I really don't know what that bishop means
in a Baptist church, because I'm not sure
that I have the authority of a bishop
around here.
But anyway, it's good to be here.
He said I always took the authority, so
I didn't know that, but I guess if
you don't know it, it's okay.
But it's so good to see you.
It's hard for me to come and just
come to this meeting in any fashion without
just getting all stirred up, for a number
of reasons, and one of the reasons is
because there are so many friends around that
you know and have known for a long
time, and they are still faithful to the
Lord Jesus, and that's a great
blessing.
And then it's a great blessing just to
realize that you're still in there yourself.
Isn't that right, Jerry?
And that's another great blessing for me, and
it is a thrill to be able to
come to this conference.
As far as I remember, Curtis McCarley and
I were in the first Thanksgiving conference they
ever had in this church.
I'm not talking about this building.
I'm talking about we met back there in
one of those dormitories they don't even use
anymore.
But anyway, it was a great time, and
I never have forgotten that time, and it's
been a great blessing to watch God at
work in this place.
You know, there's enough history here tonight.
If some writer just took the history of
God and just told about what God has
done through the lives of different people in
this place, honestly, folks, they'd read it a
hundred years from now and know that God
was in the world.
It would really shock you just to see
how that would work.
It's such a blessing to be here, and
I'm looking forward to this week for a
number of reasons.
And one of the reasons I'm really looking
forward to this week is that my whole
family, the Lord willing, if they get here
safely tonight and don't get lost, they shouldn't
get lost, but they should be here.
My whole family will get to be here
this week, and that's a unique blessing because
we very seldom ever get together.
And we've never been since we moved from
here in 1969.
We've never been all together here since that
time, and we're going to be, the Lord
willing, here this time.
And I'm really looking forward to that and
praying that the Lord will meet with them
and bless them while they're here.
Tonight, I wish I could announce to you
exactly which way I'm going this week, but
since I don't know myself, I'd be sort
of foolish to announce it.
And I am really not confused, but
I am honestly just shocked a little bit
at the direction the Lord is leading tonight.
And you come to a camp meeting and
you want to shout, and you want to
preach things that will make folks shout.
Well, this message tonight is a shouting message,
but you have to go by the way
of the cross first.
And if I get it right, that's the
way it's supposed to be.
You have to go by the way of
the cross first.
So I want you to turn, please, to
the book of Romans, and I want you
to turn to the 7th chapter of the
book of Romans.
The 7th chapter of the book of Romans.
I want you to realize that Paul, here
in the book of Romans, has come to
a conclusion about himself that genuinely lays out
the honesty of a man.
And I think identifies a great deal of
our need today.
He says in the 18th verse, For I
know that in me that is in my
flesh dwelleth no good thing.
For to will is present with me, but
how to perform that which is good I
find not.
For the good that I would I do
not, but the evil which I would not,
that I do.
Now, Paul is letting us in on the
struggle in his life.
The amazing thing about this passage of scripture,
a lot of people say, well, that's the
struggle of a lost man.
And this passage is directly speaking, or speaking
directly to lost people.
And of course, I've never been able to
accept that fact, but if I could accept
that fact, I would have to say that
the principle here laid out in this passage
is as applicable to a saved person as
a lost person.
But it's also as applicable to a lost
person as it is a saved person.
And so the principle is the same and
the application, different levels, but is identically the
same.
And so that's what we want to look
at.
And we find this man, Paul, saying he
wants to do good, but he finds himself
unable to do it.
And he doesn't want to do evil, but
he finds himself doing it.
And he says, how to perform?
He said, I know not.
Now, that is some admission for a man
who has been saved by the grace of
God.
In the first five chapters of the book
of Romans, we see how a man is
saved by the grace of God.
And then in Romans 6, we have something
else.
Here is a man that is saying, I
do not know how to perform, but he's
been filled with the Holy Spirit.
The most classic passage in the entire Word
of God about how to be filled with
the Holy Spirit is Romans 6.
And here this man in Romans 7 saying,
I do not know how to perform.
Now, you know, a lot of people will
say, hey, all you need to do is
just get saved by the grace of God,
and that settles it all, and that's all
there is to it.
You just get saved and everything is solved.
But Paul says in Romans 7, I do
not know how to perform.
Now, some people say, well, I'll tell you
what you need is just to get filled
with the Holy Spirit, and that solves every
issue, just to get filled with the Holy
Spirit.
But Romans 7, Paul is saying, and that's
after Romans 6, by the way.
You know, it's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, and that's after Romans 6.
And he says, I do not know how
to perform.
A lot of other people say, well, you
know, and this is really, really interesting.
A lot of people will say, well, what
you really need is just to get an
education.
