APOSTOLIC ACTING OUT
GHOSTLUSTERS
When I was praying about this message, I said, God, let’s talk. I wanna preach something that no one has ever heard before, something that will make people say, “Wow, I’ve never heard anything like that before.” So I prayed that and said, okay God, give it to me now. Nothing. Ok, how about now. Then I heard a small voice say, “Open your bible.” So I ran to my desk and opened my Bible. He said, “Turn to the Book of Acts.” I was like, okay, I know where that is, that’s cool. Then He said, “So you’re not confused on the chapter, turn to chapter 2.” I was like, right, okay. He said, “Start with the 1st verse.”
Acts 2:1-4
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
I said, “Alright God that sounds exciting, I like that scripture. But Lord, I was kind of looking for something that they’ve never heard.” How many of you have the Holy Ghost, raise your hand. Okay, put them down. How many of you do not have the Holy Ghost, raise your hand. Okay, put them down. You that just raised your hands, you can have it today. It’s that simple, it’s not hard. You don’t have to do a lot of paying. All you have to do is accept Him. All you have to do is be sorry for the way you lived, and say Jesus I want it, and look out, cuz here it comes.
What I want to happen to us here is I want us to have the same experience that they had in the first 4 verses of the 2nd chapter of Acts. I would like us to experience in this place what they experienced in that place in the upper room. But if we’re gonna be able to experience that, we need to first find out what happened prior to that experience. We need to go back and find out what brought this about, exactly what did the disciples to do bring this about. What attitude did they have? What were they? What were their actions that brought about such a powerful experience?
Do you know what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:31?
1 Corinthians 12:31 - But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
COVET earnestly the best gifts. Ok, God, I just read to covet earnestly the best gifts. But I remember reading over in Exodus 20 in the Ten Commandments that thou shalt not covet. Sounds like a little contradiction to me. But I started studying it and it says in
Exodus 20:17
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s things. Then it dawned on me. It’s not wrong to covet, the problem is what you covet. Coveting is not wrong. That is why it can say in one place thou shalt not covet and in another place it can say covet earnestly the best gifts. It’s all according to what you covet, that’s what matters.
All of you have been preached the scripture growing up,
2 Timothy 2:22
22 Flee also youthful lusts
flee youthful … (lusts). You gotta get out of your heart you gotta flee from it you can’t lust. But do you know what lust means? It means an uncontrollable or overwhelming desire. You know what it says in
1 Corinthians 14:1
14:1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
Or does it say lust after spiritual gifts. One place it tells us not to lust, another place it tells us to have an uncontrollable or overwhelming desire for spiritual gifts. It’s time for us to start lusting after some spiritual things.
Personally, what I think brought about the experience in Acts chapter 2 is that the apostles had an uncontrollable or overwhelming desire and coveted after some spiritual things so much that the Lord poured out upon them that thing in which they desired and coveted. They lusted after the Ghost. They lusted after the Ghost. Do you know what they were?
Do you mind if I take my coat off? QUE TO PLAY GHOSTBUSTERS SONG FOR 1 MINUTE.
You know what they were? They were not Ghostbusters. A thousand times no. Everyone of them had an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire, and they became Ghost Lusters! For the next few minutes, I wanna preach to you, that it is time for every one of us to become real, genuine, GhostLusters. It is time for us to desire spiritual things. It is time for us to covet after some spiritual things.
Let me tell you something, if we are going to experience the same type of revival that they experienced in the book of Acts, if we are going to experience that same move, we have got to do exactly what the disciples did. Everyone of you that just raised your hand that did not have the Holy Ghost, if you want it, you wanna know what you gotta do to get it? You’ve got to get an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire for it. You’ve got to get a hunger for it; you’ve got to want it, before you can get it.
I look at Peter, and here he is, sitting out under an olive tree, and he’s listening to Jesus speak, and a few disciples are sitting around and Jesus is laying out some good stuff. He’s preaching man and He’s training them and He’s telling them all at once and He kinda goes off on this exert and He says, “Behold, I send the promise of the Father upon you, but tarry in Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on High.” And He’s preaching to them, man. Now Peter, he is just loving this. He’s sitting under an olive tree. FIND AN OLIVE TREE TO SIT UNDER. He’s sitting under an olive tree all kicked back, and Jesus is teaching and all is great, and Peter reaches up and gets him an olive and he’s sitting there eating an olive and just enjoying all this. And Jesus is saying, “Behold, I send the promise of the Father upon you, but tarry in Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on High.” He makes that point and all at once Jesus’ feet just start leaving the ground.
