Oh, the grace that brought him down to
man.
Oh, the mighty gulf.
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span
at Calvary.
Mercy there was great and grace was free.
Pardon there was multiplied to me.
Where my burdensome self did persist at Calvary.
Years I spent in vanity and pride.
Disgusting.
Bearing not my love was crucified.
Knowing not it was for me he died
on Calvary.
Mercy there was great and grace was free.
Pardon there was multiplied to me.
There my burdensome self did persist at Calvary.
Good.
Now shall we sing or read?
We better read.
My wife's waiting me down already.
Okay.
The Gospel according to Luke.
We look at Luke.
Sorry, chapter 1.
I'll assume that you know the story.
Let's begin at verse 63.
This is Zachariah.
He asked for a writing table and wrote.
Saying that his name is John.
And they marveled all.
And his mouth was opened immediately.
And his tongue loosed.
I see lots of people with open mouths
but not loose tongues.
And some with too many loose tongues.
And he spake and praised God.
And fear came upon all that dwelt round
about them.
And all those sayings were noised abroad throughout
all the hill country of Judea.
And all they that heard them laid up
in their hearts.
Saying what my most charged shall this be.
And the hand of the Lord is upon
him.
I think that's one of the most awesome
things in the word of God.
If you read through Ezekiel.
The word of the Lord came unto me.
The word of the Lord.
Chapter after chapter.
And then when you get to about chapter
20 a little further.
It says the hand of the Lord is
upon me.
And I don't believe the Lord puts his
hand upon us.
Till we know his voice.
I'm more convinced than ever.
There are mysteries on the field.
Because I've met them.
They're working for God.
They're not working with God.
And they end up in disaster.
Just today I got a letter from South
America.
A young man.
A woman I remember sitting.
She sat here.
And she seemed to have everything that was
necessary.
But she's fallen flat on her face down
there.
And become a reproach.
The hand of the Lord is upon him.
Now if you were listing all the prophets
in the Bible.
And I say who are the major prophets?
You would say well Jeremiah.
And Zechariah.
And Isaiah.
And a few other I's.
And then you come down to the minor
prophets.
If I say go right through the Bible.
I guarantee most of us would omit the
character here.
In verse 67 of Luke 1.
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy
Ghost and prophesied.
I'm sick of people saying thus saith the
Lord.
Listen.
If you say thus saith the Lord when
it's your own silly mind.
You're taking God's name in vain.
A guy spilled lots of stuff out a
few weeks ago at the bank there.
And at the end he says thus saith
the Lord.
I bit my lip.
If he said it again I'd stand up
and say that's baloney.
It wasn't God at all.
It was you.
Now this place is no place to draw
attention to yourself.
We're here to please God.
We're here to hear God's voice.
We're here to get strength from God.
We're here to get revelation from God.
He was filled with the Holy Ghost and
prophesied saying.
Let's go to verse 70.
And as he spake by the mouth of
his holy prophets which we have seen since
the world began.
But we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all that hate
us.
To perform mercy promised to our fathers.
And to remember his holy covenant.
The oath which he swore to our father
Abraham.
That he would grant us.
Now come on this is us in it
here.
We being delivered out of the hand of
our enemies.
Might serve him without fear.
In holiness and righteousness.
All the days of our life.
Come on.
I can understand a world that's so rotten
in sin.
That buys sin and sells sin.
And eats it and drinks it.
And trades in it.
I can understand the world being against holiness.
I can't understand why churches are against it.
What did you sing in that lovely hymn?
The old rugged cross.
The blood was what?
To pardon?
I need more than pardon.
To pardon and sanctify me.
We were taught as children.
That good old country England there.
That heaven is a holy place.
Prepared for holy people.
I'll come to that a bit later.
But this is it.
When it comes to Christmas it's not far
off.
The shops have already got Christmas.
A couple of weeks they'll be putting Easter
eggs out.
They're always trying to get a jump ahead.
And focus our attention.
Because they want to rob our pockets of
course.
But you've got to poop it after poop
it.
What will they do at Christmas?
They'll talk about the manger.
They'll talk about the three wise men.
And usually you'll see a manger there with
three wise men buying in the manger.
They never got near the thing.
The wise men were never in the manger.
The shepherds were in the manger.
The three wise men.
What did they do?
They found a babe.
A young child in a house.
Not a babe.
The babe was in the manger.
It must have been at least two years
after they got to see Jesus.
Because they travelled from the far east.
There's not a prophet.
I don't get it.
There's not a preacher that can prove to
you.
To me anyhow.
That there were three wise men.
It might have been 33.
It might have been 103.
They presented gifts of gold and frankincense and
myrrh.
Well how do you know they didn't make
a collection in one church to buy gold.
Another to buy frankincense.
Another to buy myrrh.
We gather up.
We don't know a thing about it.
But they'll talk about the wise men.
They'll talk about the shepherds.
They'll talk about the star.
They'll talk about the virgin.
They'll talk about Jesus.
But they don't say why he came.
Did he come to rescue us from hell?
No.
Forget it.
That's a fringe benefit.
I remember a preacher in England.
He had some meetings.
Somebody said to him.
How did he get on?
He said, well we had some good meetings.
Let's see.
There were three converts and two half converts.
The man said what do you mean two
half converts?
Well there were three children saved.
Who were the two halves?
He said two men at 60 years of
age.
There's only half of the life left anyhow.
You know the preciousness of the blood is
to save us not merely from hell.
Christianity is not a sinning religion.
If you sin every day in thought, word
and deed you'll go to hell anyhow.
There's only one way to live and that
is if you drop dead you won't have
anything to put right.
You just say look if I drop dead
today everything's clear between me and you and
everybody else.
