Look at Acts chapter 1 verse 13 it says and when they were come in they went up into an
upper room where abode both Peter and James and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon Zelotes and Judas the
brother of James.
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and
Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brethren.
And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said the number of names
together were about a hundred and twenty men and brethren this scripture must needs have
been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas
which was guide to them that took Jesus.
According to this scripture we have here the assembly of the early church in Jerusalem
we're including women here because he mentioned specifically some of the women and the fact
that there were women included in this gathering and he says the number of names together were
about a hundred and twenty.
Now that's a little bit startling if you read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and then
you get to the book of Acts and all of a sudden you show up at a major important
meeting of the church where they're ordaining another apostle to replace Judas and all
of a sudden the number of names together is about a hundred and twenty.
That's kind of surprising since John the Baptist baptized multitudes of people.
Thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of people that were saved and baptized through
the ministry of John the Baptist and then Jesus himself spent three and a half years
of ministry preaching the gospel of the kingdom all the way up and down Israel one
side to the other and the Bible says that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than
John though he himself baptized not but his disciples.
The Bible is clear that John the Baptist won multitudes unto Christ and baptized multitudes
and that Jesus had even more people saved through his three and a half year ministry
and even more people got baptized and remember when Jesus fed the five thousand that
was five thousand men not counting the women and children and when Jesus baptized or when
Jesus fed the four thousand with seven loaves and two fishes.
Look there were huge multitudes that were saved they entered through the relatively
straight gate of salvation but wait a minute where are they when things get tough?
Where are they when persecution is there?
Where are they when Jesus is crucified and when people are being arrested?
Where are they when there aren't any loaves and fishes being handed out?
When it comes to who the diehards were when it comes to who actually showed up for
church in season and out of season the consistent the faithful the diehard church
members in that church there were one hundred twenty people in that church.
There were one hundred and twenty that were there on Sunday nights Wednesday nights
that were the serious died in the wall church members.
That's kind of surprising isn't it?
All the multitudes all the thousands of people that were reached through the ministry of
Jesus Christ but you know what's funny today is that people would look at a church
like ours or other independent fundamental Baptist churches and they'll criticize them
for being small and they'll say oh well you know you guys supposedly won all these
thousands of people to the Lord through soul winning where are they all?
Who's heard that kind of talk before yeah you know well where are all these people
that got saved out on soul winning?
Well let me ask you this why don't we bring John the Baptist in here and why don't
we bring Jesus in here and you can rebuke and criticize their ministry since they
claim to have won thousands of people the Lord and they claim to have baptized
thousands and they only had a hundred and twenty in church.
Well hey if we have three hundred in church and we've been at it for ten and a half years
here that's not that bad but it's these fools who don't want to win souls and
so they criticize people who do win souls people who go out and roll up their sleeves
and say hey we had a hundred people saved you know because we had a hundred people
out soul winning all day or something hey we had two hundred people saved we want
all these people to Christ they look at their own life they look in the mirror and they
feel guilt and shame for doing nothing for the Lord and so they have to justify
their laziness and complacency by saying oh well that soul winning is not real because
look how there's only a hundred and twenty in that service in Acts one.
I mean isn't that just foolish?
Maybe what people fail to understand is that just because you're saved that doesn't
mean you're consistent that doesn't make you faithful and let me tell you something
I guarantee you that the vast majority of people that are in this room right now
are saved this morning I know that there are some that are not saved but I guarantee
you that the vast majority of people that are here in this church this morning are
saved and they know they're going to heaven they've entered into that narrow gate they've
entered into that straight gate but let me tell you something that doesn't mean that
you're faithful and consistent in serving the Lord and don't just be satisfied to
say well I'm saved and that's good enough at least I'm going to heaven no God wants
you now to take up the cross daily and follow him and yes you're going to go to
heaven whether or not you do that but we have a world out there that needs to hear
the gospel that has not entered into that narrow gate we need to go out into the highways
and hedges and compel them to come in that God's house may be filled we need to roll
up our sleeves and do the work and let me tell you something okay the church is the
institution that God has ordained to accomplish that work and to accomplish that task and
that's who he used in Acts and that's who he's going to use today churches not
just one church churches.