Well, I'll tell you what, this man is
one of the most educated men of that
day, and he is saying, I do not
know how to perform.
I had a man come into my office
a few weeks ago, maybe a couple of
months ago now, and he said, they told
me when I surrendered to the ministry in
high school that what I needed was to
go to college, and that would, I'd find
my answers.
He said, I got a college degree, and
I still did not have my answers.
He said, then they said, go to the
seminary.
And he said, I went to the seminary,
and I still did not have my answers.
He said, then they said, get your doctorates.
And he said, I got my first doctorates,
and I still did not have the answer.
He said, I got another one, and I
still did not have the answer.
And he said, I'm working on another one
right now.
And he said, I still do not have
the answer.
Now, Paul was saying how to perform.
In other words, he was saying how to
be and how to do the work of
God I do not know.
Isn't that amazing?
A man that's been saved, a man that's
been filled with the Holy Spirit, and certainly
had the best education of that day, and
he still did not know how to perform.
Now, that's interesting.
And he's saying that right here in this
verse.
Now, I want to read the first four
verses, and out of these four verses, I
think we'll have the answer in part to
what Paul's talking about.
No you're not, brethren, for I speak to
them that know the law.
How that the law hath dominion over a
man as long as he liveth.
But for the woman which hath a husband
is bound by the law to her husband
so long as he liveth.
But if the husband be dead, she is
loose from the law of her husband.
So then if while her husband liveth, she
be married to another man, she shall be
called an adulteress.
But if her husband be dead, she is
free from that law, so that she is
no adulteress, though she be married to another
man.
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead
to the law by the body of Christ,
that ye should be married to another, even
to him who is raised from the dead,
that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Now, this passage really, really genuinely lays it
out.
Of course, you may not see what I'm
talking about, but I want to share with
you what I'm going to say, and then
I'm going to say what I'm going to
say.
And then I'm going to explain what I
said when I get through saying what I'm
going to say.
Okay?
Now, I'm very serious about this.
I usually reverse the order, but tonight I'm
not going to try to reverse the order.
I'm going to try to present it in
the fashion that I feel that would lay
it out.
And this is the message.
Here we have several personalities involved in this
passage.
We have the woman who really represents the
believer, or could, in principle, represent the unbeliever.
And then we have Mr. Law in this
passage.
And then we have the Lord Jesus in
this passage.
We have these three personalities.
And in this passage, we have the Christian,
the person represented here by this woman, coming
to Jesus Christ.
And when this person comes to Jesus Christ
and is saved, to Jesus and is saved,
this person becomes one with the Lord Jesus.
And this person belongs to Jesus.
And not only does this person belong to
Jesus, but this person relies completely on Jesus,
obviously in some form of ignorance.
But, since the illustration refers to her as
a lady, we'll talk about her as a
lady.
This person literally just simply relies on Jesus
Christ for a while.
And then she forsakes Jesus and starts living
with another man, and his name is Mr.
Law.
And she starts living with Mr. Law, but
she belongs to Jesus Christ.
And therefore, since she belongs to Jesus, and
she's living with Mr. Law, she is living
in adultery.
And since she's living in adultery, she is
a miserable, miserable, miserable woman.
Now, the amazing thing about a person living
in adultery, they have a great difficulty in
performing.
Because they are so full of sin and
guilt.
And they have a difficulty performing.
And another thing about a person that's living
in adultery, a person that's living in adultery
will have strange children.
And so, beloved, we have the church involved,
and when the church is living in adultery,
belonging to Jesus, but living with Mr. Law,
you bring forth children, but they are strange
children.
They're strange children.
You don't have strange children, my dear friends,
when you're not living in adultery.
Young'uns look like the mamas and the
papas.
Amen?
But, my dear friends, when you're living in
adultery, you have some strange ones to show
up.
That's right.
So this woman here is living in adultery.
And she cannot carry out what God wants
her to carry out.
And she really finds herself having a difficult
time with Mr. Law that she's living with.
And so she's in an awful difficult time.
And so, in this, she finds out how
to solve the problem.
Now, if Mr. Law would just die, she
would solve the problem.
She would no longer be living in adultery.
If Jesus would just die, she'd solve the
problem.
But you know Jesus is not going to
die.
And so that's obviously not the answer.
And so, if you know your Bible, you
know that Mr. Law's not going to die.
Not one jot of tittle will ever pass
away.
So Mr. Law's not going to die, so
that's not going to solve her problem.
So the only way for her to solve
her problem is to die herself.
That's right.
And when she dies herself, she literally begins
to solve the problem.
Now, what I want to do is illustrate
what I've talked about.
Now, here's a woman.
She walks in the church house, and she
hears the word of God.
And she becomes convicted.
And she becomes so convicted that she is
a sinner.
