All right, 20. Now, this is a great chapter here. We’ll go through this chapter a lot slower than we’ve been going now for awhile. There’s a lot of material in it.

From verse 17 to verse 36 is a tremendous discourse on ministry. And it’s a great place to give you light about the hyperdispensational movement, because it shows you that, even up to Acts 20, Paul has been preaching the gospel of the grace of God. Verse 24. He’s not been preaching the Kingdom. Stam and that bunch that claim the Book of Acts is all the “Kingdom” period don’t know what they’re talking about. Paul has been preaching the gospel of the grace of God the whole time, verse 24.

And there’s something else very peculiar you may not have noticed. And that is the last paragraph in your Bible is in 20:36. That’s the last paragraph mark in a King James Bible. Chapter 20, verse 36. How many of you have it in your Bible? You got it marked there? Some Bibles don’t have it, and Scofield may break it up so you can’t find it. But put a dot there by verse 36. That’s the last paragraph mark in a King James Bible.

You know what that shows you? That shows you the content of the preaching for this age is fixed. And the content of the preaching for this age is verse 17 to verse 35. That’s what to be preached. And that’s Paul, who wrote the Pauline epistles, telling you what to preach.

Now, what you are to preach is in 21, is repentance. And, verse 21, faith. And verse 24, the gospel of the grace of God. And verse 25, the kingdom of God. And verse 27, all the counsel of God. That’s what a man is to preach.

He’s not to preach just the body mystery, and, you know, election. He’s supposed to preach the whole thing.

20:1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.

2 And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece,

3 And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.

4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

5 These going before tarried for us at Troas.

6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.

All right, back to Acts chapter 20 verse 1: “And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.” All right, he’s going east to west again, crossing from Ephesus to Greece, where he first went before.

“And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece.” Coming down south again.

“And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria,...” that’s to go back across the Dardanelles into Asia “...he purposed to return through Macedonia.” So he goes across to Troas, comes down from Macedonia, and comes down into Greece and down to Athens and Corinth, and then goes back up by the land route and goes across again.

“And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. These going before tarried for us at Troas. And we sailed away from Philippi —” See, he’s retracing the steps he took in Acts 16. A man of Troas told him to come over and help them in Macedonia — Philippi.

And he came “...to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.”

20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.

9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.

10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.

11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.

12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

“And upon the first day of the week.” Mark that verse; you’ll need that one.

The first day of the week, the disciples came together. That’s Sunday. “To break bread.” They met on the first day of the week, broke bread on the first day of the week, and, “Paul preached unto them.” They preached on the first day of the week.

“Ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” Now, I don’t know when that meeting started, but it went till 12 o’clock at night. If they had an evening service, you know, at 7 o’clock, the old boy preached five hours. That’s a long-winded message.

QUESTION: That “breaking of bread” — is that the Lord’s supper?

The Catholics and Campbellites insist that it is. And, of course, it won’t work, because the term can mean either that or communion. For example, go back to chapter 2, verse 46. And in 2, verse 46, it’s daily. And no Catholic or Campbellite would dare take Acts 2:46 for the Mass or for the Lord’s Supper. That’s daily. So “breaking bread” can be either one. Probably, in here, eating together.

J.B. Williams, a missionary in Africa, said he preached out there in Africa one night from 9 o’clock to 2 in the morning, and went back to bed. And at 2 o’clock in the morning he went back to bed, and at 3 o’clock the natives came to his hut and woke him up and said, “Tell us more. Tell us more. Tell us more!”

And he came out and preached until 6 o’clock.

Now, some of you guys who want to preach, there’s a chance to preach! And these Americans, man, they can’t take more than 20 minutes of it, or, you know, 30 minutes of it at the most, you know, or 35 minutes.

But you get in some place like that, some of those missionaries tell me they’ll come around and just hang around there and say, “Talk about it. Talk about it. Tell me about it. Tell me about it. Tell me about it.”

You don’t find that in America.

COMMENT: As a testimony, that young boy, I led him to the Lord. I was talking to him till 11 o’clock. He had already had meetings since about 6 or 7. And then everybody left at 11. When I went there, I talked to him. I witnessed to him at 11. And I came back, “Any questions?” All the way to 2:30. And that’s when he got saved. Early Saturday morning — that young boy.

Three-and-a-half hours?

Now, there’s something, “Now I lay me down to sleep,” there’s something along, “He’ll send me to the deep; If he should quit before I awake,” something, some doggerel they got on that thing.

But you know something? Some preachers, when they preach 45 minutes, you could swear you’ve only been sitting there ten minutes. Other preachers, by the time you sat there for 10 minutes, you think you’ve been there for an hour-and-a-half! And I don’t know what it is. Of course, it’s the anointing of the Holy Spirit in the message, too. It’s that, naturally. I think preparation has a lot to do with it, too. I think if a guy just gets up there and wanders, you kind of sense he’s wandering when he gets up, and it seems twice as long. If he starts out headin’ for someplace, you know where he’s going, and you begin to ride with him on the way.

But you fellows who get out in the work, don’t ever get in the pulpit and preach without praying before you go in. Don’t ever do it. Don’t ever do it. I don’t care if you’ve got two minutes, and they’re singing the last choir number, run back in the baptistry, run back in the Sunday school room or something, and get down on your face and get loaded, get prayed up.

I can hear Bob Gray. Bob Gray is notoriously long-winded. And there are pastors up north who won’t have Bob Gray in for a meeting ‘cause he’s so long-winded. But I can hear Bob Gray for two hours, and it don’t bother me a bit. I’ve heard him an hour and 45 minutes, and just as — I mean, if he had gone on, it wouldn’t bother me at all.

But you take some guy like Reverend Goodspeak — Lord, deliver us, man! Or this “Plice” down at the First Baptist Church. I, honest to goodness, I don’t believe I could sit and hear that guy for ten minutes. That guy comes on with the “Nugget for the Day,” or something once in a while. And he doesn’t talk more than fifteen seconds, and it sounds almost like an hour — for fifteen seconds, you know.

And you take this pastor down here at Brent. He’s, you know, like I believe Rawlings would say he had lace on his britches. That’s John Rawlings’ way of putting it. And you take that fellow right down there, I couldn’t hear that guy for fifteen minutes. Man, and Billy Graham gets tiresome to me. I used to like to listen to Billy Graham. But I tried real hard to listen to him recently, and after ten minutes, it’s just — I don’t know what it is, it just kind of drags out, and it just kind of, just goes over the same stuff, and just milk, milk, milk.