See we talk about forgiveness of sins.
I heard preachers say bring your sins to
Jesus.
What does he do with them?
He doesn't save them.
Sins are an objection to God.
An abomination to God.
We being delivered out of the hand of
our enemies.
Come on now you're delivered out of the
hand of your enemy.
You know that lust that's bound you.
That evil temper that's bound you.
That unforgiving spirit.
That grudge.
Come on now.
We might want delivered out of the hand
of our enemies might serve him without fear
in holiness.
Holiness deals with character.
And righteousness that deals with conduct.
One of the smartest women that ever lived
I think was Mrs. Wesley.
Not because she had 17 children.
But she instilled into her children that two
things to do with the gospel.
One is believe it.
The other is behave it.
God knows we're heavy on believing it.
But all behaves it.
Can you think of somebody you hate tonight?
Can you think of a grudge you've got?
You see he came that we might have
a holy character.
Holiness is my relationship to God.
Character is my relationship to the world.
When we were children they used to tell
us a lot of smart things you know.
One was honesty is the best policy.
If you're just being honest because it's the
best policy you'll be a rogue in 10
years from now.
We should be honest out of pure character
because truth is truth and honesty is honesty.
Not because it's a smart thing to be
honest.
Not because if you sin you may be
caught out.
You know the stupidity of lots of Christians
is well I'm not living as I should
and I know I have grudges and I
know I have this that and the other.
But God doesn't judge me and I'll tell
you some news he's not going to do
either.
You can do some rotten sin this week
and he won't send fire from heaven on
you.
He'll catch you at the end of the
road.
He's appointed a day.
When Moses' sister criticized him what happened?
She was smitten with leprosy.
You know if God did his judgments as
he used to do.
If he just smote us with leprosy after
we criticized we'd have to turn this into
a healing meeting tonight.
Came through Abel his brother.
What happened?
God put a mark on him.
Why?
What does it say?
Lest what?
Lest any finding him.
There must have been a world population.
His father or mother wouldn't have killed him.
He'd already killed his brother.
So what have you got left?
He says lest any finding him but God
put a mark on him.
He doesn't brand us anymore.
We brand ourselves.
You can't sin without branding your personality.
I don't care how you do it.
Whether it's sourness, whether it's a grudging spit
you can put on airs, you can talk,
you can speak in tongues, you can raise
the dead.
I'm concerned about this showmanship these days.
It's character that God is after.
We may serve him in righteousness all the
days of our life.
Now I'm not preaching tonight.
I'm just going to take a study here.
And let me see.
Let's go over to let's go to Philippians
chapter two.
I was raised in a holiness community and
I'm not a bit embarrassed about it.
The emphasis there on the baptism of the
spirit was not power, it was purity.
I remember a big meeting in England where
the preacher said, now a lot of you
are defeated Christians.
All you who want power come down this
side of the church and go in that
room for prayer.
All who want purity come down here.
You know what the ratio was?
Ten to one.
Ten persons wanted power to everyone that wanted
purity.
And the whole of the revival in the
world tonight is not drunkenness, it's not immorality,
it's not perversion, it's not AIDS, it's not
Mormonism, it's not humanism, it's not Moonism.
The whole of the revival in the church
of Jesus Christ tonight, in the church of
Jesus Christ, the whole of it in the
world is the church of Jesus Christ.
We're so impure, God won't use us.
He said to the disciples, Tari til ye
be endured.
Have you noticed nobody back answered him?
Tari, and you shall receive power.
Lord, we have power.
We've just come back from a crusade, we
cast out devils, we raised the dead, we
did many marvelous works, and Jesus said shut
up and tari til ye be get power.
Tari til you get purified.
They did all their miracles, but one wanted
to sit on his right hand, another on
his left hand, anyhow.
Philippians chapter 2.
Come on, let's test your sanctification.
Come on, let's see how we get on
with verse 14.
I'm reading King James Version.
Do things, no, no, no, no.
Do all things without murmurings and disputings.
That's pretty tough, isn't it?
Do all things without murmuring or without disputings
that you may be blameless and harmless the
sons of God without rebuke in the midst
of a crooked and perverse generation.
Blameless and harmless.
To me this is a result of an
indwelling spirit of God.
We're blameless and harmless.
We're not faultless.
We may be faultless maybe this side of
it, but we can be blameless.
Yes.
And you know the devil exacts upon us
because we're ignorant.
Now supposing I'm going out or a brother's
going out to a meeting and I say,
you're from Dallas, would you mail this for
me please?
I want to get to New York first
thing and it won't get out till Monday
here.
And he says yes, puts it in his
pocket.
I say it's very urgent because it's a
business contract.
So I trust him.
And off he goes.
And it so happens he's one of those
rich evangelists that has three or four suits.
But he puts the envelope in his pocket,
you know.
And when he goes up he hangs his
coat up.
Forgets all about my envelope in his pocket.
I go into Dallas three days after and
I see him and he sees me and
I see him quick like that and he
puts the thing in the mailbox.
And I said, did you mail my letter?
He said, yes.
Well he did and he didn't.
Oh, you didn't really mail it, did you?
No, I didn't.
Do you know I'm going to lose a
contract for $10,000 because of that?
Now he didn't intentionally forget to mail my
letter.
And when the enemy accuses you, check up
and see about your intentions.
He didn't intend to cheat me or fail
me because he's human.
He wasn't faultless but he was blameless.
There's no guilt on him at all.
He didn't intentionally injure me.
I'm not faultless but I can be blameless.
And harmless, the sons of God without rebuke.
Come on now, this is sanctification.
Blameless and harmless where?
I've been in many art galleries in the
world.
I like to go to art galleries.
