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The Promise Reaches Beyond Jerusalem · 5-Minutes of Good News

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, Christians.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is Dallas Beecham, and I've got good news.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: On the day of Pentecost, Peter said the promise of the Holy Ghost was for those standing before him, for their children, and for all who were afar off, even as many as the Lord our God will call.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Those were not empty words.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: The book of Acts shows the promise moving forward, beginning in Jerusalem.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: The first stop was Samaria.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: The Bible says that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: The people listened, unclean spirits came out, the sick were healed.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Great joy filled the city.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Men and women believed the preaching and were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yet the story was not finished.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Peter and John prayed for the apostles and the believers to receive the Holy Ghost.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: They laid their hands on them and the Samaritans received the Holy Ghost.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: For generations, division had stood between Jews and Samaritans, but the promise crossed that old boundary line.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: God was gathering one people by his spirit.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Then Acts takes us to the home of a Gentile named Cornelius.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Cornelius feared God, prayed, and gave to those in need, but he still needed to hear the gospel.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: God sent Peter to his house.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: As Peter preached Jesus, his ministry, his death, and his resurrection, the unexpected happened.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: The Jewish believers who came with Peter were astonished.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: How did they know the Gentiles had received the Holy Ghost?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Acts tells us, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Peter then asked, Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized?
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: The promise had crossed another boundary.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: It had reached the Gentiles.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Years later, Paul arrived in Ephesus and found certain disciples.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: They were sincere followers who knew the preaching and baptism of John the Baptist.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Paul asked them directly, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: They answered that they had not even heard whether there was a Holy Ghost.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Paul did not condemn them from what they had been taught.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: He explained that John's baptism pointed people toward the one who would come and after him, Christ Jesus.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Then Paul laid his hands upon them, and the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see the pattern?
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: In Jerusalem, Jewish believers received the Holy Ghost.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: In Samaria, the Samaritans received the Holy Ghost.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: In the house of Cornelius, the Gentile, they received the Holy Ghost.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: In Ephesus, disciples who had incompleted understanding heard the fuller truth, obeyed it, and received the Holy Ghost.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Different places, different backgrounds, different circumstances, but the same God was keeping the same promise.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: No sincere seeker was turned away because of nationality, family history, or incomplete teaching.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: When more truth came, they received it gladly.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that brings the story to us.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: The promise did not stop at Jerusalem.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: It did not stop in Samaria.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: It did not stop at Cornelius' house or in Ephesus.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: Peter said it was for as many as the Lord our God shall call.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: If God is calling your heart, do what those believers did, hear the word, receive it gladly, turn toward God, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and believe that the gift of the Holy Ghost is still a promise from God to those that are far off, even as many as God shall call.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: The promise reached them, and the good news, the promise is still reaching people today.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: I hope the message today touched your heart and causes you to have a good day.