If you’ve heard Bob Harrington four times, you’ve heard everything he knows — everything. Now, four times is real good. He crams a lot of material into four messages.

But you guys, when you get out, for goodness’ sake, have more than four messages! And by the time the congregation has heard you for a year, don’t let them have heard everything you know in a year! Stay fresh! Stay fresh.

I was up eating Chinese food with Brother Rawlings a couple days back, and we were talking about it. And he said, “Well, the trouble with these fellows,” he said, he said, “they don’t stay up with things.” And, of course, he’s 63. And he said, “They don’t stay up with things.” He was talking about Brother Lakin. He said, “Now, Brother Lakin’s a good preacher, and he does a good job. When he starts talking about this ‘waggin’ tongue,’ you know, and the ‘traces,’ you know, and the ‘buckboard,’ and this, and the ‘milk flabber,’ and all that stuff, nobody knows what he’s talking about any more.”

I guess some farm folks way out in the back end of nowhere, they’re raised out in the farm and the country, they do. But a downtown congregation in Cincinnati and Cleveland and Detroit, they don’t know what in the world he’s talking about. Some of those folks in Kentucky do, you know. They remember their grandmother talking about it. But you got to keep up with the thing.

And Rawlings said, “These guys don’t stay fresh.” He said, “I quit having Bob Harrington in.” He had him in, I think, about three times. You know, ten, twelve thousand people there. He said, “I quit having him in.” He said, “All he’s doing is coming back and giving us just what he gave us before.” About four messages. That’s bad. That’s bad. Stay fresh. Stay fresh.

How do you stay fresh? Well, do a lot of reading. Do a lot of reading. Keep getting material all the time. Another way is, do a lot of dealing with rough characters. Spend a lot of time dealing with guys in the Army and the Navy and in jail and the hospital. There. You’ll stay fresh.

And I wouldn’t advise you to do everything I do along these lines, but I pretty well, I had to spend most of my time hanging out with young people. And I find hanging with young people helps keep you young.

I can’t imagine more ghastly torment than to be locked up in a school or some place with twenty Ph.D.s my age. I can’t imagine anything worse! I mean, I’d just as soon almost go through torture as go through that. You never seen me with my crowd! See, you’ve only seen me with these guys, twenty and twenty-five, and fifteen and seventeen — that’s my crowd.

But, you take this crowd my age — did you ever see a bunch of them get together? I mean, I’ll bet you some of you never have. You ought to see them when they get together. You ought to see a room full of Ph.D.s. “Well, now, Dr. Ruckman, I believe that there’s a possibility on this particular form of speech, the Lord —”

My stars, man!

I just as soon clean out a grease trap, man!

And hanging around young people will help you young. And kids will keep you young. Now, you take children two, three, and four years old. They always got something new going. They’ll keep you fresh every generation. And, what I do — I wouldn’t advise this unless the Lord leads you — what I do is occasionally I’ll by a record by Dave Gardner. Or Jonathan Winters. Or Bob Newhart. Or Jose Jimenez. And I’ll take those guys, and I’ll take those guys and play those guys and I’ll study those guys to see what the contemporary vocabulary is. To see how people are talking.

Now, you can’t get how people are talking by reading the magazine and the newspapers and books by intelligent people, because they have a different vocabulary. Their vocabulary is, “The relative ethnic value of the total communication with the thrust of the dynamic holds our commitment to the reality” — see — which is just a bunch of gook!

Now, you get out there, and you listen to folks out there in the world talk, and they talk about “balloon notes,” you know, and “flamadiddles” and “paradiddles” and talk about “pork rinds,” and talk about “baby daltons” and “open-face reels” and “spinners” and “nine-point buck” and “six-point shot.” Now, see, that’s the civilization you live in has its own language. It’s the interstate: “Would you please move that up the incline, lady?” See, “Move that machine up on the incline.” Now, that’s how mechanics talk. “Move that machine up on the incline.” Now, you take that thing and give that to somebody in this country forty years ago — “on the incline” — what’s “the incline”? You know what “the incline” is.

And, you know, talking about the, you know, “the interstate.” “The interstate.” “He’s out in the interstate.”

Did you ever stop to think about how isolated that thing is? “The interstate”? What is “the interstate”? It was a “turnpike” in this country fifty years ago. It was a turnpike. Or it was called a “pike.” Now it’s called “the interstate.” “Down on the interstate.”

COMMENT: It’s called “super slab” now!

OK, I’ll remember that. I’ll write that down. I’ll write it down. And I’ll get these CBs, you know. I get this guy saying, “Give me a Smokey report.” And this guy, this guy says, “Smokey nine-ten” — what’d he say? — “city-kitty flip-flop!” Or, “City-kitty taking pictures, flip-flop,” this guy said.

And I said, “What is this, ‘City-kitty taking pictures, flip-flop’?”

And he said, “That’s a female policeman photographing up the highway and down the highway with radar.”

That’s a city-kitty taking pictures flip-flop, you know.

And I listen to those guys, you know. Now, the generation you live in, they’ve got their own vocabulary, see — and the one before had theirs, and the one before had theirs. And, I’m not telling you guys now to use slang purposely, see, just for the purpose of shop, see — but you should know it. You should know it. And you should be able to use it where it fits the situation, see. Stay abreast. Don’t die back there in 1930 or 1920 someplace.

COMMENT: Black students come up with something, and a year later the white students will follow.

Actually, I confess, I buy Mad Magazine every month when I can get it. It’s far from Christian. And it has some pretty rough stuff in it. I mean, there’s pretty rough stuff in it. The thing I appreciate about Mad Magazine is, Mad Magazine is the antidote for commercial advertising in the government. And Mad Magazine will expose the fallacy and the hypocrisy in anything it attacks. Anything it attacks. A lot of truth in it.

All right, I take Mad Magazine and the American Rifleman.

Now, Acts chapter 20 is one of the great chapters in the Bible. And this chapter will lay alongside such places as John 3 and Romans 10, Acts 15, Genesis 3, Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Revelation 11 — places like that. And this thing has all kinds of material in it. And this is Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesian elders.

And, as I said before, the last paragraph mark in your Bible occurs in verse 36. And that shows that the Pauline ministry in this age is defined and ended. The Pauline ministry is verse 17 to verse 36 — that’s what it is.