Peter is listening and looking down at his olive and then looks up and sees Jesus leaving and he gets up yelling, “Whoa, Jesus (choking on an olive pit) wait Jesus, where you going, Jesus?!?!” Now if I was standing here preaching and we were all just having a good time and suddenly my feet just started going up, you all would freak out too. That’s exactly what happened to Peter. Because Peter was enjoying being there with Jesus because just some few days ago he was on another hillside and he was watching as they drove the nails into Jesus’ hands and drove the nails into Jesus’ feet and shoved that crown of thorns on his head. He watched as they drove a spear into his best Friend’s side. This was the man that he dropped his livelihood for. This was the man that he gave his old way of life up to follow. All he knew was Jesus Christ. All he knew was His fellowship. All he knew was Jesus. And he watched as they wrapped Him in grave clothes and put Him in a tomb. He was heartbroken; he didn’t have anything to live for. He said I just don’t have anything to live for.
But you know the story after 3 days the Bible said that the stone was rolled away and He came forth out of that grave. And He looked around and He said, “I want you to go get the disciples, and Peter, I want you to bring Peter to Me.” They ran and got Peter, and now he’s sitting and he’s listening to Jesus and he’s so happy just to be back on the Mt. of Olives. He was so thrilled just to be listening to Jesus preach, and just to be able to look at Him. Now again a second time, Jesus goes away. Peter is heartbroken with the same feeling that he felt when they rolled that stone over the grave gripped him on the Mt. of Olives. Peter cried, “Not again. What am I gonna do? I have nothing left to live for, He was my purpose for living, He was my way of life.
About that time, the Bible says that 2 angels appeared unto them and asked, “Why do you stand there gazing up into the heavens? Didn’t He say something about going to the city of Jerusalem and tarrying there until you are endued with power from on High? Didn’t He say something about a promise?” Then something lit up in Peter’s eyes, and he said, “You’re right, you’re right! He did say something about going to Jerusalem. He did say something about the promise from the Father. Hey, I gotta get to Jerusalem, I gotta get to Jerusalem.” “But Peter, wait.” “No, I can’t wait. I’ve got to have the promise from the Father.” “But Peter, maybe we can talk.” “No, I can’t talk. The only thing that matters is getting that promise. The only thing that matters is that I receive the promise. I desire it, I want it more than a conversation, I want it more than a fishing trip. I want the promise. I’m going to Jerusalem.”
Peter starts telling everybody that we’re going to Jerusalem, we’re going to Jerusalem. We’re going to get the Promise. The Promise is going to meet us in Jerusalem. It’s gonna be in the upper room, come on. He started gathering folks. I don’t know how many went to the upper room to begin with. The bible doesn’t tell us when it started out how many there were. Maybe he gathered a thousand, maybe he gathered five hundred. Maybe they flooded the stairs; maybe they crammed into the upper room.
Later Peter opened the door. “Okay, God. I’m here. Where’s the promise? WHISTLE. Hey, promise, where are you? Not in the drums. Promise? It’s okay, folks, it’s going to be here, it’s here somewhere. Don’t leave yet. Come on, Lord, I brought all these people; they’ve come to get the promise you was talking about. Now where is it? Don’t do me this way. Come on.” “Ah, Peter, I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing happening up here. It’s not happening in the upper room, man. Let’s go somewhere where it’s happening. Let’s go somewhere where we can have a little fun.” “But wait a minute, don’t go. It’s gonna happen, I promise you it’s going to happen.”
And Peter stood around. Maybe some of them walked back down the stairway into the streets. But Peter stayed there all night long. All night long he stayed there. Into the morning hours he started getting a little bit more serious. He started saying, “Now Lord, you promised me that it would be here. Lord, I gotta have it. Lord, I can’t go on living like this. I can’t live without the promise. I cannot live without the promise.” 2 days went by and the crowd thins out. 3 days went by and the crowd thins even more. 4 days and Peter is saying, “Oh, I have never gone this long without Jesus since I first met Him. The longest I’ve been without Him was 3 days. I have not been this long. Where is He? Where is the Promise?”
Then something began to get a hold of Peter. An uncontrollable and overwhelming desire began to grip Peter’s heart. And somebody probably said, “Peter, you might as well go home. It’s not going to happen. Come on, let’s go eat something.” But Peter said, “I will not leave this place without the promise. I won’t go without the promise. I want it more than I want food. I want it more than I want to fish. I want it more than I want the fineries of life. I’ll stay here all week long if I have to. I won’t leave without it.” He was having an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire. He was lusting after the Ghost. He was becoming a GhostLuster and would not be satisfied with anything less.
People were probably saying, “Peter, you might as well give it up. It’s been 8 days and nothing has happened.” 9 days come around and Peter is probably in the middle of the floor now. His voice is gone he’s cried so much. But his heart is crying out, “I want it, I want it. I will not leave without it. I want it more than life itself. If I can’t have it, I would just soon die. If I can’t have it, I’ll just soon die here. I may never walk into that street again. But I won’t walk without the promise. I want it. I desire it.” And there were about 120 that had gotten a hold of that same spirit. There were about 120 that somewhere along the line there was an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire that caught a hold to them and drove them to their face. And they were screaming, “Oh, I want it.” In the streets you could probably hear them moaning. People were saying they’re crazy. What’s the matter? I’ll tell you what the matter is. That upper room was full of GhostLusters. That upper room was full of some people that have got an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire for spiritual things.
