Like us today, the disciples back then had to pick and choose parts and portions of the words of Christ that they could use as reinforcement against doubts, fears and anxiety. At that time they did not know it, but within ten days or so, the Holy Ghost would fill the room where they would be sitting, waiting for the promise of the Father, as Jesus had commanded them. He was emphatic in his command: "Do not depart from Jerusalem, until you have received the promise of the Father. "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me." Acts 1:4.

We have read it over and over, and have heard it preached over um-teen years, how the Holy Ghost fell upon at least one hundred and twenty souls, who were locked in the upper room for at least ten days so far, really, to fulfill the fifty days from the Passover feast, to the feast of Pentecost. We need to recognize the reason, and spiritual reality behind all of these feasts and ceremonies observed by Israel in those days. Actually, we should learn to discern the reality of all that God does in our lives from time to time. Listen to this! God does not speak, simply to be saying something. Every word He speaks, whether to the creation at large, or to you as an individual is a "creative word."

The prophet, away back in about B.C.1042 wrote: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them (insert any number you wish) by the breath of his mouth. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast." Psalm 33:6,9. My dear friend, allow me to suggest this to you! These truths that were spoken and written more than two thousand years ago, were not meant to serve merely a single generation. And I must add this bit of assurance for the sake of building of your faith in what God said, and what he is saying now. God does not write a letter to Royce Kennedy, or to sister Mary.

God will speak to you individually, but mostly in a gathering of saints where the gifts of the Spirit are in operation. Nevertheless, when you read the word of God treat it as if God spoke it just yesterday, and since he did not sign a specific name to it, take it as a message spoken directly to you. The following was uttered by Isaiah the prophet in about the year B.C. 712: but even today, you can claim it for yourself, and your claim cannot be contested. Like in the old days of gold rush in the West, just lay your claim on the ground, and have it registered. Back in those days, long lines of people trying to file their claim resulted in angry folks, temper getting heated, and even violence breaking out. What I am offering as you read this study comes to you in the comfort of your home.

In spelling out his terms, God was careful in putting the difference between himself and us. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my way saith the Lord…For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:7-11.

What truths have we been given here? Like we said, these words were given to the prophet back in about B.C.712. Add another 2022 years since Christ, and the alarming thing is that those words are still valid as in the day they were spoken. As a matter of personal choice, it us up to you how you handle this process. But before you heap large and heavy burdens upon yourself, bear in mind the God of heaven never fails, and he is not man, that he should lie, neither is he the son of man that he should repent (change his mind.) Numbers 23:19. The crux of this lesson is that every word spoken by Christ in his short thirty three and one half years of ministry, still remains valid and effective as the day in which they were spoken.

As they say in politics: "There is no need to reinvent the wheel." So it is with the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was the stone that was rejected but became the head of the building. As we are told: "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ." 1^st Corinthians 3:11. The Lord did not set forth to write the scriptures every day; and as an alternative, he inspired men and women to write his words, with the intent that they would remain valid and relative down through the corridor of time. Thus, it is up to us, male and female, parents and children to properly divide what we read, and to carefully apply each truth where it belongs. Let us revisit the years long time ago! God usually put conditions to his blessings and to his curses and leaves the decision up to us. For instance, let us read the following: "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and will give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that health thee." Exodus 15:26.

This promise of healing and divine health was made by the Lord himself, and it remains valid today, dating back from about the year B.C.1491. It is not like an insurance policy that must be renewed annually. Here is a simple acknowledgment, every time you read these truths, treating it as God himself taking time to speak them to you. Let me share an incident that happened in this ministry back in about 1983.

My mother passed in March 1984, and she lived in Jamaica, about 23 miles inland from Montego Bay Airport. I used to visit about once a year, and when I did that Sunday was left open for me to minister in both services, I would fly back to the U.S. the following Monday.

After returning home to Maryland from one such visit, about three weeks later I received a letter from my mother in which she told me of a certain sister who was very sick with a severe case of gout and she had a doctor’s appointment for the next morning (Monday.) As I do after preaching each service, I gave an altar call for everyone with a need to come forward. In her account to my mother, this sister said the Lord said to her. "You need to go and let the evangelist pray for you before he leaves tomorrow." I saw her standing at the altar, but I did not speak with her to ask what she needed from the Lord. I prayed a single prayer for everyone standing in the line and soon, the service ended, and I flew back to the U.S. the next morning.

In her testimony to my mother, who passed on the information to me by letter, the sister said that on her way home after receiving prayer, she began to itch all over in so much, it was almost unbearable. She went to the doctor the next morning keeping her doctor’s appointment. The doctor could find no trace of the gout and sent her home feeling fine.

These incidents of healings and deliverance are not unusual to anyone who will ask the Lord and exercise simple faith in God’s word, even as it was spoken at the beginning of the world, in the infancy of creation. God speaks to us when we read the bible, when we listen to a preacher, and when we go to him in prayer. But I have said many times in sermons, some people spend so much time praying to God, that they fail to hear his reply. It is like speaking on the telephone. You just don’t say "hello" and keep speaking in so much, the other party can’t get a word in. Listen to what the Lord said to all of us! "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord." Isaiah 1:18. In other words, pull up a chair, or come over and join me on the deck chair, and allow me to bring some ice-cold tropical fruit drinks.