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Youth so rarely understands what age allows us to know. We need to go through many life experiences before the power within us is brought forward in all its glory. As long as we see ourselves as unfolding beings, there is no wish to go back one single day, and age becomes a beautiful thing. Elderly folks that keep so youthful are a real inspiration. Maybe it is because they are not so taken up with the body and temporal things. So glad God’s people can know days full of blessing, and when they pass into eternity, their vessel is still full because of Christ. We are thankful for labour that is not in vain in the Lord.

Age does not protect you from love, but love, to some extent protects us from age. 1st Samuel 23:1, “Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing floors.” The wheat had survived the enemies of the sowing and the growing season, but now at the time of harvest it was being robbed – not destroyed. The enemy robs God’s people towards the end of their lives. Even if he didn’t take away their salvation, he can succeed in taking away from them their peace of mind, rest of heart, and even prey on their minds that they are not useful anymore, and weaken their trust and confidence.

Ecclesiastes 12:6, “Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the cistern…” Even if the silver cord is loose and can’t keep things together too well anymore, and the golden bowl is broken and can’t retain things very long, they are still silver and gold. Even if the pitcher is broken at the fountain and we can’t pour out like we once did, we are still at the “fountain.” Let me grow lovely, growing old. So many fine things do: laces and ivory and silks and gold; and there’s healing in old trees; old streets a glamour hold. Why may not I, as well as these, grow lovely growing old?

There is a difference between usefulness and fruitfulness. Could it be, when the disciples were arguing about who was to be the greatest that their focus was on usefulness? Everyone wants to be useful in the Kingdom – better to be fruitful. A shade tree is useful – the bigger the better. A fruit tree doesn’t have to be biggest to be the best, and yet it can be very useful too. The problem with focusing on usefulness is that when we get old and not so able, we are likely to face discouragement and disappointment in the way of God. If our focus is on fruitfulness, we can have the fruit of the Spirit when health is gone.

– Gladys Porteous was 96 years old at this time.

1. Matthew 25:3, they that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them.

2. Psalm 14:1, the fool hath said in his heart, “There is no God.”

3. Luke 12:20, but God said unto him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.”

4. I Corinthians 4:10, we are fools for Christ’s sake.

Four kinds of fools, though in reality two kinds: fools in God’s eyes and fools in man’s eyes

1. Religious but not right. All 10 virgins were waiting for the bridegroom but only 5 were concerned about having the oil of submission. The others knew where to get it and they knew a price had to be paid for it and they were willing to pay the price, but too late. Our readiness depends on our degree of submission.

Midnight is the division of days. We are in the days of preparation; when the bridegroom comes it will be the day of realization. I Corinthians 11:28, but let every man examine himself. Job 34:32, that which I see, not teach thou me. They all had lights and the same friends. They were all waiting for the bridegroom; five had it but they could not give it to the others – the breath of life, the life of Christ, oil of submission.

2. Irreligious fool is beyond even the devils because they believe and tremble. Irreligious believe in laws but not in the law giver; they believe in design but not in the designer; they believe in motion but not in the mover. General Macarthur said there were no atheists in the fox holes when the shells were falling in the war. They believe in no God so that they can be their own god, responsible to no one but themselves, something to live for but nothing to die for. Someone described the beginning of creation like a big bang. If I put a stick of gelignite in my suit-case and it exploded, I couldn’t possibly expect to find everything set out and in order. In a lost eternity, everyone is a believer.

3. Believes in a God but lives as if there was no God. The man in Luke 12 was what the world would call a wise man – a good farmer, rich with no worries as to his provision for the future – in his own opinion and in the opinion of others, but what about God’s opinion? He was a great builder, he was a good farmer, he was a great thinker, but he made the mistake of living to feed his belly and not his soul; of living for time and not eternity. And he said, “I have much goods for many years.” God said this night, “He would not have neglected his farm but he neglected his soul.” The easiest thing in the world is to go to a lost eternity. 15,000 people a year die in motor accidents in the U.S.A.

4. Fools in the eyes of the world. Paul was that kind of fool. The old brother worker when I decided told the story of when he went in the work. His parents reasoned and pleaded with him not to go. When they made no impression, his father said, “Let the fool go.” They said of Paul, “What will this babbler say?” Acts 26, Festus said, “Much learning doth make thee mad.” I Corinthians1:23, for the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach …and unto the Greeks foolishness…the wisdom of God. Imagine what they said about Noah, “Look at that fool!” Moses left the palace; imagine, “Look at that fool!” When they marched around Jericho, imagine, “What foolish people!”

BE THE RIGHT KIND OF FOOL.

Clarence Anderson told us a little story of what happened after their Conventions in Mexico were finished. Garret Hughes was leaving and there was a Mexican sister who couldn’t speak English, but wanted to say, “Thank you,” to Garret in a language he could understand. She asked how she must say it (in English). The Lord is pleased when we say, “Thank you,” in a language He can understand. Mary washed Jesus’s feet and anointed them with costly ointment. I believe she was saying, “Thank you,” in a language He could understand.

I never liked broken things. If anything of mine broke, I would just give it to my younger brother! Now I’ve come to appreciate some broken things. Some things are more valuable after being broken than before.

1. Farmland has to be broken to be used. Jeremiah 4:3, “Break up your fallow ground and sow not among thorns.” If the ground is not broken up and ploughed, thorns and weeds will just keep coming up. It’s only natural that they should. If we don’t plough and break up our fallow ground, then all that grows is that which comes naturally, human nature! It is not a credit to God, just like weeds are not a credit to a farmer’s fields.

2. Our wills. When our wills are broken, we become more useful to God and His people. Matthew 21 :44, “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” It is a precious thing in God’s eyes when we (our wills) are broken on this stone. I was sitting at the back of a convention when the meeting was tested. A mother and her daughter were sitting together and a little way away from them, a lady stood up, weeping. The little girl asked her mother why the lady was crying. I couldn’t hear her answer, but I could see that she had fallen on the stone and was broken. A 70 year old lady came to a number of our meetings and as she was going out [of the meeting] one night, she said that if she believed and obeyed this gospel, it would cost her the most precious thing that she had. I asked her what that was, and she replied, “My own will.” My younger sister was very stubborn and willful. The one day, we had visitors and she had a little tantrum. She was only 3, but she lay on the floor and screamed and cried and kicked. My father told her to get up but she didn’t. So he went to the kitchen and got the strap. He showed it to her and said again, “I said, ‘Get up.’” She didn’t, but oh! How she suffered. Often we suffer because we don’t want our wills to be broken. If our wills are broken, it makes us much more useful.

3. Mark 14, that woman broke the alabaster box of very precious ointment over Jesus’s head. Others estimated the value of that ointment to be 300 pennies’ worth. That was about a year’s wages in those days. But she broke it over Jesus’s head. After it was broken, the value could not even be estimated. That day, she exchanged her earthly treasure for a heavenly treasure. My older sister had what we call a hope chest. (Us boys used to call it her hopeless chest) She used to buy things for her home one day, and keep them in this hope chest. She would never let us look into it, so we asked her if we could put some of our things in it, but she wouldn’t allow that either! Anyway, she later opened it and shared it with her husband. She gave what was only her treasure to share it with him. It is a precious thing in God’s eyes when we exchange earthly pleasures for heavenly treasures. There was an American soldier at a Korean convention and after the convention, everyone was so happy, but I noticed that this soldier was weeping. I asked him if someone had hurt his feelings or if anything was wrong. He said no, he must just write a letter. He was engaged to a young lady and had seen the need in God’s harvest field. He wrote to her and told her this and that would she please accept his decision to break up their relationship. She answered that she was willing and that he must please just forget her. I heard that she was very, very sad and broken. It cost a lot for both of them, but it was precious in God’s eyes.

4. Ephesians 2:14, “Christ … hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” The wall between the Jews and Gentiles. When the Berlin wall was broken down, there was great rejoicing. There is no wall in Korea but it has been under Japanese rule now for 35 years. Some came over from Japan to help us at our conventions. Everyone appreciated them so much and also when some from Korea went over to Japan, they appreciated their help, too. In Christ, the wall is broken down. Jesus talked with the woman of Samaria by the well. Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans, but Jesus had broken down the wall. In Nehemiah’s day, it was pathetic. The walls had all been broken down. That is one thing that we must not allow to be broken? The walls that keep us separated from the world. We must keep them strong.

5. Revelations 5, John wept because nobody was worthy to break the seal. An elder told him not to weep because of the Lamb that was slain and that was worthy to lose the seal. It is wonderful that we can look into God’s word and God’s book, just because of the Lamb that was slain.

6. Leviticus 26:13, “I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.” God’s people were under a yoke of bondage. We should always rejoice for the yoke that we’ve been saved from. There is a very poor widow in Korea. She was under the yoke of the Pentecostal Church. We were having meetings and then one day, she asked us to go to one of her church meetings. My companion, Sproulie Denio, agreed that we’d go with her one night. On that night, he had a headache … it almost gave me one, too! That poor widow still put some money onto the plate. Anyway, war broke out and we left the area. Later on, we came back and saw the widow again. We asked her if she was still going to her church. She said she wasn’t because she was too poor. I said, “But can’t you still go … surely?” She said she couldn’t because she had nothing for the collection plate. If she put in 2 cents, she would have to go without vegetables and only have 2 meals a day. I said, “But I can’t understand that, because Jesus preached the gospel to the poor!” We asked her to come to some of our meetings again and she was one of the first to make her choice. She says she is so glad that she has been freed from the yoke of bondage. It has been broken.

7. Psalms 124:7, “The snare is broken.” The devil likes to snare. There isn’t just one type of snare. Poachers and snarers use all sorts of different things. So does Satan. The fear of man is like a snare. We always want to please man and be wanted and loved in society. It is a snare and a bondage? Very difficult to get out of. The only thing that can release us is the fear of God!

8. Psalms 51:17, “A broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, Thou wilt not despise.” Years ago in Japan, a youngish mother professed. She had lipstick and powder on. A while later, we went there and she still had the lipstick and powder. We visited her and my companion spoke to her. He said it very nicely; that we were a little concerned about something and explained to her. She cried uncontrollably and we tried to comfort her and said that we knew she wasn’t doing it deliberately. She said she wasn’t crying because we’d told her but because she had caused God’s servants concern. She had such a broken and a contrite heart. It was beautiful. God does not despise it.

9. Revelations 20:2, Satan will be bound for 1,000 years. His power will be broken. Hymn 9:4, Satan’s power will be broken, “When the Prince of Life appears …. God shall wipe away our tears.” It is one thing that is more beautiful broken than intact? The power of Satan.

10. A home that is broken up because of the children going into the Lord’s harvest field is very beautiful. In Korea, we went with a father and a mother to the airport. Their daughter was going to Ecuador (into the Work). Six weeks later, their other daughter left to go into the work in Bolivia. Their home was absolutely broken. I said to them, “I know this is costing you a lot.” They said, ‘We count it a great privilege.” Very beautiful.

Genesis 49: 8-12. “Judah, thou are he whom thy brethren shall praise….the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come….” 1 Chron 5:2.. “For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler..” Why was it that the lawgiver was from Judah and not given to Joseph? Joseph’s sheaf had remained upright, and there was no fault in him, yet Christ did not come from him. “Judah prevailed among his brethren…” How? What did he do?

In Gen 29 at the time of his birth – Leah found herself in a place in life she did not choose. Why did she experience so much difficulty.. even hatred – at first Leah might have felt her marriage to Jacob a blessing, but in vs. 31 we read that she was hated. When Leah’s first son Reuben was born there was a cry in her voice – [“see a son”-margin]- Oh! That my husband might love me – but he still didn’t. Then at Simeon’s birth [margin] – “Lord had heard”] – but still no difference. Then came Levi – [joined] “Now my husband will be joined to me” – but he still didn’t. When Judah [=praise] was born she said, “now I will praise the Lord”. Perhaps she felt my husband will never love me but I will find comfort in the Lord. Thus Judah grew up – knowing that life will not always be what one hoped, but there’s blessing in praising the Lord. The blessing in his mother’s experience reached Judah.

There was another son later, born to Rachel – Joseph, There was hatred and jealousy felt towards him. One day in the field [Gen. 37] the other sons conspired to slay him. Reuben felt responsible: let’s not kill him just put him into the pit – hoping to deliver him from his brothers again and return him safely to his father. Then when the Ishmaelites passed, it was Judah’s suggestion to sell him to them. Judah felt this is a solution – but there was an “afterwards” – to every choice there is always a result: Gen. 37:33-35… and “Jacob refused to be comforted..”

In Gen. 38 we read of Judah moving away from his brothers – was it perhaps because he couldn’t face the grief of his father any more? There was this grief on his conscience that he had been the one to suggest selling Joseph. Judah got into a worse and worse condition. Two of his sons were slain due to their wickedness. Tamar must have known of the promises of God to that family and wanted to be a part of that family. Now the opportunity and time came – and she was being left out. Her act was not in wickedness – we can gather that from what Judah said of her , “she hath been more righteous than I..” [vs. 26] – she only desired to have place and part and be fruitful in the family of God. God was able to bless her because her purposes were true. Perhaps at this time Judah would realize he had to do something to make changes in his own life.

Now came the famine – and Jacob’s ten sons went down to Egypt to fetch corn. And came back without Simeon. For 3 days Joseph had put them all in prison – for 3 days Joseph prayed to get God’s mind – he could say, “This do, for I fear God.” He had first felt, let one go and fetch Benjamin. Joseph may have wondered in himself – have they killed Benjamin too? But as he listened to them talking among each other he realized Reuben was not guilty of having sold him to the Ishmaelites. Simeon was the 2nd eldest, and should have taken responsibility in Reuben’s absence – but he didn’t – so Joseph imprisoned him. [ch 42] Jacob’s reaction to all this was: “Me have ye bereaved of my children. Joseph is not, Simeon is not and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.” His sons were going one by one … Remember: Jacob, Joseph, Judah, all didn’t know the end result – they were all in the experience, as all is against me – not realizing it was God’s way of working out all for him. We don’t realize experiences are FOR us not AGAINST us. Jacob’s family was not united – he had tried but couldn’t. These experiences brought about the unification of his sons. At the end of his life he could look back to “the Lord who has blessed me all my life long” – could see then that God had been in it all.

The price of bread was becoming higher for Jacob and finally the price of bread for Jacob was Benjamin. Reuben approached his father [Gen 42:37] and said, Send Benjamin with me – and slay my 2 sons if he doesn’t return with me. But this was not enough. Reuben was not willing to give his own life on the line, only that of his sons.

More time passed. Then Judah came to Jacob and said, “Send Benjamin with me, and if he doesn’t return, then let me bear the blame forever” [43:9] Herein the quality of Christ was born in Judah: being the Redeemer. Experiences would bring Judah to the place where he would later prove that he meant what he said. Judah was willing to give his life for his brethren, the quality of Christ – giving His life that others may have life.

From Egypt Joseph then sent them off with his silver cup in Benjamin’s sack. When they were brought back Joseph said: Don’t you know that you can’t get away with anything – I can divine? [this was the cup which he used for it].

Judah at this stage did not know weather Benjamin had stolen the cup or not; weather he was honest or not. But the sentence would be: Benjamin would be a servant. Benjamin was not guilty but was in a position where he could not plead for himself or deliver himself. Then Judah came forward [44:13] and explained he had become surety for the lad and would bear this blame forever. I’ll stay, but I cannot return to my father without Benjamin. Judah would have remembered the time he returned to his father without Joseph and he would not be comforted, Judah saw the anguish and sorrow of his father – and here once more a son would be brought into bondage if he didn’t pay the price.

How did God feel when Adam and Eve trespassed – Jesus saw the grief in the Father because of the separation between God and man. Is that not what Jesus felt as he was between the garden and the cross? [Without someone to pay the price for Benjamin, he himself would have to pay – but one could pay his redemption: Judah.] In the Garden we find the silver cup – of redemption. Jesus couldn’t go back to His Father without His brethren. He had to pay our redemption before returning to the Father. Thus in Judah was the spirit of Christ – willing to be the Redeemer.

At this stage Joseph, when he saw Judah’s attitude, he revealed himself to his brethren, and for the first time there was unity among Jacob’s sons. It is in this sense that Judah prevailed above his brethren.

Revelation 2:4 elders: “Worthy is the Lamb that hath redeemed us from all iniquity.” Judah was willing to take the blame even if Benjamin was a thief and had stolen the cup. Judah didn’t know, but knew that no matter what Benjamin did, he would have to be his surety. Judah could have felt: “if you are a thief then I’m free.” But NO! We are guilty, and yet Jesus has taken the blame, that there may be rejoicing as He met the Father again.

Gen. 49:3-12 Judah stooped down, willing to take the lowest place – but because of that he was the highest among his brethren. Unto him would the lawgiver until Shiloh come – people would gather unto him for help. [lawgiver] Judah was now bound to the vine – partaking of that which was good and proper. Judah was once so wrong, but now feeding on the right, and it gave strength, and the effect was evident [could be seen on his eyes and feet]. Judah was only a type of Christ in Redemption – he didn’t actually pay the price but had been willing to do so.

Not verbatim

Hymn 201 – Lowly at Thy Feet

I do not know if I need to introduce myself or not. I suppose the best way I can do so would be to mention that perhaps some of you know Willie Donaldson, or knew him I should say. He was one of the first two that came to the island of Barbados, where I am from, with the Gospel. That was in the year 1928. My father listened to the Gospel at that time and accepted it. Two years later my mother and eldest sister did the same. Some years after that I was born and the years I was born until I heard the Gospel several other Workers worked on that island. It so happened at the time I listened to the Gospel and began to serve God, Willie Donaldson was one of the Workers. Also some years after that he came to this country and it was about the time he came to this country when I started in the Work. I don’t know, I will say again, why this privilege is mine to be here with you but I am very grateful for the same. Of course, you would understand I would prefer to be sitting over there than standing here but I suppose this is part of it all so I may have to repeat some things that have already been mentioned in this meeting but there are some things that can bear repeating.

The last few days I was thinking of two great men in the Bible who failed. The thought in my mind is not to enlarge on failure, nor is it to give license to fail. I suppose all feel tonight we have failed enough in the past, we would not want to fail any more. The thought in my mind is that these men in spite of having failed, they finished well. Even though you and I have failed in the past, there is the possibility of rising up, going on and doing better and having a good finish. I don’t know if there is anyone here tonight who is in a deep sleep? I don’t mean natural sleep but if you were in a deep sleep and someone came to wake you and that person broke some of your bones, certainly you would be awakened but wouldn’t appreciate that. You would say that person didn’t need to be so drastic as to break some of my bones and the only way to be able to appreciate that is if you became aware that if that had not taken place you would have slept the sleep of death, then you would realize those broken bones can heal but if I did sleep the sleep of death, that would be the end of all things for me.

I was thinking of a man, a great man, he went into a deep sleep. I thought of the time before that when he was very wide awake and also the time afterwards when he was very wide awake. David in 1Sam24:5 he was so awake when after he had cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe, it says his heart smote him and he found he had done the wrong thing. 2Sam24:10 after he had numbered Israel, his heart smote him and he said to the Lord: I have sinned greatly but there was a time between those two experiences that he did the wrong thing. Time went on and seemingly he was in a deep sleep and there was no conviction of wrongdoing and the Lord had in kindness to break some bones and because the Lord in kindness broke those bones, he wrote Psalm 51 and that Psalm, if I counted correctly, you will find sixteen times in that Psalm he asked the Lord to do certain things for him, twice in the Psalm he asked the Lord not to do certain things and once in the Psalm he mentions something that the Lord had done, everything else in that Psalm centered on what the Lord had done.

In Ps51:8 it mentions the Lord had broken some bones. Cause me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice. How did the Lord break those bones? The Lord broke those bones by sending His servant to him and the message of God through His servant brought conviction. Broken bones cause pain and restriction. I remember about ten years ago I was driving my niece, she works in East Africa, taking her somewhere and somehow there was an accident. I broke some bones in my right hand; those broken bones were painful and restricted me. Fortunately nothing happened to her because within twelve days she was to return to her field. I am saying: broken bones are painful and cause restriction. That was David’s experience as a result of the Lord sending His messenger to him, that message that convicted him and caused him to become awake to his condition. The Lord did it in kindness and if you are conscious in this meeting of God, as it were, breaking your bones to waken you out of a deep sleep, it is because He sees this sleep can become a sleep of death and He wants to waken you kindly. Then, there were two things he asked the Lord not to do.

In Ps51:11 “Cast me not away from Thy presence and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.” I don’t know if David had a record of Cain’s experience but I was thinking of Cain’s experience when I thought of this – cast me not away from Thy presence and we might say that the Lord tried to break Cain’s bones also but seemingly he resisted and he felt, even if the Lord doesn’t accept me as I am, well, that’s His business, I am not going to change but, you know what he said later on? He said to the Lord: Thou hast cast out from the face of the earth and from Thy face shall I be hid and further he said those words that are mentioned, those words that seem so final, it says: Cain went out from the presence of God. Cain went out… He had been in the presence of God and the Lord showed him he wasn’t acceptable but also showed him how he could be acceptable and there was no response and then he had to say: my punishment is greater than I can bear. I believe the thing that would have tormented Cain more than anything else would have been the thought the Lord gave me the opportunity to do better and I didn’t embrace it. Now he found himself in the position, as it were, where he could do nothing about it and he said: my punishment is greater than I can bear.

Cast me not away… and the other Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. I have wondered if David felt I deserve these things but I am Asking God not to do them. He would have known so well the experience of Saul when God took His Spirit from him. He was like we sometimes sing in that hymn; he was like a ship without a rudder on a wild and stormy sea, no direction. David felt: I wouldn’t like to be in that condition. Cast me not away from Thy presence and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Of the 16 things he asked the Lord to do I’ll just mention two of them, the first and the last. The first was: Have mercy on me…blot out my transgressions, and we see David was saying: I can’t justify myself, I can’t excuse myself, I can only ask for mercy. Sometimes we do the wrong thing, we would like to justify ourselves, sometimes we like to excuse ourselves, sometimes blame others. That is what Saul did, he tried to blame others but it’s a good thing when we are willing to face up to things we realize the only thing I can do is ask for mercy.

The last thing he asked the Lord to do is in the second last verse. He said: Build Thou the walls of Jerusalem. He felt by his actions he had broken down the walls and he was asking God to build them up. It is very easy to break down walls; it’s not so easy to build them up. It is only with the help of God that we can build walls that we so easily break down but it’s nice to think of him rising up from that experience and going on to do well. Sometimes we read these books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles and notice so often in connection with kings doing that which was right like David their father. It tells of some that they did that which was right in the sight of the Lord but not that David was their father and some it tells us of them they did that which was right in the sight of the Lord but not with a perfect heart and then we read of some who made mistakes and it says their heart was perfect with the Lord all their days and it seems to me the thing that caused hearts to be perfect with the Lord all their days is what we were hearing this morning, they never turned to idolatry; they made mistakes but never turned to idolatry. David’s heart was perfect with the Lord all his days, he never turned to idolatry. We can make mistakes, we can fail but we can rise up as God would speak to us and bring conviction to bear upon us, it might be painful at the time, what do we read in Hebrews 12:11? No chastening for the present seemeth joyous but after yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness…. If we are exercised as a result of the chastening of the Lord, it will make us right and we will have peace.

The other man I was thinking about is in the NT and that is Peter and I’d like to read two verses from Matthew 26: Mat26:58 and Mat26:75. v.58 Peter followed afar off…and went in …to see the end. v.75 And Peter remembered the Word of Jesus… We were hearing last night about the last meeting Jesus had with His disciples and we know so well from that meeting Judas went out to betray Jesus and Jesus went out from that meeting to give Himself, to die, Peter went out from that meeting but I wouldn’t like to say Peter went out from that meeting to deny, I would say he went out from that meeting and denied because it wasn’t in his heart to deny his Master. The time will come when we will go out from these meetings and our future is going to depend to a great extent on what is the purpose of our hearts as we leave this place. The purpose in Judas’ heart when he left that meeting before it was finished was to betray his Master. That is what he did.

Peter went out from the meeting intending to be true to his Master, he fell but he rose up and went on and did well. It’s a good thing to have the right purpose in our hearts. It says that Peter followed afar off. Sometimes we say Peter followed afar off and we stop there but it says he went in to see the end. Have you ever thought of the other disciples and wondered why none of them denied Jesus? I am inclined to feel they were too far away to be identified with Him and it’s possible for us to be following so far off we could escape the tests because we are so far away we can’t be identified with Jesus but, at the same time, we could miss very valuable lessons. John’s Gospel tells us there was another disciple there. There is no doubt on the day Jesus was crucified John was there but was it John who was known to the high priests? I don’t think so. I may be wrong.

It tells us there was another disciple there who was known to the high priests. You know, there was a disciple who had gone to the high priests and chief priests and bargained with them for thirty pieces of silver, he was known to the high priests, he could mingle with the servants there and no fear of him getting into trouble because he was known. What was he doing there? I believe the next chapter, Mat27, tells us. I believe Judas was there and he has seen Jesus on previous occasions escape when they wanted to arrest Him, it was because His time had not yet come. I believe the thought in Judas’ mind was: I am going to deliver Jesus to them, I am going to have 30 pieces of silver in my pocket, Jesus is going to escape and I am going to say to them: that is your business. The One that I shall kiss, He is the One, hold Him fast. I believe he thought: He is going to escape. It tells us when Judas saw Jesus was condemned he brought back the 30 pieces of silver and I believe they would say to him what he thought he would say to them: what is that to us, that’s your own business. Sometimes things don’t work out as we think they will work out.

Peter went in to see the end. Sometimes all we see is the experience that caused bitter tears; he went out and wept bitterly. I am inclined to feel Peter’s experience lasted just about three days when Jesus rose again and Peter was assured he had been forgiven; that was the end of the bitter tears in Peter’s experience but there were some lessons Peter learned as he went in that day to see the end that remained with him long after the bitterness of the experience. I’ll read a verse, Mat26:67. Then did they spit in His face…who is he that smote Thee? Peter saw that as he went in to see the end and he learned something. What did he learn? He learned how Jesus took that. He would never forget that.

When he was writing to the Christians in 1Pet2 he wrote these words: Hereunto were ye called… he mentioned Christ’s suffering, leaving us an example that ye should follow in His steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth…committed Himself unto Him that judgeth righteously. Something Peter learned as he went-in with Jesus to see the end. He would never forget that. He saw how Jesus took suffering and he learned from it. You remember that time when he too had to suffer along with John? They rejoice to be counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus Christ. He went in to see the end and he learned that lesson, how to suffer for Jesus sake, even as Jesus suffered, and how to take things. Even though Jesus had done no sin, there was no guile in His mouth; He didn’t retaliate when He suffered.

Something else Peter learned that day when he went in to see the end. Do you know what it was? He learned that Jesus knew all things. Previous to this Peter had argued with Jesus and he just said to Jesus: you don’t really know me, you think I am going to deny You; I will never do it, you don’t really know me? Peter went in that day to see the end and he learned Jesus knew all things. When he denied Jesus, as Jesus said he would, he learned Jesus knew all things. Then some days afterwards, as someone mentioned in the meeting this morning, we have what took place recorded in John 21; Peter along with six others went fishing after the resurrection and Jesus drew near. You would remember how Jesus dealt so kindly with them and then He said to Peter: Do you love Me? Three times He asked the question. What was Peter’s response the third time? It says he was grieved and he said to Jesus: Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee.

He had learned that when he went in to see the end, he had learned Jesus knew all things; now he could say: Thou knowest all things…love Thee. I don’t believe Jesus was questioning his love. I believe Jesus was saying to him: if you love me, prove it; the way to prove it: you feed My lambs and feed My sheep. This is the One who knows all things. He said some things to Peter, I am sure those things were very reassuring to him that day. Do you know what He said to Peter? When you were young… you went wherever you wanted to go, when thou shalt be old…This spake He, signifying by what death he should glorify God. Then He said: “Follow me.” The One who knew all things was saying to Peter, you are going to live to be an old man and as an old man you are going to glorify God in your death. Peter would be reassured, he would have felt: I have failed in the past but I am going to go on to the very end and at the end I am going to die to glorify God. You are going to stretch forth your hand… Well, naturally he wouldn’t want to be led forth to death, it would be like taking him to some place he wouldn’t want to go but he was going to glorify God in his death.

This brings me to [Acts12]. We read of Herod stretching forth his hand to vex certain of the Church and he killed James the brother of John and when he saw it pleased the people he took Peter also… Peter was kept in prison, Herod intended after the Passover to bring him forth to the people to do to him as he had done to James. What happened? It says the night before Peter was to be brought forth he was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains, also tells us that prayers were made by the saints. I don’t want to discourage the prayers of the saints, they did their part in praying, I don’t know if Peter knew they were praying, do you know why Peter was able to sleep in prison that night knowing that Herod had in mind to bring him forth the next day? Peter was saying to himself: Herod intends to kill me tomorrow but he can’t do it, therefore I can sleep. Why do I say that? At this time Peter wasn’t an old man and Peter would remember the One who knows all things He has told me I am going to live to be an old man as an old man in death I will glorify God. Even though Herod killed James as a young man and he wants to kill me tomorrow, he can’t do it because the One who knows all things told me I am going to live to be an old man! Isn’t that nice? The Lord opened the prison doors and brought him out. If you read 2Pet1, now he was an old man and writing to the Christians: I know that shortly I must put off this tabernacle even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shown me but he wasn’t worried about it, he was now an old man, ready to face death; he wasn’t worried about the death he was going to face, now what he was concerned about and, concerned up to the very last, about feeding the lamb and sheep. He says: I am writing these things to you that when I am gone you will have these things in remembrance. In other words he wanted them to be strong when he was gone to face the tests that would come. He was faithful in old age feeding the lambs and sheep, as Jesus said to him that day: if you love Me feed My lambs and feed My sheep. Peter failed before but he rose up a stronger man and went on and was one that could be depended upon. We could say as an old man he was willing to give his life that in death he could glorify God and as I said at the beginning, I didn’t intend to speak about those two men to enlarge on their failure or to encourage failure but to encourage ourselves with this thought: even though we have failed in the past, we can rise up, go on and we can do well, we can bring honor to God and we can finish well.

There are some burdens that are too great for me. Psalm 68:19, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits.” God daily loadeth us with benefits; we have received so much through the sacrifice of Jesus.

I received a letter from my dad just before he passed away. When he was a young boy, there was so much that he had to give up, he had to give up his friendships with the world, but now he was looking back over sixty years of serving God, and he could write about all the benefits, all the privileges, all that God had loaded him with, and he could write about how God is so great.

He acknowledged the goodness of God bestowed upon him. We cannot take it in what God is giving to us for the future.

A young boy was sent to the shop to buy something, and the shopkeeper knew the family well, and he offered the boy a jar of sweets, but the boy held back. The shopkeeper insisted, and still the young boy didn’t move, so the shopkeeper became impatient and he took out a handful of sweets and gave them to the boy. He asked the boy why he wouldn’t do it, and he said, “You have a bigger hand than mine.” God’s hand is more bountiful, but we do not always receive all that God wants to give us.

I would like to speak in this meeting of five words Jesus spoke, at the end of John 14, “Arise, let us go hence.” Paul said, “I had rather speak five words with my understanding.” There are several places in the Bible that are parallel to this, when Jesus spoke five words. When He washed the disciples’ feet, He said, “I have given you an example.” This is the highest form of teaching, the kindliest way of correction. It is an example that touches our hearts. He served His own. The most important seat was left empty. He humbled Himself, and washed the disciples’ feet. Jesus could have humbled the world, but He humbled Himself.

Now we think of Him leading out His own – “Arise, let us go hence” – and they crossed the brook Kidron, where Josiah ground to powder all the idols, many years before. Let us arise and go hence, and keep ourselves from idols. There can be idols in one’s life. Pride is the god of self, covetousness, and the love of money. There could be an idol – “I want” – and sadly, we could have the idol of the children of this world. Keep yourselves from idols.

There are five words spoken in the Old Testament, that God spoke, “Arise let my people go.” This was the dawn of the gospel age, and good if we follow this in its truest sense, getting free from this world, to use it and not abuse it, to leave Egypt a little more.

This morning I walked near the baptism site and thought of those solemn words, “Obedient now to His command, we leave the world behind” and I felt the need of that, to realize that there are ties, there could be something tying us to this world. There was a man who lived by the side of a river, and once a week he would go down river and do his shopping, leaving his boat tied up at the side. This day he had a few drinks, and it was nearly night time before he came back and put his shopping in the boat. He began his journey up river, but after he had been rowing for some time, he realized that he hadn’t untied the boat. We realize that there are things in this world that are binding us, we are not getting very far.

In a forest area there was a big fire, and it was quite a job to make a break around the cabin. Later as we walked in the ashes, there was a monkey with a little one in its arms, burnt to cinders. This monkey did not leave because of what was dear to her. This is a lesson, that we need to let go of the things that are near and dear to us. If we do not let it go, it can cost us our life eternally. Arise, let my people go.We need to sever the ties of the world.

One time there was a friend who was prospering in God’s way, and he was also prospering materially. Someone asked him how he could prosper in both ways. He answered, “I always look at things with the eyes of a dying man.” He saw that everything was only fleeting and passing. We need to see everything as though it was the last day of our life. There was a lady dying of cancer, and a reporter came to interview her. She had known fame, friends, and much in this world, and now she said, “Life for me is lonely, and there is an empty future, I have nothing to go on to.” She had no harbor waiting. We need to arise and sever the ties that will impoverish us in the spiritual sense.

Joshua 1:2, “Moses, My servant, is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan.” The people were willing to leave the world behind, they were willing to cross the Red Sea, but this was only the beginning. Many who left Egypt never reached the promised land. I can honestly say that the things of time have lost their charm for me. Arise, let us cross over Jordan. Let us be willing to die so that Jesus can live indeed in us. How dead should we be? We should be so dead that we are not able to see the glittering things of time. We should be so dead that we could not speak the things that are hurtful. We should be so dead that our feet are not going in the course of this world. We should be so dead that our hands would not be in anything dishonest. The more we die, the more we see to live for, to die, so that He might live in us. Jesus died before He died on the cross, He died daily. We do not speak lightly of this, because this is a great reality.

Absalom conspired against his father, David, and David spoke these same words, “Arise and let us flee.” He did not stand his ground, he was the king, but he wanted to save bloodshed. Rather than see the kingdom suffer loss, he said, “Let us flee.”

There comes a time when we realize that we have to sacrifice our own rights, and there is no greater sacrifice spiritually than for one’s self to suffer lest the kingdom suffer loss. 2 Samuel 15:30, “And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, as he went up and had his head covered, and he went barefoot, and all the people that were with him covered every man his head, and they went up weeping as they went up.” He went up the Mount of Olives, barefoot like his master, and having his head covered. So easy to do the opposite, to uncover our head and to tell others what we know. Knowledge is a very dangerous thing on its own, because it puffs up. Love edifieth.

Peter tells us that we are to add to our virtue, knowledge, and this is the safe way to have knowledge. David was not afraid of discomfort in the way, he went barefoot, just like Moses in the desert, when he took the shoes off his feet, for he was on holy ground. As we go on, all hail the brier and thorns. When there comes the hardness and the difficulties, that we would not draw back, we would go on all the way. I have been reminded lately of the first hymn I gave out when I went out into the work, “I am going all the way.” Now, more than thirty years later, I have not gone all the way yet, but I have a desire to go all the way.

David was going on weeping, until he reached the top of Mount Olivet, and we hope to go on and reach the top, too. Some perhaps on hands and knees, there is no easy way. If we are going to reach the top, it is going to mean a little more kneeling. I valued a companion, and we were staying in a place and the lady of the place noticed that my companion’s shoes were worn, so she took them to the repairer. He said to her, “This man must do his work kneeling, I can tell by the way his shoes are worn.” There was a lot of time spent in prayer, waiting on God in earnest prayer.

Then we think of the Songs of Solomon, more than once he said, “Arise, my loved one.” “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” The bridegroom wanted to have fellowship with the bride, and He longs to have deeper fellowship with us. In these early times, the father of the bridegroom chose the bride, this was the custom. Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen me.” Until the appointed day, the bride is getting the material ready for the wedding garment.

In Colossians 3:12, it gives us seven parts of the garment. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another.” It takes a lifetime to do this, to put it into practice. We have two hymns that contain this message of, “Arise and let us go.” One tells us, “Awake, your lamps of purpose trim.” We need to arise to do it now, not sometime. We are only as strong as our purpose. One time an older brother wrote to me, and mentioned a proverb, “He who has an objective does not stop for flowers or tempest. ” What he meant was that when we are praised, we would not swallow it or let it go to our head. When we are in the tempest, in the struggle, and things are difficult, it doesn’t stop us either. Many times this has spoken to me. This speaks to us of doing, “Arise, be up and doing.” We feel we have so much to do, and so little done.

Oh, arise, be up and doing. There could be a lot of theory and very little practice. Theory is great but it is practically useless. A great musician bequeathed all he had to the village where he was born. They made a monument, and put his violin in it, and people came from all parts to look at it. Later it began to deteriorate, and they restored it, but it happened again. The people then realized that the violin should be used to preserve it. Surely there is nothing that helps us more in the onward march of life, to use what we have been given.

Micah 4:13, “Arise and thresh, 0 daughter of Zion.” We cannot sit in meetings like this and not have a feeling that there is a lot of chaff in ourselves. We need to arise and thresh. Jesus said to Peter, “Satan has desired to have you, to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not.” Peter was going through the mill, and there was a lot of chaff being left behind. God wants the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. It is only the bare grain that reaches home; the chaff is left behind. This has been a message to me. Ruth knew how to thresh, she was beating out what she had gleaned, and only the bare grain was left. All could see that she was a virtuous woman; she had the bare grain. David bought the threshing floor for the full price. All human pride, human greatness, like chaff, was left behind. David had the pure grain. Gideon was threshing wheat by the winepress, leaving aside the chaff.

The prodigal son said, “I will arise and go to my father.” He had lost a fortune but he had not lost the use of his tongue and he could say, “I’m sorry.” He had lost a fortune but he had not lost the use of his hands; he said, “Make me as one of thy hired servants.” He had lost a fortune, but he had not lost the use of his feet; he said, “I will arise and go.” He had lost a fortune, but he had not lost the use of his reason, “Although I will lose, I will arise.” This boy’s elder brother did not arise, but sat in the seat of the scornful. He did not say, “I will arise and go to my father.” It is only God’s spirit in us that will enable us to say that. There is nothing good in us humanly that enables us to stand in the presence of God. We sometimes take these things for granted, but good manners are no substitute for the spirit of our Master.

As we leave this place today, leave convention, the Lord is saying to us, as in long ago, “Arise, let us go hence,” to go out to put the very best into it. I have been privileged to be amongst you, I am a debtor to many, and I can say that for half a century I have looked at Australia as a place on the map. I have seen a list of workers, but it has only been a piece of paper. Now it is a living thing, when we really get to know others in the struggle, and this is an encouragement to us as we seek to keep up the standard.

The middle verse of the Bible, Psalm 118:8, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” There is nothing in self that we can put our hope in.

May our trust deepen in our God as we leave here, and God will help us to put our very best into it, for time is getting short. Before we sing our closing hymn, I would like to ask a favor. Would you put us on your prayer list and keep us there?

There are other fields, other lands, where the fields are white unto harvest. Golden fields are when the harvest is ripe, but when it is white, it is past the time; it is over ripe. There are millions perishing for the want of laborers. Then, you too can have a part in the song of glory.

Hymn 398 was the closing hymn, “Christ is coming, Christ is coming! Let us lift our eyes on high.”

Jesus was warning the people. Matthew 24:15, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand.) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains; let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved but for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened.”

He is telling of something that is going to happen in 37 years’ time. This is the part that has already happened, and when we take out this part, we know that the rest that Jesus speaks about is yet to come. The scripture does not tell us how long it will be before these things happen, but the scripture tells us to watch. In these verses, it tells us of what has happened, the destruction of Jerusalem. The Roman army came to Jerusalem to destroy the city. Jesus told the people to pray about this. They could not keep it from happening, but they could do something about the day of the week, and they could do something about the season of the year. Jesus was telling the friends at that time that if you are interested in the season then Heaven in interested. If you are interested in the day, Heaven is interested. This is something that God lets man enter into with His planning. We know if this would have happened on the Sabbath day, the gates would have been closed, and also they were only allowed to travel so far on the Sabbath day. If it had occurred in the season of winter that they had to flee to the mountain, they would have to go with their little ones and it would have been very difficult, so He left it to them to pray. He gave them things to read and pray about. Then the news would come that the Roman fleet had arrived at Caesarea, which was the capital of the country. It would take so many days to unload the soldiers, to unload the cattle they were to eat, then they would start marching towards Jerusalem, which was a journey of 80 miles.

In Jerusalem, those who were watching were getting ready to flee for their lives. They were told that if they were out in the field they were not to go back into town. If they were upon the housetop, they were not to go into the house to collect something or they could lose their lives. There would have been a great number of people in Jerusalem for the feast, they would all hear the news of the fleet coming and they would flee to the city to be safe. Things looked safe in the city, they could see the great walls and the gates, and that great company that would be fleeing into the city would meet a little group fleeing out of the city. Maybe they would try to talk to them and tell them they were going in the wrong direction, but there was no time to talk now. Thirty seven years had been long enough time to talk about these things. The only thing that mattered now was salvation. The siege of Jerusalem was terrible. Verse 21 tells us that this tribulation was so great, not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Verse 22 tells of the “elect.” It mentions several times in these chapters about the “elect.” It says that there would be no flesh saved, but the days would be shortened for the elect’s sake. Maybe the Roman army thought that they determined the time of the battle, maybe the Jewish resistance thought they determined the time of the battle, but no, that was not so. It was God watching His elect. God was watching a little group in the mountains, He could see that they had all gone far enough, they had had all that they could stand. The battle of the siege was over. Heaven was interested in them. This is the part of the chapter that has gone now, but in the 12th verse, Jesus is warning about from that time till the end of time. Jesus was speaking of à greater danger for the people of God than the Roman army, when our love grows cold. “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. This was a warning for that day and also for the days to come. In verse 45, there is a man talking to himself. It tells us of people saying, “My Lord delayeth His coming,” and they begin to act in a very unwise way. This man had money in the bank, and he gave himself very discouraging advice. David said one time, “I am going to perish one day at the hand of Saul.” Saul was seeking his life every day, so he had to hide. Saul took away some of his courage, but we read that Saul never caught him, because he was hidden by God and was safe.

We could give ourselves good advice. The prodigal son gave himself good advice at the end of his experience, “I will arise and go to my father.” Others may have tried to give him different advice, but the day when he started talking to himself right, there was something accomplished for good. In chapter 25, we read of the five wise and five foolish virgins. We have an example in the Old Testament, in Joshua 19. The promised land was divided. The land was given by lot to each tribe in front on the tabernacle. When each tribe received their lot, no one complained, because it was given them before the tabernacle. Simeon had his inheritance in the lot of Judah. Some of our inheritance is in the tribe of others. I am glad when I hear of those who speak and say, “Some of that belongs to me.” Our inheritance belongs to ourselves. We cannot borrow salvation. Others can help us in the way of God, but we cannot borrow salvation from anyone, we have our own salvation, our own lot. The wise had oil but they could not divide it with others. They just had salvation for themselves.

The word “jealousy” is a good word in the right sense. One time, I walked into a book- store, and I noticed a title of one book, “The art of jealousy.” I thought that was crazy, because who would want to be jealous? I opened and read some, and there was good advice in this book. This doctor was writing and trying to explain that we are not to let others rule our homes or our lives, we must have protection and be guarding jealously what belongs to us, that we would not let others come into our lives with the wrong things. We need to be jealous about the things that we have that are right. To illustrate this further, we could tell you about a family where a boy got away for some time. We sometimes hear of young people getting away from home for a while. These parents found the boy again, and do you think that the boy apologized? No, he never apologized for being gone. He just said, “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” He was zealous about His Father’s business, and this is a good jealousy to have. His Father’s business came first. This jealousy is right.

Matthew 25:14-15, the parable of the talents – given to every man according to his ability. You could not expect the same from every one, but God knows what to expect from each one. One time, we were visiting a farmer in the prairies where the wheat grows, and our friend asked us if we would like to go and see the different fields of wheat. We came to one very good field that looked good, so I said to the farmer, “This is a very good field.” The farmer said, “No, it is not good.” We came to another field, and I said, “This is a poor field.” The farmer said, “No, it is very good.” I started thinking to myself how stubborn is this man going to get! Suddenly, the thought came to me that this man knows his field. The Lord knows His children. The Lord led His children through the desert. They walked so far and so long, but never a foot swelled. God understood His children. He did not expect more from them than what they could do. One man did not invest his talent. He saw things as he saw, not as they were, and this was a great loss to him. He should not have thought that he had less than the others, but he should have thought of what he was, and what he could have been. We should not be angry with anyone else for what they have. I hope that not one of us would be angry with ourselves, for it is not what we are that counts, but what we can be. Joseph told his brethren, “Don’t be angry with yourselves.” They were distressed after their father ad died, and they were looking at what they had been, but God wants us to look at what we an be. We hope that in our investing in God’s way, we would not be angry with ourselves.

Chapter 26:1, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said unto His disciples…” Sometimes things are said to everyone, and sometimes the message’s just for us. I was walking to convention one day and I met a young man who stopped me and said, “I have a question and I do not know the answer.” I hoped in myself that he would not ask me, because I might not know the answer either. I said to him, “You just listen good, and you’ll get the answer.” The next day I saw him again, and I asked him, “Have you got the answer?” He said, “Yes.” A few months later, this man was my companion. All that is said today, there is something in it just for us.

In verses 26 and 27, we read of Jesus breaking bread, and giving thanks for the privilege of shedding His blood. We often give thanks for life, but have we ever given thanks for death? Jesus was giving thanks for His own death, He broke the bread which was His own body. Verse 32, “But after I am risen gain, I will go before you into Galilee.” This was going to happen. The Shepherd would be smitten, and the sheep would scatter, but after He was risen, He was going to walk before them in Galilee. He was saying, “Next week, there would be a resurrection from the dead,” but the disciples did not understand, neither did they hear. It could be that we are also taken up with our own problems, that we have not heard. There is something in our listening that we don’t always hear right.

Sometimes after convention, someone will speak of that was spoken, and I will say, “I never heard that.” There was the message of resurrection. Jesus would rise from the grave. What is left in the grave is only dust, and it is just as if the power of resurrection opens the grave again, and releases the person again that went into the grave. It seemed that when a person was buried, that death had victory, but now the resurrection of life. In Matthew, it tells us that when Jesus rose again, the graves were opened and the bodies of the saints arose, and appeared to people. If you were to ask me, I couldn’t tell you what they were. Were they dust that was changed? Was it a resurrection body? I don’t know. But we know that on the resurrection morning when Jesus comes again, that every place where the ground has had victory, it will be opened then, and the Lord’s people will rise again. “Death where is thy sting? 0 grave where is by victory?” It is almost as if the spirit knows where the dust is of all of God’s people throughout all the ages, that where the grave seems to have had victory, all must give it up again. The power of resurrection will have the last victory. Verse 36 tells us of Jesus taking three of His disciples a little further to pray. I have often asked the question, “What did the other nine disciples think when Peter, James and John were taken, because a number of times, these three went with Jesus?” We do not read that the others complained. We have a hymn that says, “Ready to have Thee use me, or not be used at all.” I am ready to go, and I am ready to stay, according to His mind and will. Jesus prayed in the garden three times that the cup would pass from Him, but that God’s will would be done. He prayed until He was ready to do God’s will. We pray for things, but do we pray till we are willing? Job said one time, “God’s word have I esteemed more than my necessary bread.” In another rendering, it says, “I have bent my will to the words of His mouth.” This is the work of Jesus.

Psalm 42:5, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God.” The enemy and our own thoughts would cause us to be disheartened, disquieted, discontented, and eventually destroyed. To avoid disappointment, to avoid discouragement, to avoid depression or despair, have the right EXPECTATION.

What do we have the right to expect from others? Isn’t it quite reasonable to at least expect honesty? It would be wonderful if we could expect this. But really, all we have the right to is God and His promises, which are sure. If we expect more, we leave ourselves open for disappointment and then Satan can move in and he will affect our spirit and actions.

Psalm 62:5, “Wait thou only on God.” Jeremiah 29:11. He knows what He is doing and we can trust Him. He will give us an expected end. God will never disappoint us. We can place our expectations on Him.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT OF THE UNSAVED? Expect nothing. David almost got into trouble by expecting too much of ungodly Nabal. Sometimes, we might expect something of our neighbors. David had an expectation and it got him into trouble. The story is in I Samuel 25. In the wilderness, they were in close contact with Nabal’s shepherds and sheep. David was kind to them. It was in his heart to be kind to others. Then one day, David and his men were hungry. Because he had been kind to that man, he expected kindness in return. But Nabal was not a godly man and he refused. David got angry and wanted to punish them. Nabal’s wife interceded and kept David from doing wrong. Luke 6:35, “For God is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” It is right to do right like David did in being kind, but it is wrong to expect something in return. It gets us into trouble. If we are expecting something from others we will always be discontented. We will be discontent if we expect others to live up to our conscience and we will be godless if we only live up to others’ conscience. Don’t look for an example, be one.

Then SURELY WE CAN EXPECT SOMETHING FROM OUR RELATIVES. What do you expect of your relatives? Expect nothing. Luke 12:13, “Master, speak to my brother..” Did Jesus? No. It is easy to expect things from our relatives and lose sight of the important thing – being rich toward God. This man felt he was not getting his fair share of an inheritance. He thought Jesus would want to see his relatives treating him right. He wanted Jesus to talk with his brother. Jesus told him, “A man’s life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions.” Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Regardless of whether things external are as right as they should be, keep a right spirit and in that spirit you can do the most to help right the situation when it is of eternal consequences to the Kingdom. We never have a right to a wrong spirit towards others. Feeling we have rights gets us into trouble.

Surely, then we can EXPECT SOMETHING FROM OUR BRETHREN IN CHRIST. What do you expect of your professing friends? Expect nothing. The best man God had became sarcastic, because of how much he expected from his friends. Job was the best. God could trust him. Then hardships came. His friends came to visit him and Job fell into a snare. He thought he could expect sympathy and understanding from his friends (Job 6:14). They didn’t give it to him, so he became critical and sarcastic (Job 12:2). Job even resorted to defending himself. Never defend yourself. If you are right, you don’t need to and if you are wrong, you have no right to. It is not so important what people say about me because of Truth, but it is important what people say about the Truth because of me. When we allow an expectation, we leave ourselves open to trouble and we can get others into trouble. Job’s friends used human arguments and reasonings and it brought out a human response in Job. God later taught Job to pray for his friends, rather than expect of them.

Finally, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPECT SOMETHING FROM OURSELVES. What do you expect of your flesh? Expect nothing. Maybe I am like Peter; he said, “I am ready to go to death.” (Luke 22:33) Peter expected too much of Peter, because soon, he denied Jesus. Peter on the last night of Jesus’ life, faced tests. Peter said he would never forsake Jesus. He expected something from himself. He had to experience failure to realize he couldn’t put trust in himself. We have no right to expect anything, but we can do all things through Christ.

To have the right expectation, remember Psalm 62:5, “My soul, wait thou ONLY upon God; for my expectation is from Him.” WE CAN EXPECT ANYTHING WITH GOD because with Him are all things possible. (Matthew 19:26) We can draw strength from God and so can others, as we walk humble before Him.

In Jeremiah 29:11, God is saying, “Trust ME, I will give you an expected end.”

I am happy to be here. In the other place it was such a wonderful thing to see so many young people and so glad to be there. We are glad to see young people here too. We are glad to see children here. I would like to encourage you to read the Bible. I would would like to speak a little about the Psalm 2, this morning. There was some a time before I ever understood the depth of this Psalm, for that reason I would like to explain to young folk, when you folk read the Bible, it isn’t just reading verse after verse, it is well if we could look up references, little tiny references and find something of the same to understand the chapter; sometimes we could look up and when I began to look up and search out and dig in, this Psalm has been a great Psalm to me and if you want to put down the references as we go through and look them up later, it may be even-more help. 

Now the first verse of this Psalm 2:1, Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing. Why do they imagine or have to dwell on a vain thing? Just in a general sense you can say that is just like a picture of the world today, people raging and raging about this and that and something else and just feeding on vain, empty things but, in reality, if we look up some references we will find this is a prophecy, this has a depth of meaning, this is talking about when Jesus was nailed to the cross of Calvary and when we get down to read all the matter we begin to understand some of the depth of the words in this chapter. 

Let us turn for a few moments to Acts 4:25, I’ll look it up and read it, to you. “Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, why do the heathen rage…” This Psalm was written by David, this is something else good to know; in the reference it even says Psalms 2 and it says: who by the mouth of thy servant David..why did the heathen rage…against the Lord and against iris Christ. You can also look in the book of Luke 23, it tells when Jesus was before Herod, it speaks of Him before Pilate, it speaks of those rulers, you see a very sad picture. It seems that those two men were not agreed before but on this occasion they came together, the world could get their heads together and up against the Truth and Light and Salvation. The world was shouting that Christ may be crucified, raging, they were moved by those high priests and moved by the elders, moved by different groups, people who are moved by just what others say. 

There was a time we read of this same Herod, if you want to look it up, this is the one that, when John was in prison and because of this young lady dancing, as they would say, so gracefully before them, he offered her even to half of his kingdom and she went to her mother and asked what should I ask for and she said the head of John brought on a platter. Isn’t that a terrible sad, horrible picture? John, the true messenger of God, one that was giving his all and his best, yes, it cost his life but I have pondered over what Herod said I will give you even to half of my kingdom, if Herod had vision, a spiritual vision, if he would have understood his values, he could have easily said unto her the life of John, the true messenger of God, the representative of Heaven, he is worth more than half of my kingdom, more than all of my kingdom, it can’t be given to you but the world sells out for nothing. 

John’s life was taken but then Herod now is standing before Jesus and it says for a long time he had desired that he might see Jesus he had heard of those miracles He had performed and he was just hoping that on this occasion Jesus would show more of that power. When John was put to death it was to close the mouth of John that he couldn’t speak any more to condemn his life of adultery, he closed the mouth of John forever, yes, he closed the mouth of Heaven forever to him. He didn’t come humble and broken, he didn’t come asking is there anyway I can ever be forgiven, is there any way I can have salvation? No, he came with a wrong desire. When we come to this Convention, oh, that we could come with that broken contrite spirit, willing that God could speak unto us and that we could understand, yes, and that we would be willing, and gladly willing, to obey the voice of God. 

I was very happy for what we heard last night of that still small voice of God speaking and moving in our conscience. Did you ever hear that still, small voice of God? I will explain this by a little short illustration. I remember one time there in Mexico, every Sunday after the Sunday morning meeting and a quick dinner we got a train to go a certain distance into the country part for a meeting in the

afternoon, usually the train was full. I remember this Sunday pushing in and getting on but down in the aisle it seemed like a small voice clearly saying move down the aisle and, to myself I began to think well, there’s people down there too, I am standing here, it won’t be long before I’ll be getting off, why move down the aisle? It wasn’t very many moments I understood the reason! I was standing by some people and their conversation, their filthy corrupt conversation and everything just made me push quickly and get down the aisle as soon as I could to get out of range of those voices. If I had obeyed the still small that speaks I would have moved on down the aisle, I would have escaped all. Yes, God speaks and He will speak and in this Convention, He is wanting to speak but He wants to speak’ in His quiet way to help us understand. 

One of the ways it speaks in Hebrews, the way God has spoken, often and in many ways, to me one of the ways God speaks most clearly is by death. I’ll give you one illustration of this. in the city of Monterey are many professing people, some lovely young people even to the fourth and fifth generation walking in the way of God but there is one couple, both professing, they have several children professing but some of those children don’t desire the Truth. That is a sorrow and sadness to those parents. They don’t want to hear reason or take advice and one of those young men was working, having his own money, he felt the call of business but wasn’t willing; he got a car and it didn’t run just as fast as he wanted it to; he spent lots of money to get a bigger motor, to run faster and when he got that installed, racing up and down those streets at high speed it turned over a few times and threw him out. Death. This life was cut so short. Had he got any joy out of that? He could have got some kind of a thrill but it took him to the grave, a cold dark long future with no hope. That still small voice would like to speak to help us see and understand the vanity of the passing things in this life and were it is going to take us to. Soon after that two of his brothers, younger than he, professed. We hope it is not just emotion, not just for the moment, but it could be a choice for all eternity. Some other cousins have professed too. God sometimes speaks in a still small voice but it seems it takes a shout from heaven to waken some people, the shout of death. 

Let us go along with that Psalm 2:2 a little more, I’d like to read the verse that follows after, 2v. The kings of the earth…take counsel together against the Lord…let us break their bands… The people in that time when they were shouting Christ would be crucified it was just like saying: we don’t want Him to rule over us but there was another that was placed that day before the public and he had a record, a dreadful record of crime and when Pilate ‘lifted him up before them to not let him go free, they cried out that he should be free and Christ would be crucified. What does this world want? They don’t want purity, they don’t want Truth, they don’t want Salvation, they want their own way. They thought: if we can just get rid of this Christ we can go along, He is just trying to tear up our lives. 

It caused me to think of Cain and Abel, it illustrates so clearly this portion of Scripture. Two in the same home with the same parents, the same teaching but one let the devil talk to his ear. He told him it isn’t necessary to do just exactly like God has planned, you just offer the best of your crop, that is something very good. Abel, he offered according to the life of Jesus, a lamb. This animal, his blood was shed; the animal was speaking of the Christ that was coming to this world, that His life would be elven, His blood would be shed but I like to think it speaks much more than that. It speaks, not of an animal, it speaks like in Romans 12, I beseech you by the mercies of God present your bodies…holy, acceptable which is your reasonable service. That is what God wants to teach us in these meetings these days. We have a body, God a body has prepared me, yes, He has prepared you this body and in it He wants to dwell, He wants to reign, He wants to be salvation to us. Yes, when we think of that sacrifice, I beseech you brethren…present your bodies…it is your reasonable service; that is correct, it is right, it should be that way. 

When we get to the gates of Heaven, do we want just to have a peek in? Do we want to get one foot in? No, we have to be all in or not at all and we would like to see the door open from side to side and that welcome: Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, Come! All God is asking for is just what we can’t keep to give us what can never be taken away from us. He is asking for this life, this life isn’t our own, it belongs to Him, life is lent to us, Ho is just asking we put it in His hands and He can show us how to live, how to have joy, He is showing us how we can be useful in this world, a living sacrifice. 

I would like to tell you one experience. A couple listening in our meetings, Clarence was away at the time they professed, I remember so clearly, they had come from a country settlement quite a way South but in that country settlement the Gospel had reached that part and there were a number of people professing and the parents of this young man were professing people but he wasn’t professing. He married a girl from that settlement, almost like a neighbour, and that girl, her mother was very Catholic, she was strong in the Catholic belief and she told this daughter: don’t you marry that boy, they have a strange religion, they will get you roped in. She promised her mother never to be taken up with that religion but this young couple came to Monterey to work and their address was sent. We went to look them up and this young lady, when-she saw us coming to the door she hoped we wouldn’t knock, then she hoped we wouldn’t come in she knew who we were but he seemed anxious that we would come in and in the conversation we mentioned: wouldn’t you like to have a little meeting here, a Gospel meeting, and he said: yes. She was kind of boiling down inside! I hope they never come back but he had given the word and she did stay for the meeting. So, we appeared and they listened and others listened and the day came when she began to see and realise this is not a strange religion, this is the way of life and Truth like we have in the Bible; he knew it already.

She broke down in tears one day and wept bitterly. She said my mother tried to help me to understand that I should never get married with this man because they had a strange religion, I can never profess because it would just break the heart of my mother. I said: Do you love your mother, really love your mother? Yes. She was weeping, yes, I love my mother. You know this is right, you know this is the way of salvation, would you like your mother to get saved too? Yes, but its hopeless, it would never be possible. I said: if you want ever to help your mother you have to take the first step, you have to show to her by your life that you have found reality, you have found Truth. Oh, but she says, it would not be possible, but these things were working within and she couldn’t refuse. They both professed and it wasn’t long till a neighbour lady professed, a very interesting story too; it wasn’t long after that till one of the sisters professed and then another sister professed and then another sister professed and, yes, the day came that that mother professed also. That which was so impossible! Seek ye first the Kingdom of God… and these things are going to fall into line. That has happened more than once, yes, to let us know what it is just to put our life’s offering on the altar of sacrifice.

Abel came with his sacrifice it says God looked upon Abel then at Cains sacrifice. God is looking upon our lives, our sacrifice could be by force and not by love but Abel was putting his all and showing it by his own life; he gained God’s favour but it also says of Cain, God looked upon Cain and looked upon his life, his spirit, his action, he was outside; he wasn’t wanting to be inside, he wanted to be religious but in another way; that is not going to take us to Heaven, the spirit of the devil was controlling the life of Cain, yes, just like those people in the days of Jesus: if we could just get rid of this Christ, we could just do as we want. When God saw how Cain’s countenance fell, He could see there was anger inside but God tried to help Cain. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted…? God painted a picture of how he could be right. God would like to show us in this meeting how we can get right and have God’s favour. If we do His will from our hearts, we love to do His will, to be broken, contrite, God is going to work in us but he didn’t let the Words of God penetrate his heart and rising up he went out and sought a way to bring death to his brother Abel. That is not going to make things right, that is not the answer today, no, we must look to God if we want the answer, the sue answer, the right answer, the answer is from God. 

Maybe I’ll read another verse: He that sittest in the heavens shall laugh Christ was dying on the cruel cross in agony, it touched God’s heart but He was just laughing at that crowd and their way of reasoning. There is going to come a day they are going to see proof of their iniquity yes. It says here in 5v: Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath – there is coming a day. I’d like to just give another thought when you think of Paul, before he was ever converted, he was of the same people, he was of Israel, he was of the strictest sect of those Pharisees and it tells us very clearly when Stephen was stoned to death, there he was giving his consent, even holding the clothes of those that cast those stones that day. Would you say there would never be any hope for that man? But he was moved just by public opinion, blinded to the fact that his people were on the wrong track. We could be blinded, very blind to the fact of what is really true. God could see in the very depth of the heart of that man, that young man, it seems that there is sincerity but he is very deceived and from the other side of the grave, the other side in eternity.

Jesus spoke to him as he went that day: Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? Who is it? He didn’t recognise that voice. In this meeting there could be a voice speaking to us, we might wonder where it is that voice has come from. That voice comes from Heaven, that voice would touch deep incur heart. God wants us to see and realise this is just not play, it’s a serious matter. Why dost thou persecute me? Who is it Lord? He heard the voice: I am Jesus of Nazareth… You would wonder, Jesus was already in Heaven, how could He be per luting Jesus? Wouldn’t it be true that if you had children and if you saw someone beating up on those children, it would be just like beating you too? Putting their finger in the apple of your eye? When they touch those, who Are doing God’s will, it was like touching Jesus and causing Him to suffer. Jesus said: why persecutest thou me? Who art Thou…? He told him who He was, he fell to the ground he was undone, a light brighter than the noon day sun shone about him, yes a light, the light of the gospel is brighter than all the lights in all this world and it would like to shine all round us and capture us, it would like to get to our heart, yes. He spoke of those words: What wilt Thou have me to do. The first time in his life in the spirit of true submission to that One that he didn’t believe in before, that One they thought a false prophet, now he could see: this is true, this is the salvation of God. How nice if we could be of those that have sincerity in the depth of our heart, God sees the sincerity and He sends His messengers across our path. There are a number of other things here I would like to explain. It speaks in Revelation that they are going to be broken like a potter/s vessel and come to naught. 

There is also another verse I’d like to mention Matthew 4:8-10, when the devil came to Jesus he offered Him all the kingdoms of the world, he showed it to Him in a moment of time but Christ could just laugh at him, in this sense, He knew if He did the will of God He was not only going to be like the Author of eternal salvation but that He was coming back to this world His coming is nearer, His coming back to this world – and He is going to come like the King of kings and Lord of lords and the whole world is going to be His. He could have bowed down to Satan that day but Satan is a liar, Satan offers but could he have ever given what he offered? We don’t want to deal with some one that is not true, we want to deal with God, the God of Heaven. Let us quickly go on to some other verses. 

I like very much what we have in Psalms 2:10, he wise now therefore, 0 ye kings. God likes to speak to kings. Paul had opportunity of speaking to rulers and kings and some were almost persuaded but weren’t willing. It tells us very clearly: l am wise now therefore, 0 ye kings, be instructed. These are days of instruction. Ye Judges serve the Lord. That is what God is trying to tell us: serve the Lord. When Paul heard that voice and was willing, he came in to serve; he turned his back on everything he was before to be like a new born babe, to learn to serve, to be a servant, he gave his life. What he caused others to suffer when he persecuted and even took them to prison and death, Paul went through those same experiences for the Gospel sake too and he was willing because he knew others have gone this way, it is my turn now to hold up the Kingdom of Heaven even before kings and rulers that they might have this opportunity and in that great judgment day there will be no excuse, yes. 

It also speaks here in Psalms 2:11, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. To me, that seemed kind of a strange verse. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice. How can you rejoice when there is fear and also says with trembling? I like that verse, I enjoy that verse. When we think of fear that’s a reverent fear, we fear that we could disobey God, we fear that we could fall from His favour, let us fear lest we might disobey or displease God. Let us never, never, never lose this fear, this fear that we can displease God and if we are going to be willing to serve with this reverent fear, there is going to be rejoicing then. It says with trembling also. Then you see some that have gone shipwrecked, they have left the Truth and gone outside, doesn’t it make you tremble? This treacherous human nature, oh, if we just give a little room to this treacherous human nature, it could take us outside. hay we tremble when we think of it, and what it could be, may there be true reverence. 

Let us go a little further, a few references you could look up – John 5:22-23 goes with v.12. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry with you. I thought of a kiss, not a deceitful kiss, a kiss of love and appreciation, a kiss to show our affection, are we trying to kiss the One that gave His life for us? Are we trying to show our affection. When Mary came with the alabaster box and broke it, yes, when she came to give her best and her all, Jesus said she bath done what she could, this is for the day of my burying and, He says, wherever the Gospel is preached in all the world… we should remember to tell what she did. Are we anointing the body of Christ. giving our best an -1 our all? That is what God is wanting. Kiss the Som… ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him. That reminds me of the 73rd Psalm It was good for me to go into the house of God that I can get my vision clear, get to see the same as God, and I see there’s just a few minutes more! 

I would like to tell you another little incident that might help you to be true when no one seems to understand, you might think no one takes notice of your life but in a certain farming district there were poor people, there were several professing and they came to that settlement two young girls, paid by the Government, to spend time trying to teach the ladies in their homes more about hygiene, how to raise children, to have a balanced diet and gave them some hints how to be a better housewife. Here in Australia you never need anything like that but, you know, over there the Government saw maybe it’s a very useful thing and those two young ladies came to this part; it so happened they were having a room and board with a lady that was professing. You might think her life never speaks anything. She said to one of those young girls, her family there Catholic, strong Catholic, but the things in the home, the things she could see and little visits about these things, she began to desire to know more about this. It was coming round the time of our annual meetings, this lady of the home mentioned the Workers will be coming, we will probably be having a meal at my home, you will get to meet the Workers. She was anxious to meet those that could tell her about the Bible. The other girl, no, but she did and the Workers went to the home and had a little time at the home, had a nice visit with that girl and it seems she just grasped these things with a clear understanding and in the last meeting of that Convention the opportunity was given for any who would like to make their choice, she stood up, that was her choice. I want to live for God. When she went home and she told her folks about these things – PHEW!! Her mother, it was just like dying to the family and she had a sister that really was upset. She told them there is a meeting here in Monterey, that is where she came from, and I can go to the meetings here. That sister, she was so upset, she said: I am going to that meeting too. She thought: I’ll go just to drag my sister out of the meeting, make a public example, she will never want to go back again. Could you stand up against opposition? Yes, she went to that meeting but when she went into the room, it was a large room full of people, it was Sunday night study and Gospel meeting together. Well, her wings went down a bit. I won’t do anything. I am not going to listen and she didn’t listen. After that meeting she wouldn’t greet anyone, she wouldn’t shake hands with anyone, she thought she would drag her sister out. Her sister had some pretty rough times and many times in testimony with tears for all the yours: people who wouldn’t give ear, who didn’t want this because they couldn’t understand. This young girl, she quit that work as a social worker because to be a social worker she had to move around the country districts and one of the requirements was that she wear slacks, just like a pair of pants, and dress like a flan. She tried to explain to them: I don’t want to dress like that now. Well, she just quit the work, she didn’t want to go according to what they had planned but she offered for the Work. Well, it was a little too soon. We explained it would be better for you to work even house work, if nothing else, for a little experience, get a little grounding, she would have been past 20 already; she did that but when the time came when we thought she could then have a part in the harvest field, I suppose that her family began to realise she maybe is thinking of this. At that Convention she was going to be put on the list and she was going to be able to have a part in the Work. In the Monterey Convention everyone goes home at night, there are a lot of people, we have no bedding problems and everyone has their supper at home and stay the night, they have breakfast at home; everyone brings lunches for dinner. Well, on Saturday night when she went home, they had decided we are not going to let her go on Sunday. They must have realised something was going to take place. She had no way of gathering up any of her clothes, no way of even taking anything, but they said we are just going to stay up tonight – they thought she would take off during the night – and see you don’t go out the door, and they did, the mother and sister but after midnight they were also sleepy and didn’t know what to do; they decided we will go to bed, she is to sleep with mother and her mother wakes up at the least movement and she cannot get away. They went to bed and went to sleep and when she was quite sure mother was fast asleep, she quietly slipped out of bed and headed out the door; she didn’t take her hymn book or Bible, she didn’t take any clothes, she just got up and got away by the skin of her teeth; she went to a neighbour that lived near, who was professing, waiting for the morning to come to the meeting. When she came to the meeting that morning, she asked for a hymn book. I thought: that’s a strange thing, she has no hymn book! I was taking care of the seating and when dinner time came, well, there’s no problem there, so many took lunches they always have something to share; she had something to eat. It hadn’t dawned on me what had happened. She didn’t have a Bible. At noon time I mentioned after the last meeting we had to go out to the country where the other Convention is and, will you be ready, prepared? Yes, I’m ready and I thought: what does she have? She didn’t have anything but she said I will be ready. Well, after the meeting was over she started out, she comes along with the Sisters and on her way out she had opportunity to explain just what had happened. After supper out in the country there was a shower, not a shower of rain from the heavens, every one of the Sisters brought some piece of clothing, shoes, suitcase, a new Bible, a new Hymn Book, she had more than the rest. She is still in the work and now her mother has begun to show a little interest, She went to Convention for one day

I mainly want to leave a record for posterity of when the gospel (the truth) came to Manitoulin Island and when my (our) grandparents professed, because they were the beginning of the truth for us. I’ve been thinking about this for some time because I feel you should know about this. We who are professing, to us this precious truth is the most important possession we have, or at least it should be, and therefore we should know when and how our family found it. Jesus said it was like a treasure hid in a field, which when a man finds it, he sells everything he owns and buys the treasure and the field. Matt. 13:44. Someone once said that we should never put a price on truth, because once we do that, someone will pay that price and buy it. So for future generations, I’m going to record this valuable information here as I heard it from my grandparents, Grandpa and Grandma Beck, and some others.

Two servants of God came to the town of Gore Bay in January of 1913 and from there walked out to a small United Church building, a white frame building across the corner from where Lloyd Noble had his store, and had gospel meetings there. 1 think I should mention and explain at this point that getting from the mainland, likely Blind River to Gore Bay, was no small task in those days! It was necessary to cross the North Channel by team and sleigh on the ice, a distance of about 30 miles, and then from there (Little Current) more than likely by horse and sleigh to Gore Bay, a distance of 50 miles! The names of these ministers of the gospel were Crawford Crooke and Dick Watchorn. One of the great wonders of the sowing of the seed of the gospel is that God knows the whereabouts of every good and honest heart and will find and make a way for the servants, the sowers of the seed, to find it; my grandparents (George and Martha Beck) and a few others were among them, and we (their descendants) can be thankful for them.

Grandpa and Grandma Beck lived on a small farm just down the road from our old farm (known as the Joe Wilson farm) and went to the meetings every night (which in those days was every night except Saturday). I think there were five who professed in that mission: Mrs [Mary Ann] Brockelbank [1879-1962, wife of Edward Brockelbank (1868-1925)], Mrs. Morell and a young daughter El Harper (nee Morell), and our grandparents. I believe El Harper is still living (around 90 now), still keeping true. The others have gone home and all kept true and faithful. Mrs. Morell was Harry and Roy’s mother, also Burl and the others.

As usually happens, when some professed [the workers] were put out of the church building and finished the mission in my grandparents’ home. Grandpa used to tell me about how it happened. He had thought of asking Grandma about the workers staying with them and also to have meetings there. He had waited until one morning at breakfast. He said “Martha, I have waited a few days to ask you this. I just wondered what you would think about asking the two ministers to come and stay here and have meetings.” (They had not yet professed). He said Grandma just smiled, got up from her chair, kissed him, and said, “George, I thought you would never ask!” It was settled there and then.

Grandpa loved to talk about those days and of the workers helping him cut wood and logs and they talked and talked and talked. The Sunday meeting was in their home until they moved to Wyoming. Some years later George and Maggie Walker (husband and wife) were having meetings nearby and Mother professed. This was shortly after we moved to the old farm. I remember coming downstairs for a drink of water and 1 found Mother sitting on Dad’s knee in an old wooden rocking chair where he always sat in the kitchen. She was crying and Dad looked so serious. I sensed as a child does that their conversation was much more serious than an everyday conversation, and thought about it many times. I worried about it many times because I think a child in his or her own way does sense that something unusual has happened and unknowingly worries in our own childish way that something may disturb the love and security of our home life. But the change in Mother’s life and style never did change our home, and although I’m sorry to say Dad never did make this decision himself, he never to my knowledge tried to put a stumbling block in the way of my Mother. It was about 8 miles to the Sunday mtg and she in the early days went with the horse and buggy. She didn’t go every Sunday, as it was a two-hour drive, but when she did, Dad would always get the horse ready on the buggy and bring it to the house and then put them away when she arrived home. My grandparents on Dad’s side of the house, John and Mary Jane Witty, were very opposed to Mother’s choice, particularly Mary Jane, who was a strong Presbyterian and despised anyone and everyone in the truth and did everything she could to make it hard for Mother, but Dad always stood by Mother and defended her. I always admired him for that and so did many others.

In those days, driving a horse was considered a man’s job and one very seldom saw a woman doing this man’s work, and I remember watching Mother drive the horse and buggy and I went with her most days, also Roy and Murray, my brothers. As soon as I was old enough, around 10, I was helping with the farm work and I was good with the horses and learned to work with them and harness them. I used to stand on the manger and a stool to do this. As soon as I could, I was harnessing and driving Mother to meeting, which was 10 miles, not far from where Willard and Bess live, near the sand pit where Willard tests the rifles before deer season opens. We met in the home of Wesley and Mrs. Benedict with a few others, including Albert and Winnie Campbell (Vera’s grandparents) and others. It was a small log house, and I can see the small living room and those there as plain as if it was yesterday. In the winter, we tied the horses outside and covered them with horse blankets to keep them warm. We left home at about 8.00 a.m. to make it in time for the meeting with a few minutes to spare, and got home between 2:30 and 3.00 in the afternoon, so you can understand why we only made it once or twice a month. I think Mother tried to get there at least every second Sunday if at all possible. I have tried to find some trace of that old house, but only a small mound remains. It is precious to me, because it was there, Sunday after Sunday, that impressions were made which would help to mold and direct my life in the years ahead, and today I’m so thankful for this.

I professed at Special Meetings in the fall of 1934. In those days, there were 3 meetings, with a gospel meeting in the evening. Tom Watterson, Horace Cullwick, and Davey McFetridge were the brother workers. 1 can only remember Lizzie White and Lena Watterson, (no relation to Tom) and when they tested the mtg I stood up. I was 17. I was in a state of shock and I remember the tears flowing, and Mabel Harper, who had been professing a few years, put her arm around me and said, “Never mind, Les, we are with you.” I never read Psalm 20:2 without thinking of this, because there are really only two sources of help for us to continue in the way: one, the sanctuary where we meet with God, and the other, Zion, the place where God’s people dwell. “Send thee help from the sanctuary and strengthen thee out of Zion.” This was my first experience of receiving strength from my brothers and sisters in Zion and it has happened again and again through the years in this precious and wonderful family of God, where I have had so many blessings and an abundance of good things, of which I am so unworthy. In the New Year, Horace and Davey had gospel meetings at Jack and Vi Campbell’s, just down from Willard’s on the corner. I walked from the farm about 10 miles 2 or 3 days each week about 3½ hours each way…seems like a lot of walking now, but I was young and that hour spent listening to the gospel was so precious that it seemed like nothing!

You know those words in Isaiah 9, they are familiar words: For unto us a child is born…Wonderful, Counseller…zeal of the Lord shall perform this. There was one time in Special meetings at home, one old woman spoke,-she gave her testimony and she was blind; she had been blind for quite a number of years and she was quite lame, she couldn’t stand to give her testimony but she gave her testimony alright. She said many, many, years ago two men came to our little district and they stayed for a few weeks but they had a Friend with them and they introduced me to their Friend and there came a time when they had to go away but the Friend stayed and, she said, He has been the most Wonderful Friend anyone can ever have in life, and she went on to say how He became more than a Friend, He became everything to her, He became like the Bridegroom of her soul and she went on at length to describe this Friend those men had brought with them that day, as you know, when they had come with the Gospel.

It’s a wonderful thing when Christ is born in an individual again. It was a wonderful hope that those prophets in the OT had that Christ would come and would give His life for the Lord and they seemed to see this very clearly, the time when. Christ would come, they knew what He would be like, some of the things He would declare, some of the things He would say, they rejoiced in their day long before He ever came. There was the wonderful day when Jesus was born, there was rejoicing and there is also rejoicing when Christ is born in a life again, reborn into men and women, boy and girl and you see marks of this Jesus, this Christ in that life and the world won’t rejoice at it but those who really matter in the sight of the Lord, they rejoice.. when Jesus was born, well, all Heaven rejoiced, all the angels were singing and rejoicing and there were a few honest individuals on the earth and they were rejoicing that this child was born. 

Away back in the Song of Solomon the woman there was giving a description of what her loved one was to her. You know the description she gave when she was asked the question: what is your beloved more than another beloved… She was desperate to find him. She went on to describe what this loved one was to her: she described right from the purity of his mind, his head right down, she described him and said: yea, he is the altogether lovely one previous to that he was the chiefest of ten thousand and altogether lovely, she said, and this was her friend, her beloved. In the OT the prophets tried to give pictures of Jesus, they faithfully tried to declare the Christ who was to come and all of them tried to step aside so Jesus would be seen in the simple message. That was so very, very important, that they would step aside and Christ would be seen; pointing to Christ, pointing to the hope of all the world and their hope, they wanted to step aside and give pictures of the Christ that would come who would bring hope to all the world. 

Perhaps Isaiah gave some of the sweetest pictures of Jesus. In his prophecy in Isaiah we have that picture that a child would be born, then we have pictures all through His life, pictures of Him when He was offered up in sacrifice for all the world. Isaiah gave wonderful pictures of Jesus but he himself wanted to step aside so those ones he was trying to speak to – there weren’t so many listening, not many of Israel who rejoiced in what he was saying, who were really interested in the message – but the few who really grasped it saw beyond Isaiah to what he was driving at, who he was pointing to. 

Remember the time the Lord spoke to Ezekiel? You know, people were saying: let’s go and hear this fellow who is teaching the Word of the Lord, let’s go and hear what he has to say. Sad to say they were not a bit interested but were coming up and giving the impression of being really interested in the Word of the Lord? They were drawing near with their lips but their hearts far from Him. Really, they were thinking it was just like a lovely song, one that has a pleasant voice who could play well on an instrument. I wonder what Ezekiel felt when he heard that? It was the last thing he wanted. He didn’t want to give them that impression, he was concerned about the Word of the Lord and pointing to that which meant everything to the Lord. He didn’t want people coming up and saying he has a lovely voice, he plays well on an instrument. I am sure Ezekiel hated to think of that, that is not what we are on the earth for. He was pointing to God, to the Lord, he longed people would be able to see Him, through his words, see beyond what was natural to what God was intending, what God was trying to say to them. 

The time came when Jesus came into the world. All the prophets had spoken about Him, In Acts of the Apostles it says; all prophets gave witness of Him, they were all pointing to Jesus in their own day, they were trying to step aside. They had been thrust into the limelight; the Lord had thrust them into the limelight. I was- thinking when Jesus was born, the woman that He used, Mary, you know how the angel came to Mary, and told her what God was wanting of her life, this Child was going to be born, the Saviour of all the world, she was chosen amongst all the women to bear this Child. Mary wondered at it. Why me? I am nothing in myself but she answered: be it unto me… She was willing to fit in. It really turned her world upside down, God coming down and wanting to use her. Mary would have been quite happy in going unnoticed and unknown but God thrust her into the limelight. She had the spirit she knew how to step aside, that time Jesus spoke of the possibility of people being taken up with human relationships, Jesus had to speak a little sharply, Mary had to step aside; this is my Son, the Son of God, people must see and people must look at Him and I must step aside. 

Her little world was turned upside down, so was Joseph’s too, I figure, I thought of that young couple, I admire them greatly. I thought of any young couple going to be married, what young couple going to be married but would have plans and woe betide a person who sticks their nose in and tries to alter their plans. That could we say to that person? Woe betide a person who would try to alter their plans. They are so much in love they hardly see beyond each other, they want to be left alone, they have their own little plans and ideas for life, where they will stay and so forth and Mary and Joseph were like that too! God came down through an angel and spoke to them and upset all their little plans, He turned their world upside down and, in a sense, thrust them out into the limelight, something they weren’t looking for and would have run away from. They wouldn’t have really wanted to have been thrust out in the limelight where they would have no privacy. The most important thing of all to them, they would have liked to be left alone in a corner, rarely ever seen. They didn’t want to be noticed but God thrust them into the limelight, God’s Spirit was working. None would want to allow this Jesus to be over obscured in them, in every occasion to step aside so Jesus is seen. 

Even in delivering the message of the Gospel, those who will take it want to step aside so people are not really seeing them but looking to Jesus because Jesus is the Friend that they desire; He is the Friend we will have right through life. He becomes more than a Friend, He is the altogether lovely One, He becomes the Bridegroom of our soul. Well, their little world was turned upside down. She was one who wanted to protect and do everything at the bidding of God for the life that was entrusted to them.

We read further on of those who rejoiced at the birth of Jesus. Simeon, when they brought Him in to present Him before the Lord – we sometimes speak in the Gospel: you can’t lay hold on natural life; you try to lay hold on it, it slips out of your grasp but everyone can lay hold on eternal life – likely, this is what the old man was doing, he was just laying hold on eternal life. Everything rests in this Child. Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace….Thy salvation. This is what I have been waiting for, my eyes have seen this salvation. He was just waiting for this manifestation of the Child that would be everything-; to the world, it was all he was living for. 

After that we read of John the Baptist coming into the picture. I love thinking of John and Jesus. The pairs in the Bible stand out and appeal to me. One of those pairs is David and Jonathan. I don’t suppose there were two people who understood each other more than David and Jonathan; they were fated to have little time together; each knew the other’s lot in life, they understood each other better than anyone else but they were fated to have so little time together. Another pair are Elijah and Elisha. We have heard about them and they were another couple who knew exactly the function of the other and entered into the battles and struggles of one another, but it was their lot to have quite a time together. 

We come to Jesus and John. I feel there were no two people on the face of the earth who understood each other more than Jesus and John the Baptist. I am sure he was the embodiment of what all the prophets were. His function was just to prepare the way for Jesus, everything in us wanting to point to Christ. He was the summing up of all the spirits of all the prophets of the OT; he pointed to Jesus and he said to his own disciples: Behold the Lamb of God… The second time he mentioned that two of his disciples left him and went after Jesus, and I can just picture John the Baptist! How would you feel if those you had tried to guide, a band of men, friends you knew quite well and had fellowship with them and then you saw them leaving you? He wasn’t glum! I picture him just with a smile on his face – I will stand aside, this is my whole function in life to point to Jesus. There would be rejoicing when he saw those men going after Jesus. Before He was born, when Mary came into that room where Elizabeth was and she spoke, because of the voice of the salutation of the mother of her Lord, the babe leapt within her; a response even before Christ was even born. John’s concern was that Jesus would be uplifted as Saviour of the world, the One who could take away the sins of all the world. 