Then about the 10th day, the Bible says, while they were crying out, that suddenly there came a sound (MAKE A BLOWING SOUND). When everybody thought it wouldn’t happen. When everybody was saying it’s not going to happen. (MAKE A BLOWING SOUND). Those that left the upper room were saying, “You’re crazy, it won’t happen.” (MAKE A BLOWING SOUND). Suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting and cloven tongues like a fire fell on them and they were all filled with the power of the Holy Ghost. They were GhostLusters!
It literally blew the place away and blew them off their feet. Peter was drunk now. (START WALKING LIKE A DRUNK AND TALK LIKE A DRUNK). “Boy, this is good. I don’t know where I felt like this before. I don’t know. Blah, are you John or you James? Ok, John, come here. You know what? I was, had, blah. I was real sad cuz I thought Jesus was gone, u know? Blah, and people started tell me that I was stupid, but I almost believed them. But about a few, a few, blah, a while ago, something happened to me. I’m not sad anymore. I’m happy.”
Somebody kicked the window open and said, “These people are crazy. They’re drunk, they’re drunk, they’re drunk.” Peter just stood up and said, (DRUNK) “We’re not drunk like you think, this is a new wine. You ought to try it.” And they were dancing and singing and shouting and they had joy like they never had. They had happiness like they never had. Because before He walked with them, but now He walked in them. Before He was beside them, but now He was in them.
I feel that same power building in this place. I feel that same desire kindling in some hearts. I feel that same spirit crying out that’s saying, “No matter what it takes in this place, we desire the spiritual things. We are hungry and we wanna move.”
Peter stumbled down the stairs, went out in the street, and was stumbling on everybody. He went home and got him a little sleep. He woke up and said, “Ooh wee. This is good cuz ain’t got no hangover. I still feel like I did yesterday.” You know what? He got up and stumbled around, got ready, and walked out the door. “Hey, Peter.” “Hey, buddy.” “Where are you going?” “Where do you think I’m going?” “You’re going fishing, right?” “No, I’m going to the temple.” “What?!?!” “I’m going back to the temple.” “But wait a minute, wait a minute! You just got the Holy Ghost yesterday. You just spoke in tongues yesterday. You just got it yesterday.” Peter said, “Blah, that was yesterday. Today is today. I want some more. I want some more. I want another dose. I want another dose. I want more. I’m lusting after more of the Ghost. I’m not satisfied with one little drink. I’m not satisfied with one little shout. But I gotta have some more today. It was great last night, I enjoyed it last night. But I gotta have a brand new touch today.”
You see, our problem is this; we here so much about the Holy Ghost. And I don’t want you to misunderstand me. I am in no way minimizing the Holy Ghost. It is the greatest thing that could ever happen to you. But we sit around Pentecostal pews and chairs, and we sit around meetings and rallies and conferences and services and we hear people talk about it and we hear preachers preach about it, “You’ve got to get the Ghost; you’ve got to get the Ghost. It’s inevitable; you’ve got to have it to be saved.” You gotta have it to be saved. I believe that. But we hear so much that man, it’s the Holy Ghost, it’s the Holy Ghost, that if we’re not careful, we’ll sit here and if we don’t have it and we’ll get to thinking in our minds, “Boy, if I can ever get the Holy Ghost, I’ve made it. If I can ever just speak in tongues, there it is. If I can ever just speak in tongues, I’ve arrived. I’ll be like all the other Pentecostals at the top of the success ladder. If I can just speak in tongues, then I can sit back and relax. Then I’ve got my ticket. Then I can just enjoy things. Then I can just settle down, because that is the utopia of the Pentecostal experience is speaking in tongues, getting the Holy Ghost.”
Honey, you’re wrong. I said you’re wrong. I’m here to tell you that the Holy Ghost is the first step. The Holy Ghost is the first step. It’s way down here. Because when we are born and we’re a baby, sometimes we learn to talk before we learn to walk. The Holy Ghost is where you are starting out. It’s where you are born again, and you speak with other tongues. When we are born, we start by crying. We receive the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues and that’s good for that night. But the next night you gotta get some more, and you get a little higher and you speak in tongues. Then God begins to use you. The next night you get a little bit higher. And you say, “My God, I’ve never felt like this before.” You start being used. The next night you’re a little bit higher and the Holy Ghost is touching you. You know why? Because you are desiring more and more of it.
You see, the Bible says that Peter continued daily in the temple. I mean, here’s a man that just preached the salvation message. Here’s a man that was just drunk like Homer Simpson. And the Bible says that he continued daily in the temple. What I’m telling you young people is this; let’s not be satisfied because we started out good last night. That was last night. I’m looking forward toward there. I’m looking over there. There’s where Peter wanted to go, over there. That’s why he said, “I’m going back to the temple because I am lusting after more of the Holy Ghost.”