Now, where the Berean people and the Calvinists have made an error is, these people suppose that two things God showed Paul were the content of his preaching. These people have got this funny idea, because the body mystery was revealed to Paul and the mystery of being one body in Christ, they got some funny idea that, because that thing was revealed to Paul that’s what he preached. Now, if you want to know what Paul preached, what he preaches is in Acts chapter 20. That’s what he preached. And so the Dry Cleaners, they’re all screwed up. And they’re running around there spending all their time trying to preach that water baptism is not for this dispensation, because this dispensation began with Paul, the gospel of the grace of God revealed to Paul.

Now, that’s a perversion that comes from backsliding, and it comes from, number one, being too big a coward to preach against sin. That’s one of the main causes in that thing. And, number two, it comes from no faith in trusting God to supply your need, and especially in regard to the ministry. Most of your Dry Cleaning fellows are fellows who were called to preach, and they backed out for various reasons, and they’ve limited their ministry to the Body Mystery to get rid of water baptism, and they’re trying to kid themselves into thinking they’re Pauline.

That isn’t Paul. That isn’t Paul.

Now, God showed Paul two things — the ministry of reconciliation and the mystery of the one body — those two things. You think that’s all he preached? You shouldn’t even be studying the Bible. Just because He showed him those two things, that doesn’t mean that’s what Paul preached. He just let you know two things God showed him.

Now, if you want to know what he preached, here it comes — 20:17: “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.” Notice the elders of the church at Ephesus. There’s more than one elder in the church.

COMMENT: Dr. Ruckman, we left off in verse 7.

Did we really? We did? How’d I get down here? Ahh, OK. Back to verse 8. Back to verse 8.

“And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.” Here it is: “Now I lay me down to sleep, the sermon’s long, the subject’s deep. If he should quit before I awake, you can get me up with a gentle shake. If your preaching isn’t too long, your religion’s too short.” That’s a thing about long-winded preachers. He had been drilling for an hour, and hadn’t struck oil yet. I wish he’d quit!

Martin Luther said, “Stand up, speak out, and stop short.”

Over there in one of the tribes over in Africa, they have a saying at a trial or a debate or an argument, “A man can talk as long as he can stand on one foot. And when he can no longer stand on one foot, his speech is over.”

Well, Paul, has been talking all night.

Nine: “And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep.” See, Paul preached till midnight, the guy was tired and going to sleep on him.

Back in the old days, they used to have a big long rod about ten feet long with a feather at the end of it. And the ushers would walk up and down the aisle and reach over there and tickle the guy’s nose, you know. They did that in the Puritan church if you went to sleep.

But falling asleep is usually the fault of the preacher, not the congregation.

“And as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.” That’d be a good sermon on — what? — “Be Sober, Be Vigilant,” or, “Let Us Not Sleep.”

“And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.” So he resurrects that fellow.

Now, the way this thing works is, the Apostle Paul, he always performs one miracle to match anything that Simon Peter does. And when Simon Peter does something, then you find in the Book of Acts where Paul does it. And this miracle here matches Simon Peter’s raising of Dorcas from the dead back in Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10. And Simon Peter and Paul had miracles to match each other, and the Lord’s doing that to show you that Paul’s ministry replaces Peter’s ministry.

And 11: “When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.” Talked a long while, even till the break of day? The guy began before midnight! He began in evening service, 8 or 9 o’clock. And he preached 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 in the morning — till break of day.

I forget what the world’s record is for preaching in the Guiness Book of Records; I’ll have to look it up. Anybody know what that figure is?

ANSWER FROM THE CLASS: Three days.

Something like three days. I thought it was something like seventy-five hours, just offhand. Some guy preached for seventy-five hours, began in the Book of Genesis. I think when he finished there were three people sitting left listening to him that started with him. About 60 of them started. Probably a Hardshell Baptist preacher.

And the longest I ever gone to, he had an all-night preaching service in Birmingham, Alabama, about 1971. And that thing began at 7 o’clock at night and went to 6 o’clock in the morning. All night long.

And I hope I never get in one of those again, man. That’s just too much preaching. Just too much.

They put me on at 10:30. They began at 7 and put me on at 10:30. And I got through that chalk talk at 11:30. Half the congregation got up and disappeared. Must have been about 300 people left out of about 600. And at 1 o’clock in the morning half of them disappeared. They had 150 at 1 o’clock in the morning. At 3 o’clock in the morning a hundred of them disappeared. And at 2, 3, 4, there was forty, thirty, twenty... And, boy, at 5 o’clock in the morning, all the preachers had gone back to bed, you know. And they put me on again at 5:30 in the morning. 5:30 in the morning.

And I got up there. I think there were seventeen people sitting, and there were two preachers left in that crowd. Too much.

All right, verse 11: “When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread.” Notice the “broken bread” back with verse 7 had nothing to do with communion. Had to do with eating a meal.

“And eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.”

20:13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.

14 And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.

15 And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.

16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

“And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos.” Down the west coast of Asia Minor.

“Intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed,...” mindful to go afoot.

“When he met with us at Assos.” This is Luke writing. “When he met with us —” Luke writing “— we took him in, and came to Mitylene. And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus. For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.”

20:17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,

19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:

20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,

21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:

23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.

24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.

26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.

27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.

34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

“And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.” So he’s going to sail by Ephesus in the sense that he’s not going to inland and visit them. He goes right out on the coast and has the elders come from Ephesus over to Miletum and meet with him.

The elders of Ephesus — they’re all in one church, so there’s more than ordained elder in the church. Now, that’s the way it should be. And the modern churches, Baptist churches, are just beginning now to get scriptural. Now they’ll begin to have a minister of education, a minister of music and a minister of song and a bus minister. They’re having more than one ordained elder. But for years the Baptists wouldn’t do that.

And the Campbellites gave them a fit. The Campbellites always called themselves “elders.”

Next thing about it is, back in these days all the Christians in one place met in one place. And that explains why some folks have such a terrible problem in trying to figure out what the local church is and the Body of Christ is.

A letter comes to this town and says, “To the Church at Pensacola, Greetings. I want the elders of the Church at Pensacola to meet with me in Foley, Alabama.” Who’ll go?

See, back in those days, if the guy would say, “The church at Ephesus,” every saved person in Ephesus met in the same roof. So when you wrote to the local church at Ephesus, you wrote to the Body of Christ in Ephesus, see?