John the Baptist gave great witness of Jesus and Jesus gave a great witness of John the Baptist. Jesus said: of those born of women there wasn’t a greater, he was a burning and a shining light. Among women there wasn’t a greater, he was a burning and a shining light, but people saw right through John, those who really meant anything to the Lord, those who mattered, saw right through John to what he was driving at, they saw Christ, the ‘One who really mattered. Remember the time Jesus began to baptize people. Actually His disciples were doing it, John had been doing it for quite a while, trying to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children, John trying to get them back to what things should have been, John was trying to get them back to what was intended for the family, for children, for parents, he baptised people and some came to John and spoke about Jesus, that person you were talking about, He is down there baptizing people and everybody is going after Him. I don’t know what they had in mind, they probably felt it would upset John, disturb him, he would be envious or jealous, I don’t know. John wasn’t going to take the bait anyway. This is what I have been telling you when I was with you before, this is the One that comes after me and is preferred before me, I am not worthy to loose the latchet of His sandals, this is the One I was pointing to. He says: he that hath the bride is the bridegroom…rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy is fulfilled… He must increaee… Here was John again showing his rejoicing at the fact people could know and behold Jesus, the disciples were leaving John himself and going after the One who really mattered. He was like the friend, he was stepping aside and rejoicing at it that all people were now being linked on to the One who really matters. I appreciated just this thought. 

You know, it would be so easy to get away from that thinking. Paul when he wrote to the Corinthians, some people had spoken to him, or written a letter to him. There were divisions amongst the Corinthians. Some people were saying they are of Apollos, others saying they are of Paul, others saying they are of Cephas and so forth. Paul is now writing to them: Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul? Later on when speaking to them he said; I would love to tell you other things, deeper things but you have a mind that is still too natural, carnal, you are not seeing beyond what is human and natural; you are seeing the preacher, you are not seeing the One who really matters, you are not seeing the Christ. He rebuked them and tried to encourage them to see beyond. This Way of God is opposed to division. Perhaps you are saying, well, I professed through so and so. Its all right to respect them, the ones who brought the Gospel but they were feeling better than another because they decided through another. Paul was trying to show them Apollos, Paul Cephas are only ministers by whom you believed. That was in them? The desire to step aside so all would see Christ, all would get their eyes on Christ. I enjoyed the spirit of it all.

One thing I detest is an anonymous letter. This wasn’t anonymous, it was the house of Chloe, they had thought of it, they were not just coming and telling about others but they were concerned about it, it wasn’t what Christ died for. No doubt they had been through the mill thinking about it, perhaps shed many tears and then they approached Paul and told him about this problem. Paul took it up. There are some in Christ you trust completely and Paul, no doubt, could trust this household completely and he would know the spirit of their approach unto him. He didn’t go to the Corinthians and say: somebody said. you weren’t behaving the way you should behave. Do you reckon that’s the best way to do it? That’s the way the world would do it. He just said it was the house of Chloe told him things were not all they should be; he isn’t going to do it in any underhand way but be open. Those people came after torment of mind, they were concerned about the Kingdom, so, you and I, let us be concerned about the thing that matters, pushing everything aside and getting our eyes on Christ, the One who came and lived and died to take away our sin. It’s a wonderful thing, this church at Corinth took it in the spirit as it was given. 

Many other things Paul spoke about, they took the whole lot and began putting it right and it rejoiced the heart of Paul and, no doubt, rejoiced the heart of the house of Chloe because all was done in the Spirit of Truth. So often things can be done in the wrong spirit. You know, if you see things going wrong amongst us, go down on your knees, pray about it, never say anything about it; pray about it, pray a long, long time. You have always got to measure: do I want to get that person helped? Do I have the Spirit of the Lord, no matter what, everything in me wants to see things right again as far as that person is concerned? That’s the attitude! Do things in the right way. If there comes a time something would have to be told, it will be done in the Spirit of Christ. If the person, or people are right, it will be accepted with the Spirit of Christ and He will be glorified, not the wisdom of the world, but God up there and the Son will be glorified, it was done under the guidance of the Spirit. 

Those were some of the thoughts in my mind, mostly this thought of the prophet, John the Baptist was summing up all the prophets and servants going out after that carrying the Gospel, bringing nigh to men this Friend who becomes more than a Friend, the Bridegroom of their soul, the Saviour of their soul and those servants in their attitude, in their spirit, at every turn learned just to step aside; although thrust into the limelight they stepped aside so mankind could see what really matters and would be drawn to that and would be saved by that. Amen. 

Jeremiah 32:6, the message of God to Jeremiah was to buy a piece of land, a field. Conditions in the country at that time were bad, things were not going very well, but the Lord was giving an assurance for the future that there was something being purchased. Verse 11, “So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open.” Verse 14, “And God said, ‘Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.’” That was the evidence of this purchase. One evidence was sealed and one evidence was open and they had to be in agreement and they had to be put in one earthen vessel. Isn’t that so with our lives.

We heard about this commitment that there should be and the work of God in our lives. There should be an open evidence in our lives of the fact that we are living for God in every side of our life that is open – our daily life, our conduct, our appearance, the way we act, the way we talk – and there is also an evidence that is sealed, this sealed evidence in our hearts that nobody else sees but only God knows. The evidence that is sealed and the evidence that is open have to be in one earthen vessel and the two have to be in agreement.

We talk sometimes about the need of the way in which we act and our appearance, the open evidence, and that is right. But we don’t really get better if that is all there is to it. I have a watch, the same as the rest of you. If the inside is working all right, those hands show the right time. But if the inside isn’t right it won’t work if I just keep adjusting the hands all the time. If the sealed evidence is right, the open evidence must be in agreement. But even so, sometimes, even if the watch is going all right, occasionally if I am in a home I like to just get on the phone and onto the time signal and get it put right because sometimes you can be a little bit fast or slow.

We come to convention and get a bit of adjusting done, outwardly and inwardly, to get these two evidences right and in line. This is your purchased possession. We are purchased with the blood of Christ. “Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price,” and we need to have this sealed evidence and open evidence in line with this acknowledgement that we are not our own, we are bought with the price of the precious blood of Christ. It’s a wonderful thing to have that kind of testimony.

We sometimes hear it being said about a person having a good testimony. Timothy was a young man well reported of by the brethren. It’s a great thing to have a testimony like that amongst God’s people and amongst those outside. But isn’t it a wonderful thing if we can have a good testimony from God. Recently I found it very helpful for myself to read about some in the Bible who received a good testimony from heaven, because that is what really matters more than even a good testimony from our brethren.

We don’t read very much about Enoch in the Bible but for many years “he walked with God.” That must have been a wonderful relationship, just walking with God through life. To me that’s a wonderful picture, to think of all those years walking with God. I went out for a walk this morning with two of our older brothers and we went about four miles and we spoke about one or two things, but most of the time we were just walking quietly with our thoughts. But to me there was something very nice about it. I just knew I was walking with two brothers. There was just a kind of a spirit and I felt free and restful in my spirit just walking together with brothers. If we walk through life with God like that, that’s a wonderful testimony to have.

God gave Noah a wonderful testimony. First of all it says he “found grace with God” and then the Lord told him what he had to do and gave him some instructions and it says Noah just went ahead and for all those years he just did what God had told him. God saw that, He saw what Noah was doing, and then God spoke again and said, “Thee have I found righteous,” a wonderful testimony from the God of heaven. He saw Noah year after year committed to building the ark. Maybe there was quite a bit of ridicule – what are you doing that for? Why don’t you spend your time making money? No, God had spoken to him about things not seen as yet and God is talking to us in these meetings about things not seen as yet – the coming of the Lord, the day when He is going to come back and receive His people to Himself, this wonderful inheritance, and we believe it and we want to go on living for that and putting that first. It doesn’t matter much what the world thinks about us, if God looks down and says, “I have found you righteous.”

In Isaiah 32, “God said, ‘Abraham, My friend.’” I just marvel at that, to think of the God in heaven, God who made the universe, the almighty God, looking down on a man here on earth and saying, “That man is My friend.” To think that a human being could rise to that. Surely there were some wonderful things that Abraham did to gain such a testimony. Some things must have counted so much with God that God called him His friend. I think of that day when there was a little difficulty between his servants and Lot’s servants and remember how Abraham spoke. He said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between us for we are brethren.” That’s the kind of person who is a friend of God. He stepped down and said to Lot, “You go ahead and choose.” I think that counted with the Lord and it still counts with the Lord, when we are prepared to step down and lose a little bit for the sake of unity and for the sake of peace. Let there be no strife between us because we are brethren. A wonderful thing when people can have that kind of attitude.

What did he lose anyway? Lot went ahead and chose all those well watered plains of Jordan and took the best of the land and you can imagine. Abraham just being there and the best had gone and then the Lord came and said, “Abraham, lift up your eyes and look north and south and east and west and all this I am going to give you.” Didn’t that include the plot that Lot had taken? When he stepped down for peace, he didn’t lose a square inch of his inheritance, not one little bit. When we are prepared to do that, we never lose anything, and it helped to make him a friend of God. Remember that day when he refused the wrong kind of riches – I don’t want any of those worldly riches, or any worldly popularity. In Genesis 18, God said about Abraham, “I know him, and that he will bring up his children right to serve Me and do My will.”

That is something that counted very very much with the Lord. Something that counts with the Lord today and it counts amongst us as God’s people. I am sure that amongst us in every land, those of you who are parents, you have a wonderful privilege but you have a great responsibility of bringing up children aright. It brings God’s approval and helps to make you a friend of God. Could God say of you, “I know you and I know that you will bring up your children aright”? That means a lot.

What kind of ambitions do parents really have for their children? I have known some parents and their ambition seems to be, if only their children can get on in the world and get the best education and so on. The children in New Zealand today who are getting the best education are the children sitting in this tent and who have been sitting in other conventions. The best university in the world is under the yoke of Jesus, “Take My yoke and learn of Me.” “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” And those of you who are young, the top education in the world is under the yoke of Christ and nowhere else in the world. That is where we learn things the world can never teach us. It’s a wonderful thing to see parents trying to bring up their children aright with that ambition for them.

Some years ago, I saw something I never want to forget. I went down to a port in England with my companion to say goodbye to a young brother worker who was leaving to go away to another country. We went down and the boat was moored at the side of the quay and two friends were there and his old father and mother. I knew his old dad well, he was a nice soft-hearted old man. I remember seeing that boy going on the ship and he got up on deck and stood there leaning on the rail and looking down at his old dad on the quayside. Then the moorings were cast off and the boat began to move out little by little and as it moved out of the port that old man just started walking along the quay keeping pace with the boat, with his eyes fixed on his boy. He got to the end of the quay and he couldn’t go any further and he just stood there and watched with his eyes riveted on that figure on the boat until it went round the headland and out of sight.

I walked along behind him and he turned round with tears running down his cheeks and he just said, “Men, he’s gone.” But then he said something else, “But this is what I prayed for.”. Wonderful to have parents like that. I have never believed that parents should try to push their children or preach them into the work, but I do believe that Godly parents should be trying to pray them into the work. You could never have a higher ambition for any of your little children. Some of these little children, they know.

Something happened at one convention a while ago which really underlined this to me. I happened to speak in one of the meetings a little bit about this open evidence, the way we live and dress and appear. I think there are two words in the Bible that to me give a very good guide. One of them is “modesty” and the other one is “moderation.” We are living in such a world of extremes, an immoderate and immodest world. That is not our standard. Our standard is modesty and moderation.

I was looking at a photograph once of a bathing beach taken in the last century and all the people looked to be dressed like Old Mother Hubbard, and you go to the beach now and they are dressed more like her cupboard! That’s one extreme to the other. We don’t want that, that is not God’s standard.

We know what the Bible teaches about sisters having long hair. Did you ever ask yourself why? Because the Bible says so, but why? In I Corinthians 11 it says, “Because of the angels.” What have angels got to do with you having long hair? It wasn’t just something Paul thought up himself. You have this mark of authority of long hair because of the angels. In God’s order of creation, He created the angels, and the angels are ministering spirits to those who are heirs of salvation, it’s a position of service.

In creation, man or woman is second place. Nothing to do with women’s lib, that doesn’t come into God’s order. The woman submitting to having long hair is the mark of being willing for the open evidence, because of the angels. There were some of the angels who wouldn’t accept their place, they rebelled and wanted equal rights and they are reserved in chains. The angels who are watching us today know what happens and we know what happened to them. It is not a good thing for any sister to ever rebel against that because that is a mark of submitting and fitting into God’s order. I love to see our sisters, young and old, who have that mark. I just spoke a little about it at one convention and after the convention a little girl of four years old went to her mother and said, “Mummy, you are naughty, you cut your hair.” Not old enough to choose aright, but that little girl knew. “I know Abraham, that he will bring up his children aright.”

I was talking to some other little children one day. I said, “Do you say your prayers when you go to bed at night?” “Oh yes.” “Do you say them when you get up in the morning?” That’s sad. You teach them the way they should go. We value that so much. It’s a wonderful thing to see children growing up with a love and respect for the workers and the meetings and you know where it comes from – from committed parents.

Gideon was called “a mighty man of valour.” What was he doing? He said, “I am nothing, I am the least in my father’s house and I am nobody.” The Lord didn’t look upon him like that. He was threshing wheat by the winepress, looking after this side of the threshing wheat to get a little bread. You don’t thresh wheat by a winepress, you thresh it on the threshing floor, but he knew the enemies were coming, he was keeping it hidden and trying to protect his source of bread. That’s something that means a lot amongst us.

In the last great war, there were some bitter battles fought around the world but the place where the bitterest and longest battle was fought and where the war came closest to being lost wasn’t in Europe or Africa or in the Far East or in the Pacific, it wasn’t the battle of Britain. It was out in the Atlantic Ocean where the enemy nearly cut the supply line. If that had been cut the war would have been lost, and our enemy knows that too, if he can cut the supply line with heaven. If we are not committed to labouring for a little of this bread that is for our souls, the war will be lost. Gideon, the man who thought he was nothing – God saw him as a mighty man of valour, hiding bread from the Midianites and looking after that source. That is still so precious amongst us.

Caleb and Joshua got a wonderful testimony from the Lord when He spoke about them, that “they had a different spirit.” I have thought a little of the kind of spirit they had. You think of those two men, they went through 40 years in the wilderness, it wasn’t their fault, you never read of them complaining or saying, “Well, if you had listened to us in the first place you wouldn’t be stuck here in the wilderness anyway.”

No wonder Joshua is the man God chose to lead those people eventually; he kept that spirit right through. Things were difficult and they were not to blame for that. “He that keepeth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city” and that is something that is so valuable, to know how to keep our spirit. When we come to the end of life, what are we going to give back to the Lord? Just our spirit, nothing else. “Into Thy hands, I commend My spirit.” Stephen, when he was dying, said “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” nothing else. Keep our spirit right.

There were some younger characters in the Bible. You don’t have to be old before you can mean something to the Lord. The Lord spoke to Samuel when he was just a lad. Joseph was a wonderful young man, I think he had a wonderful testimony. A number of times it tells us “the Lord was with him.” He showed wonderful character in Potiphar’s house. When he was down in the prison he didn’t get despondent, and when he was raised up to that place in the kingdom he didn’t get proud. It all started off when he was a very young man.

David was another wonderful character when he was still young. It’s a wonderful thing to think of God looking down from heaven and God sought for a man after His own heart. He wasn’t an old man, he was a man keeping the sheep. As David was out there with the sheep he learnt a sense of responsibility and we like to see our young people growing up with a sense of responsibility towards the Kingdom, towards the little church. David’s father knew where he was, he knew that he hadn’t gone off wandering and leaving the sheep.

I think it was there when he was away with the sheep where he learnt to play the harp so well that he could calm Saul’s spirit the way he did. When things were getting a bit bad he could calm things down. It is good to learn something like that in youth. Then he went out to face Goliath. I don’t think that was the first time he had used the sling so that he could land a stone right between the eyes like that. He must have practiced for hours out there to get such straight aim.

Young people who have a good straight aim in life, to really have a right purpose in life, they are so precious. I hope there are some young people here who are thinking about the need in the world. Some years ago, I saw something that always helps me to understand a little more the value of spending a life in the Lord’s service. I think it was the second year I was in the work and my older companion was away and I was on my own for a few days and I had a meeting that night and after the gospel meeting the message came that an old lady was dying and would I come. I got on my bicycle and got there at half past 11 at night and went into the room and this old sister was lying there completely unconscious, she didn’t know anything.

I spoke to her and there was no reaction at all. Her family was there and her son who lived with her, nobody she knew better. He took her hand and said, “Mother, it’s John, do you know me?” His touch and his voice meant absolutely nothing, completely gone. Then he said, “Mother, do you know so-and-so?” He mentioned the names of those two strangers who years before had brought the gospel, and that old lady sat right up in bed and she said, “Yes, I know them” and fell back unconscious on her pillow. When everything else was gone and nothing in life meant anything, still living in her memory was the names of those two strangers who had brought her the only thing that meant anything when she was going from time into eternity. Could there be any better way to spend one’s life than telling that wonderful gospel? No better way. I learned something that night I will never forget, that scene as she just fell back there on the pillow, nothing else meant anything, just the names of those two servants of God who brought this wonderful everlasting gospel.

Another thing about David, he understood the value of a lamb enough to risk his life for it. I think that counted with God. The Lord said, “There is joy in heaven over one lost sheep brought home.” Sometimes in the gospel, some of the workers in different lands labour a long time before they find one, but just one brought home is enough to affect the atmosphere of heaven and cause rejoicing. A wonderful thing to carry such a gospel.

Daniel and the three Hebrew children purposed, as young men, that they wouldn’t take the portion of the king’s meat. They stood out to be different, they were not afraid to be different. I love to think about Daniel that day when he was faced with the den of lions. He wasn’t like the others. The others were told to go and bow down to an image, but Daniel didn’t. He was told – you can’t make any supplication or petition to any God or man for 30 days, except to the king. But in Daniel’s estimation, a month without prayer was a whole lot more … than a den of lions. He would rather face a den of lions than face a month without praying to the God of heaven. He didn’t mind standing out to be different.

You young folks, don’t be afraid to be different from the world. When we are living for Christ in a world that is so un-Christlike, we tend to be different. When you look out in the world and on all that is going on, you see those poor young folks in the world and the way they live and the drugs and the immorality and everything else that is going on. If you are trying to follow that noble youth of Galilee, there is nothing to be ashamed of.

There is a young man over in England and before he left school (he had just professed a few months before) they had to fill in a whole lot of forms answering questions about their views on life and all kinds of things and all these forms went into a computer and then the computer would come up with ideas of employment for them. When the computer came out with the answer for this young man, do you know what it said? I have memorised it. It just said, “There is some factor outside the scope of this system which is having an overriding effect of this young man’s choice of career.” Even the computer could pick it up that he was different from all the others. And shouldn’t it be so. There is something outside the scope of all the systems in this world that should be having an overriding effect on the way we live and act, on your choice of career if you are young, on what you do. We know the system of this world and all its ungodliness and materialism and everything, and I am so grateful, I can’t tell you how grateful, that here in this tent there is something outside the scope of the systems of this world and there is something overriding amongst us, there is a spirit, that the world knows nothing about, and that should be in our lives as we go out.

We heard that if the Lord is really dwelling in our hearts we should be the same on Monday as we are when we go to the meeting on Sunday morning, no different. Same standard, not changing things around to be different or look different when we go out into the world, because there is something that is outside the scope of the systems of this world that is having an overriding effect every day. We are trying to see to it that in our lives the evidence that we are purchased by the blood of Christ, the open evidence and the sealed evidence, they are in agreement in one earthen vessel. That is all we have to give to the Lord, just this one earthen vessel, but there should be this evidence that we are bought by the blood of Christ.

Sometimes maybe we have to be checked up a little bit. Sometimes I have to be checked, I have to be told, “Ken, this is not right, you should change all this.” Maybe you know in your heart that there are one or two little things you ought to change, YOU know. It is not any human being, or any worker, who asks you to put it right.

But the Lord asks you. When you think it is the One who went to Calvary, Jesus who came from heaven, the One who is living there at God’s right hand, who intercedes for me and who has nail prints in His hands. If He says to you, “Wouldn’t you just change a little bit of this, couldn’t you just come into line for Me?” You aren’t going to turn around and say, “No, I’m not going to do that for You”. We wouldn’t talk to the Lord like that.

We are a purchased possession. We want that sealed evidence in our hearts that there is something outside the scope of the worldly system. We want it for His sake, not for anyone else, but for the One who went to Calvary and shed His blood for us. If we hear His voice in our hearts, we don’t want to say no. I know in these conventions the Lord has told me something I have to do. I don’t want to say no, I want to go and do it. Can’t we all do that? I think we can.

Exodus 12:22,…blood sprinkled on the door posts…none go out of the door of his house until the morning. My personal testimony in this meeting would be to say: I am glad to be here. I’m glad He ever found me and came to dwell within. That is my personal testimony. The reason why we want to give our testimonies – and we appreciate all who did – we would have no testimony to give at this Convention if it were not for Jesus testimony, in His life, His death, His sacrifice, His ascension and resurrection. We know that the only way we can preserve His testimony in the world, God is trusting us to do this, is by preserving Jesus’ testimony within our own hearts and within our own lives and we all pray that we will preserve this testimony of Jesus and the Word of God without spot, unrebukable until the day of Christ. Those words tell us God’s message to us today is that we will not go out of the house until that eternal morn. 

I am glad to say I have been dwelling in God’s house for over sixty years. I professed in 1930 when I was a boy. I am so glad for all the years I have sought to give to God. They haven’t been all perfect but I have sought to give the years of my life in a joy to the God of Heaven. I have had a very, very rich life too from that time until today and I would pray I would allow nothing in my life to spoil all those years. It’s what a brother wrote to me from Sweden, he is over 70 years of age, he said he had a very rich life ever since he made his choice to walk with God and had fellowship with His people. He said: I would hate to think I would allow anything now to spoil those wonderful years I have had in God’s family. This is worthy of all acceptation for us this morning, that is why we need to be guarding over our sacrifice until the setting of life’s sun, just like Abraham did and you remember what he did? He drove the fowls away; we need to drive the fowls away too. 

We think of Jesus guarding and watching over His sacrifice of His life on earth until the setting of life’s sun for Him, God is giving us strength these days that we may do the same, watching over our whole burnt offering wherever we might be, whether amongst God’s people or alone, it’s wonderful to think God is able and under all circumstances we are watching over that whole burnt offering that God alone will have it, no one would be able to take it from us. I am sure we could all say this morning like David: Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house… Isn’t it wonderful that we can say those same words, we just love the habitation of God’s house and our desire is the same as the desire David expressed when he said: One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple. This is what we are doing these days as we are presenting ourselves before God, making enquiries of God, asking God for help and wisdom and understanding, we are speaking about His life, the life of Jesus. It is very wonderful to be here these days, hearing the same messages here as anywhere we go in the world. 

There are two outstanding things and the first is the need of more and more Christ likeness in all our lives and the other is the need that we will preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Now, we hope none of us ever walk out of God’s muse. We have everything in God’s house to meet every need. No people in all the world have such fellowship and friendship and have the peace and hope and comfort in the future as God’s people by dwelling in this house, but these things are only found in the house of God and to think God has allowed us to have the privilege to be enjoying all the precious things found in His house these days, He is seeking to fill the chambers again with all the pleasant, precious riches. That is why the Psalmist said: Who have I in Heaven but Thee and when I think of it there is nothing on earth I desire beside Thee and it is good to know about this house of God, that we want to adorn this house of God wherever we are found, fill our place faithfully, do His will faithfully because at the time when those verses were written to us, on the outside, of this House of Israel there was death, but to all inside, there was life and there was the Lamb, there was fellowship, that is why the only safety was to stay in the house and this is our safety too, just staying in the house of God until that eternal morn. 

When I was in West Africa four years ago at Special Meetings, one of the native friends travelled from the time he stopped work on Friday afternoon, travelled till he arrived on Saturday morning 9.30 for the meeting. She gave her testimony and this is what she was speaking about. We just marvelled God gave her understanding of this 12th chapter of Exodus and she said in testimony that her prayer was she would stay in this house until that eternal morn, not only stay in the house but while in the house she would be feeding on the Lamb of God; this is what the Israelites were doing also, they were feeding on the lamb. Its good to know we are seeking to do that, feeding on this Lamb of God and seeking to feed the Lamb nature in our own hearts from all God is able to give to us. 

I was thinking also about our need to have a fixed purpose. When we are in this house, we get to know there are limits God set for His people and this was the limit, they were not to go out of the house and I felt, wouldn’t it be good even in our day we would remember for our safety as God’s people, God has set rightful limits for us but we must respect them, obey them because it is

God that is setting them and they will be for our safety and for our salvation. 

You think of in the Garden of Eden, God set a limit there; they were not to partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that was the limit, that was for their safety. I would like to respect the limits also God has set for my life. Remember God has set them so that He can preserve us and keep us safe until that eternal morn as we continue to go through this world. We could never have this wonderful fellowship we are having these days it if were not that we are in the house, that we are of one mind, one mouth, one Spirit that has taught us all, all our spirits these days are blending together in harmony because of God’s Spirit, that is why we are able to have this precious fellowship as we dwell in the house. 

We remember a time we were not in God’s house, that is why we read in Psalms 84, about the sparrow and swallow and how they found a nest. We remember that time too when we were seeking, just like the swallow and the sparrow, we found God’s house, God chose us and brought us into His house where we have dwelt from that time onward. We remember how precious it is to be dwelling in God’s house. I heard about a doctor one time making his calls in a very, very poor section of the city, dense poverty; he was in a back lane behind a house and he saw three little sisters playing. He thought he would have a chat with them: it’s a pity you don’t have a nice home to live in. The eldest girl said: oh, but we do have a nice home but we don’t have a nice house to put it in. The doctor couldn’t see the inside, all he saw was the house but he couldn’t see beyond the walls to what was inside, that there was a home in the house, there was a homelife they were enjoying and living. It is how the world looks upon God’s house in the world, from the outside it appears weak and base, nothing to be desired. As long we have a strong inside, we are safe; we could have a weak, base look outside as far as the world goes, let us -make sure we are in the house of God, we have a strong inside so nothing would ever come about that a thief would break into this house and cause the Kingdom of God to suffer lose, that is why God is trusting us as we dwell one with another in the house of God and as we have fellowship one with another, this is God’s message at this Convention also, He doesn’t want any of us to ever leave this House that we have found our eternal home in. 

The next little thought I enjoyed is in Exodus 21, it tells us there about that servant, you remember the story, the servant could go out free if he wanted to but his wife and children would belong to the master. It tells us if the servant would plainly say: I love my master…I will not go out free, then they would take him and bore his ear, a sign to all the world he wanted all the world to know now he belonged to his master, that he would serve him forever. This is what we have just been singing about. The one that said: I love my Master, he said plainly; we would not want to say weakly, we want to say plainly we love our Master, our desire is to serve Him forever and for aye, that we would declare plainly we are seeking this better country God has prepared for all who love the appearing of Christ. It’s wonderful to read this little account and to understand what it means for us to have our liberty in Christ Jesus. Lord, lead me captive to Thy will, a joyous prisoner by choice, a willing slave to Thy command, Controlled and guided by Thy voice. Our liberty is by being/willing slave of Christ. We sing in a hymn: my freedom is Thy grand control.    

I was thinking about my little sister, one time after mother made her choice, my little sister wasn’t very old and wanted to take part in some function and go to a certain place. My mother said: Edna, I don’t want you to do that. Edna said: but mother, you did that when you were a little girl! I wonder what you would answer but mother, anyway, answered very wisely, she said: Edna, when I was a little girl I never knew the will of God for my life then as I know the will of God for my life and the will of God for you as a little girl. Edna accepted those words, she held her peace, she obeyed mother and fitted into mother’s will and later on in her life she chose to fit in to the will of God. We can be so thankful for this will of God that is keeping us, preserving us from taking a course that would move us away further and further and further from God, that is why we should never want to go out free. Since we have come into this way of God, we should never desire to go free again like we once were. Think how terrible it would be to desire to be free from Christ, from bearing the burdens, free from bowing the shoulder to bear for the Kingdom’s sake. 

A couple this last year where I come from, were in trying circumstances no doubt but they went out free, that was their desire and they said to some friends they were so glad now to be free, free from bearing the burdens of the day free from taking up the cross. I tell you, friend, how long are you going to be free? I was thinking of a verse in Deut. it tells us there His people went away from God, God said: if you do that you will be scattered throughout all nations, you will even be afraid of the shaking of a leaf, that will make you afraid because God is not with you, that is why none of us should ever want to just go out on our own again but praying earnestly, as never before, I must have the Saviour with use for I dare not go alone. We have been released by the sacrifice of Jesus, the power of God’s Spirit can release us from when we were captives to sin, God brought us into His way, captivity of righteousness that we enjoy these days, loving to be captives to righteousness, loving to be conquered by the love of God and not only that we love the One that has conquered us, that is God’s dear Son that is why we sing that hymn: Lord lead me captive to Thy will, a joyous, willing prisoner by choice, we just don’t want to go back to the bondage that once we were in and not enjoy in the reign of Christ the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

Even young Joseph when he was put in prison, his mind wasn’t there, his mind was free. I tell you, you don’t know how thankful we should be to have liberty of mind every day we live. You think of the world today, how people are in bondage in their mind and thoughts but God’s people, they enjoy this glorious liberty because their mind is being controlled by the mind of Christ and I often think of Paul when he was in prison, he said he was bound but the Word of God wasn’t bound and this is something the enemy can never do; it might bind us, it will never, never bind the Word of God and that wonderful chapter we have in Hebrews 11, and what those people of God did by faith, one could read over in that chapter this little sentence, they said to their enemies: you can take our lives but you can never take the faith God has set in our hearts, you can’t take that from us, this is why Jude wrote we need to contend for this faith which was once delivered unto the saints and it is only faith that is going back to Heaven again, the faith that came down from Heaven in Jesus. One thing the devil would like to do with all of us, he would like to sift that faith out of our heart in his deceitful way. We must have this faith concerning the creation that the world would like to take away; we must have faith in the story of Jesus at all times as it is given to us by the Holy Spirit. 

Just to tell you a little about what if, means to be in captivity, there were two brothers in Korea one time, you might have heard, they were plagued by rats in their sleeping quarters; a trap was made with a little door that pushed up and when the rat crossed the threshold down would come the door. They heard a noise during the night and saw a rat coming to the opening of the trap; there was the cheese, that was the bait. The boys said that that rat walked back and forth several times before it would go in, finally it decided to go in and as it crossed over the threshold, down came the door. I don’t know all the story, they said for two hours after the rat didn’t touch the cheese. Why? Because its liberty was gone, it was a captive. You know, this story is good for all of us as we think of us making choices in the future. How sad it would be if we were to make choices that we would lose our liberty in Christ and become a prisoner, we would be in bondage, looking back, as people did in the Lamentations of Jeremiah; it tells us in the days of captivity they thought back on all the wonderful things that they had enjoyed when God was with them. Oh, may we not want to ever, ever go out free, may we want God to do the choosing for us and that we would choose all things according to His mind and to His will.

In I Samuel 12, God’s people wanted to be like other nations. If we want to be like them, we would lose our identity; there won’t be anything for people to see if we lose our, identity as God’s people. They wanted to be like other nations. God said: you let them go and choose and this is what they did but then, we know the story, God let them know how great a sin this was. It tells us they were so troubled about that themselves; they were nearly overcome. We have added to our sin this sin of asking for a king but Samuel comforted them, Fear not ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart,.. A wonderful instance of God’s compassion, His method of healing those people .God sends us His Word here these days to be healing us too where we need healing and help where we need help. He is the Great Physician, there is no need amongst us but what God can meet, that is why we need to mix the Word with faith and hearing these days. If we don’t it can’t profit us, if we do mix the Word of God with faith God can be to us above all we believe, or ask, or even think. how Samuel, with his comforting words, brought the people back again to that right setting and he said: it has pleased God to make you His people, don’t go away, because, if you go away, where will you go? You will just go back to those things that will never ever hope to profit you, you will have no one to deliver you. 

That was dreadful when that king Asa lost faith in God and went to a physician instead of God in his old age. We think of those wonderful words that Samuel spoke to those people, giving them fresh heart, fresh courage again. You know, friends, its God’s will for us here these days, not one of His little ones would ever, ever perish and if you feel you are one of His little ones today, you remember the importance Jesus put upon His little ones – He says, the little ones angels behold the face of My Father in Heaven. Such comforting words Jesus spoke about His little ones. Samuel’s compassion set the people with fresh faith and courage again that they continued that is why God wants us to rise up too, whatever may be our condition that we came in, this could be the changing point in our lives, we go out, as we heard, another way than what we came in, with fresh confidence, fresh hope for the future. 

One thing maybe I could say that we all fall down in as God’s people, we don’t remember Jesus enough as our Great High Priest. We love to speak of the Lord in every other way but we must not forget the work of Jesus as our Great High Priest, interceding day and night for the needs of His people. When you feel you are in need of cleansing, you are in need of help, you come boldly to that throne of grace where you can find help, where you can find mercy in time of need and while all have come short of the glory of God, remember, friend, that none have come short of the mercy of God. As long as we seek His mercy, that mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon those that fear God and in Psalm 37:3, is a similar thought; it speaks there of dwelling in the land and being satisfied, that is God’s land, this is where God has put us, dwelling in His land, it is good, there is nothing lacking in that land, God’s eyes are upon this land from morning till night, from day to day, from year to year, the eye of the Lord is upon His land where His people are dwelling. Good to remember His eyes are still over the righteous, His ear is open to our prayer and that He is watching over us so carefully because, you know what it reads there in James, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruits of the earth… receive the early and latter rain, that is why God is anxious as we get older that the fruit that is ripening lest anything come to take away His expectation. 

I heard one time about apples, the last two things nature takes out of her are the bitterness and the hardness, I think that is correct. That is what God too is anxious about, that those things would be in our life, good to know God can take it out. Sometimes we feel we don’t know how to deliver ourselves but God knows how to deliver the godly; He is not worried about that, if we trust in God, God knows how to deliver the godly out of every temptation, every experience. When Christ is reigning over us it makes it possible for us to be reigning over our situation, bringing everything in line again to the will and mind of God, that is why we want to keep dwelling in this land. 

If you want to read a very sad verse, look at Jeremiah 22:10, “we shouldn’t weep for the dead, but for him that goeth away out of the land for he shall never see his native country.” I had an experience in … I had to leave the Workers, there weren’t very many there; I had to hand in two documents before I left the country, it came so real to me, I knew I could always get in for three months again, but now I could never, never return again to that little nice country. A strange feeling crept into my heart as I handed the documents in and boarded the plane, I knew I’d never see that land again. That is how we need to be, in earnest in God’s family; that is why Jesus said: blessed are they that mourn, mourning for their own needs, mourning for others that have gone out of God’s land and never had the privilege to return again, that is why God wants us to value our privilege and let us not forget Naomi and Elimelech who left that land of Bethlehem and all the sorrow that came into their lives because there was no bread in Bethlehem, but God was keeping His people alive in time of famine. God knows how to keep us alive in time of famine. Some of the friends in North and South are so far from fellowship, they get two or three visits, very few but just the same, God was keeping them alive in time of famine, they are just as close to the throne of grace as we are here at Convention. We all know even though at Convention we must determine ourselves how close we want to come to this throne of grace – that is where our help comes from. Let us make sure while we are here in time that we will touch that throne so God can give us the help we need. 

I thought of Naomi bringing Ruth back, you know that wonderful story, they came back at the beginning of the barley harvest; that is what met Naomi, the barley harvest. I thought of all God has prepared and is preparing for those in our day who, as prodigals, want to return again to God’s house and enjoy what they once enjoyed and Naomi knew her only hope was to return again to God’s land because it was tugging at her heart strings in that land while in Moab. Orpah, the treasures and pleasures of the world were tugging at Orpah’s heart strings. I hope the prosperity and cause of the Kingdom of God wherever we are found are tugging at our heart strings and it’s our greatest joy and responsibility every day. 

I also enjoyed Psalm 84:6, tells us there about one that passed through the valley of Bacca and made it a well. They didn’t make it by staying but by passing through. God doesn’t want us to stay when we get in the valley of weeping, God never meant we should stay there, God meant us to just keep passing through, then make it a well. We are glad for all here today who have had such experiences and didn’t give up in it, they kept passing through until they came out. God enriched them and gave them riches and treasures out of that experience, they were drinking from the wells of those precious souls, that is why we think of all this means for us today, we think of Jacob, all he went through and he said one time: all these things are against me but, you know, friends, they were for him, he saw that later on. Sometimes we could feel some of those things are against you, may we have a faith to just continue going on, passing through until we see God’s deliverance, God’s hand, God’s purpose being fulfilled so we would not miss the riches and treasures of what God is seeking to bring into our lives from such experiences. 

I was reading of the terrible sad time in David’s life, because of Absalom’s death, David wept as he went, it says later on all the people followed him weeping as he went up but, you know, friend, the most important part was that they kept going up; they were weeping but they wouldn’t stop, they kept going up and, you know, it was an uphill road for our Master and it will be for us. No doubt we too recognise that too, what it is going to mean to us one day when we reach the desired haven and look back knowing it was possible, we just kept on going up under all circumstances and it is good to know we all have an effect on one another. One man was asked the question: why are you going on? Well, others are going on and it helped me to go on, if I keep going on I may be able to encourage others to do the same. That is how we can all encourage one another and quicken one another’s steps, help us all to gird up the loins of our mind because of seeking to be faithful. It is not in vain; it is our whole life and will bring a wonderful reward on that last day. 

Here we are today drinking of Jacob’s well. You know, the well he took spiritually, it was out of a struggle Jacob had beforehand; if he had only taken the first steps and ever not taken the last etens we would not be able to drink of Jacob’s spiritual well these days. How rich a life he had and all that it means to us because he kept on going_ until the end, now we are sharing in his well and other wells of God’s dear faithful, loyal people. I am just so glad to see today all of Cod’s worthy people are not only in the past but also found in the future. Oh, may we just keep going on ourselves and finish loyal in this race so we will, not only in lifetime but after we are gone, we will leave a spiritual well that can be refreshing and strengthening and a help to others in following days. 

Another one is in Luke 4, Jesus being in the wilderness. Someone said Jesus could have walked out of the wilderness. Sometimes in the wilderness experience God’s people have walked out it has happened with some that have been sorry ever since, if only they had waited until they had been led out by the Spirit. Jesus He waited and then He returned from that testing in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. We can learn that wonderful lesson when we have been ourselves in the wilderness experience, as we seek God’s purpose, God’s hand. Three things helped Jesus overcome Satan that day in the wilderness that He was led of the Spirit and that He had a true purpose of heart, He subdued and surrendered His will and we could say there were four things, the fourth was, He had a few Scriptures; that is all. When the devil tempted Him Jesus used the Scripture. When the enemy comes and tries to hinder us and cause us to have less faith and lose faith, you remember that you can defeat the enemy with the Word of God too. You can say just like Jesus: I believe this because it is written, and we know God will stand by us and be true to us if we are true to Him and that is why we need to remember that He who led us through once, who led us out once to enrich us by every experience, when we see God’s hand in the experience He passes us through, this would bring comfort and hope as we see God’s hand. I had a companion one time some years ago who said: whenever you speak in a fellowship or gospel meeting, you leave people with hope, never finish your message without leaving hope with them because people have something to accompany them into the morning, for with God there is hope. We know this Convention will leave us all with renewed hope, that our hope and confidence today are deeply rooted in the Lord.

The last little thought I enjoyed is in Acts 27:31 our brother touched on this storm on the sea, Paul said: except ye abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. This is God’s ship we are in and the Lord is at the helm, that is why this ship will never, never sink. I was on a boat from Denmark to Sweden, I remember the day was very foggy, we were travelling very slow, the captain finally ran up on a rock and stuck; it was quite an experience, I just stood and watched all the crew and how they were working together; this was a lesson, they all worked together for safety, for the rescue of life. The thought came to me, if there had been any disunity amongst the crew before that, now, in this crisis they were facing, all worked together, they put all the little differences aside because we were in danger. 

You know, friend, we are in God’s ship too. This ship will never sink. We want to be faithful working together as true faithful brethren, it is for our safety too. It is good to know God’s four ships. I would like us to always remember the first ship is the fellowship of God and that is by separation. We have fellowship with God by separation. The fellowship of His Son, that comes by submission. Fellowship with each other comes of what we heard last night, loving one another, that is why I never want to be guilty of violating the law of love, maybe more so as we partake of the emblems. Every time we do we never want to be guilty of violating the law of love, and the fourth ship is the fellowship of God’s Spirit. Even if God’s people are far from one another, friends are far away, God left an avenue open where we can have access to the fellowship of His Spirit. It is what Jesus said, He would leave that with them, that Spirit would be with them, would be in them and that He would never leave them comfortless, that is why you as God’s people who are far from others take comfort in the fellowship of His Spirit which is as near to you as it is to all. 

All these things give full assurance, full provision God has planned for all His people from start to finish of this experience of being His people that is why when the cloud, you remember the story of the cloud and fire, the cloud and fire guided God’s people, it was within the sight of all God’s people, not just some here and there but everyone of God’s people. God has given us the provision of the cloud to guide us by day and the fire by night. I hope we will see Heaven behind us and its provision so complete so that none of us would ever miss out on God’s expectation for us. May we go forth from this Convention with renewed purpose, renewed desire so that the God that has begun this good work in our hearts, we would just allow His every day to continue that work and finish that good work until the day of Christ.

I feel overwhelmed at this great and unexpected privilege, as most of our privileges are. First of all I would like to bring you greetings from West Africa. We hope you will pray for us and for them. Prayer gives hope and God’s work is only accomplished by prayer.

After returning from Africa, many people have asked me, “Did you see lions in Africa?” Yes, I saw lots of lions in Africa! “Did you see tigers in Africa?” Yes, I saw tigers in Africa! “Did you see monkeys in Africa?” Yes, lots of monkeys in Africa. “And did you see elephants in Africa?” Oh, yes, lots of elephants in Africa. “And did you see snakes there?” Yes, I saw lots of them. “Did you get close to them?” Oh yes, pretty close to them! “Were you afraid of them?” No, they were in cages and I was outside!

God has a place for all of us. We need to find our place, know our place, and keep our place. Even in creation, things were put in their place. Before God worked, everything was everywhere, not a good order. Then God made man and put them in their place. One day, God took a walk to Adam and Eve’s place, but they weren’t home. They were not in their place, they were not where God had put them. They were hiding! I used to think we children thought up the game of hide and seek, but here in the very beginning of the Bible, Adam and Eve were hiding, and God sought them out! Sin comes, we hide, but God seeks and hope comes. A life is sacrificed and hope restored.

Well, if I am to give my testimony, it must start from the beginning. My mother was part of a big family. At age 17, she went to live with her sisters in the City. Her parents thought it best, rather than a country school. It was there she met my father. I came along. They were not married. It was a shameful thing, a scandal! They decided to hide it from the family, so they said, “Let’s just give this child up for adoption. No one will ever know.” My father would continue his education and Mother would just go away somewhere else. I had been adopted out one year when somehow, my grandfather heard that his youngest daughter had a baby and had given it away. He was furious and said, “I will never stand to see the day when my flesh and blood will be adopted. I will repay. I will redeem.” Somehow, he found those people and he explained the situation and they said, “We understand; if we had a daughter and that happened, we’d feel the same and we’d want to do the same.” So a price was paid, a high price, and I was returned to the JONES family. They were a God-fearing family. My mother found out, and was outraged because her mistake was brought to light.

My grandparents read the Bible and searched and I sat with them and walked with them and would say, “Grand-daddy, who made the birds and the flowers?” He’d say, “God made the birds and the flowers.” I said, “God must be wonderful if He did all that.” He said, “Yes, and He made you!” We sang a lot of church songs and I’d say, “Granddaddy, tell me more about God.” And he’d tell me all he could. At age 3, I had many lonely moments and Granddaddy would tell me, “If you cling to God, He’ll be a Father to you, and a mother to you and a sister to you and one day we will leave but He’ll see you through!”

My grandfather stopped going to church then, but Grandmother still went. Grandfather would say, “After so many disappointments, Doll, we’re still lost. Why can’t we serve God as in Bible days?” The preacher would tell him, “Times have changed.” Granddaddy would say then, “Why does the Bible say, ‘God doesn’t change, Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever?’ There must be a people and a God and a Ministry like Jesus. I pray to God I find it before I die!” They were very religious, yet very worldly. They used to have lots of parties! Oh, I hated those parties. I hated them with a passion!

They decorated the house and polished everything and invited lots of people. They always started out nice but somehow they always ended up wrong. Someone always got drunk, and lots of crying. I thought if I have to grow up and be an adult like this, I want to die! Grandfather would say, “You always look for it (the Truth), someday you will find it.”

Then the day came! I was 5 years old and 2 sisters came. My aunts questioned them and they said, “I think this is what Papa has been telling us about. Call all the family.” I sat on my grandfather’s knees, and with 8 of his children, listened to those sisters speak. For the first time I saw my grandfather cry! I looked up at him and said, “Why are you crying?” He said, “Shhhh.” When the meeting was over, he said, “I’ve looked for this 40 years and now it’s come! I’d be less than a man if I don’t accept it.” It was the end of the mission year and those sisters hadn’t had any interest! At the end of the first meeting, my grandfather stood and accepted the Truth. They stayed one month! Twenty-two of our family professed.

It was the most glorious thing that ever happened in our family! I don’t remember any of the sermons, but I remember the great changes that came, no more parties, but peace! No more of the old life, but blissful peace! Gandfather’s uncles came. They embraced them and welcomed them in, but he said, “You must leave your cigarettes and wine outside.” They protested and said, “But we’re your flesh and blood!” But Grandfather said, “I’m no longer trying to please flesh and blood.” They soon stopped coming to visit us. But God brought us into a Fellowship of decent people, the most wonderful of all!

I knew their choice wasn’t my choice. You know, I had a dream! I dreamed all the people in the meeting were going up a ladder. At the bottom were flames and I was at the bottom in the flames. The devil was there and holding my hand and said, “Don’t worry, little girl, I’ll take care of you.” And that’s just what I didn’t want! Now the oldest of these 2 sister workers was the most kind person, really sweet, yet she could be the most frightening you could ever want to meet, I thought, “I’ll just go to their room and tell them what is on my heart.” She looked at me and said, “Now you look very thoughtful. Is something trubblin’ you? Tell me now, what is it?” I thought I’d faint! And I thought, “0 Lord (Lawd) why did I ever (evah) come in here?” I told her that I wanted to make my choice. She said, “Ay, that’s not child’s play! You can’t pray and you can’t read!” I said, “I know I can’t read, but Granddaddy can read and as he reads, God’s will speak to me.” She said, “Do you know how to pray?” She took me by the shoulders and shook me and said, “Will you learn to read?” “Yes, Ma’am!” “Will you learn to pray?” “Yes, Ma’am!” “Will you learn how to write?” “Yes, Ma’am!” (Because if you’re professing you know you have to write to the workers!) Oh, my grandparents could read! They READ, AND READ, AND READ, AND READ! But then Grandfather started going blind and when he couldn’t read anymore, I could read for him. I became his eyes like he used to be mine.

Then the workers would ask us children, “What are you going to do when you grow up?” They all answered in turn, “Have a home, room for the workers!” Meeting in the home, etc. When it came my turn, (I was last), I thought, “When I grow up these 2 workers will be dead and gone and who’ll fill up all these homes? I’ll be the worker!” Grandfather always taught me that when you make a promise you must keep it. One day a little friend of mine loaned me her doll, to play with, just for that day, and take it back that night. So I played with Ethel’s doll all day and then night came. Grandfather said, “Did she give you that doll?” No, I promised to take it back tonight. “Well, are you taking it back?” Oh, it’s pretty dark now. Maybe tomorrow would be okay. “No,” Grandfather said, “If you ever make a promise, you must keep it.” A man is only as good as his promise. I thought, “Oh, oh, how stupid. I shouldn’t have promised.” So I had to take it back all by myself (Oh, I think Grandfather was somewhere there in the dark, following me. But he made me go.)

When I was 13, Auntie sent me to the store to get some bread and I was thinking, “How dumb of me to say I’d be a worker. I wanted to be everything!” But I knew God was listening and He’d heard what I’d promised. I got the bread and on the way home I saw an accident, 3 children, one about my size, and a lady crying. And there was blood, and the police asked, “Is there anyone here who can speak French?” It was true, there were sounds coming out of her mouth I couldn’t understand! It was like someone saying, “Now you see?” And I said, “Dear Lord, now I know it was not dumb of me to say, ‘One day, I’ll be a worker. One day, I’ll be a French worker!’ There must be many more like this lady who needs help, and how will they be helped if no one goes?” I was 9 then.

When I was 10, Grandfather died. I was sorry, yet I was glad. He was a wonderful man and I thought, “God must have loved him as much as we did, so He wanted to enjoy him as much as we did!” Then at school they announced, “Next week a lady is coming, and will teach you FRENCH!” I’d forgotten all about my promise 2 years before. I’d promised I’d be a French worker! And I remembered my grandfather saying, “He’ll make a way where there is not a way.” I was the only child in school that liked that course!

One time my mother came and wanted me to stay home from meeting to see her. She said it would prove I loved her! I told her, “When I needed you, you weren’t there.” But God has been good to me.

I was 20 when I went in the work, 23 when I went to the French West Indies (Martinique and Guadeloupe). Then later to French West Africa. I would say to you parents don’t be ashamed to tell your children about God. This is a wonderful family. We appreciate God’s people. We need you. There are many wonderful promises God has given. This is a wonderful Family. In 1986, I was with Beverley Thompson. Mother was very low, and then the message came. She was gone! I was asked if I wanted to go home for the funeral. I said, “No, she didn’t care for me in life, why should I cross the sea to stand beside a corpse?” That night we weren’t sleeping. Beverly whispered, “Are you crying?” I said, “There is a little girl inside of me that is crying because of the love of a mother she never knew.” At times like this we appreciate more than ever, God’s care, the wonderful care of God! His provision is so great, whatever your situation.

Deborah Jones, who labored in West Africa, shared with us the story of a man named Denis (pronounced Denny) from Benin. Denis worked as a carpenter at the docks, but he had another “profession” for which he was far better known. Denis was a sorcerer – a witchdoctor. Out of all Africa, Denis’ country is the strongest in witchcraft, his city the capital of witchcraft, and Denis was the greatest of the sorcerers. When Denis was born a midwife was present; later the witchdoctor came to see the baby and “bless” it. At this time, it was proclaimed that this child was destined to become a witchdoctor. Traditionally, this is the right of the midwife and witchdoctor, the parents having no say in the matter. It is then the parents’ duty to take their little boy or girl at age 3 or 4 to the witchdoctors’ convent, where they are raised until their teens by the witches and witchdoctors and trained in all the secrets of sorcery and Black magic.

As a great witchdoctor, Denis was feared by everyone…everyone, he noticed, but three men he worked with. These men would eat lunch together, then read their Bibles together. One day, Denis approached them and asked what they were doing. “We’re reading the Book of God.” “God? You mean there is another god beside the ones we worship?” “Yes. The Almighty God.” “Oh. Tell me about him.” “We won’t tell you about Him, but you can come to meetings like we go to and learn about Him.”

The following Sunday evening, the sister workers noticed a little man sitting in the back row of benches in the open courtyard where gospel meetings were held. He sat bowed over, his head down. and immediately after meeting, he left. Two days later, this man appeared at their bach with an interpreter. “I was at your meeting Sunday night.” “Yes, we noticed you. We’re sorry that we didn’t get a chance to greet you.” Then Denis said, “In this meeting, I felt a power greater than any power I’ve ever felt before..greater than any power I possess. As I sat there, I felt myself become smaller and smaller, until I realized I was nobody and had nothing.” He told how after the meeting he went to the home where he lived alone, having sent his wife and children away, (“They’re no good”). He went to the room where he kept all his idols and grigri (charms), carried the grigri outside and started burning them. This attracted a crowd of neighbors, who begged him not to destroy them. “Papa, papa, don’t do that. Give it to me.” “No. If it’s not good for me, it’s not good for you.” Next he took all the idols outside and broke them to bits. “And they didn’t even cry out. They are dead.” Now he had only one grigri left in his room, a special one used only by witchdoctors, a vial of poisons so deadly that they can be touched in only one spot. Handled any other way, the person will die. He as a witchdoctor was trained in the way it was to be handled. Very carefully, he picked it up and carried it outside to a nearby stream with the people following, (no one asked for that one). He dropped it into the stream and watched it vanish.

“And now, my sisters, I have a problem. When the other witch doctors find out what I’ve done, they will kill me. I have gotten rid of all my powers; I’m no longer a witchdoctor. I need the power of the Almighty God. Tell me what to do.” “You said in that meeting you felt a greater power than you’d ever known.” “Yes.” “If you come to shelter under the power of that God, you have nothing to fear. It is a power greater than any you possessed and you were greater than the other witchdoctors.” “Yes!!” And with that, he went away.

A couple of days later, Denis appeared at the bach again. “My sisters, I have a problem. In this meeting, I saw many beautiful women. I want one of them.” (Deborah said that the West African way is very direct: you want something and you go after it.) They asked him again about his wife and children. “Yes.. but they are no good. I sent them away.” Then they told him, “In the meeting, we teach about the Almighty God. That God has a book, and we teach from that book. In that book, it talks about forgiveness and reconciliation. Could you find it in your heart to forgive your wife for whatever it is that caused you to send her away? Could you call her back home and be reconciled with her? It might be that she will want to come to these meetings too.” “Oh, yes.” Again he went away satisfied.. and the next Sunday night, there he came to meeting with his wife and six children.

After a few months of meetings, Denis made his choice. Some time after that, his wife came to the sisters’ bach and told them she wanted to make hers. Afraid she would profess just because her husband had, or because he had commanded her to do so, they questioned her. “Why do you want to make your choice? What will it benefit you?” She told them how her husband had sent her and the children away to her home village; when he sent a message to return to him, she didn’t want to. She knew what a violent man he was and they all feared him. He had beat her and beat the children. (When an African man beats his wife, he ties her hand and foot with cords, kicks her to the ground, then beats with a whip until blood runs, the woman screaming and begging for mercy. Eventually someone hears and comes to intercede to her husband. “He has paid the price. You are his. You must go.” So she returned. To her surprise, when she reached the house the front yard was swept..a woman’s job. It was quiet. Denis came to the door and instead of slapping her or screaming curses at her, he quietly asked her to come in. Inside the house, he pulled out a chair and asked her to sit down. Usually an African man sits and the woman stands..to serve him. Then he asked her and the children to go to the idol room. This room was always locked, everyone but Denis forbidden access to it. She didn’t know what they’d find, perhaps he meant to sacrifice them. When they entered the room, to her surprise, it was empty! “Now..come and I will tell you what has happened to me.” Denis invited. He told his family about the meeting he had gone to (one!), the power he had felt, and what he had done. “I am no longer a witchdoctor. I have destroyed all my idols and grigri and they will never be in this house again. None of you are to ever bring one into my house.” Then he said to his wife, “I called you back to tell you I forgive you, and ask you if you would reconcile with me again and go to these meetings with me.” Her reply? “Yes!”

Then she said to the sisters, “My husband is a good husband to me now; he is gentle.” (Something an African wife never says!) “He loves the children, and they love him. We have peace in our home. I want to be a good wife to my husband and I know I need this power to be that kind of wife. We have peace in our home, but if I make my choice, we will have more peace. I want to contribute to that peace.” So she professed…

Not long after, Denis came to the sisters again. “My sisters, I have a problem. The children you have met are not all of my children. I have another, my oldest son. He was a rebel, and I sent him away. The other day, I saw my son on the street. He fell down at my feet and begged for my forgiveness. ‘Papa, please forgive me. I am sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you. I am tired of the life I am leading and I want to come home.’ My problem is this: when I sent my son away, I sent him with a curse. The curse was: ‘The day you return to this house and set your foot across the threshold of this door, you will die.’ When I curse a man, he is cursed. What can I do? Can you tell me how to break a curse?”

Deborah said they couldn’t tell him how to break a curse, but they could tell him how to bless. “Since you’ve come to shelter under the power of God, He has blessed you. These are blessings from above. Go now and bless your son with the blessing from above, for they are more powerful than any curse a man could put on another man.” Again he went away satisfied..and the next Sunday night appeared at the meeting with a young man at his side. This son eventually professed, but when his father sent him to another country to find work, he again fell into the wrong company, returned to his old way of life, ending up in prison.

Denis told about his last visit with his son. “I have tried to teach you, the servants of God have tried to teach you and God himself has tried to teach you, but you wouldn’t listen. The world is a hard teacher, but now the world will teach you.”

Dennis loves this Truth, having known the depth of evil in this world. He said that Satan and God both ask the same, our best. But when we give it to Satan, it brings death and all leads to a curse. When we give it to God, it brings greater life and all leads to blessing.

* This worker is one of our black sisters.

It’s not always easy to speak to people who you don’t know and have never met before but it’s lovely to feel that we are of one spirit and can have fellowship together. Tonight, I thought I would try to tell you a little of what the Father has meant to me over the years and try to give you little pictures of what the heart of the Father is like. In the chapter you have for tonight, Proverbs 28. It speaks about the sweeping rain that leaves no food. but what we need is the gentle rain that soaks in slowly, softens our hearts, and goes down deep. There is a great gentleness in the heart of the Father.

In John 14 from verse 1, it reads, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” Thomas saith unto him, “Lord we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way?”Jesus saith unto him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. If ye had known Me ye should have known My Father also; and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him.” Philip saith unto Him, “Lord, shew us the Father and it sufficeth us.” The disciples seemed a little confused at this time and Thomas asked a question and then Philip said, “Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us.”

In Matthew 13:44,”Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field: the which when a man hath found he hideth and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that field.” That man sold all that he had to buy one field. He may well have had many fields, a house, cattle, donkeys, and camels. Implements, tools, and he sold everything he had so that he could buy that one field wherein a treasure was hid. Now most people would say that that’s bad business to sell all that you have and put it into one field. I thought of it as being like the Gospel and the treasure being like Salvation.

While I was in France a while back, a young boy came to me and very proudly showed me his Italian car which he had just bought. It looked in very good condition, good upholstery, and good body work and had only done 70.000kms. When I looked at it, and I’m no expert, I could see that he had been had: it had done more like 170.000kms. Christ came down from Heaven to this earth leaving all being tested and tempted and finally had nails driven through His hands and feet, suffering great agony hanging on the cross because of His great love for folk like you and me, Humanly speaking it was a bad deal – He had paid too much. But he was willing for this so that we could have Eternal Life.

I once heard a story about a slave who was going to be auctioned. He was a healthy well-built young man. As soon as he heard he was going to be auctioned, he shouted and said that he would not serve or work for anyone and that they could beat him, do anything they liked and even kill him but that he wouldn’t work for whoever bought him. The auction proceeded and there was one man who determined to buy the slave, kept bidding a little higher than anyone else and this man finally bought the slave having paid a high price for him. Again the slave shouted and performed and said that he would not work or serve that master and that they could beat or whip him or even kill him but he would not work for anyone. The man came up to the slave and spoke quietly and gently to him and then handed him a piece of paper on which was written, “Your freedom.” The master told the slave that he was now free to go away and that he would never again have to work or serve anyone; he was free to do whatever he liked. “I have paid the price for your freedom.” The slave’s attitude then changed completely and out of gratitude he then said, “I will gladly serve you from dawn to dark seven days a week, year after year till the end of my life – forever.” I am glad for the way I have felt over the years that no one has ever forced me to serve God, read or pray have fellowship have a part in meetings or go into the work. Out of gratitude, I have felt that I would like to serve my Master freely because of the price he has paid for my freedom.

During the war years, I did not know my father. He was just a photo on the mantelpiece and then when he came home, he was a stranger. After that, he became a father who seldom smiled and was very stern and harsh and always seemed to be correcting us. Later on, I went into the same business with him and we worked together and became great friends. Others commented and said, “Look at those two brothers talking!” Sometimes it’s like that with God and the longer we go on with Him, the closer He becomes. After the war years, Father worked in a foundry and one day, some very hot molten iron fell on his foot. He immediately put into cold water but the foot was very badly burnt through to the bone and he was in hospital for weeks having skin grafts. One day, I asked my father, “Dad, did you cry when you were burnt?” He said, “No.” Then I asked, “Did you shout, scream or swear?” He said that he didn’t and I could hardly believe that he didn’t shout or even shed a tear but just bore the pain.

One day, I did something that displeased my father and incurred his wrath. He sent me to my bed without any supper and I thought he was very hard. Next morning, my mother spoke to me and said, “Last night, your father wept over you because of what you had done and because of his love concern for you.” It touched me to think that he never shed any tears when he was burnt and suffered such pain yet he wept over me that night.

That is a little picture of the heart of the Father. Phillip said, “Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us.” When Jesus was on the cross and they drove the nails through His hands and feet, He bore that physical pain and suffered terrible agony but He never screamed out, not one bad word, yet another time when He looked over Jerusalem, He wept. That was a picture of the heart of the Father.

1 thought of the greatness of the Father. The Bible tells us that God was from Eternity to Eternity. When we look into space and the heavens above, we know that it goes on forever. If we send a rocket up after a 100 years, it will still be travelling. I used to sometimes think that there must be a roof – but then, what’s beyond the roof? I could still understand that there’s no end to the future but I found it hard to grasp that there was never a beginning, that God was always there even before the creation. From Eternity to Eternity, our small puny minds cannot comprehend it all and it’s beyond our human comprehension. To think that some have the audacity to question or reason out the mind of God in all His greatness.

In I John 1:7, it says, “If we walk in the Light as He is in the Light then the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin.” When the death angel came around Egypt, it wasn’t looking for the righteous or the unrighteous, the good, or the bad: it only had eyes for the blood on the doorposts. There was more hope for an unrighteous man in the house with blood on the doorpost than for a righteous man outside.

I had a young cousin who, when she was 16 years old, found she had a lump on her head which turned out to be malignant and she died at the age of 20. When she was younger, she had no love for the meetings, the friends, and the workers. When meeting time came, she would go outside and play ball or sometimes say that she felt sick but soon after the meeting when lunch was served, she would have a good meal and there appeared to be nothing wrong. She was very rebellious. When she was 18 years old,, she sat at the piano one day and with tears rolling down her cheeks played that hymn, “Jesus loves me, yes, even me.” That day she got a little picture of the heart of the Father. “Shew me the Father and it sufficeth me.”

My mother’s cousin in Ireland has just professed at the age of 83 – he had professed when he was 15 years old but then went out and stayed out for almost 70 years. After he had professed at 83, he thought about all the years that he had lived selfishly and he felt it was hardly fair that God should accept him now at his age and it worried him. Then one night, he opened his Bible to the verse that says that there is joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth. Perhaps one could feel that it was by chance that he read that verse but it wasn’t and he fell that that verse was for him. A little picture of how the Father feels.

“Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us.” There is a difference between washing and cleansing. You can wash something with soap, detergents, and scrub as much as you like but the stain still remains. No sin can resist the blood of Christ. In Isaiah 1:18, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” If we walk in the Light as He is in the light – not just in the light, not just following casually. We can keep someone in view in the distance and still be following but not as He is in the Light. Imagine someone walking in the snow or on the beach leaving footprints behind. To follow in those footprints, placing our feet in each footprint calls for concentration, effort, and sacrifice.

You can’t just take any length of stride you have to change your stride to fit in with the one who went before. That is walking in the Light as He is in the Light. In England recently, the man I stayed with wanted to take me for a walk to show me around some of the countryside and he told me all sorts of things but I soon noticed that each time he talked, we stopped walking. Sometimes, we can be inclined to “talk our walk” instead of “walking our talk.” If we talk too much, we don’t do much walking. In the Old Testament, we read about a key to Fellowship. For 6 days, Joshua and the people of God walked around the walls of Jericho in silence but on the 7th day, they could shout and the walls fell down so that they could conquer the enemy. It should be like that with us – we should walk for 6 days and on the 7th day, we can speak.

When I was young, I often visited my Granny sat around her table, ate her food and talked with her and I loved my Granny. She was my Granny and I was her grandson. Later on, she became ill had a stroke and was taken to hospital where we visited her often. One day we were called to the hospital and told that she was critical but when we arrived she was already dead. When I looked at her corpse, I felt that I couldn’t love her anymore. I couldn’t even touch her. She was dead. Isn’t it wonderful that God loved us even when we were still dead- a picture of the heart of the Father. Because we’re human, sometimes it’s hard enough to love our friends, but God said we must love even our enemies. God loved us even before we were His children. “Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”

***Notes were not taken. We have just jotted down what we could remember of what was said at the combined Wednesday evening meeting on November 1, 1989, when Graham Snow passed through. He has been working in Switzerland since 1964 and was on his way to New Zealand for a home visit.

There is a very interesting dog that lives on the Huincacara grounds. His name is Pastor and his job day and night is caring for his flock of sheep. It was fascinating to watch him work with them. I noticed that he moved quietly and calmly among them. The only time he left them was when his master called him to come and eat. Then he would run to the house, eat his dinner, and without being told, turn and go right back to the sheep. This was a lesson for me–to feed my own soul when our Master calls, so one could then fill the place we’ve been given with a satisfied spirit.

One day, one of the lambs was butchered. I didn’t see Pastor when the lamb was taken from the flock, but I did notice when he came to eat that day. He ate his dinner, and then paused for just a bit, lifting his nose in the direction of where the lamb had been killed, and getting the scent. Then he slowly turned away, and went back out to the pasture with his flock. He felt sadness because of what had happened, and of course he couldn’t understand his master’s purpose in taking that lamb, but at the same time there was an acceptance in his attitude and he simply returned to his place. We may not always understand the will of God, but we can accept it when all is in His hands.

There was also a half grown pup living at Huincacara. He was at the stage of wanting to play and roughhouse. One day I saw him near the sheep, and Pastor was also nearby. The pup was just dancing in his desire to chase and play and he was eyeing the sheep for this purpose! It was amazing to see Pastor when he realized the intent of the pup. He fixed his eyes on the pup without moving, but the moment the pup made a jump toward the sheep, Pastor made a lunge at the pup that sent the pup sprawling! He didn’t hurt him but he let him know in no uncertain terms that he was not to harass the sheep. Later on, when the sheep were in the fold, I saw Pastor patiently letting the pup roughhouse with him, working off some of his energy! I thought how definite our Father is to show us when we’ve gotten out of our place in a way that could be detrimental, and yet how kind and patient He is when we go to Him in our struggles with our old nature.

Huincacara is a village in a section that is a rural area in the foothills of the Andres, approximately 15 miles from the city of Villarrica and 5 miles from the volcano of Villarrica. This zone is a semi-forested area where native bushes and brush abound, and there is an excellent view of the majestic volcano in the background. In this foothill area the puma abound. It is a natural enemy of sheep and to all other domestic animals that are unable to defend themselves. The puma lives in the mountains where it has natural protection and where it has its lairs. This animal is a constant enemy of animals such as sheep, pigs, geese, etc., especially in the winter months when it approaches the farmland and farm animals. So, it is harmful to the farmers. My parents, as well as their neighbors, have domestic animals on their farms. For several years the farmers in the area suffered losses because of the hungry lion, the puma, which approaches the farmlands and attacks and kills the barnyard animals. These attacks occur mostly at night but are not at all uncommon in broad daylight too. Because of the constant danger of the attacks of the puma and the losses that occur as a result of these attacks, my youngest brother Sergio, decided to buy a pup of a certain breed used as sheepdogs. He bought the pup in October 1984 when it was only 20 days old. He knew it would take a lot of patience and work to raise and teach the pup, but in order to have a sheep dog to help protect the sheep, the whole family took an interest in helping to raise and teach it. This small pup nursed a mother sheep for the first six months of its life, but the mother sheep did not want to accept the pup as a son. It was necessary for Sergio to tie the sheep up three times a day so the pup could nurse. Fortunately, Sergio had a lot of patience in caring for, feeding, and training the pup. With time and patience the mother sheep accepted the pup as a son, and then the pup, like the lambs, nursed the mother sheep.

At the beginning, the flock refused to accept the friendship of the pup and they fought him, butting him around a lot, so much so that one could hear the pup yelping as he was being mistreated by the sheep. The helpless pup, and future shepherd, was mistreated by his future flock. As he grew, he began to demand more respect. He would often bite the hind legs of the sheep which attacked him. The last one to accept the presence of the pup among the flock was the ram, and that was only after many misunderstandings and encounters. For the safety and protection of the sheep, they were kept in a lot or corral, at night. A small dog house was also put in the corral so the pup, the future shepherd, could sleep among the sheep that were to become his future “sphere of influence.” Sleeping with the sheep was a necessary part of his training to learn to care for the flock. Something very interesting happened. When the lambs were small, some of them would go inside the doghouse and sleep with the pup, but as they grew, they couldn’t get inside the doghouse and thus, lost their rights to sleep with their future shepherd. They had to sleep outside with the other sheep.

The first few months of his life, it was necessary to be a little hard on the pup. At first he preferred to stay in his little house all day, so he had to be taught that his future work would be to go with and protect the flock. For the smaller children of the family, nieces and nephews, etc., it was difficult to avoid playing with the pup. They were strictly prohibited to play with him even though he was playful and cute. When Pastor, his name now, was about a year old, he would play with the little lambs without realizing his manner of playing was different from theirs. He was very rough in playing with the lambs and he would even bite them in his play. One day Sergio caught him playing so rough with the lambs that there was danger he would injure them. This resulted in Sergio giving Pastor a rather severe punishment. He feared Pastor would kill one of the lambs in his rough play and it was necessary to tie a heavy chain around his neck. Sergio had to punish Pastor so often that he got so he wouldn’t respond when Sergio called him, fearing he would get another whipping. But at last he got through this phase of a dog’s life when all is play. He would also be punished if he left his flock to run after a rabbit. He was very inclined to allow other things to interfere with his responsibilities as a shepherd. By the time he was three years old, all the hard training was paying off and he had become a seasoned shepherd. The following examples will indicate it.

One day the neighbors’ sheep left their pasture and mixed with Pastor’s sheep. Pastor worked to separate the neighbor’s sheep from his flock. He would run after one sheep and then after another until he succeeded in separating the neighbor’s sheep from his flock. Once, two of his sheep followed the neighbors’ sheep and went over to the neighbor’s pasture. Pastor realized all his sheep were not present, not in the flock. He searched for those two lost sheep and became desperate in his search for them. He trailed them, nose to the ground, following their scent across the neighbor’s pasture and entered into the neighbor’s lot or corral. He found his two lost sheep and separated them from the neighbor’s sheep and directed them home safely to their own corral. The neighbors watched this operation and were so impressed that they told us about it later.

One other time, some of the sheep left the flock and wandered off looking for a better pasture. When evening came, the six sheep that had wandered did not return to the corral. When they arrived in the lot, Pastor looked the flock over to see which ones were not at home. He was still with them after having spent the night with them to protect them from danger!

One day, a neighbor boy was passing by near the sheep. He had a rope in his hand and playfully lassoed a lamb. Pastor immediately went to the rescue of the lamb. He attacked the neighbor boy. Fortunately Sergio was close and could control Pastor and call off the attack. The neighbor boy never played that trick again. He found out that Pastor was not a practical joker.

Once during lambing time, one ewe didn’t return to the lot. When we found it, she had a newborn lamb, and Pastor was helping her clean it. (Most animals lick their newborn to clean them). He was showing the marks of a tender shepherd. Pastor found it very difficult to accept a sheep that was not of his flock and would try to drive it off and bite it and be mean to it. To avoid this problem, we found it was best to limit Pastor’s responsibilities to between 15 and 25 sheep, and they were the ones born under his jurisdiction and not the ones we butchered for table use.

When the flock was divided, that was when Pastor had the most work. He got nervous and upset and would run from one group to another, as he didn’t want to lose sight of any of his sheep. When the flock was together and feeding well, Pastor would lie down content and sometimes sleep a little in the shade of a tree. During the rainy season Pastor would seek the shelter of a bush, but he was always near the flock as he didn’t want to lose sight of the sheep. When it is snowing, Pastor will seek shelter under a bush but always near the flock. When it snows, that is the time when the puma is most apt to attack. This year the puma killed three sheep near Huincacara, but we acknowledged Pastor’s work. In the five years he has been the shepherd of the flock, the pumas have not been able to make one kill among his sheep. So, you understand that Pastor has a very special place in the family and is admired by all the neighbors. We can also say Pastor hasn’t escaped his dangers in life, even the danger of death because of his faithfulness in defending the sheep. He has made certain enemies of people who want to cross on foot through the pasture where Pastor is tending his sheep. Two years ago, someone fed him some poisoned food. Everyone in the family was sad and worried about how to save Pastor’s life. We took him to a veterinarian in Villarrica, who gave him a shot but it had no effect, and Pastor got no better. He wouldn’t eat and seemed to lose all interest in life. He could only remain lying and didn’t follow the flock as before. When we called him, he would raise his head a little but did not wag his tail. At first he would drink some milk, but then wouldn’t even take any of the milk. All the family was very sad as it seemed Pastor was dying. We all thought of the pumas that could come and devour the sheep. Finally someone gave us a home remedy for Pastor and since nothing else worked, we decided to try it. The remedy turned out to be the real McCoy! The remedy was to dissolve soap in a quart of water, and then ground charcoal was added to the water. But, the problem was how to get Pastor to take his medicine as he wasn’t even drinking. Sergio got the idea of tying Pastor’s legs together, a procedure that required the help of two other people, and then open Pastor’s mouth. Sergio put a round stick crosswise in his mouth. He lifted Pastor up, head high, and from a bottle poured the “holy water” down his throat. It looked so cruel and hard-hearted to treat poor Pastor that way, but it was the only way we could get him to take his medicine.

That same day we noticed he was a little better and in the evening of that day, he drank a wee bit of milk. Then after a few more times he could raise his head more. It was quite noticeable that he was getting better every day. When he could follow the sheep again, it was a joy to the whole family. The danger was past and he was faithfully performing his duties as a shepherd of the flock again, and did so with such pleasure.

We can tell you a little about his food and how his nature has changed. Most of his food is ground wheat or some other grain, but his diet also includes milk. Pastor has never tasted blood or eaten meat or bones. He is fed in the morning and in the evening. When it is feeding time, someone calls him and he goes running for his meal. If he gets hungry beforetime, he may go to the house looking for his meal before he is called, but after his meal he returns immediately to his flock. This past year one of his sheep was butchered for meat for convention. The sheep was butchered so he wouldn’t see or know what happened, but he realized one sheep was missing. After looking for it and not finding it, he became so sad and gloomy that he would hardly eat. That day when he returned with the flock, he had a sheepish, guilty look about him. It was so noticeable that everyone wondered what was wrong with him. Then we decided it was because one sheep was missing and he felt he had failed his duty. He had lost one sheep and was plagued with a very guilty feeling. Some of the friends mentioned that it’s that way with us. When one of the little churches finishes his or her race and isn’t in his place in the church meeting, we all miss him and feel so sad because of the loss. But at the same time there is a sense of rejoicing because someone has finished their race with honor, and their service and sacrifice has been honored by God. We should add that Pastor has never acted mean or tried to bite anyone of the friends or workers who come to the meetings or to the convention held on the place, but he can be a formidable foe to anyone who dares to approach his little flock. He knows all the workers and bounds up to them to greet them and give them a welcome to the house and even to his own little domain. He has a special way of saying “Welcome” to the workers.

(Since this was written we have heard that Pastor has died.)
(Eleodoro passed away in January 2003 from Lou Gherig’s disease)

They are sincere in a world of “put on.”

They walk with open face, are transparent, having nothing to hide.

They have nothing to fear and speak from the heart.

There is no guile in them – being pure in heart and mind, they don’t understand deceit, suspicion, or evil in others.

They are loyal, and never betray a friend or take advantage of an enemy!

They may suffer at the hands of others but do not return evil for evil.

Sorrow comes to them (it does to all) but they come forth from it as pure as gold.

Suffering does not make them bitter, but sweetens their spirit and teaches them lessons of pity and sympathy.

They are generous and what they do is done from a pure motive.

What to many would be a duty, would be to them an opportunity to show Christ’s spirit.

They would be kind, even if all the world were cruel.

Because there is no vanity in them, they are not “puffed up” by praise; they are humble in heart but do not know it, and of course, do not speak of it.

They are meek, but not the meekness of fear which is slavish.

They don’t boast of what they are, for they know God is to be thanked for any good that is in them; and they do not feel they are superior to others (although in a way they are so).

This goodness is an unconsciousness of itself, and is, therefore, pure.

They are gentle toward all men, knowing the weakness of the flesh, they are compassionate.

Where others look for faults in their friends, they look for virtues, and when they err from justice, they lean toward mercy.

Their hearts beat at the world’s needs and thus are kept soft and in tune.

They are cheerful, thus their presence dispels gloom from troubled hearts as the rising sun does the morning clouds.

No matter how heavy their own hearts are, they will smile and speak words of cheer.

They have learned that misery is diminished when shared by sympathy.

They help to carry the burdens of others, but never expect or ask theirs to be carried.

They have themselves under control – their good temper is not dependent on good company, but at all times, under all circumstances sail on at an even keel.

They are calm and serene in the midst of storms, and because peace rules in their hearts, fear is far from them.

They draw troubled souls to them, and comfort all who mourn.

Their hearts are large enough to “mother” an orphan world.

To know them is to be made strong in spirit.

Outward things only seem to perfect them.

They are brave in times of stress and worry.

When others lose head and heart, they are bolder than at other times.

They are dependable; they have a deep true faith in God, and take all that comes.

When others complain, they give thanks, whatever their lot, they make the best of it, and look at what comes to them as better than they deserve.

They are free from envy and rejoice in the good fortunes of others as if it were their own.

They do not strive, but let their adversary have both sides of the dispute.

In dark times, they live in hope.

They are the light of the world, because they reflect the light of Jesus.

(Recited by George Walker, a Gospel Preacher, when he became 100 years of age)

They call it going down the hill when we are growing old
They speak in mournful accents as if our tale was told –
They sigh when speaking of the past of days that used to be
As if the future was not bright with immortality.

But ’tis not going down the hill, ’tis climbing up much higher
Until we almost see the heights to which our souls aspire –
For if these natural eyes grow dim, ’tis but to dim the earth
While eyes of faith grow clearer to discern the Saviour’s worth.

Who would exchange for shooting blade the waving golden grain?
Or when the corn is fully ripe would wish it green again?
And who would wish the hoary head found in the way of Truth
To be again encircled with the sunny locks of youth?

For though our outward man may perish and decay
The inward man can be renewed by grace from day to day –
Those implanted in the Lord unshaken in the root
Shall in their old age flourish and bring forth choicest fruit.

‘Tis not years that make men old, the spirit can be young
Though fully three score years and ten the which of life have run –
God has Himself assured us in His Blessed Word of Truth
They that wait upon the Lord shall thus renew their youth.

So when the eyes now dim with tears shall behold the King
And ears now dull of hearing shall hear all heaven sing –
And on the head now hoary be placed the crown of gold
We shall know the lasting joy of never growing old.

[story told by George Walker]

Apparently, Greece was a hard country for the work to get into, actually forbidden. A man told George this story about his father who lived in Cyprus:

He wasn’t satisfied with the Orthodox Church and began praying that if God had a true way, He would show him. He didn’t know if God even heard him, but he kept praying anyway.

Far away in Australia, there was a worker who was born of Greek parents and knew the language. He felt God was moving him to go to Greece and Cyprus, so he talked to the older workers about it.

They checked it out, but the Greeks would not allow any missionaries to come there.

The man in Cyprus kept praying and the worker kept feeling moved. He tried again–this time he said he was Greek and had relatives living in Cyprus and would he be allowed to come visit his relatives, but not as a Missionary?

They checked the laws and said it would be okay, so he went. He got to the town where his relatives lived and wondered what to do besides visit them. He felt God had something for him to do. He heard of a little group that was studying the Bible–they were orthodox, so it was legal, but were trying to learn more. He thought he’d go see what it was about. The man who had been praying was in this group. The worker went in and sat down right beside the man who had been praying, not knowing this.

As they all studied and asked and answered questions, the worker answered questions without using a Bible and the praying man could see this man was different. He wanted to talk more, so the worker asked him if he could come to his home. He did and, as he gave his testimony, the praying man said, “This is what I’ve been praying for.”

The son told George that his father can hardly take it in–how he prayed, not knowing if the Lord even heard him. The Lord heard and sent the only worker in the world that they knew of who could go into Greece legally.

He was from a long, long way away. When the worker came, he came right to the little study they were having and sat down right beside him!

George was at the convention with them, but the father doesn’t speak English. The son does…….isn’t this a confirmation of the power of prayer?

Much is spoken in the New and Old Testament of Christ’s coming. How is He to come and what are the signs of His coming? How will He come? Matthew 24-5 is being fulfilled now and points out the signs of His coming. His coming again does not mean the end of the world, but speaks of the time when He will call His own unto Himself and when His own shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2, Matthew 8, Colossians 3:4. God’s children will see Him, but others will not see Him until He begins His reign 1,000 years on earth.

1 Thessalonians 3:13 to the end of the chapter, this happens before the millennium. The Thessalonians were sorrowing for their dead and feared they would have no part in the reign and Paul assured them that they would rise first and we who are alive at that time would be caught up in the air alive. All this takes place before the millennium. Then will be a period of great suffering on the earth, which God’s children shall escape, because of being caught up in the air.

While God’s children are in mid-air, they will be rewarded according to their works. Look at 1 Corinthians 15:41 to the end of chapter. Speaks of rewards that will be awarded to the children of God while they are caught up from the earth. Different glories of the Sun, Moon and Stars. Matthew 25 we read of the talents, speaking of rewards given, according to works here on earth. Luke 17:34 speaks of His coming to take His own. This is to take place in all the world at the same time, in the twinkling of an eye – His own will be caught up but those who remain will not see them.

In one part of the world the people will be sleeping, in another part they will be watching, all will go at the same time. The marriage of Bride and the Bridegroom will take place in mid-air, during this time there will also be a time of great suffering going on upon the earth, read Luke 21:34 to the end. Matthew 24:42-48, Mark 13:32-37, 2 Thessalonains 1:7-10. This speaks of watching and praying that we may be accounted worthy to escape all the suffering and shows the truth that He will slip in at a time when some will not be watching and will find them unprepared.

Revelations speaks of the keen suffering after He has taken His own. White Horse going forth to conquer. This has taken place and it is the gospel message that conquers and wins hearts. Red Horse – suffering caused by rejecting the White Horse, or gospel message, and taking place now. Black Horse – deeper suffering – sword – famine – pestilence, while the Bride is in mid-air – everyone getting their reward measured out. After this horse comes the Millennium when Jesus and His own come back to reign on earth for 1,000 years.

The forth, the Pale Horse – comes last, which is death and Hell. Revelations 14 speaks of a form of worship that is diverse, that is yet to rise, it is different from all others, because it will speak against the God of Heaven (verse 8). This beast will break the Babylonish power of false system or systems, he will reign a little while, then comes the Millennium when Jesus comes to destroy His powers on the earth. After the Millennium the devil will be loosed to test those who professed during the millennium. He will still be the devil. To be chained for 1,000 years does not change him.

This account of George Walker’s early days was written February 16, 1988. George Walker at times, often sitting around the dinner table, told of his early days when he first came to this country, and of his beginning.

George was raised a Methodist. He was born in Enniskillen, Ireland in a two-room house. He said that when he was about 8 years old, on a Sunday Morning, his mother prepared him and his sister to go to Sunday school. She wrote a note to the Sunday school teacher saying she was sorry that she was not able to come that morning. When George and his sister returned home, their mother had died. Some of the neighbor women came in and washed and dressed the body, and laid it out on the bed. That afternoon George sat in the bedroom door looking on his mother’s form, cold in death, and wondered if he had died where would his soul be, having a fear of God.

