Good morning. They heard them all speaking with tongues; so
Peter said, surely no one can refuse the water for those to be baptized who
have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he? As we will see in a
minute, this was a very big deal for the Jews. He ordered them to be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ. Hopefully you have been shielded from this; but
there is a big controversy among some people about the formula for baptizing
someone as far as into what name you baptize them. One would think that
everyone would be excited about this happening when the apostles and the
brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received
the word of God. When Peter came to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took
issue with him, saying, you went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.
Seriously? The Gentiles had just received salvation, and all they can think
about is Peter eating with uncircumcised men? So Peter told them all that had
happened with Cornelius. And as I begin to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon
them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the
Lord, how He used to say, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit. Therefore if God gave them the same gift as He gave to us
also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in
God’s way? Sadly even today some people believe that certain people cannot
receive salvation. They quieted down and glorified God, saying, well then, God
has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life. Even though
they had this dramatic account of the Gentiles receiving salvation, still most
of them did not witness to the Gentiles, but only to the Jews. Father thank You
that You chose for the Gentiles to receive salvation. Help us to bring
salvation to those around us, regardless of who they are or what group they
belong to.
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
Good morning. While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. It doesn’t say, but I assume it is still during this time of the Passover. This man came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him. It just said that the people believed in His name because of the signs He was doing; yet it does not say what those signs were. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is why unbelievers cannot tell what is of the kingdom of God and what is not – they’re not born again. Nicodemus doesn’t have a clue. How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? Unless one is born of water and the Spirit ...
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