That’s where these Baptist Briders get this idea about the Body of Christ being the local church. When you say, “The church at Corinth, the church at Ephesus, the church at Philippi,” you’re writing to all the saved people there. But all the saved people there attended one local group.

Now, if you wrote to Pensacola, wouldn’t you get yourself in a mess? “To the church at Pensacola, Greetings.” Well, who’d answer the letter. I mean, The Church of Christ would say, “It’s us,” and they’d answer. And the Catholic Church — “upon this rock I’ll build my church” — and they’d answer. The independent Baptists say, “You’re not true in doctrine and practice. It’s us!” The Southern Baptists would say, “Man, we were around here before Frank Norris was born. It’s us!” And the Hardshells say, “Yeah, but you departed from the faith. It’s us!”

It’d be a mess, see? Back in those days, it was all one group.

“And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons.” Now here it comes.

Number one — “Serving the Lord.” That’s his ministry. Serving the Lord.” The Christian’s a servant. When Paul writes, he says, “A servant.” “A servant.” “A servant. “A servant.”

“Serving the Lord with all humility of mind.” It’s an inner thing. Humility is an inner thing; it’s not an outward thing. A man can strut and be proud and arrogant, but inside he’s busted all to pieces. And a man can walk with a humpback and a stooped shoulder and be just as proud as the devil.

I like what ol’ Lee Wright said. He said a fellow walked up in the pulpit with his Bible like this, and folks said, “Oh, he’s so humble.” He said, “He ain’t humble; he’s just hunchback!”

And the Bible said they’re going to come to you like wolves in sheep’s clothing. And so it’s humility of mind, see? Paul says, “Condescend to men of low estate. Be not high-minded. Be not wise in your own conceits.” Humility of mind.

Now, you know what’s wrong with 100 percent of the scholars in America today? That’s the trouble. That’s the trouble. They’re not humble in their mind. A man who thinks he’s smart enough to correct the word of God is not a humble man. A man who thinks he’s smart enough to correct the word of God is not a humble man.

I don’t care if he comes mincing and whimpering and simping up the pulpit and, “Oh, blessed, dearly beloved God, Oh dear Lord Jesus Christ, we’re so unworthy to come before thee, and, O Lord, we thank you so much for your many blessings —” he’s a crook! He’s a crook.

The outward appearance can talk maybe humble, but the mind’s the slabbering jaws of a rabid hyena.

“With all humility of mind, and with many tears.” They that go forth with tears shall come rejoicing.

“With ... tears.” Crying about his lack of results. Crying about his temptations. Crying about his converts. “Many tears.” The ministry’s that. A man spends his time going around talking about the “one body” ministry and “bup-tism is not of this age,” not to shed tears over unsaved people is a hypocrite! He’s not Pauline. I don’t care if he does use the Pauline epistles. He’s not Pauline.

“With many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews.” And Jews are lying in wait for him all the time, according to his testimony in Corinthians: whipped five times, beaten with rods three times, jailed I don’t know how many times. He did some crying. He did some crying.

“And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you.” He didn’t limit his testimony to the body mystery of the one body. He kept back nothing that was profitable unto them. Anything that was profitable, he told them.

“But have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, —” there’s street preaching “— and from house to house.” There’s house-to-house visitation. They’re both there. That’s Acts 20, verse 20. So the church that has “20-20” vision preaches the word of God publicly and “house-to-house.” And that thing has never been improved upon, never will be improved upon. And, if you want to win souls, then it’s out on the street, and it’s house-to-house. There’s no other way to do it.

“Have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, ...” two things. Number one, “...repentance toward God.” Get right. Quit your living like the devil. Straighten up. Cease to do evil. Learn to do well. Repent. Paul preached repentance. You never heard a Dry Cleaning preacher preach repentance a day in your life.

You say, “Well, Paul’s ministry was the ministry of reconciliation.” No, it wasn’t. Paul just had a revelation on his ministry and wrote it down in 2 Corinthians. When Paul preached, he preached repentance.

You know who Paul preached like? I hate to say this, but Paul preached like John the Baptist. Turn to Acts chapter 26, verse 20. Paul preached like John the Baptist. Talk about a dispensational twist! Acts 26:20. Acts 26:20. And, let me tell you, this is at the end of the Book of Acts, where he has all the revelation and has written all this stuff in Romans, Corinthians, every place else. Acts 26:20: “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works —” there’s the gospel of grace! “Do works meet for repentance.”

You know why these old sissy preachers, hyper-dispensationalists, are always talking about Dry Cleaning, no baptism for this age, and all this and that? Because they think that repentance is not for this dispensation. And Paul got up and yelled to those fellows, “You repent. And you clean up. And you quit your devilment. And you pay back the money that you ... thing. And try to get your family right. And go back to apologize to folks. And clean up your life and get things right.” He says, “You want to repent? I want to see it.” “Do works meet for repentance.”

Now, how’s that for a dispensational shot, brother? And look at that verse carefully. Didn’t he say, “Gentiles”? I think he said, “Gentiles.” That’s no ministry of John the Baptist in Matthew 3. That’s a Pauline ministry in Acts 27!

All right, Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20, verse 21. These fellows are prayed to preach.

COMMENT: So if a Pentecostal really read his Bible, he would pick that up. Shows him there, that you ought to repent.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Campbellite, yeah. Yeah, he could. Ahh, you might get or two Campbellites who knew who that was.

All right, verse 21: “Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s it.

“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit.” Not the Holy Spirit; his own spirit; he’s under pressure.

“Unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost —” there’s the Holy Spirit “— witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.” Old English for “wait.” “They’re waiting for me.” They say, “abide me,” because they’re abiding, they’re staying right there till he gets there, see? So he said, “Afflictions abide me.”

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.” That’s one of the greatest advantages of staying single. If you’re single, why, after all, it’s only your life anyway, and what does that amount to? Not too much. A married man can always be put on more pressure by the devil than a single man can, along those lines. Of course, a single man has other pressures. But as far as the life goes, a single man — I mean, if they torture you, why, after all, if you’ve got enough grace to bear it, it’s just you. And that’s an entirely different thing than hearing your wife and your children scream in the next room — you know, and saying, “Oh, Daddy, make them stop!” And, “Dad, don’t let them do it!” And, “Oh, God!” and “Oh, help!” And, “Oh, Jesus Christ!” It would be that hard on you, man.