And she hears the preacher say, Jesus is
the Savior.
And somehow, someway, it just doesn't really come
through that Jesus is the answer.
So she goes out, and she starts trying
her best to get saved.
She starts coming to church.
And she comes to church every time the
doors open.
Now tell me something.
Can this woman get saved by being faithful
to church?
Oh, she can't.
You really don't think so.
All right, she goes on a little bit
more, and she says, well, I've got some
habits.
I've got some habits.
If I can just quit these habits, if
I can just quit these habits, I will
have the problem solved.
Well, some of the habits she can quit.
But some of them she can't shake.
And she quits those that she can and
those she can't.
She tries and keeps on trying.
And she gets her life pretty cleaned up.
Can she get saved?
That can't save her?
Well, that's interesting.
She's living better than some of the members.
And she's more faithful than the deacons.
And she's still not saved.
Well, I know what she'll do.
Next, I'll tell you what she starts.
She says, this will do it.
This will flat do it.
I'll start giving some money.
Now that will do it.
Now if I just give some money, that
will flat do it.
So she starts giving her money.
Now she's faithful to church.
Now she's not only faithful to church, she's
living the best she knows how to live
morally.
And she's flat giving her money.
And she still doesn't have any peace.
That will not save her.
Well, she tries reading her Bible.
And she starts reading her Bible, and her
Bible just does not make sense.
She reads it, and it just flat doesn't
make sense.
Well, now she's going to church.
She's living morally good.
Giving her money and reading the Bible.
Well, that would make a good Baptist.
I mean it really does, and I think
it has made a lot of good Baptists.
But I think there's some of them still
on the road to hell, just like she
is.
And there she is.
She's reading her Bible.
Well, she just keeps on trying.
And she just keeps on going to church.
And one day, one day, she's sitting there
under deep, deep conviction, I'm a sinner.
And the light breaks through that Jesus Christ
is the living Son of God who became
sin for her.
And died on the cross and loved her
so much He gave Himself.
And literally went through the pains of hell
just for her.
And I mean just the flash of light
from glory just began to open her heart.
And brother, here she comes.
And I mean she comes down that aisle
not saying, oh, I've sinned.
I've sinned against God.
My dear friends, that's not what she's saying
at all.
Because my friends, God has shown her that
she is a wretched, miserable, hell-bound, hell
-bent, hell-deserving soul.
And Jesus doesn't have mercy.
She's going to hell.
Not because she's sinned, but because she is
a sinner.
And folk don't go to hell because they're
sinned.
They sin.
They go to hell because they're sinners.
And they sin because they're sinners.
And here she is, brother.
God has shown her that she's a wicked,
wicked, wicked sinner.
And here she is.
She falls out there, brother.
And she sees that Jesus Christ is the
only, only answer.
And she comes as nothing.
And as far as she's concerned, she's the
most wicked woman in the world.
As far as the community's concerned, she's probably
the best woman in the world.
But she, brother, she's a wretched, miserable sinner.
She walks out by the preacher that night.
And she says, preacher, I don't understand it.
But God showed me tonight I was a
sinner.
And showed me that Jesus Christ was the
only answer.
And she went home.
And she turned on her television.
And her favorite program was on.
And she got to watching that thing.
And she just became disinterested.
That thing didn't hold her attention.
I mean, it didn't meet her appetite.
And need.
And all of that.
She just flipped it off.
Then she went over and got her novel.
She'd been reading.
And started reading that thing.
And it didn't meet her need.
And she said, well, I've been reading the
Bible, but I haven't been able to understand
it.
And my husband will be home in a
couple hours.
I'll just look at this Bible and see
what it has to say.
And she opens the book.
And my dear friend, she begins to read
this blessed old book.
And I'll tell you, it's not long until
there's a knock on the door.
And she looks down on the pages of
that Bible.
When she came to herself.
And she'd been reading this blessed old book.
And I'll tell you, it was wet with
the tears from her eyes.
And two hours had passed.
And Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living
God, had gotten up off of the these
and the thou.
And everything else.
And began to talk to her heart.
And this book had become a living book.
And she'd just been saved by the grace
of God.
And that made the difference.
She went to the door.
And he said, what has happened to you?
I mean, friends.
I mean, he could tell the difference.
That there was something different about that woman.
And she just simply said, I met Jesus
tonight.
He forgave me as a sinner.
And I've been saved.
And if not long, folk.
She didn't even have a study course on
how to win a soul.
But if not long until that old boy
is born of the Spirit of the Living
God.
Because of the power of God on this
woman.
And she hadn't even been told she was
supposed to win a soul.
And it's amazing.
She went in to the breakfast table the
next morning.
There the kids were.
The cat and the dog.
And there they all were in the kitchen.