At least landscapes and seascapes not the other
junk.
And I see sometimes I've stood before a
picture, of course when you're looking at pictures
you always get as far away as you
can from them.
Some of them you should take a bus
ride away but you just stand back to
get the perspective right.
And sometimes I've gazed at a picture but
I got so intrigued with the carving of
the framework, the framework of the frame around
that I didn't see the picture properly.
I got fascinated with the framework instead of
the picture.
And sometimes I've looked at the picture and
couldn't tell you what the framework was anyhow.
But look, this is really set, this holiness
experience here a heart where there are no
murmuring there's no disputing, there's no objection to
the will of God and you can let
people wipe their feet on you if you
like and say that's OK.
I'm not going to murmur, I'm not going
to dispute about this.
Just tonight we were looking at the verse
of favours.
I learned this Mercy, shall I tell you?
I learned this 60 odd years ago.
Ill I-L-L, ill that he blesses
our good and unblessed good is ill and
all is right that seems most wrong if
it be his sweet will.
Swallow that.
Embrace it, it's ill.
Do you know what it means?
It means here that Joseph was up here
and his father sent him from birth to
Dothan with some sandwiches.
When he got there his brothers sold him
and sent him down to Egypt.
When he got there they put him down
in prison.
When he got there the other guys got
out and he was still left there.
All because of envy.
The scripture clearly says they envied.
That's one of the most biblical things in
the church of God today.
Because they envied him they sold him and
he goes down and down and down till
there's nowhere else to go.
But when his brothers finally come he says
you meant it for evil but God meant
it for good.
Can you say that?
Can you kiss the rod that's hitting you
right now?
Or are you one of those mamby-bamby
that's always praying for help.
Lord help me with this.
Forget it.
Lord help me with my temper.
He never will if you live to be
a hundred.
He'll kill it if you let him.
Lord help me with this.
Forget it.
You've been struggling with it ten years or
twenty years.
Why don't you take it to the cross?
Let him put it to death.
That's the only place for pride.
It's the only place for enmity.
It's the only place for bitterness.
It's the only place for all the foolishness
that is in the human heart till he
cleanses it.
Here's the framework.
You may be blameless and harmless.
In other words you live a life of
holiness as the sons of God.
Come on, did Jesus die for anything less
than this?
Do you think Jesus died for the bankrupt
church that we have today that has no
power?
It has no evidence of the supernatural?
He died for it, but he didn't intend
it to stay like this wretched state.
The sons of God.
If I'd had a tambourine and said it,
they've all shouted hallelujah, so I'd better bring
my tambourine.
I'll borrow one.
You know, we need something to prime us
up, don't we?
We've got to get atmosphere.
We've got to get soulish.
Or else nobody has a squeak.
Right.
You know, people go to church and say,
it was a wonderful meeting, and it was
as soulish as any place on earth.
There are not many people who can distinguish
between what is soulish and what is spiritual.
It's just on the emotional level.
It stirred me.
I got a lift, and tomorrow morning they're
bankrupt.
We're the sons of God.
And John says it doesn't appear what we
shall be.
But when we see him, boy, some of
you young guys don't think about this.
When you get to my age, you will.
One day, I'm not too worried about a
crown on my head just now.
What I'm concerned about, I want a body
like unto his glorious body.
But to have a body like unto his
glorious body, listen, I have to have a
spirit now like his spirit.
It's a reward of living a faithful holy
life.
The son of God.
I feel he's a pretty smart guy.
He meets with kings and all kinds of
people, but he's a humble guy like his
dad, he's very nice.
But he wrote home the other day, he
said, I've written to England to the, I
forget where it is now, I'm finding the
pedigree of our family.
Oh boy, if it's good, I'll tell you,
but if it isn't, forget it.
I'm a son of God.
You're a child of God?
You're a son of God.
And yet, we let this old world kick
us around like a football.
We get depressed like other stupid people outside.
Where's the victory?
Where's the joy?
Where's the overflow?
Do you think Jesus was ever depressed apart
from Gethsemane?
And even there, he had joy because he
was doing the will of his father.
If you're working for YWAM, you'll die heartbroken.
If you're working for Last Days, and soon
you'll report me and I'll get kicked for
this maybe.
But if you're working for Last Days, it's
true, you'll get discouraged, you'll see personalities that
disappoint you, and before you stick a finger
in their eye, listen, this week you've been
disappointing somebody around you, so don't feel too
cocky about it.
You can be blameless and harmless, the sons
of God, without rebuke.
Not without rebuke from men, they'll rebuke you
for anything.
But without rebuke from God, you know that
the relationship is as straight as 6 o
'clock.
You know as far as you can know
that you're walking in purity, you're walking in
holiness, you're walking in righteousness, you're walking in
truth.
You may be blameless and harmless, the sons
of God, without rebuke.
Now, that's the picture, here's the framework.
In the midst of a crooked and perverse
generation, among whom ye shines as lights in
the world, as you come out of our
driveway, if you've been, and if you haven't,
don't come tonight anyhow.
But we have one of those safety lights.
You know, the wind blows it sometimes, I
heard it creaking one night, because it's on
a tree.
And I listened, I thought it was saying
it's too dark here to shine.
What?
That's why I put it there, because it's
the darkest spot around the house.
You say, why did the Lord put me
here?
Because you've told him you have his light
in you, that's why.
We're the light of the world.
You work amongst corruption in an office or
somewhere, where there's dirty talk.
Why did God put me there?
To be salt.
Wouldn't make much good to gather all the
street lights and put them all down in
a town square, would it?
We put one here, one there, one somewhere
else.
We're to shine as lights in the world,
shine with a radiant holiness, with a purity
the world does nothing about.