When he was about 13 he joined the Methodist church and later was active in the church. The minister told him that he ought to go into the ministry, that he would not make much money, but there was honor and prestige connected with that profession and he would be called Reverend. He went to work in a large department store. Some of the men he admired there and felt he would like to be like them, and others he feared not wanting to become like them; but as time passed he saw in himself some of the same marks trying to get in that he despised.

A woman where he worked lived some miles from the city and told of men coming and preaching in her neighborhood, and of a number of young people leaving the church and following those men. She said some of those young Methodist preachers should go down and get those young folk straightened out and back into the church. So it was planned that one Saturday George and another young man in the church, who also was active, should go to that neighborhood and find out more about this way.

They took a train and went to the home of one of those young people, a young man who had one of the best farms in that part. They had a visit about the Bible, and this young man named Willie Gill, about 28 years old, told them, “While working around the farm, I thought of Jesus’ words to that young man in Luke 18:18 who asked what he should do to have eternal life. Jesus’ answer, ‘Sell what you have and give it away and come and follow Me.’ I wondered if Jesus should asked me to sell this farm and scatter the money and start out in this ministry as Jesus asked that man, would I be willing for it?”

The young Methodist with George said, “That is a piece of foolishness. Who ever heard of a man having to sell a farm, or all, and then start out homeless and penniless in his ministry?” George said it struck a tender spot in him as he had quite a sermon on this subject: What Lack I Yet? Times when he preached this, that there is something lacking in your life that cuts you off from heaven, perhaps some secret thing in one’s life no one knew of, and they would have to cut it out or they were wrong in some way. George said that often when he preached this some of the members had patted him on the back and said, “You’re going to go places in the Methodist church.” But now George said, “I felt this was what I had lacked, and it was the true meaning of this passage.”

Willie Gill lived with his mother and trained horses for the gentry to use in hunting with foxes. He would buy a horse for about $100, train it, and sell it for about $300; and he would bring $100 and place it on the table and say, “Mother, I sold a horse. Here is something for you.” Soon Willie Gill sold that farm; and scattered all and went out in this ministry and continued until his death.

Willie invited George and his fellow Methodist lay preacher to spend the night, but the Methodist fellow had had enough and he left. George spent the night and on Sunday morning was in a meeting and stayed for dinner. After dinner he had to return to the city. They took him in a 2-wheel jaunting cart to the depot. He got on the train, and sat in one of those compartments like a small room, like they had on the trains at that time. He thought that what he heard was right, but if he went in for this, he would lose all his friends in the Methodist church; but then when he came to die, they could do nothing for you. Some people got on the train, came into his compartment, and did a lot of talking. They had been imbibing something, and that makes people talk a lot.

Finally, they arrived in the station. George got off the train and was walking across the platform, and said in his heart, “O God, I am willing.” There came an assurance of the approval of God right then and there. That was April 11, 1898. It was not long until George began in this ministry in Scotland.

Lizzie McGregor worked in a mill about 10 hours a day and belonged to a religious group common there then. Their preacher told them, “There are two preachers going to speak on our street corner meeting tonight.” It was George’s first night in the work. Lizzie said, “I don’t remember what was said, but I remember after the meeting our preacher said, ‘Now we will have to go back to the hall and pray half the night to undo the harm those men have done. Lizzie, will you come back and pray with us?’ I told them, ‘I can’t, I’m going to sleep. I’ve worked all day in the mill.’”

She never saw nor heard anymore for over a year. Then one day her preacher told them, “There are two of those preachers having meetings in a hall nearby. Take my advice and stay away and treat them with cool contempt.” Lizzie replied, “We can go an hear them, but we don’t have to swallow their doctrine.” Lizzie and some other girls decided to go. The workers were John Doak and his companion. She sat in that meeting and listened and she was assured that this is the Truth, this is right, and I’m coming every chance I get. That was the beginning for Lizzie McGregor.

George told of his coming to this country in the early years of this century. He was in Liverpool, England and three planned to come together. There was first class passage – the most expensive, then there was second class, which was cheaper, and then steerage. The cost of a ticket from Liverpool to New York was $27.00 and they got three tickets. They left Liverpool on a Friday night and sailed across the Irish Sea to Belfast, where on Saturday they loaded cargo and passengers. About five of them left and sailed out around the north end of Ireland and into the North Atlantic Ocean. The sea was raging and rough. They tried to stay on deck but they were all sick and after awhile they went down into the lower part of the ship where they had been given bunks, and tried to rest. They were sick all day Sunday and Monday. George said, “On Tuesday I felt we have got to get up and walk around or we won’t be able to walk off the ship when we get to New York.”

There was a large room on ship where preachers and speakers could speak to the crowd. George had an opportunity to speak. Some heckled them, but a Baptist preacher from Philadelphia, PA took George’s part. He gave George his address and said, “If you are ever in Philadelphia, look me up and if I can do anything to help you, I will.”

Finally it was announced they would be arriving in New York on a Monday morning about 7 o’clock. All prepared to disembark. They let the First Class passengers off first and then the Second Class passengers. The steerage passengers were loaded into boats and taken to Ellis Island for inspection, so George and his companions went there. There were crowds of people there to meet their relatives. Finally, about 11 o’clock the customs officers had examined them, asking all their questions, and told them they could go.

They approached a steel partition barrier of grillwork, and as they were about to go out the gate, they heard someone calling their name. They did not know a soul, did not know there would be anyone there to meet them, but they found this man and his wife there to greet them. They were not professing, but her sister belonged to what they called, “I believe the brethren.” The sister in Ireland had written to her telling her of these three men, strangers, arriving on this boat; and asked her sister in New York to meet them and take care of them.

At first they felt, ‘We won’t do it,’ but then she felt, ‘What will my sister think? We can meet them.’ So her husband took off from work, and they rented an apartment for two weeks for these three strangers. They told them, “We will take you to our home and you can have dinner, then we will take you to this apartment since we only have a 4-room apartment and no room to keep you overnight.” The name of this couple was George and Edith McIntyre, and they were the first to profess in the workers’ meetings. Not long afterward, his brother Dan and wife professed out on Staten Island.

George Walker was born February 12, 1877 and died November 6, 1981 about 6:00 PM near Philadelphia, PA. He was 104 years old.

Hebrews 12:13, “…make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”

1 Peter 2:21, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps.”

Luke 22:28-30, “Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me; That ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

I have been thinking of this pathway that we follow and the example Christ has left us and where this pathway is leading us. In that last meeting before Jesus died He held out a wonderful hope to His disciples, “…that ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom.” At the end of this pathway we are following, when all the struggles are gone and our tears are wiped away and our heartaches healed, we can sit down one day with Him in His kingdom. There is a very straight pathway that leads to this. This verse in Hebrews says, “Make straight paths for your feet,”

The pathway Jesus took right from the very beginning was leading back to His Father’s kingdom. He made a straight path for His feet. He said, “I must be about My Father’s business…My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me…“I do always those things that please Him.” Along that pathway, there were different pressures that might have caused Him to turn His feet a little, but He made such a straight path for His feet. He said to His disciples, “You have continued with Me in My temptations.” There were times when His disciples saw those temptations come and they saw the way He made such a straight path for His feet. They learned some lessons that, if applied, would help them walk that straight path so one day they would sit with Him at His table.

You will remember the day Jesus went with His disciples up to Jerusalem and they came to a village of Samaritans. Those people did not receive Him. When James and John saw that, they said, “Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?” But Jesus turned and said, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” Earlier He had spoken to them on the mountain, at the beginning of Matthew, and taught them to “love your enemies, bless them that curse you…and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.” When that day came, one of His close disciples said, “Shall we do that?” and there was not the slightest shadow of turning, “No, we can’t do that kind of thing.” If we were ever to take that attitude toward people and want to strike back at them, we couldn’t really sit down at His table in His kingdom. Jesus never did that. There was never the slightest turning in the way He set His feet. Whenever I think about the apostle John, I think of such a kind and loving, gentle man. It was John who said, “Shall we call fire down and destroy them?” That entire attitude was gone when John wrote those beautiful letters. He had learned to make a very straight path for his feet.

The day after Jesus had been feeding the multitude and the people were going to make Him king, He told His disciples to go across the sea, and He went up into the mountain to pray. The atmosphere of worldly popularity is a dangerous atmosphere to be in. A little human popularity and foolish flattery can turn our feet, but Jesus was never turned from the straight path. Abraham had been out and fought the battle to save his brother Lot. The kings had come to give him treasure but he said, “No, I don’t want anything from you!” He wanted no riches or praise or popularity from the outside. In that parable in Judges 9, the trees wanted a king over them. “The olive tree said unto them, ‘Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?’ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come thou, and reign over us.’ But the fig tree said unto them, ‘Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?’ Then said the trees unto the vine, ‘Come thou, and reign over us.’ And the vine said unto them, ‘Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?’ Then said all the trees unto the bramble, ‘Come thou, and reign over us.’ And the bramble said unto the trees, ‘If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’” That is how it had to be. It isn’t wrong for people to get on a little in their work, or get a promotion. We read of some in the Bible who received promotions because of their faithfulness. It’s good but not if it is going to be at the expense of your own usefulness and fruitfulness in the kingdom. Try to aim at the right things. There are some jobs where there are certain duties but just getting a promotion to get more money or more place, if it is going to be at the expense of usefulness and fruitfulness in the kingdom, the straight path for our feet is to say, “No, I am not leaving my fruitfulness.” If we are seeking flattery and praise and riches from the world, that wouldn’t be the path that will take us to sit down at Jesus’ table, for He never did that.

Another day, there was a temptation that could have turned Jesus’ feet. He went into that home where a little girl of twelve had died, and people were crying and mourning. Mark 5:39-40, “And when He was come in, He saith unto them, ‘Why make ye this ado, and weep: the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.’ And they laughed Him to scorn. But when He had put them all out, He taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with Him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, ‘Talithacumi;’ which is, being interpreted, ‘Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.’ And straightway the damsel arose, and walked…” The Lord said, “What’s all the fuss about? She is only asleep! I will go and wake her up.” They laughed Him to scorn. The simplicity of it! Those people didn’t want that. It would have been fine if He had said, “I am going to do a great miracle; you come and watch.” Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “…so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” This simple way of Jesus, this simple way of worship, this simple way of carrying the gospel, if we ever begin to think we are going to get anywhere by making a big show and display in front of people, our feet will surely be turned. We would find it difficult to go and sit down with Him at His table. He never sought any kind of place or praise from people. If we were ever to get corrupted away from this simplicity that is Jesus, we would soon go wrong.

Another time Jesus could have been turned was when He was talking to His disciples and told them what was to happen to Him and how He was going to suffer. Peter said to Him, “No, that must not happen to You,” and the Lord rebuked him and said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” When Peter said, “Be it far from Thee, Lord” (another translation puts it this way: “Lord, pity Thyself”). Self pity can turn a person’s feet but Jesus made a straight path for His feet. He was never turned by any idea of self pity. One day we want to sit with Him at His table and we couldn’t be, if we were going to be turned into the way of self pity.

Another day when temptation came, it could have turned His feet, but Jesus made such a straight path. It was when that young ruler came and wanted to follow the Lord and go out into the work. The Lord told Him, “You have to do the same as the others have done…sell that thou hast, and give to the poor: and come and follow Me.” This man had a lot of possessions, and he went away sorrowful. It says that, “Thus, Jesus beholding him loved him.” Jesus never altered a step to the conditions laid down to preach the gospel. It would be a terrible thing if we ever turned in any way from the “rightness” of the foundation of this wonderful, precious ministry that Christ established. Not one word did He ever change. That is how it has to be – right to the very end. It has touched my heart to see some of the young workers here. It is a wonderful thing that this still exists in the world. It is wonderful that this gospel is still being carried by this same ministry. There can never be any change from it, and we value those who uphold it.

Jesus said to that young ruler, “Get rid of it and then you can come.” It is not just a matter of getting rid of material things but also every personal ambition and hope, all the things that could be in a life that we would naturally desire and aim for. You have to burn the bridges behind you and cut every tie. It isn’t something you can start and see how you get on, or whether you like it or not. That is not it at all. There was a little family of farmers, and the boys worked for their dad. One boy had a pig that he was fond of. The time came when he joined the Army and he asked his dad to look after the pig. After a few months in the Army he had had enough, so he sent a telegram back, “Sell pig. Buy me out!” His father sent a telegram back, “Pig dead. Soldier on.” It is going on and yielding all, right to the very end that counts. We are so grateful for those who pray for us and keep it like that, upholding our hands in it.

I’ll tell you one of my best memories of my father and mother. It was the 9th of January 1965, in the evening. I was sitting down at home with my parents and my sister. I was to leave the next day, to go to Madagascar for the first time. My father said to me, “Ken, remember: when you are there, if you get news that there is anything wrong with us, we are ill or we are dying, you are never to think of coming back for that. You just have to stay right where the Lord puts you.” I am grateful that I had parents like that. I am grateful too, for all of God’s people who have helped to keep it like that. When dad died, I was thousands of miles away. When my mother died, I was home in England, sitting with my sister by her bedside, as she slept away. It would be wrong not to say there weren’t any human feelings, but there was a far deeper feeling of thankfulness. We are so grateful for this ministry that is still here, and our feet that are going straight on. We are grateful for every sincere prayer that goes up that the Lord would continue to send forth labourers into the harvest. There is such a need in the world.

My second year in this work, there was an experience that helped confirm in my mind the worthwhileness of carrying this gospel. My companion had to be away and I was alone. A call came that one of our old sisters was dying, and I went to where she was. Her son spoke to her as she lay there, but there was no response. Then he mentioned the names of the two sister workers that brought the gospel to her and she sat right up, and said, “I know them!” and fell back on the pillow unconscious. The only thing that meant anything to her at all, at that time, was that the gospel had come. Is there any better way for a young person to spend their life? The Lord made this straight path for His feet right to the very end.

Peter said in 1 Peter 2:21, “…Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps.” Every morning, before breakfast, I have been going for a walk. The road is a bit dusty, and I have been looking at the footprints in the dust, and I have even tried to follow a set of footprints. As we follow Jesus, we talk about the narrow way. Within the limits of that narrow path, you can wander a bit from side to side, but right down the middle of this narrow way I see a line of footprints. That is my struggle. I don’t have a real struggle with staying inside the way of God, for I don’t want to go outside of its limits, but within this pathway, my struggle everyday is to try to bring my feet a little nearer to those footprints. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, wrote so much about the way of God and what the borders are in some things. Then at the end of 1 Corinthians 12, he said, “…Yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” Could there be a more excellent way than the way of Jesus? In chapter 13, we see that line of footprints going right down the middle of the path. Sometimes, when I feel I need a little bit of shaking up and a little bit of humbling too, I take this chapter and read it. Where the word “charity” is used, I put in the word “I.” I suffer long and am kind; I don’t envy; I am not puffed up; I am not easily provoked; I think no evil, etc… I can’t get very far with it, and I see that I still have a lot to do to come near to those footprints. I am in this pathway, but “charity” is the line of footprints going down the middle of the pathway. This is the struggle I have.

When Peter wrote those words, “Christ also suffered, leaving us an example,” maybe his mind was going back to those last hours when the suffering was pressing in on the Lord. I read over some of those chapters and tried to find some of those footprints in the middle of the path, right to the end. The first one was when it tells us, “Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” We see that footprint of love right down the middle of this path that Jesus followed. We are grateful for times when we can really stand in that footprint and do something, because the love of Christ motivates us in what we did. Then we can see we are getting nearer to those footprints, those footprints in the middle of the path. “He loved them unto the end.” It didn’t make any difference what was going to happen, or what they were going to do. There are times we can stand in that footprint and love somebody even though they have hurt us, and it doesn’t make any difference. Then we are getting nearer to that footprint.

The second footprint is that wonderful footprint of humility. He got up and poured water into a basin and washed the disciple’s feet. Even in that meeting those disciples were in the narrow way, but they weren’t in that footprint. They were saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus washed their feet. He was saying to them, “This is the way now; this is the middle of the path.” He left us that footprint of humility. He also left a wonderful footprint of impartiality. How often do we wander in the path when we are a bit partial? It is easy to be partial to some people. We picture the disciples sitting there and the Lord coming to each one. He probably would have had to kneel down to wash their feet. We see Him washing Peter’s feet and then John’s, and then He came around to Judas and it made absolutely no difference to Him – He had such an impartial attitude. That is a wonderful footprint right in the middle of the path.

Another footprint is seen in the prayer He prayed to His Father. He prayed, “That they may be one, as We are.” This was the footprint of unity, a footprint we should always try to stand in. We should try to pray and labour and to sacrifice for unity in God’s kingdom and the little church. Jesus said, “Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he was glad.” Abraham saw Jesus: he saw His footprints in the middle of the path that day when he stood in them himself, and said, “Let there be no strife I pray thee, between thee and me…for we be brethren.” He stood and he let Lot choose which way to go. There are times when we need to stand in that footprint of unity.

We have in the Old Testament the story of the tabernacle. In Exodus 26:6, it says that “…and it shall be one tabernacle.” What made it one tabernacle? The Bible tells us that over the tabernacle there were curtains with little loops all around – they were united. Exodus 36:17-18, “And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers’ skins above that.” Through the year ahead we will have many little points of contact together, not just in the meetings, but also in visits and writing letters and visits on the telephone. Put something into that little contact, something that would unite the church and unite the fellowship. Don’t put in anything that will sow division and criticism. It is so important to put the right material into those contacts. We want to put our feet into that footprint of unity, for it is a very necessary footprint.

Another footprint we see is when the Lord came into the garden. He went on ahead and left His footprint in prayer. I don’t stand in that footprint nearly as often as I should. It wasn’t a footprint of just giving time to the saying of a prayer, but it was the footprint of a deep, earnest prayer from His heart. Go and stand in that footprint. Alongside of it, He left another one – the footprint of submission, when He said, “Not My will but Thine be done.” We’re safe and right in the middle of the path every time we stand in those two footprints. Every time we can really go and pray in secret with this real deep heart submission that whatever it means or costs has to be the Lord’s will. So often we can wander from that footprint. We pray, and when we look back we know that our prayer wasn’t like that. It is easy to have little reservations or self-seeking when we pray. It wasn’t so with the Lord, for when He went on and prayed, and it was in such agony, that He said, “Not my will but Thine be done.” Those were the footprints He left.

He left another wonderful footprint at the time when He was judged and stood before Pilate. When He was before Herod He was silent, but now He stood before Pilate and told him, “Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from above.” There was this footprint of complete assurance in the fact that God was guiding things and looking after it. We can get so worried about things instead of just putting our feet in that footprint. The Lord is on the throne and He is going to see that things are going right in the kingdom and in the world. We don’t worry about what is going to happen in the nations. One night Jesus was in the boat with His disciples, and someone was worried about how things were going in the kingdom. There was a storm and the water was coming into the boat. They came to Jesus and said, “Master, we perish.” If they had stopped looking at the waves and had looked at that figure asleep, they would have known there wasn’t any possibility of that ship sinking. The Lord calmly got up and said, “Where is your faith? I can calm those waves.” The Lord is in this and this boat isn’t going to sink. Sometimes when tests come and things would get us pretty worried, we just need to put our feet in that footprint with absolute assurance that the Lord is still on the Throne and He sees everything that is happening, and He can put His hand out when He wants to.

He went from the Judgment Hall and was on the way out to the cross. He spoke to some women along the road and said, “Weep not for Me; weep for yourselves.” When He hung on the cross, those nails in His hands, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold thy son!” To John, He said, “Behold thy mother!” I don’t think I would have been thinking about anybody but myself. He left this footprint of thoughtfulness for others even when He was the one bearing it all. His back was torn and bleeding, the nails were through His hands and feet. It is so easy to wander from the footprint of thoughtfulness. I would like to know better how to put my feet in that footprint and have a little more understanding for the needs of others around me who sometimes need just a word or look or a little touch, which makes such a difference in life. I never cease to be grateful for those who have put their feet in that footprint for me when I needed it.

Right to the end of that journey, He made this straight path for His feet, and right at the end we have the last footprint of all – the footprint of forgiveness. He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” We are safe if we stand in that footprint. Things go wrong at times and we put our feet in that footprint. We think of Stephen and all he had gone through. People were standing around with stones in their hands, and he looked up and saw heaven open. He knew that the great Forgiver could receive a forgiving spirit. He said, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” He finished standing in that footprint. Jesus said if you forgive others, you will be forgiven; if you don’t, you won’t be forgiven. It is a very safe thing to come to the end of each day standing in that footprint. I am grateful, and I’m not trying to boast, but I think I can say I never go to sleep at night without forgiving everybody. Never hold any malice or unforgiveness in your heart. Little differences come and maybe we ache a bit, but we need to get this spirit right because it is all we are going to give back to God. “Father forgive them…” – it is a safe place to stand.

We have the story of the tabernacle in Exodus. It tells of all the different things that were in the tabernacle. The altar and the table were there, and they were made with rings so that they could be carried on the shoulders of men. For the Ark of the Covenant, it was different – we read that the staves were never to be taken from the ark even when it was put in its place inside the tabernacle. That is part of our covenant, this willingness when the Lord speaks, to take up the burden and go on in this journey. We must never settle down and think we have come far enough. If you read on to the final story when the ark was brought into its final resting place in the temple, the staves were drawn out so that the ends could be seen. They were a memorial and were never to be taken from the ark. One time I went to see an old brother who had been professing for over forty years. He talked about what he had done, and that now he was doing absolutely nothing now. He had taken the staves out and put them in a corner, and he wasn’t in the journey any more.

The ark was brought in and put under the shadow of two big cherubims. We are conscious of the Lord’s mercy as we journey, but only when we reach our final resting place will we understand just how great that mercy has been; we don’t understand now. When the ark finally came to its resting place, it was under the shadow of those wings that were far greater. It is when we come to the end of this journey because of the Lord’s mercy and because of this straight path that He set for His feet, and because of His grace that has helped us to struggle to get nearer to those footprints and sit down at the table with Him, only then will we understand how great His mercy has been.

I remember when I was a little boy, my father would be out in the country on business and he’d walk away through the snow and I would try to follow him. I’d try to stretch my little legs and put my feet in my father’s footprints if I managed to do it, but when I looked back, I couldn’t see my own at all. I would like to try to live like that so that when I come to the end, I don’t leave a lot of personal marks. That is my struggle, but I’m glad I see this line of footprints down this pathway we are trying to follow. I am glad I can see where they are leading to and that they are within this pathway. I want to try to get my feet just a little nearer to them.

Give your mind and attention to the day of Christ’s coming. The final great fulfillment of all things is drawing nigh. The bible speaks of three major events. Two have already passed.

When God brought the children out of Egypt, it was a major event, a great day for God’s people and a terrible day for the Egyptians.

The second major event was when they went into Babylon. It was a terrible day. Joel 2:11 and Zephaniah 1:14. The wrath of God was kindled against them. There was no remedy. They had to go into Egypt to learn. _________last Chapter, verse 5.

The next major event was Christ coming. It was a great day for the few who were looking for him and were prepared, but a terrible day for the others. Those who keep true come out on top. They will be hidden in the great and terrible day of the Lord. Keep true and patient. God will keep you through temptation.

There is only one major event left. The final great fulfillment of all things. It is getting nearer. Look for it, pray for it. Revelations 6:14 “Who shall be able to stand?” Revelations 7:9 is the answer.

Some time ago, I read in the paper where a group of scientists, businessmen, and other influential people met in Colorado to discuss the state of the world. They concluded that the whole human race is heading for a major crisis. The causes were greed, complacency, etc. It is utter confusion and every man has a different answer. There is nothing they can do. II Thessalonians 1:6-9.

First, there will be a falling away, a falling away of all standards of decency. In the 400 years before Christ, there is no record. It is a black picture. Even the priests were not what they should be. Malachi 2. They were no help, partial in their dealing and caused the people to stumble. There were only a few who kept true…Simeon, Zachariah, Elizabeth, etc. There was a falling away of God’s people, Revelations was written 60 years after Christ went back to heaven. From Revelations to our day, we don’t know what happened…a falling away? There were only a few left serving God.

There has been a revival of God’s truth in our day and generation. God’s way is established and prospering. There are 96 or 98 conventions in the U.S., 30 in Canada, 30 in Australia, and so on. Christ has a bride to come to now! In the dark ages, would there have been a bride to come to?

Don’t worry about tracing the truth back. The Jews could trace to Abraham and it didn’t mean a thing. God can raise up people from stones…we don’t need to trace it back. When we see God’s work in a people, we know it is from him.

It was the revelation of Jesus when we saw and heard the gospel. It will be a revelation when Jesus comes revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. (II Thessalonians 2.8) When we get a revelation of Christ, then the wicked is revealed too. We can see the difference, can see the wrong in a false way, etc. A lot of people will never see it till Jesus comes from heaven and then it will be so clear and simple…and too late.

Falling away: a decline in morals and standards, decency and honesty. Every one for number one. A terrible downward collision course…evil men and seducers waxing worse and worse.

The dress and spirit of the world says it doesn’t matter how you dress. We dress up for what is important to us. Don’t go to meeting in old Levis, etc. Don’t borrow from the world and then bring it into meeting. The world has nothing we need.

Always talk to the person in the back seat. Remember – there are more souls in the room than the two beneath your shoes. It’s so much nicer to use “we” instead of “I.”

Talk over plans with your companion. Avoid going off without him knowing where you are going and what you are doing.

Don’t use a “meeting voice.” There is no louder voice than the voice of sincerity.

There are lots of things that can be said in gospel meetings that are nice and true, but they aren’t “gospel.” Preparing for fellowship meeting is laboring for bread; preparing for gospel meeting could be compared to sowing seed.

Don’t make things too complicated. Speaking with grace, but share what Jesus really taught. In talking with the Woman at the well, Jesus began by talking about drawing water. When Philip talked with the eunuch, he began at the place where the eunuch was reading. Ezekiel said, “I sat where they sat.” Sometimes we start beyond people. Just begin where they are.

The basic principles Jesus taught His disciples still apply to us today. I’ve learned to value the correcting influence of my companion. A great proof of our discipleship is that we love one another. If I can’t love my companion, I have no right to expect anyone to come and listen to me. There have been times when I could have insisted on doing it my way, but I thought, “If I just dig my heels in on this, what kind of an atmosphere will it produce?” Prepare to give in a little bit! A man steering his boat was keeping a straight course, but he kept turning the wheel to the left and then to the right. When asked why he did that, he said it just took out a bit of the rolling of the waves, and we also can take some of the roll out of the waves for our companions by making adjustments, and still keep a straight course.

Jesus told them not to take two coats – what does that mean for us today? It just means to keep your personal possessions down to a minimum. Taking what is required for the mission we’re working. In the Army, we had a kit inspection every six months, and I still do that…dumping everything out and discarding what I don’t use.

What does “salute no man by the way,” mean? Just don’t be drawn into side issues, sidelines – don’t run the friends’ business – just remember what we’ve been called to do. Some workers even get taken up with a hobby that takes too big a hold on them.

“Take no scrip.” Just be careful about the way we handle money. It’s consecrated and belongs to the Lord. It’s easy to get careless and not think too much about how we use it. One friend said to another friend who wanted to give money to a certain brother worker, “That’s all right – he won’t waste it.” We need to remind ourselves to be careful.

It says of Abraham and Isaac, “so they went both of them together.” There are two sides to our life and ministry and they have to go one together.

Paul said he would very gladly “spend and be spent for you.” 11 Corinthians 12:15. We have control over how we spend money, but the money has no control over how it is spent. So it is with our lives. We have a certain control over how we spend them, but here’s also the side right along with it that has no say – we don’t decide what field we’re in, what companion we’ll have, etc.; we just have to be willing to spend and be spent without any rebellion. I need the Lord’s spirit to guide my service!

Noah first sent out a raven, but why did he later send the dove? Perhaps it was because he didn’t trust the raven very much. It is necessary to mistrust hasty human judgment and learn to wait for the Spirit’s guidance.

Get back to the simple way that Jesus and the apostles taught. Become familiar with the basic teachings of the gospel. Avoid playing on one string, picking up expressions or dwelling on one line of thought. No bread in this. David played on an instrument of ten strings.

Avoid becoming technical or professional. We could miss the point of what Jesus taught.

Be reasonable about possessions. Be simple. Avoid having things that are a burden.

The worker is #1. The worker is the backbone of the body; if the backbone is weak, the body cannot function properly.

1 Samuel 2. Eli’s sons were demanding the best for themselves – selfishness. If the Lord’s people see the spirit of sacrifice in the servants, it makes their sacrifice pleasant. Using their sacrifice for ourselves or for what does not pertain to the Kingdom could make their sacrifice unpleasant and cause them to disagree with the way we use what is theirs.

John 10:15-17. It isn’t the fruit we have in a mission that wins our Father’s love, but laying down our lives. We lay down what we would naturally live for.

John the Baptist was a true witness. Pointed people to the Bridegroom. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” No credit to ourselves. His people are not our sheep – they are His. This is not our work – it is His. Avoid making special friends and getting people taken up with ourselves.

Ruth 2. The servant that was set over the reapers had once been a reaper. Now his job was different, but having been a reaper, he could understand and help the reapers. In this Kingdom, we are not given a place; we grow into a place.

Keep the right aim in the Work, at any age and in any place. 1 Timothy 1:6. Swerved. Margin – some have not aimed at. We may miss the mark at times, but if we do not aim at the mark, we will miss it much farther.

We can preach a lot about bread and still fail to have bread.

David did not accept the threshing floor from Ronan on his terms. God will not accept our sacrifice on our terms.

Genesis 18. The three men who came to Abraham are like the servants coming with the presence of God with them. They left His presence with Abraham for a while (verse 22) and they left Abraham and Sarah believing more fully in God and His promises than when they came. It’s possible to come and go and leave behind nothing that is for eternity, it’s only wood, hay, and stubble.

When we read, labor to get bread, the real thing. While we are young, we can read to get information, not necessarily a revelation. Get familiar with the Word, get it in our mind. Later, the Holy Spirit can bring it to life and light to us.

2 Samuel 8:14-15. David was able to reign with judgment and justice because he put garrisons throughout all the land of Edom.

Some may ask, “Where is the limit; how far can we go?” The sheep who have a good shepherd do not need a fence.

2 Timothy 2. The soldier, the scholar, the servant. Paul encouraged Timothy to dedicate himself to the Word. A soldier has things to guard. Someone who had taught school for years said, “I have not yet met a dumb student. He simply hasn’t met the right teacher.” We have the right teacher. Be a good student, keep on learning! As a servant, be a gentle man, not striving with anyone. Don’t strive about words. Can get caught in the wilderness of words. Remember the end of the commandment – a pure heart, etc.

Psalm 119:19 – our relationship with the world. A stranger. Verse 63 – relationship with the one by our side. A companion. Verse 125 – relationship with the Lord. A servant. Verse 141 – who we are. We are small, humble.

True liberty is being able to serve others.

Joshua 3:17. When the feet of the priests stood firm in Jordan, the waters opened up and the people were able to go forward to victory and their inheritance.

The virtuous woman was careful not to go to the gates where she didn’t belong, but her testimony was known in the gates.

Saul. His calling, his good days. God chose him, a choice young man, a goodly person and not a goodlier person than he was among the children of Israel. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. We need something “above the shoulders.” Also need the right desire in our heart, but we could be “all heart” and lack wisdom. We need very much this wisdom from God to know how to direct His people. Saul wasn’t without something to do when he was called, but he felt that this calling was more important than what his father had for him to do. He became another man, had a change of heart. This comes in the work. We have a different life than we did before. Saul was willing to take counsel from his younger servant. 1 Samuel 9:11-12. Where was Samuel? The young maidens would have seen Saul was a goodly person, but they did not detain him. Told him to go on to the place of sacrifice. Verse 27, “Stand still awhile that I may show thee the word of God.” Easy to get too busy, to be on the road too much, etc. Nothing takes the place of reading and praying, fellowship with God. What does the Lord want us to do? Saul told his uncle about the asses, but not about the matters of the kingdom. Some things about the Kingdom don’t belong to the world, and some things in the work that should not be told outside the work, not to a relative or anyone. It does not help the work. Samuel told the people the manner of the Kingdom. A certain way to do and be that belongs to the Kingdom. Saul had men with him whose hearts God had touched. We desire to be with the same kind of people. What Saul did not destroy later cried out to be fed. He continued to fight, but because he didn’t pray, he lost the victory.

Leviticus 10. Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu burned incense in their censers and offered strange fire before the Lord. The prescription for this incense had been given to Moses and nothing was to be added to it. Nadab and Abihu did add something to it that caused this strange fire. Verse 2 – a quick answer from the Lord. Verse 3 – Aaron held his peace. No answer, no question about why this had to happen. It was an answer from God and Aaron did not question. If something would be introduced that is new or different from what God has commanded, it is strange fire. “That which we have heard from the beginning.” Exodus 19:3. The Lord would be sanctified to His people thru those who would come near Him, thru the priests. Nadab and Abihu failed to do this. Numbers 20:12. Moses and Aaron called the Lord’s people rebels and said, “Must we fetch you water out of this rock?” They failed to sanctify the Lord to His people and they didn’t believe Him. Psalm 106:32-33. He spoke unadvisedly with his Lips. It wasn’t that he smote the rock twice, but it was what he said that caused God’s wrath. They called God’s people “rebels” and then God called them rebels. In the New Testament when we read of Jesus being transfigured, Moses was in the center of that occasion. He was not disqualified from his place in heaven, but he lost a wonderful privilege.

“Harden not your hearts as in the day of provocation in the wilderness.” When I was young, I went to my grandfather’s farm and saw the fields of rye and oats. When cut, placed in the field, a few sheaves stood together and we called them stooks. Now looking back they were like little groups of God’s people scattered throughout the world. “Wherever you ripe fields behold waving to God their sheaves of gold.” I was at a graveside, and the threshing scene came back to me. The grain had been gathered into the barn and we were just laying to rest the old withered stock. Just 8 days from that time, I got word that my father had passed from time into eternity. I had dreams again of that little graveside and saw the little scene. It was as if I had been to my father’s funeral, thinking of what took place in his life after the gospel came. The sickle is put in for the harvest has come. The sickle is put in when the meetings are tested and people are gathered in. We find people gathered together bound like the little string. It’s like the love of God binding us together. My father was so unconcerned about getting on in this life and making money. I used to wonder why. I was interested in everything connected with a ball. My father kept restrictions on me. My father was only interested in the things above; he was always wanting to be in the meetings. He was like those stooks of corn no longer getting anything from below, but the sun from above was ripening the grain. That is what I saw that day as I pictured the grave scene.

We spend a lot of time on that old stook; it’s just a waste of time. Wonderful thing when our affections can be on things above. What brings about that kind of hope? Because someone has died. Jesus talking to His disciples, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone but if it die it beareth much fruit.” “Go ye into all the world.” It’s just like God casting seeds that landed where they fell. The result was a crop that has been reaped all down through the ages. Some has been sown again. Maybe there were times when the seed was just on the shelf, not being sown. If you take the dying out of it, it will just become a cold lifeless organization. It’s true things are done differently today. We travel differently. Long ago they went by foot or donkey. Today we have the planes. Wherever the seed lands, God’s messengers, they must fall into the ground and die. The sickle is put in again and again because the harvest is ripe. What is the secret of making life easier for yourself? Harden not your hearts.” This has to do with the Children of Israel being on a journey, leading them into the Promised Land. The way was not easy and it’s not easy today. This way of God is narrow enough that it is safe. It’s hard enough to accomplish something at the end of the journey. The Lord tried to accomplish getting out everything of Egypt before they entered the Promised Land.

Gold is taken out of the earth and into the fire. It takes the earth out of the gold. Lord knows how much to turn up the heat. If the way ever gets too hard for us, the hardness is in ourselves. God didn’t make it harder than was necessary, just makes it hard enough to accomplish what He wants before the end of the journey. The Lord tempers it, sweetens it so that it’s not too bitter. “In the hand of the Lord is a cup and it’s full of mixture” – bitter and sweet together. I remember my mother having to give us cod liver oil. She mixed orange juice in it trying to disguise it, but she couldn’t disguise it. No matter how much we frowned or made faces, we had to take it. Somehow I can still taste the cod liver oil in orange juice. The wicked will drink the dregs. If we ever try to avoid the hardness and only have the sweetness of it, the easy things, we will only end up with the dregs. Wonderful hope that’s set before the children of God: if we’re just willing to drink that cup that Jesus drank of, saying not my will but Thy will be done.

Jesus was looking forward to drinking wine in the kingdom without the dregs. “I will drink it new with you in my father’s kingdom.” He was holding out the same to His disciples. They erred in their hearts, that’s an easy thing to do. They didn’t enter in because of unbelief. They didn’t trust God enough. Sometimes we criticize them, but I don’t think we should. I think if we were honest about it, they were just the same as we are. Sometimes when He has helped us in a miraculous way, we wonder who did it. Yes, He helped me that time but will He help me in this situation? We must have the assurance that the One who has helped us will still help us. The Lord sees fit to lead us into situations where we cannot do anything but trust Him. Nothing else they could do in situations but trust God. They went back in their hearts to Egypt, they were thinking about the fish, the leeks, onions, and garlic.

We must close the door to those things left behind. They were feeding on the wrong things. When they opened their mouths, they were complaining about the hardness of the way – Lord has brought us out here and forgotten us. (Hebrews 11) If they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they would have had opportunity to return. They were feeding on something that was in them. They had rejoicing in their hearts. Learn not to look back. This man had to row across a little village. This time he had a little bit of scotch in him and he wondered why he was making no headway. He blamed the current against him. After a while, he saw he hadn’t untied the rope. I worked with a man who had started to serve God. People could see he was making no progress and wondered why. I knew, he couldn’t hide it from me. It made a stain on his fingers. He hadn’t untied the rope. Before the end of his life, people were saying what progress he was making. I knew he had untied the rope. Until you get the wall up, everything is against you. Many years ago there was a man in the British Police Force. His parents had listened to the Gospel and had a hard time to get him to go. He did and was impressed with the simplicity of those men. He thought he couldn’t make his choice in the Police Force. One night he filled himself with Scotch. He went to bed and when he woke in the a.m., he found he was sleeping with one of the workers he was trying to get away from. When the worker woke up, he had a visit with him and there he made his choice. They gave him a bad time in the barracks and kept asking him to have a drink. He would say, “I have had my last drink, played my last cards.” One day he was getting it very hard and was going upstairs to pray. Dave Lynas was his name. He met this Bob coming down who made sniggering remarks going past. Later he came to apologize in the bedroom, and said, “Every time I did something against you, it hurt me more.” Dave said, “Don’t worry, it’s already forgiven.” Bob said, “You have got something in your life you hadn’t before or you wouldn’t be able to take it all.” Dave told him his experience and said, “I wish you could have it, too.” He decided there right by Dave’s bed. Dave preached the Gospel in the U.S. When not in the work, he was an elder in the church I belonged to and was a great help. I stood the other day at the very spot in Belfast where his house stood.

Luke 6:38: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

              Proverbs 11:25: “The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”

              These verses speak about giving and then gaining, or receiving, and I would like to share a few thoughts with you about these things. Before that, I would like to say that the friends and workers in Pakistan asked me to pass on their greetings to you people here, and I am sure that they are thinking of us at this time. They are three hours behind us, and they have just finished their Sunday morning meeting. In Pakistan , Sunday is a working day; the schools are open, the banks are open. Friday is the holiday, and there are only two places where we are able to have a Sunday morning meeting. In other places they have it in the evening. There are another three places where the meetings are just beginning, and we pray that you will remember us as we gather together for fellowship, because our work in Pakistan is in the beginning stages. There are some meetings where we do not have the emblems established yet, but we are thankful for a few homes where the Lord’s people can meet for fellowship and have the emblems.

              Speaking of gaining and giving.everything about life reminds us that we are here for a very short time. The pictures in the Bible teach us that life’s longest span is very brief indeed. It is likened to a hand’s breadth; it is likened to a shadow, that so quickly passes away; it is likened to the swift ships which appear on the horizon and as we watch, it disappears; it is like a tale that is told, like a short story that someone tells; it is likened to the post, a person running to deliver letters or messages; it is likened to the shepherds’ tents, they appear in the evening and in the morning they disappear; it is likened to a weaver’s shuttle; likened to a vapor that appears for a little while. All these pictures help us to understand that life is quickly passing and we need to use every day to gain and to give to others, to be a help to others, because our lives are so very short. Our lives are made up of many and varied experiences. Tomorrow’s experiences are all hidden from us.

              The Lord’s people and servants are subject to many influences that are in the world; we are not immune from accidents or disease. A year ago the workers were preparing in California , and three young brothers left the grounds to make a visit on a Sunday afternoon. A drunken driver hit them head on, and two of them died. These workers were giving their best, and we would wonder why this would happen to them. It was not planned by God, but it was allowed by God. There may be experiences in our lives in the coming year, and whatever experience would come our way, we want to gain from the exper-ience that which is beneficial to us, to give something to the experience for the sake of profiting for all eternity.

              My companion and I, in a field in Canada where there were several elderly friends, enjoyed visiting them, and we decided that we would ask all these people the same question: “As you look back over the long years that you have lived, what could you tell us that would be a help to us who are younger?” We received many wonderful answers. One man, 101 years old, bowed his head and thought for a long time. He said “From the very beginning I have never entertained the thought of going back. When I was young, I bought an insurance policy lest I should die suddenly, and my dependents would gain from that policy. When the gospel came, I invested my life in the gospel, and I find all the benefits are coming back to me in this life, and also in the life to come.”

              We asked an elderly lady, who had never been to a gospel meeting and had never known the love of God that we know, the same question. She thought for a long time and she looked up to us with her eyes filled with tears. “Before Andrew, my husband, died, we would sometimes tell each other, what have we done with our lives, and we came to the conclusion that there is not one thing profitable that we did with our lives.” She had a relative with her who said, “I can tell you what you have done – you have made tea.”

This lady would make a cup of tea for those who called at her home when they were in town, but at this stage of her life she stopped and thought, what have I done with my life? I have wasted it, used it foolishly, carelessly.

This other man said he had invested his life in the will of God, and now the benefits of his investment were all coming back to him, and this is so for us all, that we will enjoy these things now and throughout the ages of all eternity.

              I would like to share a few thoughts of gaining from life’s experiences, its ups and downs. There are many experiences in life and we can gain from them. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Paul was speaking of some of the experiences he had been through and referred to them as just a light affliction. These afflictions included beatings, imprisonment, shipwreck, betrayal by false brethren. We can see so clearly why he gained, because of having that attitude. These things work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. They work something into us which is eternal. 18 “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” It is so easy to look at the person who brings affliction upon us, but we should not look at them; we are looking at that which is not seen, we are looking at what it brings into our lives. It is so easy to be taken up with the experience and fail to see what the Lord wants us to gain.

              Tribulation worketh patience; it does its work and puts something into us. Sorrow does make people tenderhearted; loneliness makes people come close to God; misunderstanding makes us more care-ful. These experiences are like our light affliction, and as we pass through them, it helps us to gain what is eternal and spiritual. By way of example, there are two people I know very well. One lady lived near us on the farm where I grew up; she had many afflictions. Every time you went to see her there would be another tale of woe, real or imaginary. It was clearly seen that she was always taken up with the problems, with her aches and pains; she was never gaining anything from the things that she was passing through.

              The other example is the testimony of an older brother worker. He was looking forward to preparations but he was taken ill and had to undergo surgery. He was 80 years of age, and he was so disappointed that he had to miss, but while he was lying in hospital, he began to realize that in his spirit there was a restlessness, so he picked up the Bible and read in Hebrews 4 where it tells us that there remaineth a rest to the people of God. He said “Here I am in an experience I could not avoid; I cannot change it,” and he found in his heart a depth of rest that he had not experienced before. He had gained something from the experience, something that he would never have chosen. This was Paul’s attitude. He would never have chosen the experiences he passed through, and yet he gained from them. Many feel the same way.

              We think of Jonah’s exper-ience; we would like to gain from his experience, and I believe there are two things we can gain. Remember how God spoke to him to go and preach the gospel to Nineveh . He rose up to flee from the presence of God. He had a lot to gain from that experience, but he learned, as most of us have had to learn, that you cannot flee from the presence of God.Psalm 139:7 “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art

there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” Jonah fled to the depths of the ocean, and God was there. God is speaking to our hearts and we are asking where shall we flee. It is impossible. This is often our first reaction when God speaks to us; we want to flee and hide. I hope that we can gain from this experience that we can’t flee; it is far better to come to grips with the issue and not flee.

              I tell the story of a young woman, a working girl, happy with her job. She was happy with the future she was mapping out for herself, but God laid another matter upon her heart – a place in the harvest field. This was the last thing on her mind. Her first reaction was to flee, to run. She did not tell her parents where she was going, she resigned from her job, and she bought a ticket to come to Australia . She told none of her friends she was going to flee. She first caught a flight to Hawaii , and to her horror, when she came to the airport, here were a group of friends seeing a sister worker off. She checked in, and was not noticed by the other friends; she got on the plane, and to her horror, the sister worker was sitting in the next seat! Where could she flee? She told this sister worker her story. She went to the convention in Hawaii , and some time later she went out into the work. Our reaction should be that we should not flee, because we can gain.

              There was something else that Jonah learned in this experience. He was in absolute torment. We think of him being in the storm, being cast overboard, being swallowed by the fish, and then crying to God; he was in torment. He had a disturbed conscience. He was making it very difficult for himself and also made it difficult for others because of his unwillingness.

One experience of a young person, a sister worker, was that God laid it upon her heart to go to a foreign field. When this first happened, her first reaction was panic. She said “If I say ‘no’ my peace will be disturbed; I’ve known years without peace, and that was a dreadful experience. If I say ‘no’

it will make it a little easier to say ‘no’ the second time.” She offered to go. Jonah could have been saved from so much by a willing reaction to the Lord’s will.

              As we look back in our own individual experience to the time when we had no peace, we do not want anything to disturb this peace which is so meaningful. There are so many lessons to be learned, to be kept in mind, that we would not be taken up with the experience itself but look for the lesson in it. We cannot flee; it is far better to face up to the issue and please Him. Peace comes through submission and obedience.

              I would like to speak a little about giving. A few months ago we were having a visit where we labour. The eldest son of the home was killed in a motorcycle accident. Another friend was coming home from work and he saw a motorcycle lying on the side of the road, but he did not notice the body. He did not give it any more thought till he got home. He put the car away and he sat down to read the paper. Then he thought of a friend of his who would be coming home that way, who also had a motorcycle like the one on the road. He took his car out again and went back to the site, and he could hardly believe what he saw. Now a half hour had passed, and sure enough, there was his friend. He took him to the hospital, but it was too late; he had passed away. We wonder how the human heart could be so cold, to refuse to give anything in a situation like that, not even giving ten minutes of their time; that’s the kind of world we are living in. But in the family of God, the hearts of God’s people are softened by the love of God, and people are looking for ways and opportunities to help their brothers and sisters in the family, looking for ways to give. We often feel that we have not got what the situation demands, but as we see the need, we want to give.

              There is an experience in the Old Testament where the sons of the prophets gathered together and they cooked a pot of gourds. When they began to eat, someone realized there was death in the pot. Someone had put something in the mixture that was poison, and everyone would be affected.

Someone had to do something, someone had to give. Someone had to intervene.

Someone took some meal and put it in the pot, and death was stayed, no one was affected. Perhaps we have been in situations like that, where certain things were said, and we were conscious that there was death in the pot. If only we would have something to put into the situation, and I am always grateful for my brethren when they have the very thing that is necessary.

              David had this kind of experience, 1 Samuel 25. He sent a message to Nabal to ask for payment for protection he had given to his shepherds. Nabal spoke harshly, “Why should I pay him?” David reacted with the same spirit as Nabal. There was death in the pot; something very unpleasant was going to happen. This situation reached the ears of Nabal’s wife. She had meal. She could not approach her husband, so she went with asses to approach David with humility and intercession and brokenness. She pleaded with him not to

do this, not to do what he would regret later on. There would be a

stain on his kingdom if he were to lift up his hand. It took this to stay his hand. His heart was filled with gratitude. It did not take armies to stay David’s hand; all it took was someone with a broken spirit. David repented there. We are grateful when we turn to that approach for our first step, our first resort, when a situation would arise, when there is something needed to stay death in the pot. This is the hand of meal – a broken, tender spirit; this is true intercession from a heart that is in touch with God. It was only this that was necessary.

              There are three things that we can give in a situation where death is in the pot. The first thing: we can give a word in season. Proverbs tells us that such words are like apples of gold in pictures of silver. It is very beautiful, the right word spoken at the right time, which meets the need of the situation. We often feel that we don’t have what it takes, but we long for the tongue of the learned to give words to him that is weary. As we sit and wait at the feet of the Master, we will have a word in season. It may not be a profound proverb.

              Jesus had this kind of word in John 11. Lazarus had died, and all had gathered to mourn with Mary and Martha. When Jesus came, they wondered why He had not come before He did, but He had the right word in season. He spoke to her and pointed her to some-thing far greater. He pointed her to the future, a future that they could have in Him. “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” Jesus gave all eternal hope. He was not referring to the present position, but He was referring to His coming again, when the dead in Christ shall live again. He was able to lift the heart of this woman. Where she had grief, He was able to bring eternal hope by a word in season. If we speak words from Jesus, they will be safe. We may experience accusations brought against us, and the tendency is to have a bitter spirit, but we are so grateful when we turn to the words of Jesus, and then there is no more question.

              The second thing that we can give: Matthew 18. There was death in the pot; the disciples were asking who is the greatest. Jesus brought a little child; this is the hand of meal. How humble is the spirit of a little child. This is the spirit of the Lord Jesus, and that’s what it takes. This is our ideal, a goal, something to aim at. As I look out on this meeting, there are so many young people, and I am grateful that you are here. Youth craves for an ideal, for some personality to look to, to become like. This is so in the social and entertainment world, and they use this to advant-age. We would like you young people to look to the Lord Jesus.

Ephesians 4:13: “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” This is our ideal; this is our target, coming to the fullness of the stature of Christ. In the world, the ideals they hold up have their good points, but as you look deeper, you see that they hide from the people so much that is wrong. In Jesus we have a perfect man, and every young person can make Jesus their standard. In speech, in attitude, make Him our ideal and you’ll be having something to contribute to all situations.

              The third thing we can give is what Abigail gave: a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Jesus poured that out on the disciples time and time again. In the upper room Jesus rose and began to serve, He took the place of a slave. There are many situations that we could learn much from. We often learn less than God intended. In many situations we could give something in a word, in our spirit, and the Lord will stand by us. Every person who is in touch with God has something to contribute to the needs of the kingdom.

There are needs that will arise among us, and we need to keep close to Jesus, that we might have that to meet the need.

              In the Old Testament, Joseph’s brethren had come from a far country to get provisions. Joseph brought them through different experiences. They had gone and now were coming back a second time, leaving their father back home. Joseph revealed himself to them, and they now knew who Joseph was when they went back to their father a second time. He had filled all their sacks, he had provided for their needs on the journey, he had provided for their needs in the homeland before they had set out, and he said these words: “See that ye fall not out by the way.” In other words, see that you do not fall out with one another. They would have to go up some hills; some may want to go quickly, some want to go slower, but he wanted them all to reach home together. Maybe these things do not arise here, but good when we can gain from the situation. We hope that you will have something to give as you travel on together, that all might arrive together in the Father’s home.

John 1:1-4 and 14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. (4) In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. (14) And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John was writing an account of Jesus to both those who knew Him and those that didn’t know Him. I enjoyed noticing when he was writing these people, he started by saying, “In the beginning was the Word.” I thought of these people being told about Jesus and maybe wondering, “Who is this fellow just appearing out of nowhere and then He died and disappeared and we don’t see Him anymore. Just how much substance is there to this, is it something that really has the backing of God behind it?” But John had the understanding to see that this thing didn’t start when Jesus appeared on earth, what he believed and found in Christ was there since the beginning.

Now you might notice that word, “Word” starts with a capital letter, it’s talking about a person. In the 3rd verse it says “all things were made by Him.” In the 14th verse “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Was talking about Jesus here. In the beginning was the Word – Jesus. Now I could talk to you all today about what I had for breakfast and you might say, Big Deal! It doesn’t mean anything to me now or to you, that was something very passing. And we can get taken up with a lot of things in life that seem very important for the present and seem important now, but we are not interested in what is important now, we’re interested in something that was important from the very beginning and will be important when this world ceases to exist. We are very concerned that we are seeking that which was from the very beginning and has God behind it.

It calls Jesus the “Word.” And “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” A lot of people read the Bible and to them it is like reading a history book, something dead and gone, happened 100s and 1,000s of years ago. And some read it like a book of Mythology, some fancy tales someone has dreamed up. But you know when John wrote this book and read the scriptures, there came the day when these things weren’t just words anymore. When Jesus came along, he found a life that the word was made flesh in, not only preaching out of the Bible, but living fulfillment of what he preached. The Bible had never been more real and could never be more real then when those people looked on the life of Jesus. That was the “Word” of God founded way back in the beginning, something that was determined then but they saw it being made a reality in Jesus’ life. You know that is what enables the scriptures to become real to us today. It is not that we have to have faith to believe that it’s right, there is that part, but it takes more than that for the scriptures to be opened up to us and realize that those things are read. And that comes when the day dawns on us that we begin to see these things, the reality of them – see people whom these things are being fulfilled in their life. These disciples had found a treasure, the Son of God – the perfect fulfillment of the Word of God.

It says in that 4th verse – “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” You might think, of course there was life in Him, He couldn’t be alive without life – everyone walking about has life. But this was a special life, not just talking about breathing. Talking about something that was divine, something that came down from God, the eternal life was inside Him. Some people think eternal life starts when you die, that is not true. Eternal life starts in life time, but the fulfilling of it comes when a person dies. All of us here today are in eternity. We have entered into an eternity when we were born, because there was something in us eternal, the soul. But the condition of our eternity has not yet been determined and sealed. Jesus had eternal life in Him so that we could receive something divine, something more than sheer self-discipline, something that comes from above.

These disciples when they looked at Jesus saw something in Jesus worth giving themselves for. Not that He was so eloquent in His speaking, impressive and good looking, or that kind of thing, but what they saw in that man was the quality of an inner life. And the more they got to know that man and saw what He was on the inside, they realized this was not something human, realized this man must be the Son of God. What would a person expect to find in a child of God? Not a perfect people, but people whose desire is to be like Christ and because of this desire God is gradually working that in their life. That life came down to this world, made flesh living among them and it was the light of men. He came to this world to forever clear up the issue of God’s will for our life. In spite of all the religion in the world today, the biggest mystery is still – what is the Will of God?! Jesus came to clear the mystery and show us by His life what IS the will of God.

We are glad when we read the scripture that we are reading something from the beginning, something that came from God and yet even today it is the will of God for men and women.

I suppose the purpose of our meetings here would be [most] clearly define[d] that we have come to learn about the Son of God who came to manifest the will of God in His human flesh. The purpose of these meetings is to reveal what the purpose of God’s will is. We are going to try and speak about the scripture and try to be of help in understanding it. This word “beginning” is what I had in mind for tonight. How many books are in the Bible that have the word “beginning” in the first verse? There are four (4) books in the Bible that have the word “beginning” in the first verse and that is what I am going to speak about.

We have already heard about the book of John where the Word was talking about Jesus, who was with his Father from the “beginning.” The first book in the bible says – “In the beginning God created,” you cannot go back beyond that. Now you don’t have to be very smart to know that there was not just an explosion one day and all the sticks and stones and whatever there is in this building (where we are having meeting tonight) all fell into this shape and the building was formed because of a great explosion. You know that someone planned this building! It was not just a happenstance. Now this world didn’t just happen! It doesn’t take a very smart person to realize there was a creator to create all this. It is by faith that we believe this. If you say in your heart that there is no God, you know what the Bible says you are – “The fool has said in his heart there is no God.” But it’s not hard for us to look at creation and see that some super person somewhere has made all these things, and we know God has created it.

Now if I was to ask you what was the very first thing God created, what would you say? Let’s read this verse together in Revelations 3:14 – “These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” The beginning of the creation. Who is speaking in these first chapters of Revelations? It was the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, and as it says here “The Amen,” the faithful and true witness. Jesus was talking about himself and this is what he said was the beginning of the creation of God. He was talking about himself being – just one of the titles he had – “The beginning of creation.”

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Now where did this begotten Son come from? God begot Him, and when did God begat His Son? The beginning of the creation was God begetting His Son. I couldn’t prove it and I may stand to be corrected some day, but when I read of what God did on this day it seems to fit in. What did God create on the first day? Genesis 1:3 — “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” What did God create on the first day? The light of heaven and earth. And if you want to continue reading on you can see that He made the earth and then the grass, and didn’t make the animals before He made the grass because the grass was for the animals and didn’t make man before animals and grass, but made all these things and then one of the last things He created was man. And He said, “Let us make man in Our image.” Didn’t say, “Let Me,” but “Let Us” make man. And we must believe that there is no question when God made man and all things on the earth that He was talking with His Son. Who was the beginning of God’s creation, and the light of the world, and the light of men, and the only true light that has ever shined? Jesus!! He did not create the sun, moon and stars until the 4th day and as far as we know that is all the light there was. But in this world God created the sun and moon on the 4th day because He had already created the light of life in heaven and that was the beginning of the creation of God.

Colossians 1 tells us a whole lot about Jesus being from the beginning. What was from the beginning that has a foundation that was from God? We are not talking about something 100 years ago, but we are talking about something from the BEGINNING! Colossians 1:13-19 –“ (13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; (14) In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; (15) Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; (16) for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: (17) And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. (18) And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. (19) For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.” God is talking about His Son. Now no man has seen God at any time, but when we read here He is talking about the Lord Jesus, not Himself. Jesus always said He was the Son of the Father and knew that His Father was more than He. Now we are going to go a little farther here and read again the 16th verse. This is not talking about God but His Son and it says all things were created by Him and for Him and He is before all things and by Him all things consist, who is the beginning from the first born unto death. All was created in the light of the Son.

Now then, if I would ask you this question what would you answer, “What did God make the world for?” That is a big question, but I can tell you because the Bible tells us, He made it for man. Now God made the world for man, but why did God make man? I think you know. GOD MADE MAN FOR HIMSELF. He wants you and wants me. Some people in their religion think what God wants is His substance and think the more I reach in my pocket and pull out green, the more God wants me. God doesn’t want your substance!! Paul said – “We seek not yours” – we seek not what you have by you. Out of this world God is getting a people from and for His pleasure that He might have fellowship with His people and enjoy these same people throughout all eternity, all the years of eternity. You know how long we are going to live? As long as God lives, the human soul will live. He has created an eternal soul and we will either live in the light of His presence or in the darkness – that is God’s purpose. Now that is not unrighteous or unfair because it is not God’s purpose that any man should perish. God wants to save man for Himself and that is what the scripture teaches.

In the beginning the first creation of God was the light on the first day. The beginning of the first day was the beginning of His Son. Now then They both began to create of Their pleasure. Jesus was with his Father from the beginning. Before anything was made, He was made. He is the head of the church. “The first born from the dead,” what does that mean? Jesus was the first one to go unto the grave, die, and be raised up again in an eternal body. It says when men die, the body separates from the spirit, the body returns to dust where it came from, and the spirit returns to God. But in the resurrection a new body like the glorious body is raised again. Jesus was the first one raised up in this new body. And those, like Him at his coming, will be raised up and gathered unto Him and that will be the harvest of God reaping the souls for whom Christ died.

I would like to briefly in closing mention the other two books that mention the “beginning” in the first verse. The next one is 1 John 1:1-3, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (2) (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) (3) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” And it begins with “that which was from the beginning” – what is he talking about? He says “which we have seen with our eyes..” What is it that John is talking about that he wants men to understand? We have seen His life, our ears have heard, and we have handled Him, rubbed shoulders with Him. He handled Him and came in physical contact with Him. He said, “We saw” – does that mean we are going to show you? No, it means we are going to demonstrate it. Those men of God said, “We saw and heard Him and we handled Him and now we are declaring unto you and showing you that life that was with the Father and given by God.” That was perfection in the Father’s eyes. He is talking about having fellowship with the servants of God and with the Father’s Son, Jesus Christ. He wants us to have fellowship in this life, that is the work of the gospel.

Now there is just one other book. We already have 1) Genesis 1:1, (2) John 1:1, 3) 1 John 1 and now let’s look at the Gospel of Mark 1:1-3, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, ‘Behold I send My messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’” When did this gospel begin? The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he said. This was talking about the new covenant and gospel of salvation and said the beginning of the new covenant was when John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness. Some have thought that that was the wilderness of humanity, but it says they came from all over to hear him in the wilderness. Now how much older was John the Baptist than Jesus? He was six (6) months senior to Jesus, their mothers were cousins in the flesh. He was out preaching six months before Jesus.

Now if John was speaking in John 1:27, “He it is, who coming after me is preferred before, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.” John understood already by the spirit that Jesus was the beginning and though he was born of Mary he was from the beginning and preferred “before me.” And some people wonder about what Jesus said in Luke 7:28, “Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Jesus said least because who is highest? Jesus!! Jesus has a name in heaven above every name in heaven, sitting at the right hand of God. Now that is except the Father, he has the greatest name ever given amongst men. How do you become the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? It is humble men that are going to have the great place in the kingdom of heaven one day. Jesus, though the Lord of Heaven, came down and took the lowest place of any man, took the least in the kingdom that he might be the greatest. John the Baptist – the purpose of his gospel was to prepare the hearts of people and prepare their hearts for Jesus’ coming. John said, “I must decrease and He must increase.” John said, “Behold the lamb of God” and that is the New Testament, Jesus coming to the earth.

I have enjoyed these thoughts about the “beginning” and there is lots more we would like to share with you.

I have been noticing the work of the Holy Spirit Paul wrote about in the Epistle to the Ephesians. I don’t know if you have ever noticed it or not, or if your attention has ever been called to it or not, but in that letter he speaks about the seal of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, and sword of the Spirit, and the prayer and supplication of the Spirit.

The church at Ephesus was one of the miracle churches in the New Testament. God took a group of people, from various backgrounds, and different walks in life, and broke down the middle wall of partition between them. They were now sitting together in the sweetest, closest fellowship that people can enjoy here upon this earth.

Paul was emphasizing the fact that it was brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit. What was true then is true today. When people ask me, “What is the main difference between your church and the others?” I tell them, “It is the Spirit.”

God has given us a Spirit that is revolutionary. It is different from any other spirit in the religious world today. It is the Spirit that produces this miracle ministry. It is that Spirit that produces a marvelous fellowship that becomes sweeter to us with the passing of time. It is that Spirit that has given us every satisfaction, contentment and God’s Holy Spirit. Paul referred to it as the eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:14). One of the things revealed to us as we read the scripture, is that the Spirit has the same effect in every part of the world. It accomplishes the same work. It brings about the same wonderful results in every age when people obey the gospel. We rejoice over the fact that today we have everything that they had. The Holy Spirit is doing for us today the same miraculous work that it accomplished in the lives of those people.

In Ephesians 1:13, Paul mentioned when they obeyed the gospel, God sealed them with the Holy Spirit of promise. He was speaking there about the king’s seal. The king’s seal was stamped on the document. There was no other seal like the king’s seal, and there is no other spirit like the Lord’s Spirit. When the king put his seal on a document people, realized it had the approval of the king upon it, and the authority of the king behind it. Paul referred to God’s Spirit as a seal. They were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Anyone looking upon their lives could see they had the approval of God upon them. Those people had the power of Heaven behind them. That is the way their lives were showing forth.

To understand the seal of the Holy Spirit, you would have to go back to the day of Pentecost. The people understood that, on the day of Pentecost following Calvary, God was going to pour out His Spirit in a dramatic manner, and that Spirit would indicate God’s approval upon whichever group it rested.

When the day of Pentecost came, if you have been there in Jerusalem when that great influx came, you would have found the temple courts all filled with people. The synagogues were all filled with people. And of course, each group was sure that God was going to pour out His spirit upon them, which would indicate His seal of approval.

In order to eliminate any question in the picture, or any confusion, God caused His Spirit to come like “a rushing, mighty wind” (Acts 2:12). It roared right over the heads of the people in the temple court. They realized they had been left behind. It roared right over the roofs of those 480 synagogues in Jerusalem and left the people shocked. They realized they had been left behind. Then that Spirit came down and settled upon and filled the house where the disciples were have the Sunday morning meeting.

When God poured out His seal of approval upon that group that day, He not only placed His seal of approval upon the way in which they were worshiping (which was in the home as the Lord taught), but God placed His seal of approval upon the day in which they were worshiping, Sunday morning at 9 am, in the morning. That little fellowship meeting was going on, and God placed His seal of approval upon them.

We were working among some people a while back who were keeping the old Jewish Sabbath. They were contentious about keeping the old Jewish Sabbath. One of their challengers was, “You can’t show us one place where God ever approved of the Christians worshiping on the first day of the week.”

We took them back to the 2nd chapter of Acts, where it tells us so plainly, it was the third hour of the day (verse 15), which 9 o’clock in the morning, on the first day of the week, which was Sunday morning. On that occasion, God not only placed His seal of approval upon the way in which Christians were worshiping, but He placed His seal of approval upon the day, Sunday morning, the first day of the week. Pentecost always fell on the first day of the week. That is why we know that was a Sunday morning occasion.

If you would like to read the origin (I mean the inception) of Pentecost, you will find it in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus. I have found it very interesting and informative myself. If you will take time after this meeting to read verses 15 to 21, Leviticus 23, they were told how to determine the day of Pentecost, and how to observe it.

They were to number seven sabbaths after the first sheaves were brought in. At the end of the seventh Sabbath, the day after the seventh Sabbath, which would be the first day of the week, or Sunday, whichever you want to use, that was the day of Pentecost. They were to determine it that way every year. When Pentecost came, it came on the first day of the week, the first day after the seventh Sabbath.

There was never any doubt in the minds of the Lord’s people from that time onward, but that this way of Jesus is the way. No doubt about it. The first day of the week is the God approved day. No doubt about it, because God placed His seal of approval upon it when they were having that Sunday morning meeting at 9 o’clock in the morning.

Some might wonder about the hour, the third hour of the day, but when we were helping out in Ceylon, we had the Sunday morning meeting at 8 o’clock in the morning, before the heat of the day set in. It gave the folks a chance to have a little time of fellowship and a chance to get home before the heat of the day. Well, those people were in a climate like that. It wasn’t unusual that they would meet together before the heat of the day.

In Isaiah 61:9, the Lord, through the Prophet said, “When this takes place, all will know that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.” The Lord left no doubt in the minds of the people at Jerusalem at that time, this was the seed that He had blessed. He put His seal of approval upon them, and upon the way they worshiped on the first day of the week. There would never be any question in the mind of any child of God but that this is the day, and this the way.

The Ephesians heard and obeyed the gospel after Pentecost, and God gave them that Holy Spirit which He gives to everyone who obeys the gospel. Acts 5:32 says, “And we are His witnesses of these things and so also is the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey Him.” That has the same effect. It is His seal of approval. It gives assurance to all who are looking on, that God has placed His approval on that person who obeyed the gospel. It also gives assurance of the fact that all powers of heaven and earth are behind that person now because His Spirit of approval is upon him.

John mentioned in his 1st Epistle some who were a little fearful about their future. They didn’t know whether they had all that they should have as a child of God or not. I John 3:24, he said, “And hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given us.” That is proof whether or not God dwells within us. If you really have that wonderful blessing that is found in the lives of the Lord’s people, the proof of it is that He has given you of His Spirit.

In Ephesians 1:14, he mentioned that this Spirit was also the earnest of our inheritance. We have that. It is a down payment. It is a substantial down payment. It gives assurance to everyone that the person who made the contract will make the other payments when they become due. Paul said the Spirit that God has given to us is the earnest, or the assurance God gives to us that He wants to give us everything that He has promised.

When I think of the earnest of our inheritance, I think of that old man Joshua. I think he is one of the best examples of that in the scripture. In Joshua 23, of the book that bears his name, Joshua was facing death. He had come to the end of life. In verse 14 he said, “I am going the way of all the earth.” That is what everyone will do. He was facing the grave. He said, “I am going the way of all the earth, and ye know in your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God, spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.”

Joshua had been walking with God sixty-four years when he gave that testimony. Looking back over the difficult experiences of the Red Sea, the wilderness journey, crossing over Jordan, winning victory over Jericho and other places, he had it all stacked in the back of his mind when he said to those people, “You know with all your hearts and with all your souls that not one thing that the Lord promised has failed to come to pass.” Everything the Lord promised had been fulfilled to the letter.

That was a testimony of a dying child of God who had sixty-four years of wonderful fellowship with God. We read of Joshua dying as he said he would in Joshua 24:29-30 and they buried him in the city of Timnath Serah, in the border of his inheritance. What a wonderful life. A man who had proved the Lord so fully for 64 years he was just inside the border of his inheritance. It would take all of eternity to enjoy the rest of it. Timnath Serah, the place where he was buried, means “a portion of the remainder.” For 64 years he had enjoyed a wonderful portion, but it would take all of eternity for him to enjoy the remainder!

I don’t care how long a person professes, or how much he may put into it, or how hearty he may be in the things of God, or how much he may receive at the hand of God, the fact remains, folks, that when you die you will be just inside the border of your inheritance. It will take all of eternity for you to enjoy the remainder.

Paul talked about that in Ephesians 2:7 when he said, “That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” All the ages to come to enjoy the remainder! We look forward to so much, the remainder through all eternity for those who fear Him. We rejoice over the fact that we have so much to enjoy now. It is a lovely down payment, the earnest of our inheritance. To think that in this troubled world of distress and perplexity on every side, God has given His people an assurance in their heart that lasts day after day, and will last on into eternity. That is the story of our inheritance.

Ephesians 2:18, he speaks about the access of the Spirit. He said the Jew and Gentile both have access by the same Spirit to the Father. When I think of the Spirit being an access, I think of it being something that at any time, and as many times in a day as I want, I can go into the Father’s Presence and get the benefit of the wonderful things that are found there.

That led me to another study. Maybe you would like to pursue it sometime for yourself. Look up things that are found only in His Presence. The Lord said to Moses, “My Presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest.” (Exodus 33:14) That is rest, found in no place else but in His Presence. David said “In Thy Presence is fullness of joy.” (Ps 16:11) A joy that is found in no place in all the world except in the Presence of God. In Isaiah 63:9 we read, “The angel of His Presence saved them.” We could go on and on. It is a wonderful study. All these things are found in His Presence only, and to think His Spirit gives us access to them.

We have a friend in Portland, Oregon, who worked many years for the Greyhound Bus Lines. When he retired they gave him a wonderful pension, and along with that gave him a Lifetime Pass. That is the way it was labeled on the card, a Lifetime Pass, and it enabled him for the rest of his life, to go any place on any Greyhound Bus in the Country. When he told me about it, I didn’t comment then, but I just thought to myself, “Isn’t it wonderful that when God gave us access into His Presence, He gave us a Lifetime Pass for the rest of our life?” No matter how many years the Lord allows us to live, it is to the end of the journey. We have the privilege anytime, and as many times as we want to we can enter into His Presence and enjoy the wonderful things that make lasting and sweet fellowship.

In Ephesians 4:3, we read about the unity of the Spirit. It is a unity only God’s Spirit can bring about. The church at Ephesus was a wonderful example. As we have said, they came from different backgrounds of life and there was a middle wall between the Jew and Gentile. It was a wall of hatred and other variances in the picture. The gospel came to those people and the middle wall of partition was broken down. They all received the same Spirit. Those people who once despised each other, were now sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus as Paul mentioned in Ephesians 2:6. It was a fellowship that was a little foretaste of heaven right here upon the earth. Only the Spirit of God could do that.

In Ephesians 3:3, Paul wrote about the mystery of that power. The reason it was a mystery to the world was because it had accomplished something at Ephesus by the power of the gospel, that had never been accomplished by other source.

The Roman Government had tried its best to break down that wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles. They wanted to do it for economic reasons. It would have facilitated the wealth of the Country, but they couldn’t do anything about it. Many of the religious movements tried to break down that wall of partition, between those people for social reasons, but they couldn’t do anything about it.

Then two servants of God went in there with the gospel, and there was a Spirit those people received when they received the gospel that broke down the middle wall of partition. It was the same Spirit, the same power that brought forth our Lord Jesus out of the grave. That Spirit broke down the middle wall of partition between those people and made them one. Paul could say, “There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

What a wonderful demonstration of unity which only the Spirit of God could bring about! That is why he spoke of it as the unity of the Spirit. It was a unity that only God can produce. The Spirit is such a mystery to people of the world.

Ephesians 3:20, Paul explained it. “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church of Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.”

The world tried to bring about unity by outward things. When Rome tried to break down the middle wall of partition between those people and bring them together, the Army was called out! They were going to force them to do it, but you can’t force people to love each other. Then others tried to do it by legislation and traditional speaking and outward pressure, but you can’t help people that way.

Paul said on another occasion, “It is God working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philemon 2:13) That is where the need is. Right down in the heart. The need is there and that is where the Lord works, breaking down the middle wall of partition. They are all members of one body now. Each member is supporting the other even though at one time there had been a spirit of enmity existing.

Sometime after this meeting if you will read through this Epistle, you will notice seven times Paul used the word together. That was just emphasizing again the miracle that had taken place and brought them together in a fellowship that was a little foretaste of heaven. It was all accomplished by the Spirit that was working in them.

There are three exceeding things mentioned in the Epistle in connection with this. In Ephesians 1:19-20, Paul referred to the exceeding greatness of His power. It was the same power that brought forth the Lord Jesus from the grave. That illustration is used frequently. It is good for us to remind ourselves that the power of God that works through the gospel today, the power of the Holy Spirit, is the same power that brought forth the Lord Jesus from the grave. Ephesians 2:7, “That in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

When the word exceeding was used in those three verses, he was emphasizing the fact that God offers something that exceeds what the world has to offer. That is a foregone conclusion! The world can’t begin to offer – it can’t come within a million miles of giving you what the Lord gives you. Paul used the word exceeding, to emphasize the fact that it exceeds everything we had expected. This exceeds all we could ask or think. We never thought when we professed, we would have what we have today. I never thought when I went in the work that I would have such glorious privileges that God has given me down through the years.

Then He wanted to give them His Spirit to work in their lives; the exceeding greatness of His power working within the lives of His people. As a result of that they were enjoying heaven-sent fellowship, one body, one spirit, one heavenly Father, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and sitting together in heavenly places.

In Isaiah 11, we have the same picture given to us in metaphoric speech. It is in connection with the coming of Jesus. It mentions the Spirit would rest upon Jesus, and it speaks about what that Spirit would do in the lives of converts to be made and so on. He puts it in metaphoric language, but I am glad it is there because it helps us to understand, probably a little clearer, the miracle that takes place with the gospel.

Verse 6 says, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” That speaks of a change of nature that anyone can see. A wolf, a lamb, and those other animals were natural enemies, sitting down, or lying down together in complete rest and enjoying the company of each other. That is a miracle!

It is a miracle, I see, as I look out upon this gathering today. I am looking upon people I don’t know, but I know you come from all backgrounds of life. You had different kinds of natures until the gospel came and made you one in Christ. Now you are sitting down together in heavenly places and you are enjoying wonderful rest and peace that the Lord’s people enjoy. “How sweet is the rest of God, safe in the Shepherd’s fold.”

In the next verse, he spoke of a change of appetite. Verse 7 says, “And the cow and bear shall feed, their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” That is a change of appetite. It comes about when people obey the gospel. That is metaphoric language, but it seems to illustrate this wonderful point and it helps us to understand it.

There are three kinds of appetites mentioned in that verse. The cow is a herbivorous animal. She eats nothing but vegetation. The there is the lion. He is a carnivorous animal. He eats nothing but meat. And there is the bear. He is an omnivorous animal. He eats both meat and vegetation. It just represents the appetites of the Lord’s people. At the end of the picture they are all sitting down feeding on the same thing, enjoying feasting together.

We are glad when we come together we don’t need to have a special formula for some, and a special kind of bread for others, spiritually speaking. We all sit down and feed on the same thing because our natures have been changed and made alike. Our appetites have been changed and made alike. We are now sitting down in perfect fellowship together. That illustration in Isaiah 11 gives us a little better picture of what happens when we obey the gospel. God give us the Holy Spirit and the unity of the Spirit then takes place between us.

When we think of the religious world around us today, so torn, so distressed, and the Bride of Christ in such perfection! To think in the midst of all the division and controversy and distress, the Lord’s people sit together four days and enjoy the sweetest fellowship and unity this human heart can know!

There is a lady and her husband who moved across the road from one of our conventions. He is gone away from home most of the time in some government work, but that lady took a wonderful interest in the sister workers at the convention. She would come over every morning and help prepare vegetables. She just wanted to be with them. She wanted to talk to them and to hear more about what they had and so on.

When the convention times came, she wanted to attend, and they said all right, so she attended three meetings each day for four days. The day after the convention ended she came back and helped with the vegetables again. She told them of the wonderful impression she got in the convention, and what impressed her most was that here is a group of people so satisfied with what they have, all they want is to get more of it! She said she was elected a delegate by her church to a convention on several occasions, and the whole time was spent in trying to find some means whereby they could improve on what they had. She thought it was wonderful that six or seven hundred people could sit together for four days with not one remark about adding to what they had! They just had appreciation for it and wanted more of it.

Sometimes we may take things too much for granted. Some of us have gone to conventions most of our lives. We know it is a miracle, but sometimes we don’t realize that only the people of God, who have received His Spirit, can enjoy these things. The Spirit has brought a unity that all the Roman Army couldn’t do, and no other force could make possible.

In Ephesians 5:9, it speaks about the fruit of the Spirit. It is fruit only the Spirit can produce. In Galatians 5 different expressions of the Spirit, as it reflects itself in the lives of God’s people are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. There is no law against that. No one is going to put you in prison because you of the love in your heart that you have today. No one is going to find fault with you because you have the peace and joy that you have today. There is no law against it. It is something that everybody has to admire when they see it working.

When I was thinking, first of all, about the fruit of the Spirit in this chapter, I thought of our older folks in particular. As we move amongst God’s people, we often hear expressions of concern because they are old now. They can’t do what they used to do. They are not able for the service they once were able to do, and loved to do. Sometimes they have a feeling, “I’m just no good anymore.” We hear those expressions from time to time.

But the Psalmist said, in Psalm 92:12-14, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God, They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.

The remarkable thing about the palm tree (the date palm) is the older that tree gets, the better quality fruit it produces, and the more fruit it produces. The Psalmist said the righteous are like that. Just like that palm tree. They are getting older all right, but they bring forth fruit in old age. They are drawing help from God, even beyond what they proved in earlier years when they were young.

We have often said to our older people, when they have been a little discouraged, “Well, if you can’t do anything else, you can manifest the fruit of the Spirit. God has given that to you, and all you have to do is let the Spirit do its work.”

Maybe you don’t have a private home now, like you once did. Maybe you are living with your children, but you can bring a little of the fruit of the Spirit into that home. If you can do that, you will be doing a marvelous work.

Maybe you can’t get to the Sunday morning meetings like you used to do. Maybe you don’t get from the Bible to speak in meetings like you used to do. But if you bring the fruit of the Spirit into that meeting, you are going to feed the people because that is what feeds the people. It is not so much the words that are spoken, but the fruit of the Spirit that we bring with our testimony.

We would like to say to our older people in the meeting this morning who feel, “Well, I am old. I can’t dry the dishes anymore. I can’t sweep the floor anymore. I can’t hoe the garden anymore. I’m not much good anymore.” We don’t want you to leave the convention with that feeling in your heart. We want to give you this assurance from the scriptures that only the Spirit of God can make you fruitful. This is why it is called the fruit of the Spirit. It is fruit that only the Spirit of God can produce.

I remember a few years ago, a sister worker from the platform kind of shocked everybody with the words, “I’ve wasted a lot of time praying.” We don’t usually think of prayer as a waste of time. It kind of shocked us all, but she went on to say that for a long time she had prayed that God would give her the fruit of the Spirit, but she said that lately it had dawned on her that it was the fruit of the Spirit. She said, “What I need is the Spirit. If God will give the Spirit to me, then the fruit will automatically begin to come.” She mentioned how much it meant to her afterwards as a result of receiving the spirit of God. Now she has the benefits of it. Now she has love, joy, peace .. fruit that are produced only by the Spirit.

All of the things we were mentioning are of the Spirit. The seal of the Spirit, the earnest of the Spirit, the access of the Spirit, the Spirit of God can produce. That is why we appreciate it so much because it is given from God only.

In Ephesians 6, we read about the armour that the Lord has provided for His people. He spoke about the helmet to protect the mind. The breast-plate to protect the heart. The shoes to protect the feet. The shield of faith an auxiliary protection, and all that was given to the Lord’s people.

Then he spoke about the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. That is the provision God has made whereby we can reach out through the gospel and set the captives free. It is the word used, the Spirit of God, which is the word of God, that can overpower Satan at every turn of the road.

Think of the times that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and Satan came at Him with his great onslaught. Jesus defeated him with the word of God. He said, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” He defeated him with a portion from the scriptures. That is what the Spirit will do. We are conscious of that fact. That is why we feel our need of acquainting ourselves with the scripture. That is still the sword. It is the sword that the Spirit uses in defeating the enemies of the Lord’s people and also setting the captives free. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Then he mentioned prayer and supplication in the Spirit. I have often thought of prayer as being like the supply line for the Army. He spoke of the help from God the Army has, but when I think of prayer and supplication, I think of it as the supply line that God has provided whereby His people, His soldiers, can be renewed day by day.

One of the tactics of the enemy is to cut off the supply line. That is true in natural warfare. One of the greatest efforts of the enemy is to cut off the supply line. If they can do that, and the Army can’t receive any fresh supplies, they are done! The devil knows that, and if he can do anything to keep you from praying, he is going to do it, because he knows that is your supply line. That is the means God has provided whereby fresh supplies can be bought to you.

In the last World War, the deciding factors of that War were fought in North Africa. Some of you older folks may remember that. In fact, I told this awhile back, and a man there in the congregation had been through the experience that I want to mention.

General Rommel of the Axis Forces, was Field Marshal of the German Army over all that Division, and over the Mediterranean and North Africa. When they heard that Rommel was coming over there, at first they thought he wouldn’t be able to stand that. Going over from Europe to that hot climate, with temperatures up to 130 degrees! But when Rommel heard it was a hot climate, before he went over, what did he do? He equipped all those tanks with refrigeration units, so those men could sit there in living room comfort, while everyone around them was more or less roasting!

General George Patton, who was the General of the Allied Forces, knew what Rommel had done before he went over there. Patton knew there is a Pass, called Kassarine Pass, and he knew if he could get Rommel’s Army through that Pass, and cut off that man’s supplies, he had won the battle!

So Patton led his Army through the Pass, and Rommel went thundering right after him with all his tanks and powerful war equipment. Patton waited until the last piece of equipment went through the Pass, then he swung around and cut off the supply line!

It was just a few hours and the tanks were immobilized. The soldiers were out in the field with no ammunition. No food to feed them. It was a marvelous victory. It was the turning point in that sector of the War and it was brought about because General Patton cut off the supply line of the opposing forces.

We are conscious of the fact that Satan wants to do that to God’s people. Nothing would please him more than to cut off the supply line. He knows we need that to win the final battle.

Remember he spoke about prayer and supplication of the Spirit. The word “supplication,” the original meaning meant to ward off. That is why prayer and supplication are connected. Prayer is the avenue whereby I get from God the things I can’t get along without. And supplication is the avenue whereby I ask God to ward off the things that I can’t fight alone.

I like to think of Esther when I think of prayer and supplication. Remember when Mordecai went to Esther with regards to that crooked Haman? Esther went before the King, and the Lord’s people were spared. She went to the one who could do something about it.

Read the Epistle to the Ephesians, and notice what God has given us by His Spirit; seven things. They are: the seal of the Spirit; the earnest of the Spirit; the access of the Spirit; the unity of the Spirit; the fruit of the Spirit; the sword of the Spirit; and the prayer and supplication of the Spirit.

In Luke 11, we have Jesus’ prayer, giving us access through His Spirit. May we keep this before us and seek help from the One who is able to help us unto the end for His Name’s sake.

I hardly know anyone here, but wherever we go, whatever the customs, and whatever the language, God’s people are one.

I want to tell you about a verse that has been speaking to me more and more in some of the other special meetings and conventions, and that is Romans 13:11 where it says, “And that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Now it is high time!