And she said, kids, mama got saved last
night.
Little old 13 smart aleck, year old smart
aleck kid said, what does that mean?
But I'll tell you one thing, friends.
Two weeks hadn't passed until not only that
kid knew what it meant for mama to
be saved.
But the cat and the dog knew what
it meant for mama to be saved.
Because, my dear friends, there was such a
spirit control in her life.
That she had lost.
She had got victory over that temper.
And she quit screaming and hollering and fussing.
And acting like the devil in front of
those kids.
And all that happened, she simply got saved
by the grace of God.
The woman next door was one of the
most awful creatures you ever saw in your
life.
I mean, she was devilish.
And she was always doing some wicked things
to this woman we're talking about.
And do you know when that woman got
saved, that woman next door changed?
She was sure she changed.
But you know who got changed, don't you?
And she began to love that woman and
like that woman.
And witness to that woman.
And it was amazing how she loved that
woman next door.
Fascinating.
And all that's happened is she's simply been
saved by the grace of God.
And then, my dear friends, it's amazing.
She's waiting for the man to open the
door of the church.
I mean, just waiting for him.
She was so hungry for God.
I mean, she was waiting for him to
open the church up.
And no one had to tell her she
needed to go to church.
And not only that, but she was sitting
there one night.
And the deacons had been back in a
board meeting.
And they had their little calculators out.
And they were trying to figure out how
to do a little project for God.
And they were so ashamed of themselves because
they couldn't come up with an answer.
And they were really good men, you know.
And they came out and they appointed one
of the old deacons, my friend, to get
up and say, Now, folk, we're sorry, but
we just can't figure out how to do
it.
Well, this woman didn't know she should have
kept her mouth shut.
She jumped up and said, I don't understand.
You can't figure out how to do it.
She said, I've been reading the Bible this
week.
And I've read where there were several million
people that God led out of Egypt with
a cloud by day and a fire by
night.
And literally opened up the Red Sea and
took those millions of people across.
And, my friends, when those other people started
coming down through that same hole, God sent
angels down and screwed the nets off of
the church wells.
And there swamped that whole bunch.
And crowd went out on the other side
singing victory, got to the bitter water and
turned it sweet.
And then, my friends, walked that bunch for
40 years through the wilderness and never had
to change her clothes.
And God provided quail for them.
She got the magnifying God and glorifying God.
And those people who knew God began to
get stirred a little bit and shook a
little bit.
And all it was is this woman had
simply been saved and she was full of
faith.
That's right.
She was full of lead faith.
She was full of love.
And she was full of spirit control.
All that's happened to this woman, she has
simply been saved.
That's right.
And she was full of compassion.
Oh, John, the postman she'd known since school
days, and he came by and she just
had to tell him.
He got to squalling and bawling, he got
saved.
It's marvelous.
Man, it's something.
All that happened to this woman, she's just
been saved.
And, listen, one day she was sitting in
church.
She was sitting in church.
And the preacher got to mention giving.
And he happened to mention tithing.
She punched the woman next to her and
she said, what does that mean?
She said, well, it means you give 10
% to God.
She said, is that all?
She said, listen, since I got saved by
the grace of God, she said, since I
got born of the spirit of the living
God, she said, listen, I'll tell you my
chickens are laying more, the cows giving more
milk.
Of course, some of you don't date back
that far.
But she said, what I'm saying is God
is so blessing us.
And God has been blessing, and the more
I give, the more God blesses me.
And the more I get blessed, the more
I give.
What do you mean 10%?
I've been giving everything I can get my
hands on.
God's just been pouring it in.
Amen.
The only thing happened to this woman, she
doesn't even know the Bible teaches being filled
with the Holy Spirit.
All this woman knows is that she's a
sinner, and Jesus is the only one that
can handle her problems.
Amen.
She doesn't know any theology, she just knows
it.
That's it.
Well, let's watch this woman for a few
minutes.
Let's watch her a little longer.
Okay?
I'm taking my time tonight because I don't
want to ruin my voice because of this
drainage.
It's Louisiana weather's tough on me.
The woman, after about six months in church,
now you watch her.
After about six months in the church, one
of the officials walks up to her and
says, Hey, we need a worker.
And she says, well, he says to her,
I said, listen, we watched you, and we've
listened to you talk, and we believe that
you can handle this class.
We've watched over 30 people be baptized in
this church because of you in the last
six months.
She says, listen, brother, listen, I am nothing
in this world, and if anything has happened,
Jesus has done it.
I haven't.
And she said, I'll just be honest with
you.
I'm just not qualified, and I don't understand,
and I'm just not going to take it.
Well, she got by this old boy this
time.
But six more months passed.
Now, you better hold on, folks, because I'm
going to take your religion away from you.
