Stephen was a remarkable person who became like a fallen star. He brightly burned for God for a short period of time. His death was a disaster to the Church. Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit and had an outstanding ability to handle the Old Testament. Yet, on the outside, it seemed that his speech rendered only negative results. It was the trigger that set off the persecution of all Christians. His public testimony unleashed the anger of a Jew named Saul. Saul tried to extinguish Christianity as quickly as possible. Why was it necessary for Stephen to have such a brief ministry? Why did he have to get…

Dr. Elmer Towns The Global Church Network was the first to announce plans for the 2,000th birthday of the Church. On November 1, 2017, at the graveside of Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, in Castle Church, Wittenberg, Germany, we committed to do our best to complete the Great Commission by 2030. Much evidence points to Pentecost, 30 A.D., as the starting date for the Church. Some, however, will celebrate the Church’s birthday three years later, in 2033, because they believe Jesus died in 33 A.D. As a network, we are focusing on the 2000th birthday of the Church. Why are we looking to 2030, rather than 2033? “Jesus is the…

I thank the Lord for the power that we have when we stand together. One will chase a thousand; ten will chase ten thousand. We thank God for the power that we have to stand together. However, wait a moment, there are times when you may have to stand by yourself – when you don’t have your brothers and sisters in Christ ’round about you. We are going to have to also learn to stand alone. The title of this chapter is “Standing Alone.” I mean, there’s coming a time, when you are going to have to be one against the crowd, and you’re going to be all by yourself…

Do you find it difficult sometimes to conceive of God as being “with you?” Do you think of God, maybe, as in heaven; maybe peering through the clouds, moving things around on earth, like a man moves checkers when he plays checkers? So many people conceive of God that way, and you can tell it. For example, they say, “When I prayed, my prayer didn’t get above the light bulbs.” Well, maybe they have failed to understand that God also lives beneath the light bulbs. This chapter is about The Four Houses Of God. We need to learn how to practice the presence of God. Where does God live? I…

  There are always pessimists, who see a difficulty in every opportunity. Yet, a Bible Christian sees an opportunity in every difficulty. Every difficulty that came to the early Church was used of God as a springboard, just to cause them to grow all the more for the Lord Jesus Christ. In Acts 6:1-7, we read, “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word…

The road of the Christian life is filled with crossroads, where we have to make personal and at times profounds that will impact our life and the lives of others for years to come. At some point, all of us will come to the corner of temptation and desire. If we make the wrong turn, we will spend wasted time on wrong roads, taking us to places where we should never go. There is a path that looks right to a person, but the end is death. How many happy and victorious Christians do you know? When you think of your friends, how many true, happy and victorious Christians do…

On the Day of Pentecost, three major things happened. First, there was the sending of the Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord came into the house of the meeting and into the hearts of members. The promised had been possessed! Second, there was the sermonizing of the saint. Peter was changed. At one time, Peter denied Christ; but now he defended Christ. His sermon preached Jesus to the Jews and propagated the Gospel to the Gentiles. The preacher was powerful! Third, there was the saving of the sinners. The Church became a crusade. It evangelized sinners and edified the saints. Three thousand people were saved on the Day of Pentecost….

The early New Testament Church was in the blaze of glow of revival. The Church was experiencing an earth-shaking, mountain-moving, devil-drying, soul-saving, holy-healing, and rater-rattling revival. The revival tides were running high, the apostles were preaching with great boldness, and thousands were turning to Christ. Can you imagine the stir all of this caused in Jerusalem? If newspapers had been published in those days, the headlines would have talked about the strange things that were happening. The radio commentators would have blared forth their news about these matters. Television talk shows would be interviewing people who had been healed, saved, and delivered by the power of God. The Internet blogs…

In the first three chapters of Acts, God has been marvelously blessing the early Church. They have seen the Savior go up. The Spirit come down. The saints go out. And, the sinners come in. In chapter one, the disciples listened to the Lord. In chapter two, they liberated the lost. In chapter three, they lifted the lame. At the beginning of chapter four, they lived under the load of persecution. The Sanhedrin had threatened Peter and John not to preach and teach in the name of Jesus anymore. They were guilty of healing a lame man and heralding the name of Jesus to lost people. Some of the most…

We need an epidemic of Pentecostal boldness. We read in Acts 4, verse 13: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). If you’re one of those who wish that you had more courage to testify and witness for Jesus, then my prayer is that you will learn the lessons necessary and begin to live by them. I am convinced that millions of Christians want to share their faith, and want to tell others about our Savior, but have been intimidated, and have…