We might think when Paul wrote that verse to those people. He was writing to people who weren’t doing very well, but he was writing to the people at Rome, and he said their faith was known throughout the whole world. They had a good testimony, and they were doing all right, but when he wrote to them, he said it is high time to wake out of sleep. It is high time.

I went to a place not too long ago, and I was late for dinner. The lady didn’t say too much about it, but she did say, “It’s high time that you got here. Your dinner is getting cold.” That is high time.

It is time that we understand the time in which we live. It is hard for us to take it in as we should the time in which we are living. Never in the world’s history has there been a time like this we are living in.

That’s why I like to talk to the children. I’d like for the children sometime to read the last three verses of Psalm 48. It says, “Walk about Zion and go round about her, tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide even unto death.”

I was glad for what we heard from the Psalms this morning. I enjoy the Psalms, but the more I read them, the more I wonder when did David ever find the time to write those Psalms? We can’t find time to read them sometime, but David with all his responsibility, just imagine: he had a home and a family. That’s about enough to keep most people busy. He was ruler over millions of people, and that’s a big responsibility. He was the commander in Chief of the Army of about two hundred thousand men, and if that wasn’t enough, he was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was the Supreme Court, yet he had time to write more than half of those Psalms. Of 150 Psalms, he wrote nearly 80 that have his name on them. I still wonder where he got the time.

I would like to say to you young people, be careful what you read, will you? I always liked to read when I was growing up. There was never anything in our home that wasn’t good to read, but when I made my choice in my teens, I found out I didn’t have time for that stuff. My folks had a paper that came once a week, and it had continued stories in it. Each week the story would quit at the most exciting time, and I would have to wait a whole week to find out how it would turn out! This world is full of stuff to read, and we’ve got to watch what we read. All this stuff flying around – it’s not all bad either, but it takes our time, and we don’t have the time. It is high time for us to wake up.

I want to tell you something that has been very real to me lately about the time in which we are living. Never has there been anything in the world’s history like this – a time when we can go around the world! I went out to find something in the Books in the Old Testament to find what we have now.

When you go home, I am going to ask you to read the second chapter in the Book of Daniel, and see where you find yourself in it. That is quite a story. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and the dream bothered him. He called all the wise men he could get ahold of, and they couldn’t interpret it. He was going to kill all the wise men. Then Daniel heard about it, and he went to the king and asked him to give them awhile, and give them a chance. Then Daniel and his companions prayed about it, and God gave them the answer to the dream.

That dream Nebuchadnezzar had was not complicated at all. It was not hard to understand. It was just plain faith. He told that king the image that was set up and the head was gold, the breast and arms silver, the belly and thighs brass, legs of iron and feet part iron and part clay. He saw a stone that was cut out without hands that smote the image and broke it to pieces. The iron, clay, brass, silver, and gold were broken and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. You can read that in the Book of Daniel 2:35. The 44th verse in that Chapter is a prophesy that relates to us. Some people might think it happened then. Remember we were just singing in Hymn 283, “All the kingdoms of the earth, all their pride and power, shall be humbled to the dust, in that promised hour.” That is when Jesus comes back.

When Jesus comes back, that’s what is going to happen. That is what happened in the 2nd chapter of the Book of Daniel, and that stone smashed the whole mountain and filled the earth. In the 44th verse, it says, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people but it shall break in pieces and consume all those kingdoms and it shall stand for ever.” He is talking about our day. He is talking about you and me and what we are in now. That is the kingdom that He is going to set up and it will fill the whole earth.

That never happened in Jesus’ day.

Jesus told His disciples to be respectful to rulers, to be good citizens, and to do what they were supposed to do, and do it that way. That is the kingdom that is going to be set up some day, and He is going to be King over that kingdom. I like those verses that speak about what is going to happen when Jesus comes back.

Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar in Verse 38, “You are the head of gold.” If you want to read Daniel 5, you will find out what happened to that kingdom. He was having a good old time and drinking out of those chosen vessels of God, and while he was doing that, the Medes and Persians sneaked under the wall and took the kingdom over. That was the Medes and Persians. If you want to read the 8th chapter of the Book of Daniel, you will see the Greeks coming in, and after the Greeks, the Roman Empire. Never in the world’s history has any Empire stood up and lasted as long as the Roman Empire. It was long before Jesus came, and long after Jesus was here. Just one Ceasar after another, and Jesus was there during the Roman Empire.

Now you get down to the feet and the toes. That is the time we are living in. Such a messed up affair: the world is in that shape right now, and that’s what’s going on right now.

Let me tell you something, we have a great responsibility. It is wonderful to be in this meeting, and wonderful to be in God’s way, but I wonder, my brother and my sister, if we really take our responsibility as we should? Do you know what happened after Jesus’ time? This whole thing began to fade away. And already in John’s day, less than 100 years after Jesus died, they began to doubt that Jesus died! John was the only One who warned us of the antichrist. Already in John’s day things began to fade away and fade away, even then. Christ promised He is going to set up a kingdom on this earth.

You know what has happened in the world now? The last two countries that hadn’t opened up to the gospel have opened up – China, and that one country down there in South America, Ecuador. Christ is going to set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed and it will stand forever. We have the responsibility of keeping that kingdom in good shape and keeping that house together till He comes back. (Read Matthew 24:14)

I would like to ask you to read something else. It is the last part of the 13th chapter of Mark. I’m not going to speak about that, but it has been in my mind a long time. Jesus spoke of a man taking a far journey and he left his house. That wasn’t a building. Hebrews 3:6 says whose house are we and so forth. We are His house. It’s not a building. It is the people. He says He left His house, and He left three things with that house and you can read it, and keep that house in good shape till He comes back.

He left His house and He gave authority to His servants, to every man His work, and He commanded the porter to watch. I want to tell you something. That is a very serious verse to me and it has been for a long time. That is where you and I come in that we have a part to do to keep our house in good order for He is going to come back one of these times and we want Him to find our house in good order.

Three things he said. He gave authority to His servants. May I ask you where the servants first had authority? I first read that verse a long time ago. It says He gave authority to His servants. In every letter that Paul wrote, he said, “I beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” In the New Testament, He gave authority to His servants, He gave every man His work and commanded the porter to watch. I want to ask you something, “Who does the watching? Who is the porter?”

I was glad for what we heard from the Psalms this morning. I am going to tell you about a verse or two in the 48th Psalm. I’ve been going to that quite often. In that Psalm it tells us about what’s going on. It says, “Walk about Zion and go round about her, tell the towers thereof. Mark well her bulwarks, consider her palaces.” Why? That ye may tell it to the generation following.

The first thing it says is tell the towers. Do you know what those towers are? There was a wall all around Jerusalem and a watchtower and a watchman in that tower, but he was watching what went on outside. It’s what happens inside that wall that brings the trouble. The watchman is very limited in what he can do. They can’t see everything.

I’m going to ask you to read Psalm 127 sometime. Verse 1 says, “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it, except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” That is where our responsibility comes in. Do we want our house in good shape when He comes back? That is where our responsibility lies. They didn’t go to Babylon because the watchmen didn’t watch. They went down to Babylon seventy years, but it wasn’t the watchmen’s fault.

I’m going to tell you something. That’s where every person in this meeting comes in and that is the thing that is going to keep this house in good order. It’s all right to have watchmen. It’s all right to have the servants of God, but the one thing that will keep this house in good order is your responsibility and mine to watch. He commanded the porter to watch.

There is another place in the New Testament where it tells us about the porter, and that is where Jesus was talking about the shepherd and the sheep in John 10. He said, “I am the good shepherd and to Him the porter openeth.” That is the Holy Spirit. I am glad we have a hymn in the book (312) that tells us about the Holy Spirit. I’m not out of my place when I say that is where we stand, and we hope and expect that God is going to come back some of these times.

Oh, my brother and my sister, may He find this house in good order. That is what we want it to be, and when we leave this meeting, it is a personal responsibility of everyone of us, young or old, to know dealings of the Holy Spirit. The watchmen can’t be going around and looking under beds for television. Television is the devil’s masterpiece if there ever was anything in this world that is!

When I was a boy, workers could get a school house out in the country and have meetings six nights a week for three or four weeks and the mission was worked and people professed and went on. Not anymore. We’ve got people over there in Colorado coming to meetings for four or five years and they know it is right. They know it is God’s only way, but they have not done anything yet. Maybe they will sometime.

Some say it is easier for young workers now. We say, how do you mean it is easier? Well, they say, they don’t have to walk so much. It takes more faith and more courage and more of the love of God all the time to go out in the world and face the indifference and all that is going on and that is the way it goes.

We want to keep our house in good order and that is where our responsibility comes, and we want to leave this meeting, me too, with our first and personal responsibility to know the dealings of the Holy Spirit. If we do that, our house is going to be in good order when He comes back and the time is getting nearer all the time.

I was over there in California when they were working on the new hymn book. Workers from all over the world were there and we did have good fellowship together. I said we don’t want to take out any of the hymns in the book that speak about Christ’s return and when He is coming back. They help us to understand and to know that He is coming back. They help us understand what will happen. We have a part in that too, and the day is drawing near.

I told them about what is happening there in the Middle West where all those bombs are hid away. You go down some of those roads there in Colorado and Wyoming and you see a little fenced in place off from the road. That is where they have those big bombs, just waiting to be set off to go all over the place. If they are ever set off, that will be the end of the whole civilization in this world. They are right there but God is watching it all.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:37-41, like it was in the days of Noah, eating, drinking and giving in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark and the flood came and took them all away. That is what He said, and He said two shall be in the field, one shall be taken and the other left. Two grinding at the mill, one taken and the other left. Just come right then! That is what He said He is going to do. We’d better be prepared for it.

Maybe I shouldn’t be talking about it, but it is a personal responsibility with me anyway. We go around to different places for special meetings and conventions. We are so glad to see God’s people and all that, but behind the whole thing is a fear lest we get careless. Do you know what the most dangerous thing in the whole world is? It is carelessness. That is one of the marks of Babylon. Carelessness is the worst danger in the world. Just to be careless on the road! There is no place in God’s kingdom anywhere for anybody to be careless spiritually or naturally. Those things are there to help us look at things as they are.

I have been reading Matthew 24 and 25 about the last meeting Jesus had with the disciples up there on the mountain. I won’t say much about it, but I would like for you to read it. I think you will find it good and helpful to read. It was in that last meeting that He told them so many things that are going to be a help and things to watch for and to be warned against. I read it last night. I wasn’t just thinking about the meeting when I read it last night. I keep on reading it. He left many things with the disciples. Maybe we don’t read it enough to know what He left with them, and what He told them about when He is going to come back.

He said in Matthew 24:30 that the Son of man is going to come in the clouds of heaven when the last trumpet shall sound. You know, we can read that in the Bible and not think much about it? Did you ever read that? What does it mean that He shall come in the clouds of heaven?

Off there in North Dakota, where I lived, there is not much scenery. My old friend, Jimmie Jardine used to tease me a little bit and say it is the farthest to look and the least to see of any place he had ever been! I had to tell Jim something. I told Jim the middle west is noted for its brilliant sunrises and sunsets! We still have nice sunrises and sunsets out there in North Dakota.

Do you know what makes it so wonderful? It is the clouds. The sun shining on the clouds. And what are the clouds, eh? How do the clouds get up there? You know how they got there? The sun shined on all the wet places in the world. It shined on the sea and vaporized that water and left the salt behind. It shined on the bogs and the swamps and vaporized it and made the clouds. That’s God’s people. And I claim that is what is in the world today. The Son is already shining on the clouds. You can look out there in the East and see the Son is shining there on the clouds. The Son is going to rise and sure enough, and that is where we are today. The clouds are God’s people separated from everything they have been in. I love those verses. He is coming in the clouds and every eye shall see Him.

I am going to tell you a little about another meeting Jesus had with the disciples. I read that not long ago. It takes in five chapters in John, the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and the 17th, and that is the last prayer that Jesus had with the disciples. Oh, my brother and my sister, I wish you would read those chapters more.

I don’t know of any chapter in the Bible that I think of more often then the 17th chapter of John. I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t think about that prayer. You know why? Because He was praying for you and me as well as everyone else.

A little girl came up to me one time not long ago. She was ten or eleven years old and she was professing. I wrote her name in a kind of fancy writing on a piece of paper for her. After awhile she came back and asked me to put my favorite verse on the back of that piece of paper. Do any of you folks have a favorite verse? Do you? It didn’t take me long to tell her what my favorite verse is.

When Jesus was praying that last prayer, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour is come, glorify Thy Son that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him,” and then the 3rd verse, “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.”

Oh, my brother and my sister, when you read it, will you think about it and find yourself in it? That is the 3rd verse, “This is life eternal that they might know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” It tells us how we can get to know God ourselves.

Do you want another verse to go with that? Acts 17:27 says, “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him and find Him though He be not far from every one of us.” It tells us how we can get to know God ourselves.

Suppose my Dad were alive and living in Denver. I could tell you a lot about him, who he was, what he looked like and a lot about him, but you would have to go to that address. You’d have to ring the bell and get to see him. Then you could say I know him. You can know a lot about God in heaven, but you’ve got to do something yourself. There are a few things the preachers can’t do for you, and that’s Acts 17:27 and the verse to think on.

Paul was there in Athens, up there on Mars Hill and he preached to them and told them God made the heavens and the earth and everything therein and he doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands. He isn’t worshipped with men’s hands as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things and made of one blood all nations to dwell on the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed. Why? Why did He do that? Why did He make the world? You know we don’t have much of an answer sometime.

Why did God make the world? He made the world for you and me to live in. Then He put us here, and why did He put us here? He put us here so He could live in our hearts. That verse tells us how we get to know the Lord. “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us.”

That is some verse now. That is how we get to know the Lord. We’ve got to do that ourselves. What we do after the meeting is going to mean so much to us.

Do you know one of the hardest things to get people to do? They will come to gospel meetings, but what do they do after the meetings? What do we do after the Sunday morning meetings? What we do after the meetings determines what we get out of the meetings. That is what that verse says, that we should seek the Lord though He be not far from us.

Jesus said in John 17:2-3, “As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”

Why did He put that in? We can slip over these things and not give them much thought. Why did He say, “and Jesus Christ?” You know why He said that? In John 1:10-11, it says, “He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”

Listen, my brother and my sister, what did He mean when He said in John 17:4, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do?” We can read so carelessly sometime. Find out. What was that work? Why was it necessary for Jesus to be born like He was? Born in a stable and cradled in the manger. He worked as a carpenter there in Nazareth til He was 30 years old, then left His home, left His tools, and left everything behind and went out for over three years to preach the gospel. Why?

My first companion, Walter Jardine, used to tell us seven things Jesus spoke on the cross, and I never got away from it.

The first words Jesus spoke when He was on the cross is when He said (Luke 23:34), “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” That doesn’t mean they were forgiven, but they would be forgiven if they didn’t know what they were doing.

Then, there was a thief on one side, and a thief on the other side. One was railing on Jesus. The other thief spoke up and said to his fellow thief, “We’re not doing the right thing. This man has done nothing. We are suffering the due reward of our deed.” He turned to Jesus and said, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” He called Jesus Lord. Then Jesus said (Luke 23:43), “Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.”

Jesus looked down at the foot of the cross, and His mother was standing there. John was standing there. He said to His mother (John 19:26), “Woman, behold thy son.” Then He said to John (John 19:27), “Behold thy mother.” In your Bible, it says he took her to his own home, but that is not right. Home is an added word that doesn’t belong there. He took her to his own people. John didn’t have a home.

Then it got dark! Oh, my brother and my sister, if we could put ourselves in this. You read the 22nd Psalm. That is the crucifixion chapter in the Bible. “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me?” Then three hours of darkness! God hid His face.

I was in a meeting one time, and a man was trying to tell us what caused Jesus’ death. He was taking the words of some of those know-it-all doctors, and he said the last thing that happens is your head falls down and you strangle to death!

Jesus chose the moment of His death. Man had nothing to do with His birth, and man had nothing to do with His death. Just like old Sam Charlton said from the 6th hour til the 9th hour was long enough. He tasted hell for you and me for a little while, but the darkness passed away and the light came and He is praising God.

Jesus said (John 19:28), “I thirst.” He said (John 19:30), “It is finished.” Then He said (Luke 23:16), “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit,” and He bowed His head and died.

We had better wake up to some of these things. Why were those things necessary? Why did He come here and be born as He was? It was that He might be our mediator. I will read a verse to you (I Timothy 2:5), “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.”

Do you know if we come to God, there has to be a mediator? Do you know as we live here in this world we are enemies with God? When we come to God, we’ve got to have someone to plead our case. He came to be our mediator. He had to understand one side just as much as the other.

I’ll tell you something else about that prayer in John 17:18. He prayed, “As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” They talk about preachers and ministers and all that kind of stuff. They’ve got to go to school and they’ve got to do this and do that! If there wasn’t anything else in the Bible about how the servants of God are supposed to go, it would be enough. “As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” And, after Jesus rose from the dead, He said (John 20:21), “Peace be unto you. As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you,” and we know how He went. He left His home and everything behind, and He sent those servants just the same way.

I want to tell you something else in that prayer in John 17. Six times He prayed that they all might be one – those few He left behind. Just eleven now. He prayed that they all might be one, but more than that He said (John 17:21-22), “That they all might be one, as Thou Father art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be One in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One.”

Oh, my brother and my sister, I wonder if we can take it in? Some of us go around to special meetings and conventions. I figured out one time I had listened to about 22 different languages. In every one of those places there was a language all its own. You couldn’t mistake it. I wonder if we could wake up to the fact that all around the world today there is a people and those people are one in Christ? Some of these days He is going to sound the trumpet, and He is coming back and will gather His people from the far corners, from heaven and earth and they will be one with Him eternally.

Looking at you folks, we are one together now, but we are one with all God’s people who have gone before, and we are one with all who will come afterwards.

Some of us went to Australia first time a few years ago. Those fields of wheat there produce 50 bushels to the acre, but there was no wheat there until the white men went there. They sowed wheat, and they got wheat just like they did two thousand years ago. They went there in the early days of this century and they sowed the seed of the gospel and it brought forth fruit there, just like the fruit brought forth two thousand years ago. We’d better wake up to what’s going on in this world.

I came to this meeting thinking about you folks. You didn’t take the bread and wine today, did you? I haven’t had a chance to do that for awhile now. When we have to go to special meetings and conventions all the time we miss it. I will be glad when I have a chance to do so again. It means so much more to us.

There is a little Hymn we don’t sing very often. I’m going to ask you to sing the first two verses of Hymn 288. It might remind us of what the Lord thinks about the first day of the week. It says,

If we but knew the cost at which He came, The price whereby the veil was rent in twain, Would we not praise as angels praise His name? If we but knew.

If we but knew the sorrow and the loss, The lonely hours, the garden, yea, the cross; Before such love all else would be as dross, If we but knew.

Those first two verses of that little Hymn is the cup. And that cup tells us about His death. The blood that was shed that brings forgiveness to our sins. Your sins are not forgiven just by the preacher. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of our sins.” (Colossians 1:14)

The bread is life. Jesus said, “I am that bread of life,” (John 6:48) and we are the bread of life, too. He just took a little bread and He fed five thousand people.

Listen, my brother and my sister, you are going out into a hungry world. You think you don’t have very much to give them, but you have something that is going to feed their hungry hearts, and it will grow and grow.

I have two battles in my mind. I don’t think nearly enough of the great victory that Christ gained in Gethsemane, in the Judgment Hall and then out on Calvary’s hillside. I have purposed to try to think more and more of this. The victory of Christ on Calvary and in Gethsemane is best understood from experiences in our own lives.

The battle at Waterloo, Belgium. There, Napoleon, in his great desire for world power, was defeated. There are comparisons between Christ’s battle and Napoleon’s battle. One was a battle because of the love of power, and the other battle because of the power of love. Therefore, they were fought in entirely different ways. When we visited Waterloo in Belgium, we were taken to a little table representing the little room in a farm house where, the night before the battle, Napoleon had sat with his generals mapping the battle. He was going out to fight on an entirely unknown battlefield himself. He had never been at those battlefields. His first general had failed to let him know that those fields were crossed by so many water brooks.

Jesus, when He knew that the time for the battle had come, went to the most familiar spot. He crossed the brook and went into the place of prayer, where He had, through His lifetime, fought His battles and there, He set the battle in array in His own heart. It is a lovely picture. He went just a little further than before. He took Himself a stone’s cast away from the 3 disciples – that brought Him out of earshot of their voices. He would remember Peter had said, “Pity Thyself.” James and John had suggested sending fire down from heaven. He knew it wasn’t going to be a battle like that. Our greatest battles must be fought alone in the presence of God – no human voice is needed there.

Waterloo – another disaster! – Just an error of judgment. Napoleon had planned that the reinforcements would arrive at about 3 p.m. – just at the moment he’d planned to make the last assault against the enemy. The reinforcements never came in time, and when they came the battle was already in wild disarray.

Jesus, all through His battle, never asked for any reinforcements to come, but His Father, looking down from heaven knew the moment when He needed it most and sent just one angel to strengthen Him. Then Christ settled it completely in His heart, that this battle was going to be ordered according to the will of His Father. That was the first step to victory and no other reinforcements were needed that day.

The scene in the garden changes. The wild rabble came in with swords and staves. Peter was so quickly on the offensive and struck the first blow. Christ gave him the only command that He gave in the day of battle to His followers. He only spoke to them once – so clearly and definitely: “Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” They knew from that moment that it as going to be a different battle. He told them that He knew, from the experience in the garden that all heaven was on His side and had He wished it, twelve legions of angels would have appeared, filling the garden and the sky – but He knew that wouldn’t be the right kind of battle. That wouldn’t have gained the victory for poor mankind.

Battles go in stages.

The battle of Christ in the Judgment Hall. He appears as a lonely figure. Peter denied Him, the other disciples had fled, and He stands alone before the rulers. In Western Australia, we heard that death by crucifixion was reserved for the lowest criminal. To all this were added terrible indignities, the scarlet robe, the crown of thorns, mocking and spitting, which were completely illegal – the work of the Roman soldiers, and should never have been committed at all. Anything illegal always seems to stir up a spirit of resentment in me. Christ could so easily have lost His Spirit, but He held it. If He’d lost His Spirit, He would soon have lost His peace which He’d promised to the disciples in the upper room. He knew if He lost His peace, He would have nothing to leave the disciples. Have you ever noticed, it is often such a small thing that causes us to lose our spirits.

A very little mistake can cause you to lose the battle.
“For the want of a nail, a horse shoe was lost, For the want of a horse’s shoe, a horse was lost. For the want of a horse, the rider was lost. For the want of a rider, the leader was lost. For the want of a leader, the battle was lost, and all through the loss of a horse’s shoe nail.”

Napoleon – at Waterloo, we stood before a circular portrait of the battle. We looked at the front of the battle and couldn’t see him at all. He was right at the back of the battle, his body guard around him, messengers around him, giving directions. You don’t put the leader in front in earthly battles – if you lose the leader the battle is lost. But oh! – how different – the victory of Christ! They led Him away to Caiaphas, to Pilate, to Calvary. They didn’t lead Him at all. They thought they had to guard Him and lead Him away, but He was being led by the hand of God. He took all the battle to Himself.

Napoleon came out of that battle completely unscathed (physically) – but lost ambition and broken pride. But, Christ in the battle – oh, how sorely wounded was He! Only the Captain was wounded! – Head, hands, feet, and even after death, a Roman sword pierced His side. But these marks of wounding became, later on, the sure impression of His wonderful victory. Christ went alone. Now we can see what strength He had in Calvary. Cruel weapons used against Him – those piercing thorns, those heavy nails in His hands and feet, but from Calvary’s tree, His eyes weren’t dimmed with pain. He looked down and saw His mother standing there.

He was still clear in mind and gave those two simple sentences. To John, “Behold thy mother.” Then He looked on His mother saying, “Woman, behold thy son.” Just two simple sentences which made an assurance for the rest of the days of Mary’s life. Have you ever noticed? When I make my own plans it takes such a lot of arranging, but if it is not in the will of God it falls into pieces before it comes into operation, very often disappointing. But for Christ, this great arrangement was made according to the will of God with two simple sentences. The will of God is very quickly and easily explained to us.

One other thing Jesus did. He had the strength to gather on Calvary’s hillside one more lost sheep into the fold. Wasn’t that wonderful? – All part of His victory. He was gathered into Christ’s fold. He said, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” Jesus was able to say, “Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” The lost sheep was gathered in before the end came. Hymn 298 – that forgiven thief – that hymn belongs to him. He would have enjoyed it so much – just that line that says: “With enemies on every side, we lean on Thee, the crucified.” “Thou hast passed on before our face.” Christ was the first to leave Calvary. He was gone before the thieves. The repentant thief followed Christ into paradise.

At Waterloo, we saw all those young men writhing in pain on the battlefield. I couldn’t help but think, “What terrible lingering deaths there must have been here.” I used to think of Christ’s death like that, that it was a lingering death. But I have a feeling that once redemption’s work was done, once He had taken the place of the sin-bearer and passed through the hours of darkness, and once the full work was done, I don’t think He lingered there a second longer. God hearing those words, “It is finished,” didn’t leave Him a second longer and the victory was won! Waterloo – how quickly the victory of the other side was published! Riders waiting with horses to ride to the coast. Beacons lit on the hillside and the news of the victory was just the news of the defeat of the great man who had this love of power.

Isn’t it amazing to think that, after Christ died and He was laid in the tomb – no banners fluttered over Jerusalem, no beacons were lit, in fact, His victory wasn’t published until 3 days and 3 nights had passed. When the victory is eternal, nobody needs to hurry about it at all. It was all in God’s plan that Christ should be in the grave those three days and nights, and when His Son rose three days later, great victory was proclaimed. It was just proclaimed by one angel, but his face was like lightning and his clothes white as snow. And he just announced that victory to two of the humblest followers of Christ who had lingered. There was no boasting in the victory.

As they took the road home again, hastily, to tell the disciples, “He is risen! – victory is won!” – the glorious conqueror met them Himself. Christ came forward to those whose broken spirits had been taken into sweet captivity to Himself. He greeted them with the words, “All hail.” You see, it was a different battle. In those days, it was the liberated people who proclaimed the words: “All hail.” Here, it was the conquering One greeting those two humble followers as if it was their victory. They could “glory in His triumph and share His victory.”

Later, on that mountainside, eleven gathered and they were told of the great extent of the victory – only 11. Christ came and said, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” The victory for all time, by Christ, the Man of Sorrows. Then He went on to tell them of the great obligation laid on them. “Go ye into all the world and teach all nations.” We all have a part in spreading the victory of Christ. He laid upon them the thought of the great security that would be with them if they did this. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

Napoleon, defeated at Waterloo. And a few months ago, we heard that the workers in Belgium had obeyed Christ’s command and a mission is being worked at Waterloo, the scene of that Emperor’s defeat. The interest still holds at Waterloo. That great Emperor was banished to that little rocky mountain, way out in the Atlantic, off the West African coast, and there he sadly finished his days. Several years ago, the gospel message was taken to that rocky little island. It is far out in the sea, no plane can land there, very few boats pass that way. Such a little Church there and such a lonely one and every year as the lists come out, they look down with the hope that workers will come again to St. Helena. They have in their mind the hope that still others will be gathered in.

When Isaiah felt at his lowest he heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” He was so stirred by the thought of God needing someone and he answered so spontaneously himself, “Here am I, send me.” The harvest is great and the labourers are few and God is still asking in heaven, “Who will go?” Isaiah said, “Here am I, send me.”

“I am trusting thee, Lord Jesus”. We need to trust God – He wants to be trusted, and He wants to trust you and me, too. This morning, when baptism was announced, there came to me a little baptism in Mexico. Only seven or eight gathered around the brook to be baptised. Just before we went down, a brother asked me if it would be alright to leave his keys in his pocket when he was baptised. I said, “I suppose so, I don’t think they would rust”. “It isn’t that that is on my mind”, he said. “I can’t baptise my home or my car, but if I have my keys in my pocket when I am baptised, I will be reminded that every time I put the key in the door of my home ‘this is a consecrated home and nothing will enter the door of this home that doesn’t please God’. And every time I put the key in the car I will be reminded, this car will go no place that doesn’t honour God”. I said, “Baptise your keys”. I wish all the keys in Mexico were baptised!

To me the Gospel story is the most precious message ever sent from Heaven, because this Gospel story came to the world by Jesus. There is nothing I enjoy more than a part in a Gospel meeting, to try to have a message to help someone be drawn by the power of the Gospel to follow Jesus and have their eyes fixed on Him. Paul could say, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation”. When the Gospel came to you and to me, it didn’t come alone, it came accompanied – not in word only but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. (1 Corinthians 2:4). I was brought up a Baptist and went to many evangelistic services; I listened to some wonderful preaching by ministers who were educated in seminaries. They preached in such a way that people were moved by emotion. But what puzzled me was the question, “Do you want to be a Baptist, a Methodist, etc.?” Dad said, “Be a Baptist”. 

I heard a man preach a wonderful sermon, Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today, forever – and after the service he charged $50! It was always accompanied by a collection. When I listened to the Truth of God, the preaching was so different. I enjoyed it so much that after the meeting, I went up and offered the preacher $5. “No, we don’t want your money”. It was the first time in my life that a preacher had refused my money. I saw the power of example, those who were living and teaching what Jesus had taught. It wasn’t just accompanied by example, but by the power of prayer. They prayed for me when I didn’t know how to pray for myself. This salvation didn’t only come accompanied by the power of the Gospel, the power of example and the power of prayer – it came accompanied by the power of love. Those four powers had a tremendous effect on my life and I am thankful for it brought a change in my life that I hardly realised.

I worked as a book-keeper in the lumber yard. The boss’s daughter used to come down to the office to help me. Her father thought quite a bit of me, and didn’t hinder anything. Then he asked me to go to the theatre with his family. “No, thanks, I’m not interested, I have something else to attend”. One day he came to me with a special ticket for a special show. “My wife, my daughter and myself are going, there’s your ticket”. I didn’t want to be ornery (stubborn) about it, so I went there with them. I sat in the same place I had sat in many a time, but that night I was a most miserable boy sitting there. I sat through it, and afterwards I told the boss, “I sure thank you for bringing me with you tonight”. He said, “I would like to do it a lot more, but you are not so willing”. I answered, “No, and if you ask me again, I am not going to go either”. I didn’t realise that I had changed that much. At one time I would have spent anything I had left over at the theatre, but it had lost all interest for me. A new life had been born – that is the power of the Gospel. It is called the Gospel of God , because He is the author, it is called the Gospel of Christ because He is the Redeemer, it is called the Gospel of Salvation because that is its purpose and of Hope because that is the result.

I would like to share with you this evening something that has meant a good deal to me from the book of Zechariah. There were things that the angel showed to Zechariah. We are glad that God doesn’t ask us to believe without being shown. The angel was the messenger. A faithful messenger is one that is willing to receive a message and to deliver it. In the telegraph office in Mexico City there are boys waiting their turn just to carry a telegram. As soon as their name is called, they take the telegram, jump on their bikes and deliver it to the address. The same thing happens with the mailman. He delivers a letter to your house, and sometimes he doesn’t know the value of the letter that he puts in your hand. The message stays’, but the messenger goes on. The big job that the Lord has is to get messengers in shape to take the message. In this book of Zechariah God gave a message to the angel and the angel delivered it. “I saw” – it is repeated over and over. He remembered a date – do you remember the date when you first listened to the Gospel? If you do, you do better than I. We know the day we were born because someone told us.

Zechariah 1:8 – “I saw by night . . . I will show thee what these be . . . these arc they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth”. The Lord showed to him His messengers. Sometimes we can see by night better than we can by day. Wasn’t that true in the case of Nicodemus? Some say that Nicodemus was an important preacher or a great man among the Pharisees and that Jesus was so humble, that he had to come by night. Others say that he was too busy to go by day. There are different ideas as to why he came by night. They say all cats look like black cats at night. But I feel that the reason Nicodemus came by night to Jesus was the same reason as you and I came – in the darkness of our soul. We couldn’t see until the glorious light of Heaven shone into our hearts. Paul was blind and became a little child. “What wilt Thou have me to do?”. That was a motto that Paul carried all the days of his life. The Lord didn’t send him to one of the apostles, but to a humble child of God. lie came and said, “Brother Saul”, he recognised that he had changed, from Saul (big) to Paul (little).

Zechariah 1:18 – “Then lifted I up mine eyes and saw, and behold four horns . . . these are the horns which have scattered . . and the Lord showed me four carpenters . . . these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns”. There are two powers that work, one for destruction and one for construction, and are still at work in the world today. The devil’s purpose is to destroy, to ruin, to tear down all that God wants to build up. We are thankful that the Lord has faithful builders. We used to sing a hymn, and I think it is coming back in the new book, “We are building day by day a temple that the world cannot see”. Noah obeyed to the letter of the word and he was 100 years in building. We are building for eternity. There was only one window in the ark – I believe God didn’t want Noah to see the death going on around him. One man was a long, long time coming to Gospel meetings, and the day came when he was finally moved. I said, “All the time you were coming you were on the outside looking in, but now you are on the inside looking out”. He said, “Never! There is nothing to look out on. I am keeping my eyes in”. Noah built the ark for the saving of a family – just one family. And when Jesus comes there will be just one family saved, and that is the family of God. God doesn’t want an organisation; He wants a family of brothers and sisters.

Solomon was a builder too. He built a house for God, according to the plan. The first twenty years of Solomon’s rule the kingdom prospered. He built two houses, one for God and one for himself, but the sad thing was he accomplished his desire after twenty years and began to go down and down until we hardly know if they were saved or not. He began to bring into the kingdom things that should never have been brought in – peacocks and monkeys – what good are they? They were just to entertain. People would like to bring things in today, just to entertain, but that is the way down.

Paul was a builder – “another foundation can no man lay than that is laid . . . every man’s work shall be made manifest”.. (1 Corinthians 3:11). In sending God’s servants two by two, people say it can’t be done now, it is out of date. They say that the bumble bee cannot fly because its wings are too short and the body too heavy and out of proportion, but the bumble bee doesn’t know anything about that so he just goes on flying around. People look us in the face and say, “You can’t do that now”, but we are still doing it. Isaiah 28:21 – “For the Lord shall rise up . . . that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act”. To the world it is strange – they cannot understand it. Acts are just what you are doing, and people don’t know how it works, they marvel at it and recognise that it is something different. One man came to convention for the first time and after he had eaten a meal, he said, “What do I owe you?” I said, “You don’t pay”. He marvelled, “You mean you are feeding that whole crowd and you don’t take any pay? Well, that is a queer thing”. He had never gone where he hadn’t had to pay.

Zechariah 2:1 – a measuring line. “And he said, Run, speak to this young man”. 1 used to think all the prophets in the Bible were old grey-haired men, but it tells us clearly, this young man. When the Lord takes a messenger, he doesn’t measure how long we have been in the way. We may have been in this way a long, long time but haven’t made much progress. He doesn’t measure our head; He measures our heart. Is your heart getting bigger or is it shrinking up? The Lord wants a hearty people, not a heady people, to be making progress, not at a stand-still. Some come into the Way and lope along, not getting very far but others come in with lots of zeal. It is good if we cut everything that holds us down. Jesus told His disciples to lose the colt. The woman who was bowed down for eighteen years – the devil had her bound so she could see nothing above, only what was around her feet. How long were you bound? Eighteen years she was bound and her vision was then lifted – she could see what she never saw before. You would know the story about the two men from the country who went to town to buy supplies. They crossed the river and tied up the row boat while they went about their business in town. But they went to the tavern and drank more than they should have, and when they got out, they hardly made it to the boat. They got in and each took an oar and rowed and rowed until they were completely worn out, and they went to sleep. In the morning they awoke – “Where are we?” They were still at the same place because they forgot to untie the rope.

The things that he saw in this chapter, the Lord wants us to see also. Maybe we won’t feel very big, but let the Lord do a work in us. “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him”. Satan never misses a meeting and never misses a chance to hinder. He goes on every bus and plane, and never has to pay either. His purpose is to resist, to hinder. Joshua had someone to defend him. “The Lord rebuke thee, 0 Satan . . . is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” We are thankful that the Lord picked us out. You remember that Abram was found in the land of Mesopotamia, the land of the Chaldeans. Genesis 11:31. If he had stayed, all that he had lived for would have been reduced to ashes. He obeyed, and the Lord blessed him and made him a blessing. 2 Samuel 6:14 When David brought the ark home he danced, but he wasn’t swinging a woman around. There was real gladness in his heart. He went to bless his home. If we could leave this place tomorrow night and bless our home, be a blessing in the church and be a blessing in the neighbourhood, this convention would not be in vain. Lot was also taken out, the Lord brought him out. Genesis 19. – that righteous soul – I suppose it was possible that the poor fellow just lost hope – such an irreligious bunch there in Sodom. But the Lord remembered him and brought him out. He didn’t have a very good finish, sad to say. Daniel was saved from the burning fire. That fire had no damage on him. This world is a fiery place. But not even a hair was singed and his clothes had no smell of fire on them.

Zechariah 3:3 – Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and stood before the angel. Isaiah 52:1 – the first garment to be put on was strength. Then the other garments follow – humility, obedience, faithfulness – these are the garments that are always in style and the things that the Lord values and appreciates. Zechariah 3:4 – “I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee and I will clothe thee with change of raiment let them set a fair mitre upon his head”. A mitre is a crown. He was a king. God wants us to have power to reign over anything that would destroy. I have a little kingdom that I need to reign over – my cars arc members of this kingdom. What was that you said? I have to reign over that! We heard this afternoon that if we can’t say anything good about someone, better not to say anything. I have eyes, too, and they need to be watched pretty closely. You may see a magazine or book – “I’ll just look at the pictures in it for a little while” – then you get your nose in it and you can hardly lay it down! 

My father was blind, and he was sorry for us boys. “When you are going past the picture theatre, you look at the signs and think how much you would like to be in there. But I can walk right by there and it doesn’t bother me at all!” My father never ceased to thank God for the day He opened his eyes. My Mum and Dad were both blind, never saw each other and never saw their children. We two boys didn’t get by with just anything we wanted. I had to pay dearly sometimes. I was coming home from school one day and there was a ball lying on the footpath. I took it home, bounced it around. Dad said, “Where did you get that ball?” “I found it.” “Where did you find it?” “It was lying out there in the street.” “Well, where?” “In front of the Thompson’s house.” He was the banker. Dad said, “Didn’t you know that was their ball?” “Yes, I suppose it was.” “Tomorrow you will take it back. You will go right to the house and say you are bringing back the ball that you stole from them last night.” I said, “But they will think I am a thief!” But I went up next day, with my feet pretty heavy. Mrs. Thompson came out, but I didn’t tell her I stole the ball. I said, “I am bringing back this ball. I picked it up and took it home last night.” She said, “Don’t you have a ball?” “No, I don’t.” “Well, for being such a good, honest boy I just want to give you this ball”. It really was mine then. I owe an awful lot to my mother and father and we owe a great deal to those that tried to put into us a fear of God even when they were in darkness themselves.

When the Gospel came it won my parents’ hearts. I hadn’t gone to the meetings but they did. That story is too long to tell here, but Mum and Dad decided and I went to that first meeting. It touched my heart, and when I heard my mother pray for me, that brought me down. I sat in the meetings and three weeks later I decided at 21 years old. The next year I went into the work. My Dad said, “Son, we will never cease to pray for you”. That’s one thing I have missed most of all now – the prayers of my parents. My brother said he would take care of them until they died and then he would go into the work, too. But Mother and Dad didn’t co-operate – they kept on living! When my brother got to 29 years old, he married, and they had a daughter, who later had three children, all professed. When I went back home in 1943 my nephew was born. He went on to do very well as a draftsman. But when we met at a convention, he wasn’t satisfied. He said, “I am still free. What would you do if you were me?” I said, “I don’t want you to have the feeling that your uncle wants you in the work. That wouldn’t last”. He said, “I will write you a letter after I pray about it’!. I still have the letter and that was twenty years ago. He thought he had some hard decisions to make, but the Lord won. “Where should I offer?” He went into the work in Illinois for about 16 years and then he came to Mexico. Today he is labouring in Mexico City, 16 million people, a tremendous field. He was there when the earthquake took those 2000 buildings down, but not one of the saints was hurt. We are thankful that the Lord is still able to send messengers out into the harvest field.

Revelation 7:13, “One of the elders answered, saying unto me, ‘What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they?’…’These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb…’”

There may be some of us here in this meeting this morning who in the last months have lost somebody who is near and dear to us, maybe a father or mother or brother or sister. The question that naturally comes to our mind at times like this is, “Where do they go when they die?” Paul made a simple but very definite statement: “We go to be with Christ which is far better.” Then the question arises, “Just where is Christ?” These verses in Revelation answer those questions. If you wonder about your loved ones and what experience they are going through and if they are conscious of where they are, the Holy Ghost has left these verses on record for us to know that they are with the Lamb who did so much for them in life, and in death, and He is continuing to do everything for them in eternity.

This book of Revelation took on a simpler meaning to me when I discovered that it is an account of the Sunday morning meeting, and, in fact, it is an account of the last Sunday morning meeting you read of in the Bible. Chapter 1:9-10, John was a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony he held. He was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day and the Lord drew near and they had sweet fellowship together. The Lord proved on this occasion that it doesn’t take a great number to make a wonderful meeting. There were only three in this meeting: the Lord and John and the servant that transferred the message. They had such a wonderful meeting that it took twenty-two chapters to describe it.

The story of the first day of the week, the story of the fellowship of God’s people of which we have been rejoicing over these days, comes to my mind as I think of this picture, because I can’t find anything in the book of Revelation but what God would be just as anxious to reveal to us when we come together every Sunday morning. Every Sunday morning is intended by God to be a fresh revelation. During the week, the world is revealed, and the devil, and all they have to offer. In order to offset that, God has planned the little fellowship meeting Sunday morning, and God gives us a fresh revelation of all He has to offer His people now and eternally.

The first thing John received in this meeting was a fresh revelation of Jesus, and then he received a fresh revelation of his own need, which drove him to his knees at the feet of Jesus. Next he received a revelation of what he could do to help his brethren. Then he received a fresh revelation of the greatness of this thing and the future of this thing and how worthwhile this thing is. He saw how kingdoms of this world would be destroyed and how there would be a new heaven and earth. There is a lot in this book that we don’t pretend to understand. There are a lot of symbols that are foreign to us. Many refer to conditions at that time and have no relation to us today; but generally speaking, we have a picture of every Sunday morning when we come together. John received one of the greatest revelations he had received of Jesus.

I’ve wondered why the Pharisees, who had absolutely nothing, had such a glorified, happy, contented feeling and the Lord’s people, who have everything, had such a needy feeling. In Luke 18, we read about the Pharisee who went up to the temple to pray. He was measuring himself by the poor victims of sin down the street. He was so thankful that he wasn’t like other men were. That’s why he felt so good and he had such a glorious feeling in himself. The reason we have such a poor and needy feeling is because we don’t measure ourselves by the poor victims down the street, but by Jesus, and we get the same feeling that overcame John on this occasion, “I fell on my face as one dead.” Anything that drives you and me to the feet of Jesus is a wonderful benefit because no one has ever perished at the feet of Jesus.

The throne is the central theme of this book; it is mentioned thirty-one times–God on the throne and the Lamb in the midst of the throne. The key to understanding the whole book is found in chapter 19:6, “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” This was after the powers had been destroyed that had been such a menace to John and others. The Lord’s people were gathered together in victory. Read chapter 11:13 often. After all was accomplished, the Lord God omnipotent was still reigning.

I can understand why God gave John the vision of the throne. There were feelings distressing him at that time. They were under an emperor who had treated the Lord’s people unmercifully. He had had John arrested and banished to the Isle of Patmos where only the worst criminals were. John could have been feeling, “What’s wrong? Is this thing going to pieces?” He’d have feelings that God has launched a program that He can’t see through; he’d feel that evil is triumphing over right; and he’d feel that, “I have given sixty years of my life to something that is going to pieces right before my eyes.” I have tried to put myself in John’s place. That is why God gave him such a glorious picture of the throne and the Lord God omnipotent on the throne. He was saying, “John, this thing isn’t going to pieces, and evil is not triumphing over right. John, this is just among the ‘all things that work together for good,’ and this is going to enrich your life and ministry. At the end of this, you will be able to prophesy again, and you will have a message that none of the kings can talk about”–that’s in chapter 10:11.

One of the reasons why I suppose it is easy for us to question things when we think things are going wrong and they don’t turn out like we expect, is that we’re looking at things from a little, limited, selfish standpoint of view, and God is looking at things from an eternal standpoint of view. Things that might seem like a disaster today often turn out to be the best thing that ever happened, in the long run. A visiting brother spoke to us along this line. He cited the captivity of Paul, and he said that you could imagine the Christians saying, “Why did the Lord let that happen to Paul? Why should a useful servant be so mistreated? Why doesn’t God do something about it?” While these saints were wondering what had gone wrong, Paul was rejoicing because things had gone right. In Philippians 1, he told them, “I want you to know that that which has happened to me has worked out for the furtherance of the gospel.” His bonds in Christ–the bond that bound him to Christ, that made him willing rather to die than to be separated from Christ–were known throughout all the palace. In what better way could God have gotten the gospel into Caesar’s palace? You don’t walk into a king’s palace, rattle a steel gate in front and say, “I want to talk to you about the truth.” Those people in the palace and some of the others around benefited from what they received from the ministry of Paul in prison. One of the nicest things about the letter to the Philippians is in the last verses, where Paul said, “All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.” That was a triumphant finish to that effort.

Oftentimes we worry at the moment, distressed because something seems to go wrong, and then we awaken to the fact that that turns out best in the long run. While Paul was in prison, he had time to write some of those most valuable letters to the Christians. Philippians is one of them. Today, hundreds of years later, you and I are being greatly enriched by those prison epistles that Paul wrote at a time when those looking on thought it was a terrible tragedy, but God proved it was something that worked out in the long run far better than we could ask or think. We are today being enriched by the letters Paul wrote at the time of his imprisonment.

Before Jesus left His disciples, He told them of things that would take place in this old world. “Men’s hearts will be failing them for fear…and when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled. These things must needs be; this is the fulfillment of the scripture.” He left them with the comfortable feeling in their heart that nothing is going to happen unless He allows it, and if He does, it will be for the good of His Kingdom and His people, and it is for the fulfillment of the scripture and that His purpose might go forward. So he said, “Don’t be troubled, even though others around you are distressed. Let others know you have a hope.”

Jesus gave that wonderful message of assurance to the disciples in Matthew 24:6, and shortly after this, Jesus found Himself before Pilate. Pilate, gloating in his power looked down and said, “Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?” Jesus looked up into the face of that foolish man and said, “You could have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from above.” Don’t fool yourself; you are not on the throne today; you are just a medium in the hand of God, bringing about the fulfillment of His will. Salvation was depending on the crucifixion. John 19:11 connects with Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” He trusts in the fact that the Lord God omnipotent is reigning; he is trusting that nothing will happen unless the Lord allows it, and if He allows it, it will be for the good of the Kingdom and His people, and for the fulfillment of the scriptures, and that His purpose might go forward.

I turn to Isaiah 26:3 when I have a tendency to get disturbed. Romans 15:4 tells us that these things that were “written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” That takes in Isaiah 26:3 and the verses of the words of Jesus, and many other forms of assurance God has given to His people. Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me.” If you look at the Bible from the right angle, and decipher it from the right viewpoint, you will get hope. That is the purpose of the Bible. Even though around us is a hopeless world and so much that is distressing, that does not leave God’s people without hope. If at any time your hope in God is shaken, or your confidence in God’s ability is shaken, go back to the scriptures.

In this book of Revelation, the throne is the central theme of the book, but the Lamb is the central figure of the book. Twenty-seven times we read of the Lamb. No portion helps me understand better all the Lamb is doing for us. There was a time when I was younger that whenever I thought of the Lamb of God, I thought of Jesus dying on the cross, but I found out there are multitudes of things God has provided for His people through the Lamb of God. When John the Baptist introduced his first disciples to Jesus, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” That was a wonderful introduction–that this atonement for sin has come–all those pictures pointing to Calvary are now being fulfilled. The next day, John and two of his disciples stood and looked upon Jesus as He walked, and John said, “Behold the Lamb of God.” He didn’t add this, but the thought in his mind was, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the confusion of the world.” The religious world was never in a worse state of confusion than when Jesus came. It was called darkness; people were sitting in darkness with no hope and without God. There is no greater darkness than the darkness of confusion. There were many movements of that day–all believing in the true God, and all reading the Bible but all getting a different meaning, and all adding to the darkness of confusion that was already in the world. While it would be a real comforting message to the disciples when John said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world,” even more it would be a comfort to know that here is the Lamb of God that taketh away the confusion of the world. Jesus could say, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” If you follow Me: I am walking that you will know how to walk. You will never have any questions or doubts and fears, or doubts about the future of this thing. Walk as I walk, and there will be no darkness there. 1 John 1:7, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

In Revelation 14:4, a good part of that great throng is rejoicing before the throne above. They are not all there. These are they that followed the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. They had never been taken up with the false brides; they had given their whole thought and time over to wholly following the Lamb. When we follow the Lamb, He is bound to lead us to the safety and fellowship at the right hand of God.

At an airport in Pakistan, we saw a planeload of Pakistanis come into the airport looking so distressed and disappointed. These people had made a pilgrimage to Mohammed’s tomb because they get a certain blessing that will carry them into the future. Their faces were saying, “Here we are following a leader, and the end of the trail is an empty tomb.” Jesus went to the tomb to prove the power of the resurrection, but His footprints took Him beyond the tomb to the throne of Heaven. If we faithfully follow the Lamb, it is going to lead us also beyond the loneliness and darkness of the tomb, to the right hand of God.

In chapter 17, we have a picture of the Lamb as our defender. The other verses speak of the Lamb as our redeemer who taketh away the sin of the world, and the example of the Lamb who taketh away the confusion of the world. Verses 13 and 14 in this chapter are the New Testament equivalent of Isaiah 40:5 where we see the nations as a drop in a bucket. These were the controlling nations of the world at that time. The Lamb overcame them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings. “If the Lord is for us, who can be against us.” I hope we will all leave here with all assurance that it doesn’t make any difference what opposition or powers are against me. Even though all is united against the Lamb and His flock with Him, the Lamb overcame them. If you just keep following the Lamb and keep in close touch and fellowship with Him, it won’t make any difference what will rise up against you in the future–you will find yourself more than conquerors through Christ. The devil is an exponent of fear. He knows that fear has torment. That is why he would put any thought in your mind of fear–fear of the future, apprehension because the future is unknown. But we can take home with us the many messages of assurance that if the Lord is with us, it won’t make any difference what is against us.

In chapter 19, we see the Lamb as our bridegroom. Verse 7, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.” Verse 6 is the verse that is the key to the meaning of the book of Revelation. As a result of that, now, verse 7, “Let us be glad…” This illustration explains what it is that holds this fellowship together. People know we are not an organization, and that we have no elected officers and no headquarters, yet we have a worldwide fellowship that is compacted together. We’re held together by love–the same love that bound the bride and Bridegroom together. It is a love that is stronger than death. Did it ever occur to you that when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, among many other things, He proved to the whole world, “I would rather die than let my church down?” He had given His life for that bride. Doesn’t that love grip you today also? Wouldn’t you rather die, wouldn’t you rather face death than to let the Lord down, and let the Lord’s people down, and His great work in the world? The love that binds us together is a love that is stronger than death. The whole way of God is a way of love. It was planned in love, it was introduced in love, it was established on the cross in love, and since then it has been held together by the fellowship of love, and one day this will terminate in the greatest love scene this world has ever known when the bride and Christ are united.

You remember the Titanic; people thought it was foolproof. The captain made a very, very foolish statement at the beginning of that voyage, “Even God Himself can’t sink this ship.” Three young Irish couples were on their honeymoon. This night, when the ship began to sink, the women and children were ordered to get into the lifeboats and the men to stand back. When the time came for these young brides to say goodbye, they couldn’t let go. They clung on, and according to the one who witnessed the scene and lived to record it, when the cold waves of the Atlantic finally hid them from view, they were still clasped in each other’s arms. That was human love that was stronger than death. We’re thankful that the bond that binds us together with Christ our heavenly bridegroom is a love that is stronger than death, holding this together and propelling it so wonderfully into the world.

In Revelation, we also have the full provision of the Lamb to meet every need within. In chapter 15, they were not only rejoicing over the fact that the Lord God omnipotent had protected them and saved them from enemies without and brought them to that rejoicing place, but He had met their every need. There had been no lack in their requirements; He took them to the end of the journey–it was all provided through the Lamb of God.

In Proverbs 30, we have the words of Agur. In verse 31, he mentions a king against whom there is no rising up, and the only king against whom there is no rising up is the king that is doing more for his people than they expect. Agur saw that the only king that fits into the picture is our King, Jesus. He is constantly loading us with benefits and doing for us far beyond what we could ask or think. When we come to the end of a convention, we don’t feel like rising up against Him, but we feel like rising up to put more into it than we ever have before.

In Revelation, we read of the great multitude of people rejoicing, and the Lamb was still in the midst of them; the Lamb that had lived for them, and the Lamb that had taken away the confusion of the world, and the Lamb that had died for them to take away the sins of the world, and the Lamb that had stood beside them to protect them from the dangers of the world–that Lamb was still with them. These verses weren’t put there to fill in space or stimulate a false hope; they are recorded by the help of the Holy Spirit so that we would have the comfort of knowing what our loved one is rejoicing in today and where they are. The Lamb is still leading them and feeding them and bringing them to the place where God Himself will wipe away all tears.

The question was asked, “Who are these…these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb?” “Tribulation” is a derivative of the word tribulam, referring to threshing wheat. It is referring to separation, experiences where God can separate the wheat from the chaff, from things we no longer need, and bring us closer to the One who has given Himself for us.

Separation is a vital part. Whenever I look upon that piece of bread on Sunday morning, I think of separation. Many kernels of wheat were separated, and as a result, it was made into a loaf and used to put us in remembrance of Him. When I partake of that, I am not only expressing a real appreciation for the One who was willing to be separated wholly to the will of God, I am also testifying to the fact that I am willing for the same separation. The Lord said, “If you are willing for that, here is the cup. This will remind you that every provision is made whereby your sins can be blotted out, and your sins are buried in the sea of forgetfulness. These around that throne had come through that avenue. They were made clean by the blood of the Lamb. The Lamb made all the provision, and He was still making provision. We hope that every Sunday morning meeting this coming year will be as beneficial as that one John had on the Isle of Patmos.

Hymn 311:

LIGHT AFTER DARKNESS

Light after darkness, Gain after loss,

Strength after weakness, Crown after cross;

Sweet after bitter, Hope after fears,

Home after wand’ring, Praise after tears.

Sheaves after sowing, Sun after rain,

Sight after myst’ry, Peace after pain;

Joy after sorrow, Calm after blast,

Rest after weariness, Sweet rest at last.

Near after distant, Gleam after gloom,

Love after loneliness, Life after tomb;

After long agony, Rapture of bliss,

Right was the pathway leading to this.

I was thinking of the work of the Spirit in Ephesians. It speaks there of the seal of the Spirit, the earnest of the Spirit, the access of the Spirit, the unity of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer and supplication of the Spirit. In each of those cases, the Spirit is spelled with a capital S referring to the Holy Spirit of God. This church was a miracle church. Paul, in writing to them, wanted to emphasize the fact that this miracle church that had come into their lives had only been possible by the Spirit, and it is so with us.

This wonderful fellowship we have been brought into can only be possible by the Holy Spirit. What is the greatest difference between our church and every other church? I used to tell people, when asked, that it was different in the Ministry, the Work, and so on, but today I tell them it is the Spirit of God given to us, a Spirit that is universally different to any spirit in any other church. The Spirit has produced this wonderful fellowship.

Isaiah 4:4, when the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgement, and by the spirit of burning. That shows us what to do. It is the secret of God’s workmanship. Philippians 2:14 says, “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. It is a willingness to do His good pleasure.” That is the secret. A minister once said, “I cannot understand it. Your people enjoy doing what we cannot force our people to do.” You cannot force anyone to do what we are doing, but God works into our hearts the willingness to do it, so we say, “I delight to do Thy will, O God.” The Spirit of judgement shows us what to do. The Spirit of burning causes a burning desire to do it. A verse says, “For in my heart there is a flame of burning love for Jesus’ name.”

Isaiah 32:15, until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Using an illustration that is easy to follow, he spoke of their lives being a waste and howling wilderness with no fruit for God, no hope, and it would remain that way until the Spirit would be poured out from on high. Then the wilderness would be a fruitful place, and as it says in verse 17, “… the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” Only the Spirit of God can bring about this change. No matter how much you cultivate your life, no change will take place until the Spirit is poured out from on high. We can look back upon the time the Spirit was poured out and changed our lonely lives into a paradise of God.

Ephesians 1:13 mentions when they heard and obeyed the Gospel, they were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. It was not in the sense of sealing an envelope, but the King’s seal stamped on a document. When people say they knew it had the approval of the king and the authority of the king behind it, His Spirit, an evidence that God has put His approval upon us, and His authority is behind us. He has sealed us by the Holy Spirit of promise. It is spoken of like that because it was promised from way back in the Old Testament.

Exodus 12 has the promises as types and shadows. On the day of Pentecost, after Calvary, God would pour out His Spirit in a dramatic manner for a special reason, and people looked forward to whom the Holy Spirit would be given, because they knew upon which ever group the Spirit was poured, that, this is the one on whom My approval is. The Holy City was in a state of excitement, the temple filled to overflowing, and they thought, “It is upon us that God will pour out His approval. We have cut off ourselves from the old synagogue, and so on.” And the Pharisees and Sadducees felt the same way.

When this day of Pentecost was fully come, there was excitement and expectancy, but the Lord caused the Spirit to come like a hurricane, a rushing, mighty wind. They could hear it a long while before it came, and after it passed over the heads in the temple, and over the heads of the 480 synagogues in the city, and left them stunned. It stayed over the home where the disciples were having their Sunday morning meeting. It was 9:00 a.m. It filled the house, giving evidence to those on the inside, and then on the outside, that, “These are the people, and this is the way, that I have poured out My seal of approval on.” It was not only the way in which they were worshipping, but He also placed the seal of approval upon the day on which they were worshipping.

Pentecost was the fiftieth day, pente means fifty. When the first sheaves were being gathered, they were to be brought seven Sabbaths after – that is forty-nine days, and then the first day after the seventh sabbath, which would be the fiftieth day and also the first day of the week, Sunday morning, on that day of Pentecost. Over in our part of the world, we have a number of Sabbath keepers who feel they could not be right unless they keep the Jewish Sabbath. We show them Acts 2 where God put His seal of approval on it, not only on the way, but also on the day.

Joel prophesied this and referred to it as the great and terrible day of the LORD. Peter, at Pentecost, referred to the great and notable day of the Lord. I don’t think he was making a misquotation. To the Jewish world that day, it was a great and terrible day, a great day because God acted but terrible to them. It was a sudden awakening to the realization of the fact that all our service, education, ceremonies, and religiosity was outside the will of God, and God revealed it to them so dramatically. To the Lord’s people, that day was a great and notable day in which God proved in the eyes of the whole world, that it is upon this way and this day that His approval was being poured out.

Today we can look back upon the great and notable day in our experiences, the day we obeyed the Gospel and God sealed us with that Holy Spirit of promise. 17th June, 1917 is the great and notable day in my life, because it was 3:30 in the afternoon that day that I stood to my feet, and indicated by my words that I was willing now to completely submit, and was conscious God had sealed me with His Holy Spirit of promise. Every child of God who obeys the Gospel, God gives to them the Holy Ghost, and those who are naming the name of Christ and walking in fellowship with Him, can look back on that great and notable day in their lives.

The Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance. I would like to help you appreciate the vastness and greatness of this, into which we have been called. Ephesians 2:7, “That in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace… through Christ Jesus.” It will take all the ages to come, all eternity, for God to show us the extent of the inheritance He has provided for us. What we have received through the Spirit is just like a down payment. This thing is so great and so vast, it will take all eternity to enjoy the full benefit of it.

Joshua, coming to the end of his life, said, “I go this day, the way of all the earth… not one thing has failed of all the good things God spake, all are come to pass.” This man had been walking with God for sixty-four years then, entering deeper and deeper into the will of God, having fellowship with God, and enjoying the provision He had given him. This is the testimony of a child of God, one who gave God a chance. Joshua 24:30, says, “They buried him in the border of his inheritance.” Think of it, sixty-four years walking with God, entering deeper and deeper into His inheritance, and everything God had promised had come to pass, yet he died just inside the border of His inheritance.

No matter how long, or how much you enjoy your inheritance, it is so vast, that when you die, you will just be inside the border, and it will take all of eternity to enjoy the rest of it. The place where Joshua was buried means, a portion of the remainder. For sixty-four years he had been enjoying a portion, but it will take all eternity to enjoy the remainder. We feel it is the most wonderful thing in all the world, but we are just inside the border.

There are some exceeding things Paul mentions in this letter. 1:19 speaks of the exceeding greatness of His power on our behalf. 3:20 speaks of the exceeding satisfaction He has given us. 2:7 is the exceeding future God has planned for us. 1:7 tells that what we are now receiving is through the riches of His grace. 2:7 speaks of what we have to enjoy in eternity that is the result of the exceeding riches of his grace, exceeding power, satisfaction, and hope as we look into the future. This word exceeding does not suggest it exceeds anything the world has to offer, because the world cannot come within a million miles of what we are enjoying today. This is something that has exceeded our wildest expectations. You are in the only fellowship in the world that turned out to be true, away beyond anything we expected it to be. So what we are enjoying in this lives experience exceeds everything God promised, away beyond the promises He has given us in His Word, but great and all as it is, it is just the earnest of our inheritance.

Ephesians 2:18, “For through Him, we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” That is for both Jew and Gentile. Access is something like a pass. When I was working for a company on the night shift, I had to have a pass to get in. The guard would talk to us through the door. He didn’t ask who we were, or what we were, but it was, “Where’s your pass?” That got us in. This Spirit is just like that. It gives you and me access into the very presence of our Father, and it is for as many times a day as we feel our need of it.

It is good to make a study of the things mentioned in the Bible that are only found in His presence. To Moses, God said, “My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest.” That rest is found no place else, except in the presence of God. We read also, “In Thy presence is fullness of joy.” Those of you who exhausted the resources of this world before you met the Truth, you only found it in the Lord. We read in Acts 3:19 of the times of refreshing that come from the presence of the Lord. There was the angel of the Lord who helped some in their need. The only ones who have access to the Lord are the ones who have His Holy Spirit. It not only gives us access and the privilege of entering into His presence in times of need, but the Spirit also helps us to enter into His presence and quietly enjoy His fellowship. There have been times when I have gone into the room and have got down on my knees to pray. I was not desperately in need at the time but I wanted to have close communion with God. I never said a word, nor was one spoken to me, but I was very conscious of the Lord’s presence drawing near. The greatest tragedy that could ever happen to me would be if I should fail to make use of this access.

Hebrews 10:19, “Having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” This is made possible, our privilege of entering into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Think of the price God has paid for us to have this privilege. Ephesians 4:3, “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Verse 13, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith.” The reason Paul emphasized these things in his letter is because this church was a wonderful example of the unity that only the Spirit of God can bring about. Some were Jews, some Gentiles, and there had been a middle wall of partition between them, the greatest wall of hatred that ever divided nations, but the coming of the Gospel broke down that middle wall of partition and made themselves of twain, one new man. That was the miracle of unity that only the Holy Spirit could bring about, working through the medium of the Gospel, enjoying it and giving a wonderful demonstration to the people of the world of how God can take people of a different background and make them one in Christ.

This word together occurs seven times in this letter, and it explains the miracle that had taken place. He is calling us together, giving us the same life, raising us up together with the same power, sitting together in Heavenly places, a little foretaste of Heaven. The building is fitly framed together, growing unto a holy temple in the Lord, like a body. 1:10 speaks of being gathered together, which will be like a family reunion.

Ephesians 3:15 mentions how this family of God is divided today, the only division we have among us. Some members have already gone on to be with Christ, which is far better, and the rest of us are remaining for our turn to come. Some like myself, who may in recent months had a loved one taken from you, have rejoiced that that one is with Christ, which is far better but it does not offset the loneliness you have in your home and heart. The only thing I don’t like about Convention is the parting. We have had days of Heavenly fellowship together; our hearts become knit together and we enjoy the blessing, but then the goodbyes are said, and as you look on some faces, you know that this is the last time we shall be on earth together. Let us all look forward to our inheritance.

We want to speak a little about convention being like spring cleaning. When we give our heart to God, we become God’s house. God wants a clean house. He is the owner and the Master and we are just the housekeeper. The housekeeper does some cleaning every day, but once a year a thorough cleaning. Every corner and every cupboard is looked into. It is a time to sort things out.

It is going to be like that at these meetings. We are going to see into every corner of our hearts and lives. And what are we going to do? Just put everything back where it was? No, we will sort it out and what we want and need and can use we will keep it. And what we see is of no value, we will just throw it out. Sometimes we are inclined to just keep a lot of rubbish. It is good if we are going to want now what we will need and want in eternity. Now is the time to put those things in our hearts. And the things we won’t need in eternity, now is the time to get rid of them.

What are we going to want? We are going to want a spirit that God can take to His eternal Home. We need God’s help to work at this. God cannot take a defiled spirit to His Home. Paul wrote about three important things. He spoke about faith, hope, and love. We badly need faith now. And we badly need hope now. And we badly need love now. Because faith sees. Hope has patience to wait. And love pays the price to obtain what is needed. Paul also said, “Love is the greatest.” I think this might be because we are going to need love all through eternity. We will already have obtained what we believed in. And we will already have what we had hoped for. But I have the feeling that in that fellowship all through eternity we are going to need love. So these are some of the things, the furnishings we need in our house.

Spring cleaning time is also the time for repairs. If we see something wearing out, we mend it or fix it before a greater calamity happens. Do you have termites in this country? In Hong Kong, we used to have a problem with those white ants. They don’t work out in the open where you can see them. They eat away quietly and unseen. But they sometimes cause disaster. We lived in a little old batch one time and, one day, I went to open one of the doors and it fell off! The white ants had been working inside the frame. And it looked all right on the outside but it was empty inside and it could not hold the screws that held the hinges together. Those ants are just little things. Wouldn’t it be terrible if we were allowing some little things in the dark corners of our hearts, working and robbing us? The only remedy for that problem was to check often. That is what we need to do, too, in the dark corners of our hearts.

One of our friends had been doing some housecleaning and had used some rags with oil to clean and oil the floor. Instead of washing the rags or throwing it away, they dumped it in a can in the broom cupboard. They didn’t use it, and one day they saw smoke coming out of the broom cupboard. That oil had a combustible tendency and it was smoldering away until suddenly it burst into flames. There are things that could be like that, also, in our hearts. Maybe some jealousy, or some self-pity, or unforgiveness, or wrong motives. It might be out of sight for a long time but when conditions are just right, it is apt to just burst out. So these kind of things we don’t want to put into the darkness of the broom cupboard, we want to get rid of it early.

Then it is a time to do some fresh decorating. Peter spoke about the beautiful adornment. He said a meek and quiet spirit was of great price to God. A few years ago, a young brother was telling me how he admired his grandmother’s gentleness. It helped me to understand why that young brother had that beautiful gentleness in his life. He was admiring it in his grandmother and, if we see some beautiful marks that are adorning others, we admire it and we want to acquire them.

Revelations 21, John was seeing some things God wanted to show him. Verse 2, “This holy city was the people of God.” A city has many homes. In verse 9, “I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” He carried him up into a mountain and let him see this great city coming down. This is God’s people – all those homes for God. Then there are some of the ornaments in the 11th verse, “…the glory of God…a stone most precious… clear as crystal.” Three things. The glory of God in us is just the evidence of His hand having worked in our lives. And the light of any life is their testimony. He said, “It was as clear as crystal.” No black spots. Nothing covered up. And in 12th, “A great wall.” That beautiful separation from all that is unpleasing to God.

In verse 15, he speaks about this angel that was with him having a golden reed to measure this city. Gold in the bible is typical of what is divine. Jesus is that divine standard. That is what we will be measured by. We won’t be measured by our own opinions. We won’t be measured by the world’s standards. God gives the divine standard, the golden reed. And in verse 18, the city was pure gold. It is just the divine that is going back to God to have a part in that divine city. Now is the time to have that work accomplished that will make us a clean and ready house for that city.

My thoughts have been regarding foundations. Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.’” I Timothy 6:19, “Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” I want to mention three foundations: the foundation of love, the foundation of faith and the foundation of conviction.

Before I mention those, I want to tell you one of the reasons I have been thinking about foundations is that after a Gospel meeting, one of our friends went to knock on a door of a home. I don’t know why they would do such a thing, it was dark and there were no lights on in the house. Anyway, a woman came to the door and she had been weeping. She excused herself and poured out her heart. She said, “For thirty years, I have belonged to the Salvation Army and now the foundations are destroyed. I have been an officer in the church and put my heart and soul into this.” All she could do was sit and weep. She said that for every dollar donated to the Salvation Army, it used to be that eighty cents went to others and twenty cents went to the church; now it’s in reverse, eighty cents goes to the church and twenty cents goes to others. I’m sure it’s changed even more since that conversation. Then, last night, two brothers stood up here on this platform and both of them mentioned the year 1919 as the year the Gospel came to their part of the country. I asked one of them with whom I’m bunking, “You heard the Gospel in 1919?” He said, “That is so.” I said, “Has there any teaching or doctrine changed since that time?” Instantly, he answered me, “Not one bit.” I cannot tell you personally what it means to me to be in this convention and realize that we have a foundation, a sure corner stone that’s founded on Christ and it never will change. The Holy Spirit is giving us the same teachings as those two men heard first in 1919. The foundation is not found in the people, it’s in the Son of God.

Another reason I have been thinking about foundations is that something that happened on one of the convention grounds. One day, the wallpaper tore and then a little while later, the stairs shifted. The owners said, “Well, looks like we need to get some new wallpaper and need to shim up the stairs.” Someone else came along and said, “I don’t think you have a surface problem; it’s a little deeper than that, the problem is in the foundation.” One of the friends dug under the house and he said, “The beams that are there have been rotting and that’s why the wallpaper tore and that’s why the stairs have been settling.” A person could put more wallpaper on the wall and shim up the stairs but that’s not the problem or the cause. You will only deal with the result by doing those things. I’ve also been thinking about the foundation in my own life. The foundation of Christ doesn’t need any repairs or alterations, it’s pure, it’s solid and it’s true. Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever and we don’t even need to discuss that. That which we have founded our faith on will never change, but there’s a problem with our foundation.

I’ve been thinking about the foundation of love in connection with John 21. Jesus was dead and Peter said, “I go fishing.” Six of those men followed him. In a workers’ meeting on the West Coast, someone got up and she said, “I must be true, because there are those that trust me.” Children are watching and they are looking and they will follow you. Anyway, these six men followed Peter’s example. There was a little problem this day with the foundation of their love; it needed some repairs. So, they went out fishing. The experience may not be important for what it is, but see what it produces? They went fishing on a common day and on a common sea and it looked like a very unimportant experience, but it was a very vital experience.

In Isaiah 65 we read about a little cluster of grapes and we are told “…Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it…” (verse 8) Every experience we go through, there’s a blessing in it somewhere. Even the worst experience of our life might turn out to be the best experience of our life, if we take it right. Sometimes identical experiences can produce opposite results, just according to our reaction. That’s the important thing, our reaction. These men went fishing and they fished all night and they caught nothing. Have you ever had an empty net? It’s hard to admit you have an empty net; I have learned a lot from one, though. When there’s no result from our efforts, it’s hard to realize the problem is at a lower level. These men hadn’t depended on Jesus as they should have. The fishermen on the coast know what they are doing. When the net is on the right side of the boat, it belongs there and you couldn’t talk those fishermen into putting it somewhere else. Reasoning would cause these seven men to say, “That’s where the net belongs,” and yet all they had was empty nets. The next morning, a Voice came from the shore. One thing that touches my own heart is the fact that the Lord is closer to us than we are aware of.

The Lord was on the shore; He had a fire, and He had been tending that fire and they didn’t even know it. That fire had burned long enough to burn into coals. We read in the Bible that, “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out:…” (Proverbs 26:20) If you feed the right kind of fire, it will burn. If you starve the right kind of fire, it will go out. It doesn’t take much neglect and fire will go out. We were in a home not long ago where the temperatures are still getting to zero these days. The woman of that home was constantly tending her fire. She had plenty of wood and that fire kept burning to keep the house warm. Sometimes there’s plenty of wood and still the fire goes out. Timothy was told, “…stir up the gift of God…” God gave you a fire and you must keep that fire burning. When the fire is out, all we have is a fire that used to be burning. There are some empty seats here today and maybe the reason is because some neglected the fire. The fire needs to be attended to every day.

There are four words found in connection with the tabernacle service of the Old Testament: daily, continually, perpetually, and always. Something was always happening inside that tabernacle. Every morning and every evening, there was a sacrifice. On the inside, there was continual prayer, perpetual incense, and there was always a light burning, continual, perpetual, and always. Daily, there must be something take place between ourselves and God so we can have an act of God upon our tabernacle. There was fresh bread in that tabernacle and prayer was always taking place. There was no fire there, they had to go out in the court and get the fire from off the altar. If there was a living sacrifice on the altar, they would scoop up the coals and put four dry ingredients, myrrh, sweet cinnamon, sweet calamus, and cassia, on that fire and the smoke arose to God. When there was a right attitude, there was a living sacrifice. There were four little horns on that altar and the blood was there, too. If it wasn’t for the blood of Christ, we couldn’t pray in our own name. We couldn’t even think about praying in our own name. It’s the Lamb of God that makes it possible to continue every day. One thing about the candlestick is that it is a picture of the church. That candlestick had one shaft and six branches. There was a bud on the shaft, then a blossom and then an almond and that almond had an oil that gave light. It would be nice to leave here with a bud of fresh purpose that’s never been there before. We want to protect and preserve that bud on the shaft. A bit higher there’s a blossom, a continuity of purpose.

Finally, there’s an almond and that would speak of fruitfulness from all the seeds and planting having taken place in this convention. A seed is easy to be despised. Willie Jamieson told us about being in the prison camp in the Philippines. As they were taken in to that camp, they were handed a packet of seeds. It was easy for those men to despise those seeds and think, “The American troops will be back in a few days to rescue us, so why do we need to bother with these seeds?” Anyway, Uncle Willie decided, “I think I will plant them.” (We get seeds at convention and we can plant them.) Others scoffed when he planted his seeds, but they didn’t laugh in the day of harvest when men were dying from starvation and Uncle Willie could pick fruit and he could feed on it when others that had despised their packet of seeds had nothing. In the day when Christ returns, there won’t be any criticism then for the precious seed that’s being sown these days by the servants of God. Some these days might listen and criticize, but in the Day of Judgment they won’t laugh. The seed will be precious then.

So, these disciples went fishing and the Voice said to them, “…Cast the net on the right side…” (John 21:6) That’s contrary to fisherman’s logic; it would be easier to move the boat instead of moving the net. Besides, if there’s fish on this side of the boat, why wouldn’t there be fish on that side of the boat? This Voice said, “Take the net, pull it in, cast it on the other side of the boat”; or, “Do something as simple as obeying.” They did it and the net was full. I’m thankful in this fellowship of Christ we don’t have to wait to the end of life to find out if our faith is right or not. We don’t have to think, “I just hope that at the end of my days, all will be well with me because of what I’ve lived for.” There were some Catholic monks interviewed. (They are the most religious part of the church, some of those monks chant things over and over, up to twenty thousand times a day.) Anyway, they were asked, “Do you believe there’s a God?” They answered, “We don’t know.” They were asked, “Do you believe there is life after death?” They answered, “We hope there is.” They had no answer and didn’t know if there was a God or not. I would like to mention that we can prove something to ourselves during our lifetime and we don’t have to wait until the end of life. The way we can do this is when the Lord says, “Cast on this side, put the net over here and you will find,” and we find ourselves thinking, “It’s not convenient. It’s a lot of bother and it’s a lot of work.” If we will just do that, we will pull up like the disciples a great net full. When we do that, no more faith is needed in that experience.

Jesus came to the blind man and anointed his eyes with clay and told him to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash. It’s not hard to wash, but here’s what you must conquer, thoughts like, “Has anyone ever washed in the Pool of Siloam and came seeing?” The answer will come, “No.” Then, the thought comes, “Has any miracle ever been done there?’ The answer will come again, “No.” Our part is to go and wash. The Bible tells us not to tempt God, but the Lord does invite us to prove Him. In Malachi, we’re told the Lord poured out a blessing and there wasn’t room to contain it.. How do we prove Him? Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. The blind man would have had to ask someone, “Will you lead me to the Pool?” because he wouldn’t have known where it was. Then, when they took him there, he would have had to make sure, “Is this really the Pool of Siloam?” and to be assured that it really was. Well, then he would have dipped his hand in the water and, sure enough, nothing happened; but as soon as he would have taken that water and washed his eyes, instantly, he was seeing! The miracle is on the other side of obedience. As soon as we take the step in faith, we have proof and we don’t have to go through life wondering if this is the true Gospel and doctrine of Christ and way of Christ. We are sure this is the foundation of God.

Remember the time when Naaman came to Elisha because he was stricken with leprosy? He was the general for the Syrian Army and he just knew everyone would be impressed with the healing process that Elisha would go through for him. But Elisha never even came out to say hello or talk to him, he sent his servant out with the message, “…Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” (II Kings 5:10) Right away, the man said, “Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean?…” (verse 12) Besides, he had some more thoughts on the matter, “…I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.” (verse 11) He was angry! If you ever feel a spirit of “Why not?” coming to you, that’s not the right spirit. I suppose it’s common after being in a rage, to ask what to do and Naaman wasn’t any different. His servants said to him, “…if the prophet had bid thee do some great. thing, wouldest thou not have done it?…” (verse 13) Maybe the test isn’t doing a big thing or not doing anything at all, maybe the test is to be willing to do a little thing. “…I do the little I can do, And leave the rest to Thee.” (Hymn 234) That opens the door for miracles. The Lord doesn’t expect us to do miracles. None of those listed in Hebrews 11 did a miracle. They just went as far as the miracle and then God did the miracle. So, Naaman conquered his pride and his independence and his selfishness, and then, after the experience, he could say, “…now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel…” (verse 15) He didn’t need any more faith for the experience. We take the steps that the Lord asks and then we have results and that’s our proof. There’s more proof waiting for us but it’s on the other side of obedience. When we take steps, we will know and then no one can take that knowledge from us.

My companion belonged to a certain church before professing and he said that when he was teaching Sunday School, he never had the feeling of assurance he wished he had. He said, “I just did what they told me. Now, how come as I ride in the car as a preacher of the Gospel, I know that I know?” Why did he know that he knew? He had taken steps and he had received. If we sin and come to repentance, then we sin again and come back to repentance again and we do this over and over, we aren’t getting anywhere. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if when we sin, we go on to repentance and then on to blessing? “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich,…” Blessing is on the other side of obedience. Hearts will be full and then hearts can rejoice. The Lord poured out the blessing. There’s a difference between something poured and something spilled. When something is poured, it’s controlled. We’re sorry to say there are so many spilled lives. A young man twenty seven years of age said to us after several Gospel meetings, “I know this is right, but right now I have a business and I am not ready yet.” Someone invited him to convention and he said, “I would like to go, but I’m not ready yet.” He was telling God, “I am not ready yet.” We stood by his open casket a while later. Something happened he hadn’t planned on; some plumbing caved in and in a half second, he was in eternity. His girlfriend stood there by his open grave and said, “My boyfriend told me this is the Truth. He said he wasn’t ready yet.” There she stood two feet from his open grave telling us that. That was a few years ago and she’s still not ready yet. Life is given to us to get ready; that’s what life is for. We are glad for conventions helping us to get ready. The Lord can do something permanent in our soul, if we’re willing to let Him.

I can’t tell you all about this story, there’s lots of things I don’t know about it. I don’t know where Jesus got this bread; maybe He baked it, maybe He bought it. I don’t know where the fish came from either; but I do know this, you don’t get something for nothing. When Jesus had fish or bread, He didn’t get that for nothing. He had bread, fish, and a fire and He was waiting for them, laboring for them, because He loved them. Little do we know the personal labor of God toward us. I was cheered by that story of Joseph. It was a personal coat that his father made him; that coat wasn’t made for anyone else. Can you picture his father coming to measure him, measuring him across the shoulders, maybe the length of him, and then he went away to put together a coat for Joseph. I don’t know if it took him a day or a long time, but Joseph could be sure all that labor was just for him. The father was doing that just for him. One day after the father labored for a long time, the father called him and you know what Joseph said? “Here am I.” When the Father sacrifices and labors for us, do we respond, “Here am I?” The Father is making a garment of righteousness for us. We have no idea all the labor of love that’s going on just for us.

In Hosea 11:4 we read about some bands of love. “I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love…” When I was coming to meetings like this one time, a servant of God put some bands of love on me. I wasn’t going to profess. I was going to get out of school first and then I had some other things I wanted to do, but a brother wrote a letter to me and he put a band of love on me. A cousin of mine that I admired knew I hadn’t made my choice yet and he asked me if I would like to ride with him. After we were in the car, he said to me, “I’ve never done this before, but I was just wondering why you are yet outside.” That was another little band of love put around me. Jesus was putting bands of love around each one whose feet He washed that day. He knew, “These feet will be going out and getting martyred for Me.” Those disciples walked over dusty roads to preach the Gospel and they were hated and despised. Peter was, according to history crucified and nearly every one of those twelve men were put to death for the Gospel’s sake. Jesus knew, “These men are going to die for My sake.” He put another band of love around them. I feel a convention like this puts bands of love around us from the Lord Himself.

What would you say to a false prophet if he came to you? One day, a false preacher came to Jesus and Jesus could have said, “You are destroying men’s souls because you don’t have the correct doctrine;” but He didn’t. He just put a band of love around him. It says when the ruler of the synagogue was coming, “.. Jesus beholding him loved him….” (Mark 10:21) My foundation of love might need some repairs. If you love those that love you, that’s no different than the publicans. They loved to love those that loved them. The Pharisees loved the chief seats of the synagogues and loved to be called Rabbi. Those things appeal to the flesh. Human love is to love one person or one family, your family; but here’s the love of God: “…God so loved the world,…” (John 3:16) That’s not publican love, that’s not Pharisee love and that’s not human love, it’s the love of God and the love of God is to love the whole world. I asked an older brother one time, “Why did Jesus choose Judas? He knew he was going to betray Him?” He said, “Well, I have the feeling that the reason Jesus chose Judas, (it was really God’s choice, of course) was to show us and give us an example of how to love our enemies.” It says Jesus loved him to the end. He took the bread and dipped it in wine and told him, “…That thou doest, do quickly.” (John 13:27) Judas went out and it was night. Jesus still loved Judas with all His heart. We can put bands around our neighbors, but can you love them? Can you show kindness to them? If you can, then you are in a position to invite them to Gospel meetings when the time comes. You have put bands of love around them and it makes it a little easier to invite them to the Gospel story.

So, when the net was full, Jesus said, “…Bring of the fish which ye now have caught.” (John 21:10) The net wasn’t full because of their efforts. When they got to shore, He set before them bread and fish. This is what I like very much and it applies to me. Jesus said, “…Simon…” (verse 15) Have you ever had your mother call you by your first name? Has she ever called you by your first and second names? Then, has she ever called you by your first name and your second name and your third name? Jesus said, “…Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?…” (verse 15) But, you know, Peter never answered Jesus’ question. He answered, “…Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love thee…” (verse 16) You know, I’ve found that in convention, it’s easy to be general and say, “I love you,” and not get down to the foundation. The Lord didn’t ask him if he loved Him, He asked him, “…lovest thou Me more than these?…” Is it a person, is it a place, or is it a thing that is causing us the problem? We need repairs on the foundation of our love in the kingdom of God.