Let me look here a second.
This is tough, isn't it?
You look a little miserable tonight, bless you.
No, we don't clap our hands too much
here and dance around, we're after character, not
showmanship.
It's tough, I mean, Episodes of the Philippians.
Sorry, Philippians 4 and verse 4.
Come on now, come on, you're under the
weather, eh?
You've had some disappointments today, eh?
The world is treating me so rough, people
don't understand me.
Where's the problem?
You can't understand yourself, why do you expect
other folks to understand you?
I don't remember Jesus ever sighed and sobbed
and went running around and saying, John, I
want to rest on your shoulder, I'm having
it rough.
The Pharisees have been after me, the Sadducees
really cool me, and the high priests are
after me, they're going to put me to
death.
After I've seen, as I've told you before,
when I've seen Jesus in heaven and seen
my folk and a few other folk, I'm
going to get a little chat for about
5,000 years with the Apostle Paul.
Yeah, hallelujah, but don't join in, let me
talk to him first.
Are you ready?
I said, Paul, where did you draw the
strength to glory in tribulation, in reproaches, in
necessities?
He didn't say, I just have grace to
get through, he says, I glory in them,
they're my meat, they're my drink.
You keep saying, Lord, make me a true
saint, make me strong, and he sends you
something that will bend you back so you
need every bit of strength and grace you
can get, and the next thing you're whining
to somebody, oh, you don't know how it
is, I just got a letter, do you
know what it said?
No, and I don't care either.
I'll tell you what it says here in
Philippians chapter 4, come on, verse 4, rejoice
in the Lord always.
And this man's in the most stinking prison
you could ever imagine, it's full of filth,
it's full of dirt, it smells, his food
is rotten, the conditions are rotten, everything's rotten,
and he's telling other people, rejoice in the
Lord.
Why didn't he write and say, could you
have a half night of prayer and pray
so I'll be liberated?
I want to get out of this tough
situation.
Oh, it's so hard, I mean, you know,
I've been so long, and other Christians are
swimming in the lake up there, or swimming
in the Mediterranean, and here I am, and
it's so tough, and oh, it's so weird,
and it gets drafty at times, and, oh,
mercy.
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I
say rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all men,
the Lord is at hand.
Now what about this?
Come on, be careful for nothing.
Isn't that nice?
Be careful for nothing, let's turn it around
a bit, be prayerful in everything.
And with supplication and thanksgiving let your requests
be made known unto God.
And the peace of God which passeth all
understanding.
Come on, you've been there 16 years.
Tell me this, you say, I've got peace
that passes all understanding.
Tell me this, does it pass all misunderstanding?
That's a grade up the road, a long
way.
Not just the peace that passeth all understanding.
I can pass misunderstanding triumphantly, and I don't
whine either to God when I'm praying or
to anybody else.
What did he say?
He says, great peace have they, not just
here, but the peace of God which passeth
all understanding.
Elsewhere he says, great peace have they which
love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.
Are you there?
Come on, with all your baptism and gifts
and your preaching and your long service, are
you in a place where God Almighty can
look on you, you can look into his
face right now and tell him?
I've got a peace that passeth all understanding.
I love that verse in Psalm 119, it's
either 165 or 156.
Great peace have they which love thy law,
and nothing can offend.
Listen, if you're not a fence proof, you're
not a fellow of the Holy Ghost.
One of the most popular writers, I kind
of wish my books had sold as well,
because I don't make any money, I give
it to missions.
One of the greatest writers of our day
is Watchman Nee.
And before ever the world knew him, he
left China and he went to London, and
some of you have a little book, I
know Dale, you've got that book, not Watchman
Nee's, of Austin Sparks and School of Christ.
How many of you don't have that?
School of Christ?
I'll have to try and get some next
week.
But Watchman Nee went to sit at the
feet of that precious man, Sparks, and stayed
there more than a year.
And Sparks saw him as an unusual character.
And the Archbishop of Canterbury, there's an Archbishop
of Canterbury and there's an Archbishop of York,
further up in England.
He was having a big convention for bishops.
And they asked Watchman Nee to speak.
And the little gentle, petite little fellow with
his Mandarin colour, walked onto the platform at
the side of the big Archbishops with all
their trimmings on, you know.
And the Archbishop introduced him and said, this
Chinaman has a wonderful walk with God.
He's going to talk to us.
To his amazement Watchman got down, walked down
the steps and went behind the first bishop
and put his hands on his head and
everybody thought, oh mercy, what's happening?
And he said, my brother, the spirit of
Christ in me will never argue with the
spirit of Christ in you.
And he went to the next, 128 of
them, he went right round saying almost the
same thing.
The spirit of Christ in me will never
be bitter against your spirit.
The spirit of Christ in me will never
be contentious with your spirit.
And he went right round and finally he
came to the Archbishop and he said the
same thing to the Archbishop.
Everybody nearly collapsed.
Then finally put his hands on his own
head and he said, the spirit of Christ
in me will never fight the spirit of
Christ in you.
And he said, I believe the spirit of
Christ is in you.
Well, if it isn't the spirit of Christ,
does Christ fight himself?
When people are praying, sometimes people burst out
in the Holy Ghost is a gentleman.
If somebody is praying, shut up, that's not
the time to prophesy.
Let the other person speak.
Do things all decently and in order.
You see, God never has chaos.
Be careful for nothing, be prayerful in everything,
be thankful for anything.
Isn't that good?
And the peace of God which passeth all
understanding shall keep your hearts.
And that actually is a military word, shall
put a guard, a military guard we talk
about.
A protecting guard upon your heart and minds.
Now here it is, he is saying finally
my brethren whatsoever things are true you've got
to do something.