But if you take a man who’s single, he’s got advantage. You talk about missionary work. Any one of you guys could be a martyr for Jesus Christ if you really wanted to be. If you really wanted to be! If you really had aspirations and said to yourself, if you said to yourself, “What I want is to get the martyr’s crown of life,” you can get it. You can get it. In this age, brother, you can get it. You just go into Russia or China or someplace and start getting out in the street corner and letting them have it and, boy, you’ll get it. You’ll get it.

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself.” I always appreciate a buddy of mine named Jack Manley. And I haven’t seen him now for twenty years. And I heard about him the other day. One of my own Bob Jones buddies down in Tampa named Jack Turney — and Jack Turney has been making our reproduction tapes for us here in the cassettes — and Jack Turney is one of them who’s survived and got through it and kept his faith. And Jack Turney was telling me about meeting Jack Manley the other day. And Jack Manley was an old boy; when he got to be twenty years old, he graduated from Bob Jones University at 21. Just between them, got there early and got out early. He went to Frisco and got him a job on a banana boat and went to New Guinea. And he got off the gang plank at New Guinea and started in with the jungle. That was his mission board! And I mean, nobody helping him out but his folks by mail to an outpost in New Guinea. And went into the jungle and was back in the jungle and was back there for seventeen years, man. And that bird set up a mission station, and then two boards picked him up to support him, and then he put missionaries all over that thing, and came back to the States. And he’s back in the States now on furlough. Messed around and put out missions all through that thing. That guy just got on a banana boat and went, boy! Got the job done!

Acts 20:24: “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.” He does. He says, “I finished my course” in 2 Timothy.

“That I might finish my course with joy.” Not with sorrow. Make sure when you get to the end of it, there’s no regrets. I heard Bob Jones Sr. say many times, “I’m a human being. I’ve had my failures and my shortcomings, and I’ve failed the Lord many times.” And he said, “I’ve sinned like anybody else has.” But he said, “As God is my witness, if I lay down in my coffin tonight and fold up my hands across my bosom, I can stare, my sightless sockets can stare in the eyes of God Almighty and say, ‘Lord, not once have I ever sold you out or sold your Book out.’” And he told the truth.

Over there in Andalusia, Alabama I had an experience one time I never will forget. There was an associational missionary over there. He was a “Baptist Cardinal.” And that associational missionary, when he got old, he retired, and they built him a beautiful home in Andalusia. A lady, Mrs. Henderson, a millionaire, built him a home right across from her house, an $85,000 home. He retired there. That was for the work he’d done for the convention, to the independent churches out of the county, you know. And big independent churches going to the convention that got in.

And so he retired, and he’d been there about ten years retired, and up near 80 someplace.

And I had a meeting over in a place called Beta, Alabama, near Wing, Farrouq, near Falco, back in the back end of nowhere. More rattlesnakes per square foot there than any place I’d been in my life. I had a meeting back there, and an old woman got saved; her name was Bogen. Mrs. Bogen. She’d be old now. I guess then, she was about, oh, about 55. And she said, “Praise the Lord, Brother Ruckman!” She said, “I’m saved now and I know it.”

I said, “Good.”

And she went into town, and without me knowing about it, not her husband knowing about it, not the preacher knowing about it, and she went down to that associational missionary’s house, and she went and knocked on the door. {Knock! Knock! Knock!}

And that guy had her come in. And she came in there and she said, “I’m Mrs. Bogen.” Said, “You don’t remember me, but I live out in the country, out near Falco, Alabama.” And she said, “I went to the Beta Baptist Church when I was a little girl, and you were our pastor.” And she said, “I sat under your ministry for 15 years.” And she said, “I just want to have you know something.” She said, “I just got saved, and I know about the blood of Jesus Christ now. And all the 15 years I sat in your ministry, you never told me about the blood of Jesus Christ.” And walked out the door.

Now, when I heard about that, I said, “When I retire, I ain’t going to retire with that on my mind!” There may be something else, but not that! Not that!

All right, 24: “So that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of —” what?

CLASS ANSWERS: “The grace of God.”

What?

CLASS ANSWERS: “The grace of God.”

You sure you’re readin’ it right? In Acts 20 you’re readin’ it right? It didn’t begin till Acts 28, did it?

He’s been preaching all through the Book of Acts. Acts chapter 10 to Acts chapter 20 he’s been preaching the gospel of the grace of God. The gospel of the grace of God is no revelation given to him after Acts 28. He’s been preaching it all the way through.

All right, 24: “So that I might finish my course ... and the ministry.” All right, now there’s warnings about this. Come to Colossians. In Colossians chapter 4 look at this little warning to one fellow, some student here — I don’t know who he was — but in 4:17, Colossians 4:17, when Paul writes, he says to some fellow, he says this: 4:17: “And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.” The Lord gave Archippus something to do. He says, “Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received, and take heed that you fulfill it.”

All right, now, compare this with Timothy. First Timothy 4, 1 Timothy 4, verse 15. And this again is written to a young ministry. First Timothy 4:15: “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” Now, that thing there is telling that young fellow to meditate in those things and “give thyself wholly to them,” and he said in another place, “until I come,” he said — look at verse 13 — “Till I come, give attendance to —” what? “Reading.” Are you fellows reading? And, “— to exhortation, —” that’s stirring people up, trying to get them to do something; and “— doctrine.” See, those three things. That’s what a young minister is to give attendance to when he’s preparing himself. “Reading.” “Exhortation.” “Doctrine.”

Folks say, “Well, there’s too much doctrine out at the institute. Just doctrine, doctrine —” That’s what you’re supposed to get is doctrine. That’s the idea.

All right, Acts chapter 20, verse 25. Acts 20:25. The primary purpose of the Scripture is for doctrine. Sound doctrine. Acts chapter 20, verse 25: “And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.” He may have seen them again. After he got out of jail, he took another trip.

“Wherefore I take you to record this day.” Put it down in the record, or to record, either way.

“That I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”

COMMENT: I have more than one, about two, three, or four people, convicted about going into missions, and they say, “If the Lord’s convicted you about going to missions, and you don’t go, when you stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and those people didn’t get saved, there’s going to be blood on your hands.”

Well, I don’t know how far — that’s real Arminian. And I don’t know how far you can go with that thing. I’ve got a little bit of Calvinist in me along those lines. I’d say this. What you’re going to find is, the one’s that were under conviction that God sent the missionary to, he may not reach them, but if they’re following their conscience like Cornelius, the Lord’s got a missionary to them. He’s just got another one. And you missed the blessing and you missed the rewards. And then again He may whip you for not going. I’ve seen that.

