life, and that it's the same thing that the apostles preached in their day. Help us to do that, God, to take our cross and follow Thee, and deny ourselves. Help us in Jesus name we pray.

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

Founder and first President of Jesus Christ’s Eternal Kingdom of Abundant Life, Inc.

Holiness Unto The Lord