It isn't all God's job to look after
you.
You should be in partnership with God.
Amen.
The peace of God I'm sorry, finally brethren,
whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of
good report if there be any virtue and
if there be any praise think on these
things.
Now let's go over here a minute to
where?
Titus comes right after Timothy as you remember.
Titus chapter 2 Those
nine exalt servants to be obedient to their
masters and to please them well in all
things not answering again, not purloining, but showing
all good fidelity that they may adorn the
doctrine, come on, as your life, as your
life, as mine today adorn the gospel?
What does Paul say?
We're made a spectacle to the world.
Or as a modern writer says, the man
in the street doesn't read his Bible, he
reads you.
You can make all those excuses you make
all those excuses you like for your bad
temper and for this, that, and the other.
I'll tell you what, the world outside won't
excuse you.
He knows the standard of the Christian should
be the standard of Jesus Christ himself.
Teaching us that denying ungodliness, verse 12 unworldly
lusts you've got to make up your mind
about them you deny ungodliness and unworldly lusts
we should live soberly righteously and godly in
this present generation or this present world, that's
the same thing we're to work with the
corruption all around us and be pure in
the midst of all that corruption darkness but
we're to have the illumination of the spirit
of God looking for that blessed hope.
You know there are two things that will
help keep you pure, and you've got to
help to keep yourself pure.
One is that you don't know what minute
Jesus is coming people say, I believe Jesus
will come tonight.
I'd say frankly to them, you're a liar
what do you mean I'm a liar?
You wouldn't have lived today as you've lived
if you believed Jesus was coming at 12
o'clock tonight you'd have gone to the
phone and put some of those things wrong
that have been wrong for years and you
won't clear up with them looking for that
blessed hope number one is if I live
expecting his coming I want to be pure
as he is pure and the second thing
is if I really want to believe, to
be pure and walk in wholeness and righteousness,
I'll keep my eye on the judgment seat
of Christ you know God isn't going to
send anybody a notice that two days from
now we're going to appear at the judgment
seat of Christ or that he's going to
come and catch us away and the only
way to live is to live ready prepared
for those two wonderful events we're still in
Titus 2 verse 14 let me go back
looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing
of the great God come on is your
life and mine are we examples of his
workmanship I told you before let me tell
you again some of you have not heard
it very often when I'm not concentrating properly
I'll do some doodling and usually I manage
to sketch an eagle you wouldn't know unless
I told you but anyhow I'd done one
one day and a man came in the
office door and he said oh did you
do that eagle, I said yes can I
have it, sure take it he stayed about
55 minutes it was 50 minutes too long
but anyhow going out he said will you
do something for me, I said no he
said you don't know what I'm going to
ask I do, what am I going to
ask you're going to ask me to autograph
that picture I said right I was now
that you give me a hundred dollars try
me with a thousand I might well you
did it well you did it I said
sure I did but I wasn't concentrating oh
I want to put it I've got the
books on all that you've written I've got
every book you've written I want to put
this at the side and say I've not
only got Ravenhill's books I've got a picture
look it's autographed I said yeah I said
it's the most disgusting thing I ever did
anyhow put my name on that I'm sincere
not if you give me a hundred dollars
hmm all so he went out you know
like Christians do instead of cursing he slammed
the door as hard as he could same
thing still mad and as soon as he
slammed that door the Lord said this to
me you wouldn't sign that as your workmanship
can I sign your life at the end
of every day as my workmanship keep that
in mind and see how you live every
day next week just as I go to
bed say Lord will you autograph my life
see what he says you know we interpret
the Holy if you'll get through with the
Holy Ghost you'll get a ministry I'm sick
of all these women's ministries and I don't
mean that in any wrong way I know
you'll tell maybe Melody and I wasn't thinking
of her at all there's so many groups
in Dallas now led by women and women
go up and down like shuttlecocks they say
all kinds of stuff that's in the flesh
there are some good ones there are some
exceptions I know that but you know we
speakers the only evidence of the Holy Ghost
is visible power, authority casting out demons showing
yourself off Jesus and every showman I was
trying to remember I couldn't tonight ask my
sweetheart she couldn't but years ago there was
a great big a great big in the
right sense holiness preacher in this country and
one message he had was a super message
I remember one night a few years ago
we were I don't eat before a meeting
usually and afterwards we went for a snack
and Robert G.