Amen.
I'm going to take it in just a
minute.
Listen to me carefully.
Six more months passed, and now the big
official comes to her.
And says, ma'am, we need a worker.
And we know that you have led over
60 people to Jesus this last year and
have been baptized in this church.
And we know.
Now, some of you may doubt that, but
let me tell you something.
Listen to me carefully.
I have checked this all over this country
for 30 years and in some foreign countries,
and this is what I found.
Any preacher that makes a study of the
people will tell you that when a person
gets saved by the grace of God, for
six months or a year after that person
gets saved, centered around that person, people will
be constantly led to Jesus Christ while the
old heads sit by and let the world
go to hell.
And these young Christians are the ones that
bring people to Jesus.
Very few people in the church house goes
into any spiritual maturity that wins souls after
one year.
They're paid to.
And if they don't produce, they'll lose their
job.
Amen.
Yes, sir.
Now, listen.
Watch this woman carefully.
Watch her carefully.
Because we're still talking about how to perform,
how to do it, how to be the
Christian you're struggling to be.
And you wouldn't even be here if you
didn't have an interest.
Amen.
Now, we're talking about how to do it
tonight.
This woman, this man comes up to this
woman and says, Ma'am, we've watched you.
Over 60 people have been baptized in this
church, and we've got to have a teacher.
She says, Listen, brother.
God has shown me that I'm nothing.
And if anything has happened through my life,
it's been the Lord Jesus.
And I'm just not qualified.
Well, now, watch him work on her.
He says, Ma'am, he said, We know
you are one of the most outstanding Christians
in this church.
And he starts piling on the compliments, building
the pride of life, and making her think
she's something.
I want you to know, in this day
of psychology, that might stimulate a man, but
it will not stimulate him except in the
flesh.
And I want you to know something.
In this day of motivation, a wrong concept
about yourself will lead you to hell, if
you're not saved.
And it will lead you to disaster in
Christianity.
Yes, sir.
And so here this woman is.
My dear friends.
She got through the first one, but now
he's playing on the pride of life.
He says, Listen, if anybody in this church
can take this class, you can.
She said, I'm sorry, sir.
I just can't handle it.
Well, she gets by him again.
Now watch him.
He says, Well, I didn't tell you.
Now he swings to the other side.
He doesn't have to think this up.
This is just humanism.
He doesn't have to think it up.
You don't have to think up junk like
this.
But this is what happened.
He says, Well, Ma'am, I didn't tell
you, but it's just a bunch of little
kids.
It's just a bunch of little kids, and
we've got to have somebody in there.
And, you know, you can handle it.
I'll tell you what the younger they are,
the more godly and more full of wisdom
you need to be.
After you pass 40 folk, not many folk
are going to help you anyway.
Because you are sought in your ways.
And you wouldn't change for God or anybody
else.
That's right.
You don't believe that, do you?
Amen.
I guarantee you, my dear friend, not many
people have been changed after they're 40 sitting
in this building.
That's right.
Now, she says, I can't do it.
I just can't do it.
Even that.
You know, I mean, playing down these kids
and her ability to handle them.
She says, I can't do it.
Now he comes up with another one.
He says, Well, I'll tell you what.
Now this is awful.
He said, Those kids are not going to
have a teacher if you don't take it.
Now he's playing on a sympathy.
I mean, how devilish can you get?
Amen.
They're not going to have a teacher if
you don't take it.
Phew.
But she passes it again.
She said, I just can't handle it.
Now watch her now, folk.
I'm going to drop the bomb.
He says, Ma'am.
Now this is his last step.
Now watch it because it's going to be
hard to handle it.
He said, Ma'am, all God expects out
of you and all this church expects out
of you is to go in that class
and try your best.
Now, you see, that is so humanistic.
And my dear friends, she said, Well, she's
not a mature Christian.
She's just a babe in Christ.
And she says, Well, if that's all God
expects out of me and that's all this
church expects out of me, hey, I can
do that.
Hey, I can do that.
I can do that.
Amen.
Oh, I can do that.
See, up to this time, she's known she's
nothing.
And she's known if anything gets done, it's
Jesus.
She doesn't understand it because she's a babe
in Christ.
And so what has she been doing?
She belongs to Jesus.
And she didn't even know it, but she's
completely relying on him.
But hey, she's told something else.
She can do herself.
And you know what happens to her?
She said, Well, if that's all God expects
out of me and that's all this church
expects out of me, hey, I can do
that.
I can do that.
I can try my best.
And watch it, folk, because she's fixing to
walk off and leave Jesus and start living
in Adelphia.
Because she starts trying to do her best.
She walks out by the pastor and says,
Pastor, pray for me.
I'm taking a class.
I'm going to try the best I can
to do it.
