Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Be not carred about with different and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace...Heb.13.8,9

Introduction:
--There is a jungle of religious issues, beliefs, practices, and questions out there. Can we arrive at the way of truth? Yes, we can just set everything aside, come to Jesus, who is the truth, and ask and trust Him, through the power of His Spirit, to lead us into all truth (Jn.16. 13-15; 1 Jn.2. 27).

PART 1:
ABOUT ISSUES
Examples of issues:
--many names and ways and religions by which to be saved
--you are saved by being baptized
--you can pray people out of hell into heaven
--the Jesus only doctrine
--the days of the gifts of the Spirit and miracles are over
--to laugh or not to laugh
--to speak in tongues or not to speak in tongues
    --tongues are for none today
    --tongues are for some, but not me
    --must speak in tongues to be saved
--women to speak or not to speak
--ad infinitum

THERE IS THE WAY OF TRUTH!
--Acts 9.2 Gk. "Of the way";   18.26;   19. 9,23;    22.4;   24.14,22.

SO LET'S SEE "THE WAY" THE EARLY CHURCH DID THINGS
--They had the promise of the Father of the power of the Spirit. Ac.1.4-8.
--They prayed a lot. Ac.1.14;   6.4;   12.5,12;   13.3;   14.23.
--They were empowered supernaturally to witness in about 16 different dialects of the wonderful works of God. Ac.2.1-11.
--They had one message: the perfect, finished, sacrificial work of Jesus for forgiveness, and the resurrection and ascension and seating of Jesus by the Father's right hand in all power and authority for our empowerment over all sin, sickness and disease, and satan. This is the Word they preached with the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Pet.1.12). Ac.2.32,33;   3.15,26;   4.10,20;   5.29-32;   8.12,25,35;
9.20;   10.37-43;   11.19-21;   17.18, 30,31;   20.21;   23.6;   24.14-16; 26.6-8,18,20,22,23;   28.23
--Entry into the kingdom is taught to 3,000: Repent, believe, be baptized, receive the promise of the Holy Spirit for your and your household, and this is for all who will hear God's call. Ac.2.38,39.
--Healing is demonstrated. Ac.3.6-8.
--More conversions, 5,000 people. Ac.4.4.
--Specific prayer for a demonstration of healing and wonders to be done, that first
resulted in bold preaching of the Word. Ac.4.23-30,31.
--Prayer of Acts 4 answered in Acts 5 with massive healings--all were healed.
Ac.5.16.
--Daily, everywhere, they taught and preached Jesus Christ. Ac.5.42.
--Samaritan ministry, they heard the Word, believed, were healed, experienced great joy in the whole city, were baptized in water, and received the Holy Spirit with evidences following, so much that Simon the sorcerer saw and wanted to be able to duplicate these evidences in people's lives. Ac.8.4-17.
--Philip, in his outreach ministry, preached Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch believed and was baptized. Ac.8.35-39.
--Saul believed, was in prayer and saw a vision of Ananias coming and laying hands on him so he could have his sight restored (Saul had been blinded by the glory of the Lord). He was healed, received ministry to be filled with the Holy Spirit, was baptized in water, and right away started preaching Christ in the synagogues that He is the Son of God. Ac.9.10-20.
--Cornelius heard the Word and obviously believed, and right in the middle of Peter's message, they started speaking in tongues and magnifying God. Peter baptized them, recognizing the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. Ac.10.44.
--A controversy arose about this way, but Peter put them to silence by relating how God himself bore witness to the salvation of the Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit just like He did on the day of Pentecost, with the evidence of speaking in tongues (Cornelius' household, Ac.10 & 11). He went on to explain that their hearts were pure by faith in Jesus Christ, and that through the grace of Jesus Christ, they would be saved even as the apostles and Jewish believers themselves.
--Lydia believed the Word given by Paul and was baptized. Ac.16.14,15.
--Philippian jailor was told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and he and his household would be saved. They then proceeded to preach the Word to the whole household, and that night they baptized the whole household, with everybody rejoicing. Ac.16.30-34.
--Corinthians heard the Word and believed and were baptized. Ac.18.8. Obviously, they also received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, prophecy, and other gifts of the Spirit, at some time during the ministry to them.
1 Cor.12 & 14. This is all part of "the Way".
--Ephesians had been disciples for a while, having heard the Word by Apollos, who knew only John's baptism. Apollos received an explanation of "the way" more perfectly through Aquila and Priscilla. Meanwhile, the Ephesians had not received the Holy Spirit since they believed, and when Paul came, he perceived this and explained "the way" more perfectly to them so that they believed on Christ (the Spirit Anointed) Jesus. They were then baptized in water in the name of the Lord Jesus (John's baptism was administered in view of repentance for forgiveness of sins), and when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Spirit came on them, evidenced by their speaking in tongues and prophesying. Ac.18.24-28;   19.1-7.
--Paul stayed with the Ephesians for two years, during which time everybody in Asia heard the Word of the Lord Jesus, and God wrought special miracles through the ministry of Paul. (You might read Ephesians 1 & 2 in the light of this to gain some insight as to "all the counsel of God" that Paul preached to the Ephesians referred to in Acts 20.27).
--Paul's message to the Ephesians in Acts 20.17-38 is a good overview of what it is to be in "the Way".