Lee came in he was famous for a
sermon do you remember he had a very
famous sermon he preached everywhere preached every year
at the annual gathering of the Southern Baptists
on what was it payday someday he borrowed
the title anyhow but this preacher was famous
not for preaching payday someday you should receive
power after the Holy Ghost has come upon
you well a young man in a country
church heard that this preacher was going to
this town and he said sir you'll be
passing right through our little town and it's
a whistle stop we can get them to
stop the train would you come and speak
to my Saturday night group oh it would
be so thrilling we get such a big
offering to do repairs for the church would
you please come please come we're very small
but please come and the good man of
God went the church was jammed out the
aisles were filled they sang and he said
now our brother's going to give his famous
famous sermon that he's preached for 50 years
on Acts 1-8 and he stood there
and he said Acts 1-8 you should
receive power you should receive power you should
receive power oh I never thought I'd forget
that my mind has gone blank but you
don't need power just to be a successful
missionary or a successful preacher you need power
to be a holy daddy and a holy
mummy you need power to get up at
2 o'clock in the morning when the
baby is yelling and in those days they
didn't have all those lovely soft floors you
know they had linoleum like stepping out to
Siberia when you get out of bed and
he says you know what he said you
can be so filled with the love of
God that if you have to walk around
the bedroom for two hours and your feet
are like ice you can get back into
bed in total victory and he shut up
they were singing a hymn and he went
out to the back door and said to
a man let me jump in your buggy
took him to the train station he felt
he'd never been such a failure in all
his life the year after he was going
back to the big convention and the pastor
said would you please come to our church
oh mercy go there my biggest flop preaching
in over 60 years of preaching I can't
go back and he prayed and the Lord
said go back when he got there it
was the pastor himself that was waiting for
him at the train station and he shook
hands with him and said brother we remember
the last time you were here and he
thought sure I guess you do who doesn't
it was such a marvelous night that meeting
went on till the early hours of the
morning as soon as you left the altars
were filled people were weeping seeking a sanctified
heart a heart in which there's no rebellion
a heart where they could say I'll do
all things through Christ which strengthens me a
heart in which there's no murmuring a heart
which is holy a heart which is righteous
it says here he gave himself for us
he might redeem us from all iniquity come
on you don't do much for a man
if you get him to kneel and confess
his lousy sins they do that every Sunday
in the Catholic Church he needs more than
forgiveness he needs cleansing, he needs more than
cleansing he needs indwelling I said to my
wife sweetheart maybe in a few days now
they say there's a side beer in winter
coming I hope it doesn't because I'll burn
up my wood too quickly unless Bill gets
me some that's a commercial but that's alright
but I know this you've got to keep
replenishing that fire you can have a flourishing
fire but the thing goes out you've got
to keep renewing your spirit day by day
it isn't all God's responsibility, it's yours you
can keep yourself pure thinking about those things
we said once in a while things are
good think on these things and while you're
doing that the devil will be kept out
you have a phonograph you put a disc
on it you take a bag of sugar
and pour it on the sugar will stack
up like that why?
well you pour it on well let's throw
it all off now let's get the thing
going pour a pound of sugar it'll go
everywhere well why didn't it do it the
first time?
because the thing was still if you keep
your mind active in God the devil won't
get in the reason is you're fooling around
you're not concentrating on him think on these
things what have you got a head for?
just to put a hat on it?
you know we're living wonderful days and then
he called us tonight very wealthy lady, a
millionaire and her daughter's had three brain scans
this week and she's very distressed I thought
yes you go to the hospital I've had
one myself as a matter of fact the
doctor came in the next day and said
well Mr Raymond we took a brain scan
last night but there was nothing in it
you can take a picture of my brain
but you cannot take a picture of my
mind you can take a picture of my
throat you can't give me a picture of
my voice you can take a picture of
my heart I said to my wife the
other day sweet hello they're putting a plastic
heart in that man in the hospital can
you imagine his wife coming in next day
and he says you know dear I love
you with all my heart what?
you love me with that piece of plastic?
you can take a photograph of my heart
but you can't find my will you can't
find my affections you can't find love in
me picture my throat yes picture my voice
no picture my brain yes picture my mind
no they're all hidden away there most of
them condensed again into this area that we
call the heart let me go back to
this story I was telling you oh yes
we remember Dr Hill I think we remember
Dr Hill what a night yeah he said
please don't recall it that was the biggest
failure in my preaching career, biggest success this
church has ever had people stayed there weeping
and groaning he said I was the first
to go to the altar I'm not overflowing
with patience and kindness and waiting and love
my wife and I have been married five
years we've had no children and he said
there I said to the Lord Lord give
me a sanctified heart a heart like Wesley
said oh for a heart to praise my
God a heart from sin set free a
heart that always feels thy blood so freely
spilled for me a heart resigned submissive meet
my great Redeemer's throne where only Christ is
heard to speak where Jesus reigns alone a
humble lowly contrite heart believing true and clean
which neither life nor death can part from
him that dwells within a heart to praise
my God Wesley's always saying about his heart
refining fire go through my heart illuminate my
soul scatter thy life through every part and
sanctify the whole you see in the fall
the body was ruined, the mind was ruined
the heart was ruined so when Paul prays
in 1 Thessalonians 5 he says the very
God of peace sanctify you holy and I
pray God your whole spirit and soul and
body there's not much left after that be
preserved blameless and the very God of peace
sanctify you holy the German says sanctify you
through and through from the center to the
circumference your whole personality sanctified a sanctified will
a sanctified body lust has no dominion he
took it to the cross and he put
it away there a heart in every thought
refining fire go through my heart illuminate my
soul scatter thy life through every part and
sanctify the whole and he said you know
what preacher when I got up from there
I said God we've waited 5 years for
a baby we haven't had one but I
believe right now you so indwell me by
your spirit that all the fruits of the
spirit love and joy and peace and long
suffering do you know what that means suffering
a long while now don't say that you
don't mean it he said you know 6
months after my wife said to me one
day as I came in darling do you
know what's happening I'm going to have a
baby wonderful oh oh oh great oh I
remember what I told the Lord of the
old he said the baby came it was