They were saying, “Peter, you’re crazy, man. You’ve been in church 10 days straight. You’ve been laying up there on your face crying. And then all of this stuff happened, people speaking in tongues, people dancing and shouting. And now you’re going back to the temple?” He said, “Yeah, I’ve just got to have some more.” And he goes back to the temple. I don’t know how many days he went to the temple. But I do know that the Bible says that every day they brought a lame man and set him at the gate. Every day they brought him. The Bible also says that every day Peter went to the temple at the hour of prayer.
So you see, after he had that Holy Ghost experience, the very next day he went to the temple and passed the lame man. “God bless you, sir. I got it yesterday. I’m going in to get a little bit more.” He came out. “God bless you, sir. God bless you.” He went home. The next day, “I gotta have some more. That wasn’t enough. I got to have another dose.” He goes to the temple. “God really bless you. I gotta have some more. I gotta climb up another step.” Two days go by, “I really got to have some more. God really, really bless you.” The next day, he moves up another step to the temple. “Lord, I desire more of you. I thank you for everything that has happened. I thank you for the shout. I thank you for the tongues. I thank you, but Lord, I desire spiritual gifts. I desire spiritual gifts. I covet earnestly the best gifts. I want something more than just a dance. I want something more than just a shout.”
If all we have is a shout and a dance, we have nothing, unless we can demonstrate the power of Almighty God, unless we can get to the place where we can demonstrate the power of God, we have nothing. But somewhere in between Pentecost, somewhere in between speaking in tongues and going to the temple, something happened to Peter. He got to a place where he stopped and said, “My goodness, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I unto thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.” And the man began to rise up and walk and began to leap. What happened? He lusted, he desired, he coveted, until he received.
It did not stop there. Peter continued in the temple daily. The bible tells us that finally we find Peter knocking on the door to Dorcas’ house. He said, “I hear there is a dead woman here.” She said, “Yes, sniff, sniff. She’s upstairs. See this pretty coat? Sniff, sniff. Dorcas made this for me.” Peter says, “I hear you’ve got something strange in your neighborhood. I hear you’ve got something weird and it don’t look good.” They’re crying, all the ladies were in the living room. They were saying, “Oh, Dorcas was so good. Who are we gonna call? Who are we gonna call? Who are we gonna call? Who are we gonna call? Who are we gonna call? It’s past us. It’s bigger than we are. Who are we gonna call? It’s bigger than we are. Who are we gonna call?”
About that time, there was a knock at the door. And Peter said, “Here I am.” They said, “Who are you?” He said, “I’m a GhostLuster. If you’ve got trouble, who you gonna call? It’s gonna be a GhostLuster. I’ve come to raise up the dead. I’ve come to defy death.” “But you can’t.” “Oh, I can. Because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” And he goes up there and takes that dead woman by the hand, and says, “Death, I command you to loose.” And she raises up, and he takes her down, and he says, “She’s alive! She’s alive!” Who u gonna call? GhostLusters! Who u gonna call? GhostLusters!
CLOSING.
Let me tell you young people something. There is a man of God, in your Pastor, that is fighting for your soul. Your Pastor that stands in the pulpit every Sunday and every Wednesday or Thursday night, he shoulders things that you will never know. He shoulders things that you will never know and he is not at liberty to call you in and tell you about them. That’s why sometimes you see the Pastor come in, maybe he don’t shake everybody’s hand or you don’t know where he is before service. Maybe he just goes straight to a prayer room and he just falls to his face and begins to weep, because of the burden he has for each and every one of you and your souls. Because of the battle he has to fight against the enemy for your sakes and the load he has to carry that is on that man of God. There are times that that man needs help in the battle.
When he needs help or when he has a problem, he’s not going to call those young people that are in the vestibule or foyer before church laughing, talking and joking around, “Hey man, do you believe what happened to so and so? Oh yeah, I can’t believe it. Oh, lol, that was funny. Ha, ha, let me tell you.” But if he makes his way past those young people that are fellowshipping and laughing all the time, and there’s nothing wrong with fellowshipping, there is just a time and a place for it. He goes into that prayer room in the back on Sunday, and he notices that there is about 5 or 10 young people that are not out there talking, but they’ve got their knees bent and they’re on the floor, and they’re saying, “Oh, God, we desire more of the Spirit. We are hungry. We have an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire for the things of the Spirit. Oh, God, we are hungry. We are not interested in Pizza Hut. We are not interested in what’s going to happen after church. We just want a move of the Holy Ghost. We just want to be used in the Spirit. We just want to experience the power of the Holy Ghost. We just got to have it.”
You know what? That Pastor is going to look at you and he’s going to sit down in the midst of you, and he’s going to say, “Excuse me, I can’t tell you everything that’s happening in my life. I can’t tell you all about the situations I’m holding up right now. But, man, I feel something in your prayers. I wonder if you can gather around me and lay hands on me.” “But you’re the Pastor.” “Yeah, but I got a problem. And when I got a problem, you know who I’m gonna call? GhostLusters.”