That's all sounds religious, doesn't it?
She goes out of there and she starts
trying her best.
It takes probably six months.
But after about six months, one day she
notices that that old TV and that novel
has a grip on her again.
And my dear friends, Jesus is not speaking
to her out of that blessed old book
like he was.
And she's having, now watch it, she's having
to make herself read it.
She's making herself, for many reasons but one
reason, when she gets to class on Sunday,
she wants to be sure and able to
check, I've read my Bible.
And there she goes.
She's easing out so easily that then, my
friend, the next thing she knows, a little
13-year-old boy says, Mama must have
lost something because she's not under spirit control
anymore.
She's losing her temper and being impatient and
unkind.
Amen.
And the woman next door, all at once
just begins to change and get mean again.
And she has a set to whether she'd
like to slap her face.
But now she's a big member of that
church down there, and Christians don't do that.
And so she's got enough spirit of self
-control that she doesn't slap her face, but
in her heart she wants to do it.
They got a new postman.
She knows she's supposed to win souls, so
she goes out there and tries to win
that new postman of Jesus, and he's so
polite and kind.
And she tells her story just like she
did before, when John got saved.
But you know what?
He says, thank you, ma'am, and walked
away.
There wasn't the power and the glory of
God on her life.
Amen.
Now she finds herself having some arcs in
the ditch.
And she's not waiting for the church to
open anymore.
She slips in a little late.
You know, just shows that she's dragging.
And they got a big program coming up,
and they're expecting her to stand and magnify
God full of faith.
And she gets up and says, folks, I
just can't see it.
I just can't figure out how we can
do it.
And her faith is gone.
That's right.
And she says, God, I know you'll understand.
I need to bar this this week, and
next week I'll pay you back.
Amen.
She finds herself manipulating the money.
Yes, sir.
And my friend, about that time, an evangelist
comes along.
Listen to him.
He holds that word up.
And he says, listen, if you're not faithful
to church, you're not tithing, you're not winning
souls, if you're not loving your neighbors yourself,
if you're not being patient and kind, you're
not full of faith, you're a flat full
of the devil.
I mean, he's done.
And he lays out the law.
And boy, here she is.
And she loves Jesus with all of her
heart.
But she's a miserable woman.
And she hears this message, my friends, and
she sees herself.
And every time he says something, she says,
oh God, that's me.
That's me.
That's me, God.
And when that invitation is given, brother, she
heads to the altar.
And she falls at that altar, and she
gets up and confesses her sins.
She gets right with everybody she knows.
She does everything she knows to do to
get right with God.
And she walks out by the pastor that
night feeling clean, forgiven, wonderful, excited.
And she says, preacher, pray for me, because
I'm going to try to be the best
Christian this church knows anything about.
And you know how long her revival lasts?
You know how long it lasts?
About two weeks.
You know why it lasts that long?
Because that's the emotional element.
That's about as long as the flesh can
hold up.
Amen.
And she starts slipping back.
She starts slipping back.
And she finds herself having to make herself
do these things again.
And she struggles.
And the good that she wants to do,
she finds herself unable to do it.
And the evil that she doesn't want to
do, she finds herself doing.
There's that struggle again.
Now, she's like a typical Baptist.
You know what she'll do?
She'll say, all God expects out of me
is to try my best.
That's all God expects out of me.
That's a typical Baptist.
I call that a rationalist.
Amen.
I don't smoke.
I don't chew.
I don't wear shorts.
I don't go mixed swimming.
And I don't do a few things like
this.
And therefore, I am okay.
But you have resentment and hate and criticism
and all that junk in your heart.
And my dear friend, you're just as mean
as hell as the man that does all
that junk.
It's the same old flesh.
I ain't mine too.
So boss, she just tries.
She tries to be patient.
She even tries to have faith.
You ever had trouble with that?
Trying to have faith.
She tries.
The more she tries, the more she fails.
And the more she fails, the more she
tries.
By the way, folks, do you know anyone
like this?
Do you?
Do you know someone like this?
And here she goes.
The more she tries, the more she fails.
And the more she fails, the more she
tries.
And she's in that awful, awful struggle.
And my friend, one day, while she's in
such an awful struggle of just trying her
best, doing the best she can, she's sitting,
listening, and the preacher just says something.
And she sees herself so wretched.
Here's what she says.
Oh, wretched man that I am.
Who shall deliver me from the body of
this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
And she sees Jesus as the only answer.
So you know what?
She dies herself.
And she comes to Jesus.
Now watch her.
She comes to Jesus, and she falls at
His feet.
And she says, Lord Jesus, I am bankrupt.
I am tongue-tied.
Oh, God, I'm such a wicked sinner.
I think Jesus could easily smile and say,
I've been waiting a long time for this.