In Seattle, we enjoy driving past a seventy-six story building. I was so interested in that foundation that I just had to stop and see about it. When I went to the construction site, I saw a hole one hundred feet deep. Why so deep? Because the first thing they did in the construction of that huge building was to go down to the bedrock. That’s number one. I was standing there one day and a man walked up and began taking pictures. We said to him, “Are you a photographer?” He said, “No, I own this building.” He was spending three hundred and one third million dollars for that building and he was taking pictures to make sure the foundation was right. There wasn’t only concrete went in that hole, but they went under some of the other buildings around that site and poured concrete under those buildings, too. They wanted this building to stand sure on that foundation. They also wanted it to stand the test of time. They put earthquake plates under the whole building. They hope that when the earthquake comes, the whole seventy-six stories will shift as one because it’s anchored to withstand any kind of storm. When the convention is over, the storms will come. What a wonderful feeling when the storm is coming, because of our repairs on the foundation of our love, that there won’t be any damage when the storm is over. Three times Jesus talked to Peter about his love. The third time Peter was grieved; it’s hard to admit there’s some problem on the inside.

Something happened recently. An eleven year old boy came to our Gospel meetings and professed on Sunday night. Derek lives with his father not professing and his mother that is professing. His father is a coach. On Wednesday, three days after Derek professed on Sunday, his father was taking Derek and several other boys to have their picture taken with some famous player after a basketball game to which they all had free tickets. It was the highlight of these boys’ life. Well, Derek professed on Sunday and this all was going to happen on Wednesday after supper. He and his dad were going off to the game and his mother off to meeting. Well, Derek had professed on Sunday and just before he and his father left to go to the game and his mother left to go to meeting, little Derek went off to his bedroom for a little bit. When he came back out, with tears streaming down his face, he said, “Dad I want to go to the Bible study tonight.” His father was so shocked, he said, “Well, son, I am proud of you and I won’t go to the game, either.” That’s loving God and having convictions. Just three days, this seed had been growing and yet it overcame the thing the flesh wanted more than anything else in life. That little seed wanted to go to meeting.

I might mention about Jesus. Did Jesus have a struggle or was everything automatic? He said in the Garden, “…the Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) How did Jesus know the flesh was weak? Because He had the flesh and He had flesh that was weak. Little Derek’s flesh was weak, too. It says of Jesus, “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren,…” (Hebrews 2:17) Today we rejoice that Jesus had our nature. He is just like we are and was tempted like we are, yet without sin. He had weak flesh. Jesus washed those disciples’ feet with weak flesh. You can just plan on weak flesh because it’s all we are ever going to have. Flesh doesn’t want to pray, flesh doesn’t want to go to meeting, flesh doesn’t want to read the Bible; it’s just weak flesh. Jesus conquered all His experiences with weak flesh. We are going out from this convention with weak flesh, and we’re going to face the world, the flesh and the devil not with weak flesh, but with the power of God and His Holy Spirit to help us to be victors. “…Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me…?”

Now, we need to hurry on to the foundation of faith. In Job, there are a couple of things mentioned about the foundation of faith. One of the reasons I have been thinking about this foundation of faith is that I’ve been looking at my own foundation. We can’t make any repairs to the foundation of faith during a storm, so we need to make these repairs while we are at convention (the place of no storms) and then when we leave we will be ready to face the storms. Job faced these tests and storms. The first test for him was the test of his wealth. How many can handle wealth in the first place? He not only handled wealth but he handled the loss of wealth and kept his balance. The next storm he faced was poverty. In Proverbs it tells us, “…give me neither poverty nor riches;…” (chapter 30:8) Job had both and he kept his balance. Then came the test of bereavement. Some of you in this place might have lost a child, I don’t understand that at all, because I’ve never had a child to lose; but I do understand this, it’s a great, great loss. Now here’s Job and he lost all ten of his children at one time. Do you know what he said, “God maketh my heart soft,…” (chapter 23:16) He lost his health, he lost his wealth he lost his children and then he had another test to face, he lived in a divided home. After this test of bereavement, all his friends were against him.

But the next test, the last one, was the worst one, because he said, “God has forsaken me.” That was the test of his imagination. His imagination said, “I have gone too far and now it’s hopeless. It’s too much, because God himself has forsaken me.” But Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him…” (chapter 13:15) Right on the front row at a convention in Idaho sat a father and mother with their own children and several that were adopted. During one meeting, someone came in and asked the father to come out. Pretty soon, someone came in and got the mother and then the mother came to get the children. We learned that their whole house had burned to the ground and even those adopted children lost everything. There was nothing left but ashes. They missed one meeting because of having to go take care of insurance and things. They were back the next meeting and the mother gave her testimony. I wondered what she would say, but she didn’t even mention the house and the fire. She said, “I am so thankful for the precious Gospel of Christ.” What a foundation! That was a foundation of faith that will take a storm. Will our foundation take criticism or correction? Can it handle responsibility or privileges?

On the convention grounds, something happened. There’s a high building, thirty feet high, where the sister workers sleep and sometimes there’s too many of them to sleep there. So, someone decided to put a floor half way up in that building to make some more room. The discussion came up regarding the floor. Someone asked the question and I hope I never forget it until the day I die. “I like your idea, but I have one question, will the foundation support the added weight?” I don’t know about our foundation; can it support a test? Can it support a test we have never had before? Can it support a privilege we have never had before? Can it stand under criticism we have never heard before? Can it stand the test of whatever comes along? Can we handle that? Will our foundation support more of the work of God? Well, some men dug down in the dirt around the foundation of this building on the convention ground. It was a dirty job and everybody just wanted to do it and then forget about it. The answer came, “The building is sagging and repairs are needed.” When the Lord said to Peter, “Feed my lambs and feed my sheep,” that was added weight on Peter’s foundation, but we read that he withstood it. In 1 Corinthians 14 we read the word “edify.” In its original form “edify” means “house building.” When we come to Sunday morning meeting, everyone brings materials for house building or for edifying one another. You can be a feeder. Someone asked a shepherd one time, “Why aren’t your sheep fenced in? We haven’t seen any sheep that are fenced in around here.” He said, “I’m not going to put fences around my sheep or my pastures, because my sheep aren’t interested in leaving the pasture I’ve provided.” Peter was told, “Feed my lambs and feed my sheep,” and he fed them with good pasture the rest of his days.

One time, I was visiting some friends that had sheep and I asked them before going to bed that night, “What time do the sheep get up?” I went out earlier than they had said, because I just wanted to see what time those sheep really got up. I went out while it was still very dark and those sheep weren’t up yet. Pretty soon, just at the crack of light in the sky, a ewe came out of the shed. I thought to myself, “What’s she thinking?” Maybe her thoughts go like this, “I must eat this stuff for survival, but I’m sure tired of this same old pasture.” No, the first ewe came from the barn and she was running! She came running out of that shed and was quickly taking bites of the green grass as she ran. She was acting like she had never seen that pasture before in her life and that was what she fed on every day of her life. It was the same pasture she’d been feeding on for years! All the rest of the sheep came running out of that shed, too, snatching bites of grass like they had never had anything to eat before in their life.

The trials of life cause us to thank God and take courage. Job kept true in the storm because Job had an anchor. He had an anchor and he was faithful. Every morning, he offered sacrifice for his children. He was a better father than he was a farmer and he was a good farmer. Satan said, “Give him to me and I will destroy his faith.” Here we have just finished a year and Satan has done everything he could do this year to destroy our faith and he has failed. We are here and we are singing a song of rejoicing. Zephaniah 3:17 tells us, “The Lord thy God…will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.” God was singing because of His people. We can live to bring joy to the heart of God. Satan said, “Give him to me and I will destroy him.” The Lord said, “No, you can’t destroy him.” The Lord put more weight on Job’s foundation so He could help him. The picture in the end was humbling. He never told Job to pray for his brothers. He knew Job would pray for them. As soon as he prayed for them, God turned his affliction.

In Judges 11 we can read about the foundation of conviction. I was wondering one time why Jephthah was listed in Hebrews 11. I believe it was because of his conviction. His brothers told him, “…Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.” (verse 2) and rejected him, so he left. Isaiah 45:3, “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,…” Take that verse with you. There are treasures even in darkness. Jephthah’s brothers told him to leave because they hated him and they cast him out. One day they came back to him and said, “Would you help us?” (verse 6) In his heart, his flesh would have said, “Retaliate now! Get back at them while you can.” But he had a conviction and that was, “I will forgive them.” I would like to share this because I want to learn it myself. When this man Jephthah faced a storm, he did something I want to learn. He invested in that struggle and he secured the victory before the battle ever took place. That’s the secret of Jesus’ life. He prepared before an experience so He didn’t have to repent after the experience. Jephthah said, “.. If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” (verses 30-31) Here’s something interesting and it tells us what kind of enemy we are dealing with.

The children of Israel had victory and had possessed this land for three hundred years and then the enemy, the children of Lot, came and said, “Give us back our land.” The enemy won’t be satisfied with the one victory; we must invest again for another conviction, for another blessing and then another privilege. Three hundred years later, they wanted their land back and were told, “You can’t have it.” Jephthah said, “You can’t have it.” He secured the victory and he was singing and rejoicing in that, but his flesh would have been saying, “You have victory now, just forget all about that vow you made.” But no, when he came back in victory, he remembered his vow. “And Jephthah came to Hizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her, he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.’” (verses 34-35) His conviction! You know what he did? He kept his vow.

There was a father one time who took his little daughter every night with him to the bedroom in order to teach her how to pray. You know where she is today? She’s preaching the Gospel in the country of Sweden. The foundation of her conviction has grown. “…I cannot go back.” I hope we have that conviction and I hope we won’t go back.

I want to make the necessary repairs on my foundation so I could have the blessing of God.

Esther 1:3-4, “In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him; When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.” 180 days, the greatest kingdom of earth naturally speaking. This king had so much to show them, and it took about six months. But at the end of that time he had no more power and wealth to show. But we have a kingdom that is eternal, and the Lord could not show us the wealth of this kingdom in a thousand years! Ephesians 2:7, “That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” It will take forever to show us all of HIS wealth and power and riches. One older worker said, “I have only begun to scratch the surface after 60 years in this ministry.” One day on the convention grounds in Oregon, he met us and stopped us and wanted a moment of our time. We hadn’t been out in the work very long and he said, “Boys, it gets better all the time.” That kingdom, the greatest on the earth then, that king showed everything in 6 months time and then sent them home because that was the end of it.

Ahasuerus opened the door to his kingdom; reminds me of John in Revelations 1. Today is Sunday in the Orient. The Lord’s day. In the spirit on the Lord’s day and he saw a door opened in Heaven. A place as great as Heaven and it has a door that’s either opened or closed. When John was in the spirit the door was open. When we go to pray do we find the door open? Revelations 4:1, “….a door was opened….” suggests that it had been closed and then opened. Not opened permanently. The voice said, “Come up hither….” Higher. You are too low. Your thoughts need to be higher. “…and I will show you things that will be hereafter.” He was given the privilege of looking around the corner. If our foresight was as good as our hindsight we would do well.

Genesis 11, God gave Noah a foresight beyond his day and warned him of things not seen as yet…..He could see privileges in the future. He said, “I saw….and…..I heard” – one thing John saw. He saw his own name written in Heaven while he was yet on earth because he was shown a vision of the New Jerusalem and its foundation with on it the names of the 12, and he was one of the 12. Before he died he had the encouragement of looking out and seeing his own name recorded there forever. When Jesus sent out the 70 and they returned to Him, he said, “Don’t rejoice in that ye have power over evil, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven.” If there is anything that would be encouraging that’s it! To know that your name is written in Heaven!

When the Lord opened the kingdom to him, he looked up and saw our brethren singing, but this isn’t the first time they were singing. It was songs they had learned on the earth. They knew singing on the earth. But it speaks of a new song. One new song that may be added to this list of songs we know, a song that maybe nobody else knows, is a song of a fresh surrender, a new bond, a new purpose. He fills our mouth with singing. Yes, they were singing, but not for the first time. There was a man that came to gospel meetings once. Kept coming. Sat in the back row and no one knew who he was and he didn’t know what this was. He wrote a friend, “This isn’t evangelism, this is the gospel.” He was the greatest bass singer in the world. He had sung before kings and queens all over the world. Then he professed. The question was asked of him, “What do you think of our singing?” He said, “It’s the best in the world! The most beautiful singing I have ever heard because it’s from the heart.” He was used to singing professionally, where every note had to be perfect and it was sung for show – but this was singing from the heart, and it was the most beautiful he had ever heard.

Something else these did. They followed the Lamb. And this wasn’t the first time they followed either. This is what they were doing on earth. Maybe the Lamb speaks to be baptized and there are some that stand; maybe to some there would be a following into the work…Have you ever tried to follow somebody? If you do, you have to cancel all your own plans. We have learned by our mistakes and following our own walk that it is best to give that up and follow the Lamb. But this wasn’t the first time that they had followed. He led them to living fountains of water…that brother I mentioned. There is a difference between fountains of living water and living fountains of water. Paul was a living fountain of water. If there ever was a living fountain of water it was/is the Lamb. What we are saying is this: All that these people were doing in Heaven is what they had done on earth. Heaven is an extension of the things that are done on earth without the human factor. The comparison to this earth. He will destroy it all; think what the New Jerusalem will be like. We will just fold up this, which is so temporal. He had a tent like this one (that we all are in). Flimsy. We are very fragile and temporary. (If we were made of gold it would be hard to live with us, but we are just dust.) A tent (tabernacle) that will be dissolved. Have you come into a tent? Dark and cold and there’s no song. When you put up this tent light had to be added and a song had to be added and fellowship – all these things were added. The presence of God. All additions. Not in the tent by nature. The tent (tabernacle) was replaced with the temple that Solomon built. This tent of ours will be folded up one day and the spirit will go to an eternal temple.

The greatest kingdom on earth – it didn’t just happen. It had to be fought for. It humbles me to even be here; to be included though I don’t deserve to be. One day, we were having a gospel meeting. After the Sunday meeting we walked across a graveyard. One monument there was different. A little marker stating: These have paid the supreme sacrifice for their nation. We walked a little more appreciatively among those graves. These grounds too are hallowed by lives given, but most of all the Lamb of God who gave the supreme sacrifice. This kingdom needs maintenance. People have invested their lives to win it and now it’s our turn to invest our best, our heart – and we will have a song. We are encouraged by children. We were getting ready for a gospel meeting once, trying to get quiet. We heard a noise and then a piece of paper slid under the door, written by an 11 year old girl: I love gospel meetings! Do you know what that did for us? Our children love this King! There was a lady that had been with the Salvation Army 50 years. They had conventions all her life. She talked with teenagers; all they did was complain. Then she came to one of our conventions and saw our young folks enjoying the convention, and there wasn’t any entertainment at all…..Some officers came form the Salvation Army and wanted her back. She told them, “You will never find me there again because I have found something so wonderful now, I never want anything else.” We have so much to look forward to. He is able to help us.

One thing mentioned that they had in this kingdom was royal wine in abundance. Every man could drink according to his pleasure. How much would you like to drink? If we drink the wine of the kingdom, it will affect our walk and our language and our whole life, and if we don’t drink very much the world may never know. If we drink quite a bit, it will change our fellowship and spirit and walk. The question was asked, “Are these men full of new wine?” (Acts 2:13) ….they were full of the spirit. A story we read often in John 2. Jesus’ mother came to Him at the wedding feast and said, “They have no wine.” The world has never had any wine that satisfies. They (the waterpots) were filled with water and Jesus told the servants to take those vessels and carry them to the governor of the feast. They must have wondered, “Why carry common water?” But they obeyed. That woman (Jesus’ mother) gave some good counsel: “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.” No exclusions. Jesus’ mother learned from her son that whatever He says, that’s the best to do. They brought this to the governor of the feast – usually what happens, like he said, the best is drunk first – but not here; with Jesus the best is kept for last. There is nobody here that has tasted the best wine yet. That’s for the last. The Lord is saving the best for the other side of life. These are the best days, getting better all the time, but none have tasted the BEST yet. Vashti. The king wanted her to show her beauty. The Lord our King wants His people to show their beauty and the beauty of peace and love. There were a couple of liars left at the grave of Jesus. They said, “You say that His disciples have stolen Him away, and you would know because you were there,” and they told it for money. People saying, “See, I knew there was not resurrection.” But then those people came out of their graves and appeared to their relatives. The message that there was no resurrection was over. Those people had the privilege of carrying in their body the message of the resurrection. “Once we were dead and now we are alive.” This message shown to the world.

One time a girl in school (I didn’t know you could discuss this in school), her teacher asked about her student’s churches. This girl got up and talked about how her mother had gone to some meetings and came home changed. Then about others in the family. A story of changed lives. A song and peace. For the whole next period and the next day they asked questions – why? She was the only one who had LIFE, and her teacher came to meetings, too. Poor Vashti. She wouldn’t come. The king wanted her to come and show her beauty to others and she wouldn’t come. She lost a lot because of it and paid a price…the pain of restraint is nothing compared with the pain of regret. There was a girl who was dating someone outside the family of God. We encouraged her to not get deeply involved, but she married him. Then he said, “There is something I should tell you; I was married once before….” Her pain of restraint would have been nothing compared with her pain of regret. We can be grateful that in these meetings there has been some chafing and restraint. It will keep us from a lot of sorrow.

There were some sailors that were tired of swabbing the deck; as the ship moved through the ocean, they threw the life raft out and they got in it and the ship went on. Now they were free of all the rules and restraint of duties, etc. They woke up expecting to be on an island, but there was no land. No food or drink. NOW, everything the captain would have asked they would have done; when they ran out of food and water on the high seas and there was no land. A day went by and one died. Just before the other died he was picked up. What regret! The Lord is anxious to keep us from sorrow and regret so we can have a song. Vashti. Her refusal opened the door for Esther. Esther seemed unconscious of her beauty. The Lord’s people are like this, unconscious of their beauty, but their beauty is transparent. Jesus said, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father….” (through Him…) He wants a transparent ministry and a transparent church. Like some fish I saw in a fishbowl one time – except for their skeleton you could look right through them to the other side. Jesus didn’t speak His own words and His own self could do nothing – i.e., transparent. As soon as you saw Jesus, you saw the Father. There was a funeral service for a faithful saint; it was said of her, “I have been in this field for a year and never really known this woman, but I know the Christ that I saw in her.”

Mordecai encouraged Esther for the sake of the kingdom to qualify as a bride. Mordecai was of the tribe of Benjamin. Genesis 49:27, “Benjamin shall ravening as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” A wolf, ravenous appetite. Will run for 20 miles after food. If we have a ravenous appetite in the morning, we will have something to share (divide the spoil) during the day. He told Esther to go in and she went. She offered herself with the others and the king chose her. She could have changed when she became queen; been proud – but she remained unaffected by her beauty. Things became more serious and she was asked to go before the king. Maybe this was the reason she was chosen queen. Maybe this is for now. The Greeks had a ‘god’ named Opportunity and the back of her head was bald. When she came by, you had to grab the locks of her hair while she passed or there would be nothing left to grasp. Finally she put on her apparel. Royal apparel. Royal house. Royal commandment. We are in the presence of royalty here. We don’t deserve to be, but we are included. Esther said, “If I perish, I perish.” The king asked, “Who is out there….” She almost didn’t go but Mordecai encouraged her. Have you ever thought, “O, I’ll just skip prayer today…” If Esther had ‘skipped’ this day she would have missed up to half the kingdom.

A woman came to me saying she didn’t have any peace, that she was in turmoil. Maybe I stepped out of line, but I asked her, “How long do you pray?” She said, “I don’t want to answer that. I know that’s my problem. I spend maybe two minutes in prayer and that’s it.” I said, “Will you try something for 30 days? Would you just bow your knees in the presence of God for 30 minutes every morning? Just get down on your knees.” We have time if we want to use it. We could adjust our schedule and make the changes. I think Jesus was one of the busiest men on earth, but He made time for what was important. At the end of those 30 days, that woman came back to me and she no longer had any doubts and turmoil and distress, but she had peace. Esther was granted anything she wanted, up to half the kingdom…. Haman came on the scene. Causing problems for the Jews. Mordecai held to his convictions. Don’t you think there were those that went to him and said he was causing problems? “Your convictions are causing all of us problems, Mordecai; Can’t you just do it outwardly and not in your heart?” But no…..Esther 8. I don’t know why he had neglected this…. If there’s a picture of Esther’s greatness I think it’s here in this chapter. She could have felt that all was well, Haman was taken care of, and she was in position to enjoy everything in the palace….but no, she couldn’t endure the threat to the kingdom. She went before the king again, told him what he meant to her. That’s our privilege too, to bring someone else into the presence of the king. She bowed before the king, down on her knees, weeping. She said, “How can I endure….” How can I stand it. Everything is well with me, but not with my people. This woman was real quality. No wonder she was useful behind the scenes. The quality of her is outstanding.

I like to watch service on these grounds. Even the pouring water or ice is serving. A newspaper reporter came to one of the conventions. He asked, “What do you get paid for serving here?” “Oh we don’t get anything for serving!” Then he thought he’d get a different answer from a little boy, “How much do they pay you?” “How much do they PAY me? I’m lucky to have a job!” That’s one thing that makes this work, everybody doing their part, just as long as we have a part. Esther was doing her part. And the balance turned in favor of the Jews so that others wanted to become Jews. One of these days the whole world will want a part in what you have. They despise the sowing now, but they won’t despise the harvest. We are lucky. It won’t be long and we will have a part in the harvest. Any farmer lives for the harvest. Their language and their meditation is the harvest. In a crowd this size, one will be taken – at a convention in California, someone said that it was likely that someone would be taken in 30 days. In 30 days, a brother got up and spoke about this and said, “I am enjoying health and am glad to be here.” The very next day his life was gone. Like this tent, so fragile and temporary. We were visiting a friend in a coma, ready to die. The doctor said, “You’d better hurry and baptize her right now; she’s dying!” She took care of it 40 years ago, leaving nothing to chance. I would like to mention in closing – we have heard about a three fold enemy, but I would like to cheer your heart with the thought that although we have a threefold enemy we have a sevenfold power on our side available to us. We know what is against us, but we have so much more that is for us:

1) Exodus 36:9, “For, behold, I am for you, and will turn you, and ye shall be tilled and sown.” “If God is for us, who can be against us?” I am on your side. For you. I will encourage and stand by you. God is on our side..

2) The Son of God is on our side. Luke 22:31-32, “And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; But I HAVE PRAYED FOR THEE, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.’” Judas was sifted out. Satan wants to sift out our peace and our song and our purpose – Satan desires to sift you. But Jesus has prayed (is praying) for us. Today Christ is sitting on the right hand of God interceding on our part.

3) The help of others. Individuals. We appreciate so much your prayers for us. We were in an area where there were no friends for miles around and no bus service. But at the end of the year a lady came up and said, “I prayed for you,” and she walked off. Those in Heaven carry the golden vials of the prayers of the saints. Those prayers last forever in Heaven. You will have victory when you can say you have prayed for others. Help others. You will be more kind when you do. More useful.

4) The help of the Holy Spirit. John 16:13, “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will shew you things to come.” Four things the Holy Spirit does: Guide, Hear, Speak, Show. The Comforter. They waited for it in Acts 1. Jesus could only be in one place at a time, but the Comforter (Holy Spirit) that He promised them would come, can be everywhere at once: it would go out with every single one of them. There was a family sitting right in the front row of convention once; they had some children. Someone came and needed for the father to come outside during a meeting, then one by one the rest of the family went out. The message was that their house had burned. They missed one meeting. The next meeting the mother stood up to give her testimony and didn’t even mention the house; all she wanted to say was how glad they all were, to be there. They had such a great loss naturally, but the Comforter had already visited.

5) The Word of God. John 15:3, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.” As soon as the Lord spoke people got cleansed. Have you ever finished praying and you didn’t get anything new or any revelation but you feel glad for just having been there; you feel clean. Maybe we don’t get all we want but we get all we need. The power of the Word of God: Psalms 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalms 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light unto my path” – a lamp to the feet, not the head. Light for the next step. A light that shines more and more unto the perfect day. Two people came to a door trying to peddle their literature. Our friend asked them, “You used to believe one way and now you don’t; then you believed something else and now you don’t, now you believe this….” “Oh,” they answered, “We have more light now.” Well, suppose you had a bowl of fruit on a table in a dark room. With a candle maybe you would see the bowl of fruit, then a lamp would enable you to see a little more…but additional light will never change what you are looking at. We have a foundation set in Christ, and additional light just enables us to see it more clearly.

6) The help of angels. Hebrews 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” God’s people are heirs of salvation. Hezekiah had a problem once. He got word that a king was coming to destroy. They didn’t think his God could save him. He took the matter into the temple, before the Lord. That night the most mighty army on earth was destroyed, 185,000, with ONE ANGEL. They didn’t need more than one; although the Lord has LEGIONS of angels. Psalms 34:7, “The angel of the Lord encampeth around about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” In Revelations 20, how many angels will be sent to deal with SATAN? One angel to bind him and shut him up for a 1,000 years. What Jesus faced in the garden – one angel was sent. What did He use it for? To pray for more strength. It was angels that carried Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom… I have noticed – ask people, “Would you like to go to Heaven?” “Oh, Yes!” But would they like to come to gospel meeting? or convention? or…or….or….? No. Well, if such people got to Heaven they certainly wouldn’t enjoy it, because they want nothing to do with the little ‘tastes of Heaven’ down here. Luke 16 – that rich man arrived on the wrong side and wanted water but couldn’t get it. He said if one would come back from the dead, his brethren would believe. No, no wonder he wasn’t in Heaven! His will was never conquered. Even on the other side he was still trying to argue and convince Abraham that he was right and Abraham was wrong! In John 12, there was one that came back from the dead (Lazarus) and with this proof they didn’t believe; some just wanted to kill Lazarus.

7) II Corinthians 1:24, “Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand,” This ministry was planned like this. Helpers. Acts 28:15, “And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum, and the Three Taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.” Paul was chained and on the way to Rome and prison and the saints came all the way down there; Paul met them and thanked God and took courage.

What is a threefold enemy compared to this sevenfold power!! Wonderful opportunity. I hope we will be true.

It is a special privilege for me to be here with you folks, and I have appreciated so much God’s work that He has done in the lives of people in different parts of the world. It is unbelievable. It is the work of God.

I have been thinking of one verse that is special to me, I Peter 2:9. It is nice to think, “Ye are a chosen generation…” God chose. Jesus said that the disciples did not choose Him but He chose them. He knew what they were like, their condition, and in spite of their natural environment, human natures, and failures of the past, He chose them for His people. It is wonderful to think that He loved us so much that He chose us out of the world. Sometimes we don’t realize the full meaning of that.

In Indonesia in our first year there, we were having meetings and three people were coming regularly. We closed the mission and those three decided, two young women and an elderly grandmother who was shriveled up. She had chewed tobacco sticks since she was five years old and that nicotine had penetrated her brain so that it would hardly work. She made her choice but we didn’t think she understood. These other two started off going well for six months and then ran out of steam.

The elderly lady kept coming to the meetings though she couldn’t read at first and so didn’t have a word for a little while in the Sunday morning meeting. This dear old soul loved the Lord, loved His children, and to this day, we marvel that she could put away the tobacco. Her life was a glory to the Kingdom. The nicotine started to get out of her and she started to learn to read. She stayed faithful as long as she lived. I was a young Worker and she would write every month or two. She got saved in spite of us, because we didn’t pay her much attention. We were not too experienced but God chose her.

How does God choose people? You heard a little bit about God working with Moses and then, when Moses was eighty years old, God sent him with a message, a marvelous message to, “Let My people go that they may serve Me.” They were serving Egypt, slaves with nobody to take their part. The Egyptians beat them, forced them to make bricks, had their way over them. There was nobody to help them, and they looked up to God and God sent His messengers, Moses and Aaron. He sent them with that wonderful message, “Let My people go that they may serve Me.” They went to Pharaoh and he made it harder for them so God sent the plagues. The last plague God sent was darkness and then came the final test, the choosing of the children of Israel. The slaves were going to be liberated.

You read a little bit about the people in Vietnam and the US going to liberate them. They had money, men, power, and machinery. But how did God go about to deliver these people? It is the same as today. There were two servants and they had a message. Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD?” They didn’t know but they found out His power. They never got to know the Lord. The last test was the choosing. They were to take a lamb on the tenth day of the month and keep it until the fourteenth day, and in the evening, kill the lamb; put the blood on the two sides of the door and the top. They were to eat that lamb in the evening, with its head, legs, and the purtenance thereof, roast with fire, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. That is what they were told to do, and if the family was not big enough to eat the lamb, they could invite their neighbours next to them. It was the fellowship of one neighbour to another, and then the angel of the Lord was going to pass over. The angel of the Lord passed over and where there was blood and those people eating together, in fellowship; they were a chosen people. They ate the lamb the way God asked them to do. As that angel passed over those houses, He visited every home that was not marked with the blood of the lamb, and the firstborn died.

We know a little bit about what it is to have a death in the home. They were very much concerned when it happened, that is every home not marked with blood. These were God’s chosen people and that night there was a cry in Egypt. The people who were in bondage, in slavery, that night the Egyptians thrust them out, and the next day, they went on their journey – six hundred thousand men besides women and children. There are five hundred of us here. Imagine six hundred thousand men besides the women and children. You would think of a multitude of people.

Pharaoh did not want to let them go, but they wanted to go with their wives and children, herds and flocks. How could they be provided for in a desert country? They had nothing to feed on. Pharaoh said, “We have no use for them. Let them go.” One thing Pharaoh didn’t know was Who it was who was going to take care of them. They were thrust out, God’s chosen people, and they started on their journey to the promised land. God promised them a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead them in the way. Moses and Aaron led them in a certain way.

The Egyptians changed their minds when all their slaves had gone. They thought, “We will trap them with the mountain on one side and the sea on the other. Let’s lead them into a corner and we will have them.” The children of Israel saw the Egyptian army coming and found fault with Moses, “Why did we have to come out here to die?” The pillar of cloud leading went down between the army and the children of Israel and the army could not touch them. How wonderful it is to have God with us. You belong to Him, He protects you. His chosen people, He protected them. There was a wonderful promise God made in Exodus 6:6-8 that if they would do His will, be obedient, He would rid them of the bondage of the Egyptians from then on. They were a strong nation in the world.

When the people cried, God spoke and told them to, “Stand still and see the salvation of the LORD… the LORD shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace.” [Ex14:13] He asked Moses to smite the water and the water separated and the children of Israel went through. The Egyptians started to follow and when their army got into the sea, then the water came back and their foe was extinguished, and here are God’s people on the other side. Then they sang the song of Moses. They left Egypt with no time for planning. You would plan quite a while before taking a journey. God just said He would rid them of their bondage if they obeyed Him. All they had was their kneading troughs and stuff they could carry.

In my first year in the Work, I had two suitcases. I thought they were really nice and some people thought they were, too. After I carried those things sixteen miles, then I saw another Worker with a tiny little case, pretty well worn out. He admired mine so I said, “Let’s trade.” Mine was good, his worn out. After carrying something for sixteen miles, you want something light. When those children of Israel left Egypt, they had what they could carry. They murmured against Moses for going out there unprepared. What would you do? The same. It does not take much for us to murmur in our heart, not a great big noise. It was only three days gone and they were murmuring. God said, “I will give you some bread, manna from Heaven.” It was small, like a coriander seed, like wheat or rice, and on the ground. They had to gather about two quarts. If you had to gather up that much wheat or rice you would be down on your knees because it was not like grapefruit, apples or oranges, but coriander seed.They gathered it and had to grind it and bake it, and it was sweet like honey. Every morning except the Sabbath, you would see them, that multitude of people, before the sun was up, on their knees. Pharaoh never imagined that, God’s wonderful provision. Everybody expected those people to die, and they would have if they had not gathered the manna. The example of the children of Israel is an example of how God chose His people in the Old Testament. He led them and fed them, and this is what He is able to do for His people today, even those in isolated places. The way God chose His people in the New Testament is in John 1:12, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” Isn’t that marvelous? Some of these dear souls, all by themselves, with no fellowship or church, and they stay alive. Why is that? It is because they gather manna.

They ran out of water and water is vital in the desert. When I first went to California, although it is better now, there was a little notice on the road maps that said, “Never go on the highway if you don’t have plenty of water, and have enquired about the road.” Out there, you just dry up in the summer without water. These children of Israel, in a desert country, ran out of water. Moses spoke to the rock and the water gushed out. We drill a hole and get it out of the ground but what about getting it out of a rock? It looks almost impossible for you people to serve God in this world, with all the wickedness around you. But you have that living water, and if we will take time to worship God in spirit and in truth, He will give us that, and it is unbelievable how it comes.

I will tell you of some of my experience before I went into the Work. At nineteen, I made my choice and at twenty-two, I went into the Work. Before I went into the Work, I worked with a bunch of pretty rough men. They made it hard for me, and many times I asked God to help me. You would know the same distress, when you want to be true to Him, and the powers of the world are pressing in on you. You pray and He will help you. It may not be the way you want, but if you will follow Him, you won’t stumble. He is the light of life. That is the way He led them. They were God’s people.

If you have the same relationship with the Lord as your babes have with you, you will be kept. There is a certain bond between a mother and her children that shows me what rest is. Talk about this rest of God we have in our hearts. Some of you people know Willie Jamieson. He told us about this little incident. During the second World War, he was going from the west coast to the east coast on a train and it was hard to get a train just then but he had planned ahead and got on the train. There was a mother with two little ones, a three year-old and a babe. The train jogged along. The mother thought the little girl had gone to sleep so she took the little babe to the restroom to get her cleaned up. All at once, the little girl woke up and just cried and cried. Other young mothers tried to comfort her, but no, she cried and cried. It was not too long when the mother came back with the babe and the tears soon started to go. The mother sat down in the seat and the little girl cuddled up to her. There is rest. I wonder if you and I have that closeness with the Lord, to know that we can really have this rest.

I say to you mothers and fathers with little ones, they want security and they get it by getting close to you. Take a few minutes to take them up and kiss them, or take them onto your lap. They want this security. Fathers and mothers who don’t take time to give their children this security, when they get to fifteen or sixteen, they won’t have time to be bothered with you. It is essential also that you and I have this time with the Bridegroom of our soul, and it will give us this strength. Don’t forget you are God’s chosen people. When you heard God’s servants preaching the Gospel and you made a choice in your heart to serve the Lord’s Christ, to serve Him no matter what the cost, there was a connection made between God’s servants and you, and then between you and God. The Ephesians became followers of Paul and then of the Lord. “Ye are a chosen generation..” Then Peter spoke about them being a royal priesthood. When Aaron and his sons were priests in the tabernacle, every time they journeyed, this place typified the dwelling of God, God dwelling among them. They made the tabernacle just as God said they should, and then a cloud came over it, His acceptance. As they journeyed, when this cloud lifted, they were on their way. The tabernacle was always in the centre of the camp, and everyone had their place. As they journeyed, the priests were the only ones who could go into the Holy of Holies. When later they built the temple, the priests could only go into the Holy place. In the temple, there was always light and always bread. We read in the Jewish history of Josephus, that the veil in the temple was as thick as a man’s hand, quite a rug. When Jesus died on Calvary, they took Him, whipped Him, scourged Him, crucified Him, and He died. As He died, that veil was torn from top to bottom, representing the split in the old covenant that Jesus made. Now every person who will worship Christ in spirit and in truth has the privilege of going in and having fellowship with God.

The priest, before he went into that place, had to wash himself and change his clothes, and before we can have communion with our Father, Jesus says, “When you pray, forgive.” If we don’t forgive, we are unclean. We can go in and kneel but we don’t get anything. There are very few times since I made my choice that I didn’t kneel to pray, but I will also tell you of times I did not communicate with God, because maybe, how I felt toward another Brother. We are a royal priesthood. We have the privilege of communicating with the God of Heaven on one condition, that we obey what Jesus says. When we transgress, and we say we are sorry and are willing to forgive other people, then God is willing to forgive us because we are following Jesus. I hope we can keep that in mind.

“A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation…” God has a nation who are fellow citizens. Ephesians 2:19, “… no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints.” Paul writing to these people said that at one time they were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and had no right to God’s Kingdom, but if they accepted Jesus they were no more strangers, but of the household of God. When we come here from our own country, we are foreigners but I do not feel that I am that way when I am with you people and when in the other places we go for Convention where we cannot even speak the language, but we are all citizens in God’s Kingdom.

In our country (USA), though I am not too up to date with it now, but when I was at school, a foreigner had to declare his intention of wanting to be a citizen. He had to make a written statement, wait so long and learn the laws, and then have an examination, and if you passed that, you had to say you would renounce all connection with your former homeland and pay allegiance to the USA. A man who passed the examination was told, “You must count it a privilege to be a citizen of the USA, and if you don’t, we don’t want you.” That gave him a start but he was told, “You will have to renounce all connection with your previous home country.”

When a person makes a choice to serve God, you break all your relationships with the world: the sporting world, the religious world, and you wholly follow the lowly Nazarene. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, it hated Me.” He also said, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own.” If the world hates you and you feel uncomfortable in the world, you know you are a citizen of the Heavenly country and in fellowship with the Lord. When you are a citizen, you enjoy the country. When men went to the moon, they had to have a lot of paraphernalia on to keep them alive. When people are thinking of living in this heavenly country, they have to have more on: the atmosphere of Heaven, a relationship with the King of kings. We have to have a visa to come to Australia and if we don’t have that permission, we have to stay on the plane. When people want to go to God’s country, they must be willing to receive Jesus.“… a purchased people … into His marvelous light.” Jesus died for you and it was as it says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” When you made your choice, it was because of the blood of Jesus. God so loved us that He gave His Son for you and me, if we will believe on Him. The devil says, “You are no good and never will be.” But we are a purchased people, purchased by the blood of Jesus. That is why He loves you and me so much. In all our failings, He tests us out. Why did He do it? It is that we should show forth His praises, and live in such a way that people can see a manifestation of the life of Christ.

Matthew 5:44-45, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you…” Jesus has given us a wonderful example. He didn’t go along with them, or fight with them, but He was kind to them. The last hour He lived He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” I hope you will leave them alone, pray for them, and we will show forth God’s love, and everyone will know you are following Jesus, and will want to know what church you go to.

Trials will come to make us more like Christ. I remember one time, I was having trouble forgiving my companion and I didn’t have that connection with my Father. If we are not in communion with our Brother, we are not a praise to God, but to the human nature. That is the purpose He has chosen us for, the privilege of going right into His presence with all His children. As we cleanse ourselves, we are citizens in His country, a purchased people, and this is what He wants us to do, that it might beget a love in our hearts when we think of all He has done for us.

John 13:34, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.” The old commandment was “love your enemies,” but there was this new one, “That ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” I am supposed to do to you what Christ has done for me. Isaiah had to admit his own unworthiness, “I am a man of unclean lips.” Could we have the kind of love Jesus had for His disciples and for us? If we have that kind of love, what a comfort it would be in the home, what a blessing in the church, a light in the world and a witness for Him. I love what John wrote in Revelation 1:5-6 where he attributes to Jesus, “… faithful witness, first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth, hath made us kings and priests unto God.”

John was there by the cross of Jesus. Those religious leaders spat on Jesus and they persuaded the Roman officials to have Him scourged and crucified. In these last hours of Jesus, He said very little, but manifested the lamb nature. Isaiah foretold, “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.” Jesus fulfilled that prophecy. Every animal will cry when they realize they are about to be killed, except the lamb or the sheep. You see our Lord and Master, when He gave Himself for us, the faithful Witness, He washed us and gave us a place in His Kingdom. I would like to be true as a witness for Christ, and I hope as you go into the year before you, that you can also be a faithful witness: the children in the home, those at work, living amongst others so that they can see you have a special fellowship with the King.

Hymn 282.

These days have meant more to me than I can express. It is wonderful to see the work of God in every place. We sometimes say it is a mystery, but if you take a bushel of wheat, it will produce wheat wherever you plant it. In the part where we labour it will grow wheat, if you bring it here it will grow wheat. The same grain produces the same in every place, the mystery is in the seed. This is the same as the spirit of God, that wherever His people are they think the same, produce the same things in their lives. The same applies to weeds. The weeds that grow in the States would produce the same if they were planted here. All the program is in the seed. What is the most important thing for me to take away from here? Is it a basket full of seed? When I think of all that we have heard, the bread that has been broken to us, what is the most important thing for me to take away? Is it better to have a basket of seed, would I be able to cope better in the future? Then if I had a basket of seed, without bread, I would starve to death, because it would take too long for the seed to grow and produce bread. If I took a basket of bread, by the time I had eaten the bread I would not be very far into the future. So I guess that one is as important as the other, and it all depends on what we do with it, whether it strengthens us or not. Luke 8:11, now the parable is this; the seed is the word of God. This is a good message for us. We listen to the word of God, we have seen it manifested, it stirs our soul, and when we take that seed home, planted in our heart, it will produce and reproduce in our hearts. We have a wonderful opportunity to take the word of God and put it in our hearts. This is the story of the soil giving itself to the seed, and producing life. For this to happen the seed has to die. The seed falls into the soil, and the soil has to give to the seed for it to grow and to produce.

Matthew 13 tells us of the seed falling into the good and the honest heart. The condition of the soil made the difference, here the emphasis is on the condition of the soil. The seed was sown on some soil and it did not produce anything. It was not the fault of the seed, but the fault of the soil. It did not lend itself to the seed. We read of some producing a hundred, some sixty and some thirty fold. This was the honest and good heart and this is no mystery. A farmer has one piece of land that can’t produce as much as another, but the farmer is perfectly content. There is also land that produces a good harvest and he is also content about that. We know that care and cultivation all make a difference, but there is a lot in the potential of the soil, some is more limited than others in what it can do. If we do all that we can, if we do all that the Lord expects of us, then we are doing our best. People live in different situations, we have the record of Joseph and Daniel and where we live does not have an effect. Sometimes we hear the saying that we don’t appreciate the world that we live in today, and we don’t appreciate it because in the human heart it is not possible. We need to grow in appreciation. That is the same with the gospel. God can change our hearts, this rebel nature. When our parents professed, they set before us ideals and the hope of eternal life, and they began to live for that, and I am in the way of God today not because of my own merit, but because my parents set a good example before me. They made decisions for me, and in later years, they still made decisions for me, and that is one of the reasons why God gave us parents – to make right decisions. Because when we are young, we do not have the right judgment, all we want are things that are pleasant, things that are fun. My parents kindly and definitely sowed seeds into my young heart, and if the seed has its way it will produce humility, it will produce the love of God, simplicity, when it falls into the heart, not into the mind only. The seed that falls into our hearts is contrary to our nature. We need to learn to appreciate all that God has given us so that we might use all to glorify God. We should use our God given talents to glorify God. He gives us time, and health, and privileges, to glorify God.

Paul said, “I know how to be abased,” and how to abound? We know that many know how to abound, but it is different to know how to be abased, how to behave when we are in trouble. Do we know how to handle the praise of men? Our talents are all right if we know how to use them. The proof of the seed of God falling into our hearts is what is being produced. If all that is being produced is human ability and human satisfaction that is not the seed of the kingdom of God. If all that is being produced is self-righteousness, we might be surprised to know that it is not the seed of the kingdom of Heaven. When people are limited in their opportunities it does not have an effect. It makes it difficult for the seed to mature and produce a hundred fold. God has given us salvation, has given us this seed and we need to give ourselves to the word of God so that we might produce to the best of our ability.

Then we think of a basket of bread. That young boy had 3 loaves and 2 small fishes. He did not have much, but maybe he had enough. Jesus said, “You give it to Me,” and He blessed it and broke it and fed the whole multitude. This was all he had, it was good bread, and the Lord was able to bless it. The disciples said that two hundred penny worth would not buy enough bread. It does not depend on the amount that we have, but it does depend on how rightly and how willingly it is offered. This boy had to have bread to be a little help. The Lord’s blessing upon the bread will meet the need of the multitude. We are dependent on His grace and His presence, and on His guidance. These days, we have heard some things that are like seed, some things that are like bread. We heard about mid-course correction, and that was like bread to my soul. We see Jesus, and that is like a seed that I can put in my heart. All the ways we see Jesus, it is like seed that is sown in my heart, and shows all the different ways that Christ can be shown in my life. I can grow in that and that will feed my soul. There is some bread that we can use right now, and there is some that we can use in the future. Seed thoughts are more important in the future, because bread becomes stale if it is not used. If we do not use it we lose it.

In John 6, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” In the other parable that Jesus spoke in Matthew 13, He said, “The field is the world, and the good seeds are the children of the kingdom.” This is a whole different thought. In one verse He says, “I am the bread of life,” but now He says, “The seeds are the children of the kingdom and those seeds are going into the world, into the field.” He is not saying to take the seed, but that you are that seed, you are the good seed. This is something we apply to our lives. You are the seed. Any seed has only one purpose – it is to grind to make bread, to become food. If seed is used rightly, it is planted in the earth, or it is put into bread. It is not designed for the mantelpiece, or for show. It is either used for becoming bread, or for becoming seed. If it stays in the barn there is no profit, in that it won’t do a thing in the barn except to become ruined.

I read some time ago of the Egyptians opening some of the old tombs and they found wheat that was just dry kernels, it had never produced a thing. It had not made bread. God has put His people into the world as the seed of the kingdom, the children of the kingdom, who fall into the ground and die. We fall into the ground, we lose our identity, and we become useful. If we are not willing to lose our identity, it will not amount to much. I have seen farmers buy expensive seed, and they have thousands of acres of land, and they plant that seed in the ground. On the one side, it has lost its identity, but on the other side, there is the visible sign of life, and when the seed is planted, after a few days the field is green, the seed has died and it has produced new life. The visible part comes up. The life that comes up is not the same as the seed that was planted, but it produces the same thing. A brown seed goes into the ground, but a green stalk comes up. God is looking for this kind of seed, human beings who will fall into the ground and die, who will sacrifice their own ideas, their own human ways, who will lose all that belongs to the human side of life, and produce the likeness of Christ. I have heard farmers talking together when the seed comes up and they always want to know what kind of seed has been planted, not about the soil. When harvest time comes and it produces so many bushels of wheat, they say, “What kind of seed did you plant?” What is produced is visible. What is planted is what belongs to the flesh and is no credit to the kingdom of God, but what comes up is nothing like human nature, it is the righteousness of Christ that comes up. The seed has fallen into the ground to die, and I would like to know in a deeper sense what it means to die to my own human nature, my own ambition, that through the dying life, the struggle, the righteousness of Christ will be produced.

Then it tells us in the parable that the servants came and said, “There are tares among the wheat.” The first thing the servants thought was that there was something wrong with the seed. They said, “Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field, from whence then hath it tares? An enemy hath done that.” Sometimes when I see weeds in the kingdom of God, I get the feeling that there is something wrong with the kingdom, but that is not true. These are only weeds and an enemy hath done that. It wasn’t the fault of the righteousness of Christ, but while we were careless, sleeping, there came up these tares. Every seed produces after the same kind, and I know that human nature, that which pertains to the natural inclination: what is good, what is nice, what is acceptable is society, that is like a tare, but it does not produce one thing for our eternal destiny. Jesus did not bring about a better way to live, that may be all right, but that has nothing to do with eternal life. It is only the seed in the heart that is going to produce and endure to everlasting life. There is not another thing that is worth our effort apart from serving and worshiping God. Sometimes when we see tares in the lives of others, we forget, we see weeds in a brother’s life, and we see weeds in our own lives, and it is the enemy that hath done this, our enemy. If he has a foothold in my brother’s life, he can also get a foothold in my life, and we need to learn to fight the enemy, and not fight our brother. It is not the fault of the seed. The master did not go out to look at what was sown. We have the tendency when there is a problem to deal with it, but many things come to prove us, to see what is our first love. We need to all learn to fall into the ground, because this is the only thing that seed is good for. When I was home, my father would sell seed corn, and when he would send out a calendar, he would put a little bag of corn on the calendar. It was kept nice and dry and clean, but it did not produce a thing. Later on, people would just throw it away. Then there were bags of corn in the barn and it was planted in the earth, and thousands of bushels of grain were produced.

In Matthew 13, God is showing that His seeds are the children of the kingdom, and it is His desire for them to go into the world, to lose their identity and magnify the Lord. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life – I am.” This is the ultimate reason that we have seed, that we would have more bread. There are two things that we can do with wheat. One is to grind it in the mill and it becomes flour, and becomes bread, and we can have a little bread for others. The grain goes through the mill and becomes fine flour, and there is no resemblance in the grain of wheat. Then our lives are bread for the souls of others, in all we do we are bread to others. This goes beyond what we say, but it doesn’t come cheap. As the seed goes through the mill, it loses itself. You can’t make good bread out of poor flour, and you cannot make good flour without good wheat. We must have the right as we pass through the mill. Unbroken wheat does not produce good flour, the whole thing must go through the mill. This going through the mill is no more pleasant than the seed falling into the ground.

When Jesus was 12 years old, He said, “I must be about My Father’s business.” Before His earthly parents, He was obedient. He knew what it was to go through the mill, and say, “I am the bread of life. Those that eat of Me shall never die, shall live forever. Those who partake of My way of life, those who drink My blood, shall never die.” Jesus spoke to His disciples that they would be bread. In their conduct, their influence, it would lift the spirit of others. That is the deeper meaning of the seed being the children of the kingdom. The children of the kingdom are to produce the life and nature of Christ, and one way to produce this is to fall into the ground and die, contrary to nature. We might think of the cost of the seed, but once the field is green, the farmer hardly speaks of the cost of the planting, but true enough, there is a cost to the service of God, especially in the beginning, but when we see the vision of what we can become in Christ, we no longer speak of the cost. We need to keep this vision before us to see the value of the promise in the future and I would like to keep that before me, that when I am in the corner where God has placed me, in lonely days, in difficult days, that I am fulfilling my obligation, that I am seed.

We need to lose ourselves and die so that there would be a visible part to our service that will be a benefit unto all, that we cannot hide. What are we hiding, the seed or the light? We could hide the seed, but it would come up as a yellow, sticky plant, and we could do the same spiritually, we could put this new life under a bushel. Human nature is the seed in the ground, but we want to be able to demonstrate the green shoot. We do not demonstrate the human life, the human life is dying, but the love of God is being demonstrated in all our actions, not glorifying the old nature, but magnifying the name of Christ. It is not for us to have the seed put in the barn, it is useless. Seed is designed for food or seed. The only reason that we have been put into the world is to produce the likeness of Christ, in our corner, so that the righteousness of Christ may be seen. We need to deny ourselves, take up the cross. It is not in us to sacrifice our own nature, but God wants us to magnify His name, to go through the mill, to go through all the processes to come out bread for hungry souls.

Hymn 264, many times Jesus just met with His own disciples, and all others were excluded. Then at other times, there were the twelve and other people, all together, and they heard the profound teachings of Jesus. But at other times, He was alone with His disciples. In Matthew, I noticed where Jesus was talking to the multitude, and then He turned to His disciples and said to them. He taught them gems and jewels that He did not teach the multitude. Matthew 5, 6 and 7 records what Jesus spoke to His disciples. Matthew 10 to 12 is for His disciples. Matthew 13, the last part of the chapter, He was in the house, speaking to His disciples. Matthew 18, the whole chapter was for His disciples. Matthew 24 was to His disciples. Matthew 24, 25 and 26 was to His disciples. A lot of His time He was spending, speaking to His disciples. Sometimes I have been over anxious about spending time in the field, but to Jesus it was so important, vital, to spend a lot of time with His disciples. No doubt Jesus had a blanket truth that applied for everyone and all could accept, but much of Jesus’ time was spent speaking to His disciples. We need to learn to divide the words of truth so that we accept the things that apply to us, and not confuse it with the things that apply to someone else. Then the scripture becomes alive and profitable to us. All truth we can learn, but it is of no profit unless we are able to bring it to our day and apply it, and use it in the very present tense.

A popular theory in the world today is to believe in the message that Jesus brought 2000 years ago, just the same as in Jesus’ day. The Jews believed in Abraham, they believed in Moses, but they did not believe in Jesus. They did not bring up to date the thing that was profitable. They believed in their mind in Abraham and Moses, but it did not affect their lives. The multitude was following Jesus, and He, seeing the multitude, turned aside and went up the mountain. When His disciples had come to Him, He spoke unto them words that the multitude never heard. There are a lot of people who talk of Jesus, but as long as He stays on their level it is all right, but Jesus came to raise people above their setting. The disciples rose above the level of humanity. Jesus spoke to His disciples that the first thing that is important is the condition of the spirit. That is the right order. A person can have a lot of sacrifice, a lot of service, and it does not amount to anything unless it is done in the right spirit. If one thing is lacking, it will spoil our whole service. When I was a boy, my older sister was baking a cake, and she forgot the baking powder, and the cake did not turn out as she wanted it to, all for the lack of a spoonful of baking powder. I don’t know what is the most important thing, but I know that we need all the ingredients to be true in our service to God.

The first thing that God wants to deal with is the condition of our spirit as we are gathered for these four days. Jesus will teach us, instruct us, correct our ways. We have come together to rest a while, and it is not because we have been doing things that are bad or out of line. Jesus spoke those words to His disciples after they had taken the body of John the Baptist, they were discouraged, disheartened, and He just said, “Men, come and rest a while.” They were weary because of doing the right things. To have true rest we need to have the right spirit. If we are going to solve all our problems we need to be in the right spirit. Jesus began to teach by saying, blessed are and Jesus brought blessing to their lives, and God desires to bring a blessing. Jesus brought peace to the earth, and good will to men. This was God’s purpose in sending Jesus to man- kind. He wanted to bring peace, but it did not turn out that way. It has been the desire in God’s heart to bless His people.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He didn’t say they will be in the kingdom of Heaven, no, theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. We cannot always judge by outward appearance, because we have the record in the scriptures of men, rich and poor, who have obtained His blessing. It is in the reach of everyone. Some speak of the virtue of poverty, but it is not in being poor naturally that brings virtue, it is not being poor naturally that will bring His blessing, but it is the condition of the spirit that brings blessing. When we speak of a man that is in need of bread, and he has nothing to buy bread with, we say that is a poor man. If we see a person who is not able to work very well, we say that is a poor person. It is when we understand that within my spirit there is a need, I can only beg, I can only ask, to receive the necessities of my heart. This makes us poor in spirit. Others who are self satisfied do not receive a blessing. Being independent is no help for anyone, it is not a good help for the spirit, for when we need the help of God, we receive His blessing. This brings fellowship. There is no need to fight amongst ourselves, because peace is so Godly. This is a kingdom of poverty of spirit. The kingdom is only in the hearts and lives of those who are poor in spirit.

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. I don’t know what Jesus had in His mind, He did not speak of people who were sorry for themselves, but people who saw the condition of the world, who see the need in the hearts of others, and mourn, and those who know the failure in their own lives and mourn, and those who mourn when they suffer, because they see the righteous trodden under-foot.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Meekness is not weakness. The meekest man on all the earth said, “Gird every man his sword.” Moses, when he was defending the rights of God, fought and he told them not to spare their father, their mother, their brother, their sister, their uncles, their aunties, they were to fight valiantly for the interests of God’s kingdom. They were fighting mercilessly. But then later, we read that he fell on his face and prayed for the people who despised him, he did not rise up in his own defense. When the kingdom was threatened he didn’t just say, “Well, I know,” and go along with it, he fought valiantly for the kingdom, but when his own name was threatened he did not rise up in his own defense.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. We see people who hunger for this world. Some men are given to study, to knowledge, and it is never satisfied. There is no end to it, because no matter how much we learn, there is always more to learn, and we are never satisfied. Some men have ambition for material things, and they accomplish a certain amount, but they are not satisfied, they always need more. Others have positions in life, or honour, and always want a little more, never satisfied. Those who have a hunger after righteousness have the measure of God. They know the peace that passest all understanding. We may have a lot of natural good, but the thing that brings the most blessing is peace in our hearts. This is the most important thing that we could live for. If we could speak about these things more we would have more peace, and we would be more like Jesus. We may sometimes fall in our attempt, but we can rise up again. Proverbs 24:16, for a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief. The proof that this just man is righteous is that he gets up again. We have all made blunders and failed, but God does not record our failures, He does not hold them against us. This righteous man falls seven times, but gets up again. The fool falls once and then falls into mischief. He says, “There is no hope for me. What is the point of trying? I will just stay down,” and falls into mischief. But the person who fails, and strays, and rises up again, he is a righteous man and is blessed. James said that if any man lacks wisdom let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not. Sometimes we ask somebody a question and they say, “You should know that,” and they love to upbraid us before they tell us. The Lord does not upbraid us, we can ask Him and He will give it to us.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. We will never be called the children of God unless we have the nature and character of God, and that is portrayed and it is seen that we are his child. The first year I was in the work, we were in a home where there was a five year old boy. After twenty years, I went back there again, and at the convention, I saw a little boy, and asked him if he was so and so’s son. I knew he was, because he looked just like his father had twenty years before. Jesus was so much like His Father. To be a peacemaker does not come cheaply or easily, it is costly. Abraham was a peacemaker before the trouble started. He did not want anything to affect their relationship, and he said to Lot, “You choose.” After Lot had chosen the best, Abraham did not get into a bad spirit, and when Lot got into trouble he risked his house, his future, his family to save Lot. We do not read of anything he said to Lot about doing the wrong thing, but he went home to pray for Lot, he was a peacemaker. Abraham knew that his brother had not done right, but he went home to plead and pray for him. He sacrificed his own nature and right to be a child of God. He was so much like God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. We speak of fellowship, and in John 17, Jesus prayed, that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. Oneness in the church, unity, right with everyone all over the country, all over the world, one harmony. One day, as we are one, we shall all be gathered around the throne with Abraham and Jacob and we shall be one with all people of all the other ages. If we are persecuted, if people mistreat us, we are all one, for we will be bearing things the same as they did. We will face the same struggle as they faced. In Revelations it tells us of all those around the throne and the question is asked, “Who are they?” “I don’t know, they did not come out of my community, we were just a few, but these are they who came out of all nations, and kindred’s and tongues and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb, an innumerable company, all as one.” They had been through the fire, and washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and could sing a song of gratitude. Paul prayed that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, being made comfortable unto His death. To have fellowship with Jesus in eternity, we must have fellowship with Him in His suffering and I don’t find that an easy prayer to pray.

For I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven. The Pharisees’ righteousness was that they kept the law in every detail, but Jesus said, “You do better than that, you do right deeds, have right relationships, but also be right in spirit.” Those righteous Pharisees had murder in their hearts. They themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Our righteousness must embrace all the human side, our social life, our family life, our business life, and it must all be done in the right spirit. Otherwise, it will all go for nothing, and be a deception, a curse, if we are not right in spirit.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old times, “Thou shalt not kill,” but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. The old law was right but I say unto you. This is the spirit and attitude of service. The law said, “Thou shalt not kill,” but I say unto you anyone who is angry with his brother. We may not kill a man, but if we are angry with our brother, maybe we could say something that would hurt and we are guilty. If we say to our brother that he is a vain fellow, worthless brother, in a malicious way, then we are wrong in our spirit. Jesus was concerned with the condition of the spirit. We may say things that mask our true feelings, man looks on the outward and judges, but the heart may sometimes be wrong, the motive may be wrong. We may make mistakes, but our purpose might have been excellent. We should not judge by first appearances, we have learned not to do that. The Pharisees were content when the physical law was met, and that is all right, but Jesus spoke of going beyond that to have the blessing. We must be able to control the spirit; then we do not need to worry about our actions. We will not maliciously kill a man, we will have victory of spirit, the truest service beyond the sacred page. We will be able ministers of the spirit, and we will not despise the letter, because no jot or title of the law will not be fulfilled. Jesus teaches us the law, but He goes beyond the law. The condition of our hearts goes beyond the law.

In Matthew 6, Jesus shows us the way to serve. If any man sue thee at the law and takes away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. Jesus tells us a person may have a perfect right to sue us if we are guilty. We will not be the loser if we give him our coat and our cloak also. If we are guilty, don’t defend yourself, give your cloak also, and you will have the blessing of God. This does not mean that we have to give all to everyone, no. This law is for when we are guilty, and if we are why defend ourselves.

If we are guilty, we have to pay. We know a young couple who had some dogs, and one night, they got out to the neighbours and killed their prize rabbits. The neighbour man came over, angry, and our friends accepted the guilt, and said they were sorry, and were prepared to do anything to make it right. They were humble. They did not believe that they were entirely at fault, but they accepted the guilt. The other man went home and said, “I can’t believe it. They did not defend themselves,” and so they became good friends. They gave more, and it brought the blessing. Those people came to meetings, and are now in the family of God. If we are guilty we should pay and pay gladly. Jesus speaks about doing alms before men. The Pharisees blow a trumpet so that what they do is noticed, and they have their reward. They do it to be seen of men, and they have all their pay in advance. There is a danger in this, that if it is going to be seen that we would do it. True humility, genuine righteousness is when we do right whether it is noticed or not noticed. Even creation tells us that. I have climbed the mountains where hardly anyone goes, and seen lovely flowers growing, unnoticed. Then go down in the valley where everyone walks, and see the same flowers flowering just as well. It is just the nature in the seed, and this should be true of the child of God. If we are seen, or noticed, we do not alter our service unto God. It is the motive of our heart that makes the difference. If we are doing righteousness and men see this, they will glorify God. It is the preferable way to do things that are not seen of men, but if our motive is right then God who seeth in secret will reward us openly. Right acts should be done when the need is there, doing it not for our own glory, but that our Father would be glorified. This is a good testimony, a good idea that in all our service to God, God has the credit.

In mat7, Jesus tells us of those who hear these things and do them, like the man who dug deep. The other man who did not do is the foolish man, who built a house and it fell. We have to remember who Jesus was talking to, His disciples. He was teaching them how they could have the blessing. He told His disciples that they could fail to have this spirit, and they could go on building and building and not pay any attention to the fundamental parts of our service and sacrifice, and not lay up any treasure in Heaven, and only find out on the last day that they did not do it according to the will of God. This has urged me to examine my own soul, and to apply to my own life the words of Jesus, and I have put in hours of study, studying the words that Jesus said to His disciples, and to see how the outcome is so important, to see who is great in the kingdom of Heaven. It is the little child, and if we do not become like a little child we do not even get into the kingdom of Heaven. This is a sobering thought. Unless the condition of my spirit is right, I will not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

The story of Elijah and Elisha, there are some wonderful things written about these men that can help us, inspire us and lift our eyes to things eternal. The things they did, the spirit they showed, the attitude they were living in very difficult days. It was not a time that was very bright for Israel. In [I Kings 17], we first read of Elijah and the Lord told him that there would not be dew or rain until God’s word came again. So God sent his servant, Elijah to the brook Cherith and he drank of the brook and the ravens came and fed him. Then God sent him to a widow woman in Zidon, and she was to sustain him. This was a wonderful woman. As Elijah was entering into the city she was going out, and he said to her, “Bring me a little water.” As she was going away to get the water, he said, “While you are at it, bring me a little cake also.” Then she turned and said to him, “All I have is but a little meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse, and I am just gathering two sticks, and I am going to make a fire, then eat the cake, and die.” Elijah said, “You go and do that, but bring me one first, then after that make for yourself and your sons. The Lord God hath said that the barrel of meal shall not waste neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.”

I like this story because firstly, Elijah’s position, it is a very difficult thing to have to say, “Make me one first,” but this is the way of God. Sometimes we don’t feel that we have very much to give, but God said, “You give Me first, give Me a little bit, and I will see to it that it does not waste, you will have enough for future days.” She had a little oil, a little meal in the barrel, and when she went to get that meal, she would live for another day, go to the vessel and get a little oil and live for another day, and in this way, they were sustained many days. They only ever had just enough, but they had faith in the promises of the word of God. She had faith in the ministry of God. She put into action what she knew and had faith in. It is true she did not have much, but when she used it in the way that God planned it did not waste. This is like a person giving and giving, and it never runs out. It is a strange thing, but it tells us in the scripture, there is that scattereth and yet increaseth and there is that withholdeth more than is meat but it tendeth to poverty. The person who keeps back just comes to poverty, but those who do for others, giving and sharing, have joy in the soul and they always have something. We are so slow to learn this lesson, we want to keep for ourselves, hold back, thinking that will bring happiness, but it is only in giving and sharing that we receive. It tells us that her son died, and she said to the man of God, “Have you come to call my sins to account?” She examined herself.

Elijah said, “Give me your son.” He took that son to his bedroom and laid him on the bed, and stretched himself on the child, and prayed earnestly. This is a story that we have seen so often, that people look at their children who are going astray, and in spite of all that they do, they cannot help the child. We have seen this happen in good homes, with all the good influences of Godly parents, and the children go astray. Elijah said, “Give me your child.” He prayed, and the warmth in the heart of Elijah stirred life into the son again. Sometimes it takes the influence beyond the home to stir life in those who are dead. This is something we need to keep alive in the kingdom of God, to have fellowship with one another we need to keep the love of God in our hearts strong enough to combat the awful coldness of others, because the coldness has an effect upon us. People feel the coldness, but if we have the love of God in our hearts, the warmth in the heart, it will help others. But we have also seen it the other way, where the coldness of those in the world has robbed them of life and strength. Elijah saw a man who had warmth in his soul and he could renew life.

The woman said, “By this, I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.” This woman had been eating bread for so long, but it took this experience with her son to know that the word of the Lord that Elijah spoke was truth. There are many people in this world who have the word of God in their mouth, they use the Book, they speak of the character of God, they are teaching, they are practicing, but it is far from truth. The only evidence of the word of God in a person’s mouth being truth is when it inspires life in those who are dead, when the word of God and the influence of our lives helps others. For 3.5 years there had been no rain, and now God said to Elijah, “Go, show yourself to Ahab.” When he did this, Ahab said, “We have been searching throughout the land for you. Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” Immediately Ahab accused him. But Elijah said, “It is not me, but you, that have troubled Israel. You have forsaken the commandment of God.” He told the truth to Ahab. He said to Ahab, “You call together four hundred of your prophets and make a sacrifice, and then I will also make a sacrifice.” Elijah said, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him, but if Baal, follow him.” The people answered him not a word. They were not sure, they didn’t know. They were so far gone that they didn’t know whether Baal was God or Elijah’s God was God. They put their sacrifice on the altar, but there was no fire. The God who answers by fire did not answer. This is very sad, because many people are making sacrifices, and expect God to accept that. They made a lot of prayer, had a lot of activity but it was dead, there was no fire.

Then in the evening, Elijah put the wood in order, put the animal on the wood, he covered the sacrifice with water, and did it again, then he prayed and the fire of God fell and consumed the sacrifice, consumed the stones, consumed the water. This was the Lord God, and the people understood that. In the world, there are a lot of good sacrifices on the altar, you could not fault it, there is zeal, but there is a lack of knowledge because the sacrifice is never consumed by the fire of the love of God. The sacrifice spoils on the altar and there is no sweet savour going up to God, and it means nothing to God or man. If there is not the fire from heaven consuming the sacrifice, it will spoil on the altar. The sacrifice that Elijah made was consumed on the altar.

I think of an older lady in Oklahoma that I knew well. She was 93 years old. She had a neighbour who said, “I get up at 10 in the morning, and the day is so long, there is nothing to do.” Life had become wearisome. This old lady, of 90, professing said, “I get up at 6 in the morning, and I cannot get done all that I want to get done.” There was the love of God consuming the last drop of her sacrifice. Her sacrifice was not spoiling on the altar. In her relationship with others, there was a joy. To this other lady, there was no joy, she was a burden to others, but the love of God in our sister was growing stronger in her heart. It was consumed by the love of God. We love our older people who can say that they love this kingdom of God more than ever, the love of God consuming their lives, a sweet savour to God, and they are saying that the Lord He is God. We can say that that is the work of God, the power of God in their lives is working. Others who are coming on in the way of God who do not have the same understanding but see the ebbing embers of life in those who are older, look at their example and know it is safe to follow. The people of Israel said, “The Lord He is God.” They took the 400 prophets of Baal and destroyed them all, they destroyed the worship of Baal.

Then we read of Jezebel, and I believe that she was worse than Ahab. She said that she would kill Elijah and so Elijah fled. Here he killed 400 prophets one day and the next day, he fled from one woman. I don’t know, but there is a time to fight and a time to run. This was the time to run. He saw what was happening, and he ran for his life. It says that he arose and went for his life and came to Beersheba, and left his servant there. Then he went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree and requested that he might die. An angel came and touched him and said, “Arise and eat,” and there was a cake and a cruse of water by his head. Elijah was by this time an old man and it says that he left his servant there. I don’t think very much of that servant because I believe that this servant left him. This young man let the old man go, who was so discouraged, and because of this I have no time for that servant. Elijah felt so discouraged that he just wanted to die. He said, “I haven’t accomplished anything,” and so he just went to sleep. Here we see the character of God. The angel touched him and fed him. He did not scold him. The old man was discouraged. He did not find fault with him or criticize him, but gave him water and bread, and fed him sufficiently that he could go on that food for 40 days and 40 nights. This is the character of God {that He does not upbraid us} when we are discouraged and sometimes when we have problems.

Elijah did a wonderful thing, he went to the mount of God. When Elijah came to the mount of God, God said to him, “What do you do here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been zealous and have done all I could do, and I am the only one left there are many people who would just like to see me dead.” He did not blame God. I feel this is a marvelous thing, that when he was so discouraged, we see him going to the mount of God. Sometimes when we get desperate in our soul, it is a wonderful thing to go to the mount of God. I have seen people who have been desperate and they have gone to the place where they could get help for their discouragement. There are many places we could go for help, and it is dangerous for us, it is no use to us. If we do not go to the mount of God, and go off somewhere else, and before we know it we are a long way from God. We have seen people make very bad decisions when they were in the valley, but Elijah went to the mount of God. I don’t know if he had ever been there before {but maybe he had} and maybe this is where God had spoken to him before. It was where God spoke to Moses. Discouragement affects us all, it is no stranger to me, those discouraging voices saying, “Have you ever heard the voice of God?” Sometimes with others it may be that they have failed, and things have shaken their faith and confidence, and maybe the Lord has never spoken to them. What do we do when this happens? Do we go for good advice, or do we just say, “Well, it is no use. I might as well just go off to the movies. I might as well go off and have some fun.”

I think of a young man who was in university. He had heard the gospel but was not very well established, and he went out into the country and got a job on a ranch. Many people wondered why he went out to do that. But he said, “I came out for one reason only, and that was to regain my faith.” At the university, professors had told him many things that had shaken his faith. This man ran to those people he had known before, where he had received help before and he talked to people who had established his faith, and he regained his faith, and the last that I have heard of this young man is that he has a meeting in his home, his children are all walking in the way of God, because he ran into the presence of God, he went to seek help when he needed it. He realised that his faith meant more to him than a university degree, that if he lost his faith life held nothing for him.

Elijah went to the mount of God. God said, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” “I have been zealous, have tried to do my best, but am no better than my fathers.” God said, “You go up to the mount before the Lord. Elijah was 250 miles south of where he had been.” It took him 40 days and 40 nights to get there. That is not very fast, he didn’t do very many miles per day. He was so discouraged. It tells us that a wind passed by that rent the rocks. That was some wind, but Elijah never even went out of the cave door to listen. I see in that a lot of judgement. We see out in the world a lot of things blowing around, people getting excited, but Elijah never went out. Then it tells us about an earthquake, and Elijah never went out to the cave door to have a look. Then there was a great fire, again, Elijah did not go out. It is not very hard for us to see the things that are like winds, like earthquakes, in the religious world, in the political world, in the social world. Elijah never went out of the cave, it did not disturb him one little bit. There are some great activities that we read of and see in the world, but it is not worth the effort to go and even have a look at them. Then there was the still small voice of God, and he immediately responded and went out, and stood in the entrance to the cave. What a heart! We often hear the words, “Lord speak to me.” I often wonder if we would hear if He did speak. John, on the Isle of Patmos, heard the voice of a great trumpet, it got his attention, but here Elijah heard the still small voice. John needed the spirit to help him hear the voice, but Elijah must have been in tune with Heaven. The still small voice was more attractive to him than the earthquake and the fire. I want the Lord to get my attention, that I may hear when the Lord speaks, whether it be with the voice of a trumpet or the voice of many waters. I want to hear and respond. God said, “What are you doing here?” He was still discouraged; he was saying the same things over and over again.

Then God said, “You go back where you come from and anoint John. I have work for you to do, right in the place where you have come from.” He had to go back 250 miles again. This changed the man’s attitude altogether. Elijah ran towards the presence of God, and God gave him a job to do. It is very profitable for us to read the whole story through, of Elijah. We read that he went and anointed Elisha, he never did anoint those kings. Here was a strong old man. There was no hurry about anointing those kings, but the first thing was to take care of the interests of the kingdom, to anoint another prophet. He saw Elisha, a young man, working with 12 yoke of oxen. Prospects were excellent, he had a good sized operation, and he was not short of bread. The prospects were the best they had been for a long time, there had been no rain for three years, and now they could plant again. Elijah was running after him. Elisha said, “Let me go back first to my father,” and Elijah said, “Yes, go back, I have not got anything to do.” But he had, he had left his influence. Elisha could never get away from that influence, and he left his prospects of natural life to follow Elijah, and became a very useful man in the kingdom of God. This is the story of the gospel in every age and generation. It is God’s influence that is cast upon a young man or young woman, the influence, the mantle, that is cast over a young person, whose prospects are good and they say that God’s interests are more important than their own. This experience was more encouraging to Elijah than his discouragement.

In II Kings 2, we see the end of Elijah’s experience. He had not anointed a king, and this is very interesting, because he never got around to it. The first thing he did after his discouragement was to anoint Elisha. He may have said, “I had better anoint those kings in case something happens to me.” But no, he knew that Elisha could anoint the kings. The material things in this life were secondary. But Elisha never anointed those kings either, which shows to us today that the things of the kingdom mean more, and are more important than the things that belong to this world. There are some things that we need to take care of, and that is right and proper that we do, but they are secondary. Elijah and Elisha proved this. It tells us that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Before this, Elisha was going with Elijah, and now, how come the difference. I think I know why. Elijah was getting older and older and not so able, and now he was content to follow Elisha. There is nothing more beautiful than that, this relationship between an older man and a younger man, who have the interests of God’s kingdom first.

I think of a man and his son farming back home, and in the early days, the son would come and ask advice from his father, they would go and talk things over. But over the last three or four years the older man is now going to the son and asking the son, the same as Elijah was going with Elisha. Elijah and Elisha would plan together, speak together, and you would hardly know who was doing the discussing, and nothing else matters but the interest of God’s kingdom. Then Elijah said, “I must leave thee,” and here we see a different spirit to the servant who left Elijah before. He said, “I must go to Bethel.” Elisha said, “I won’t leave you.” Elijah said, “I must go to Jordan and I will leave you,” but Elisha said, “I won’t leave you.” A wonderful harmony, something that is to be admired and imitated. As they were walking together, Elijah said, “What would you want from me?” Elisha didn’t need to stop and think, but said, “I would like a double portion of your spirit.” He wasn’t asking to be twice as good as Elijah, because this is impossible. You cannot give more to others than you have yourself. He didn’t say that he would like to have more of his knowledge, more of his experience, but no, a double portion of his spirit. As we live in the world today, it is wonderful if others covet the spirit we have. They may covet our position, our ability, but this does not amount to much, but if we could so live that others would covet a portion of our spirit.

One time, an elder worker who has a brilliant mind was told that he had a brilliant mind, and he said that he did not call that much of a compliment, because this is something that God had given him. If they had said that he had a wonderful spirit, it would have been a compliment. If we have a spirit that other Godly people would covet, this will be far more lasting than anything else that we could have. It is right to have an ambition to have something to leave for our children. One old man said, “I had hoped to leave the property unencumbered for my children.” One day, I heard my Dad talking to a neighbour and he was speaking of things that had nothing to do with material things. He didn’t know that I was listening, but in honesty and integrity he was speaking of an inheritance that had nothing to do with material things; these were things he said when he didn’t know I was there. To have the right spirit, that is the thing to aim at.

Elijah said, “Thou hast asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken you will have it. You will only have it if you walk where I walk, and if you suffer where I suffer, and if you stay with me to the end you can have it.” It is time the gift of salvation is given freely, the gift of God, but the same person who spoke those words, also spoke of laying up treasure in Heaven. We have some labour to do. Jesus said, “You go and suffer, then you can have it.” It tells us of some who fell by the way, there was unwillingness, there were reservations. There are things that will keep us back from this kind of effort, this kind of service. This spirit we only get by going all the way, as we worship, as we serve, as Jesus did. Elisha and Elijah came to Jordan and Elijah smote the waters and they divided. They went on and talked and I wish I knew what they were talking about. I am sure it would be the interests of the kingdom, the responsibility of the future, their communications would be sweet.

Then a chariot of fire took Elijah up to heaven, and Elisha was left by himself, all alone. He rent his clothes and the mantle of Elijah fell on Elisha, and he went back to Jordan. He said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah? How can I go on? I cannot, without the God of Elijah.” It is far more important for us today to know the God of our fathers than to know our fathers. The hope of this generation is that they might know the God of their fathers. This is the work of God, not the work of man, and we cannot keep the work of God alive without knowing the God of our fathers. Elisha smote the waters. It would have been a wonderful encouragement to him to see the waters divide, the same thing accomplished that he had seen with Elijah. We could have the right ideals and the right purposes, but we need to take steps to make it happen. We need cooperation, to move, to walk, and this will show us the God of our fathers. We need to follow a right example today, so that one day, we may be able to lead. We need to learn to follow so that one day others may follow us. There is a lot of teaching in the religious world, but we need to learn to follow, to suffer, to walk, to follow a safe leader, and one day, we will be able to lead. We do not desire anything for ourselves, but we desire to follow our guide, and one day we will have the same spirit, and the kingdom of God will be safe in our hands. We need to remember the important things, that God is bigger than it all. It is our submission, it is having a contrite spirit, in putting the interests of the kingdom of God first, and in this way, the Lord will be able to bless us and guide us.

About sixty years ago, my parents left the other side of the world to come and live on this side of the world. They were religious and were quietly living in a little country district, but unbeknownst to them, a few miles away, two sister Workers had come and purposed to hold meetings. There was a very religious man who would not allow them to use the local hall and he had a certain amount of authority. Two Brothers later on secured that hall and that same religious man was living there.

They began to have meetings and this religious man came one night with a big Bible in his hands and sat in the back seat. There must have been something that appealed to him because he continued to come and brought his family, too. While that mission was in progress, he got other work and this found him living next door to my parents. This man asked my father if he would care to come to the meetings he was attending. My father and mother went along to one of those meetings they were invited to. Mother said, going out the door, “This gospel will do me.” There was something about the Ministry and message that she listened to and it had a ring of truth that appealed to her heart. It was some time before the Workers found out where my parents came from, but then they got a hall nearer and my parents listened until they all began in the way of God. Most of them have died in the faith now.

One lady, a connection of that religious man, who had asked her to come, was seventy-four years of age and she also decided and lived another ten years after that. She was always glad to say, “The last years of my life have been the best.” We were just children when the Gospel came, and we had the privilege of growing up in a home where the influence of God was and one by one, most of us came to the place where we chose to follow Jesus, and I am thankful that it was my privilege to be brought up in such a home, because when one thinks of one’s life, one realizes how easy it would have been to have missed it all.

Today I like to think about the chapter John 9. It tells us in the end of the previous chapter about the Jews taking up stones to cast at Jesus, because of what He had been telling them that they didn’t agree with. He hid Himself and passed by. Then it says, “As Jesus passed by he saw a man who had been blind from his birth.” I was thinking about those people taking up stones to cast at Jesus. He was the One we heard about who was the Prince of the kings of the earth. They took up stones to cast at Him because of the things He was telling them. It was not agreeing with them, with how they thought or felt.

Passing by, He saw this man who was blind from his birth. He noticed this man. The Lord had an eye for those needing help. He came to seek for souls He might be able to help. This man was blind from his birth. It was so often the unlikely person who presented the Lord with the opportunity to show His power and ability. He was a grown man and his parents said he was able to speak for himself. He sat and begged. That was all he could do. He was a man very limited in life. Unless we have had the experience of being blind from birth, we would not be able to appreciate or understand that kind of experience. It would have to be a sad life for this man, not being able to enjoy what others were enjoying. People would try and tell him about different things but how hard to try to describe colours. He could get an idea of the shape of a person’s face by running his fingers around it but there would be lots he could not imagine. That man was missing a great deal in life.

I heard once of a couple who had a son born blind. The doctors said that given enough time, they could operate and give him his sight. For a few years, he lived in darkness. No doubt his parents had told him many things about what was in the world, but there is a limit to what a person blind can be told. After the operation and when some of the bandages were removed, he could see for the first time. His mother took him over to the window. He said, “Mother, why didn’t you tell me it was so nice?” She was limited as to what she could tell him, and he was limited as to how much he could understand and grasp. When he could see for himself, it was a wonderful sight.

The disciples asked Jesus whose fault it was that this man was born blind. Jesus said that it wasn’t anybody’s fault but that the works of God could be made manifest in him. Verse 4, “I must work.” Jesus was taking up the challenge of seeking to help a man who, to the rest of the world, would be an impossible case. “I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work.” There is a time in every person’s experience when life’s day draws to a close and nobody is able to work or make choices any more, choices that are going to benefit them for eternity, or change their course, or lay up treasure for eternity any more. The night comes when no man can work. Jesus was taking every opportunity afforded Him when He found somebody He could help. “No man.” It was not even one man who could work when the night came.

In Revelation 3:7, writing to the church in Philadelphia, the Lord was telling them about the door He opens and no man can shut it, an open door. When the Gospel comes to us, surely God is setting before us an open door. He set an open door before these people that they might be able to overcome and be fully prepared for eternity. The Gospel opens to us the most glorious door of all, that can be opened to an eternal future and gives us the faith and courage to take steps where God will lead us through. In John 10:29, we read, “My Father is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” That means no man on earth. Those who will commit their lives into His hands, He can keep them, and no man can remove them.

Verse 5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Then in verse 6, “…anointed the eyes of the blind man with clay.” This blind man would be listening to all that would be said. He would be hearing things he had never heard before, things that concerned himself. A man like that, a lot of people would not have very much time for. It would not mean very much to them. They would consider him a worthless person, so limited in life.

Jesus spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed his eyes. It does not take very much of a little spot to get in our eye to irritate us. Jesus, anointing that man’s eyes with that clay, would do it very carefully and tenderly. If the man had a choice to have his eyes opened, he would not have chosen that course, but something that would be easier on him. We sit and listen to God’s servants and sometimes it is not easy for us to listen because we know, “That affects me, and it is not so easy for me to accept it. Some other way might be better.” That man submitted to what Jesus applied to him because he was anxious to be able to see. He knew he was missing a lot in life. Life was going by and he was a grown man now.

Jesus said, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam.” I wonder whether the man went on his own or whether he had some company to go with him. It could be possible that the man went on his own. What Jesus was saying and doing that day probably did not mean very much to anybody looking on that day. That man possibly had the ability to find his way around and go to the pool of Siloam. He did what Jesus asked him to do, and received his sight.

I have read that the pool of Siloam is down beside the king’s garden. If that is correct, when that man opened his eyes, that is what he would have seen first. A king’s garden would be well kept. There would be beauties there that would not be seen in other gardens. That could possibly have been in Jesus’ mind, thinking of what the man would be seeing for the first time. Jesus may have planned it that way, that he would see the beauties he would never forget in his life. I believe it is like that with the Gospel. When the Lord is able to reveal Himself, we begin to see for the first time, some of these things. When a person has that experience they remember it for the rest of their life. First, they begin to see and understand a little of the beauty that belongs to that great Kingdom. That man, many and many a time, would remember the first things he saw.

It says, “He came seeing.” The first people to notice it were the neighbours. They would say, “Isn’t this the man that was born blind?” That is how it would be when the Lord is able to help an individual. It is first noticed by the person who lives closest to that person. Something had taken place in the man’s life and they began to question, “How did it happen?” He gave a very simple testimony and one that was very true. He never added to it nor took away from it. They had to take him along to the Pharisees to see what they had to say, and then to the Jews. He just gave his testimony again and some of the things those Pharisees and Jews said to the man were not very nice. They spoke against Jesus but it didn’t alter the man who said, “One thing I know; whereas I was blind, now I can see.” They could tell him what they liked, but he knew he had had a very real experience in his life and no one could change his mind. They said, “This man is not of God” but that didn’t alter his mind.