the most misshapen thing the doctor had ever
seen in his life he was obviously got
down syndrome poor little thing his eyes weren't
straight it was drooling his hands were obviously
very weak if not withered he said we
took that little thing and I said to
my wife oh pardon me he went to
the hospital little country hospital breathless nurse yes
pastor your wife had a baby boy oh
let me see no no no you can't
see her yet why not the doctor wants
to see you first well let me see
the doctor doctor come in the room let's
talk what's wrong have I got a son
yes he's about the most retarded little creature
I've ever seen a couple of hours after
he was born your wife asked to see
him when she saw it she went a
mind snap your baby's in that room your
wife's in that room he said I went
home left the baby in the hospital went
to an empty house had no experience with
children had to bottle feed the child had
to change it had to do everything for
him he said after 6 weeks I think
it was or 6 months my wife's mind
was restored and he said I said to
her darling look this is what we'll do
when you get up in the morning at
8 o'clock you look after the baby
I have to do my duties I've got
to preach you look after the baby from
8 in the morning till 8 at night
I look after the baby from 8 at
night till 8 the next morning and he
said Dr. Hill what God almighty did there
was a miracle I told him I don't
care if you'll give us a chance I
don't care what happens and he took me
at my word he said I get up
every morning between 2 and 3 with a
screaming baby we can't pacify that child and
he said I walk around that bedroom in
my bare feet and the baby's yelling and
my wife was insane and mad for a
while until God sobered her up but you
know what he said I had so often
asked God for power to preach I want
to be the best preacher in this community
but I knew that my heart wasn't sanctified
there was some rebellion there was some temper
there was some anger but he said that
night the blood came and cleansed me through
and through and the Holy Ghost put out
everything that was hostile to God and he
said from that day to this I've lived
a sanctified life I've not walked in the
way I've walked in the highway of holiness
I felt his living presence I put the
price down give me the child I don't
care what it costs have you ever wondered
what would happen if God took you at
your word hmm easy to get excited in
a meeting when there are people around about
they think you're a hero what do you
do when you get out of it I'm
looking back at this verse here just a
minute I've quoted it already do all things
without murmuring or disputing even carrying a baby
around the bedroom in an icy room where
in those days there was no heating like
we have but he did all things without
murmuring and disputing and do you know what
people said our preacher is preaching better now
than he's ever preached he's living nearer to
God he has an anointing he has a
gentleness he has a spirit that he's never
had before and the only way to do
it was for God to purify him by
the blood and purify him by correction God
wants to redeem us from all iniquity there's
a very good book if you can find
it buy it it's called deeper experiences in
the lives of famous Christians I looked it
up today you know most of the Baptists
don't believe in any kind of second blessing
or second anything else they'll have to believe
in the second death before too long anyhow
some of them but there's a man in
there by the name of A.B. Earle
you know William Booth said the reason he
sought the baptism of the Holy Ghost he
lacked power he lacked energy he lacked strength
he lacked zeal and God got hold of
that man who was half a Jew and
half a Gentile and filled him with the
Holy Ghost and the Salvation Army went into
90 countries not cities 70 countries in 90
years ladies left their castles in England and
they went and got down and scrubbed floors
in France to have a decent meeting A
.B. Earle didn't say he lacked power he
said I lack sweetness sometimes I have sweetness
and then I'm erratic I have irregular experiences
of rebellion and sweetness I wanted a permanent
sweetness and he said I went to the
Lord and I laid my life before him
and said I want a sanctified heart that
manifests sweetness in every conceivable circumstance well we
can have it but it's a pretty expensive
deal isn't it I was going to take
another section I won't do that I'll take
it some other time he gave himself for
us that he might redeem us that word
redemption is to buy back you put something
in pawn and you go redeem it, we've
been sold out to the enemy many of
us with our bodies some of us with
our passions in other ways but he came
to redeem us and purify unto himself that
lovely word purify unto himself a peculiar people,
not a funny people a peculiar people a
strange people we don't want the world we
don't want it's customs we can't do what
even other Christians can do easily, why?
because God's refining your life he doesn't want
you to be like them he's trying to
get you to conform to his word and
conform to his will purify unto himself a
peculiar people zealous of good works not hot
and then cold not fired up when you
go to a meeting and then tomorrow just
look like a burst balloon at the side
of the road this man says I want
an even strong desire I want a calmly
fervent zeal and that's exactly what God almighty
wants to give us you know we're afraid
of the word holiness the word holy comes
from an Anglo-Saxon word which actually means
whole complete in one of his great hymns
Charles says to perfect health restore my soul
sanctification is restoring me getting out of me
what the old Adam put in by Adam's
transgression sin entered into the world and death
because of sin but the word of God
doesn't call Jesus Christ the second Adam Cardinal
Sperman a Catholic wrote a lovely hymn praise
to the holiest in the height it's a
fantastic hymn but then he says oh loving
wisdom of our God when all was sin
and shame a second Adam to the fact
no if you have a second Adam you
can have a third there was only a
first Adam and a last Adam and good
old Isaac Watts comes in again in his
hymn Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
doth its successive journeys run his kingdom stretch
from shore to shore till moon shall wax
and rain no more blessings abound where'er
he reigns the prisoner leaps to loose his
chains the weary find eternal rest and all
the sons of wont are blessed then he
goes on and the next time he says
this in him in Christ the tribes of
Adam boast more blessings than their fathers lost
look at everything that was lost because of
Adam's transgression and then he says in him
we believers through Christ we get back more
than Adam ever lost we can't be restored
to innocence we can be brought to purity
which is greater than innocence when it came
to the clinch Adam fell we don't need
to fall the apostle says God can keep
us from falling the normal Christian life is
not up and down and in and out
the normal Christian life is not staggering and
stumbling normal Christian life is victory to perfect
health restore my soul take out all the
contamination take out all the pride take out
the unholy anger there's a holy anger what's
the difference between carnal anger and holy anger
well in carnal anger there's bitterness in holy
anger there's sorrow Jesus got angry he whipped
people but he did it sorrowfully he did
it with tears to perfect health restore my
soul to perfect holiness and love well well
I better stop or I'll go on forever
well not forever but for longer we're going
to pray I understand the school up the