I know a dear saint in the Lord right now; as a matter of fact, I know two of them. Very close friends of mine. But they just suffer and suffer and suffer and suffer and suffer and suffer. And I just — I don’t understand it. I never said anything to either one about it, and I’m probably never going to, until they were dead and gone on. But it’s always looked like to me, from those fellows’ lives, that God had a certain thing there, a place for them, and they said, “No,” and the Lord turned them back off another way, and their whole life has been just one calamity after another.

And I don’t know that for sure, but, boy, it’s strong.

All right, now, look at 26: “I am pure from the blood of all men.” And that’s quite something for a guy to say. That guy saying, “You can’t hold me accountable for anybody going to hell.” And it wasn’t because he witnessed to the unsaved people, verse 27. It’s because he told the whole truth to the elders. See that thing? “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” See that business?

It isn’t just a matter of you witnessing to unsaved people. It’s a matter, if you’re entrusted with the ministry and putting out the word of God, that you declare all the counsel of God to the people that come under your ministry.

And that means, if you limit your ministry to Body Mystery Dry Cleaning, you’re a heretic.

You know, if a man is to minister, he’s to administer Genesis to Revelation as the opportunity occurs. He’s to administer Genesis to Revelation as the need is met by the Scripture. Don’t you ever confine yourself to preaching the Second Coming of Christ. Don’t you ever confine yourself just being a preacher of Bible prophecy. Don’t you ever confine yourself just to justifying the King James Bible. Don’t ever do that. You preach all the counsel.

“For I have not sunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Tell them about prayer. Tell them how to pray. Tell them how to get their prayers answered. Give them examples of answers to prayer. Tell them what it means to be separated. Talk about the problem of separation. Talk about winning unsaved people. Talk about not having fellowship with unsaved people. How much fellowship you can have. How much fellowship you can’t have. How close you can get to ‘em, and how close you can’t get to ‘em.

Give them the whole thing! You don’t just mess around there and say, you know, “The church of the one body, the body of the one church,” and that kind of baloney. Tell them what’s going on.

Verse 28: “Take heed.” “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock.” All right, take heed to yourself first, then the flock second. And taking heed to yourself doesn’t mean considering yourself more important than the flock. But it means, when it comes to being critical and being careful and watchful, be more watchful and careful and critical of your own life than anybody else’s.

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves.” Watch your own spiritual condition. Always keep a check on your own spiritual temperature.

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.” Now that’s the word for “bishop” in 1 Timothy. An “overseer.” Episcopas. That’s the word for a bishop. And the overseer, or the bishop, is like out in the job, a — what? Supervisor. Like a supervisor out in the job.

To what? “To feed the church of God.” Your job as an ordained elder is to feed the Lord’s people. Feed the flock. Feed the church. Simon Peter says, “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof” — “oversight, not by constraint, nor of filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, being an example to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” Jesus says, “Simon Peter, do you love me more than these?” He said, “I love you more than these.” He said, “Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep.”

“To feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his blood.” Now, verse 28 has been changed in all the new bibles. Anybody got an ASV on them tonight, or a New ASV or something? See what they do with it. The evangelistic ones just barely water it down by saying “Lord” instead of God, and some of them really mess it up by saying “the blood of his own.” What does that say?

COMMENT: The New ASV says “which he has purchased with his own blood.”

That’s a New ASV? That’s a remarkable improvement over the old one. Well, we’ll check that verse when we get in manuscript evidence. What you got there? A Living? That’s an ASV, all right. What does the old ASV say? “The Lord,” right? That’s toning it down just a little bit. I mean, you see, if you said, “Lord,” it could be the Lord Jesus, right? Which it is. But if you said, “God,” what did you say?

Now, look at that verse. “God, which he” — who’s the “He” a reference to? “Hath purchased with his” — who’s the “his” a reference to? God’s blood? See that thing there? Boy, you don’t find many Jehovah Witnesses who care for that.

COMMENT: They still translate it “Lord,” but the footnote says, “Some ancient authorities, including the two oldest manuscripts, say ‘Jah’.” Why didn’t they translate it that way?

Yeah. Good question.

All right, “He hath purchased with his own blood.” Now, according to this verse, God has blood. And that’s why the worst cuss word in the English language is “bloody” — for a Limey, for an Englishman. For an Englishman, when he says, “bloody,” you have no idea how that grates on a real Englishman’s ears. Now, of course, on TV all of them say it, you know. But that’s because they’re to an American audience. But, when you say “bloody” to an Englishman, you’re cursing by Christ’s blood, by God’s blood. And those old oaths used to be “Ods blut,” and “Ods bodgens.” You’re swearing by God’s blood and God’s body.

COMMENT: In Scofield that I’ve got, this is a Spanish one, they’ve got “Lord” on this one; but on the English, they’ve got “God.” So why did they do that?

Yeah, how about that? The Spanish text says “Senor?” What is “e deos”?

COMMENT: It don’t say it.

Is that that old Spanish version?

COMMENT: Yep. This is a 1569.

Ah, that would be Erasmus’ text, see. Yeah, well, if that’s the old one I’d use it. That’s the Receptus. Now, if I was going down to Spain and used that thing, I would not give them one of the new ones, I’d use that one right there. When I came across that passage right there and preached that thing, I would just — that’s what I’d do. That’s what I’d do! I’d sure do it.

When the Englishman is talking about Bloody Mary, they don’t mean she cut off heads. They just like, you know, “D-blank Yankee.” It’s the same expression. And you have no idea what it’s like for an Englishman, because the American ears are used to the word. But that’s where they get it from. They get it from Acts 20:28.

All right, 29: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.” Now, you guys who are studying for the ministry, and intend to start churches and pastor churches, you should spend a lot of time in here and in Ezra and Nehemiah, because it’ll be a common thing — you’ll get used to it after awhile — the church was once a sheepfold, now it’s a zoo!

“That after my departing, shall grievous wolves enter in ... not sparing the flock.” When a pastor leaves a church, that’s when the wolves come in. So, Miss Lazenby called me aside the other night and said, “Brother Ruckman, what are we going to do?” What’s-his-name, somebody came over, somebody over from Foley, coming over here — “What are we going to do?”