When 4 or 5 of you gather around your Pastor and you lay hands on him and you say, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I bind the power of hell that fighting against my Pastor.” And you say, “We will be noticed, we will experience the things of the Holy Ghost.” Look out! Revival is coming to your church, revival is coming to your city, and revival is coming to your section. Look out, the devil is in trouble, because there is some GhostLusters that are on his tail, and they are going to be victorious!
Acts 2:1-4
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
I said, “Alright God that sounds exciting, I like that scripture. But Lord, I was kind of looking for something that they’ve never heard.” How many of you have the Holy Ghost, raise your hand. Okay, put them down. How many of you do not have the Holy Ghost, raise your hand. Okay, put them down. You that just raised your hands, you can have it today. It’s that simple, it’s not hard. You don’t have to do a lot of paying. All you have to do is accept Him. All you have to do is be sorry for the way you lived, and say Jesus I want it, and look out, cuz here it comes.
What I want to happen to us here is I want us to have the same experience that they had in the first 4 verses of the 2nd chapter of Acts. I would like us to experience in this place what they experienced in that place in the upper room. But if we’re gonna be able to experience that, we need to first find out what happened prior to that experience. We need to go back and find out what brought this about, exactly what did the disciples to do bring this about. What attitude did they have? What were they? What were their actions that brought about such a powerful experience?
Do you know what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:31?
1 Corinthians 12:31 - But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
COVET earnestly the best gifts. Ok, God, I just read to covet earnestly the best gifts. But I remember reading over in Exodus 20 in the Ten Commandments that thou shalt not covet. Sounds like a little contradiction to me. But I started studying it and it says in
Exodus 20:17
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s things. Then it dawned on me. It’s not wrong to covet, the problem is what you covet. Coveting is not wrong. That is why it can say in one place thou shalt not covet and in another place it can say covet earnestly the best gifts. It’s all according to what you covet, that’s what matters.
All of you have been preached the scripture growing up,
2 Timothy 2:22
22 Flee also youthful lusts
flee youthful … (lusts). You gotta get out of your heart you gotta flee from it you can’t lust. But do you know what lust means? It means an uncontrollable or overwhelming desire. You know what it says in
1 Corinthians 14:1
14:1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
Or does it say lust after spiritual gifts. One place it tells us not to lust, another place it tells us to have an uncontrollable or overwhelming desire for spiritual gifts. It’s time for us to start lusting after some spiritual things.
Personally, what I think brought about the experience in Acts chapter 2 is that the apostles had an uncontrollable or overwhelming desire and coveted after some spiritual things so much that the Lord poured out upon them that thing in which they desired and coveted. They lusted after the Ghost. They lusted after the Ghost. Do you know what they were?
Do you mind if I take my coat off? QUE TO PLAY GHOSTBUSTERS SONG FOR 1 MINUTE.
You know what they were? They were not Ghostbusters. A thousand times no. Everyone of them had an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire, and they became Ghost Lusters! For the next few minutes, I wanna preach to you, that it is time for every one of us to become real, genuine, GhostLusters. It is time for us to desire spiritual things. It is time for us to covet after some spiritual things.
Let me tell you something, if we are going to experience the same type of revival that they experienced in the book of Acts, if we are going to experience that same move, we have got to do exactly what the disciples did. Everyone of you that just raised your hand that did not have the Holy Ghost, if you want it, you wanna know what you gotta do to get it? You’ve got to get an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire for it. You’ve got to get a hunger for it; you’ve got to want it, before you can get it.
I look at Peter, and here he is, sitting out under an olive tree, and he’s listening to Jesus speak, and a few disciples are sitting around and Jesus is laying out some good stuff. He’s preaching man and He’s training them and He’s telling them all at once and He kinda goes off on this exert and He says, “Behold, I send the promise of the Father upon you, but tarry in Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on High.” And He’s preaching to them, man. Now Peter, he is just loving this. He’s sitting under an olive tree. FIND AN OLIVE TREE TO SIT UNDER. He’s sitting under an olive tree all kicked back, and Jesus is teaching and all is great, and Peter reaches up and gets him an olive and he’s sitting there eating an olive and just enjoying all this. And Jesus is saying, “Behold, I send the promise of the Father upon you, but tarry in Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on High.” He makes that point and all at once Jesus’ feet just start leaving the ground.
Peter is listening and looking down at his olive and then looks up and sees Jesus leaving and he gets up yelling, “Whoa, Jesus (choking on an olive pit) wait Jesus, where you going, Jesus?!?!” Now if I was standing here preaching and we were all just having a good time and suddenly my feet just started going up, you all would freak out too. That’s exactly what happened to Peter. Because Peter was enjoying being there with Jesus because just some few days ago he was on another hillside and he was watching as they drove the nails into Jesus’ hands and drove the nails into Jesus’ feet and shoved that crown of thorns on his head. He watched as they drove a spear into his best Friend’s side. This was the man that he dropped his livelihood for. This was the man that he gave his old way of life up to follow. All he knew was Jesus Christ. All he knew was His fellowship. All he knew was Jesus. And he watched as they wrapped Him in grave clothes and put Him in a tomb. He was heartbroken; he didn’t have anything to live for. He said I just don’t have anything to live for.