WHERE ARE YOU?
1. You are out of "the way"--lost, no peace in the light of the truth of God's Word regarding righteousness and eternal judgement to come, having serious questions.
2. You are in "the way" of believing on Jesus, and wanting more.
3. You are in "the way" of believing on Jesus, having received the Holy Spirit with supernatural evidences, and wanting more.
4. You think you've got a corner on the truth and you don't need any more.

If you are lost, just come to God as you are and turn your life over to Him.
Take God at His Word that Jesus is your Saviour and Lord.
Take His Word that His death for you took all your sins away.
Take His Word that He was raised from the dead and is seated by the Father right now praying for you that you receive His eternal life and power right now.
Jesus has done the work for you to make you right with God.
Receive this Word and call upon the Lord, committing your life to Him for Him to govern you for your good and His glory. The Bible says, "For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" Acts 2. 21.

Be baptized in obedience to His Word and show publicly your commitment to follow Him. As you obey Him in faith in this way, He will empower you with the Holy Spirit. "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2. 38, 39).
(For more on this, click here).

This is just the beginning. There is always more for all of us. The way we come into more of what God has for us, is that we repent, that we lay aside our ways of thinking and our ways of doing things, and that we be willing to change our mind and our way of doing things, and make adjustments to see things God's
way and do things God's way. God's mind and God's way of doing things is revealed in the Word. If we want more of God, we obtain that by prayerfully reading the Word and believing what it says Christ has done for us, and by doing what it tells us to do. God promises that those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness (Him) shall be filled (Matt. 5. 6).

God's promise to the lukewarm is that He will spue them out of His mouth.
(Rev. 3. 16)

PART 2
ABOUT MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SPIRIT
1 Cor.12.7-11 The Spirit of God manifests His presence in various ways.

Acts 2:
--13,15 If you went to an average church service, would you go away with the impression that the people were drunk?
--26,28 It was prophesied a long time ago that God's people would be full of joy. --33,43 What did they see and hear in the early church? They saw supernatural manifestations, signs, and wonders, and many conversions on a consistent basis.

Acts 3:
--1 They prayed and preached the Word, always.
--8 Healing flowed. Does this happen in an average church prayer meeting? Why not?

Acts 4:
--23-33 They prayed and specifically asked God for there to be healings. Is this prayer valid for us today? Did God care more for the sick back then than He does today?

Acts 5:
--1-11 There had to be some cleansing of the church (two people died)...
--12-16 then the prayer of Acts 4 was answered in Acts 5--all were healed.

I notice in a study of the book of Acts, some things that were predominant then, are markedly absent in the church today.
1. They had lots of prayer, under the direction of the Holy Spirit (Eph.6.18).
2. They taught and administered the baptism of the Holy Spirit
3. They took God's power out in the streets immediately.
4. The teaching and preaching and demonstrating of the resurrected life of Jesus Christ (the Anointed One)(Ac.10.38), was their whole life night and day, everywhere they went. Ac. 5.42; 6.4.
5. They all, deacons, "lay people", everybody, took God's power message to surrounding regions and countries. Ac.8.4, 14, 15, 25, 26, 35.
6. They had compassion on suffering humanity and met those needs with the supernatural power of God. Supernatural healing was a major ministry of the gospel way, a most effective tool for evangelism throughout the book of Acts. Ac.9.32-35;  28.1-11.

I notice that religious Jews were concerned about doctrines and "proper practices". They had no compassion, just religious self-concern. The Spirit of God is compassionate to meet people's needs and set them free. A religious spirit, even today, is only concerned about religious doctrines and practices that do not work to set people free, rather, it only works to bring and keep people in religious bondage.

Conclusion:
--Prov.23.23 says, "Buy the truth and sell it not." Judas sold the truth for 30 pieces of silver. Some people sell the truth for acceptance with their peers, some for a paid position of ministry, some to pander to their own doubts, questions, fears, prejudices, and personal point of view, and some for fear of persecution.
Will you sell the way of truth for something of self-gain?
Or, will you love not your life unto the death, and embrace the truth regardless of what it costs you, and thereby overcome all things through Christ Jesus your Lord? Rev.12.11.
--This is the way of truth:  Following Jesus, the Word, 100%.