And boy, she says, God, Lord Jesus, I
cannot live the Christian life.
It's impossible.
Amen.
Jesus, have mercy.
I can't do it.
And boy, she's desperate before Jesus.
Now watch.
Jesus can say this.
And He says it to this woman.
He says, listen, ma'am, Mr. Law says
thou shall not kill.
But I say, if you have hate in
your heart, you're guilty of murder.
Oh, Jesus, there's no way I can live
it.
He says, yes, I know.
That's not right.
Mr. Law says thou shall not commit adultery.
But listen, Jesus says, if you have lust
in your heart, you're guilty of adultery.
Lord Jesus, there is no way I can
live it.
No.
There's no way.
In yourself, there's no way.
Oh.
Mr. Law says give 10%.
Jesus says, listen, it's what you keep.
It's how you give it.
I'm telling you, you're not only supposed to
give it, but you're supposed to rejoice.
And take pleasure in giving.
Oh.
She says, Lord Jesus, there's no way.
Mr. Law says go to church.
But Jesus says, go and enjoy it.
Oh, I mean, folk, you can just go
on and on.
She says, Lord Jesus, there is no way.
He says, I know.
There's no way.
She says, Lord, if you don't do it,
I can't.
I'm a total failure.
And Jesus, you're going to have to do
it.
Say, folk, she just got out of adultery.
Amen.
She's come back to the one she belongs
to.
And she walks out by the pastor.
She says, Pastor, listen, I don't know.
I don't understand it.
But tonight Jesus showed me that I can't.
There's no way.
But yet he expects me to.
I can't, but he can.
And if I fail tonight, before I get
home, I'm going to fail.
Trusting him.
Relying on him.
Depending on him.
Every step I take, he will have to
take the blame.
And boy, here she goes.
Amen.
She's learning.
Right.
You see, if that handkerchief was a glove,
I could say to that glove, glove, pick
up those glasses.
And that glove could not pick up those
glasses.
Glove, pick up that Bible.
That glove could not pick up that Bible.
But if I reached over there and slipped
my hand in that glove, and then said
to that glove, pick up those glasses, you
know what that glove could do?
It could pick up those glasses.
I could say, glove, pick up that Bible,
and that glove could pick up that Bible.
Right.
You know why?
Because inside that glove is a hand that
has the ability to perform.
And you may not believe this, because you
are spirit, soul, and body.
And you're something.
And if you don't watch the world, they'll
make you think you're something.
Amen.
I mean preachers will make you think you
are something.
And the only reason you are something is
because of the living Christ in you, my
dear friends, and nothing more.
Your work before God is determined and expressed
according to our ability to come to the
end of ourselves and let him work for
us.
No more.
Yes, sir.
That's right.
Jesus is it.
Right?
You have him in you.
And he can do it for us.
Right.
He can do it for us.
Let me just say this.
There's no way in the world you and
I can live the Christian life apart from
Jesus.
And as long as we let this world
tell us, hey, you can do it.
You've got it within you.
If it is within you, it's Jesus.
There's nothing else.
There's no other way to do it.
Amen.
And by the way, folks, you don't learn
what I'm talking about tonight.
God has to show it to you.
And you have to receive it.
There's no way in the world you can
study this out.
It has to come by revelation.
Amen.
Now, I never will forget this story as
long as I live.
Now, years ago, I put this message on
record.
I even still have a few of those
records.
And I asked them to cut this record
off, the tape, when I got to this
story.
And they didn't do it.
And they put this story I'm going to
tell you on record before I even knew
it.
And I had to call this kid and
find out about it and ask him if
it was all right.
And he approved it, but it was unusual.
But years ago, a little old boy was
walking down a path out of the mountains
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with his mother.
And she had her hand around his hand.
And they were walking down that path.
And all at once, he heard the blast
of a gun.
And he felt his mother's hand jerk.
And he looked around, and his mother had
fallen to the ground.
And she was shot with a shotgun, a
buckshot.
And there were several holes in her body.
He could see the blood.
And he looked up the path, and there
stood a man.
And he could describe that man with a
hat, with a pipe, with a gun.
And he looked up there, and he saw
that man.
And that man was just standing there.
So the kid ran for his life.
He was just five years old.
And he ran for his life.
And he got out there in those bushes.
And he heard his mother begging for help.
And he just couldn't stand it.
He ran back out there where she was.
And that man was still standing there.
And he said, hate was born in his
heart.
And he said, they caught that man and
put him in an institution.
And he grew up hating that man.
And when he got him a car, he
found him a place in the woods where
he was going to take that man when
that man got out of that penitentiary and
kill him.
And he'd go out there almost weekly and
just think about it.