road what's it called Woodcrest is in a
very very very very critical situation financially you
know the devil's scared to death that something's
going to happen around here Dave Wilkinson had
a bible school he closed it Agape had
a bible school they closed it this is
on the brink I think if they don't
how many millions they have to have I
don't know within a week one million one
million within a week or the place has
to close down they can't even pay their
staff see before they came here they had
about 250 students now they've only 120 they
used to have a lot of visitors came
in at night and of course they paid
fees now there's nobody around here but cattle
they don't go but why is it come
on are we beating a retreat why did
Agape run away why did Dave close this
place why is this place this bible school
on the verge of closing a young man
called me today and he sounded very anxious
he said I heard Dave Wilkinson it was
a tape they played of Dave Wilkinson this
morning in Dallas in Dallas he said I
want to thank you for your books and
some of your tapes and God's moving me
but he said I don't want to go
to a non-revival school isn't a school
where they train men to be prophets and
I don't mean in Isaiah I mean where
there's an anointing where the constant emphasis is
the indwelling and the anointing of the spirit
of God the most awesome thing this side
of eternity in my judgment as God is
my witness is to say I'm a Christian
what you're saying is Christ is in me
you can't see it, look at my life
I live Jesus Christ every day I act
like him, I talk like him, I walk
like him I love like him, I see
like him but in God's name if you
do why are your eyes so dry so
many times he was a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief continually it wasn't a
spasm that came before ever he got near
Calvary he says oh thou that killest the
prophets you know time is not merely running
out for America time is running out for
the whole world I think Dave's book's good
in many parts one thing I don't agree
I don't agree that America alone fits into
Revelation 18 I believe the whole of Christendom
since Constantine popularized Christianity it's been Babylon I've
told you before I believe the greatest enemy
to America to America tonight is God Robert
Louis Stevenson said yes it's a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living
God it's a more fearful thing for an
individual or nation to fall out of the
hands of the living God God walked out
on a rooster in 1917 let me ask
you again as I finish I'm a bit
angry, sure I am when are we going
to get serious about being serious about revival
hmm when are we going to get serious
about being serious I wish these schools aren't
there, they're running all over the world why
don't we stay at home and show a
holy ghost fire here and people will come
and see a fire hmm the
Lord came to me, might be purified might
be sanctified, might be edified through the spirit
of God and my last word is remember
that I don't care who what books you
read I've got a good stack in my
home, in my library but often I look
at them and I challenge myself at my
desk and say there's all the recordings of
Wesley there's John Owen, there's Flavel the great
Puritan and there's so and so, another great
Puritan these men have what I call colossal
intellect but they lived in eternity it wasn't
something they did every weekend they didn't have
to go to a rally and get somebody
pepped up and talk about the need in
Africa need in here, good Lord are we
so dumb they lived in eternity only their
feet were on earth they saw through the
eyes of Christ their love with the love
of Christ they burned with jealousy for the
Father like Jesus did I've come to do
what I will, I don't care what it
costs so easy to make vows isn't it
you know I think the whole bunch of
us even around here with schools and everything
I think we're still all playing church when
we get to the place where we're not
contemned till the heavens rend whether it means
you get out of the place and go
somewhere else and live by yourself or something
I'm still struggling over that text I preached
about a month ago in Jeremiah, a lamentation
where he says God tore me apart we
don't want tearing apart, we all want healing
we all want blessing I want a little
wisdom, I want to give you some counsel
forget counsel, go get some yourself go get
to the feet of Christ and say I
can't stay here any longer, I've got to
move I want a heart in every thought
renewed and full of love divine perfect in
its obedience and right and pure and good
a copy Lord of thine I'm going to
quote it again that little Irish lady weighed
about 95 pounds didn't do like the modern
missionaries there's no justification for these fly-by
-night evangelists that go to a town for
one night, Phinney didn't do it Paul didn't
do it, Jesus didn't do it they went
for months the big shops can't do it
we take cartloads of kids to another country
they don't know a thing about God except
what they learned off a blackboard they've no
experience we've got to get through into the
school of maturity what did she say?
little Irish lady, I want dear Lord a
love that feels for all a deep strong
love that answers every call a love divine
a love like thine, a love for high
and low on me dear Lord a love
like this bestow and she adds this awesome
thing give me a passionate passion for souls
give me a pity that yearns give me
a love that loves unto death give me
a fire that burns all for a prayer
power that prevails the only time you get
burdened is it publicly so you can be
seen and heard do you groan in a
secret place do you travel in a secret
place this is no place to put an
act on God help you do you put
out your love in a closet when there's
nobody listening God's after getting some saints some
people that are pure pure in heart pure
in their desires He's wanting to shed His
love abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost and I guess there's nobody here that
couldn't do with the baptism of love tonight
our vision God is used to tear up
all my plans and all my ideas lots
of people looking for blessing they're not looking
for it to be broken they want to
be good but they don't want to be
holy they want to live they don't want
to die there's no way to live except
by dying there's no way to be holy
except to be cleansed through and through from
all impurity it's getting late not just on
the clock but I can't believe where this
year's gone to I can do so much
writing and so much of this I've hardly
done anything but time's running out on us
it's running out on our generation God isn't
going to wink at the sin of America
much longer we're not going to butcher all
the babies we've butchered and have all the
divorces we have and all the brokenness we
have nobody's disgusted about sin anymore I
borrowed this this is mine but it was
written nearly 200 years ago this man said
in his day God is an inconvenience in
the lives of these modern people he's an
inconvenience except of course if somebody's dying we
rush for prayer at the wedding we expect
a blessing at the funeral we expect it
God is an inconvenience this word is put
out to the schools prayer is put out
to the schools in God we trust we
don't do anything of the kind it's a
serious hour God is wanting to raise up
prophets many were majestic in the gospel many
were mighty in prayer many were totally abandoned
to every other thing and just say to
God in heaven burn me up, consume me
as long as you get through me to
my generation we're not going to sing we'll
do as we usually do you're free to
go as we go to prayer