I sat back in the office the other night with them until 10:30 after class is all over, going through them after Brother Mott left over there, then Bill Sharpe came in with the Dry Cleaners, and got ol’ Andrew Monk with the hyper-Calvinists, and now they’re telling them there’s no such prayer altar; don’t use a prayer altar. Now, there’s no tithing. So cut up your contribution to the church. And wine-drinking is all right in moderation. You don’t have to attend church on Sunday. And pretty soon you’ll have a closed burial, is what you’ll have.

And that’s after he departs, grievous wolves enter in, and they don’t give a flip for the flock. And all they care about is themselves.

QUESTION: That thing that you just mentioned — is that part of the doctrine of the Dry Cleaners?

Hyper-Calvinism? No, but most of the Dry Cleaners wind up that way. Most hyper-dispensationalists wind up hyper-Calvinist. Because they spend all their time in Ephesians. And all that stuff’s in the first three chapters of Ephesians.

All right, verse 29: “Shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.” When a pastor leaves, you watch the thing go. You watch the thing go. When I left down there at Brent there years ago — it’s been a good many years now, about four years — they messed around there and messed around there, and didn’t have trouble from outsiders yet. The trouble they had was verse 30. If they don’t come from the outside, they come from the inside:

“Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” That’ll happen. Another pastor will come in there and they’ll keep him about six months, then fire him, and get another one and keep him about a year then fire him. And then get thrust among themselves.

QUESTION: If you go ahead and start a church, how can you prevent something like that if you wanted to stay?

No way in the world, brother. You just have to go forward on your knees. The real ministry, the real ministry, is just a ministry where you’re just flat on your face about half the time. You keep a prayer list. And, “Oh God, stop that deacon,” and “Oh God, get So-and-So,” “God, mess So-and-So up,” and “Oh, God, don’t let So-and-So do this,” and “Oh, God, stop this,” and “Oh God, give us this,” and “Oh God, take care of that.” It’s prayer, brother. It’s prayer. Human nature being what it is, you can’t stop it.

Now, you can set you up an ironclad situation. You can set up an ironclad situation where you’re the dictator, and you hire and you fire. That’s right. You hire and fire — and, of course, that’s how most of them do.

The big churches I go into are usually set up where the pastor is the absolute controller — the absolute controller. Which, I don’t know if that’s, probably just isn’t right. Except you’ve got to have some qualifications there.

For example, then, if the pastor doesn’t stay right, or keep right, then what have you get then?

Then, you’ve got a thing about this, about not lording over God’s heritage, not lording over the flock — you’ve got that.

Then you got this thing, where you get this thing set up perfect, and you get a mess like you have up in one city I have in mind, where a pastor’s son got in a terrible mess with some of the members. Some of them waylaid him and beat him up. Liked to killed him. Put him in the hospital. And the pastor took care of his boy, they lined up against him, and then when he told them they’re dismissing the church, they didn’t leave the church. Just hung around the church. When it was time to give the invitation, four or five people come down and get saved and join the church. They get them on the telephone and turn them against the preacher. You’re going to get into that.

I pastored a church. I had about twenty people join, and suddenly realized their names weren’t on the roll. Two years later, after we got a business meeting, the names were called. I found that these twenty new members that had joined, none of them were on the roll. Then I found out that my church secretary was in with the clique who wanted to keep control of the church, and they figured if we let in any new members, they’d take my side. So they didn’t put them on the roll, so they couldn’t vote. And that way, when the business meeting came up, only the old members could vote, and the new ones —

There are all kinds of beautiful things awaiting you out on the wonderful Christian ministry of these wonderful, sweet, godly, dedicated, soul-winning, fundamental, independent, missionary-minded, premillennial people!

And human nature being what it is, human nature being what it is, you’re going to have to go forward on your knees. Now, I’ll grant you some things will help. Tact will help. And diplomacy will help. Which some of you have some more of, and some less of. And a love for people will help. Which some of you have more of, and some have less of. That’s been one of my biggest failings. I love people as individuals. But in the aggregate, en masse, they’re just ciphers to me. Just like a, you know, like a target from a shooting gallery.

QUESTION: What about name-calling from the pulpit?

You may have in a business meeting. I wouldn’t do it Sunday morning or Sunday night. But in a business meeting, it’ll get hairy, boy. I’ll guarantee you. I’ll guarantee you.

QUESTION: What’s the difference between an elder and a pastor?

The pastor is the presiding elder. The elder is an ordained elder, but he makes up a board of elders. The pastor is called a bishop. And the bishop is the ordained elder who’s the presiding elder over the elders. That’s the business.

QUESTION: When you’re dealing with elders and things like this, once I was preaching, and a guy got ahold of me and talked to me, and we talked for about three hours when I was through preaching. His final conclusion and argument of why he was against me about street preaching was because it does not have any more meeting. Every time in the Old Testament or the New Testament, it said the church and the elders sent them out. First they have to be called and then be sent.

Well that’s not quite the truth. Bildad and Medad prophesied in the camp, and Joshua was envious and said, “My lord Moses, forbid them.” And Moses said, “Enviest thou for my sake? Would God would pour out His Spirit in all his people, and they prophesy. Let them go.” And Elijah came out of the wilderness, nobody sponsored him, nobody was backing him or nothing. He just walked in front of the king and said, “Thus saith the Lord, no rain for three-and-a-half years. Bye-bye.” And when John the Baptist came out, nobody sent him. He just stepped out there and said, “Repent! Get right!”

Cullas Thorne, I had lunch with him about three days ago. And Mel Sabaka came down. We had a little lunch over here, and they all went on back. And Brother Thorne looked a lot better than he’s been looking. And I said, “Last time I was down here in that meeting about a year ago, with your youth people,” I said, “something was wrong with you.” I said, “Something was all shot.”

And he said, “Boy, that was one of the worst times in my life.” He said, “The worst time I ever had in my ministry has been the last year.”

And I said, “I don’t know what was wrong. I knew something was wrong. You looked as nervous as a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.” And I said, “I knew something was wrong. Were you sick or what?”

He said, “No,” and then he told me. It was the same old business, you know. Christians trying to take over the work. You always have somebody.

And you fellows getting in the ministry, you’re going to find this out. You always have somebody in the church who wants to run and control the work, and yet they don’t have enough guts to stand in the pulpit and preach against people’s sins because they’re afraid of persecution. You know what they’ll do? They’ll hang around in the back and make friends with everybody in the congregation. Don’t have enough guts to do it. And then take over and try to run the pulpit.