But you know the story after 3 days the Bible said that the stone was rolled away and He came forth out of that grave. And He looked around and He said, “I want you to go get the disciples, and Peter, I want you to bring Peter to Me.” They ran and got Peter, and now he’s sitting and he’s listening to Jesus and he’s so happy just to be back on the Mt. of Olives. He was so thrilled just to be listening to Jesus preach, and just to be able to look at Him. Now again a second time, Jesus goes away. Peter is heartbroken with the same feeling that he felt when they rolled that stone over the grave gripped him on the Mt. of Olives. Peter cried, “Not again. What am I gonna do? I have nothing left to live for, He was my purpose for living, He was my way of life.
About that time, the Bible says that 2 angels appeared unto them and asked, “Why do you stand there gazing up into the heavens? Didn’t He say something about going to the city of Jerusalem and tarrying there until you are endued with power from on High? Didn’t He say something about a promise?” Then something lit up in Peter’s eyes, and he said, “You’re right, you’re right! He did say something about going to Jerusalem. He did say something about the promise from the Father. Hey, I gotta get to Jerusalem, I gotta get to Jerusalem.” “But Peter, wait.” “No, I can’t wait. I’ve got to have the promise from the Father.” “But Peter, maybe we can talk.” “No, I can’t talk. The only thing that matters is getting that promise. The only thing that matters is that I receive the promise. I desire it, I want it more than a conversation, I want it more than a fishing trip. I want the promise. I’m going to Jerusalem.”
Peter starts telling everybody that we’re going to Jerusalem, we’re going to Jerusalem. We’re going to get the Promise. The Promise is going to meet us in Jerusalem. It’s gonna be in the upper room, come on. He started gathering folks. I don’t know how many went to the upper room to begin with. The bible doesn’t tell us when it started out how many there were. Maybe he gathered a thousand, maybe he gathered five hundred. Maybe they flooded the stairs; maybe they crammed into the upper room.
Later Peter opened the door. “Okay, God. I’m here. Where’s the promise? WHISTLE. Hey, promise, where are you? Not in the drums. Promise? It’s okay, folks, it’s going to be here, it’s here somewhere. Don’t leave yet. Come on, Lord, I brought all these people; they’ve come to get the promise you was talking about. Now where is it? Don’t do me this way. Come on.” “Ah, Peter, I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing happening up here. It’s not happening in the upper room, man. Let’s go somewhere where it’s happening. Let’s go somewhere where we can have a little fun.” “But wait a minute, don’t go. It’s gonna happen, I promise you it’s going to happen.”
And Peter stood around. Maybe some of them walked back down the stairway into the streets. But Peter stayed there all night long. All night long he stayed there. Into the morning hours he started getting a little bit more serious. He started saying, “Now Lord, you promised me that it would be here. Lord, I gotta have it. Lord, I can’t go on living like this. I can’t live without the promise. I cannot live without the promise.” 2 days went by and the crowd thins out. 3 days went by and the crowd thins even more. 4 days and Peter is saying, “Oh, I have never gone this long without Jesus since I first met Him. The longest I’ve been without Him was 3 days. I have not been this long. Where is He? Where is the Promise?”
Then something began to get a hold of Peter. An uncontrollable and overwhelming desire began to grip Peter’s heart. And somebody probably said, “Peter, you might as well go home. It’s not going to happen. Come on, let’s go eat something.” But Peter said, “I will not leave this place without the promise. I won’t go without the promise. I want it more than I want food. I want it more than I want to fish. I want it more than I want the fineries of life. I’ll stay here all week long if I have to. I won’t leave without it.” He was having an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire. He was lusting after the Ghost. He was becoming a GhostLuster and would not be satisfied with anything less.
People were probably saying, “Peter, you might as well give it up. It’s been 8 days and nothing has happened.” 9 days come around and Peter is probably in the middle of the floor now. His voice is gone he’s cried so much. But his heart is crying out, “I want it, I want it. I will not leave without it. I want it more than life itself. If I can’t have it, I would just soon die. If I can’t have it, I’ll just soon die here. I may never walk into that street again. But I won’t walk without the promise. I want it. I desire it.” And there were about 120 that had gotten a hold of that same spirit. There were about 120 that somewhere along the line there was an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire that caught a hold to them and drove them to their face. And they were screaming, “Oh, I want it.” In the streets you could probably hear them moaning. People were saying they’re crazy. What’s the matter? I’ll tell you what the matter is. That upper room was full of GhostLusters. That upper room was full of some people that have got an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire for spiritual things.
Then about the 10th day, the Bible says, while they were crying out, that suddenly there came a sound (MAKE A BLOWING SOUND). When everybody thought it wouldn’t happen. When everybody was saying it’s not going to happen. (MAKE A BLOWING SOUND). Those that left the upper room were saying, “You’re crazy, it won’t happen.” (MAKE A BLOWING SOUND). Suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting and cloven tongues like a fire fell on them and they were all filled with the power of the Holy Ghost. They were GhostLusters!