Nicodemus was just the opposite to those Pharisees. He said, “No man can do these miracles Thou doest, except God be with him.” His attitude was completely different. It is like what we have already heard, our attitude makes such a difference to these things. Nicodemus’s attitude was that he was wanting to know where he stood, and those Pharisees were confident in themselves, standing all right as they were. Later in the chapter, I was thinking about this man, what he was formerly and what he had latterly, very little when blind, but he had a lot of opportunities he never had before, when the Gospel came. Our scope is very limited but the Gospel brings a lot of liberty and opportunity.

In verse 35 it says, “Jesus heard that they had cast him out.” That is what happened to that man as he sought to uphold Jesus. They cast him out and didn’t want to hear what he had to say. Jesus was waiting and when the man was cast out, He found him. I am sure Jesus was glad for how this man had passed those first tests as they tried to contend with him and persuade him otherwise. Verse 36, “Who is He, Lord, that I might believe?” Jesus said, “It is He that talketh with thee,” and he worshiped Him.” That must have been a wonderful, confirming experience for him. With those newly opened eyes he could look upon the Son of God Himself and see Him as a lowly, humble man, full of grace and truth, and worship Him. Jesus was the One who had become the centre of his life, and would remain so, I am sure.

Verse 39, “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and they which see might be made blind.’” That was the purpose of Jesus coming, for those who were blind, that He would be able to help them to see and also to help those who were blind to realize they were blind and that was the difficulty with those Pharisee people. They did not realize they were blind and Jesus found it very hard to help them. This man was blind and knew he was blind, and when the Lord was able to open his eyes, he knew, “Once I was blind, but now I can see.”

I like to think of the reality of this experience this man had, and I am glad the Lord can still be as real to men and women today, to open their eyes to see the beauty of eternity, and may this be our privilege as we listen to these things.

In the first two verses of chapter 42, when Jacob saw there was corn in Egypt, he said, “Why? Why do ye look one upon another?…Buy for us from thence, that we may live, and not die.” Now just to paint you a little picture concerning this verse — this was the time two years after the seven plenteous years had passed in Egypt, seven years when it says the earth brought forth by handfuls and, of course, Joseph was given the responsibility of saving that harvest. Well then, it tells us about this famine coming — and it is described as a sore famine. Later on, it is described as being very sore, so we can understand what it was like during this time. The famine was sore.

Two years had passed and now seven more years had passed and it tells us in a previous verse in the former chapter that a dearth was in all the lands. Further down, it says all countries came to Egypt to buy corn — all lands. In all lands. Now, this famine wasn’t isolated to Egypt — it was in all the land. People from all countries round about came to Joseph for corn. Over in some of the other chapters, it tells us that Canaan was affected by this famine.

We have read now that Jacob saw there was corn in Egypt, in Egypt. That would mean that a hungry man, his sons and their families were feeling the effects of the famine and were hungry. The question uppermost in their minds was bread, getting bread, getting corn that they might live and not die. Just by those few little words we see that the situation was serious and bread had become a vital question. They weren’t so interested in silver or gold, it wasn’t such a big thing at that time. Silver and gold could never have sustained that people no matter how much they might have had — it was bread they knew they needed to sustain the life they had. The little picture I received was their concern for getting bread.

When I read those verses it appealed to me what Jacob saw…God appealed to him through what he saw, and not only what he saw, but He appealed to him through what he heard. This is often the way. People are appealed to by what they see and what they hear. We know ourselves even, when we look out in creation or whatever it might be, it either appeals to us or it doesn’t. What we see, what we hear, and what this man saw appealed very much to his need because he had a need. He knew his sons and their families had a need that was great and bread appealed to them. The answer to their need was down in Egypt, the only place in all the countries round about Egypt where there was corn. Naturally Jacob said to his sons, “You get down to Egypt and buy us corn that we might live and not die.”

I like to think why there was corn in Egypt and not anywhere else. Why was there no corn except in Egypt? It was mainly because of a young man down there who stood by himself with the fear of God in his heart; a young man who exercised his faith in many dark experiences. He was Joseph. You know how that young boy, 17 years of age, was wrenched away from his father and family, his closest connections on this earth, and the only thought in his mind was, “I’ll probably never see them again.” But that didn’t alter his purpose to see and to keep true to God. That would be a dark experience. We probably can’t appreciate it or even understand it. It was a very dark experience for this young man. We know he was closely attached to his father, it was very strong and it was a tremendous break. He was going to a people he had never met before, who didn’t think the same as he thought when it came to the things of God. There was no one else in Egypt with the same kind of faith as Joseph had, no one who believed the same things of God. But he was able to stand in the Way and his life was used wonderfully so bread was provided to all the countries round about. Isn’t that a committed life?

We can also say he was like a dying corn of wheat, nothing less than a dying corn of wheat which meant bread was available to all the other countries. God worked through him to make an abundant provision— through one individual life. You know, God doesn’t need lots of anything to perform His wonders when He has one life that will go the way He wants them to go, He only needs one. He only needed one at that time and it meant provision being made, a wonderful provision, so the hungry peoples’ need would be met. Just one man.

You know what I thought about Joseph when I sat here in this meeting? We read about his coat of many colours and I thought of Christ the Man. There were many things about Christ that Joseph reminded me of — Jesus’ many colours. It was in and through His life that God’s Son’s provision has been made for the salvation of the whole world.

I like to read about this provision and abundance when those boys went down into Egypt. They returned with their sacks full and not only that, they brought money to buy the corn. It was restored. Then we read about the asses laden down with the corn of Egypt being returned to Jacob and his household, so their hunger would be met. In later chapters, we read about 20 asses laden with the good things of Egypt, bread and corn and meat for Jacob. Isn’t that just a little picture of the provision that was made for the hungry? God sent up to Jacob bread through Joseph’s efforts.

You know, it was over 20 years now since Joseph had been taken away from his father’s house, 22 in fact, a long time, and during those years Joseph was on his own keeping true and being used by God. God foresaw all this; God always sees the end from the beginning. God foresaw the famine to come and planned that Joseph would go down into Egypt in the way that he did. God had all this in mind from the very beginning. The Lord has our future in mind, too. He makes provision for us in the present for us to live in the future, to sustain and help see us through to the end of the journey. All this happened with no credit to the Egyptians but credit goes to Joseph, because God was able to speak to him. He was able to reveal the dream to Joseph, and it was through Joseph that God worked.

Now what really appeals to me about what I have been telling you, is that as God’s people, we are really living, as it were, in Egypt today. And we are still in Egypt. This world is like Egypt and God, through the lives of His people still seeks to provide bread to hungry souls. Think of all the people in the world, billions of people, there must still be a heart here and there, some with a real hunger in their soul for true bread. I wonder if they, like Jacob, can see that. In Egypt, there is corn only through God’s people showing evidence in their lives of being satisfied, honest and united by the love of God. The only true corn found in the world today is the corn God provides, in and through His Kingdom or in and through His people in this world. You know, to my mind, it presents us with a real challenge to provide the true bread.

I’d like to give you a little illustration that bears out what I have been trying to say today. I know a young man, middle-aged by now, some of you know him. He is married with a young family; and his work was office work. One day, a person came to him and said, “You seem to be content; you have a peace I’ve never seen in anybody’s life before. Would you tell me why that is?” This man told that other person what he had in his life; how he had received it, and the hope and faith he had in Christ. That man, after listening intently, was invited to come and hear the gospel, and he professed. He has gone on and has done very well in the Truth in spite of facing, or living, in a very difficult circumstance. To me, that man is just a little picture of a person providing corn to Egypt, true corn, and a hungry soul seeing it and wanting it just as Jacob and his household did, feeling their need for true corn. The Lord has kept it there and we are very thankful for that.

I’d like you to think along this line of thought today that this man, being able to see that need in Egypt shared it. This young man Joseph, just one man at that time, 39 years of age when this story unfolds, and Jacob saw there was corn in Egypt. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Lord could help us, live in us, and through us, so He could provide corn? The only hope today for a hungry world is through the dying lives of His people.

Hebrews 2:6, “But one in a certain place testified saying, “What is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him. But we see Jesus Who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Paul was writing to professing people. This is what we see in Jesus, not with the mind, but with the heart. This visitation of man goes beyond the mind. Because of sin a need arose, and God promised that Jesus would come and visit the world. Why did God do this’? God was able to annihilate Adam and Eve and start all over again, but by the wondrous grace of God, with all our family human life, Jesus came to visit us, and what we see in Jesus is the plan of God that He would come into our lives. This is the same as what we read in creation. God gave dominion to man over all things, put him in charge of the animals, the birds, the fishes in the sea. This was God’s arrangement that all would be in subjection to man. But now we see not all things in subjection, because of sin man no longer has dominion over all things. Sin had power over him. The adversary had power over us, and man was not in charge of things because of sin. Then we see Jesus who came, who had dominion over all things. He was tested and proved in all things, to with stand all kinds of opposition. Many products that are made are given a test, a pressure test, a compression test, a heat test, a freezing test, to prove the quality, to see if it will stand. Then they can advertise that product with the standard of what it will stand. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He was baptised, and directed by the Spirit into the wilderness and had all the stress and pressure upon Him for 40 days. He was tested in all points, but He was Lord over the power of the adversary. Jesus is Lord. We see Jesus as Lord over all opposition, and in every problem or stress, Jesus is Lord, and as we believe by faith, in Him, He will deliver us, He will free us. As we pray, believing, our faithful God will give us deliverance. In the world, there is much persuasion of the mind, but we are persuaded in the heart. It is not in the mind, but in the heart, where the change must come.

Making a phone call is like serving God. When we dial, we must dial the right number. It is no good doing it almost, having all the numbers right but one, we might get someone else and there is no satisfaction in the phone call. Sometimes the line is busy, but it is never so with God. Sometimes we are put on hold, and we are left waiting, but this is never so with God. Sometimes there is a recording, to leave a message, but not so with God. We must come to God with reverence and Godly fear. Jesus said, “Hallowed by Thy Name,” a reverence, a dignity, and a Godly fear. Come in the right spirit, be contrite and humble, this attitude reaches the ear of God. God never delivered His people at their own convenience, but only in His wisdom, so that people would know that God was God. When they were leaving Egypt, there was distress of soul. They were not distressed because of making bricks, but when it came to drowning their sons, they had to come to grips with this experience. It was not the hard task masters that caused them the distress, but they became desperate when Egypt was going to drown their sons. They prayed and wept and God heard them, and delivered them. God never delivered His people in the first experiences, when the river became blood, when the fish died in the sea, none were delivered. It was only in the spirit of obedience, when the people put the blood of the Lamb on the door post, that they were saved.

It was only in the spirit of obedience that Jesus did His miracles. He never saved life unless it gave confidence in Him. It was Jesus’ work on Calvary that delivered people. On the journey, there was no bread, there was no quick stop bakery. God allowed the bread to run out before He brought His miracle. He did this to prove them, when there was a real need, a hunger, and they began to look around to see where help would come from. We may talk to others and see if they are adequate to help, but God withheld help to see what the people would do, then He provided and met the need. There are times when we pray to God, full of fear and doubt, and God proves us to see if we trust Him.

In Hebrews 1, we see a great contrast in Jesus. God gave Jesus a better name, an excellent name that He never gave to the angels. An angel caused our earthly parents to fall in the garden. God never said to an angel, “Thou art My Son.” Then unto Jesus, He said, “Thy throne 0 God is forever and ever, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity.” When a person is raising fruit, they understand the weeds. Jesus hated weeds and loved flowers, He loved righteousness. There was a strong contrast to what was wrong. Compromise is defeat on the installment plan. They who are faithful in the least are faithful in much. These are laws we cannot escape from. “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine hands.” People tell us that the world is gradually wearing out, resources are being used up, but Jesus is the same. He is not becoming decrepit, blind, and not able to help, He is just as mighty to help. We see Jesus, every aspect of His life, His majesty, authority, power, kingship. The more we see of Him, it affects our hearts and we love Him more and more. It is love that makes all the difference. We can serve God by duty, by making a good impression, but this will make us weary. When we are in love, it is easy, when we are in love with Jesus in the heart, a love service is not hard. This is not a paid service. We do not get the feeling that I have so much and others do not have so much.

Jesus asked Peter, “Lovest thou Me more than these? Then follow Me.” Peter looked and saw John and said, “What will this man do?” Jesus said to Peter, “Never mind John, the responsibility of service between John and I, that is ours, but you see to it that you follow Me.” There is something in us that we do not like definite and positive doctrine. We want things to be left open so there is room and space, room for us to have our own way. Jesus is pure, almighty, and we want to love Him completely, having no doubt. Jesus was made lower than the angels, He was made in a human body. We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Or, run out as leaking vessels. When we put something in a leaking vessel, the hole may not be at the bottom, the hole may be near the top, and it will always leak out at that level. With us there may be a place of concession, a place of unwillingness, a place of rebellion, we will go that far and it will leak out.

In Jeremiah 35, it is a marvellous chapter on consecration in a human sense. Jonadab had said to his children, his daughter and sons, “You shall drink no wine, neither ye, or your sons forever, neither shall ye build house or sow seed nor plant vineyard, nor have any, but all your days ye shall dwell in tents that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.” 300 years later, Jeremiah invites his descendants to a special occasion, into the temple area and this was such an honour. He set wine before them, but they said, “No, we don’t drink wine.” This was the command of a man, but they honoured that message. They kept his commandment for 300 years. Let us take more earnest heed to the things that first began to be spoken by the Lord, that His message would affect us, and that this convention would apply to us. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. This is something that thrills my soul. It doesn’t say, “We would see Jesus,” but we do see Jesus. We see Jesus in complete control, sanctified and He is not ashamed to call us His brethren. The righteousness in Christ enables us to have fellowship with our brethren.

To be God’s child, there is no greater honour, no greater responsibility, no greater place in being God’s child, and Jesus caused this to be. We love Jesus and all those whom God has fathered, they are our brethren. The father hood of God brings the brotherhood of man. It is not an improve yourself program, it is by becoming His child, and loving Jesus and all those whom He fathers. This gives us victory over the power of death, the fear of dying, darkness. We are all our life time subject to this bondage. Jesus was delivered from the fear of death, and this is our inheritance forever. We are the sons of God, the seed of Abraham, one seed – Christ. Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Jesus, and he saw it and was glad. He was to be the father of many nations. He would say that is impossible. He was able to understand that one of his descendants would die for the sins of man, and would be raised again, and through this gospel all nations hear it. This is an everlasting work. He is our great high priest.

Jesus was sympathetic to the people, because He was in all points tempted like as we are. This was not like the Old Testament high priest, because he was the oldest son of a particular family of Aaron, and when he was 2 years old, he would understand that, one day, he was to be high priest. He was raised in a special place, raised in a special city, and the whole nation would realise that he was a special boy. His brothers and sisters would know that he would be high priest, and it would mean special care, special reverence. He was carried about as a special boy, and everyone would seek his esteem, because they would want to have his favour when he was high priest. Jesus was not like that. He had brothers that did not know that He would be the Saviour of the world. He did work in a trade. Can any good thing come from Nazareth? His people brought Him to the brow of the hill and wanted to push Him over. Jesus had understanding in all, that He would be our eternal high priest. We see Jesus, fully sympathetic, because He Himself went through every experience. We see Him risen, interceding, He is merciful. It does not mean that He over looks sin, but God has made provision through Him whereby we can be cleaned, where sin can be attended to. We do not close our eyes to sin, but we are delivered from it, and then we can sing songs of praise, that sin has been dealt with and we are free, it is not held against us. It is our confidence in Christ that can help us. This is the truth and I believe it. This brings song in the battle, song in grief and sorrow. Psalm 2:12, “Kiss the Son lest He be angry and ye perish from the way.” We want to be true, we want to embrace Him, with outstretched hands, embrace all the promises of God.

[RJI is possibly Robert J. Ingram, circa 1986]

The subject of tongues does not stand alone, nor is it complete in itself; we find the origin and roots in another subject: known as “Prophesy.” When the spirit of the Lord came upon them, they would prophesy in the language (tongue) of those present, 1 Samuel 10:6-12.

There are four references in the New Testament that are usually referred to this subject of tongues: Acts 2, Acts 10, Acts 19, and I Corinthians 14. Only Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 deal extensively with this matter. We will discuss this in the order that is first mentioned here. We must keep in mind that God has always established His WORD and work in an intelligent way. Spirituality is measured by conformity to the revealed WORD to enable us to become like His Dear Son.

In the second chapter of Acts is the fulfillment of Joel 2:23. As God’s Spirit would come upon the people, they would prophesy, men and women, old and young alike. On the day of Pentecost when His people were gathered together, God sent His Spirit upon His people as He had promised, assuring them that Jesus had arrived in the presence of the Father. In the fulfillment of Joel 2:28, all the believers prophesied (publicly expounded) “the wonderful works of God,” resulting in the unbeliever hearing them speak in his own language, verses 6, 8, and 11. It is emphatically clear from this chapter that as God’s Spirit came upon the people, they prophesied in the languages that each one understood, which was more than twelve. This gave assurance to the believer that God had given them His Spirit, because they were able to prophesy, not because everyone understood in their own language. The unbeliever was convinced because Isaiah 28:11 was being fulfilled, which was a sign given by God to them. I Corinthians 12:21, “With another tongue will I speak to this (Jewish people) people.”

In Acts 10:46, “For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.” Those who preached did not speak with tongues, but rather those who heard. Those who received the revealed message, God gave His Spirit and they magnified God. We know wherever “tongues” are mentioned in the Bible, it has to do with distinctly known languages. These Italian Gentiles had received God’s Spirit. The Jews heard them speak (which must have been intelligent) and as they spoke, they “magnified God.” The Gentiles spoke by revelation or knowledge, being understood by the believing Jews. This sign of Isaiah 28:11 and the fulfillment of Joel 2:28 convinced the believing Jews that God had also given to the Gentile of His Spirit.

In Acts 19:6, “The Holy Ghost came upon them and they spake with tongues and prophesied.” To prophesy is to publicly expound. In I Corinthians 14:3, Paul said it was for the purpose of edification, exhortation, and comfort. Nothing has ever been accomplished in nonsense sounds or noises that are not meaningless and intelligent and easy to be understood, 1 Corinthians 14:7, the foundation of the Ephesian Church. God’s Spirit came upon these 12 men; they prophesied in the literal spoken language of those present, the very same as in Acts 10, fulfilling Isaiah 28:11 and Joel 2:28. Tongues are not mentioned unless there are differences of known languages.

The three incidents mentioned above is dealing with the Spirit of God coming upon the believer, prophesying when there were language differences, without the interpreter. In the Corinthian letter, Paul is dealing with “church problems amongst the Christian believers who were erring in several matters. One of them was “tongues,” as some were taking part in the Christian assembly in other languages. 1 Corinthians 12:23, the diversities of tongues is associated with the interpreter, verse 30.

In I Corinthians 14, Paul is admonishing the Christians about an error that had become a concern and worthy of correcting, as it was hindering the spirit of godly fellowship. There were some taking part in the worship service, both in prayer and testimony in other languages, which was not profitable (verse 6) nor was it edifying; they were admonished to keep silent unless there was an interpreter present. In verse 21, Paul said, “In the law it is written, with men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people” (Jewish People) Isaiah 28:11. Isaiah was definitely referring to another literal language. As God’s Spirit came upon those of another language or race as they prophesied, the unbelieving Jew would be convinced and the believing ones would be edified, exhorted, and comforted. As it speaks of the unlearned, it proves it is a language that can be learned. It’s emphatically then a language not understood, or not interpreted in the Christian assembly, would not be beneficial to the believer, and the unlearned and the unbeliever would think them “mad.”

In conclusion, I’ll add a few lines regarding the going forth of the Gospel of God. This Gospel of everlasting life has always been preached in an intelligent language; God’s true work of Salvation has never been in an incoherent language/manner; Jesus never spoke in so-called “tongues” or needed an interpreter, nor can Christianity be established in a spoken gibberish. The New Testament Church would have quickly withered on the vine and died if only incoherent, incomprehensible language was spoken in the assembly. Spiritual maturity does not come by mystical Heavenly prayer language (unknown to the human ear). The New Testament scripture was spoken in a known language to convince the unbeliever and edify the believer. Christians are admonished to speak the truth in love, as they grow up in Him. Paul concludes in 1 Corinthians 14, “The things I write unto you are commandments of the Lord, but if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.”

I always like to hear the testimonies of my brethren, and I thought tonight I would tell a little of my testimony. When I give my testimony, I go back to when I was a little boy. I had two brothers, twins, a little older than myself. They were very small when they were born. I was a good size when I was born.

We were three little boys almost, the same size growing up. We were pioneers in Canada, out on a farm three miles from a village We had a little bird that sang very nicely. All of us loved the little bird. One day, my mother lifted the cage down from where it was hanging, and put it on a table. She said, “The little bird is dead.” We came and stood around the cage, and the bird lay on the floor of the cage. Mother took it out of the cage, and said, “The little bird is dead.” Then she said, “You had better take the little bird to the flower garden and bury it.” We found a little box and put the bird in it. My brother made a hole in the garden, put the box in and covered it up.

God spoke to me that day. God said, “One day, you will die like the little bird.” Perhaps it was the first time that I was conscious that one day I would die. I tell people God loves little children, because He sought to speak to me when I was just a little child. I am thankful God sought to put in my heart thoughts of eternity. I never told anyone that God spoke to me that day, but this gave me serious thoughts when I was growing up.

I had the privilege of listening to the preachers of several different sects, but I was never satisfied that I was right with God, and I am thankful that I didn’t feel satisfied. This caused me to seek for something different. The time came when God sent two of His messengers to our district, two brothers. They were strangers to us. We were strangers to them. We hadn’t invited them to come, but they came and held meetings in our school house. It was in the winter time, and there was much snow and cold. We drove a team of horses about eight kilometers. Sometimes those men came walking through the snow to visit us. I saw sacrifice in their lives, and saw they had love for us as strangers, sinners. I don’t remember very much of what they said, but one day, the older brother said (he was speaking of the Pharisees), “Do you not think there could be Pharisees in the world today?” That day I could see all the religions in the world were just of the Pharisees. I was convinced those men were God’s messengers and brought us the truth of God. Mother was a religious woman, and I thought she surely will see this, and want to follow that way. She didn’t. Some other men in the district would want to follow, I thought, but they didn’t either. One man even went and spoke against those men. I knew that I should make my choice, but I saw I would be alone in the home to serve God. I saw I would have to give up all the pleasures that I was enjoying. I saw the cost. I suppose I listened to the devil’s voice that said, “You can choose God a little later, it will be easier a little later.” I put off making my choice for the time being, but I couldn’t have peace in my soul for those two years that followed. One night, I prayed that if I could hear God’s messengers again, I would make my choice. Shortly afterward, I learned that there were two brother workers not so far away. I didn’t go immediately but when I did go to listen to them, it was on a Friday night. They announced one more meeting so I went to that meeting on a Sunday night. They announced two more meetings. I am sure it was because there was a “fish” in the pond. That Sunday night I made my choice, and said, “It’s Christ tonight and Christ forever.”

One year after I made my choice, I was sitting in a little meeting. My testimony that day was, “It pays to serve Jesus; I speak from my heart.” I had proved a peace and rest of heart I had never had before. About two years after that, I had the privilege of going forth into the harvest field. I went to a convention that first year after professing. There was an old man speaking in one of the meetings. He said, “We are getting older, and our lives are on the altar and being consumed. Soon they will be completely consumed, and the ashes will be removed from under the altar The altar will be ready for new sacrifice, and who will be the next one on the altar?” I got the message. I knew the Lord was putting it on my heart to put my life on the altar of service. That brother worker went to another convention, and then he was going to a third, but he took a heart attack and died. When I got the news of his death, those words came back very forcibly to me, “Who will be the next on the altar?”

I had the privilege of going forth the next year. Sometimes, I say that the first year in the work I wished I had been a better companion. The second year I finished, I wished I had been a better companion. There have been other years when I finished and wished I had been a better companion. It’s over thirty-five years ago now that I made a study of what we should be to one another, and what we could do for one another. I have thought perhaps God was trying to show me how I could be a better companion. So tonight, I would like to speak a little about that study of what we can be to one another. Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Perhaps this is the key to the whole situation. Paul in writing to the Romans (13:10) said, “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor.” Maybe we can speak about that a little later.

But there are three things essential to good fellowship. We all need to learn these three things: (1) Submission, (2) Confession, (3) Forgiveness. Ephesians 5:21, submitting to one another. We do not always think alike, and we have different likes and dislikes. We need to learn to submit the one to the other. If I submit only twenty percent, my companion has to submit eighty percent. I wouldn’t like to think that my companion had to submit to me eighty percent of the time. Perhaps sometimes, I think I am submitting sixty percent, and my companion thinks he is submitting sixty percent. We don’t always notice when our companion is doing the submitting but we notice it every time we submit to our companions. I was speaking of this in a special meeting thirty-five years ago. At my right hand there were two sister workers. Those two were smiling. I had said, for example, that if two people go to the same bedroom to sleep and one says, “Let’s leave the window open,” and the other says, “Close it,” what are we going to do? That had happened the night before with those two sister workers. One wanted the window open; the other wanted it closed. I didn’t ask them how they kept the window, but I knew those sisters well, and I don’t think either would want to impose on the other. Likely they kept the window just half open.

James 5:16, “Confess your faults one to another.” I usually tell what happened to me one time. I had a companion that spoke very rapidly, and sometimes not very clearly. I have become dull in the ears. That is a bad combination. Every day I would say, “Please don’t speak so fast.” Every day, it was the same story. One morning, we were studying the Bible together, and four times I asked him. The last time, he said, “Oh, please forgive me.” I said, “Yes, and it may be the last time.” Then I was sorry. I wished I had never said it, because there can never be a last time in forgiving. I tell people I learned when I had that companion what it meant to forgive seventy times seven. I couldn’t go to pray that night until I had gone and confessed that I was sorry for what I had said. Did your tongue ever get you into trouble like that? It wasn’t the only time my tongue got me into trouble, but the same little tongue that got me into trouble got me out of trouble. The Bible says, “A word fitly spoken (spoken in season) how good it is.” When I confessed, that was a word spoken in season. Then my companion forgave me and set me free. When we confess our faults the one to the other, it binds us closer together. Sometimes I say I have never found it difficult to forgive, but I can’t say I haven’t found it difficult to confess my wrong. What hinders us from confessing our faults? Just common pride. I realize I had pride when I found it difficult to confess my wrong. Sometimes, we wish we could bury that old pride so it wouldn’t come back again. A little boy had a cat. He played with it, but often got scratched. He thought he would like to destroy the cat. He found a sack and put the cat in it. He went down to the river and threw the cat and the sack into the river. He came slowly walking back to the house, thinking of his cat way down in the river. When he got to the house, the cat was the first thing that met him. The cat had got out of the sack and back to the house. That is the way it is sometimes when we try to bury this old pride.

Then we must learn to forgive, because Jesus said, “If you forgive others their trespasses, your Father will forgive you; but if not, your Father will not forgive you.” We also read, “Be ye kind one to another.” Kindness is something we see in the life of Jesus, all through His life He was kind to everyone. I think of the time those disciples had gone fishing, and Jesus was somewhat disappointed in them. They toiled one night and got nothing, and when they came to land Jesus was waiting on the shore. The first words He said were, “Children, have you any meat?” Very kind words. He could have said, “Why did you go fishing?” Sometimes we say kindness has never scratched anyone, and has never left a scar, but kindness has often healed the wounds. Someone asked a person, “If you had to live life over again, is there something you would do differently?” She said, “I think I would try to be more kind.” A woman lived close to the friends for many years, wasn’t professing. Finally, she came to meetings and made her choice. One of the workers asked, “What was the reason you came to the meetings and made your choice?” She said, “I think it was the kindness of the friends.” “Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of my brethren, you have done it unto Me.” When we have been unkind to our brethren, we have been unkind to Jesus.

James 5:16, “Pray one for another.” It’s good to try to pray for one another, pray for the members of the church. Sometimes I have prayed for friends and workers miles and miles away, and then my conscience troubled me, because I didn’t pray for my companion. I feel I have often failed to pray for my companions. A lady made her choice in our meetings in West Africa (I work among the black people). When she professed, her husband left her with three little children, not because of the truth, but he just went off with another woman. Our friend had to raise those three little children. A little boy just shortly before I left Africa came to our bach and told us he wanted to begin to serve God, just eleven years of age. Sometime afterward, he prayed for his father in the meeting on Sunday. It was touching to hear him pray for his father that had forsaken him. The elder of the little church was so touched he could hardly speak in the meeting. Sometimes, we can learn good lessons from little children.

Colossians 3:9, “Lie not one to another.” I wouldn’t like to think that God’s children would tell lies to one another, but we are so human that sometimes, we don’t tell the whole truth. If it’s something that’s going to harm our own character, we sometimes don’t tell the whole truth. One of our friends told us that when he was a little boy the neighbor had a plum tree in the garden, and the branch came over the wall. One day when the plums were getting ripe, the boy was tempted, took a stick, and shook the branch. Nice plums fell on the ground. When he was picking up the plums, his father came. “What are you doing?” he asked. “I am picking up the plums that fell from the neighbor’s tree.” He was telling the truth, but not the whole truth. “Did you shake the tree?” He had to tell the truth, because he knew that to tell a lie would be worse for him. “You take those plums and go to the neighbor and tell him what happened.” He took them and said, “Here are some plums that fell from your tree.” “Oh, you are a good little boy.” He told the truth, but he didn’t tell the whole truth. The father asked, “What did the neighbour say?” “He said, ‘You are a good little boy.’” “Did you tell him you shook the tree?” “No.” You can tell the truth, but not the whole truth, and it changes the whole story. An honest person will take sides against himself.

James 4:11, “Speak not evil one of another.” When I read this, I think of Mary and the costly ointment. Judas said, “‘What a waste.” Was that not evil speaking? When a person has done his best and you complain, that is speaking evil. Sometimes, those words can cut very deeply. But Mary didn’t say a word. Sometimes, it’s difficult to keep silence at a time like that. She could have said, “Judas, you mind your own business.” She kept silent, and Jesus took her part. Sometimes when we keep silent the Lord takes our part. Jesus said to Judas, “Let her alone,” which is almost the same as saying, “Mind your own business.” We need to be careful not to speak evil of one another.

Galatians 5:13, “By love serve one another.” When I read this, I think of Jesus in that upper room with His disciples. At every convention I attended in Australia, this account was mentioned. Jesus never became too great to serve. He said, “I am Lord and Master, but I am among you as He that serves.” He never became too great to lay aside His apron of service. We will never become too great to lay aside our apron of service. A sister worker in West Africa, I always think she teaches us how to serve. She always finds some little thing in which to serve.

Ephesians 4:2, ”Forbearing one another.” We are all a little different, and we have little ways of our own, and we need to bear. A brother worker said, “My companion is a little queer. In the morning after breakfast, I take a glass of water and wash my teeth. I put the glass with the other dishes to be washed. When he washes the dishes, he puts that glass to one side and won’t wash it until he has washed all the other dishes. He even washes the greasy frying pan before he washes my glass. That’s a little queer.” But I said, “There are lots of problems without making a problem, and if I were you I would wash the glass and put it in its place for the next time, and there wouldn’t be any problem. Why put your glass there every morning and torment your companion?”

The following says, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The Lord would like to see us making an effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. Sometimes we find it isn’t the nice carpet on the floor, or the nice chairs, that make a good home, but it’s the spirit in the home that is the all important thing. You could have carpets and cushions and chairs, but the home wouldn’t be fit for Sunday morning meeting. It’s the spirit in the home that makes the home what it should be. I had a letter from a worker who was staying in a home. She said, “We appreciate the peaceful, cooperative spirit in this home.” I knew that home. Cooperation between the husband and wife, cooperation between children and parents, a peaceful spirit. Three children are now professing. The oldest is in the ministry. It’s good to remember to try to keep the unity of the spirit in the home.

We need to try to keep the unity of the spirit as companions. A worker went overseas to a new field. He arrived with a true purpose to just fit in. His companion had been there some time, and was doing the marketing, cooking, concerning different customs and habits. His companion said, “I will do the cooking the first week (very kind of him), and you can do the cooking the next week.” Every day for the noon meal, he made a salad: lettuce, onions, tomatoes, oil, etc. Then he put in some garlic. The brother wasn’t used to garlic in salad, but he made no complaints. The next week, it was his turn. He thought, “I have to make a salad, because my companion likes salad.” So he made the salad as usual, but he thought, “I don’t like garlic, so maybe I should make it without the garlic.” No, that won’t please my companion. He thought he could make two salads. “No, if I do that he will be obliged to do the same.” In went the garlic. He ate it with his companion, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

When I was leaving Canada for the first time to go to Africa, I realized that I was leaving all my companions and good friends behind, going all alone. Then I thought, “I am taking memories with me.” That was nice. I thought about those memories, and I realized it isn’t altogether what we have been or what we have done, but we leave our spirit. I realized I was taking a memory of every one of my companion’s spirit. I knew I was leaving behind me a memory of my spirit. That was very, very searching. I realized that day that I could go nowhere without leaving a memory of my spirit. This applies to all of you, as well as to myself. A worker went to a certain state to conventions. Some years later he went back to that same state. A responsible brother said, “What we remember from your last visit is your spirit.” I would like to try to be a better companion.

Since coming to this convention, I have been very conscious that there has been a merciful God, and there have been merciful listeners and there have been merciful servants. These are the three things that are so important and most of all, I feel that we need to lay to the heart as the servants of God to be merciful. I have noticed that when Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus, and two of his co-workers he wrote to them saying, “Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you,” but when he wrote to the saints like to the Philippians, Ephesians and others, he says, “Grace and peace.” As we deliver this message of God, we need to be merciful to deliver these things with mercy, considering one another and we are thankful that this truth came to us in mercy. A merciful God and merciful servants that deliver the message of God in the spirit of kindness. We can pay back a debt of gold, but we are forever in debt to one who is kind. I feel that I owe so much to those who have brought the message of hope and life and they brought it in such a Godly way that I could not deny it. I am thankful that this way of truth is still the same. I was glad that yesterday I could have the privilege of standing on the shore and watching the baptism as one by one they entered into the water that brought back good memories that refreshed my soul. I remember a little baptism we had in Mexico. We were gathered at the water’s edge and a brother came to me, he said, “Would it be alright when I am being baptized if I have my keys in my pocket?” I said, “I suppose they won’t rust,” He said, “That is what I am thinking about if I have my keys in my pocket; I can’t baptize my home, I can’t baptize my car, but if when I am baptized, I have my keys in my pocket, every time I put the key into the door of my home I can purpose that nothing can pass the door of this home that displeases God, and every time I put the key into the car this car will go no place that will dishonour God.” I said, “Yes, baptize the keys.” Good if we could try to keep these things before us, that baptism not only means that we take this step but purpose in our hearts that everything that we own is used for the honour of God, to please Him and do His bidding.

I have been reading in Matthew, and some of the first chapters have appealed to me very much. We read first all about Joseph, he was a just man. The birth of Jesus was a miracle birth and the birth of John the Baptist was a miracle birth and we remember others. Isaac was a miracle birth. Abraham and Sarah thought it would be impossible. Samuel was a miracle birth. Sampson was a miracle birth and can you think of another miracle birth? I would say a miracle birth that is most important to me was the day that I was born into the family of God and made part of this family of God. God desires a family, not an organisation, not a religion, God desires a family and the only possible way to enter the family is by a new birth. The world today is full of religion and they are multiplying and it leaves people confused. Jesus says, “I have come to give you Life.” It is life that the Lord desires to give us. In this 1st chapter it tells us about Joseph v.19, “He was a just man,” Joseph was a just man and he didn’t act on first impulses. His first impulse was to put her away. While he thought on this thing, God appeared to him in a dream. When I read in the Bible about a dream, it is something that we all can be partakers of. When a person is dreaming, they are alone in a quiet place and thoughts come into a person’s mind and it is then that the Lord is able to make clear what we ought to do. While he thought of these things, he didn’t act on impulse. You remember the time that David went to Nathan and talked to him of that desire in his heart that he wanted to build a house for God. Nathan listened to him and he said, “That is perfectly good, it is a Godly mark, you can go ahead.” But it tells us that night an angel appeared to him, he was doing just exactly what every servant of God does before going to sleep, we think about the need and ask God’s mind, His will, and His purpose, and the Lord told him, “It is not for David to build but it is for his son, Solomon.” Nathan was man enough, the next day he went to David and he told him, “Well, I thought of these things and in the night, the Lord appeared and He made clear to me that it is not for you to build, it is for your son.” David could very easily have been provoked and said, “How do you expect me to have any confidence in you? One day, you tell me something and the next day, you tell me something else.” But David accepted it in the right spirit and he said, “I will do everything to let the one that God chooses build.” Sometimes we like to do things but it is not in the will of God. We can think if I cannot do it, I am just going to sit and pout. How good if we can feel, I will strengthen the hands of the one the Lord chooses to do things. I have felt very glad in my heart that a man like Joseph, a man that was Godly, he took the Lord’s advice, “That which will be born of her is of God,” Helps her, stand by her, and be loyal to her and Joseph was all that.

There were wise men that came from the east, came seeking Jesus. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem; they were wise men because they were seeking Jesus. We are wise in the eyes of the Lord when we consciously seek to find Jesus and to serve Him and to worship Him. As a result of their going, they were led by a star. A star that men cannot control and the servants of God are reflecting the light of the Son and they are not controlled by man, they are controlled by God. That star led them, they turned back and went away first of all and thought it cannot be. The star apparently waited till they came and they followed it and found Him in the home. That is where we find the Lord today in a home where God’s honour dwells and where God is dwelling. We read about another wise man in Chapter 7, “A wise man digs deep,” that is the kind of a person that God will call wise, that builds on a solid rock. We are building day by day a temple that man cannot see, and it is good when we dig deep. One building in Mexico stood 44 stories high and it was not moved by the earthquake. They built according to specifications and for 3 years they were driving piles one after another night and day until they reached solid rock. Then that building was put on rockers and when the earthquake came, the architect of that building stayed in his office, and that building never moved, it swayed but did not move, not a crack in it, it was built on the solid rock. Three years, night and day, driving piles one after another, on top of each other until they reached solid rock. A lot of time was spent laying a foundation and wherever this gospel is preached a lot of time is spent laying a foundation. We are thankful for God’s servants that came to this country. Came to our country and came to every part, they laid a solid foundation, a foundation that can never be moved and we are thankful for that. God called them wise men.

There were wise virgins, wise virgins because they had oil in their lamps. Virgins refers to the church. Five were wise and five were foolish and they were all together, they all had their lamps but some of them were just unwilling. There were certain reservations, I am not just willing for all of what the servants say, “They are just expecting a bit too much.” But those that had the oil in their vessels, there were no reservations. It says that the call came at midnight, the end of one day and the beginning of a new day. They that were ready had the oil in their vessels. Everything in order, everything in shape. Others said, “Lend us your oil,” but they could not lend it. They were willing for anything then no matter what it cost, they were willing now and they tried, but the door was shut. I tell you folks, it pays to be willing and to have everything ready. There was one sailor and he was made captain of a ship for a certain company and they enquired of him, “Are you able to take care of that ship and have it in good shape so that when the tempest comes and the winds blow, will you be able to keep it?” The man answered, “When the wind blows, I can lay down and sleep.” It was because everything was battened down, everything was taken care of. Everything is safe, everything is secured. A sailor once said, “There were boats made of wood, but there were men made of steel. Now there are boats made of steel, but there are just men of wood, not able to stand much.” The Lord wants solid men. We heard a good deal about men yesterday and I enjoyed it. The Lord likes to see those that are men. I know a good friend of mine, he said, “In my home I wear the pants, but my wife tells me which ones to put on!” There are these three things in which the Lord will call us a wise and understanding people, ones that are seeking Him, to know Him, love Him and to do His bidding and that is what the Lord would like us to do.

In Chapters 5 – 7, I noticed 17 times it speaks about “your Father.” We have learnt to value a Father and we are thankful that we can go to One who is our Father and He has an interest in every one of His children. I was brought up in a home I valued my father, but he was stern, he was a stern man, he had an iron hand, but it was covered with velvet. I tried to move that hand a few times, but I could not do it. I am thankful that I had a father like that. I am thankful to my father and mother for the place I have today. One time I was going to school, I was only about 7 years old and when I got to school all the children had some pennies and they could buy a sucker, so I asked dad if I could have a penny to buy a sucker. He said, “We don’t have pennies to buy suckers, we have pennies only to buy bread.” My mother had some pennies in a jar on a shelf and I just thought I would climb up and see if there was some there, and I took some, and took it to school and bought a sucker. It was a good sucker, stolen meat is sweet! I kept doing this until all the pennies were gone and the next day there was just a 5 cents and I took it out anyway and went off to school and I bought 5, to share with my companions and after that I let a couple of days go by because my conscience was bothering men and I crawled up there again and there was 10 cents. I looked at it and took it and put it back and took it again and that day I bought 10 cents worth. But my conscience was bothering me. I came home from school and there was trouble. Mum said, “Dad wants to talk to you.” So I went up and greeted him and he said, “Yes, I have got something to talk to you about.” He said, “Son, have you been taking money from your mother’s little jar up there?” I was tempted to say, “No,” but I had learnt that would go far worse for me and I said, “Yes, I have.” Dad took out a strap and gave me such a thrashing that I can still feel it. He said, “Son, I’m not whipping you because I don’t love you, but it is because I love you.” I felt if that was love, I didn’t want it! Perhaps I would have gone further to see whether my neighbours had any pennies and gone on from there.

When the truth came when I was 17 years old, I was confused. My father was a Baptist and my mother was a Methodist. They were two different doctrines. I prayed, “God, if you have a way in the world, a way that is like the Bible teaches, I would be willing to walk in it with all my heart.” We should never be discouraged that when our prayers are delayed, that means they are refused. God does not answer right away. Time went on, I finished school and worked in a lumber yard, things were going good and I kind of forgot about religion because I was making money. As I came home from work one day, I drove past a tent that said, “Gospel meetings beginning Wednesday night.” I told mother and dad about it. He said, “That is strange, there was nothing announced in the church.” He said, “We will go and see what they have to say.” My mother and father were both blind. They used to go out together. They had an extra sense. I said, “Dad, you go to everything, you go to the Pentecostals, you go to the Adventists.” He said, “Yes, we want to see whether we can find something better.” When they came back they said these people were different from everything. I asked him what kind of meetings they had there and he said, “Why don’t you go to listen.” But I did not until he told me, “We are not going to the Baptist church, we are going to a home. You haven’t heard anything, so you go back to where you belong.” I had a friend and I asked him if he knew these preachers. That was back in 1922. He said, “I have listened to them and they are doing things exactly as the Bible teaches, they go two by two, they don’t take a collection, they do exactly like Jesus did, they are sticking to the book.” He was already enrolled to be a Baptist preacher. He said, “I know one thing, you couldn’t be a Baptist and be one of them.” We went out and I will never forget that meeting. We were told in that meeting that in the tent we were trying to make you see the difference between man’s way and God’s way, but here we are meeting together to have fellowship. We are going to have a time of prayer and we don’t want to hear Pharisee prayer, but prayers that come from the heart. My father was a deacon in the Baptist church but I tell you that morning I heard my father pray and his prayer was different, he didn’t pray a Pharisee prayer. I heard my mother pray, she thanked God for the truth and she prayed for me. I got down on my knees, my mother and father didn’t know I was there then. After the meeting, I went up to dad and took hold of his hand. He said, “What are you doing here?” I said, “I came to see what you are doing.” He said “Don’t do it just because mother and I are doing it.” My friend and I went back to the Baptist church and the preacher was awful[ly] dry and we grabbed our caps and went back to the tent and 3 weeks later, we both decided. I remember talking about going into the work. Never had the thought entered my mind that I will be a preacher. God revealed to me about going into the work. This put something in my heart, “If I could be useful to help one soul to get to Heaven, it would make life worth living.” I told dad, “If I go into this work, I won’t be able to help you.” Dad said, “Don’t worry about mother and I, God will stand by us.” I talked to my brother but he said, “If you go into the work, I will stay home and look after mother and father and then I will go into the work, too.” But mother and father didn’t cooperate, they didn’t die! My brother married a good girl and they have done well. They have 3 children and all of them are professing. One of my brother’s boys went into the harvest field and he labours with us in Mexico. We are thankful that the Lord still works and we are thankful for those that are workers with us.

“My Father which art in heaven, Thy Kingdom come.” That is something I feel with all my heart that we are praying for and should continue to pray for. The last prayer that we have in the New Testament – come, Lord Jesus come. We are thankful that the power of God is what helps us. There are four powers that contribute to our salvation. First, the power of God unto salvation. But it took more than that. I listened to great gospel servants when I was in the Baptist church, but I never saw any example. This gospel came by the power of example – those that were doing what they were saying and there is a power of prayer. I am thankful for those that prayed for me when I was not able to pray. And the other is the power of love. Matthew 10, “He gave them power against unclean spirits…” We have the first list of workers that was ever made and they are two by two. It tells us how He sent them – “Go not in the way of the Gentiles…go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” These are things that the power of the gospel can do, it helps us to have healing. It tells us in Mark 5 that the power of the Lord was there to heed and we are thankful that as we look at him that as we see Jesus there is healing, and there is willingness. The Lord desires to heal us so that we can walk. The Lord healed that man and there is cleansing, people are raised from the onus of sin to walk in newness of life and to cast out devils. “Freely you have received, freely give.” Don’t make any provision for the future, the Lord will take care of that. A worthy workman, a worthy servant, a worthy home and a worthy person. “Enquire who is worthy and abide there” and that is what the Lord is still looking for. “Behold I send you forth as sheep among wolves…” There is no hope that a sheep can defend himself, the only hope that a sheep has is that it has a shepherd that will care for it, because it cannot protect itself. “Be wise as serpents, as harmless as a dove.” A serpent can keep alive only by keeping hidden, camouflaged, people don’t even know. Sometimes they paint a picture of a snake coming down a tree and speaking to Eve. If I know a woman, she would go as fast as she could go if she sees a snake, but he came down as an angel from heaven. To keep it simple, a dove when he makes the nest, you can count the eggs at the bottom, not like a sparrow. The sparrow is like the false prophets. It is a poor horse that cannot carry his own harness. Verse 41, “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward, and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.” I remember I was pretty well discouraged with the Baptist church, father professed, I went to the elder, he was new in the way, I went up to his home and talked with him and he gave me a warm greeting and he said, “I would not trade what I have in the Lord for the best farm in Iowa.” We talked over the things of God and I went home and thanked God for a righteous man. We would like when we go to the homes of our brothers and sisters to leave something that would feed their souls and they can feel I have received a servant’s reward. “He that giveth a cup of cold water…” It means to give a drink of water that comes from the well of life. David poured out the water from the well of Bethlehem. I am thankful for those who have given us a cup of cold water to encourage us in the way of truth.

I wonder if you folks have ever noticed that President Reagan cannot move this little finger? You know why? Because it is mine. He can move his finger, but he cannot move mine. Sometimes people ask us why is it that the Lord allows so much evil? There are so many people who are killed and destroyed, and so many people who have no regard or respect for God, or for their parents, or for authority. Why doesn’t the Lord take them out of the way, wring their necks? The reason is because they are not His children. The Lord deals with His children.

I remember one time I was with a neighbor boy, and my father had told us very strictly, “Don’t you boys ever play with matches. They are dangerous.” This neighbor boy came over, and he had some matches, and he was burning some paper, and my Dad couldn’t see, but he had a keen ear. He came in and he gave me a thrashing. I said, “Why don’t you thrash the neighbor boy? He had the matches, I didn’t.” He said “That boy isn’t mine. He can do what he wants to do, but you cannot.”

The Lord today allows all the evil that is going on but He is dealing with His children to make ready a people for His coming. God is working to prepare a people, to make ready a people, that when He comes there will be faith on the earth, and there will be those doing the will of God.

There was a man and he wanted his son to be acquainted with the different countries in the world, so he bought him a map, and the father cut it all in pieces. “Now, son,” he said, “I want you to be acquainted with all the different countries of the world, and I want you to put that map together.” It was not very long before the boy called his Dad, and said “Dad, I’ve got it all together.” He said, “Did you know where all those countries were?” The boy said, “I didn’t pay any attention to the countries or the map. I found the man on the back, and when I put him together, the whole world came together again.” That is what the Lord is interested in. He is interested in putting us together, to keep us in shape so we will be able to serve Him, and we don’t need to worry about what is going on in the world.

I enjoyed very much what our brother mentioned. He said, “So many people in the world today are worried that this world is going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, or something like that.” He told us clearly that the Lord will never allow that. Only God’s people know and understand that the Lord will take care of it in a different way. When the time comes, when this world will be destroyed, it is the Lord who will be doing it. He is not leaving that to man. He will take care of that Himself. So we as God’s people don’t need to be worried about the world being destroyed by atomic bombs or anything else that man could invent for destruction. The Lord has reserved that for Himself, and it won’t be until the Lord puts an end to all things, and it will come, as we were hearing, as a thief in the night, and it will go out as a ball of fire. We are thankful that these things are in the hand of a loving God, and only what He allows will take place.

I do not have anything new to tell you this afternoon. We don’t go out to the garden to get something new, but we go to the garden to get something fresh. In the garden there are some things like potatoes, squash, peas, radishes, beans, the very same things, but we go out to the garden to get something fresh, and I go to the Bible with a desire in my heart not to find something new, but to try to find something that is fresh and will feed us, and the old truths that we listened to in the beginning, that stirred our hearts and gave us a living hope. They never grow old. You can tell it over and over again, and it is still the sweet story, the sweetest story ever told.

We are thankful for these truths we have in the Bible that will continue to feed us and strengthen our faith, and give us confidence that Jesus is the same yesterday, and today and forever. His doctrine has never changed. He is still the same. Jesus brought to the world a doctrine, and it was a doctrine that had its beginning before the foundation of the earth, and Jesus brought to the world a perfect doctrine. Jesus, when He was preaching and teaching, said, “This doctrine is not my doctrine, it is my Father’s.” That is something that gives us hope. This doctrine which we have received had its origin in Heaven, with the Father before the foundation of the earth, and Jesus came into the world to lift up God’s eternal truth, and what Jesus lifted up we desire to hold up and never let it down. It is like a flag that represents our country. It should never, never touch the ground. That is something that is just as true in the Heavenly kingdom. It is something that should never be dropped to the ground, and the desire of our hearts is to hold up what Jesus held up, and to carry this same message to men and women to all parts of the world.

This gospel will not be preached to all the world until Jesus comes again. Jesus told His disciples, first of all He sent them only to the tribe of Israel, and then He said they would not be able to cover the cities of Jerusalem before the Son of God returns. His last commission was, “Go ye into all the world, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” First of all, He gave them a message: “Go ye into all the world.” He gave them a field, and I tell you, folks, it is a large field. The field is the world. It is what Jesus said when He was talking about the sower going forth to sow.

As I look at this congregation this afternoon, the thought comes to mind very clearly, “Behold, a sower went forth to sow” and it was good seed, and it fell into good and honest hearts, and produced fruit. “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Then He gave them a backing. “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” This gospel will not be preached unto all the world until Jesus returns, and when all the faithful that have lived then this gospel will be preached to all the world.

When I think about the country where I have labored, down in Mexico, there are 32 states and so far the gospel has been preached only in 14 states. There are still a greater number that have never had any workers, never had a chance to listen to this gospel. I sometimes wonder, wouldn’t there be some worthy soul there? We are thankful that there are souls that are seeking, and I have every hope that someday they will have opportunity. I remember once we met a family and their daughter. We were having meetings in the neighborhood, in their home and she came one day and said, “There is a lady I wish you would invite to the meetings, because she is very confused.” We went over and told her that this lady had sent us over to invite her to meetings in the home. She said, “Do you preachers have a church building?”

“No, we don’t. We have the meetings in the home.”

“Do you have a church building some place?”

“No.”

“Do you have a church building in the United States?” She questioned us until we just told her that we don’t believe in church buildings, because the Bible makes it clear that God doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands. She came to those meetings. She listened and embraced it, and then she told us her story. She said, “We were brought up knowing nothing else but Catholicism.” Her father wanted to understand more. So, he went to the priest where they lived, and said, “Would you give me the privilege to read the Bible?”

The priest said, “That is dangerous. It would get you quite confused.”

He said, “I will read it, and what I don’t understand I will come and ask you about it.”

He insisted, and so the priest gave it to him, and he said, “Be awfully careful.”

After a couple of months he went to see the Priest, and he said, “How are you getting on?” He said, “I enjoyed it. I find things that help me, and there are some things that I have wondered about.”

“Well, tell us.”

“When Jesus was healing one day, some sent to Him and He said, ‘Your mother and brothers are waiting outside.’ What did he mean by that?”

The priest said, “No. They were just his cousins, not his brothers.”

He accepted that. Then he said, “I read in the book that God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Look at all the buildings that we have. What are they all about?”

The priest said, “You give me that Bible. Here you come asking questions no one can answer, and you are all confused.”

He got hold of another Bible and he told his children, “This is the true word of God, and if you ever find a people who are worshiping God, and they don’t have temples, then maybe they are the people, and you go and listen.”

She had never forgotten that. She got mixed up with Jehovah Witnesses and others, because they said they don’t believe in temples, but she said it wasn’t long until they added it to it, and made a regular church building, and she left. Now I feel that God knows and understands the hearts. If that man had ever had a chance to hear the truth he would have accepted it with all his heart. The Holy Spirit was doing a work. Before the sower came, the Holy Spirit was doing the plowing. The Holy Spirit goes before us and does the plowing, and all that is left for us to do is to sow the seed – faithfully sow the seed.

We are thankful we have that privilege today.

The part I have enjoyed reading is a familiar subject that you folks know well: Romans 12 – a chapter that has fed my heart over and over again. The tenth chapter tells us how we can begin in God’s way, and the 12th chapter tells us how we can continue in God’s way and the 16th chapter is God’s honor roll: those who began and continued and finished, and were a blessing in the kingdom.

In that first chapter, we heard a little about it yesterday; it was Paul’s desire to see them and to impart some spiritual gift that was in his heart. This chapter tells us the possibility of attaining to the higher goal, but it also tells us the danger of falling into the deepest hole. If we are willing to allow God to work in our lives it will enable us to reach the higher goal and we are thankful for those who reached the highest goal, but sad to say there are those who have fallen into the deepest hole, because of yielding to the flesh, and allowing the flesh to control, to have control over them and make them of a reprobate mind, and it is a sad, sad picture. We are thankful that even though people may fall into a deep hole, there can be hope.

One of my companions used to say sometimes, “I have been so low I almost have to look up to see the bottom. I was in a cave in Kent and the bottom of that cave was way down in the depths of the earth, and there was a notice I never forgot: “From the lowest depths there is a path that leads to the highest goal.” It encouraged me. People can fall into an awful hole, but if God is allowed to work in their lives and change them, from what they are by nature. God is able to save from anything that has come upon us, or because of what we are by nature and he is able to save us from anything which is in this world that would be contrary to God’s will – bad habits and things like that.

But one thing that God cannot do. He cannot save us against our will. If a person says, “No!” it closes the door, and God cannot do anything for us. But, if we allow Him, He is able to save us from anything that is against us by nature. Sometimes people have such a contrary nature, they could never get saved, but the Lord is able to save us regardless of what kind of nature, and there is nothing in the flesh but what He can save us from. If we are not willing for Him to do a work in us, that is the only thing that will prevent it.

This 10th chapter tells us how to begin in God’s way, and we must have a right beginning. If we don’t have a right beginning, we will not have a right finish. We must begin right. It tells us in Chapter 10:17, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We are thankful for those who have ears to hear. Jesus said, “Blessed are your ears for they hear.” We are thankful that the Lord is able to open our ears. My father used to say that he was awfully glad that it was his sight he lost and not his hearing, because he said, “If I could not have heard, I wouldn’t have known, but as I sat in those meetings and heard the precious truths it gripped my heart, and God did better for me. He has opened the eyes of my understanding to see a way that these eyes could never have seen.” Faith cometh by hearing.

Verse 12. I enjoy that verse. With the Lord there is no respect of persons, but He does respect our choices. Verse 15. I remember as a young man of 20 years of age when I first listened to God’s servants, I really didn’t know much about the Bible, I didn’t know where Matthew was, whether it was in the Old Testament or the New. I listened to those men and this was a new verse to me, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.” I stretched my neck to see what kind of feet they had, maybe had wings on them? They didn’t even have nice polished shoes, but they were the most beautiful feet, because they were carrying the gospel of peace. No hill too high, no road too rough to walk that they were not willing to carry this gospel wherever there was a hungry, seeking soul. We are so thankful for those who carried the message to us. “How can they preach except they be sent?”

Then it says, “Not all obeyed or believed our report.” A lot of people listened when the preachers came to us. All the people who came could not fit in. They were all around outside. I think many were there because of curiosity, but they did not all believe. “Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” That is something that is most important – God revealing to us. The arm is a part of the body. God shows us the true body, which is the church, the living church of God.

This 12th chapter tells us how we can continue in God’s way. I like the way it begins. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” God doesn’t want a dead sacrifice. It’s an appeal he makes to us: “I beseech you.” He didn’t command or order, but he appealed to the very best that was in them. In the country where we labor they work a great deal with oxen, and I have seen those oxen laboring together. They bear the yoke, and when that owner comes out to put the yoke on them, he doesn’t ask them if they have a headache today, or if they are feeling well. No, it is a living sacrifice, willing to go, and they put the yoke on – the yoke that the Lord puts upon us. He said, “My yoke is easy.” It is the same for young and old, for rich and poor. The yoke is just the same. “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.” That is the way that the oxen are still used in the country where we labor. A young ox is placed with an older, and sometimes the old ox has to have a lot of patience, because the young one is not accustomed to the yoke, but the old one steadily ploughs away. We read in Jeremiah where he gives his own testimony, like a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, but he took it and became a faithful messenger of God, able to bear the yoke.

Then it says, “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” I remember when we listened to this truth, the preacher came down to my father, who was a deacon in the Baptist church, and after the workers had left he came and said to my father, “You have been so fooled by those preachers, you have lost your mind.” My father said, “I did, but I got a better one. I have the mind of Christ now.” The renewing of your mind – that is what God desires to do for us, and He is able to make a transformation. They have what we call a transformer, and if it wasn’t for this transformer that reduces the power, it would blow every fuse, but the transformer changes and makes it possible for the lights to burn, and to keep burning. God desires to continue working in our lives that work of transformation, and it is a work of co-operation, not of competition, It takes the effort of every member working together.

For example, when the stomach gnawing down there says, “I’m sure hungry,” it sends a message to the head, and the eyes look around and see an apple tree. The eye cannot do anything more, and the head sends a message to the feet, and the feet can only bring the body to the tree, and then it sends a message to the arms, “Reach up there and grab it,” and then it goes into the mouth, and then down to the stomach. It took the co-operation of every member of the body in order to be fed, and it takes the co-operation of every one of us in order that this work can continue. A work of competition is who can do it the best? But it’s not that way.

Even the smallest member is necessary. It tells us in this chapter: “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” Which do you think is the easiest, “Rejoice with them that rejoice?”

Sometimes it’s harder when you see them getting privileges, but it is a good thing when we can see someone growing and prospering in God’s way, and they are filling a useful place and can do things that I cannot do, and I am glad they can. And then to weep with them that weep. I was in a home not so long ago, and the man was lifting a log, and something happened and it dropped on his toe and smashed that toe right down. Every member in his body stayed awake all night because of that big toe. Not one went to sleep. They were all feeling so sorry for that big toe. It is good when we can have a spirit like that, watching together, feeling together, and the Lord is able to bring a transformation in our lives, a work that is seen in nature.

For example, a little wooly caterpillar, it is on the ground, and it lives off the ground. All it has to eat is what it can get out of the ground – no power to rise above. But the time comes when it goes into a little cocoon and unseen to every eye, a work of transformation is taking place, and when that cocoon opens the caterpillar doesn’t come out, but a butterfly comes out and has the power to rise above that which it never had before. It is changed, and instead of feeding around the mud and dirt, now it is feeding on the honey from the flowers. God does this kind of work of transformation in your life and mine, and good when we experience these things.

It tells us also in this chapter the way we should serve. Verse 6, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith.” When a person gives their testimony we have to be careful we don’t make it too big. Someone said one time, “If I had a hundred lives I would live them all like this one. I would want them all to honor God.” I thought to myself, “If I manage to get through this one to honor Him I think I will be doing well.” That is what the Lord wants us to do, that we will be faithful.

Don’t make the check too big. I could write a check for $10,000 and give it to you, and you think I am a rich man, but take it to the bank, and it’s no good at all. Not one cent would you get from the bank. We need to be sure that we have got the backing, as we were hearing this morning. What we do is much more important than what we say. That is very true.

Also in verse 8: “He that exhorteth, on exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity, he that ruleth, with diligence, he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.” Something that is so important is this simplicity. I like the way Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, he wrote to them that they should be able to conduct themselves, with sincerity and simplicity, and there was no one who practiced this more than our Master – Godly sincerity and simplicity. No one made these precious truths of God so simple that even a child could understand them.

I remember some of the preachers who came to the Baptist church we used to attend. They spoke so eloquently, such sermons, and I didn’t know what they spoke about. Jesus used the most simple illustrations. When He saw the fishermen, He spoke, “Behold the kingdom of God is like a fisherman casting the net into the sea.” He talked of the good and the bad fish, and that the good would be separated from the bad. He used the most simple illustrations that anyone could understand, even a child.

That is why I have valued so much in God’s service those who came to us. They used the language we could understand, and we didn’t have to guess at anything. They made it so clear.

Verse 9, “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good.” A person who is a lover of flowers must hate the weeds; doesn’t want the weeds to grow because they would spoil the flowers. “In honor preferring one another.” We are so inclined if any honor is coming that we like to have it, but any blame coming, then that is the other fellow. I sometimes tell the story of two men who went deer hunting. They tramped all day long and didn’t see a single deer, and it was getting towards the close of the day and they were coming home, and then they saw an animal, about the same size and color of the deer, and they took their guns and they both shot, and as they were running towards it they were both saying, “It’s mine. I killed it.” But when they got to it, instead of being a deer it was the neighbor’s cow, and then they both said, “You killed it. I didn’t.”

If there is any honor let it come to me, but if any blame, it’s the other fellow. “In honor preferring one another.” Let another receive the honor. If we would have that spirit in us it would enable us to be a blessing in the church. Then in verse 12, there are three things that are very important: “Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer.” When we have patience and are passing through hard times, and let patience have her perfect work, when we have these three virtues in us they will be a blessing, and will help us stand in the time of adversity.

Jesus also said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you and do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Bless and curse not. ” Verse 16, “Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.” Another verse tells us more or less the same thing, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, to have a humble opinion of our own importance. Sometimes people think that if I don’t get to Heaven, no one will be there. Verse 18, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”

One man told of having a rock-throwing contest. There were some rocks and he threw them over to his neighbor’s side. Next morning when he got up, they were all over on his side. They kept doing that for quite a little while. One day he decided he had better take them and throw them on the rock pile. When the neighbor saw him doing that, he said, “I should have done that myself instead of leaving it up to you.” It’s good to live peaceably with all men. Verse 20, “If thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.”

In Chapter 16, I appreciate this because it gives us a list of God’s honor roll, people who obtained a good report. In verse 1, we read about Phoebe, who was a sister, a servant of the church and one who had been a succorer of many, and “myself also,” Paul could write. We value our sisters. I never had a sister in the flesh, and sometimes I wish I had. She was a helper to many, and a helper to Paul also. Then, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus, who have for my life laid down their own necks, unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house.”

Three years ago I had the privilege of visiting Rome. I didn’t go to see the Vatican, but some parts I wanted to see, and one was the road which led from the sea where those few saints had come out to greet them. Paul was a prisoner. They could not speak, but it says when he saw them that he thanked God and took courage. I saw the home where Priscilla and Aquila lived before they were sent out of Rome. I went inside and looked at it, and also went to the prison where Paul wrote his last letter.

He was only allowed to write one letter, and not a very nice place to live, just a poor bed, but impressions were made in that home, and I was glad I could see it. Later they had to flee from Rome, and that is when they went to Ephesus. They were useful in finding Apollos, who later labored with Paul. Verses 6 and 7, Evidently they had professed before Paul professed, were already in the truth and in Christ before he was, and he followed then. Then verse 9, one by one he mentions them. Verse 13, “Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.” She wasn’t Paul’s in the flesh but she was one of the hundreds. Jesus said, “Every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or fathers or other or wife or children of land for my name’s sake shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” She was one of the hundreds in Christ.

I am so thankful for the mothers in Christ today, just willing to sew a button on my shirt, like my own Mum did. We are so thankful for mothers in Christ. There are so many others we could consider. It speaks of so many individually. It also says, “The whole church saluteth you.” They all had a good name and they were on God’s honor roll.

May God help us that we would so live so that our names may be on the honor roll, our names could be written in Heaven on the in Heaven on the last great day. It tells us in Revelation that day the books will be opened, and all the nations shall be judged out of those books. Do you know what those books are? The very same books we have, the 66 books of the Bible that give instructions for every need. Instructions for God’s servants. Instructions for the church. Instructions for young men and women. Instructions for those going to get married. Instructions for those that are married, so that they could maintain a worthy home and be a blessing.

It tells us the books will be opened and all nations judged by what is written in those books, and also will be opened the Lamb’s Book of Life, and whose ever name is not written there will be will be cast into the lake of fire, eternal separation where their worm dieth not, eternal separation from the Lord. Sometimes people ask, “How many members do you folks have down there in Mexico? Don’t you keep a membership file?” No, the Lord takes care of that. I am glad it is not up to us, because we could not do it. Only God in Heaven knows all His people in every part. We might say, “If it were up to us, that that person could be there, or someone else,” and maybe we would put some names down and not others. But there are many worthy souls perhaps by themselves and unnoticed, and we could overlook them, but I tell you folks, the Lord doesn’t overlook them. In that day, their names will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I am very thankful the Lord keeps that Book, and I hope our names will be there.

I would just like to tell you about a study that I have enjoyed, about a whale. Every year the enormous humpback whales migrate thousands of miles from the frozen waters of Alaska where they feed all summer, to the warm waters off of the island of Maui, among the Hawaiian Islands, where in winter they give birth to their young. When they travel, they communicate with each other by singing mysterious songs that can be heard underwater for miles and miles. They make grunting, groaning, burping, and blowing sounds. They whistle and squeal, and make clicks and snarls in their wild songs throughout the depth of the Pacific Ocean.

On the 9th day of October 1985, a pod of whales was seen en route southward, off of Point Reyes on the coast of California. On the 10th of October, this same family group was seen swimming toward the entrance of the San Francisco Bay when one whale in the pod did something very strange. This whale became famous for this and was in the newspapers worldwide. Scientists have called him “Humphrey.” Mr. Humphrey (because it is a man’s name) left his family and all by himself swam under the Golden Gate Bridge and entered the bay. How different the bay was compared to his home in the waters of the ocean! The waters would have a different color, flavor, and temperature, and there would be new sounds here, like the coughing of the motor boats. He could no longer hear the songs of his family. Humphrey was alone.

In Luke 15, we read of a family with a father and his two sons. No doubt there was a mother, too. They had a happy home. There was music and dancing there and contented servants within its sheltering walls. One day, the younger son did something very strange. He left his family and went his own way to do his own thing. He also made a long journey to another land and was there without his family – alone.

Humphrey, the whale, was now inside the bay where he began to follow the deep underwater channel toward the north, and on into San Pablo Bay. A navy submarine passed by, heading out to sea, and the sailors saw him on their sonar. Humphrey sang a song to it, thinking perhaps it was another whale, but there was no response. There just could not be communication between the two.

The prodigal son, in Luke 15, tried to have fellowship with the people of that far-off land, but they didn’t have much in common. The songs of Zion were not known in that province. They had other music with a different theme, unknown to the people of the young son’s home.

Humphrey now made another turn towards land, this time where the channel passed under the Carquinez Bridge. He passed the cities of Crockett and Benicia. Where was he going? He passed Pittsburg, where the Sacramento River enters the Suisun Bay. By this time he had been seen from the shore and a large crowd of onlookers gathered. They enjoyed the show of being with Humphrey; as it was so unusual of there ever being a whale in the Bay. But he was in dangerous waters.

The people in Luke 15, in that far-off land, watched the prodigal son also. They enjoyed being with him and spent their time feasting as he wasted his substance; Prodigal means “extravagant waster.” But, it was dangerous for him also. To live ungodly surely is to live without control, just as “evil communications corrupt good manners.”

Humphrey was behaving himself without control like the prodigal son. The people asked lots of questions, “What is Humphrey doing here? Has he lost his sense of direction? Is he ill? Is he looking for food?”

Without a doubt there also were questions asked among the people of that far-off land concerning the prodigal son. They surely wondered, “What is he doing here? What does he expect to find here? He is different from us.” But they enjoyed him and so used him. Such is life in dangerous waters.

Now Humphrey swam inland through the narrows and into the Sacramento River where the fresh water flows. His healthy gray/black skin began to rot with fungus and large patches turned whitish. He began to list to one side as he swam. Signs of approaching death appeared. The prodigal son in that land also began to deteriorate. A great famine arose in that land and he began to be in want. His ribs began to show. The signs of death approached.

The people on the shore cried out, “Turn around, Humphrey! Go home!” But he kept on swimming inland under the Rio Vista drawbridge, nearly 70 miles from his ocean home, all the way to “Cache Slough” where he became trapped behind some old bridge pilings. Was it the end for Humphrey?

The prodigal son came to an end, he finally came to himself. He thought of the bounties that he had had in the home of his father; where “my father’s servants have bread and to spare.” Now he had less than nothing. How could he go back? It seemed so effortless to become wrong, the road was all downhill, and now it seemed such an uphill climb to become right again. But how could he ever stay in that far-off land and be right?

The scientists and government authorities met. They said, “Let’s help Humphrey.” They took out the posts of the old bridge and put several boats in the river and made a lot of underwater noise, to drive him out. In this work of the Gospel, the Workers can push people only so far. Christians are like sheep in that they must be led. We cannot drag men and women to God. Humphrey only swam downriver a little way, to where the shadow of the Rio Vista Bridge crossed the river and then he turned back. There was some uncertainty about that shadow on the water that Humphrey didn’t want to cross. In Psalm 23, David said, “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” It is not possible to push the people of God across this shadow of death or any other dark shadow of doubt. They must be led like sheep with the spirit of faith in their shepherd.

The scientists thought, “How can we help him to go through this shadow? We can’t push him. We have to lead him, but how? By now Humphrey’s family of humpback whales had safely arrived in the blissful waters off of Maui. It was there that an Oceanographer made an amazing underwater recording of a pod of whales joyfully feeding on an immense gathering of krill – the whale’s food. This scientist from Hawaii then sent the tape recording of the sounds of humpback whales eating to the rescuers in the Sacramento River. From a boat, the scientists put the recording underwater. Humphrey heard the grunts, groans, and burping of contented whales eating and immediately he swam to the underwater speaker that was mounted on the transom of the Scientist boat. We sing a hymn that says, “So near to the kingdom that thou hearest the songs that resound, from those who believing a pardon have found.” Humphrey heard those joyful sounds and thought of his family and began again to follow the boat downstream and this time he passed all the way through the dark shadow!

Remember the prodigal son? He also remembered the sounds of eating and said, “In my father’s house even the servants have bread and to spare. I will arise and go to my father…”

Humphrey continued following the boat and its happy song. He followed it downriver, under the Benicia Bridge, under the Carquinez Bridge, and across the windy strait of San Pablo Bay. He followed it under the Richmond Bridge to Angel Island. He swam 50 miles in a single day. Early the next day, he followed the boat to the Golden Gate Bridge. By this time he had been in the bay for twenty-four days. A lot of people had heard of Humphrey and thousands of people gathered on the docks and along the wharves of San Francisco and across the Bay people stood on the shores of Marin County while high overhead on the Golden Gate Bridge all the early morning rush hour traffic was stopped as cheering people got out of their cars and looked down on Humphrey. The scientist’s boat led Humphrey and behind him, almost a hundred other boats followed! He never swerved to the right or the left as they passed under the Golden Gate and reached the vast Pacific Ocean, he was home!

We sing this hymn, “Do not fear to follow Jesus: He will lead you safely through, every dark and dreary valley and your failing strength renew.” The Pacific Ocean is the largest in the world. Just like God’s heart, it’s the largest place of all and it’s our home. He so gently wants to guide His people into the center of His beloved will and set our feet in a large place. May we come to Him, because His mercy is great, like the wideness of the Sea.

You will notice when we sing this hymn we will sing together “Help me”. Paul wrote, “having received help from God, I continue unto this day”, and the success of this convention is according to the help we get from God. I have noticed in the hymns, the many different hymns, we read these words, “help me”. It is not the help that comes from the platform that will help us to be victors this year but it is the help that comes from God and He is ready and willing to help us.

We should never come to convention with a cloak of mourning because of our failures because of our mistakes because of things that we have done that displeased the Lord because we are coming into the presence of a forgiving God. Neither should we ever come to convention with a cloak of arrogance because we have had wonderful victories. That kind of a spirit is an abomination to the Lord. All of us are here today because God has helped us and His spirit has led us. He desires to supply our needs again today so that we will have strength to live and to walk tomorrow in His presence. What you and I feed on today is going to affect our walk tomorrow. We need to be careful what we are feeding on, we need to be feeding on the things that make us strong so that our walk can be affected tomorrow, so that we will have the strength to be with the overcomers. 

We were hearing this morning that the promises are to the overcomers, not to those who are overcome, and God wants to help us that we can become overcomers. I know of a boy that was drafted into the army. He went very much against his own will and he was in the medics, and he was not happy at all to be there, but they were giving them training. He said it occurred to him, I am learning something here that might save my life and might enable me to save the life of someone else and it caused him to apply himself. We need to be attentive at this convention because what we learn here will enable us to have something that will save our own life and also enable us to save the life of someone else. At a convention one time a brother said there was one thing better than living a life so that we might be able to go to heaven and have God’s well done, and that is being able to take someone else with us, because of having lived right and being a right example, and speaking a word in season to someone that is weary. That was something that touched my heart deeply when I was thinking of the work. 

Isiah 50 – “He hath given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary…”. I thought of those who were like ourselves, we had never heard, never knew, that there was such a thing like the Truth. My Father was a deacon in the Baptist Church. As a young man I used to think if there was nothing to live for than this life offers then there is nothing much to live for, and I felt if God could use me to speak a word to someone, I would be willing to give all of my life for all of my life, and that desire still burns within my heart. But it never occurred to me, because I was professing only two years when I went into the work, that God’s saints got weary and that God’s servants got weary. But I have learned that they do get weary. And it means so much when you meet someone who gives you a boost when your hands are hanging low and your knees are feeble. We heard this morning about how our hands could be useful and God wants willing hands, and our knees which speaks of our walk which could get feeble. I have been thankful for those amongst my fellow workers and my brethren, that have given me a hand when I have been weary. God desires that we will have something in our lives to help another. 

There are things that should be found in every convention there should first of all be a restoration or renewing. We read in the Bible about being restored. It tells us about there being times of restoration and times of refreshing. We are thankful that God has provided these things in this path of life. Times of restoration when we can be renewed and encouraged. Sometimes we need to have our joy restored, because the Lord of Lords is our strength. A person could lose their joy, and if we lose our joy it is hard to serve. When Paul was writing to the Philippian church he was not writing under very favourable conditions, but he never said one thing about the bed or food that he was having. But 14 times in that letter he spoke about the joy and the rejoicing and those are the things that he never lost and it is something that we need to hold on to – don’t lose the joy that came into your hearts, and God needs to help us so that these things could be restored. Our faith needs to be restored. Jesus had to say to some of the best men that ever lived “Oh ye of little faith”. May the Lord restore our faith to us again. David in Psalm 51 said, “renew a right spirit within me and restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation” He didn’t want a wrong spirit to be controlling him. He was not blaming anyone else, but he said unto the Lord, renew unto me a right spirit. That is something the Lord desires to help us to have, and the Lord desires also to restore our strength so that we could be like the eagle that is able to soar above all the difficulties.

The inward man can be restored. That is something we need to have; the inward man is restored day by day. 2 Corinthians Chp. 4-16. “For though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day”. Though the outward man is dying, the inward man is restored day by day. We could still retain our youth. That is something you like to see in people that even if they are growing old, they have the spirit of the youth, the desire is still the same as was in the beginning. The Lord desires to help us to keep those things preserved that are in our lives and the Lord desires to keep us restored just like a battery, sometimes it gets down so low you have to get it restored. The battery looks just the very same but it has been restored and it has a better kick than it ever had before. We like to see people that are like that, being restored to help them to keep on going. That is something the Lord desires to help us in. 

I like to remember also what Samuel said to the people, (1 Samuel 11-14) “Let us go unto Gilgal and renew the kingdom there” They went up to restore the mountain and they wanted to put the King more firmly on the throne. Good if we will get off the throne and let the Lord be on the throne of our lives, and guide our lives. The Lord desires also to instruct us and that is something that is very important. Paul wrote to Timothy that (2 Timothy 3-6) All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for correction, for instruction, in righteousness”. The instruction was that the man of God could be made more and more what he should be. God desires to instruct us that we could receive instruction. Instruction is an avenue to perfection. Instruction is something we need in ourselves, to be instructed so that we could continue to be instructed. In Mexico where I have been labouring, I saw a sign and a verse that said, “Advise us of our mistakes so that we can serve you better”. Every time I go there, I see that before me. I read that verse so many different times and even when I kneel down to pray, that verse comes to me. I tell the Lord to tell me of my mistakes so that I am able to serve him better and be more to him than I have ever been before. 

Correction is very important. Correction we must always remember is not punishment. Our course needs to be corrected because it is easy to get off course. When the astronauts went off to the moon, every little while their course had to be corrected, because, if they got off course, just a little, just a millimeter, they would miss their goal. Just for a little while their connection with the earth was broken and they knew that if that connection is not restored again, we will never go back, we will never reach the goal and it will be death. That is something that we need to have continuously before us. We don’t want to let anything cause that connection to be severed. There is a thin wire, for the lights in this place, if that wire is cut off, there will be no light. We need to keep that line of communication open so that we can be a light for Him. In the beginning God said, “Let there be light”. That was the first thing He created, the light of His own Son. God in Heaven has a treasure, and that is His own beloved Son, that was the light that accompanied God as he made the world, and it was the very same light that Paul saw when he was on his journey to Damascus. God in Heaven has a treasure in this world, and they are His own people. He desires that they will keep their light burning and we want to hold up this Truth high, this light that Jesus brought into the world. 

Just as in the war the orders were “Don’t let the flag ever touch the ground”, and that is what we would like with all our hearts to hold up, what Jesus lifted up, don’t bring it down, not one centimeter. Correction is the avenue to perfection because as time goes on, it keeps perfecting. There is a whole lot of difference between the old model Ford and the new ones, they are perfecting it. We are thankful that the Lord is able to perfect us in the way of perfection. We are not a perfect people, but God desires to perfect us, and I am very glad that we don’t have to be perfect to go to Heaven, but we do have to be right with God, we have to be right with our brothers and sisters, and we have to be right with those on the outside. But if we keep right with God and right with one another and have a good testimony with those outside, we will be able to go on and God will be able to perfect our lives. Sometimes we see people, they build a basement and they think they will build a house on it, but they just keep living in the basement all the time. The Lord wants us to keep building for eternity. That is something the Lord desires to see more in our lives.

Then there is the confirmation, to be re-assured of the things that we are assured of. I remember a man, he listened to the truth, he believed it, and he opened his home and was the elder of the church. We were at a convention two years afterwards, and this was a good convention, but there was something there also that went down to the root of things. We went home with that brother that night. We sat around the table; nobody was saying very much. Then this man spoke, he said, “there is not a doubt but that truth has come to Mexico”. It was not that he didn’t know before, but he was reassured. I was looking at that verse we have in job where it says, there is a path and that path is a path that God has marked. A path that God has marked Himself. We are thankful that God has made this path clear to help us.

There should also be balm in every convention; Jeremiah asks us the question “Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there”. We are thankful that we have a physician that knows, and has a remedy for anything and everything, and God desires to help us so that we can go to this great physician. We often times receive bumps that wound us, but we are thankful that there is balm in Israel There is a lot of difference between the bump and balm. We are thankful that when we get bumps there is also the balm. I remember I was riding with a brother in a car, there was a young man waving his hand. The traffic was going past, and this brother said, “that boy is in trouble, maybe we can give him some help”. So, we stopped and asked, and the boy said, “would you give me a push, my battery is down”. So, we gave him a push and in no time the motor was running and he was off. Many times, we come to convention and we get a boost. We Sometimes don’t get the opportunity to say thank you to the one that gave us a boost, but we go and get a boost, and we are thankful.

Exodus 33, Moses had experiences in his life, heart breaking experiences, but he was a man that loved the people. They often broke his heart, but he still loved them. At one time even the Lord was disgusted and said, I will do away with the whole bunch of them, and He said, I will give you a name. Moses said, forget about my name remember your name and these people. Moses was going up into that mountain for 40 days and God gave to him two tables of stone, written on both sides and he came down after being up there for 40 days. Joshua was by his side. Joshua was the man God was preparing. We are thankful that God is preparing young men and women who will take the place of the older ones as God takes them out of this scene. I am thankful that God is raising up young men in Mexico who are developing into pillars, who will carry on the work just as well when we are taken from this scene. “Ages have not dimmed the record of the souls who’ did their best…. and we have their simple message though they’ve entered into rest”. We have all those who have laboured amongst us. As I think of those in Australia who used to come to our convention, when I was just a young man, like Tom Turner, Willie Hughes. They meant a lot to us. They talked the very same thing, and ages have not dimmed the record of these souls that did their best, toiling praying, and we have their simple message though they have entered into rest. God is preparing Joshua here and when the time came, he was there. When they came down from the mountain it tells, they didn’t hear a cry of victory. Moses threw the tables down and they were broken. The Lord prepared the first tables, and now He said you do it, you prepare them now. I am thankful the Lord is able to duplicate. Jesus’ life was broken, but He is able to take lives today, and He will be writing the very same things for us as we continue to walk with Him. 

Chp.33, It appealed to me very much as I tried to think about coming to this convention. It tells us here, that these men they came, to a cross road. Every one of us, there is not a single person here but there will be a time when we will come to a cross road, and we will hardly know what choice to make. Moses did the right thing, he didn’t lean to his own judgment, he asked the Lord, (Exodus Chp. 33 verse 13-16) “Show me now thy way that I may know thee…and he said, my presence shall go with thee.„”. That was the thing that meant more to him. Verse 16 – “Wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the earth”. God makes us different a people, not different in dress to make ourselves an oddity, but different in our way of life, a different people in our way of worship. He makes us different from all the other people upon the face of the earth and they take notice of that.

When the earthquake came to Mexico a year ago now; Mexico State, the largest city in the world, with 16 million people – they were building that City for over 450 years and in less than 4 minutes, all their labour was brought to the ground, right in the centre of the State, 2000 buildings went down and thousands of people were killed. There was a miracle, one of the friends was up on top of a building when it went down. He was with someone else there too, he was covered with rubble but he saw a ray of light and he helped the other lady out too. Everybody wondered if that man would be dead or alive. Just as soon as it was possible, we went to all the homes of the saints and found them safe. When we went to the home of this man, he had just arrived with only a few scratches. He had a daughter 16 years old, Sarah. The children in school used to call her “grandma Sarah” because she was so different from the rest. But when the quake came, Sarah was just as calm as she could be and the other little children all gathered around her and they asked her, “aren’t you afraid”, she said, “no, because I trust in a God that will never fail “. Another young man, a good boy, a pillar, he was a school teacher and he said, to the children, to gather around him, they said to him, “aren’t you scared?”. He said, “no”. They all gathered around him. We are glad there is youth amongst us that are a blessing in the place that they are. We are thankful that in the midst of all that there was not one of the friends that lost their lives. In the earthquake in San Salvador, we are happy to say that not one of the saints was hurt. The Lord wants us to build and build for eternity. “He who builds beneath the sky builds too low”. God wants us to be a people separated from all the people. 