QUESTION: What about Philip? Was he sent?

There’s no indication Philip was sent at all. He was down there preaching, and the Lord told him, “Go,” and he went. I’ve hard them call Philip’s baptism an “alien baptism,” an “alien immersion,” all this and that. But as far as I know, when Christ taught the disciples, He said, “Go and teach them to do what I’m telling you.” And He told them to baptize.

Now, here’s a problem. If I was going to take them into a local assembly, I’d have to examine them pretty close. Well, that’s rough, see, because the Church of Christ connects baptism with salvation. Well, those things are ticklish. Now, most Baptists teach this. Most Baptists teach that if it is not a Bible-believing Baptist who immerses a fellow in a local Baptist church, it’s alien baptism. Now, I don’t teach that. However, I do teach this. If somebody came to me and said they’d like to become a member of my church, I’d say, one, “Are you saved?” Two, “Have you been baptized?” And after those two things, “Were you baptized after you were saved?” And number two, “Do you understand that your water baptism had nothing to do with your salvation?” And if they understand their water baptism had nothing to do with their salvation, and their baptism followed their conversion, I would not rebaptize them. I’d take them in. Now, John Rawlings will do that, and Beauchamp Vick will do that. I believe Henniger will do that, too, but some of the rest of the brethren are a little bit more narrow-minded. And some will rebaptize you if you never were baptized in a Baptist church, and some will rebaptize you if you weren’t baptized in an independent Baptist church. How many ever heard of that? Let me see your hands. That goes on regular, too.

QUESTION: What about kids who have been bused in? They say they’ve been baptized, but no one knows what really is going on.

The Lord knows, brother, I don’t. But there had been a case where one guy went through four or five times. There had been cases. I heard about cases.

Like those Vikings who got baptized back in the Dark Ages. One of them came out of the pool, and they gave him the robe, he said, “This is the fifth time I’ve been baptized. And they’ve always given me a better robe than this. And if this is all the better robe you can give me, I renounce your Christianity!”

All right, verse 31: “Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” It’s a compassionate ministry. It isn’t a tearless ministry. There’s emotion in it. In the real ministry, there’s laughter. There’s tears. There’s feeling.

These cold, dead — you know they’re not of the Lord! You know they’re not of the Lord. A religion that doesn’t touch your heart, never gets your heart, isn’t real. It isn’t real.

He said, “Every one night and day with tears.” I listen to some of these guys preach. I was just going to say, I left Brent down there, and after awhile they finally ran them all off. Then they got down to eight people, and they voted to sell the church. And they sold the church and made it into an interdenominational church. And the guy that got in there, they couldn’t have had a more perfect replacement for me than the guy they got in there. I mean, I used to pray for years that people in this town would see the contrast between two kinds of Christianity, and, boy, they saw it. They saw it. Now what they did about it is something else.

But now, they guy they got in there says, “In soul-winning, in the Book of Exodus, when Moses is going across the Red Sea, we turn to Exodus 15, there we see that Moses and Aaron are standing by the Red Sea after the victorious crossing — “ {snoring sounds — three or four times.}

That ain’t the Lord, man. That’s a whited sepulchre. That thing is just as dead as an unsaved Catholic priest.

Did you ever hear a Catholic priest come on at night, at the close-off hour with “the Christopher thought for today”? Did you ever hear that? I mean, that guy gets to talking, it’s just like, you know, the mummy being reincarnated out of the tomb talking. That hard voice. “And so, if each one of us will light a candle in a dark place, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Ava Maria, Holy Mary, good night!”

What a thing, man! It’s a skull talking, man. There’s no life in that kind of stuff. If it doesn’t reach the heart, it isn’t real.

“Every one night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, —” number one “— and to the word of his grace, —” two. In that order. I turn you over to God, first. I turn you over to the word, second.

“I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, —” underline it: “— which is able to build you up.” You want to be a strong Christian? Spend time in the word. The word of His grace is able to build you up, one. And two: It is able “— to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” The ones that are set apart to serve the Lord, that word of God is able to give you an inheritance.

“I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.” I don’t know how many modern ministers could say that and say the truth.

“I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.” I haven’t wanted any man’s money; I haven’t wanted any man’s clothes.

“Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.” When Paul ran out of money, he’d take his hands and take his craft and work with his hands and pick up some extra money with his hands. And he’d do that for himself, and when some other folks needed something, he’d go to work with his hands, and pick up some money for them. He wasn’t a loafer.

COMMENT: It’s OK to work something extra to have something for yourself, or —?

Yes. Yes. And it means if it doesn’t interfere with your ministry, it’s often a good idea to do just to have extra money to help other people out with. I know that thought doesn’t occur to the modern ministry. The modern ministry is just, you know, me first and you next. But the fact remains, the more money you have, the more you could help other people that needed help.

COMMENT: So, if you’re called full-time to preach, then you should work if the church can’t support you?

All right, the answer is do that until your church can support you.

COMMENT: So if you’re called as a missionary, you should work to support yourself?

Yeah, until you can go. If any man doesn’t work, he’s not to eat.

COMMENT: But I think the answer is a happy medium, if it’s the best way to keep a church afloat.

That’s the best way, if that’s what the Lord calls you to do. But I’ll guarantee you, there are some churches in this country, that the Lord, when the Lord calls a pastor, He doesn’t intend the pastor to spend twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week ministering just to that bunch.

I know little country churches around this country where you’re never going to have more than three people saved a year. Even if you’re a second Billy Sunday or Dwight L. Moody, you’re never going to baptize more than about twenty or twenty-five a year. And those people out where you’re going to live are going to expect you to hoe and plow and grow stuff. And if you don’t, they won’t consider you to be much of a minister. And you don’t hear about those works. You hear about the city works. I know many churches of that structure. I been to three of them last year.

Verse 34: “Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak.” Paul says, “Comfort the feeble-minded and support the weak.”

“Support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, —” and he’s quoting something here that isn’t found anywhere in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. So it’s either something that Jesus said to Paul directly, which He may have, by divine revelation. Or it may be something that He said that everybody knew about the Holy Spirit didn’t see fit to record.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

20:36 And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.

37 And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,

38 Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.

“And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.” All right.

QUESTION: Did you say, “It is more blessed to give” is not in the gospels?

No, it’s not in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

QUESTION: In verse 32 it’s talking about an inheritance. What is that about?

That’ll be the millennial inheritance. Yep.

All right, take a break.