It literally blew the place away and blew them off their feet. Peter was drunk now. (START WALKING LIKE A DRUNK AND TALK LIKE A DRUNK). “Boy, this is good. I don’t know where I felt like this before. I don’t know. Blah, are you John or you James? Ok, John, come here. You know what? I was, had, blah. I was real sad cuz I thought Jesus was gone, u know? Blah, and people started tell me that I was stupid, but I almost believed them. But about a few, a few, blah, a while ago, something happened to me. I’m not sad anymore. I’m happy.”
Somebody kicked the window open and said, “These people are crazy. They’re drunk, they’re drunk, they’re drunk.” Peter just stood up and said, (DRUNK) “We’re not drunk like you think, this is a new wine. You ought to try it.” And they were dancing and singing and shouting and they had joy like they never had. They had happiness like they never had. Because before He walked with them, but now He walked in them. Before He was beside them, but now He was in them.
I feel that same power building in this place. I feel that same desire kindling in some hearts. I feel that same spirit crying out that’s saying, “No matter what it takes in this place, we desire the spiritual things. We are hungry and we wanna move.”
Peter stumbled down the stairs, went out in the street, and was stumbling on everybody. He went home and got him a little sleep. He woke up and said, “Ooh wee. This is good cuz ain’t got no hangover. I still feel like I did yesterday.” You know what? He got up and stumbled around, got ready, and walked out the door. “Hey, Peter.” “Hey, buddy.” “Where are you going?” “Where do you think I’m going?” “You’re going fishing, right?” “No, I’m going to the temple.” “What?!?!” “I’m going back to the temple.” “But wait a minute, wait a minute! You just got the Holy Ghost yesterday. You just spoke in tongues yesterday. You just got it yesterday.” Peter said, “Blah, that was yesterday. Today is today. I want some more. I want some more. I want another dose. I want another dose. I want more. I’m lusting after more of the Ghost. I’m not satisfied with one little drink. I’m not satisfied with one little shout. But I gotta have some more today. It was great last night, I enjoyed it last night. But I gotta have a brand new touch today.”
You see, our problem is this; we here so much about the Holy Ghost. And I don’t want you to misunderstand me. I am in no way minimizing the Holy Ghost. It is the greatest thing that could ever happen to you. But we sit around Pentecostal pews and chairs, and we sit around meetings and rallies and conferences and services and we hear people talk about it and we hear preachers preach about it, “You’ve got to get the Ghost; you’ve got to get the Ghost. It’s inevitable; you’ve got to have it to be saved.” You gotta have it to be saved. I believe that. But we hear so much that man, it’s the Holy Ghost, it’s the Holy Ghost, that if we’re not careful, we’ll sit here and if we don’t have it and we’ll get to thinking in our minds, “Boy, if I can ever get the Holy Ghost, I’ve made it. If I can ever just speak in tongues, there it is. If I can ever just speak in tongues, I’ve arrived. I’ll be like all the other Pentecostals at the top of the success ladder. If I can just speak in tongues, then I can sit back and relax. Then I’ve got my ticket. Then I can just enjoy things. Then I can just settle down, because that is the utopia of the Pentecostal experience is speaking in tongues, getting the Holy Ghost.”
Honey, you’re wrong. I said you’re wrong. I’m here to tell you that the Holy Ghost is the first step. The Holy Ghost is the first step. It’s way down here. Because when we are born and we’re a baby, sometimes we learn to talk before we learn to walk. The Holy Ghost is where you are starting out. It’s where you are born again, and you speak with other tongues. When we are born, we start by crying. We receive the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues and that’s good for that night. But the next night you gotta get some more, and you get a little higher and you speak in tongues. Then God begins to use you. The next night you get a little bit higher. And you say, “My God, I’ve never felt like this before.” You start being used. The next night you’re a little bit higher and the Holy Ghost is touching you. You know why? Because you are desiring more and more of it.
You see, the Bible says that Peter continued daily in the temple. I mean, here’s a man that just preached the salvation message. Here’s a man that was just drunk like Homer Simpson. And the Bible says that he continued daily in the temple. What I’m telling you young people is this; let’s not be satisfied because we started out good last night. That was last night. I’m looking forward toward there. I’m looking over there. There’s where Peter wanted to go, over there. That’s why he said, “I’m going back to the temple because I am lusting after more of the Holy Ghost.”
They were saying, “Peter, you’re crazy, man. You’ve been in church 10 days straight. You’ve been laying up there on your face crying. And then all of this stuff happened, people speaking in tongues, people dancing and shouting. And now you’re going back to the temple?” He said, “Yeah, I’ve just got to have some more.” And he goes back to the temple. I don’t know how many days he went to the temple. But I do know that the Bible says that every day they brought a lame man and set him at the gate. Every day they brought him. The Bible also says that every day Peter went to the temple at the hour of prayer.