The Lord said to Moses, I know thee by name. The Lord knows us by name. Just as Zacchaeus when he climbed up that tree, he had a lot of obstacles but he overcame all the obstacles. He could have blamed the Lord and said, the Lord made me so small, but Jesus called him by name, Zacchaeus. The Lord knows everyone of us by name. The Lord told Moses I know thee by name, Moses said, “I beseech Thee, show me now Thy glory”. He asked for two things, he asked that he would “show him His way”, and show him His glory. They were the two things Moses asked for. The Lord said, ” there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock”. There is no safer place for you and me to be in than upon the rock. It will enable us to see things as God sees them, God looks for those who will see things as He sees them. It tells us that He looked for a man after His own heart. God is looking for homes that are according to His own heart. There is a place by me. When you are standing close to a person, it is a whole lot easier to hear his voice. The Lord wants to put us on the rock and it will also enable us to see things as he sees them. Sometimes people say. I don’t see it like that. 

We read about David, (Psalm 40-12) “I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined unto me. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit” He did just one thing and the Lord did seven things. First of all the Lord inclined unto him, He heard his cry, and he brought him up out of the horrible pit. God found every one of us in some kind of a pit, some people were found in a pit of pleasure, some in a pit of confusion, some people in a religious pit, and he says, “in the miry clay”, getting nowhere, just bogged down. He says he brought me up and put my feet on the rock. We read about the time when the Lord gave to Jacob, a vision of the ladder, and he had a stone for a pillow. It is a good stone to have. The Lord as our headstone. The Lord was able to show to him a ladder that reached to Heaven, and the angles of God ascending and descending, unnoticed, unseen, but they are doing their job.

Down in Chile, a place we went to a good number of years ago, a volcano erupted and it did so much damage. One of the homes was where one of the saints was living. He made a living by raising sheep and a little corn field, and he also had some beehives. Miraculously, he saw the waters come to his little farm and they parted and left his little farm there safe and sound. I can’t believe anything else but the angel of the Lord stood there and the waters could go no further. We are thankful that the angel of the Lord stands and is a help. The angels work in our favour in such a way that we don’t know how to appreciate it, and what they mean to us as we are walking in this pathway of God. “There will be a place by me upon the rock. In Chp.34 he says, “Be ready in the morning” and “No man shall come up with thee…”. The Lord passed by before “. We are thankful for this mercy and this Truth of God. It says, that Truth is unto the clouds, but mercy is unto the Heavens”. We are thankful that the mercy of God has been able to help us. We are thankful for the Truth. “The Truth of God so precious I value more each day”. I tell you folk I am thankful for the mercy of God that has kept us, and helped us, and led us and dealt so kindly with us in our failures and that same merciful God is by our side today.

Sunday Morning – Hymn 297

Clarence Anderson 

Since coming to this convention I have been very conscious that there has been a merciful God, and there have been merciful listeners and there have been merciful servants. These are the three things that are so important and most of all I feel that we need to lay to heart as the servants of God – to be merciful. I have noticed that, when Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus, and two of his co-workers, he wrote to them saying grace, mercy and peace be unto you, but when he wrote to the saints like to the Philippians, Ephesians and others, he says ‘grace and peace’ and as we deliver this message of God we need to be merciful, to deliver these things with mercy, considering one another, and we are thankful that this truth came to us in mercy. A merciful God and merciful servants that deliver the message of God in the spirit of kindness. We can pay back a debt of gold, but we are forever in debt to one who is kind. I feel that I owe so much to those who have brought the message of hope and life and they brought it in such a Godly way that I could not deny it. I am thankful that this way of truth is still the same. 

I was glad that yesterday I could have the privilege of standing on the shore and watching the baptism as one by one they entered into the water, that brought back good memories that refreshed my soul. I remember a little baptism we had in Mexico. We were gathered at the waters edge and a brother came to me, he said ‘would it be alright when I am being baptised if I have my keys in my pocket?’. I said ‘ I suppose they wont rust!’ He said that is what I am thinking about if I have my keys in my pocket; I can’t baptise my home, I cant baptise my car, but if when I am baptised I have my keys in my pocket, every time I put the key into the door of my home I can purpose that nothing can pass the door of this home that displeases God; and every time I put the key into the car this car will go no place that will dishonour God. I said ‘yes baptise the keys” Good if we could try to keep these things before us, that baptism not only means that we take this step but purpose in our hearts that everything that we own is used for the honour of God, to please Him and do His bidding.

I have been reading in Matthew, some of the first chapters have appealed to me very much. We read first all about Joseph, he was a just man. The birth of Jesus was a miracle birth and the birth of John the Baptist was a miracle birth and we remember others. Isaac was a miracle birth. Abraham and Sarah thought it would be impossible. Samuel was a miracle birth. Sampson was a miracle birth and can you think of another miracle birth? I would say a miracle birth that is most important to me was the day that I was born into the family of God. It is a miracle birth that any of us today have been born into the family of God and made part of this family of God. God desires a family, not an organisation, not a religion. God desires a family and the only possible way to enter the family is by a new birth. The world today is full of religion and they are multiplying and it leaves people confused. Jesus says I have come to give you life. It is life that the Lord desires to give us. 

In this 1st ch. it tells us about Joseph v.19- We was a just man’ Joseph was a just man and he didn’t act on first impulses. His first impulse was to put her away. While he thought on this thing, God appeared to him in a dream When I read in the Bible about a dream it is something that we all can be partakers of. When a person is dreaming they are alone in a quiet place and thoughts come into a person’s mind and it is then that the Lord is able to make clear what we ought to do. While he thought of these things he didn’t act on impulse. 

You remember the time that David went to Nathan and talked to him of that desire in his heart that he wanted to build a house for God. Nathan listened to him and he said ‘ that is perfectly good. It is a Godly mark, you can go ahead.’ But it tells us that night an angel appeared to him, he was doing just exactly what every servant of God does before going to sleep, we think about the need and ask God’s mind, His will and His purpose; and the Lord told him it is not for David to build but it is for his son Solomon’. Nathan was man enough, the next day he went to David and he told him ‘Well, I thought of these things and in the night the Lord appeared and He made clear to me that it is not for you to build, it is for your son”. David could very easily have been provoked and said ‘How do you expect me to have any confidence in you? One day you tell me something and the next day you tell me something else’. But David accepted it in the right spirit and he said ‘I will do everything to let the one that God chooses build’. Sometimes we like to do things but it is not in the will of God. We can think if I cannot do it, I am just going to sit and pout. How good if we can feel, I will strengthen the hands of the one the Lord chooses to do things. I have felt very glad in my heart that a man like Joseph, a man that was Godly, he took the Lord’s advice – ‘ That which will be born of her is of God: ‘Help her, stand by her, and be loyal to her and Joseph was all that.

There were wise men that came from the east, came seeking Jesus. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem – they were vise men because they were seeking Jesus. We are wise in the eyes of the Lord when we consciously seek to find Jesus and to serve him and to worship him. As a result of their going, they were led by a star. A star that men cannot control and the servants of God are reflecting the light of the Son and they are not controlled by man, they are controlled by God. That star led them, they turned back and went away first of all and thought it cannot be. The star apparently waited till they came and they followed it and found Him in the home. That is where we find the Lord today in a home where God’s honour dwells and where God is dwelling. We read about another wise man in Ch. 7 A wise man digs deed that is the kind of a person that God will call wise, that builds on a solid rock. We are building day by day a temple that man cannot see, and it is good when we dig deep. 

One building in Mexico stood 44 stories high and it was not moved by the earthquake. They built according to specifications and for 3 years they were driving, piles, one after another, night and day, until they reached solid rock. Then that building was put on rocks and when the earthquake came, the architect of that building stayed in his office and that building never moved, it swayed, but it did not move, not a crack in it, it was built on the solid rock. Three years night and day, driving piles one after another, on top of each other, until they reached solid rock. A lot of time was spent laying a foundation and wherever this gospel is preached a lot of time is spent laying a foundation. We are thankful for God’s servants that came to this country. Came to our country and came to every part, they laid a solid foundation, a foundation that can never be moved and we are thankful for that. God called them wise men.

There were wise virgins, wise virgins because they had oil in their lamps. Virgins refers to the church. Five were wise and 5 were foolish and they were all together, they all had their lamps but some of them were just unwilling There were certain reservations – I am not just willing for all of what the servants say, they are just expecting a bit too much. But those that had the oil in their vessels there were no reservations. It says that the call came at midnight, the end of one day and the beginning of a new day. They that were ready had the oil in their vessels. Everything in order, everything in shape. Others said, lend us your oil, but they could not lend it. They were willing for anything then, no matter what it cost, they were willing now and they tried, but the door was shut. I tell you folks, it pays to be willing and to have everything ready. 

There was one sailor and he was made captain of a ship for a certain company and they enquired of him are you able to take care of that ship and have it in good shape so that when the tempest comes and the winds blow, will you be able to keep it? The man answered when the wind blows, I can lay down and sleep. It was because everything was battened down, everything was taken care of. Everything is safe, everything is secured. A sailor once said ‘there were boats made of wood, but there were men made of steel. Now there are boats made of steel, but there are just men of wood, not able to stand much. The Lord wants solid men. We heard a good deal about men yesterday and I enjoyed it. The Lord likes to see those that are men. I know a good friend of mine, he said, ‘in my home I wear the pants, but my wife tells me which ones to put on!’ There are these three things in which the Lord will call us a wise and understanding people, ones that are seeking him to know him, love him and to do his bidding and that is what the Lord would like us to do.

In chapts 5,6,7 I notice 17 times it speaks about your father’. We have learnt to value a father and we are thankful that we can go to one who is our father and he has an interest in everyone of his children. I was brought up in a home I valued my father, but he was stern, he was a stern man, he had an iron hand, but it was covered with velvet. I tried to move that hand a few times, but I could not do it. I am thankful that I had a father like that. I am thankful to my father and mother for the place I have today. One time I was going to school I was only about 7 yrs. and when I go to school all the children had some pennies and they could buy a sucker, so I asked dad if I could have a penny to buy sucker. He said we don’t have pennies to buy suckers, we have pennies only to buy bread. My mother had some pennies in a jar on a shelf and I just thought I would climb up and see if there was some there, and I took some, and took it to school and bought a sucker. It was good – stolen meat is sweet! I kept doing this until all the pennies were gone and the next day there was just 5 cents and I took it out anyway and went off to school and I bought 5, to share with my companions and after that I let a couple of days go by because my conscience was bothering me and I crawled up there again and there was 10 cents. I looked atit and took it and put it back and took it again and that day I bought 10 cents worth. But my conscience was bothering me. I came home from school and there was trouble. Mum said ‘dad wants to talk to you’. So, I went up and greeted him and he said, ‘yes, I have got something to talk to you about’. He said ‘son have you been taking money from your mother’s little jar up there?’ I was tempted to say no, but I had learnt that would go far worse for me and I said ‘yes, I have’. Dad took out a strap and gave me such a thrashing that I can still feel it. He said son, I’m not whipping you because I don’t love you, but it is because I love you’. I felt, if that was love, I didn’t want it! Perhaps I would have gone further to see whether my neighbours had any pennies and gone on and on from there.

When the truth came when I was 17 years I was confused. My father was a baptist and my mother was a Methodist. They were two different doctrines. I prayed ‘God if you have a way in the world, a way that is like the Bible teaches, I would be willing to walk in it with all my heart’. We should never be discouraged that when our prayers are delayed, that means they are refused. God does not answer right away. Time went on, I finished school and worked in a lumber yard, things were going well and I kind of forgot about religion because I was making money. As I came home from work one day I drove past a tent that said ‘Gospel meetings beginning Wednesday night’. I told mother and dad about it. He said, that is strange, there was nothing announced in the church. He said we will go and see what they have to say. My mother and father were both blind. They used to go out together. They had an extra sense. I said ‘Dad you go to everything, you go to the Pentecostals, you go to the Adventists’. He said ‘Yes, we want to see whether we can find something better’. When they came back, they said these people they were different to everything. I asked him what kind of meetings they had there and he said ‘Why don’t you go to listen’. But I did not, until he told me we are not going to the Baptist church, we are going to a home. But he said you haven’t heard anything, so you go back to where you belong. I had a friend and I asked him if he knew these preachers. That was back in 1922. 

He said I have listened to them and they are doing things exactly as the Bible teaches, they go two by two, they don’t take collection, they do exactly like Jesus did, they are sticking to the book. He was already enrolled to be a Baptist preacher. He said I know one thing, you couldn’t be a Baptist and be one of them. We went out and I will never forget that meeting. We were told in that meeting that in the tent we were trying to make you see the difference between man’s way and God’s way, but here we are meeting together to have fellowship. We are going to have a time of prayer and we don’t want to hear pharisee prayer, but prayers that come from the heart. My father was a deacon in the baptist church but I tell you that morning I heard my father pray and his prayer was different, he didn’t pray a Pharisee prayer. I heard my mother pray, she thanked God for the truth and she prayed for me. I got down on my knees, my mother and father didn’t know I was there then. After the meeting I went up to dad and took hold of his hand. He said, ‘what are you doing here?’ I said ‘I came to see what you are doing’. He said ‘don’t do it just because mother and I are doing it’. 

My friend and I went back to the Baptist church and the preacher was awful dry and we grabbed our caps and went back to the tent and 3 weeks later we both decided. I remember talking about going in the work. Never had the thought entered my mind that I will be a preacher. God revealed to me about going into the work. This put something in my heart ‘If I could be used to help one soul to get to heaven, it would make life worth living. I told dad ‘If I go in this work, I won’t be able to help you’. Dad said ‘don’t worry about mother and I, God will stand by us’. I talked to my brother but he said ‘if you go in the work I will stay home and look after mother and father and then I will go in the work too’. But mother and father didn’t cooperate, they didn’t die! My brother married a good girl and they have done well. They have 3 children and all of them are professing. One of my brother’s boys went into the harvest field and he labours with us in Mexico. We are thankful that the Lord still works and we are thankful for those that are workers with us.

Our father which art in heaven… Thy kingdom come’ That is something I feel with all my heart that we are praying for and should continue to pray for. The last prayer that we have in the New Testament – come, Lord Jesus, come. We are thankful that the power of God is what helps us. There are four powers that contribute to our salvation. First the power of God unto salvation. But it took more than that. I listened to great gospel servants when I was in the Baptist church, but I never saw any example. This gospel came by the power of example – those that were doing what they were saying and there is a power of prayer. I am thankful for those that prayed for me when I was not able to pray. And the other is the power of love. Matt 10 ‘He gave them power against unclean spirits.’ We have the first list of workers that was ever made and they are two by two. It tells us how he sent them – ‘Go not in the way of the Gentiles…. go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ These are things that the power of the gospel can do, it helps us to have healing. 

It tells us in Mark 3 that the power of the Lord was there to heal and we are thankful that as we look at him that as we see Jesus there is healing, and there is willingness. The Lord desires to heal us so that we can walk. The Lord healed that man and there is cleansing, people are raised from the onus of sin to walk in newness of life and to cast out devils. Freely you have received’, freely give: Don’t make any provision for the future, the Lord will take care of that. A worthy workman, a worthy servant a worthy home and a worthy person. Enquire who worthy and abide there and …’ that is what the Lord is still looking for. ‘Behold I send you forth as sheep among wolves. There is no hope that a sheep can defend himself, the only hope that a sheep has is that it has a shepherd that will care for it, because it cannot protect itself. ‘Be wise as serpents, as harmless as a dove’ A serpent can keep alive only by keeping hid, camouflaged, people don’t even know. Sometimes they paint a picture of a snake coming down a tree and speaking to Eve, if I know a woman, she would go as fast as she could go if she sees a snake, but he came down as an angel from heaven. To keep simple – a dove when he makes the nest you can count the eggs at the bottom, not like the sparrow. The sparrow is like the false prophets. It is a poor horse that cannot carry his own harness. 

vs 41 – He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophets reward, sod he that receiveth a righteous man In the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.’ I remember I was pretty well discouraged with the Baptist church, father professed, I went to the elder, he was new in the way, I went up to his home and talked with him and he gave me a warm greeting and he said ‘I would not trade what I have in the Lord for the best farm in Iowa’. We talked over the things of God and I went home and thanked God for a righteous man. We would like when we go to the homes of our brothers and sisters to leave something that would feed their souls and they can feel I have received a servant’s reward. He that giveth a cup of cold water… ‘It means to give a drink of water that comes from the well of life. David poured out the water from the well of Bethlehem. I am thankful for those who have given us a cup of cold water to encourage us in the way of truth.

Hymn 133 “Oh, for a closer walk with God”

If this convention could enable us to have a closer walk with God it would not be in vain. In Exodus 33 God said to Moses, “Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock.” That is where I would like to stand. When we are there, it will enable us to see things as He sees them and hear His voice more easily and God wants us to be close to Him, upon the rock; and if we are on the rock, we have something stable under us. We are thankful for that great Rock foundation on which our feet were set with sovereign grace.

The thought that came to my mind this morning when I awoke was that verse we have in the Psalms “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Life to me is made up of days and there are days that are like red-letter days, outstanding, because of certain things that took place. In your life and mine there are some red-letter days and we thank God for them. The day that we listened to the gospel and when God revealed His way, that is a red-letter day in your life and mine. There are other days that you can think of as well as I do, that are outstanding days in our experience. 

Jacob had red letter days in his life. Do you remember when he spoke to Pharoah, and Pharoah asked how old he was, and Jacob answered him saying the days of my pilgrimage have been short and I have not attained to what my fathers had attained. There were some red letter days in the life of Jacob and they were outstanding because they enabled him to have a closer walk with God and God would like to help us so we could have a closer walk with Him, and we look back to those days in our life when God helped us to choose, to make choices that we are very thankful for today; when we were passing through experiences that made the secret place an absolute necessity because we knew of no one else to go to that would understand our heart’s deep need. He has never failed us and the longing desire of my heart is to be loyal to Him, loyal to my brethren and loyal to a perishing world. I enjoyed the prayers this morning and I realise more than ever I did; it is not the length of our prayers that count with God but it is the depth. God is anxious and desiring when He hears the prayers, that what goes from our lips comes from the very depths of our hearts.

We read of different prayers that were short but there was depth to them. Prayers that are outstanding prayers because of what they asked for. We are thankful for those prayers. I think of the prayer that Ezra made when he asked that God would grant “a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.” That was a prayer that God heard from heaven and it is something that God will reward us for today if we ask in all sincerity that He would grant us a right way for us, a right way for our little ones and we value the little ones among us. We value youth among us and we also value the aged. We are thankful that there are some pillars amongst us, those who have stood the test and stand upright and have kept the faith through dark times and bright.    

I like that hymn we sometimes sing “Ages have not dimmed the record of the souls who did their best…and we have their simple message though they’ve entered into rest.” We are thankful we have such that we can look back to. Ages have not dimmed the record. I like that verse that tells us God can make a man more precious than gold. You can think of different ones and their testimonies, and God made them more precious than gold. Some have entered into their rest but we have their simple testimony and we can never forget them. I remember the words of an old brother who lived amongst us a good long time. I sat in a meeting when I was just a young man and he said in that meeting, never despise authority. Those that have authority from God. And never despise the old, and never despise those of another race. God doesn’t look on the outside, God looks on the heart. I have been privileged to labor among the Latin people for the last fifty years in South America, in Cuba, In Central America, in Mexico, and though they may be of a different color God has put into their hearts the same love, and the same desire, and the same willingness.

We are thankful for those simple prayers. Jesus said “I thank, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” Except we become as little children we can in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Children do not hold grudges. There was a little girl one time and she had a very good friend which she liked to play with, but one day something went wrong and she went into her mother and say, Margaret was one of the meanest girls I have ever known, I don’t like her. The mother said that is too bad I thought you were good friends. No, she said I’m not going to play with her again. The next day her mother said you can have a party and I will make a cake and you can call in your friends. She made a list and showed it to her mother and to the mother’s surprise, Margaret’s name was the first one on the list. She said, I thought you were so angry with her that you wouldn’t have anything more to do with her. Oh, she said, that was yesterday! She didn’t hold a grudge. Something every one of us must do as God’s children. 

Some visitors came to Mexico and they were admiring the park and different statues there. One said to a little boy, I expect some big shots were born here. He said no sir, everyone born here is just born as a baby! In the Family of God there are no big ones born, we are born little children and if we can ever keep that spirit, the spirit of a little child, we are God’s little children. How many times when John wrote his epistle he said I say unto you little children, they never became big, they always kept as little children. As long as a mother and father live, and no matter how big their children grow, in their own family they are still my little boy or my little girl. We would always like to retain that kind of spirit also.

In a prayer it is something which must come from the very depth of our hearts. I thought of four ingredients to prayer – first of all, the love for God. That we would express in our prayers to Him that we love Him. David never forgot that; I love the Lord. That is the first ingredient of a true prayer that would reach the heart of God. Then there is an overflow of thanksgiving. Thankfulness in our heart and we would desire to continue to thank Him for the many favors He has showered upon us. Then there should also be an overflow of thankfulness. There was a brother in Argentina, he was a man given to drink and didn’t take care of his family, just about as low as could be and on the rocks. Then the gospel came and he listened to it and it changed his whole life. His home became a home where God’s honor dwelt. I heard about the man and he was coming to the convention where I was and I was anxious to meet him. remember he gave his testimony and it was not very long. We remember short testimonies a lot better than we do long ones. When you get too long, we begin to wonder when you are going to stop. Good when it is short and to the point. This brother stood to his feet trembling and said, I don’t have much to say but I have an awful lot to be thankful for, and he sat down. If we can bring into the meeting the spirit of thankfulness for all that God has done for us to help us, and then there should be praise. We would praise His name. Praise is something we give because of what a person is. It is what we give for what others have done for us, and both thanks and praise belong to our God.

Then there should be that fear of God. Not a fear that we are afraid, but a true fear in our hearts, a respect. I had an awful lot of respect for my father and mother but I wasn’t afraid of them. They were the best friends I ever had in life. Oh, if it had not been for them… They managed to control the home with an iron hand but it was covered with velvet. My father and mother never saw each other and never saw their children but they kept the home and they brought up their children, two boys, in the fear of God, the respect for God. I am thankful for the hand that controlled the home. I used to think when young that it was a bit harsh, but I don’t think so today. I feel very thankful that he was a father that controlled. 

There was one day I came home from school and I had a promise to meet my friends to play baseball. I rushed in and threw my books on the bed and gathered my mitt and started out again. My father said, where are you going son? I said to play baseball. No, he said, I am expecting you to go out and hoe those cabbages. I knew I had to do it. I went out into that cabbage patch and did I ever make that dirt fly! I was thinking to myself, they’ll be sorry they ever brought me into the cabbage patch, I will have them all so full of dirt, they’ll be sorry. I was so mad and I got through it so quick, and then Dad said, now you can go and play. I felt kind of sorry for what I’d done. Later on, we cut those cabbages and put them in the basement. One day Mum said, go down and bring up a head of cabbage. I was feeling kind of worried, and when she cut down through the middle and I looked for the dirt and it was just as white as snow and no sign of the dirt, and I was puzzled and wondered where did that dirt go to? I asked my father and he said, son, you didn’t need to worry about that, you scared the bugs away throwing that dirt around like you did, but the Lord doesn’t work from the outside in, He works from the inside out, and no matter how much dirt you throw, not one bit of it would go into the cabbage. We don’t need to worry today no matter how

much dirt will be thrown, it won’t hurt you one little bit, unless you allow it to come in. God wants us to keep a pure purpose and desire in our hearts and if we do that all will be well.

I was reading the Psalms and noticed the Psalms where each one began with the word Blessed. Blessed is the man. The Lord is very much interested in us as individuals. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. Blessed is the man whose sin is covered. We are thankful the Lord covers our sin and what God covers no man will ever bring it to light. Blessed is the man whose sin is covered, and God WILL cover it. What we try to cover up God will uncover it, but what God covers, no one will ever find it and bring it to light. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest. We are thankful the Lord ever chose us. We did not choose Him; He chose us and He wants us to fill our place and fill it humbly. Who hath be our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? There we have God’s order. First of all is the report. Who hath believed the message? A lot of people believe it is the truth and can sit in meetings and meetings and meetings and still as blind as ever. Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? God reveals, and if God doesn’t reveal it, we will never see it. It comes by revelation. God revealing to us, This is the way, walk ye in it. I remember as a young boy of 20 years of age as I listened to the message I recognised and it came very clearly to me as we read in Isaiah 30:21.

Now some 60 odd years have gone by and I never have had a single doubt regarding the Way. I have had some doubts about myself, whether I would be able to do it. Jesus is the same and ever will remain. I feel a thank-fulness in my heart for that. “Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee”. We cannot do this in our own strength. To those who received Him, gave He power to become the sons of God. We cannot do it alone. Paul said having received help from God, I continue to this day. I like to tell about a man who talked to his son and said, out in the driveway there is a big old log, it’s been there a long time, and I would like you to move it because it is an obstacle in the way. The son went out and it was so heavy, and he tried and struggled, and he couldn’t move it. He went in and told his father it’s too heavy I just can’t move it. The father said, son you can do it. He went out again and put every ounce of strength he had into it but couldn’t budge it. He went into his father almost in tears now, and said, I have used all the strength I have and cannot do it. He said there’s one thing you didn’t do yet son, you didn’t ask me to help you. He said, well why if you will help me then I’ll be able to do it. And we can remove these obstacles in the way, with the help of God. He can give us help so we can do it.

Psalm 94. “Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, 0 Lord, and teachest him out of thy law.” The one whom you correct. Correction is not punishment Correction is to keep us on the course. The astronauts that went to the moon, every little while they had to have a course correction. If they were off less than a millimeter, they would never have reached the goal, they would have been lost forever. That course had to be corrected and correction is the avenue to perfection. I remember an old Model T that I bought. I almost had to push it around. But that is way out of date now, they have been correcting it and correcting it and correcting it until it is a whole lot different to that. Correction is the avenue to perfection. 

I am thankful it tells us in the 101st Psalm that we are in the way of perfection. Two times it tells us in that Psalm about the way of perfection and I am thankful we are in the Way the Lord can perfect us. We don’t have to be perfect to go to heaven, but one thing we do have to be is right, right with God and right with our brethren. We don’t have to be perfect but we must be right, to keep right with God and walk in His pathway and serve Him.

I enjoy the blesseds we have in the Book of Matthew. We are all so well acquainted with them in chapter 5 that Jesus spoke to His disciples. He opened His mouth and taught them, but there are seven other blesseds recorded and they have meant a great deal to me. First of all, in that 5th chapter, Jesus seeing the multitudes went up into a mountain. We don’t read of Him inviting a single person, He put the mountain between Him and the multitude but His disciples came unto Him, they didn’t need an invitation, they feel I need to be there. How many of you received an invitation to come here? You received the date and felt, we have to be there. I must overcome every mountain that looms up and obstacle, I have to be there. Jesus opened His mouth and talked to them, and spoke to them only the things that were most important and most necessary. 

He taught them the most important things and if we practice the first six, it will make us the seventh. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they that mourn. You cannot be in this world and see the condition the world is in without having a mourning spirit. Blessed are the meek and they which hunger and thirst after righteousness. Blessed are the merciful, and the pure in heart. If we have those six blesseds in your life and my life, it will make us a peacemaker. That is what God wants us to be, peacemakers. Those who bring peace into the meeting. Being a peacemaker and we are thankful that the Lord still looks for those, and He is anxious to help us.

I would like to mention those other seven. The first is in 11:6 “Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” That is one of the greatest blessings. It is easy to take offence. Peter thought he would never be offended. He said even if everyone else gets offended, I won’t get offended but he didn’t know how weak he was. Blessed are they. ” Peter learned the lesson. Tells us over in John’s Gospel that many who listened to Jesus’ talk, “Except ye eat my flesh and drink my blood you can have no part with me” and it says many were offended and walked no more with Him, and He turned to Peter and said will you also go back? Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter was sure there was nothing to go back to and everything to go on to. When we were crossing over the ocean to come here, the captain called over the loudspeaker about midnight and he said, we have reached the place of no return and it kind of gave me shivers! What he meant to say was, it is closer to go ahead than to go back. How far have you gone? Peter reached the place of no return the only thing for me to do is to go on and keep on going. I remember Nichol Jardine, our old brother and one morning he came downstairs in the home he was staying and I happened to be there at the time, and he said, I have just made a new hymn. We said we knew his brother Jim made a lot but didn’t know you wrote hymns too Nichol. He said, I made a good one and I will sing it for you. He started singing — “Go on, go on, go on, go on….” He said there are a hundred verses and they are all the same! I never forgot it. That is what God wants all of us to have riveted in our minds. There is everything to go on to, nothing to go back to.

The next one is 13:16 “Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” One of the greatest blessings we could have. As I was telling you, my parents were both blind but if I heard them say it once I heard them say a hundred times, thanking God for the day He opened their eyes, not their human eyes but the eyes of their understanding. We can be thankful, for it is a great blessing. It is good when we have ears to hear what the Lord would say to us, and in hearing that we would be willing to do it. 

Matthew 16:17-18. Jesus had just fed the multitudes. He fed that great crowd of people, 5,000, with those few loaves and fishes. I like to think of that little boy that was there. It doesn’t give his name. We have a good many different ones in the Bible who were willing to serve and their names are not given but their names are written in heaven. We are thankful for those. This little boy was willing to give the few loaves and fish he had and Jesus blessed it. Sometimes when preparing for a meeting and we try to catch a fish and think we have something and then during the meeting it seems to get smaller and smaller and hardly worth giving it out, and we are ashamed of it. But He fed the multitude with so little.

He talked to them saying, whom do men say that I the son of man am? They had their ears open, they were passing it around. At this time, Jesus was the creator and the disciples were the waiters. The Lord is the creator. In a resultant they have good cooks and provide a good meal, but they are very much interested in the waiter. You could have a very good meal but if they had poor waiters that just threw it on the table and didn’t show a nice attitude at all, people wouldn’t go back again, or not clean and it didn’t appeal. You can go to a place and the meal not so good but good waiters and very attentive and serve nicely and put it on the table in such a way that it appeals to a person. I have felt I would like to be a good waiter in God’s Kingdom. Putting things on the table in a way that would help others/ appetites. Jesus presented the things of the Kingdom to that woman of Samaria in such a way that she said, Lord give it to me, give me that water.

Give me a drink, He said. She said, how is it that you being a Jew talketh to me a Samaritan, for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered “If thou knewest….living water.” She said the well is deep. She had something to draw with from the waters of this world but as she looked upon Jesus, He had nothing to draw with and that is the way we see God’s servants today, they have nothing to draw with, they have left everything. People in the world have something to draw with of the waters of this world. The water I will give you shall be in you. It is something God puts in us. She got an appetite and said, Lord give it to me. I want it. We would like to present these precious things of God in such a way that would open the appetite. I want it, give it to me. He told her the conditions, but she did not get offended. She said you seem to be a prophet. She first had seen Him only as a Jew. Then, you are telling me things I didn’t think any.one knew.    

Later it was revealed to her more and more and then she finally decided when Jesus told her God is looking for the true worshippers that would worship Him in spirit and in truth and she was confused. She said, I know the Messiah is going to come and will declare unto us all things. Then Jesus said to her “I that speak unto thee am he.” Don’t you think it took a lot of faith to believe that. This man, dusty, hungry and to believe that He was the Christ. She was willing to accept it. She went into the city and spoke to others and said “Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” “Whom say ye that I am?” and when Simon Peter answered and said “Thou art…” Jesus said “Blessed art thou, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” “And I say unto thee upon this rock I will build my church..” It was not upon Peter but upon the revelation and if we don’t receive true revelation we are not building on the Rock. God wants us to build on that solid rock. 

I come from Mexico. A little over a year ago now they had a very big earthquake and over 2,000 buildings went down. There was one building there, 44 stories high, and they were three years laying the foundation for it. They went down till they got to solid rock, three years night and day. When that earthquake came, that building stood, and the engineer that built it and made the plans, sat in his office and he saw all those buildings around him going down but that building stood because it was built on the rock. It was built according to the specifications and that is how we must do, we must build on the solid rock, we must build according to the plan that is given to us.

Matthew 21:9 “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord;” tells us about Jesus coming and He sent two disciples to release the colt and if anyone would ask why, they were to say the Lord hath need of him. It was a colt that had never been broken, but he was willing to submit to the control of the Master, Jesus. What doest thou? God desires to lose us, from anything that is holding us from making progress. That is something the Lord would like to help us in, that we would be faithful. We think of that woman who for eighteen years was bent over, could not raise herself. Tells us that she was loosed and immediately she could straighten up and she was able to see the things that before she could not see. Her eyes were lifted to a higher level. We long to have our eyes lifted to a higher level. God desires to lift us so we can make progress. It is not how long, but how far we have gone in God’s Way.

There is a little story I tell, of two men who went across the river in their boat to buy provisions. After they had bought their groceries, they called into a tavern on their return to the boat and it was dark when they finally staggered their way back. They got into the boat and both took oars and they rowed and rowed and rowed. They got tired and just went to sleep in the boat. The sun was shining in the morning when they awoke and they looked around and said, where are we? They found they were still in the same place! Why? Because they had never untied the boat. There are a good many people in the world today who are tied. The Lord wants to release from anything that is hindering us from making progress.

These blesseds that are mentioned are becoming more and more precious to me. The last one is 24:46 “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.” Giving meat in due season. That is our duty. To give meat in due season and feed people. It is a wonderful thing seeing people being fed upon the bread of heaven. 

Then there is the last one and the best one: 25:34. “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” The best one of all. That is something that is within the reach of every one of us.

Clarence Anderson

Some years ago, I was in a convention up in Canada, and I remember the testimony of a little boy. He said “My father gave me a new Bible, and I was so proud of that Bible I went to him and said, I will take such care of it, I will never wear the gold off the edges. My father said to me, if you never wear the gold off the edges you will never find the gold that is on the inside.” If we are going to find the gold that is in God’s word and God’s way, we must be willing to wear the Bible out. God desires to help us so that we can have the best. God puts before us the very best, and that is what He wants us to aim at.

I heard about a man one time who had a chicken house, laying hens, and he was trying to produce as many eggs as possible. One day he took an ostrich egg and showed it to all the chickens and said “this is not to discourage you, this is just to show you what they are doing in other places.” The Lord sets before us the very best and wants us to aim at that. One time a school teacher asked the pupils to name the flower they liked the best. One boy got up and said, “teacher, I like the lily the best.” Another said the pansy, another boy said he liked the violet the best, another boy said the chrysanthemum. Then the teacher said “I want you to go out to the blackboard and write the name of the flower you like the best.” The one who said the lily easily wrote that, and then the pansy, and the violet, that was quite easy. Then the little fellow who said “chrysanthemum” was fumbling with the chalk in his hand, and he looked around at the teacher and said “teacher, I think I like the rose the best.” He was willing to settle for something that was a little bit easier. Sometimes we want to settle for something that’s a little easier. 

A little friend of mine where I used to visit, used to say “I’m going to be your companion one day.” I came back a little while after, and said “Are you still thinking of being my companion?” And he said “Yes.” Another time I went back when he was about 13, and he said “Yes, I’m getting myself ready, I haven’t changed my mind.” I came along when he was about 16 or 17 years of age, the time was getting a bit closer, and he said “Well, I’ve been thinking. You don’t have any home to live in, or anyone to cook, so I was thinking that maybe I could have a home, and I could give you a good meal.” I said to him, “Do you know how to cook?” He said, “Maybe I’d have somebody who could cook.” The Lord wants to help us to see the best, and is anxious to help us to choose the best, choose now as we would choose when time and seasons are no more.    

I like very much what our sister Ruth was telling us about, and I was looking at that same verse in Ezekiel 46 v 9, “But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.” They were to enter by one door and to go out by another. We can enter this convention with a life stained by sin, but we can go out clean. We can enter broken-hearted and we can go out healed. You know, folks, I am very thankful that we have a good physician and that He has balm for each one, because sometimes we get some awful bumps. There’s an awful lot of difference between a boost and a bump. We value those who give us a boost to help us on our way, but sometimes we get some bumps, that almost take us off the road, and leave us wounded, but we are thankful that we have a physician who knows just exactly what we are in need of and there is balm for each wound. That is what we have in the Book, and I am thankful for it.

We can come into the convention ashamed, but we can go out rejoicing, ashamed of our failures. Every one of us, there is not a person here but has suffered a fall, and the reason we are here is because we have got up from the last fall, from the last time we failed. When a person falls what is the first thing you do? You get up, and then you look around and think “I hope no one saw me,” and then we go and get cleaned up. We are thankful that the Lord is a God who is interested in helping every one of us. I chose that hymn “Rich are the moments of blessing” because it was the first hymn that I listened to when I went to fellowship meeting. My

father and mother attended the meetings before I did. At 17 years of age I prayed that the Lord would send His messengers, I prayed and asked the Lord if He had a way in the world and showed it to me I would do it with all my heart, because I was confused. My father was a Baptist, and my mother was a Methodist. Two doctrines contrary one to the other. First, we went to the Baptists, then mother said “Now it’s my turn”, and we would go to the Methodists, so sometimes I went to the Methodists, and sometimes to the Baptists. I knew they could not both be right and I was confused. I prayed “If you have a way in the world and you show it to me I will walk in it with all my heart.” The Lord didn’t answer that prayer right away. We should never, never feel that when God delays, He denies. He is preparing the way. 

Three years went by, and I had then finished school, and I was working in the lumber yard, as a book-keeper, and was relief manager, and things were going pretty well, and prospering. I had hopes that I was one day going to be the manager of the lumber yard, and I had kind of forgotten what I had promised to the Lord. Then that tent was put up and invitations for gospel meetings, each night except Saturday, were given. I went home and sat at the table and said “Seems there is going to be a tent meeting.” My father said, “That’s strange, they didn’t announce it in the church.” I said, “Dad, you go to anything that comes along, Pentecostals, or anything.” My father said, “I know that what I am in they are not doing what they should be doing, but I am all right, but the way I am in is not like the Bible, and maybe I can find something that is like the Bible.” Mother and father were both blind, but my father could go to any place in town, and he didn’t need anyone to lead him. My mother would hook into his arm, and they would go off together, and they never missed a meeting. 

I began to realise that something is different now. I asked Dad, “What kind of preachers are they?” He said “There is something different from what I have ever seen before, and it has me concerned. It’s like the Bible teaches.” I would come home and find my dad on his knees, praying, and I tiptoes out. I recognised that there is something there that is troubling Dad. I remember after they attended meetings for some five weeks my father told me, “Son, we are not going to church this morning.” I said “Where are you going?” That was a bombshell to me, because Dad never missed. He said “These men who have the meetings in town have invited us to what they call a fellowship meeting, and we are going out into the country. It is four miles.” I said “How are you going to go?” He said that another deacon and he had professed, so that old Baptist church had an awful shaking. Our Sunday-school teacher professed also, and my companion, Roy Taylor, who wrote that hymn “God is faithful to His chosen” – I never sing it but that I think of Roy. He was far more religious than I was. We went to school together, and I used to like to have him near. He even had the nick-name of “Deacon Taylor” because he would never take part in anything. I loved sports, I would rather kick a football around than anything else. I saw Roy come back from the country. When we were going to school I used to see Roy coming into the school grounds sometimes, and he would say “Let us pray in the hayloft, and pray so the Lord would help us to have good grades today.” We would kneel down and he would pray, and I would just say “Amen.” 

We went to those meetings together, and after Mother and Dad said they were not going to church any more, I met Roy, and I said to him “Do you know where Mother and Dad are going?” He said “Yes, I know, I have listened to them a lot, and they go just like the Bible teaches, they don’t have a name, they don’t take any collections, just like Jesus sent in the beginning.” I said “Shall we go out and see what they have to say, and what they are going to do?” Roy said “You mean not go to church?” I said “I would like to see what Mother and Dad are doing.” He said “I will tell you that you cannot do what the Baptists say and do what they say.” Roy had already the desire to be a Baptist preacher, and he was registered with the Moody Institute of Theology to train to be a Baptist preacher, and he was going in the September, and this was August. We went out there and I remember entering that door, and they were singing that hymn, “Rich are the moments of blessing, spent in communion with Him.” That hymn left an impression on my mind that I have never, never forgotten. We went in and sat down and the meeting was already started. The one leading the meeting said “This meeting is different to the meetings we were having in town. In those meetings we were trying to show the difference between God’s way and man’s way, the right way and the wrong way, but here we are gathered for fellowship. In the town we did all the praying and all the talking, but this morning we want to hear the prayers from those who have made their choice to follow Jesus. We don’t want any Pharisee prayers.” 

The man who became our elder , and in the church he could use such holy tones, but that day as they prayed, it was oh so different, thanking God for sending Truth. I heard my father pray, and it touched me deeply. I had not got down on my knees yet, but then my mother prayed, and she thanked God and she also prayed for her boys, mentioning me by name, and I got down on my knees, for it touched my heart deeply. One by one they prayed. Roy prayed. He was used to praying. They were waiting, and I thought I have to say something. I said then “Lord, if this is the right way help me to see.” Mother and Dad didn’t know I was in the meeting until then. After the prayer was over there were some humble testimonies, and the overflow of gratitude for truth. After the meeting was finished, I went over and held Dad’s hand. He said “What are you doing here?” I said “I came to see.” He said “I don’t want you to do this just because your Mother and Father are. If God doesn’t show you it is His way, then there is no point at all in you doing this.” That night Roy and I went back to the Baptist church to usher people in, and to take up the collection, but before it was all over we both left and we never went back to the Baptist church again. 

About and a half years latter we were in the work. years later we both went into the harvest field. I remember talking to my father and said, “Dad I am just at the place now where I could be a help to you, because you and Mother have sacrificed in order that we could have an education, and now I could help you so your home could be better and things could be a little easier for you, and if I go into the harvest field I cannot do anything.” He said “Son, don’t worry about that for a moment, don’t you think about your Mother and me if the Lord lays it on your heart to go. My prayers will follow you all my days” and he did that. When I left, Dad spoke some words that almost made me shiver. He said, “Son, if you get sick and come back we will do all we can to restore you to health and strength, but if you quit for any other reason don’t show up at my door.” I thought it hard but it has kept me going. I thank God for fathers and mothers. We think of those going into the harvest field, and it costs those who go, but I tell you I value the fathers and mothers who have sacrificed their sons, and glad to see them go and see them in the harvest field, and have encouraged them, even though they missed them at home. There is sacrifice for those who go, and sacrifice for those who stay behind, and the Lord is anxious to help us so that we keep faithful and loyal to Him until the end of the journey. That is what the Lord has asked us here for, to help us.    

In John 10. I would like to share a few thoughts. We read about the good shepherd in this chapter, and about five things that are a very important part of this work. First of all the door. “I am the door to the sheep fold; I am the door to the sheep.” If He is the door, what does that make you and me? You and I are to be door-keepers. David said “I would rather be a door-keeper in the house of God, and a day in thy courts is better than a thousand”, better than enjoying all the things of the world. He recognised that that was his responsibility, to be a faithful door-keeper. That is what God would like to have us to be, faithful door-keepers in the things of the kingdom. The Lord is interested in helping us that we could continue, so we can be real door-keepers. And it also tells us “I am the light of the world” and if He is the light of the world, what does that make you and me? Doesn’t that make us reflectors? We should be reflecting this truth and light, a faithful reflector.

“I am the foundation.” If He is the foundation, we should be lively stones in this building of God. That is what the Lord would like to help us to be. He said also “I am the way” and if He is the way what does that make you and me? That makes you and me wayfarers, we are pilgrims and strangers, wayfarers in the way. “I am the Truth.” If He is the Truth, we should be believers, to believe this Truth with all our hearts. He said “I am the life”, the life that God wants us to have within.    

I remember my companion down in Mexico, and we were studying 1 Corinthians 12, where it tells of all the members of the body and every member having a part. I asked my companion after we had studied it together, “Dan, if you had opportunity to choose whatever member you would like to be, what would you choose?” He said “I think I would like to be the liver.” “What! That floppy thing?” “Yes” he said, “I want to be one of those who lives this thing.” That is what the Lord is anxious to help us to do, to be faithful in these things that correspond to us, that we would be faithful. 

In John 10 v 1 “Verily, verily, I say unto you he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” We think about the sheepfold, and that is the next thing to be. There is one-fold, as it tells us further down in this same chapter, in verse 16. “There shall be one-fold and one shepherd.” He said “Other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and them also I must bring.” We were having meetings in one place, and the lady of the home where we were having the meetings was doing the dishes, and I was wiping them for her, and she didn’t ask my companion because he was older. One day she said “Doesn’t it say that there are other sheep which are not of this fold, so that would mean that we don’t have to be just in that one group that you have?” I knew that verse was there, and I prayed a short prayer. 

There are different prayers. In the morning is the time when you open the door and you keep that door open all day long, and there is many and many a prayer that has been offered up over a dish pan, and many and many a prayer been raised to Heaven in the workshop and in the school, the door is open. When Nehemiah stood before the king that day and the king asked him “Why are you sad, and what is it that you want?”, he said “I prayed to the Lord.” He had the door open, it was not a very long prayer, but he prayed to the Lord and he asked of him just what he needed, that He would grant unto him time, grant unto him provision, grant unto him material by which he could build It is good when we can from the beginning in the morning open the door and keep it open all day long, so that when there are struggles and your heart is burdened down, you can lift a prayer to God – “Help me.” That is the reason I mentioned in the first meeting, the many times we have in our hymns “help me, help me” and I never read the hymns but I put a little mark under those two words, and I am surprised how many have those two words, prayers offered to God in quietness, and those other things the Lord is anxious to help us in. 

The next thing is, the one that climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep, I was reading something about the old shepherds, that when the sheep were brought into the fold, this man wrapped himself up in the blanket and lay down in the door. He said “anything that enters through the door must pass over my body.” He was willing to lay down his life for the sheep. 

I like very much that verse we have in Jeremiah 3 v 15, “And I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” When a person has an understanding, that is something that stays with you. Emotion is something that doesn’t last very long. False religions in the world today depend a great deal on emotion, getting people stirred up, and they can hardly contain themselves, almost jump out of their clothes. Emotion soon passes. He said “I will give you shepherds that will feed you with knowledge”, knowledge of His way and understanding. God wants to give to us a clear understanding of the truth, and an understanding of His way, and when we receive an understanding, it will help us. 

Then we read about the porters. “To him the porter opens.” Who is the porter? We as God’s shepherds cannot open the door. The porter is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is the one that opens the door. We can bring people to a knowledge and understanding of the truth, but only the Holy Spirit can open the door, and He openeth the door to those who have a good and honest heart, who are willing to receive these things and obey them, and to do the things that would bring joy to His heart. We read in the Bible a great deal about the shepherds, different kinds of shepherds. 

We read of some shepherds in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 34. It tells of some bad shepherds. The responsibility of a shepherd. It says “They have not fed my people, they have fed themselves.” That is a terrible picture, of those shepherds who were feeding themselves and making merchandise, and scattering the sheep, and did not warn them. This is something that we need to be faithful in, in warning people, warning of the danger to come. I was in one place for convention, in South Dakota. It was raining for days, and they had an earthen dam, and that dam carried all the water for irrigation. It was filling up until it was overflowing and they feared. The policeman came out to where we were out at the convention place, and he said “You won’t need to worry, you are on higher ground.” There were 300 house trailers below the dam, because it was such a nice cool place and they enjoyed it down there. The police warned them that they had better get out. They didn’t pay much attention to it. 

The dam had never broken all these years, but one night that dam broke, and when it broke the waters rushed down and took away over 300 trailers, and they don’t know how many deaths there were. There were three reasons why that took place. First of all, they were depending upon a manmade security. It was not something that God made. Another thing was that they had built at a low level, and the third thing was that they did not heed the warning. The warning was given to them but they didn’t pay attention to it, and many were destroyed. God wants to help us so that we could realise that we should not be depending on a man-made security. There are a great many religions in the world today that are only man-made, and many people are trusting in a man-made security, and building at a low level, and they fail to take the warning that God’s servants give. 

When God sent His messengers to Abraham, I have a feeling that it could have been the same message that his father, Terah, had heard, and that message to Abraham was “Get thee out.” Abraham left all and went out, he received the message and he obeyed and God honoured him for it. He said “I will bless you and make you a blessing” and that is the purpose of God today, to bless us and make us a blessing, and it is good when we can go from this place and be a blessing in the church, a blessing in the home and a blessing in the neighbourhood. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others.

It tells us about David when the ark was brought back that he rejoiced, and it says he returned to bless his home, but he was returning to an angry wife. She did not like it all, but he returned to bless his home. It is perhaps that we will be returning to circumstances that are not very nice, but if we can return and be a blessing in the home, in the church and a blessing to those outside, it will be good. 

Then it tells us about the sheep “He calleth his own sheep by name.” It is good when we can try to be a good sheep. Some think that all sheep are good sheep, but I learned after I went in the work, I did not know much about sheep before, but I learned more. There are some unruly ones, they like to jump the fence and get on the outside of the fence. There was one sheep a man told me about that always managed to get out somehow, he would let him back in but the next day he was outside again. When feeding time came, he was outside again, but wanting to get back in. One time he didn’t let him in, he fed the rest and didn’t give him anything. He kept bleating even until midnight, and then he let him in. We have a good shepherd.    

In verse 9 “I am the door, by me if any man enter in he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.” He will be satisfied and find something to feed on, and we are thankful that the Lord will continue to feed us. He said “I am come that they might have life.” We read of different reasons why the Lord came. When Jesus was before Pilate He said “For this reason was I born, and for this cause came into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth,” Pilate said “What is truth?” He did not realise that standing before him was the truth of God, and he turned him down, and said later “I find no fault in him” but he consented for him to be crucified. It tells us that he came not to condemn the world, but he came to save the world. I am thankful that this is not a work of condemnation, it is a work of salvation. 

We had a family who professed in our meetings down in Mexico. The husband was searching for truth, and it didn’t take many meetings. He had tried this and that, and then he went back to the Catholic church because he had not found anything better. He met with one of our brothers, and he had a wonderful way of talking to people, and this man believed it, and received it. Afterwards he said “I am very thankful that when you came you did not condemn what I had, but you showed to me something that is better, and that is what convinced me. If a man had a shirt that was dirty and torn and it was not his size, and you began to find fault with that man’s shirt, just criticise and talk about it, that man could get angry because it is the only shirt he had, but if you would bring to that man and show him a new shirt, and tell him it is exactly your size and is clean and you can have it if you like it, then I’m sure he would take off his old shirt and throw it away because he has something better.” I am thankful the Lord has shown us something better. He did not come to condemn, but to save, and to show to the world something that is better, and to help us.    

Verses 17 and 18 “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life.

that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” That is the power that you have and that I have. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have it, but I have got it. I have power to continue to lay down my life, and Jesus said “for this my Father loves me because I have continued to lay down my life.” We are thankful for our brothers and sisters who continue laying down their lives, laying down their lives for Jesus’ sake, and the gospel’s sake, the same as Jesus, and we are thankful for you folks who continue to lay down your lives in being willing to say from your heart “Not my will, but thine, be done.”

I would just like to tell you of a study that I have enjoyed, about a whale. Every year the enormous Humpback whales migrate thousands of miles from the frozen waters of Alaska where they feed all summer, to the warm waters off of the island of Maui, among the Hawaiian Islands, where in winter they give birth to their young. When they travel, they communicate with each other by singing mysterious songs that can be heard underwater for miles and miles. They make grunting, groaning, burping, and blowing sounds. They whistle and squeal, and make clicks and snarls in their wild songs throughout the depth of the Pacific Ocean.

On the 9th day of October 1985, a pod of whales was seen en route southward, off of Point Reyes on the coast of California. On the 10th of October, this same family group was seen swimming toward the entrance of the San Francisco Bay when one whale in the pod did something very strange. This whale became famous for this and was in the newspapers worldwide. Scientists have called him “Humphrey”. Mr. Humphrey (because it is a man’s name) left his family and all by himself swam under the Golden Gate Bridge and entered the bay. How different the bay was compared to his home in the waters of the ocean! The waters would have a different color, and flavor, and temperature, and there would be new sounds here, like the coughing of the motor boats. He could no longer hear the songs of his family. Humphrey was alone.

In Luke chapter 15, we read of a family with a father and his two sons. No doubt there was a mother, too. They had a happy home. There was music and dancing there and contented servants within its sheltering walls. One day, the younger son did something very strange. He left his family and went his own way to do his own thing. He also made a long journey to another land and was there without his family – alone.

Humphrey, the whale, was now inside the bay where he began to follow the deep underwater channel toward the north, and on into San Pablo Bay. A navy submarine passed by, heading out to sea, and the sailors saw him on their sonar. Humphrey sang a song to it, thinking perhaps it was another whale, but there was no response. There just could not be communication between the two.

The prodigal son, in Luke 15, tried to have fellowship with the people of that far off land, but they didn’t have much in common. The songs of Zion were not known in that province. They had other music with a different theme, unknown to the people of the young son’s home.

Humphrey now made another turn towards land, this time where the channel passed under the Carquinez Bridge. He passed the cities of Crockett and Benicia. Where was he going? He passed Pittsburg, where the Sacramento River enters the Suisun Bay. By this time he had been seen from the shore and a large crowd of onlookers gathered. They enjoyed the show of being with Humphrey; as it was so unusual of there ever being a whale in the Bay. But he was in dangerous waters.

The people in Luke 15, in that far off land, watched the prodigal son also. They enjoyed being with him and spent their time in feasting as he wasted his substance; prodigal means “extravagant waster.” But, it was dangerous for him also. To live ungodly surely is to live without control, just as “evil communications corrupt good manners.”

Humphrey was behaving himself without control like the prodigal son. The people asked lots of questions, “What is Humphrey doing here? Has he lost his sense of direction? Is he ill? Is he looking for food???”

Without doubt there also were questions asked among the people of that far off land concerning the prodigal son. They surely wondered, “What is he doing here? What does he expect to find here? He is different from us.” But they enjoyed him and so used him. Such is life in dangerous waters.

Now Humphrey swam inland through the narrows and into the Sacramento River where the freshwater flows. His healthy gray/black skin began to rot with fungus and large patches turned whitish. He began to list to one side as he swam. Signs of approaching death appeared. The prodigal son in that land also began to deteriorate. A great famine arose in that land and he began to be in want. His ribs began to show. The signs of death approached.

The people on the shore cried out, “Turn around, Humphrey! Go home!” But he kept on swimming inland under the Rio Vista drawbridge, nearly 70 miles from his ocean home, all the way to “Cache Slough” where he became trapped behind some old bridge pilings. Was it the end for Humphrey?

The prodigal son came to an end, he finally came to himself. He thought of the bounties that he had had in the home of his father; where “my father’s servants have bread and to spare.” Now he had less than nothing. How could he go back? It seemed so effortless to become wrong, the road was all downhill, and now it seemed such an uphill climb to become right again. But how could he ever stay in that far-off land and be right?

The scientists and government authorities met. They said, “Let’s help Humphrey.” They took out the posts of the old bridge and put several boats in the river and made a lot of underwater noise, to drive him out. In this work of the Gospel, the Workers can push people only so far. Christians are like sheep in that they must be led. We cannot drag men and women to God. Humphrey only swam downriver a little way, to where the shadow of the Rio Vista Bridge crossed the river and then he turned back. There was some uncertainty about that shadow on the water that Humphrey didn’t want to cross. In Psalm 23, David said, “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” It is not possible to push the people of God across this shadow of death or any other dark shadow of doubt. They must be led like sheep with the spirit of faith in their shepherd.

The scientists thought, “How can we help him to go through this shadow? We can’t push him. We have to lead him, but how?” By now Humphrey’s family of Humpback whales had safely arrived in the blissful waters off of Maui. It was there that an Oceanographer made an amazing underwater recording of a pod of whales joyfully feeding on an immense gathering of Krill – the whale’s food. This scientist from Hawaii then sent the tape recording of the sounds of humpback whales eating to the rescuers in the Sacramento River. From a boat, the scientists put the recording underwater. Humphrey heard the grunts, groans and burping of contented whales eating and immediately he swam to the underwater speaker that was mounted on the transom of the Scientist boat. We sing a hymn that says, “So near to the kingdom that thou hearest the songs that resound, from those whom believing a pardon have found.” Humphrey heard those joyful sounds and thought of his family and began again to follow the boat downstream and this time he passed all the way through the dark shadow!

Remember the prodigal son? He also remembered the sounds of eating and said, “In my father’s house even the servants have bread and to spare. I will arise and go to my Father…”

Humphrey continued following the boat and its happy song. He followed it downriver, under the Benicia Bridge, under the Carquinez Bridge, and across the windy strait of San Pablo Bay. He followed it under the Richmond Bridge to Angel Island. He swam 50 miles in a single day. Early the next day he followed the boat to the Golden Gate Bridge. By this time he had been in the bay for twenty-four days. A lot of people had heard of Humphrey and thousands of people gathered on the docks and along the wharves of San Francisco and across the Bay people stood on the shores of Marin County while high overhead on the Golden Gate Bridge all the early morning rush hour traffic was stopped as cheering people got out of their cars and looked down on Humphrey. The scientist’s boat led Humphrey and behind him almost a hundred other boats followed! He never swerved to the right or to the left as they passed under the Golden Gate and reached the vast Pacific Ocean, he was home!

We sing this hymn, “Do not fear to follow Jesus: He will lead you safely through, every dark and dreary valley and your failing strength renew.” The Pacific Ocean is the largest in the world. Just like God’s heart, it’s the largest place of all and it’s our home. He so gently wants to guide His people into the center of His beloved will and set our feet in a large place. May we come to Him, because His mercy is great, like the wideness of the Sea.

From the 20th chapter of John’s Gospel, reading from verse 11- 16 “Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping, and she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and saw two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain, and they said unto her Woman, why weepiest thou? She said unto them because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus said unto her Woman why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, said unto him Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell, me where thou halt laid Him and I will take Him away. Jesus said unto her Mary. She turned herself and saith unto Rabboni; which is to say Master.”

Sunday mornings, our usual practice is to gather together in consecrated homes in the remembrance of Jesus. As He said in the breaking of bread, do this in remembrance of me, both in the cup and in the bread, and our coming together is to remember Jesus. Perhaps at this time if we could speak a little about becoming more involved deeply involved with the person of God’s Son, it may add to the blessing and joy as we would gather in a regular manner Sunday mornings.

I’d like to say it’s a great pleasure for me to be here. From the time I heard the Gospel, some years ago, we owe much to those from Aust. and NZ who have come and ministered and laboured in the States, and this an added pleasure then that I could visit the very land from where those have come to us to labour.

We’ve a little about a person this is not a parable but a real person like ourselves, who became very deeply involved with Jesus. It wasn’t just a reading knowledge in something that she had heard, but her heart was deeply involved. This is true about a successful man in business becoming really involved in their work, or a farmer, a person in school has to be involved- a housewife, to be diligent, has to be involved. Or a good marriage they are involved in the marriage. To succeed, we must have our heart in it. It is well understood to all of us that secrets will be made known to us if we really love what we’re doing. If it is a trade school whatever, if we really love what we are doing there will be secrets made known to us that will not be made known to others. It is true in a marriage. It’s particularly true in the kingdom of God.

Mary Magdalene, she is called Mary Magdalene because she was from the city of Magdala south of Galilee, and we will just referred to her as Mary Magdalene. We read first of her in the 8th chap. of Luke’s gospel. It was she that had been devil possessed. She was a devil-possessed woman and Jesus cast from her seven devils. It doesn’t tell us what they were, but then we realise that Adam and Eve were devil-possessed also. The spirit that came into them of deceit and deliberately, disobeying a command of God wat not the righteous work of God; it was the subtle spirit of the adversary, an angelic power. This is where the gospel has found any of us and all of us. Mary was devil-possessed, and Jesus cast out those spirits.

The final work of redemption had not taken place, the price of the ransom for sin, was not yet attended to. The work of reconciliation was not yet. The great work of the full payment of salvation. All that Mary received was a work of atonement. It was a promise that yet the fulfilling would take place. And those of our brethren in former days this is what they believed in was a promise of the coming of the saviour or of our soul, the Son of the living God. They lived and only enjoyed the work of the atonement, that nothing more than a promise temporally covering for sin, that’s all Mary had. We have far more to rejoice in and become involved in, and yet she ministered to Jesus of her substance in her appreciation for the work of atonement.

We read no more of her until we read of her standing by the cross. At the time it makes clear that her being there it means that she was faithful in continuing and being involved there at the cross. The great confusion of what was happening- some saying one thing and some saying another. It says that she stood by the cross, it tells us that in John 19 v 25. “Now here stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.”

Some years ago, before I had the privilege of going out into the work, I attended a Sunday morning meeting. Our brother was there whom I had not met, but heard much about, and everyone at the meeting was speaking about Harry Holland coming to that meeting, and I looked forward to that meeting. We went to the meeting and the saints had a part in prayer, and testimonies, and he got up to speak and he said, the most important part of this meeting has already passed. I wondered what is more important than his part, is that the part of when we prayed, or when we sang that hymns or when the saints testified. I thought the most important part was going to be the hour Harry Holland had to speak. And then he said this “The most important part of this meeting is the spirit, in which we have arrived before we came, it has to do with what we did in getting ready for the meeting the night before.”

I nearly fainted. The night before some of us young ones had gone to the world’s fair. We had a very nice time, and we had done nothing that we were embarrassed or ashamed about. Our conduct was upright. Our group of us were there about six or seven. We stayed until 10 o’clock that night, and by the time we got to our homes it was about midnight. I slept in that morning to get as much rest as I could, then I hurried off to the meeting. When he said the most important part of the meeting was the spirit in which we arrived, I believe that was a turning point in my life. I began to give some serious thought to what was important regarding this matter of getting involved in the most sacred moment of our life, the breaking of the bread, the very touching substance, the remembrance of Jesus the Son of God.

We cannot do this carelessly to get the blessing, we cannot do this in some hurried way and have preoccupied thoughts, and have God’s blessing. It is interesting to understand that when the sun goes down the new day starts, that’s a beginning of their day. Their Sunday began at sun down Saturday, the Lord’s Day. Things that we can do to become involved, what will soften the heart and prepare us for the most holy sacred moments of our life, the most searched out discerning time of judgement, that God is seeking to bring upon us, to bring about change to the likeness of Jesus. It takes more than a strong desire to be right, it takes more than just some lofty ambition, to aim at some high ideal.

It has to do with our honest, heartfelt involvement with the Son of God. That will make the difference. God has arranged for His children and for His children only to get involved in this. It’s the only thing we do that we exercise all our five senses in the breaking of bread. We hear about Jesus in the meeting, we behold that bread and that cup with our eyes. The time comes that we handle, and we taste, and we smell with the tasting. All five senses we are in it- seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, to make a deep and lasting impression, and we have every reason to enter this experience in a spirit of reverence and holiness spirit of consecration and thankfulness. And for a little while if we can be with Mary and with some things which she saw. There at the cross things were not clear to her like they are to us, she wasn’t fully understanding what was happening, but she was there, and I believe that on Saturday night as the day begins into Sunday, if we can read some scripture about Jesus, about His death maybe just one little subject. The preparing of the heart. It might be Psalm 22 or 34 that you choose to read. It might be Isaiah 53 or Zechariah 12 v 10 about the crucifixion. Perhaps something about the glorious day of the resurrection. Something that softens our heart and makes us glad. Our coming together on the first day is more than just a review or a rehearsal of our failure. It’s a time of rejoicing in the greatness of our salvation- in the Son of the Living God, and what this has meant to us.

As she stood at the cross she heard those words, Father forgive them they know not what they do. She heard that. It’s good that we be with her a little and think about that, and it was He who was assuring them of forgiveness, and Jesus was saying I don’t hold anything against you. She heard the conversation between Jesus and those other two on the crosses. It’s good that we stop a little and think about that, and be there, really be there with her. What was she hearing? She heard those words I thirst. She saw the man run and get the vinegar. It may not have been she fully understood, but now we do. We have the scriptures that said this would be. She saw those men gamble for His clothes. She didn’t understand the fulfilment, but we do. We have that in Psalm 22.

She heard the conversation of Jesus about His mother and Mary. We need to be there and think about that. The feeling of compassion. She heard those words My God my God why hast thou forsaken me. It was not just the suffering of pain, the inward deep feeling goes beyond physical pain. She may not have been in the garden when He prayed and perspired great drops as it were blood, but it would evident on His garments. On a cold night when a fire had to be kindled to keep them warm, Jesus perspired great drops as it were blood. Anguish of soul. It would not be amiss for us to visit there even on the preparation of going to the meeting.

The crown of thorns- those who didn’t understand who caused blood to flow from terrible physical abuse. The mocking, the blindfolding, pulling the very hairs from His head, very humiliating. It stirs anger within. Jesus had absolute control. Mary behold the spear thrust in His side that revealed to all that Jesus had died from a broken heart. It ruptured. It was from those words My God my God why hast thou forsaken me. His heart had ruptured- sin- the consequence of it.

It’s true sin may be that within us- some spirit or attitude, but physically it has to be revealed in all whatever that might be in us, whether some spirit of anger, it will reveal itself physically. A spirit of jealousy, it will express itself, a spirit of pride or conceit or ego or vanity. These spirits, we cannot have them in us except they are going to express themselves. We need not get angry or upset with the tongue for speaking amiss, or try to control it. There must be a change of spirit. It must be that there is the kind of repentance before God of our sin that it changes the spirit so that the tongue will be controlled.

Maybe you have heard this story about the clock in the shop to be repaired and there was a little notice under the clock, it was not on the correct time at all- and it just simply said on the note “Don’t blame my hands, I am not right inside.” Of course the message was, don’t blame your clock for not running correctly, it’s what is inside. It needs cleansing and adjusting, then of it will keep the right time. That is true about all of us. We may try to restrict or control or confine, and try to have some resistance against anger or some other vanity or spirit, whatever it might be and we work and work and work and feel that was not getting very far: We need the cleansing of the blood of Jesus through true repentance, where the spirit is cleansed, and made different, and right. That is where the need needs to be.

And this is why Jesus had to suffer physically, but he also had to suffer in the soul. God saw and said the anguish of his soul was satisfied. In Isaiah 53 tells that He had to suffer both, and we must also, because of physical misdeeds that we express, when they are repented of that’s why they have to be confessed and we ask for forgiveness from those whom we have offended. God’s way of getting things right changing us from within.

Mary was there when the earthquake happened. She did not fully understand that He was dying for her. It was not clear to her then that He was dying for her as a person. It was her sin that had crucified Him. Her sin, your sin and my sin, is what caused His death. We must get into this thing altogether involved to understand that our sin murdered the Son of the Living God. As a person this is a frightening thing; a searching thing. She did not understand at that moment though she was there. We understand that and we know that. It is a good thing that our hearts be softened before we go into the meeting. We’re not going to write off Sunday morning, we’re not ‘going to be sleeping in to the last minute, to rise quickly without time to have breakfast. No we are getting up for the preparation of the most holy, sacred moments of our life.

The Bible is something I have handled most years of my life – from when I was very young. It is only in recent years I have come to appreciate the Bible more and more. Sometimes I have seen a book around called, “The Handbook of Good Living.” For every child of God, the Bible is our “Handbook of Good Living,” because not only does it teach us the way to eternal life, it also teaches us how to have healthy spirits, souls, bodies, and minds.

In Timothy, we read that it is good for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. We learn to appreciate these things more as we realize how much we need the Word of God. There are just two words of the Bible that are not right. After the Revelation there are two words: THE END. Those words were not put there by the inspiration of God, but by man. The first words and chapters of the Bible talk about the beginning. The last chapters of the Bible are still talking about the beginning. When we are in eternity, even if we are in His home for several millions of years, it is still only the beginning, because God doesn’t know an end. There is no such thing as an end. We are glad that thru His Word and thru the gospel, we have been able to know the beginning of God’s way. When we were young we used to sing, “The best book to read is the Bible! If you read it every day it will help you on your way.” As experiences mount up, we have found those words to be very true. No matter what question we have, there should never be any doubt in our mind as to what course of action to take. It is all in the Bible. I was very pleased recently that we have a Bible.

At Glen Innes, I was asked to speak to a group of year 12 students who were looking at different religions. Those young people had very active minds. For 11 hours, they asked me questions about our people. In every question I was able to say this, “The Bible says this….” There is no doubt about our belief because the Bible says it, there can be no other way. Two or three questions the young people asked – I never expected them. They said, “First of all, give us a little outline about what is the doctrine of your faith,” and “What do you believe in?” I started by telling them about the first and great commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength and thy neighbour as thyself. If we just love those that love us, where is your reward? I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you.” It is not humanly possible for us to fulfill those words. We need a new life, a new spirit, a new heart. When we receive this new spirit, we are able to love God and also our enemy. That is why the gospel has been sent through Jesus: it gives us a new spirit, a new heart.

Another question was, “What do you people believe when it comes to training of children?” and “What do you teach your people?” The Bible says, “If we spare the rod, he that spareth the rod hateth his child, but he that chasteneth him loves him.” That is what the Bible teaches us. It talks about love, that same principle, the man that loves his child chastens him, but the one who doesn’t chasten his child hates him. We couldn’t get words more clear then that. In Japan, most of our new contacts are young mothers with their children. They are looking for guidance as to how to bring up their children. They look out on the world and see what a place it is and that out in the world there are no guidelines. There is a book written by Dr. Spock about bringing up children. In that book, he says you should not chasten children, they are too young to know what is right and wrong. Instead of chastening them, you should teach them what is right and what is wrong. Recently, Dr. Spock has made the public announcement that his theories about bringing up children are wrong, because of the results that he sees. A child should be chastened. What a child wants to know about what is right and what is wrong is, what is the limit? Where is the boundary? They just see how far they can go before their parents stop them. When their parents chastise them, a boundary is set. Once the boundary is set, that child grows up knowing there is a boundary. Without a boundary, we find young people going to extremes. Their whole life is ruined just because they knew no boundary. That is why Dr. Spock was wrong in his theory. Children don’t only need chastisement, they also need love and praise; there needs to be a balance in the way that they are reared. The Bible teaches us these things. If we abide by what the Bible says – these words have been proved for thousands of years. We find that modern theories – the thoughts of man – man’s wisdom leads into a maze. The Bible gives us a direction. There are no mistakes if we follow the counsel there.

Another question asked was, “What do you think about divorce?” It says in the Bible, “What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.” Love God; love your neighbour as yourself. Those principles should make any marriage work. I told them the story about a lady in Japan who had come to our meetings. She had been separated from her husband for 6 years and divorce proceedings were going through. She said, “After some meetings, I can see it is impossible for me to divorce my husband and get saved too because you have said we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbour as oneself. I tried and I believe I have loved God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, but I have not fulfilled the next part – my husband is my neighbour. ‘Love your enemy’ – my enemy is my husband and I should learn to love him.” That woman, as she listened to the word of God, was able to understand what God’s mind and thoughts were about these things. One man was talking to me about his married life. If we get along well together it is wonderful, but no reward. If we find it is difficult to get along and we persevere and we allow this love of God to overcome all the difficulties, this is where there is great reward in the sight of God. Perhaps you would say I am married, so how would I know! But you just choose a partner you like and you get used to their ways. My companion changes every year. Not all of us have the same personality. We all have different ways about us that we have to learn to blend one with the other. That is where we are able to manifest this right spirit. When adversity comes, that is a wonderful opportunity to bring out these scriptures we have been talking about – loving one another, going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, when we have been smitten on the one cheek. These are wonderful opportunities to put these words into practice. They are not only written in the Bible, they become our own.

Another question was, “What about hair?” I said the Bible says that long hair on a woman is her glory, but on a man it is his shame. Paul said, “Does not nature teach you this?” In Paris every three years, they choose the woman believed to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Every time this woman is chosen, I notice she has long hair and three quarter sleeves on her dress and has balance in every part of her make up. The men who choose this are thinking about beauty and art, not fashion. Some fashions can be very hideous. These men who choose are the world’s best artists, men who are finely tuned to nature. The world’s best conductors of orchestras all have short hair; artists of the highest quality in the world know that short hair on a man is becoming. That is just what men think. There is no wonder that God moved upon the heart of Paul to write these things. Some of the young people, when they heard that, were silent. I was glad that no matter what question they asked me, I was able to say, “In the Bible, it says ……”

The last question asked was, “Who is your founder? In what year was this church founded?” Before I could answer that question, the teacher said, “You don’t have a founder, do you? Your church has been handed down from generation to generation since Christ.” After she had heard all I said, she had concluded this. That is why people in every country in the world accept the gospel. There has never been a more prosperous time in the history of the world for the gospel than there is now. We realize that it is that people are looking for something that doesn’t change in a world that is ever changing. We are glad that we have this never changing way in an ever changing world. Man’s wisdom leads into a maze but God’s way leads us to Heaven and home. This way that Jesus gave us 2,000 years ago has been handed to us with no changes.

The main purpose of a meeting like this is to help the Elders among us know how much they are appreciated, and what a valuable place they fill in this fellowship. The further on I go, the more I thank God that in His all-perfect way, He planned that there would be Elders. I don’t suppose you know how much peace you bring to our minds, or how much of the load you take from off our shoulders. We are so glad that God has planned it to be that way. I might mention before we go further, that this is the only group of people in the world where this relationship exists between the ministers and the Elders and the saints. There are groups of people in the religious world and in the business world and the financial world that have a working relationship, but they know nothing about the meaning of the word ‘fellowship.’ This is the only group of people in the world where the Lord’s servants, and the Elders and the Lord’s people can work together in such a harmonious way.

I like the way in which Paul wrote in Philemon, verses 1, 17, and 20. Philemon was the Elder at Colosse and the church met in his home. Paul spoke of him as a fellow-laborer. Then he referred to him as a partner, and then he referred to him as a brother. As far as I know, this is the only time in the Scripture where an Elder is referred to as a ‘fellow laborer.’ This Elder, Philemon, had his heart so much in the Work of the gospel that he was doing everything he could to help Paul with his load and with his activities. He was as much help to Paul as any of the fellow laborers were. Then he referred to him as a ‘partner.’ Partners share and share alike. They are equal partners in the business. When one is away, they do not worry about the business because they know the other is looking after their interests the same as they would if they were present. I do not think you can understand how much it means to us, especially when we are on the other side of the sea, and we cannot be there with the little flocks as we would like to be. You cannot know how much it means to us to know we have a ‘partner’ who is watching out for the flock just as though we were there.

There are three chapters of, Scripture that Elders and their wives should often read together. We would encourage you, to read together and to pray together. We do this as workers. These three chapters, are I Timothy 3, Titus 1, and I Peter 5. These chapters explain in detail the qualifications of the Elder and they explain in detail the responsibilities Elder’s wife.

We are glad to see so many young couples with us in the meeting tonight. We have often encouraged the young married couples to read together these chapters and pray that God will work into their young lives the qualities that would prepare them so that if an Elder should pass away, they would be qualified to fill the vacancy. That happened over on the coast. A very worthy Elder passed away. The church had prospered under his care. There was a young couple in that meeting probably in their early thirties. They had been in a convention meeting couple of years before this when we had encouraged our young couples to read often these chapters together. This young couple had done this and when an Elder was needed to fill, the gap, they were qualified. I am glad to tell you this little church is prospering under the direction of this new Elder even as it had before.

The church missed that old Elder, naturally. They had relied on him as a father. We are relying on you. You are the next generation. There are Elders among us that possibly will not be with us another year. You would be surprised to know the number of the Elders that have passed away within the last two years. We hope that these chapters will be as much of a stimulus to you, who are younger, as they are to those who are older and filling the place of an Elder in the flock today. There is nothing wrong with a person’s wanting to be an Elder or their desire to fill the office of a deacon, and if a young person has this desire it is a godly desire.

In Titus 1, the terms ‘Elder’ and ‘bishop’ are used synonymously. We usually think of the one taking charge of the meeting, when the Workers are away, as the ‘Elder’ because he is chosen from among the older ones. In I Timothy 3:6, we are reminded that you would not give a novice this responsibility. They might not realize the seriousness of it. They might be filled with pride. You would make sure that they understood the seriousness of the responsibility that is given to them. Paul used the words ‘bishops’ and ‘Elders’ interchangeably. The word, ‘bishop,’ means an ‘overseer.’

In the first chapter of Philippians, Paul also referred to the “deacons,” as well as the Elder. We are often asked what is the responsibility of the deacon? He was the one who took charge of the meeting when the Elder was not there. We like to follow the same pattern today. We like someone appointed to lead the meeting when the Elder is not there. That way there is no confusion. We found out one time that when an Elder was away his wife would ask some man in the meeting to lead the meeting. You would know that such was out of order. If, for some reason, you need to be away from your little flock, and you do not have someone to take your place, let us know so that the meeting can be directed as the Lord intended.

In the New, Testament days, there was more work involved than there is today because the church was responsible for the widows and the needy. There was no social security, benefits or other provision made and that is why the deacons were given this responsibility. That is what Paul was talking about when he said, “Let not a widow be taken into the number under three score years, well reported of for good works, etc.”

We had a woman come to us in a state of panic, and she asked, “Does that mean I cannot be taken into full fellowship until I am sixty?” Paul was referring to the widows whose care was resting upon the church. We do not have that care today, but there is another part of an Elder’s responsibility which is equally as important. That is to see that the flock is visited. We have an Elder in Portland who would often call one younger couple in the meeting and say, “We have someone in the hospital, or there is someone in the meeting and something seems to be wrong with them, or someone else in the meeting last Sunday was shedding tears.” He would see that they were visited. No one missed a meeting twice but what they were visited. No one was in the hospital but what they were visited. This is a very important part because we as workers cannot always be there. We never like to see a little old widow neglected or left alone, or anyone in a nursing home that is not visited. If there is a visit that you cannot make, you just call up the one appointed to help you and ask them to make the visit.

In I Peter 5:2, Peter exhorted the Elders to “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” One of the first things Peter said was “feed.” Sometimes the Lord’s people get a little careless and they do not study as they should. Consequently, they do not have any bread to bring to the meeting. Therefore, a special responsibility rests on the shoulders of the Elders to see to it that there is bread for the meeting. Peter than added, “Taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint.” Don’t take the attitude that this is my obligation, but do it willingly. Let them know that you count it a privilege. “Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but by being ensamples to the flock.” Don’t be a lord over the little flock, just live before them what they should be. One way that people lord it over others is by instruction, saying, “Don’t do this, or don’t do that.” The greatest effect that any of us have over our brethren is the power of a good example. Paul said in another place that he wanted to live so that others would be provoked to emulation, or to be like him and to have what he had. When we take heed to ourselves as we should, that makes us an ensample, which is much better than a lecture. The word ‘ensample’ which is used here is different from the word ‘example.’

The word ‘example’ refers to the original, and the word ‘ensample’ refers to a copy of the original. We all recognize that we only have one example in this fellowship, and that is Christ. But, we can allow the Lord to so work in our lives the virtues of Christ so that like Paul said, “You follow me even as I follow Christ.” In the building profession, the architect draws up the original plans. Those plans are called the example. The builders may make a number of copies of it so that the plumbers can have one and the electricians one, etc. These are called ‘ensamples.’ They are all copies of that architect’s original drawing. I was talking to one of our friends one day who is an architect. He said the original drawing was kept in a safe. No one sees it, but it is kept there for safe keeping. The people working on the job never see the original but they know what it is like because they are working from an exact copy. Christ, our original example, is now in Heaven. No one sees Him, but as we are conformed to the image of Christ, they can tell what He is like by what they see in us. That is the way that God intended it to be. When we are that kind of an ensample, it is easy for the flock to have something that they can safely follow.

When we think of Jesus as our example, we think of Him in His example in prayer. Jesus prayed His long prayers in private. He prayed His short prayers in public. That is a good example for us also to follow. Jesus spent all night in prayer to God, but in public He prayed briefly. He prayed one time, “Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always.” That doesn’t sound like much of a prayer, but that is what He was thankful for at the time. He was so thankful that God heard Him every time He cried in distress. It would be good for us to condense our prayers in the meeting so that everyone in the meeting will have time for their part. I knew of a home in Spokane. When the Elder and his wife purchased that home, the older workers arranged for the church to remain in the home as it had been. One of the first concerns that this Elder and his wife had was that although there were about 40 in that meeting, just a few took up all the time praying, and others took up all the time testifying. There were many in the meeting that never had a chance to take part. The Elder said to his wife, “We won’t say anything about this. We will just set an example for them.” So when they prayed, they prayed very briefly but very effectively, and when they testified, they testified very briefly but with real bread in it. It wasn’t long until others began to follow their ensample, and it wasn’t long until all 40 were taking part in both prayer and testimony, and the meeting was over well within the limit of time. That is what Peter encouraged the Elders to do. Set the right example before the flock just like Jesus did in His day. That is what will make you an ensample to the flock.

There is another thing that the Scripture teaches us to do and that is to meditate on our prayers before the meeting just as we meditate on our testimonies. If a person goes to a meeting with something definite in our hearts to thank God for and something definite to testify about, you have a real godly effect then upon the others in the meeting. It is nice to just pause before the meeting to ask yourself the question, “What am I the most thankful for, and what do I feel the most in need of?” With that in our heart, it helps us to pray briefly, originally, and effectively each time.

I would like to mention another thing about this matter of prayer and testimony in the meeting. When you pray in a meeting, make sure that your voice is loud and clear enough so that everyone in the room can hear you. There seems to be a feeling that often creeps in among us that we should modify our voice when we pray. There is nothing in the Scripture that suggests that. I often feel badly when someone prays or testifies in a low voice and half of the people in the meeting fail to get the benefit of what is being said. My hearing is not as keen as it used to be, but I still hear better in the meeting than most of the folks who are there. I know that when I cannot catch all that is said, the older people in the meeting are not getting it either. They are the ones who need it. They are living in the final trials of life and they need all the help they can get out of the meeting. Paul said, “Consider one another.” This is one way in which we can be considerate. You do not need to shout, but you can speak loud enough so that all in the meeting can get the full benefit of what you are praying and testifying about.

There is something else I wish we could do something about. It is this matter of saying “amen” following the prayers and testimonies. They do this in most of the countries. After a brother gives his testimony, it is good to hear a little “amen” to assure that person that their testimony was helpful. A man from New Zealand was in a meeting of ours not long ago. After the meeting, with tears in his eyes, he asked the Elder what he said wrong in his testimony. The Elder said there was nothing wrong with what he had to say. This man replied, “No one said ‘amen’ after I finished speaking, and I felt that my testimony was not in order.” Just a little ‘amen’ shows we appreciate what they have shared. It is a little word of encouragement when a person says ‘amen.’ It is just saying, “I heartily endorse what you have said.” It makes me feel good when I hear someone say a little ‘amen’ after my part. This is a little thing that Elders and their wives can be an example to the flock in. These are things that helped in the New Testament fellowship and they still do today. I hope we will all feel responsible to make every meeting what it should be.

There is another part of the meeting that we feel is very important. It is the part where we partake of the bread and wine. I suppose you all understand that it is nice to have the emblems in the center of the room when this can be arranged, just to remind everyone that Christ is the center of this meeting. We do not want to make a great formality of this. One older worker said, “We could be so taken up with the formality that we would miss the reality of what the bread and wine is intended to mean.” It is nice when each one recognizes that they have the privilege of expressing thanks for either the bread or the wine in the meeting. In this way, no one or two would feel responsible each time. We would like anyone in the meeting who has an understanding, to feel free to express their thanks for the communion.

What are we going to do with what is left over after all have partaken? I remember one time asking an older brother about this. His reply was there are no rules or no law about how the emblems are disposed of. In the Old Testament Passover Feast, which was a forerunner of our fellowship meeting, if there was anything left over, it was burnt with fire. And, if there was anything left over of the drink offering, it was poured out on the ground. It would be nice if what is left over from the communion could be disposed of in this way. This is not a ruling, but it is a respectable way to take care of the disposal of the emblems. If there is anything left of the bread, it is good to burn it with fire. If there is anything left of the wine, it is good to pour it upon the ground. In some places in city life, this cannot be done. We tell them it is not mandatory, but I think if there is any left over, it is good to do so if it is possible. It is sacred to us in that it has reminded us again of the life and death of Christ who has made all of this possible.

These three chapters explain the ideal for the Elder and his wife. I certainly would encourage every Elder and his wife to read them together frequently. We would also encourage every young couple to read these chapters together and pray that the Lord will work into your lives the qualifications that would enable you to some day fill that place. We certainly would encourage every young couple to pray together and study together, just as we do. This will keep your home united and it will help you to keep the spirit and atmosphere in the home as it should be. We would like you to prepare yourselves so that if an old Elder should pass away, you would be ready to step in and fill the gap. It is not that you are looking for a place of recognition, but that you see the privilege of looking after the little flock, and you have made yourselves ready to step into that privilege.