Well, he had so much hate in him
that I personally believe his little old body
never developed like it should have.
And he was just a little fellow, all
twisted up.
But some girl fell in love with him
and married him.
And after they got married, this girl got
saved by the grace of God.
And when she got saved, she started praying
for him.
And one day he got saved.
And a few days or a couple of
weeks after he got saved, he was working
in a hosiery mill right out of Winston
-Salem.
And he said he was standing there and
said God spoke to him.
Not audibly, but in his heart.
And he said, God said, go tell the
man who killed your mother that you love
him.
And he said it was so real.
He said, I backed up and said, I
just simply looked up and said, God, I
can't do that.
I can't love that man.
He said, son, I know you can't.
But I can.
And if you'll let me do it, I'll
do it through you.
That little boy didn't understand the theology of
what was going on.
But he said, here's my life, Lord.
If you can love that man through me,
here is my life.
And a few days he went to see
that man, and they wouldn't let him see
him.
So he came back to his church and
asked his church to pray.
And they prayed.
And they prayed, and they came when they
said, you can go see him.
And the man knew he was coming to
see him.
He knew he was coming to see him.
And he said when he walked into that
room, the man was about half turned, about
halfway turned his back to it.
I guess because the man was so ashamed.
I don't know.
But he said he walked up to that
man and put those little arms around him
and said, sir, I love you.
Jesus loves you.
And he said, Brother Manley, I really did.
But he said, you know, I knew I
couldn't.
And the Lord did in me.
And do you know that fellow got saved?
And do you know I thought the story
should have ended there until I heard the
rest of it.
He said, do you know, Brother Manley, a
few weeks after that man got saved, maybe
a couple of months really, he said, do
you know they paroled that fellow?
And he said, do you know who they
paroled him to?
You guessed it.
He said they paroled him to me.
And said that man went.
And for two and a half years until
he died, he lived in my home.
And he said, I've never had a better
time in my life.
Those were the greatest days of my life.
I loved him.
He said Jesus did it.
You see, that little old boy didn't understand
how to love that man.
But he knew he couldn't.
And he let Jesus do it.
Now you and I are just as heftless.
Amen.
We're just as heftless, even though I forsook
this thought a while ago.
But we're as heftless as that glove.
We can't do it.
We're body, soul, and spirit, and we think
we can do it.
But we can't do it.
And Paul learned that he couldn't do it.
But Jesus could.
And he walks right on through the book
of Romans.
My dear friends, so filled with the presence
and the power of God, that he allowed
the law of life in Christ Jesus to
work in his life.
Right?
You say, what do you mean, Preacher?
I'm trying to quit.
I've got a pair of glasses in my
hand.
If I drop those glasses like that, they
fall.
But if I take these glasses and I
drop them and I catch them in my
hand, there is another law working stronger than
the law of gravity.
Amen.
And when you let Jesus have your life,
your life, my life, this old flesh that
I'm in, is involved in the law of
sin and death.
But when we let Jesus Christ have his
way in our life, there's a stronger law
working.
Life in Christ Jesus that enables us to
do what Jesus wants us to do.
Amen.
That's right.
And when we quit trusting, even though we've
been saved for years, and we quit trusting,
and we quit relying on him, we go
down.
That law still works.
Amen.
The law of life.
Death, sin, death, life in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Yes, sir.
Paul walked right on through Romans 8.
Right?
Victory every step of the way.
And the Spirit of God made him so
much like Jesus that I hear him saying
something that I've never been able to get
away from in all my life.
And this is something.
Listen as he says these following words.
I say the truth in Christ, I lie
not.
My conscience also bearing me witness in the
Holy Ghost that I have a great heaviness
and continuous sorrow in my heart.
For I could wish that myself were accursed
from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according
to the flesh.
Do you hear those words?
Do you?
Here is a man, a man like you
and me.
A man so much like Jesus Christ that
this man is saying that he would be
willing to go to hell if Christ would
save his people.
Can you believe a man could say that?
Huh?
Can you believe a man could love souls
that much?
I don't know of any words in the
Bible that sounds more like Jesus than that
in all my life.
I've never found it.
Have you, brother?
He said, I'd be willing.
Can you believe that God can take a
man like you and me and so work
in his life that we would be willing
to change our heavenly home for a fiery
grave if our kinsmen would simply be saved
by the grace of God?
Boy, that's something.
And while this crowd is running around over
the world talking about their experiences, my dear
friends, where is their cry for God to
save their kinsmen?
They talk about their spiritual maturity.
And all of these manifestations, my dear friend,
I'll tell you what, friend.
Where is the cry?
That's the cry of the Spirit of God
in a man.
That's the cry of the Spirit of God
in a man that is really working in
the power and the glory of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus, the Son of
the living God.