So you see, after he had that Holy Ghost experience, the very next day he went to the temple and passed the lame man. “God bless you, sir. I got it yesterday. I’m going in to get a little bit more.” He came out. “God bless you, sir. God bless you.” He went home. The next day, “I gotta have some more. That wasn’t enough. I got to have another dose.” He goes to the temple. “God really bless you. I gotta have some more. I gotta climb up another step.” Two days go by, “I really got to have some more. God really, really bless you.” The next day, he moves up another step to the temple. “Lord, I desire more of you. I thank you for everything that has happened. I thank you for the shout. I thank you for the tongues. I thank you, but Lord, I desire spiritual gifts. I desire spiritual gifts. I covet earnestly the best gifts. I want something more than just a dance. I want something more than just a shout.”
If all we have is a shout and a dance, we have nothing, unless we can demonstrate the power of Almighty God, unless we can get to the place where we can demonstrate the power of God, we have nothing. But somewhere in between Pentecost, somewhere in between speaking in tongues and going to the temple, something happened to Peter. He got to a place where he stopped and said, “My goodness, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I unto thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.” And the man began to rise up and walk and began to leap. What happened? He lusted, he desired, he coveted, until he received.
It did not stop there. Peter continued in the temple daily. The bible tells us that finally we find Peter knocking on the door to Dorcas’ house. He said, “I hear there is a dead woman here.” She said, “Yes, sniff, sniff. She’s upstairs. See this pretty coat? Sniff, sniff. Dorcas made this for me.” Peter says, “I hear you’ve got something strange in your neighborhood. I hear you’ve got something weird and it don’t look good.” They’re crying, all the ladies were in the living room. They were saying, “Oh, Dorcas was so good. Who are we gonna call? Who are we gonna call? Who are we gonna call? Who are we gonna call? Who are we gonna call? It’s past us. It’s bigger than we are. Who are we gonna call? It’s bigger than we are. Who are we gonna call?”
About that time, there was a knock at the door. And Peter said, “Here I am.” They said, “Who are you?” He said, “I’m a GhostLuster. If you’ve got trouble, who you gonna call? It’s gonna be a GhostLuster. I’ve come to raise up the dead. I’ve come to defy death.” “But you can’t.” “Oh, I can. Because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” And he goes up there and takes that dead woman by the hand, and says, “Death, I command you to loose.” And she raises up, and he takes her down, and he says, “She’s alive! She’s alive!” Who u gonna call? GhostLusters! Who u gonna call? GhostLusters!
CLOSING.
Let me tell you young people something. There is a man of God, in your Pastor, that is fighting for your soul. Your Pastor that stands in the pulpit every Sunday and every Wednesday or Thursday night, he shoulders things that you will never know. He shoulders things that you will never know and he is not at liberty to call you in and tell you about them. That’s why sometimes you see the Pastor come in, maybe he don’t shake everybody’s hand or you don’t know where he is before service. Maybe he just goes straight to a prayer room and he just falls to his face and begins to weep, because of the burden he has for each and every one of you and your souls. Because of the battle he has to fight against the enemy for your sakes and the load he has to carry that is on that man of God. There are times that that man needs help in the battle.
When he needs help or when he has a problem, he’s not going to call those young people that are in the vestibule or foyer before church laughing, talking and joking around, “Hey man, do you believe what happened to so and so? Oh yeah, I can’t believe it. Oh, lol, that was funny. Ha, ha, let me tell you.” But if he makes his way past those young people that are fellowshipping and laughing all the time, and there’s nothing wrong with fellowshipping, there is just a time and a place for it. He goes into that prayer room in the back on Sunday, and he notices that there is about 5 or 10 young people that are not out there talking, but they’ve got their knees bent and they’re on the floor, and they’re saying, “Oh, God, we desire more of the Spirit. We are hungry. We have an uncontrollable and overwhelming desire for the things of the Spirit. Oh, God, we are hungry. We are not interested in Pizza Hut. We are not interested in what’s going to happen after church. We just want a move of the Holy Ghost. We just want to be used in the Spirit. We just want to experience the power of the Holy Ghost. We just got to have it.”
You know what? That Pastor is going to look at you and he’s going to sit down in the midst of you, and he’s going to say, “Excuse me, I can’t tell you everything that’s happening in my life. I can’t tell you all about the situations I’m holding up right now. But, man, I feel something in your prayers. I wonder if you can gather around me and lay hands on me.” “But you’re the Pastor.” “Yeah, but I got a problem. And when I got a problem, you know who I’m gonna call? GhostLusters.”
When 4 or 5 of you gather around your Pastor and you lay hands on him and you say, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I bind the power of hell that fighting against my Pastor.” And you say, “We will be noticed, we will experience the things of the Holy Ghost.” Look out! Revival is coming to your church, revival is coming to your city, and revival is coming to your section. Look out, the devil is in trouble, because there is some GhostLusters that are on his tail, and they are going to be victorious!