If you would like, please read from time to time Acts 20:28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost bath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.” This helps us all very much to take heed to ourselves. Just make sure that you are an ensample. Just make sure that you are doing the right thing before that little flock so that everybody in the church would like to have the same spirit that you have and possess the same example that you have. The greatest power that anyone can have is the power of example. Just live as close to Christ as you can. He is our example in everything. It is interesting to notice as we read the gospels over, the many things that Jesus did just to leave an example so that we would know how to handle each situation that we might face.

We would like to tell you again how much you mean to us. Not only when we are on the other side of the sea, but also when we are in other parts of the field. It is comforting to know that we have partners that are watching over the flock, and that we have fellow laborers who are helping to carry the load. This is the only group of people in the world where the Elders and the ministry and the people are pulling together. This is possible because we are having fellowship with the Lord Himself, and, when we are having fellowship with Him, we are all enjoying fellowship with one another.

In the 10th chapter of John’s gospel, I am sure that you know that at this time; it was just after Jesus had given sight to the blind man, and then we read about the Pharisees and what they had to say.

Then in the 10th chapter Jesus tells about the Shepherd and the sheep.

This chapter is about what Jesus is and what He does for the sheep and what the sheep do.

King David in the Old Testament in Psalm 23 said, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

David knew what it was to be a shepherd before he became king of Israel.

He knew all about sheep and their nature, and he was speaking as if he was a sheep and the Lord was his shepherd.

As we look into this chapter, I thought of what Jesus said. He spoke like a parable.

“Verily, verily I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some of her way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sleep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sleep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spoke unto them.”

In the 7th verse of this chapter Jesus said, “I am the door.”

Also in the 9th verse, “I am the door: by me if any man enters in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

We know that Jesus is the door into the sheepfold; into God’s kingdom; God’s family.

In this case Jesus is talking about the sheepfold and He is the door.

There is no other way to entrance into this fold; the fold that belongs to God.

The only way is through Jesus the door.

I am glad that when I was a young boy of 15 I first started going to these meetings and I learned about the very same things we hear about tonight, and I heard about this chapter and the way into the sheepfold.

I noticed that there was only one way, and that was Jesus.

He is still the door into the sheepfold.

We can’t get in any other way.

We might think that we can get in, and might feel that we are in this fold.

When eternity comes, if we haven’t known what it is to hear the gospel message through God’s servants, and are willing to obey the voice of Jesus, and enter into this fold; when eternity comes, we won’t have a part in it.

We won’t be able to fool God or Jesus.

In verse 11 Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd”.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

In the Japanese language it says about the Great Shepherd.

David in the Old Testament knew Jesus as his Lord.

That was the reason he could say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

We want to know Jesus as the Great shepherd.

I hope that listening to the gospel will cause us to know what David knew, and Jesus’ disciples knew, and what everyone from those days have known of Jesus being the great shepherd.

Going back to verse 3 we read of what the shepherd does; it says that he calleth his sheep by name.

That is a marvellous thing.

I can remember when I heard the gospel, it was just as if the Lord was calling me by name.

This is a very individual thing, listening to the gospel.

It is just between yourself and God, and myself and God.

Jesus here calls us by name, through the gospel He speaks.

We want to respond when He calls.

In the same verse, “He leadeth them out.”

He calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out.

Verse 4 it says, “and goeth before them.”

If we want to have a part in this fold, as we listen to the gospel and hear the voice of the shepherd, we want to be willing to be led by Him when he calls us by name, and we want to learn to follow in His steps.

Jesus will always go before His sheep as long as we follow, we don’t have any need to fear.

The danger is if we get away from following Jesus.

In the 23rd Psalm David knew what it was to be led by the Lord.

The Lord led him in dangerous places, but there was no danger as long as he kept following the good shepherd.

In verse 27 it says, “And they follow me.”

My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

That is what we need to do.

We need to follow Jesus.

It says, “My sheep hear my voice.”

I can remember when I listened to the gospel, especially hearing the voice of Jesus.

I didn’t hear an audible voice, but I believe I was spoken to, and I wondered who was speaking to my heart.

We know when we are spoken to by the Lord.

Little by little I began to realise that it was the Lord speaking to me as an individual.

The time came when I was recognizing the voice of the shepherd and I was willing to obey the voice of the shepherd, and then I was given peace and joy and began to know Him.

In the 14th verse Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and I am known of mine.”

That is a mutual thing.

We get to know Him and He gets to know us.

He knows everything about us, and we can’t hide anything from Him.

He knows we are frail creatures of the dust and he is sympathetic and understanding.

As we follow Him we get to know Him we get to know Him more and more.

When I thought about following Jesus and getting to know His voice, I thought of the times since I first began to follow Jesus, there have been times when I have disobeyed that voice, and then I have lost the peace and joy.

Then if we are willing to quickly retrace our steps, when we hear that voice again to obey again.

The third verse says the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

He goeth before them because they know His voice.

The more I listen to the word of God, the more I get to know the voice of Jesus to my heart.

God’s true sheep don’t fear to follow His voice.

We don’t have any need to fear; He will eventually lead us to that eternal dwelling.

Verse 5, “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; or they know not the voice of strangers.”

There are many strange voices in the world.

We get to know the voice of the stranger, and we will shun the stranger’s voice.

We will get to know the shepherd’s voice better and we have no need to fear.

Verse 28 He said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

No person on earth can give you or me eternal life, but it is only Jesus himself.

That is something we get when we hear and obey the gospel message.

Verse 11 says, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

Verse 15, “As the Father knoweth his, even so know I the Father: and I lay my life down for the sheep.”

He was laying down His life for the sheep.

Verses 17, 18 “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

Those religious people didn’t know what He was talking about, because they didn’t have an honest and good heart.

Jesus was talking about when He was going to lay down his life on Calvary, and be raised again from the dead.

Jesus had the power to save His life for himself.

If He did this, you and I wouldn’t have had the privilege of hearing the Gospel, and have our sins forgiven and taken away, and our names written in the Lambs book of life.

Jesus was willing to lay down His life right to the end of His life.

Even on the cross Jesus was suffering in agony and anguish of soul, the chief priests and scribes were saying, “If thou be the Son of God, come down and save thyself”.

Jesus could have saved himself there, but he stayed there and died that cruel death for your sins and mine, so that we could have eternal life and forgiveness and cleansing.

I would like to know a little more about the love of Christ.

In the 16th verse it says, “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and there shall be one-fold, and one shepherd.”

He was speaking about the future and referring to our day.

He was going to look for other sheep, not the Jews only, but the Gentiles and He was going to send His under-shepherds and they hear His voice and hear the gospel through his true servants.

Deuteronomy 11:18-21, “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. that your days be multiplied, as the days of heaven upon the earth.” We read of a “heaven-on-earth” home life. God planned that the homes of His people would be a duplicate copy of heaven above, a controlled environment, a solid fortress. We know homes like that, and we hope you will, too.

A good study is “thy house” in the book of Deuteronomy. You dear folks know how much you enjoy and it thrills you to tell about your workers, men and women following the truths of Jesus in the 20th century. By the same token, the opposite is true. We meet people and tell them about 20th century Christians like you, the product of this ministry – and it thrills us to tell about people like you, who make the scriptures so up to date. You know, there’s just a lot I don’t know about home life. Now you know that I know that there is a lot I don’t know about home life; however, I lived in a home for 20 years before I entered this ministry. We spend more time in the homes of others than other people do. The Creator has given us two eyes, two ears, and a spirit to discern, so I’ll just skim off a jar of cream and share it with you.

John 2:11, Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding. Every move Jesus made had meaning. If there is a time a miracle is needed, it is at a wedding – an excellent object lesson of God where not the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God can turn a natural human marriage into a spiritual, divine marriage.

Ephesians 5:22-23, we read of marriage in the eyes of God. Husbands read this, not for what the wife should be, but for what he should be. Wives should read this, not to see what the husband should be, but for what she should be. Wives submit to your husbands and husbands love your wife. If Christ has used the marriage union as a picture of Christ and His espoused bride, it must have been intended for marriage to be a wonderful relationship.

Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is honorable in all,and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” God believes that and we believe that. Marriage is only for married people. Unspeakable urgencies among us that would make your hair turn white burden me terribly. Another meaning of “whoremongers” is “fornicators.”

Galatians 5:19-21, one of the 17 sins listed there is fornication. Those who commit fornication shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Another rendering puts it, “Those who champion fornication and subsidize fornication shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

I’ll read to you from God’s mind. Romans 1:13-32, a long list of sins: “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Don’t quote me. Learn the word of God. Quote the word of God. God says if I do fornication, I’m worthy of death. The Bible was thought of long before I ever was – and the Bible will be here long after I’m dead and gone.

Young folks, older folks, I repeat: marriage is only for married people. Parents have pleaded for these things to be mentioned so they would have the backing of the ministry. Parents: We want to help you. Children are your gold mine and you don’t have much time to work it. We know you will be skillful budgeters and get your children to bed on time so there is time to read from the Bible. Use your opportunity. It’s nice to go for a walk with your children and point out God in nature. Leo Stancliff’s father always told his children bedtime stories from the Bible. We know a child’s attention span is limited, but use what there is. Keep your children in the backwaters of the rivers of ungodliness – find the quiet eddies and coves. We know you have to go into the stream, and go to horrible nightmare schools – places of skull and crossbones. There’s the old teaching in the world: “Give me a child until he is 7 and his character can be formed for life.” If they can do this with false religion, what more can we do with Truth! Parents, say what you mean and mean what you say. If you don’t say what you mean and mean what you say, a spirit of unrest will, undoubtedly, prevail in your home. One father said that children would try the patience of 17 Jobs! Parents, if you say something severe, cool down and let your good judgment rule. You don’t have to shout, but rather, speak quietly. Mean what you say and say what you mean. Mothers, stand by your children’s father; and fathers, stand behind your children’s mother. Subconsciously, children learn to lord it over their parents, and then lord it around their teachers, and lord it over the boss, and then lord it over the judge, and then try to lord it over prison bars. Remember, effective discipline is necessary for good character and a good future for your children.

In the days of railroading, a guard one night dozed off in his shanty and was awakened by the whistle of the approaching train. He grabbed his lantern and ran out to see that a cloudburst had washed out the trestle guardrails of the track, and the river below was a raging torrent. He ran to warn the train but it was too late. The engineer and the train with the dying and injured ended up in the canyon below. Lawsuits later and the guard appeared before the judge. “Did you know the trestle was weakened?” “Yes.” “Did you try to wave your lantern to warn the train?” “Yes,” he replied. Later, going down the steps outside of the courthouse, the guard was heard to say, “I sure was hoping they wouldn’t ask me if my lantern was lit.” Parents, I hope the Light of Christ is burning before your children. Oh parents, parents, please, from the bottom of my heart, for God’s sake, for Christ’s sake, for the sake of the teachings of Jesus, please don’t sacrifice your children as idols on the altar of parental pride. I repeat: Oh parents, parents, please, from the bottom of my heart, for God’s sake, for Christ’s sake, for the sake of the teachings of Jesus, please don’t sacrifice your children as idols on the altar of parental pride.

II Corinthians 6:16-18, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God has said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ ‘Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate,’ saith the Lord, ‘and touch not the unclean thing; And I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,’ saith The Lord Almighty.” Chapter 7:1, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” “Holiness” means separation. I am trying to wean myself from saying, “Paul wrote”; I want to keep the fear of God alive in my soul. God says He can’t have agreement with idols. God’s people are a separated people. “Come out from idol worship; don’t touch that unclean thing.” Son-ship is based on receiving His Spirit and separating ourselves.

In the days of Elijah, a disaster happened. I Kings 19:18, it says that 7000 hadn’t bowed to Baal. How about the rest? If you figure up a census in I Chronicles 21:5, the military was 1,570,000; and then multiply that by 5 (a conservative number for a family with only 3 children). You get a bit under 8 million people; and to be double conservative, cut this down to 7 million. So if 7,000 out of a total of 7 million hadn’t bowed to Baal, that means only one out of a thousand! Can you understand the pressure against those who were separate? Some were promising the blessing of Moses without obedience to the commandments of God – so deceitful and deceptive. The same thing can come in to us today. We could think we have the blessing of the blood of Jesus without obedience to the teachings of Jesus.

Some praying parents do their best, and children bring them sorrow until their dying day. One time a godly mother had two teenage daughters who stayed out far too late for decent young women. That mother laid awake. Children, your parents don’t sleep when you’re out late. When these girls came home, their mother heard one of them say, “Why can’t we enjoy the world like others?” The other girl replied, “As long as we have a praying mother, we will never enjoy the world like other young people do.” Parents, pray, pray, pray!

I want to thank you children, first for being so quiet at this convention. This is not flattery. I know your legs are short and they go to sleep, and you don’t whimper. If you want to stand up when I’m speaking, that’s all right. Thank you, children, for obeying your parents. God loves you and God says things to you children in the Bible. Colossians 3:20, “Children obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.” That pleases the Lord. When you’re naughty, it hurts your parents as much as it hurts you when they correct you. A young worker tells of the time he was corrected by his mother and taken into the bedroom. She handed him the belt and said, “I’m not going to whip you. I want you to whip me. I want to teach you how hard it is to punish someone you love.” Thank you, children, for being kind to your parents. Make it as easy for them as you can. In one home last winter, a little girl about 5 or 6 went and turned on the porch light and said to her mother, “Mommy, I turned the light on so Daddy would know we’re expecting him.” The day you were born, 100,000 others were born too; but you were born in a home where God’s Truth was known. Ask your workers here, who weren’t raised in a professing home, about the dark tunnel they were in, not knowing the purpose of life. It is so dark. They didn’t know God’s heaven-sent answering service that you know. Jesus is God’s heaven-sent answering service on earth. Jesus has all the answers.

What happens to people who play with fire? People who play with fire are cremated! Thank God you have parents who say, “No.” You may think you are missing something out there in these cesspools around us because you were born in a home where God’s Truth is known, and you are right! You are missing something – a rotten, open sewer! You are missing all the rotten sewers of sin out there. Please don’t think your parents are old fogies. They do understand teenagers. If they say, “No” to you, it’s because they know there are two-legged serpents out there that are very slick and clever at hypnotizing you. This world is a snake pit, full of two-legged serpents. One of the brothers tells the story of a huge king snake he happened upon. It had its beady, hypnotizing eyes on a frog. The frog was squealing and squealing in stark terror, but it kept jumping right into the jaws of death. Your parents know those cunning snakes can get their eyes on you. One girl told me, “I built my altar the first day I went to high school.” She was the only child of God among 585 students in her high school. Deuteronomy 11:20, Jesus Christ is in God’s heaven-on-earth home. It’s nice when the words of Jesus are written all over these pillars. It’s nice when fathers and mothers have the words of Jesus written on their hearts and minds. A door is the port entry and exit of the home. Everything that comes into the home should pass the censorship of the words of Jesus..”Thus saith the Lord.” Everything that leaves – that is spoken, that goes out in a letter or on the phone – from that home, should pass the test, “Thus saith the Lord.” Your telephone knows you’re saved, doesn’t it?

Does the word of God say, “It’s all right” for every place you go? If so, your home is a controlled atmosphere, a fortified fort inside the fortress of the church. Deuteronomy 7:25-26, “The graven images of their god shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.” A graven image is made with the hands of men. God said, “You burn it.” That’s thorough. Some say, “I’ll screen the educational part.” But God says the silver and gold – the valuable part – is the snare. The snare of death has its seat in human reasoning. It offers a cruel, merciless, death sentence. Some, we know, live in a divided home and can’t force their conviction on their partner; but it is nice when there is respect for the heart conviction of the professing mate.

Marriage: A “paradise home” versus a “fool’s paradise.” One young couple we visited told us this about their parent’s home: “The home I was brought up in had 100% consecration and 100% dedication on the part of my parents.” This is urgently necessary. If the Spirit of God is in your home then your home is a heaven-on-earth paradise home. If the Spirit of God is not in your home, then it is a “fool’s paradise.” The husband is the head of the home and the wife is the heart of the home. I Corinthians 11:3, God is the head of Christ. Christ is the head of man. Man is the head of woman. If a wife is so fortunate to have a husband whose head is Christ, bow your knees and give thanks to God. You have heard the old cliche, “The husband is the head, the wife is the neck, and it is the neck that turns the head!” If you want something in the lighter vein to relax, that’s all right, but it’s not scriptural. The scripture teaches that the husband is the godly head of the home, and the wife is the godly heart of the home.

Don’t ever degrade the place of a wife and mother in the home. That belongs in the bottomless pit where it came from. The place of a wife and mother in the home is far above that of presidents and premiers; and they would be the first to say so.

Permanency in marriage: Husbands, you will remember your marriage vows when you said, “I do” to this question, “Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, for better or for worse, so long as you both shall live?” This was said before the divine authority of the Lord God Almighty, before the civil authority vested in the civil magistrate, before two witnesses, before your bride-to-be, and before your own conscience. That means, SO LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE.

Wives, when you said, “I do” to this question, “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, for better or for worse, so long as you both shall live?” This was said before the divine authority of the Lord God Almighty, before civil authority vested in the civil magistrate, before two witnesses, before your husband-to-be, and before your own conscience. That means, SO LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE. Malachi 2:15-16, “…therefore, take heed to thy spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth, for the Lord God of Israel saith that He hateth putting away: ‘for one covereth violence with his garment,’ saith the Lord of hosts, ‘therefore take heed to your spirit that ye deal not treacherously.’” Read this again with “husband” exchanged for “wife!” “100-100” versus “50-50:” A husband gives himself to and for his wife 100%. A wife gives herself to and for her husband 100%. Have you heard someone say, “If you meet me halfway, I’ll meet you halfway. If you don’t meet me halfway, I won’t meet you halfway.” Friends, love is a total commitment; each partner doing more than their share. If each one wants more than their share, there is war!

Kindness: Husbands, be kind! Wives, be kind! I Corinthians 13:4, a double layer of kindness cake: human kindness and divine kindness. Leave out the “digs.” The grave of love is dug with a lot of little digs! We have seen the grave of love dug. We are in some homes and an unkind remark is said and I think, “Oh, why? Oh, why should that have to be said when so many kind things could have been said?” The hot fire of love is kept burning with the fuel of little kind things. One time two youngsters were going through the family treasures in the attic and they came across their parents’ love letters of their courtship days; and one remarked, “These aren’t the names they call each other now!” They should have been the names they were calling one another now. One time, a young couple were pinching pennies to get a new car. When they got their new car, the husband told his wife, “If you ever get into an accident, there is a letter I want you to open in the glove box.” Time passed and the day came when she was involved in a little accident. And, pulling herself together, she remembered the envelope in the glove compartment. She opened it and read these lines, “Remember honey, it’s you I love, not the car!” In that glove box would have been an accident insurance policy, but also there was insurance against love damage.

Luke 10:5, Jesus sent out 35 pairs of young ministers and told them to say, “Peace be to this house.” One woman told my companion and me, “You always bring peace into our home.” My companion and I come into your home after visiting the unsaved, sometimes until the late hours of the night – facing the legions of the bottomless pit all day – and we come into your home – a haven of peace. And oh, we appreciate that! Thank God for the havens of peace in the paradise homes of God’s people. Down in California there was a man and his wife. One day she set a bucket with a welded top behind the garage and forgot she had put it there. Later, she backed out of the garage and cut a gash in the gas tank. When her husband came home, she told him what had happened, feeling badly. “Well, dear,” he replied, “You forgot you left it there.” She knew for the 50,000th time, she had married the right man. What if you folks looked across the table at us as companions saying unkind things to each other. You would weep and say, “The ministry is going wrong;” and you would be right. Now how do you think we feel when we sit at your table?

Good Communication: An “open-heart marriage.” This is when the husband feels free to talk to his wife at any time, and the wife feels free to talk to her husband at any time. They use the velvet spirit, not sandpaper.

Appreciation: A husband appreciating his wife; a wife appreciating her husband. It is easy to let appreciation degenerate down to the level of expectation. There are lots of thoughtful things a husband can do: for one, he can thank his wife for the meal. One husband at the office, impulsively wrote his wife a letter thanking her for all she did. After he mailed it he thought, “How silly. What did I do that for?” After the welcome home he got the day it arrived, he knew he’d done the right thing! God has endowed women with many feminine ways of letting her husband know her kindness and love for him. The happiest marriage is where both parties believe that each one has the best of it; that each one adores the ground the other one walks on.

Honey: I hope there is a lot of sweetness in your hive! Two givers: A good marriage is the unison of “two forgivers.” Bright Times versus Dark Times: A photographer who excelled in pictorial journalism made the statement: “It is only after my prints come out of the dark room that I judge the quality.” Keep your hearts and conscience exposed to Christ. One time a man and wife were driving in the car and she remarked, “Things aren’t like they used to be, dear.” He replied, “I haven’t moved!” Last year my companion and I were going to meeting with a couple of our friends. The little girl said, “Are you going to sit in the front?” The other said, “Oh, I think I’ll sit in the back and let Mom and Dad sit in the front. They always sit close together!”

When the Titanic sank in 1912, there were three young couples on board who had been newly married. It was a centuries-old law that the women and children would leave a sinking ship first. The time came when the brides must leave their husbands to get into the lifeboats, but they could not part; and when they were last seen, they were gripped in each other’s arms. When we were calling on doors, we visited a lady who had recently been bereaved of her husband. She told us that when she looked at the body of her deceased husband, “I remembered all the unkind things I had said to him. I thought of all the loving things I could have done for him. The pain was so great.” She was forever too late. Willie Jamieson told of a man in Manitoba who, soon after his wife passed away, saw Willie. “She’s gone, Willie. She was far more my sweetheart the day she died than the day we were married.”

I Peter 3:7, “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge.” Give honor unto the mother of your children so the children will give honor to their mother. It must thrill you to see your mate pray. I Peter 3:6, “Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him, ‘lord,’ whose daughters ye are as long as ye do well and are not afraid with any amazement.” Amazement means terror. Sarah has lots of daughters. She called Abraham “master.” He earned that; it didn’t come cheap.Someone told us about a couple who had been married over fifty years and had never had an argument in their years of married life. The wife decided that if any time they had a disagreement, she went out for a walk and cooled down, and then came in to talk things over, she wouldn’t say something unkind to the man she loved so dearly. The husband, likewise, said that if they had a disagreement, he went for a walk and cooled down so he could come back and talk it over and wouldn’t say something unkind to the wife he so dearly loved. There was a case in northern Wyoming. For 12 years the man looked after his wife after she had lost her mind. At night sometimes, he would pin their night clothes together lest she would wander away in the night. The children wanted to put their mother in a convalescent home, but their father wouldn’t hear of it. “Momma has always been kind to me; I can’t do that,” he said.

Some words to the workers on my right and my left: I appreciate the younger ones coming up. They are budding pillars. Keep a love for this Work in your heart. Don’t make any major decisions when you are in a valley. You’ll be glad 50 times over that you did hang on, when the cloud is passed. John 4:35, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, ‘Lift up your eyes and look on the fields;’ for they are white already to harvest.” Jesus said this after a mission where one soul was saved. Isaiah 6:8, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” I knew these verses very well in my youth. The joys of the ministry do increase with the passing of years. Stick with it! Keep the love of God in your souls, and keep the love of a shepherd’s heart in your heart. Stick with it!

I count it a most wonderful privilege to be gathered here with you all today, because I realise that it is only by the mercy and love of God that I am here.

I am so grateful in my unrighteousness that I have known of God’s care.

This thought has been so much on my mind and the thought of the care of God’s children that I have experienced, because they have shown it for Jesus sake.

It is a care that God has put into their hearts, and is so precious to me.

In this world people are so careless, and the carefree attitude is a dangerous thing that we have to beware.

People in the world are careless concerning what is right and what is truth.

We as God’s children need to be more caring.

God is looking for a caring people, kingdom-minded people, to have this concern, this care for the things of God.

If we are at all careless today, it is likely we will care even less tomorrow, and there is a tendency to fall back and fall out.

There is one little expression in the N.T. that Jesus used concerning God’s people: He called them children of light.

In John 12, Jesus said, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness cometh upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not wither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.”

We can be thankful that we have been called with such a great calling to be children of light in the midst of children of darkness in the world around us.

There is such a difference between God’s people and the children of the world – that difference which is between light and darkness.

Paul said in writing to the Ephesians in the 5th chapter, 8th verse, “Walk as children of light.”

There is a little portion of scripture I would like to read.

It is mostly an explanation of a parable in the 16th Luke; the parable of the unjust steward.

I am thankful that Jesus, when teaching parables, has given an explanation, and that is so precious to us.

Verse 8, “And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”

We can be thankful, and I am thankful for those that brought this glorious gospel to me; to be used by God to open up scripture and to help me to appreciate the truth and the way of God.

We have heard in the meeting how we appreciate these that brought the gospel to us, because it is the ministry that Jesus taught.

This ministry is such a wonderful ministry because throughout the whole world those who are following Jesus in the ministry are being used by Him to bring this glorious gospel, that changes lives and brings spiritual blessings.

Sometimes there is a tendency to look to some more than others, and some servants of God in the past as better than today.

God forbid that we think like that.

I have been encouraged in thinking of how we can be an asset as a child of God, by upholding the hands of God’s servants in our midst.

This way we can frustrate the work of Satan, even binding his hands, that he is not able to do what he wants to do.

By upholding the hands of God’s servants in our midst, we can do this.

I was thinking of this matter of caring.

God cares and He wants us to care.

We know that God cares because in the 8th Psalm it says, what is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”

I have to say, “Who am I and what am I that God should care for me.”

When we think of Jesus and all that God has done in giving His only begotten Son, laying down his life, we surely know God cares.

I was thinking of the sacrifice of Jesus, we were hearing of John 10, and in the 10th chapter of Matthew Jesus made it clear, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Surely God does care.

God has every care for us.

I was noticing of David in Psalm 56 how he emphasizes this fact of God caring, when he says, “Thou tellest my wanderings; put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book7”

God sees and knows and cares, and he takes note of our tears and we can be assured that they’re in His bottle, and even written in His book.

Peter was able to say, “Cast all your cares upon Him for he careth for you.”

We think of the false ways of the world: hireling, beggar for money, because they are not true under-shepherds.

I like to think of Jesus as the good shepherd, the great shepherd, and the chief shepherd.

There are those that have followed Him in the gospel and I would like to be numbered among them that are under shepherds and have care.

Jesus spoke of the hirelings in John 10 “He careth not for the sheep.”

A man working for wages.

God wants us to be a caring people, and to care for the all-important things, for the standard and for the fellowship and the maintenance of it; to care to do our part and to take steps in the interest of the Kingdom.

In the scriptures there are so many mentions of care-takers; servants and stewards.

Our life is not an ownership, it is a stewardship.

We are not our own.

We are brought with a price.

We are here to honour and glorify God.

As we come to this 16th chapter of Luke, we find there that Jesus is speaking a parable.

He tells us that this unjust steward, the lord commended him that he had done wisely.

He said, “For the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.”

That word lord is spelt with a small “l”.

The master of that steward commended him because he had done wisely.

He had thought of his natural future and natural concerns and homes.

Then Jesus said, “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.”

Or the people of the world are wiser in natural things.

Jesus was speaking the parable about natural things.

People of the world are wiser in natural things than the children of God are in spiritual things.

God wants us to be concerned about our spiritual future.

About our having friends that can receive us into everlasting habitations, and to have a home to go to when this life is over.

The only friends that can receive us into heaven are God and Jesus and his friends.

When we heard the gospel, we were made conscious of the fact that one day we have to give an account.

There are things that make up unrighteous mammon.

Untrue riches and the least things; What are the unrighteous mammon and the untrue riches?

First of all, we think of our health and strength.

Health is wealth; time is money; and people say, what they have is their own to do as they like with that.

We are stewards of these things and they all belong to the unrighteous mammon, untrue riches and the least things.

God’s children are stewards of natural and spiritual things.

As we are privileged to be children of light, we have a great responsibility.

Sometimes we wonder why people don’t get help when they listen to the Gospel, or after making a beginning they are out of God’s way. We can often trace it back to the smallest things. They haven’t considered the fact that their life is not their own, and time is not theirs. It is to be used in the way God wants.

God is concerned about our behaviour.

People are not concerned about being honest in their dealings with their fellowmen.

You think of that unjust steward. We might say that Jesus was commending the unjust steward, but that is a parable and lord is spelt with a small “l”. There is a verse in the O.T. in Psalm 41 where David said, “Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing; his Glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived, he ‘blessed his soul; and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.” The lord of that unjust steward, he praised him when he did well to himself. Jesus speaks all the time of faithfulness in this parable. Faithfulness even in the least things is wisdom in the sight of God: If we are not faithful in that which is least, we are unfaithful in much. Jesus explains this parable, “Who will commit to your trust in the true riches?” They are the ‘blessings of the kingdom; spiritual life, grace we have received in Christ to become His child. To be a child of light, numbered among His children.  Who will commit to your trust the true riches if you have not been faithful in untrue riches? Then He goes on further, “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another’s man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” If you have been faithful as a steward, for another man, who will give you true riches? There are words in a hymn, “Nothing is mine if I must, leave it here, when I have ended my earthly career.” God wants us to have what will be with us eternally, these true riches and what will be our own. Jesus said, “If you have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”  There are three mentions in the N.T. of stewards, apart from the one we have already mentioned here. The first one we read of in Paul’ s letter to the Corinthians, and it is concerning the ministry, 4th chapter, first verse. “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” God is looking for faithfulness from us as His servants. Faithful in every aspect, in upholding; standards and presenting the gospel. Faithfulness is what God requires. If you look into Paul’s letter to Titus, you will find that he says in the first chapter concerning elders. There are God’s servants the preacher and there are those that have some responsibility in the church; the elders and then the saints. Here in the 5th verse, he tells Titus to ordain elders. “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set-in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I have appointed thee; if any be ‘blameless, the husband of one wife having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not giver to wine, no striker, and not given to filthy lucre.” The bishop must be blameless as the steward of God. Those that are the elders of the church are stewards. In 1 Peter 4, v 8 we read, “And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality, one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold Grace of God.” This is your responsibility in the church and a child of God, and a child of light, to minister what God has been willing to impart to you, because you have said, “I will be faithful in the least things.” It has been committed to you the true riches. You have received the grace of God. We are stewards of natural and spiritual things, and it is required that we be faithful and we minister these things one to another. Peter goes on to explain and he said, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.” That is God’s wish for us, that we be useful in His kingdom. God is anxious that we be faithful in these things. I have thought of the true riches, the heavenly riches. Earthly riches can rob us and in this way, when we think of living in an affluent society and people are looking for ease and pleasure, so many things that they want a carefree life; not to be burdened with this and that. God wants a caring people, and prosperity can make us poor if we let it. There are many cares that people have that they have brought upon themselves, and there is a grave warning in the 8th chapter of Luke, Jesus says of the ground that is thorny, that which fell among, thorns, the cares and the riches and the pleasures of this life choke the word that it becometh unfruitful. Some fruit, but not fruit to perfection. This is a grave warning. We get involved, but how good to get involved in the cares and the riches of the life to come. I hope we realise the great value of the things that God has put into our trust, that we would go forth to be an asset as children of light, to shine. Paul speaks about this crooked and reverse nation, among which ye shine as lights in the world. To be a light in the world we need to love one another, and be content in our lot, having this peace and being satisfied; then constancy in our service. People will see this. We are constant in going to the meetings, constant in our service, and one day we will have to give account when we die. Jesus said, “When you fail, you make to yourselves friends to the mammon of unrighteousness by means of being faithful in the least things, that when you die, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” They mean Jesus and God and his friends that would receive us into His everlasting kingdom. May we be faithful stewards to the end.

I feel that I would just like to say with others that I feel unworthy many times to be counted with such a noble people.

When I look back on my life, I wonder what the Lord saw in me that He picked me out from my friends and family. I feel thankful today that I was touched by the gospel, and that God was able to bring about some separation in my life.

I think I never come into a convention meeting that I [don’t] think of that hymn that we sang, “There is no gain but by a loss. Whenever you ripe fields behold waving to God their sheaves of gold, be sure some corn of wheat has died, some faithful life been crucified.”

I have been thinking since I looked over this crowd here, trying to picture in my mind when the first workers came to Queensland, but I know there was a beginning, and there was a pioneering.

My mind goes to the time when I had the privilege of going to one of the republics of West Africa, and it was pioneering when the first worker came as a stranger.

Wherever Jesus went He was pioneering.

Sometimes I have taken courage when we went to a new field, I thought it was like Ezekiel saw, the valley of dry bones, when we came to a city that was filled with people, that city that was so full of idols.

I think of my father going to pioneer, fifty miles from a town, and taking a little team of oxen, and a plough, starting to cultivate, hoping one day to have a harvest. In the pioneering of the Gospel, it is like that.

We come today and see a field of green; very rewarding, but we knew someone had suffered, wept and prayed, before there would be this crowd of people here today.

I have been thinking just a little recently about the church of God; it grows in two ways.

It grows in number and it also grows in spiritual quality, and it would be that a little church wouldn’t be enlarged in number in a year, but that church could grow spiritually, and could grow in quality.

I am confident that God is just as anxious about quality than in quantity, and perhaps more so.

My father used to say, “Don’t be just taken up with quantity, but quality. Quality in the animals and quality in the ground.”

God is anxious that there would be good quality.

My father had a little fruit garden in his later years, and some years he wouldn’t plant an extra tree, but that year he could have better fruit than the year before. He was interested in that.

I can say that I visited my father and saw the interest that he had in these trees; he loved every one of them.

He showed me one day a large tree loaded with cherries, and another tree loaded with plums. He didn’t say very much about them.

But we went down the garden and stopped at a little tree about 1 metre high, and he said, “Look here”.

There was just a little handful of fruit there.

He said, “This is the first fruit.”

It brought him just as much joy to see the first fruit as the abundance of fruit on the other tree.

God doesn’t expect too much of us, but just what is reasonable.

The next year my father expected to find more fruit on that little tree.

God comes along looking for fruit.

He is looking for better fruit as time goes on.

I knew some friends in Canada; I was visiting those brothers in the home, and I had to say that I could see the fruit of the spirit ripening in their lives. It seemed to be mellowing.

It is nice when this can go on in our lives. A little more mellowing of the spirit as the years go past.

I had in mind to speak to you of a little study I made 25 years ago.

That is, what the New Testament teaches of what we can be and what we can do for one another.

I will give you the passages.

First of all – love one another, John 13-34.

Submit yourselves one to the other – Ephesians 5-21.

Confess your faults one to another – James 5-16.

Forgive one another – Ephesians 4-32.

Be kind one to another – Ephesians 4-32

Pray for one another – James 5-10

Lie not one to another – Colossians 3-9.

Speak no evil one to another – James 4-11.

Comfort ye one another – 1 Thess. 4.18

Serve one another – Galatians 5-13.

Have compassion one to another – 1 Peter 3-8

Consider one another – Hebrews 10-24

Forbearing one another – Ephesians 4-2.

Bear ye one another’s burdens – Galatians 6-2.

I have spoken of some of these things at various times, but not as a subject until recently.

Love has come at the top of the list.

When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment in the law, He said, “Love the Lord thy God with all thine heart.” The second is like unto it. “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

There are many, many laws to try to keep peace in the world.

There were man’s laws in the O.T. covenant.

Jesus summed the whole thing up and put them into two – Love God and love your neighbour.

If this is taken care of, it seems that we will not have trouble with the rest of the things.

Paul said, “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour, therefore it is the fulfilling of the law”.

Love worketh no ill to his neighbour – Jesus said that by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, by the love that you have one for the other.

These things are very practical and maybe I should tell you this the first year I was in the ministry, I ended up wishing I could have been a better companion.

The second year I ended up wishing I could have been a better companion.

A number of times since I have finished up the same.

I have proved some of these things for myself, and I would like to speak about three that are very important for fellowship, one with the other.

First is submission, then confession and forgiveness.

It is not so easy sometimes to submit, and it is not so easy sometimes to confess our wrongs.

There are times some people find it difficult to forgive.

I have never found it very difficult to forgive, when I think of all the Lord has forgiven me.

Sometimes I have found it difficult to go to my companion and tell him that I have been wrong, and done wrong.

Submitting to one another.

When I made a study so many years ago, I was in a special meeting and in this meeting, I was speaking of submitting one to another.

I gave an illustration saying that we don’t always think alike.

One thinks one way and another thinks another way, and there has to be a little submitting.

If one only submits 20% the other has to submit 80%.

If one submits 50% the other has only to submit 50%.

Just say that two people go into the same room to sleep at night, and one says, “Let’s leave the window open.”

And the other says, “no close the window.”

What are you going to do?

There were some sister workers smiling at that meeting, and the very thing happened the night before to them.

I didn’t ask those sisters how they kept the window. It was a touchy subject.

I knew both those sisters, and I don’t think they wanted to impose on one another.

I think they kept the window half-open.

I think there was a bending and a blending.

I was in the home of a couple one time, and the wife was continually having digs at her husband.

That brother 95% of the time, he had to do the submitting in that home. That was a picture of a lamb.

Confessing our faults.

One time I had a young companion that was very docile, very nice spirited boy, humble, first year in the work.

One evening I said something to him, and as soon as I had said it, I wished I had never said it.

Sometimes our little tongue gets us into trouble.

I couldn’t go to pray that night unless I went and talked to my companion.

Jesus said if you go to pray, or you go with the sacrifice, leave it at the altar, and if you remember your brother has something against you, you go and make it right with your brother.

I felt that my companion had reason for something against me.

I went to him and said, “You remember what I said a few minutes ago?”

I said, “I am sorry.”

He said, “That is nothing.”

I said, “In the world it could be nothing, but it is not Christ-like.”

The little confession relieved me, and it bound us together a little more.

One of the things that is very important is confessing our wrongs.

Sometimes it is difficult to say that I am wrong.

Then we speak about forgiveness.

Someone has said that forgiveness is free pardon for all wrongs.

I told about the time when my brother did some wrong to me, and I am going to tell my Mamma.

He pleaded, “Don’t go”, and I said, “Yes, I am going to tell Mamma.”

Finally, I said, “You give me that old pocket knife I gave you yesterday, and I won’t tell her’

That wasn’t free pardon, he had to pay for it.

Why should we want our brothers to pay, when we receive free pardon from the Lord?

Forgiveness sets our brother free.

We Sing in that hymn, “Teach me how to love, as thou hast first loved me. Oh, help me to forgive, as thou Lord hest forgiven.”

Another hymn said, “Help us to forgive and set our brother free”

If we don’t forgive our poor brother, he is not free and we are in bondage ourselves.

So, these three seemed to be the main ones I wanted to speak about.

Then there is kindness.

Kindness is understood in every language.

There are no scratches and no scars if you have been through kindness.

There was a young sister worker, and she was staying with friends, and she went up to her room before the older companion.

When the older companion went up later she found her young companion weeping.

She asked her why she was weeping, and the young companion said, “You are to kind to me.”

It had touched her so deeply.

She was raised in a home where her father was separated from her mother, and her father left with another woman. And the little girl stayed with her grandmother. That is where she came in contact with the truth.

Then she went back to live with her father, and there were drinking parties in that home.

Sometimes when she went to go to school in the morning, she would have to step over not only beer bottles, but also drunk people.

She went to the gospel meetings and she professed, but it was terrible circumstances for her to try to serve the Lord.

Later she went into the work.

Her up-bringing was so different from the kindness when she was in the work, that it touched her heart so deeply.

Praying for one another brings about a healthy church.

There was a little boy in a little church and another little girl in another family.

The little boy was kicked in the head by a horse, and he was in hospital lying unconscious.

The other mother in the other home said, “All we can do for Eddie is pray for him.”

The little Girl said, “I have prayed twice for him already.”

That little girl later made her choice, and she went into the ministry.

That was a beginning to praying for others.

I have been smitten sometimes in my own spirit, when I have been prompted in my spirit that I haven’t been praying for my companion as I should.

Lie not one to another.

I wouldn’t like to think that any of the Lord’s people would be lying to each other.

“Since you have put off the old man”.

It was the old man that did the lying.

That is not for the new man.

We are born again.

There was a man that made his choice in our meetings and became a very hearty man for the truth.

He told us that when he was a little boy there was a wall between their yard and the neighbours.

The neighbour had a plum tree that’s branches came into their yard.

One day when the plums were ripening the little boy fell into temptation and he got a big stick and got some down.

Then Poppa walked along and he said, “what are you doing?”

The boy said, “I am just picking up some of the plums off the tree.”

Poppa said, “Did you shake the tree?”

And the boy said, “Yes” because he didn’t want to tell a lie.

Then his dad said, “Take those plums and give them to the neighbour and tell him what happened.”

So, the little boy went over to the neighbour and said, “Here are some of the plums off your tree that fell in our yard.”

The neighbour said, “You Good little boy.”

An honest person will take sides against himself.

Sometimes we don’t just tell the whole truth.

Forbearing one another in love.

We all have little mannerisms of our own.

One of our older brothers used to call our little mannerisms idiosyncrasies – sometimes our mannerisms are idiots.

One of our brother workers came to me once and he said, “My companion has some queer ways. When I wash my teeth in the morning, I use a glass to rinse my mouth, and I put the glass down on the sink. My companion washes all the dishes and even the frying pan before he washes my glass.”

I told this brother, “If your companion doesn’t want to wash your glass until he washes the rest, don’ t make a problem out of that. Just wash the glass yourself after you finish washing your teeth.”

We don’t want to cause problems.

You will find you have plenty of opportunities this coming year to be kind to others.

You may find an opportunity someday to go and ask forgiveness.

You may find an opportunity to confess a little wrong, and if you have that spirit, don’t pass it up.

Those are the things that make for fellowship.

After I made this study, I concluded that I can make a practice of all these things.

I find that these are things that I should be doing for my companions.

I didn’t find that there was one thing that he should do for me.

One sister said that she found in her Bible that there was one thing her husband should do for her and that is he should love her.

It also says that the wife should submit to her husband.

Where it speaks about forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace.

We have to persevere and make an effort.

We have just heard about a parable that Jesus told, the parable of the good shepherd.

Jesus uses many parables.

Jesus’ parables were simple stories about natural things, but they had a spiritual meaning.

The knowledge that He imparted wasn’t something natural, but something spiritual.

He wasn’t teaching people how to raise sheep, but something of the way He was going to help people.

Another time he spoke about a man taking seed and planting it in certain kinds of ground.

That wasn’t to tell people about agriculture, but to teach them the way that God was doing this great work of salvation.

When people understand that, they can cooperate with God, and listen to the word of God.

There was spiritual benefit or advantage in that teaching.

In the course of His teaching, Jesus performed miracles.

He was able to heal sick people; cure people that were blind.

Once he fed a large number with a small quantity of food.

He was able to calm a storm, something that nobody else could do.

It was for spiritual benefit, not for natural benefit.

Not just opening the eyes of the man that was blind, or saving the lives of people in a storm.

The disciples at one time wondered why Jesus spoke in parables, and they asked Him why He spoke in parables, and He explained that unto them it was given to understand the mysteries of God’s kingdom.

It was to those who had a true heart, and those who were humble, that it was a benefit to them.

Some people never saw past the natural side of the miracle.

There was a time when Jesus fed thousands of people with a small quantity of food.

Afterwards some of those people came to Jesus, not because they saw the miracle, but because they had eaten of the loaves and been filled.

The only benefit they had received was in receiving the meal.

Not because of the sign that Jesus was sent by God.

Jesus was disappointed in them.

In Acts the apostle referred to Jesus as “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs.”

People were saying that there is no way that people could be sure that Jesus came from God.

As far as the disciples were concerned, they trusted the One that had the approval of God and the seal of God, and the miracles and wonders and signs were showing them that Jesus was the one that was approved of God.

So many were just seeking natural blessings.

In the last few years my companion and I have been invited to many prayer meetings.

People were given an opportunity to tell other people in the meeting what it was that they were praying to God to grant to them.

Not one person requested for anything spiritual and of eternal benefit; just for things that would be of advantage for this life.

We can be thankful to God if He has opened our eyes to see the spiritual benefits.

All the world is receiving natural benefits.

God has caused the sun to shine on the just and the unjust.

All we have, life and health and strength, has come from God.

The teaching of the Bible to those who would believe in God is to be content with the things that God has given to us.

But God is wanting to waken us to the value of spiritual things; eternal things.

Many people feel that the benefits that can be given because of the miracles that Jesus performed were natural benefits.

The greatest blessing received as a result of Jesus’ blessing was spiritual and not natural.

In the 5th chapter of Luke, it tells us of the time when Jesus was teaching and Simon Peter and his friends were there and they had a boat, and Jesus taught the people out of the boat.

When He had finished teaching them He said to launch out to where the water is deeper and let down your nets to catch fish.

At the very same time the disciples had toiled all night and taken nothing.

They felt there was no point in trying to fish any longer.

When Jesus mentioned to Peter to let down the nets, Peter told Jesus this.

There was nothing to indicate that it was worthwhile to do what Jesus said, but Peter added, “Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net.”

He was letting Jesus know that as far as they were concerned, it seemed to be something of no profit.

But when they had let down their nets, they enclosed a great multitude of fish and their boats were beginning to sink.

This man, as a result of obeying Jesus, benefited as a result.

They could sell those fish, but that was not the blessing Jesus was interested in giving them.

The benefit that those men received is shown to us in the words of Jesus.

Peter fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”

The benefit at that time was that Jesus was calling those men, not to be fishers of fish, but fishers of men.

The reason that he caused this miracle to take place was that obedience to his word would always bring results.

As they went out to be fishers of men, they would have to be completely obedient and depending on His word.

If they were obedient to His word, they would be able to do what he had called upon them to do.

He was going to use them, not to seek for fish, but to seek for souls to bring them to God.

That was a far greater benefit, and I don’t believe that Peter and his companions were taken up with the multitude of fish, but they would be taken up with the benefit that the knowledge that obedience to the word of Jesus would bring results; the spiritual benefit.

In the same chapter, later on we read of a man that was sick.

His friends had faith in Jesus and they tried to bring him to Jesus, but they couldn’t get into the home because of the multitude of people.

So, they went up on to the roof and lowered him down in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw this, He said, “Man thy sins are forgiven thee.”

Later on, Jesus had healed this man, but the greatest blessing wasn’t when Jesus healed his body, but when he heard that his sins were forgiven.

That was a far greater benefit.

When Jesus said, “Thy sins be forgiven thee”, immediately the religious people said that this was blasphemy; that no one could forgive sins but God, and they tried to destroy the belief that others had in Jesus.

The reason that Jesus was going to tell him to arise and walk was so that this man and others would know that Jesus had power to forgive sins.

It was a sign to them that He was of God.

If He was not of God and he didn’t have the power with God, He wouldn’t have been able to perform this miracle.

The greatest blessing that Jesus wanted to give was not the healing of his body, but the forgiveness of sins.

The forgiveness of sin is far more important than the healing of the body.

In the 9th chapter of John, I like to think of the account that we have another miracle, where the man was born blind.

Jesus anointed his eyes with clay and He sent him to wash in a certain place, and when he washed, he received his sight.

This created a great stir among the people.

There was a lot of questioning.

They even sent for the parents and asked them, and they were fearful.

But because of their fear they missed a great blessing that day.

Religious people tried to destroy the faith that others had in Jesus, and they said this man is not of God.

When the blind man was given a chance to speak after he was healed, he said, if this man was not of God, he could do nothing.”

Besides restoring his natural sight, he received a far greater blessing; the knowledge and the conviction that this was a man of God.

He hadn’t seen Jesus, but the miracle convicted him that this was the man of God.

Others were telling him that Jesus was not a man of God, and they were using the power of the devil, saying things to discourage people from believing Jesus.

But this man received a spiritual blessing.

Later on, it tells of Jesus coming to him and asking him if he believed in the Son of God.

He was able to say, “Lord I believe.”

It was not just a blessing for the blind man, but for everyone that was there that day that had an honest and true heart.

Afterwards Jesus said, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see, and that they might see, and that they which see might be made blind.”

We might think that he just came to cure those who were blind, “but those which see might be made blind”, Jesus said.

He never inflicted blindness on anybody, but he was speaking about the spiritual benefit.

Even the Pharisees realised now that He was speaking about something spiritual, so they asked him if they were blind, and He said, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin, but now ye say, ‘we see; therefore, your sin remaineth.”

When they were proud and said that they didn’t want anybody to teach them, Jesus left them in their spiritual blindness, because they were not willing to humble themselves.

I hope we understand the value of the spiritual blessing that Jesus came to give.

To begin with, I would like to read to you the first verses of the Bible. Genesis 1, “In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth. And the Earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And the evening and morning were the first day.” I suppose all of you know that the light of which we have just been reading is the light of the glorious gospel. The natural lights – the sun, moon, and stars, were not created until the fourth day. II Corinthians 4:6, “For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” That was the same light he was referring to. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” That was the same light that we read of in Genesis 1. Jesus came to the world to be the personification of that light. Paul said the commission God gave to him was to turn men from darkness to light. That is still the work of the Gospel. John put a climax on it when he said, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.” The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. The people who sat in darkness saw great light. There is no greater darkness than the darkness of confusion the people were sitting in darkness.

There were many churches, all believing in the same God, all getting a different meaning, and all contributing to the darkness of confusion. God in His mercy sent the gospel when we were in darkness. This light was created and presented to the world on the first day of the week of creation. I want you to notice that it was the first day. Later on, the Lord authorized that His people would meet together to worship on the first day of the week.

Acts 2, this was a time when the world was filled with expectancy because they had been told that on the day of Pentecost following Calvary, God would pour out His Spirit in a dramatic way. History tells us that the whole city of Jerusalem at that time was filled with a gala of expectation, and there in their synagogues, they thought, “Surely upon us, God will pour out His seal of approval.” The Pharisees and Sadducees felt the same way. In order to relieve any confusion or any doubt, the Lord caused His Spirit to come like a hurricane. It roared over the heads of all those people and left them speechless. That spirit came and settled upon the home and filled the house where the disciples were having their Sunday morning meeting. It was at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. He not only poured out His seal of approval on the way, but He poured out the seal of His approval upon the day on which they were worshiping. We from time to time come to face with people who feel we should keep the old Sabbath. We can take them right to the infancy of the church when the disciples were meeting together on the first day of the week.

If you read Leviticus 23 after the meeting, verses 15-21, the Lord told about the order of this day of Pentecost. The day after the 7th Sabbath was to be the day of Pentecost, and that would be the first day of the week. It will be worth your time to read this yourself and get it embedded in your own mind. I want you to notice especially the 21st verse. On that selfsame day, they were to have a holy convocation. A holy convocation was a special meeting. When the Sabbath and the old law were still binding, the Lord told His people He wanted them to have a special meeting on Sunday. Otherwise, they would not have been gathered in the synagogues on Sunday. When God poured out His Spirit of approval upon those Christians, He not only poured out His seal of approval on the way, but also on the day on which they were worshiping. From that time on, there was no question but what this is the way and this is the day that the Lord has placed His seal of approval upon.

There are three reasons the first day of the week is a special day to the Lord. It was on the first day of the week that the Lord revealed the Light of the glorious Gospel. It was on the first day of the week that He raised His Son from the dead. It was on the first day of the week that God placed His seal of approval upon His disciples. When Joel prophesied this day, he referred to it as a great and terrible day of the Lord. Peter referred to it as a great and noble day. We can do everything that the Bible teaches, but if we do it in the wrong way, Jesus considers it the work of iniquity. All of the zeal they were putting into it, and then awaken to the fact that God couldn’t put His seal upon it, it was a terrible day, but to the Lord’s people, it was a great and notable day.

We were studying about the fellowship meeting in a couple of our studies, and while we were studying about these and the New Testament instructions of what they should mean to us, I thought I would look into the Old Testament because everything Jesus lived and taught was foretold in the Old Testament. Isaiah 49:10, “They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them even by the springs of water shall He guide them.” This pictures a guide guiding His people to the springs of water. Springs are hidden sources of refreshing that God brings to the surface. You don’t drill nor dig for them. But God brings them to the surface. These are things revealed to them who are willing to follow the guide. I can’t find a better description in the Bible of what a fellowship meeting should be like. Two prerequisites of a desert guide – he had to know the way, had to have gone over it before so they could know the way, and another requirement of that guide was that he would sit down at the oasis in the desert and talk to those journeying with him about the city they would come to when the desert journey was over. “Oft the desert way is dreary, but our hearts rejoice to know, Jesus leads, He knows the pathway. Joyfully with Him we go.” I hope you appreciate the fact that these days you are enjoying the things that are hidden from the wise and prudent. I hope we appreciate that we have access to something special in every meeting. There is a lot more to a meeting besides what you see on the surface.

We were studying in Revelations 21 and 22, and we are all glad that God gave us again in those chapters a fresh glimpse of the city of habitation to which we are journeying. If you would like to make an interesting study, I would like to encourage you to look upon the references to God as our guide. David said, “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” I found another reference I thought was applicable along this line – Psalms 8, “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength because of Thine enemies, that Thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.” God knew before He called me into this fellowship that I would need strength along the way. Because of the enemies and the avenger, God planned fellowship meetings where “out of the mouth of babes and sucklings” we can get strength. The way that is so astounding is the way God in-stills strength.

The wise and prudent were Bible scholars in that day, but they were always arguing and quibbling about which one knew the most. This fellowship isn’t made up of the wise and prudent. This fellowship is made up of babes. The Jews looked upon every child up to the age of 12 as a babe. At that age, children look to their parents and don’t feel sufficient in themselves. I would like to say to you mothers, God intended you would be an ideal in the mind of the little girl He placed in your care. Don’t let that little girl down. Don’t do anything to shatter that God-given confidence. You fathers, that little boy He has entrusted to you, God intends he should look to you as the ideal and he should feel that there is no dad like my dad. Don’t let that little boy down. When God’s people come together on Sunday morning, in the eyes of the world it seems such a weak thing. They don’t realise that greatest strength is injected through a meeting like that. We had a lady minister profess in the meetings some time ago. She was ordained from the seminary. She saw the truth and the beauty of it. This little Sunday morning meeting confirmed to her that this was the way. When she told a friend about the little fellowship meeting, the friend said, “I don’t think I would like that. When I go to church, I want a sermon.” She said to her, “When those people meet together and give their testimony, you have heard the greatest sermon you have ever heard.” We can’t be the wise and the prudent, but we can all be little children.

Acts 20:7, we read of that meeting that took place on the first day of the week. That was an evening meeting. Sometimes people wonder why they would meet in the evening for the same reason that they met at 9:00 a.m. in Jerusalem. They had to adjust the meeting because of the heat. The midday heat was unbearable. That is why the guest chamber was in the upper room in the house. In the evening, they could remove the tiling from the roof and the cool air could come down and ventilate the room. These people gathered together to break bread. Also, there is the bread and the wine that we partake of when we come together in the fellowship meeting. That is the climax of the meeting. That is the final approval he puts on the meeting. Did it ever occur to you that this was a silent testimony of Jesus…that this is the means whereby God provided that you could have communion? This is just to remind you again that all that you have and all that you enjoyed in that meeting has been possible by the sacrifice of Jesus. God forbid that we would partake just as a matter of form.

When Paul was writing to the Corinthian Christians, he said, “When you partake of the bread, it is a communion of the body of Christ and the wine, the blood of Christ.” I have at times read Psalms 22 before going to a meeting because Psalms 22 helps me understand more perfectly the sufferings of Jesus. “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Verses 7 and 8, “All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ‘He trusted on the Lord, that He would deliver Him; let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him.’” Those were the words of ridicule that fell from the lips of scorners. Verse 16, “For dogs have compassed Me; the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me; they pierced My hands and My feet.” Verse 18, “They parted My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture.” All four of the verses prophesy things that were fulfilled. What He said in verses four to six give us a little insight into the depth of agony He felt, “Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. They cried unto Thee, and were delivered; they trusted in Thee, and were not confounded.”

Verse 6, “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.” When Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, He took the place of a worm, if you want to know what the worm is read the closing verses of Mark 9. Hell is a place where the worm dieth not. Hell is hell because of the realization of the fact that I am here because I am nothing but a miserable worm. Jesus said that feeling would never die, and the burning regret would never cease. Jesus put Himself in the position of a miserable worm that you might be saved from spending all eternity as a miserable worm. Did it ever occur to you that Jesus went through six hours of hell on the cross of Calvary to save you from an eternity of hell? “Thou didst not leave My soul in hell.” You will find that hell took place before Jesus went to the grave. He was referring to the six hours of hell that Jesus went through on the cross of Calvary. I like to read this 22nd Psalm before going to meeting.

I am glad God has planned that we partake of the communion at the end of a meeting. I hope that the first day of the week will always mean a great deal to us as God’s people. I hope the first day and the meeting that takes place on the first day of the week will always have a special place. Remember that little meeting on Sunday morning is a place that God planned whereby you might receive strength – the strength that you don’t have normally to carry you through another week. Remember in that little meeting, the desert guide sits down and shares with you the hidden sources of God-given springs and shares with you the hidden manna, and He reminds us of that wonderful city of habitation that awaits us at the end of their way. Read Revelation 21 and 22 to get a fresh vision of the city of habitation. I hope we will appreciate the simple and effective and far-reaching provision God has made for us.

When we come to the last meeting of convention, I just can’t help but find my thoughts turning to the future a little. I don’t think that’s a bad thing to do. I don’t mean that we should worry about the future – that would be detrimental – but we have such a bright future and we can reassure ourselves of that. It’s better further on.

One thing we need to guard against is our hold becoming loose. I will have to confess that when that hymn we just sang first came into circulation, I thought of it like losing our hold, but it says, “LOOSE not.” We don’t have to ask the workers or anyone else when we are losing it. Hebrews 2:1, ” … give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” I think this is the same thing; to loose our hold is to let it slip. We still have a hold but it is slipping, and when our hold is loosening, we are still hanging on, but it is loose. We need to be concerned and spiritually awake enough to know that the danger is not when we let go, but when there are things that would cause us to lose our hold.

Another hymn says, “0 beware lest life’s vain cares, thoughts of earthly treasure, rob thee of thy love to do all the Master’s pleasure.” Life’s vain cares could cause us to lose our love to do the will of the Father. When we lose our love to do the Father’s pleasure, destruction isn’t too far ahead. It’s when we lose the LOVE to do it – that is what gives every sacrifice its savor – the love at the back of it makes it appealing to God and to one another.

When I thought of this meeting today and about the future a little bit, I wondered what would be essential to secure us in the future. I don’t mean what would give us a righteous feeling for surely we would never think of that deadly doctrine in the world of “once saved, always saved” – we aren’t talking about that. But we can live in security when we are in God’s hand. I’ll tell you something even better than that of having our hand in God’s hand and having a hold – it’s God having a hold on us. David knew a good deal about that. That time he cut off a piece of Saul’s garment, his heart smote him. It’s not bad when our heart is tender enough to smite us. The psalmist said in one place his heart was poured out, and that’s not a bad thing to experience. We might have a whole lot to pour out to the Lord, and if we can pour it out, it’s not too cold. Ice is just water, but it’s frozen and you can’t pour it out. But just melt it – as long as we can pour our heart out to the Lord, we aren’t seriously in danger.

I was thinking about a couple of chapters in connection with what would secure our future in this way of God. I was thinking about Moses a little in Exodus 33. We’ve already heard a little about – talking about God’s presence. That’s a must. We sing, “I must have the Savior with me for I DARE not walk alone.” John 15, “For without Me, ye can do nothing.” If we cannot do anything – nothing without Him – that’s serious! I must have the Savior with me.

Another chapter, Isaiah 64, is about His presence too. Moses said here – back a little further when they had made the golden calf – they had lost their faith and confidence. Moses was up the mountain for forty days. I don’t know if Joshua was right up at the top but he was with him. They didn’t know what had become of him. Why did they forget so quickly? How could they lose faith so quickly? They asked Aaron to make them a “god.” They had never seen a calf when they came out of Egypt or when they crossed the sea so miraculously. It’s worthy noticing that when the sea was divided it was when they were at a dead end for sure. The Red Sea was before them and Pharaoh and his hosts were behind. They were in a tight corner. They were concerned and they cried to Moses and he prayed and God said, “Tell them to go forward. “Where? Into the Red Sea.”

That’s what it looked like – committing suicide – but they had faith enough to go and they went forward. “Lord, we know you can make a way where there is no way.” They believed God, and the sea opened. We know that story but anyway, the water was a wall to them on each side. They couldn’t get off the path if they wanted to. In Canada, they have eight foot snow banks on each side of the road. It you’re driving on that, you don’t get off the road; you might run into a snow bank but you wouldn’t be off the road. When we are moving forward at His command, and with Him, and if we are soft of heart, it’s hard to get off the road. When we do get off the road, there’s a cause for it. His way is perfect, and everything He has planned for us as His children works out just as He wants it and it is to our profit. It doesn’t turn out like we expect and we can’t see where it has worked out sometimes, but it will. “He always wins who sides with God.” There are no lost cases with God. We are not beyond the love of God and we aren’t beyond His help IF we bring the sacrifice of a broken spirit. When they went through Pharaoh said, “If they can go through, so can I!” That was a trap by God for the enemy. God’s presence saved them and helped them that day. That alone.

Then they said, “We don’t know where this Moses is. Aaron, you make us a calf.” That wasn’t anything like God in their life. There was no life in that “god” and nothing to feed the spirit. They must be pretty dead anyway, God’s people to a great extent. We walk by faith, but we walk by taste some, too. If there is no nourishing food there, it doesn’t appeal. The difference between God’s people and the world is that they are living and are in need of good nourishment, nothing that appeals to our mental understanding, but God’s people have life and there must be nourishment to feed life. We sing, “Beyond the sacred page] seek Thee Lord. My spirit pants for Thee, 0 living word.” That’s our experience and it doesn’t need any explanation for anyone who has been quickened by God. We don’t understand much about it, but that doesn’t need to be explained. You may have read your Bible before you got saved but there was no nourishment there; you knew it was God’s Word and maybe understood enough to wonder where His way was today, but it’s a different thing to seek the Lord when we are alive. When Moses came down and ground up that calf, they that sought the Lord went unto Moses outside the camp.

A woman in Canada, not very young now, way back in the 30s, came from Europe from a country now under the Red heel. She came to Canada, a religious, God fearing, sincere woman. After being in this country a year or two, she went to her preacher one day and just told him her feelings and condition. Well, he couldn’t help her but he tried to do the best he could, which was very little. He told her she had nothing to worry about because their denomination was very strong in Canada and that their church in that town was strong and had a big number of members, etc. and she was one of such a great congregation. She said, “Well, what you say may be true, but I want God.” Nothing would take the place of her wanting God. “Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord. ” That’s one thing that will secure our future – that of, “I want God,” knowing “I must have the Savior with me for I dare not walk alone,” seeking Him beyond the sacred page. “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are God’s thoughts from ours.” (Isaiah 55) When it’s like that, we need that which comes from God for ourselves. Enter within the veil. It’s nice when a “form” doesn’t satisfy. There is a certain order that God has, but just as with the old law, it didn’t save but pointed to how they could get help through the coming Christ. “Form” points to the right thing but the spirit quickeneth. They went to Moses outside the camp.

When Moses and Joshua were coming down the mountain and realized the situation, he broke the tables. Why? What was on those tables? “Thou shalt have no other God before Me.” Maybe Moses should have gone right then and showed them and pointed out, “Here look; I got this straight from God.” But he broke them. Then they that sought the Lord came outside the camp. Moses went again and God wrote the very same things on those stones. Just keeping the law and commandments of God because they are right doesn’t bring enrichment of spirit; it may gratify us and our feelings – just look at everyone else! But it does not feed the spirit and it won’t create more life; we will just get stagnant.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures … ” The pasture we have is what we become, what we are. You see sheep lying down – and I don’t think I’m stretching my imagination – but when they are in good green pastures you see a happy look; they are laying down chewing the cud. You will never see that where they graze in short, brown, burned pastures. It’s the green pasture. You don’t have to see people’s pasture, only what they are like; we advertise our pasture without words. “Let your soul delight itself in fatness.” We went by a pasture the other day and there were some cattle there I could almost count their ribs from the car. How different when the pasture is green … delighting in fatness. They that sought the Lord went outside the camp. “Seek the Lord while He may be found and call when He is near.” Beyond the sacred page, I seek the Lord and His fellowship and power. That’s walking.

Enoch walked with God. Moses communed with God and said, “Show me now Thy way.” I He wasn’t like some of unbelief who met the truth or wanted to be shown truth. He wasn’t seeking to get saved because he was already some forty years along the way, but “Show me now Thy way.” Show me the next step. No matter how well we know God, it won’t help us to know the next step; we may think we know and maybe God will lead there, but still “I must have the Savior with me” to find the next step. Moses here was reaching out for a closer fellowship with God. “Show me now Thy way that I may know Thee and find grace in Thy sight, and consider this nation, Thy people …” How did God show him? He didn’t lecture him. He said, “My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest.” His presence always leads to rest, and if we keep true it will lead to one long rest called the eternal day. “If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not us hence.” He appreciated the presence and help of God. If he didn’t have it, he couldn’t go. He didn’t say, “If Thy presence go not with us” but ”… with me.” It’s a responsibility for me. ME! But he also realized he had an influence: “carry US not up hence.”

I like what follows this: “For wherein shall it be known here that and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” God’s people were always a separated people – and WE must be. Jesus, in talking to His disciples in Matthew 5 called them blessed when men should separate them. The presence of God is not conducive to fellowship in the world. His presence will separate us. Make the separation itself. They will separate you from their company – it comes about automatically. Further on it says, “I will do this for thou hast found grace ….. and I know thee by name.” He knows you personally, and Moses knew God. We have heard it often and it’s important: “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” We read of the fellowship of those virgins, yet half of them were told, “Depart from Me, I never knew you. “Many shall come in that day saying Lord, Lord – haven’t we done many wonderful things in Thy name?” and He never said they didn’t, but still, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” That hymn, “I long to know Thee better day by day” – there’s a real echo in my heart for that – knowing God in our secret life and everyday life and knowing His care and protection.

Isaiah 64, first I would like to mention that these are the people that Berlin was telling us about Thursday morning from Isaiah I and it’s not a rosy picture, but I like the picture we have between chapter 64 and chapter 1, “Oh, that Thou wouldest rend the heavens and come down.” They weren’t asking for that in chapter 1 – they didn’t want that at all, but oh, they were desolate. But now there is a turning and this is nice. ” …. rend the heavens and come down.” They found that there had (has) been too much empty space between them and God. Too much slack. There is a little rhyme, “There’s a Friend for little children above the bright blue sky.” That’s where God was for these people, but now there was a turning. “Cease to do evil.” A turning to the Lord. They didn’t say, “Now we’d better clean up shop,” but “it’s the Lord we need.” Like that lady said, “I want God!” Life is very uphill. We are facing obstacles that seem impossible to conquer – but come down, the mountains flow down at Thy presence. It’s amazing how much there is in the Old Testament about the presence of God and what it does. “At Thy presence, the mountains flow down … the melting fire to make Thy name known. The melting fire.” Those two walking to Emmaus – the risen Christ drew near and opened the Scripture about Himself and they said, “Did not our hearts burn within us?” If the fellowship seems to be dragging with us, individually or in our little meeting, it means to dig deeper, have a closer walk with God. A little farther on: “When Thou didst terrible things …. ” Passing through the Red Sea was one of those things.

Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’s are as filthy rags … ” – they acknowledged themselves and their condition. There surely was not this in the first chapter; there, in their own estimation, they were quite capable. But now, “all our righteousness is as filthy rags – we are all unclean.” I was reading Job yesterday. In the first part of that book, God said there was none like him. You read of Job saying, “Tho’ God slay me, yet willI trust. ” Elihu spoke to Job and then God moved right in. Elihu prepared the way of the Lord and then he stopped speaking on God’s behalf – he didn’t talk about them; the other three friends were not in the spirit at all, but when Elihu finished, the Lord moved right in and talked to Job, and the finish of the book was Job saying, “Oh, I am vile.” God didn’t say he was vile – He said he was perfect and upright. God will humble us without abasing us; He will exalt us without spoiling us. He can still us; we are just as precious to God as ever, but Job said, “I am vile and repent in dust and ashes.” At the same time, he was enriched and made more acceptable. We are all unclean.

In Romans I 0, Paul said, “My heart’s desire and prayer is for Israel, that they might be saved. ” Those were his brethren. He bore record of them that had a zeal but it wasn’t according to knowledge. They were going about to establish their own righteousness and had not submitted unto the righteousness of God. In Isaiah, their righteousness was as filthy rags – that’s really unrighteousness – not in the sense of vile or bad; they had a little righteousness, and then they were building themselves up. They felt assured of Heaven, but they hadn’t submitted. They didn’t think they had to humble themselves; they didn’t come down and they didn’t know about learning of Him who was meek and lowly of heart.

Verse 7-8, “There is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee: for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. But now, 0 LORD, Thou art our Tather; we are the clay …. ” It’s not clay in the picture in Isaiah 1, but now … now they were satisfied to be clay. They were bringing themselves right down to where that man brought himself in Luke 18, “Oh, be merciful to me, a sinner. ” There is nothing in me worth noticing. I can’t do anything for myself. All my hope and whatever I maybe must come from God. Be merciful to me a sinner. They said, “But now.” It’s wonderful to come to convention and see ourselves undone; to see ourselves unclean in spirit having held a little unforgiveness. If we are unclean in spirit, that makes us more unclean than anything else. But now …. Thou art our potter and we are the clay. Wonderful to let Him make a new spirit within us. Not that we profess again, but after all, don’t want make a new spirit every day? What do we do in the morning beside our bed? When the evening comes, “Lord, forgive me. I didn’t mean to do it” – it is a case of making amends. When I am in a meeting and it is tested and I see people making a start, I feel the same. That’s the thing to do. You don’t have to stand up, but you do it again in your heart. You can make a new start every morning if you want. That would be the thing to do.

“We are all the work of Thy hand.” Ecclesiastes says that whatsoever God doeth shall be forever. That’s all we will have for eternity. We are all the work of His hand. Not just theory, but HIS work. “Thy great work of creation in my life, Thou hast begun.” Now if we could know a little of this continuing – it is there and going on but in its continuing, we can hope for better days and victory. It will not be that there is no defeat: during the dark days of World War II, there was a statement: VICTORY AT ALL COST, for without victory there would be no survival. Victory will cost and it must be paid for, but without victory there is no survival. We can be sure, victory and we don’t need to live in doubt or fear the IF, like Paul said, “We are more than conquerors through Christ.” I don’t know just what that means, maybe. I know what a conqueror is – but more than a conqueror But it gives me hope that victory is surely ours if we keep where we belong and let Him do in us what He would do.

I have a few very, very simple thoughts to share with you this morning from the Book of Revelation, and the reason why I emphasize ‘simple thoughts’…..we know that the Book of Revelation is filled with complicated thoughts, and I am not going to involve any of those complications.

Revelation 7:13 (13-17) “And one of the elders answered saying unto me, ‘What are these which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, ‘These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

This book took on a much more simple meaning to me when it dawned on me one day, this is an account of a Sunday Morning Meeting….the last fellowship meeting we have recorded in the Bible.

We will note in Revelation 1:9, 10 he was a captive on the Isle of Patmos …and he was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day.

He didn’t allow the surrounding conditions to influence him…he was in the spirit…and the Lord drew near and they had a wonderful meeting.

There weren’t very many in that meeting but there was a wonderful spirit…so wonderful that it took twenty-two chapters to describe.

I couldn’t find anything He revealed to John…but he is anxious to reveal every time we come together on the Lord’s Day in the right spirit.

God intended every Sunday would be a fresh revelation of Himself, and we would think of what He has planned for His people.

John received a fresh revelation of Jesus…then he received the revelation of himself…then of what he could do to help his brethren…then a wonderful revelation of how worthwhile this thing would be sometime…a glimpse of how Rome and Babylon would fall, and the kingdom of Christ reigning over them.

He saw this thing terminating there at the city of God …we wouldn’t want to miss this for all of the world.

I don’t know anything he revealed to John, but that God would be just as anxious and for the same reasons to reveal those things to us as we come together in the spirit on the Lord’s Day.

The first thing John received was a fresh revelation of Jesus.

When you and I come together, this is the thing that concerns us most of all.

We don’t want to lose that standard or be sidestepped in our vision.

“We would see Jesus….strength, joy and willingness comes with the sight.”

Then he got a vision of himself and his desperate need and he fell at the feet of Jesus as one dead.

“I don’t have anything compared with what He had.”

This might answer a question that used to perplex me…I wondered why it was the Pharisees that have nothing, go down the street with a self-satisfied feeling.

But the Lord’s people who have everything have such a poor and needy feeling.

Why should this be?

One day I noticed……the reason the Pharisees felt so satisfied and have a glorious feeling within themselves…those they were measuring themselves by …the drunkard down the street.

Jesus told of a Pharisee who thanked God he wasn’t like other men.

He was measuring himself by the derelicts on what we would call skid row in our day.

But we don’t measure ourselves by the poor unfortunate human wrecks down the street.

But we measure by Jesus and that is why we feel poor and needy.

I would like to say in passing…anything that drives us to the feet of Jesus is a wonderful experience, no one ever perishes at the feet of Jesus.

The throne is the central theme in this.

Thirty-nine times in 31 verses it is referred to. “God on the throne…the Lamb in the midst of the throne…the river proceeding out of the throne, etc.”

The key to the understanding of the book is found in Revelation 19:6. It reads; “And I heard as it were the voice of mighty thunderings, sayings, Alleluia; for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.”

This was in connection with the fellowship meeting.

We have all had the experience John had of coming with a consciousness of a need in our heart….the need of some kind of help…and before that meeting was over, God in one manner or another has given us help.

This is what John needed that morning more than anything else.

He was a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos …not because of wrong doing, but for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus that he had been faithful to.

I try to put myself in John’s position.

Under Domitian…that Roman Emperor…the Christians had suffered untold torture.

Many lost their lives.

They were subject to untold atrocities.

In order to show his further contempt to the poor souls that were left there….he showed further contempt by banishing John to Patmos among the worst criminals on the face of the earth.

I would imagine him saying; “Is it possible that God has planned a progress that He can’t sustain? Is it possible I have lived sixty years for something that is going to pieces right before my eyes?”

That is why God drew near and gave him a glorious picture of the throne.

He assured John this isn’t going to pieces and evil isn’t triumphing over right.

This is what He told him in that message.

These are the things that work together for good.

The ministry is going to be enriched because of this experience… you will have things to testify to nations and kings.

You will read of that in the last verse of Revelation 10: “And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”

One of the reasons we have the tendency to question the Lord’s dealings…a verse in the Old Testament I used to wonder about….Psalm 47:8. “God reigneth over the heathen.” If God is reigning, why does He let these things happen? To let these evil influences triumph like that?

The reason we have questions at all…we are looking at things from our human, limited, standpoint of view.

And God is looking from the eternal standpoint of view…and it often proves to be the best thing to happen in the long run.

And it was true on this Isle of Patmos.

It turned out to be the best thing that could happen in the long run.

We had a visiting brother with us at a convention….he talked along this line….that was his text.

The things that seem like a tragedy today turn out to be the best thing that happens in the long run.

One thing he cited was Paul’s imprisonment in Rome.

Why let that happen?

…..A useful man like Paul?

Keeping the hearts of God’s people encouraged….a useful man.

He called our attention to what Paul mentioned in Philippians 1. Paul knew these would be the questions in their minds….”I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the place, and in all other places, etc.”

This is going to work out fine, don’t worry about the outcome.

The bonds….not the Roman chains…but the bond that bound him to Christ and helped him to continue so faithfully, nearly everyone in the place has heard about this, even those in the courtyard and in the praetorian.

“All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are Caesar’s household.”(Philippians 4:22)

How would the Gospel have got to the household of Caesar if God hadn’t used that reason to send it?

Some of the most helpful letters Paul wrote were written in prison. He wouldn’t have had time to have written in so much detail in many of his busy days….but he had time in prison.

Some of the most valuable letters we have access to today.

That event that seemed like a tragedy at the moment – was a blessing that reaches down to your and my day.

If we find ourselves sometimes in a situation where we begin to wonder and worry, let us remind ourselves of the fact that what seems like a tragedy today will turn out to be the best thing that ever happened.

Just before Jesus left….He gathered all His disciples together….told them about distress in the religious world, etc: And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6.

Mark that verse, it might come in handy to you if your faith is tried in future days.

He left the thought…..nothing is going to happen unless the Lord allows it.

“The Lord omnipotent reigns.”

It is going to be for the good of His people and the welfare of His Kingdom.

That His own plan and purpose might go forward.

As long as the Lord reigns all is well.

That is the message.

He left because He knew they were facing what they thought would be the tragedy of all tragedies.

Just a few hours after this Jesus found Himself before Pilate, and Pilate looking down from his throne and gloating in His face; “Know you not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?”

And Jesus looked up into the face of that poor fellow, and He said to him; “You could have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.”

And He surely wouldn’t give power to people like that.

I Timothy 6:14-15. He said; “That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; which in His times He shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”

The Lord would come back again….this is the way God would terminate those things….He will send His Son back and He will prove that this is that “Blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; who only hath immortality, etc.”

It is easy for these little puppets to lift their heads and get the world alarmed about what they are going to do.

But the time is coming God is going to rise to the occasion, and He is going to send His Son back again…and He is going to prove to the whole world who is this blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”

You can understand why God gave this vision to John when there was so much to try his faith.

Is this going to pass away and wrong triumph over right?

And He gave him some wonderful pictures of the throne.

This is among the ‘all things that work together for good.’

And the means He uses to bring about the fulfillment of His plan.

The throne is the central theme of Revelation; but the Lamb is the central figure.

Twenty-seven times you read of Jesus the Lamb of God, and the full provision God is making for us through Him.

The Lord is taking care of the opposition….over ruling the powers of men in the world as the Lord God omnipotent.

Through the Lamb of God, at the same time, He is meeting the needs of His people.

They will have no distress but there will be everything to keep them going until the day the Lord comes back to take them out of this world.

It’s a wonderful thing….about this provision.

Revelation 14.

The Lamb as our example…you read of those who followed Him whither so ever He went.

You read of them ending up at the right hand of God….rejoicing with the song that will never cease.

This takes us back to the time when Jesus first made His appearance among God’s people ….. “Behold, the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world.”

Comfort that God has actually sent a fulfillment….the real Lamb has now come to take away the sins of the world.

But the next day when John looked upon Jesus as He walked, he said: “Behold the Lamb of God!”

He didn’t finish…but we know what was in his mind….he was saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the confusion of the world.”

It is a wonderful thing to think He took away sin…but by His walk and the pathway He marked before them…He was taking away the confusion of the world.

The world was in an awful confused state at that time…the Pharisees and Sadducees and Alexandrines, etc., etc. all reading the same word of God….but all pulling in different directions.

What a wonderful comfort when he introduced Jesus that day as He walked.

We can be thankful today…we would be left among the confusion of the world … among those that do not believe in Jesus.

Revelation 14:4, we read of those rejoicing around the throne.

How did they get there?

By following the Lamb whithersoever He goes.

The One that was sent into the world…that takes away the confusion of the world.

Here were these people who had followed the Lamb…they had accepted this as God’s answer to their confused prayers…they hadn’t defiled themselves with the false church that professed to be the bride of Christ but followed the teachings of men.

Why follow the movements that only added to the confusion of the world?

They followed Him.

And it had led them safely through every experience of life…through the valley of shadow of death and the darkness of the tomb…and they rejoicing in the fulfillment of the words of Jesus: “I am the way, the truth and the life…no one comes to the Father but by me.”

They had followed and it led them to the Father.

There are a lot of religious leaders today that draw a following after them….all they find at the end of their journey is a silent tomb…to the disappointment of a silent tomb.

We were in Pakistan at a convention, five years ago.

We saw a plane load of people coming in who had been making a pilgrimage to Mohammed’s tomb.

They had a belief that if they could go there, there would be a special blessing and they would come back a different people.

Many of those poor souls saved what little pittance they had, to go.

If you ever saw a dejected people in your life…the people coming off that plane that day….but all they saw was a silent tomb.

Can we not be thankful to our Father for this Lamb of God, the one who walked to show us how to walk?

“Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the confusion of the world.”

We are thankful that in following Him, it not only leads us safely through every experience of life…not only through the silent tomb, but triumphantly out the other side.

These were the first ones….and they proved it worked.

Any one of you here can safely reach that….if we just follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes.

Revelation 17

This is just referring to the Lamb as our Defender….the world powers were united at this time against the Lamb….it looked like the hope of God’s people was entirely shattered…but He overcame because He was Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

This is left on record to remind us, if we are willing to follow the Lamb where He goes….in hearty fellowship with the Lamb, the Lamb will defend us…because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

And He has never lost a man and He won’t lose you either if you fall down at His feet.

I haven’t the least idea what the opposition will be in the future.

We have this assurance throughout the scripture….that nothing is going to arise in the future that will hinder or interfere with God’s promises to His people.

We heard from the 40th of Isaiah.

I don’t know of any portion that helps me understand the greatness of God more…..

verse15….it speaks of the opposition…..”All the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.”

“With my power at your disposal, with MY hand to lead you, it doesn’t make any difference what opposition you have….let all the nations form together….with an amalgamated front…this isn’t but a drop of a bucket.”

You take a drop of water out of the bucket and it doesn’t faze the picture at all.

That wouldn’t make a bit of difference.

“My promises to you would be just as real and wonderful as they ever could be.”

Revelation 17

These people were proving that in their experiences that day….even what all these powers represented…they represented the united powers of the forces against them…they came expecting to overwhelm the Lamb.

They didn’t realize the meek Lamb was in reality the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Lamb overcame them….and those in close fellowship shared in victory.

It was a wonderful victory that was gained that day.

The secret of this whole picture….God was revealing this to John in that meeting that day…the reason we want to learn….may it be the outstanding lesson we carry from this convention….not because of what I am saying…but what we have heard from the different ones…keep close to the Lamb and close to His footsteps…in the center of His will, and the Lamb will keep you.

We had a servant with us from Norway …he brought out a thought concerning prayer that was a good help.

When we go to pray….a lot of things are accomplished…but remember what we are really doing is just submitting ourselves to the Lord….making a fresh surrender…

he called our attention in to Matthew 6.When you pray go into the closet and pray to the Father in secret and…..Your Father which sees in secret will reward thee openly.

When we go to pray we are conscious of our Father hearing us…we know His eye is on the righteous and His ear is open to their cry.

The thing that reaches the heart of God most is what He sees….He sees that person….maybe it is in the morning, and they are on their knees before Him….and that is a wonderful assurance to Him that they have turned their life over to me another day and I can do anything necessary to meet their needs. And at the end of the day…He looks down and sees that person on their knees again….it is a wonderful thing, He can take care of them during the night.

This associates itself with the morning and evening sacrifice in the Old Testament.

When we kneel before the bed in the morning….that is the morning sacrifice…so that He can take us and bless us and control the situation.

In the evening when we get down…we are making the evening sacrifice….giving Him control of the situation.

When God looks down from Heaven….’He sees in secret.’

That brings a comfort to His heart…that is worth more to Him than many words we could utter….though we desire to take advantage of the privilege of uttering words at a time like that….the Father that sees in secret will reward that openly.

This should be the burning purpose of our heart….to keep our hearts in that secret place close to the heart of God….keeping ourselves in that little sanctuary…walking closely in His footprints…close to the Lamb.

It doesn’t make any difference, any form of opposition in the future….it is just a drop in the bucket…the Lamb will come…if we are close to Him we are going to share in the victory…He has never lost a battle and He won’t lose you either if you keep close to His side.

Revelation 19:6, “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” He gave John that wonderful vision…the kingdom of this world had been turned over to Christ…the Lord was still reigning…”let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.”

The example of the Lamb means so much …. protection…and defense….but beyond everything else…the love of the Lamb….the love of the Bridegroom for His bride….the greatest love the world has ever known is her portion to enjoy throughout eternity.

Questions have been asked; What makes this fellowship of yours work?

They were aware of this working.

They never saw anything working on a wholesale basis like this.

We took them to Galatians 5:6. “Faith which worketh by love.”

It works because the love of God has gripped our hearts.

There is no greater compelling force and source of joy than….that love of God.

This fellowship has been a way of love from eternity to eternity.

Jesus spoke of love that existed before the foundation of the world.

This wonderful fellowship was planned in that love.

It was introduced to the world through love….established on the earth by love…and since that time, held together by love….the culmination of the wonderful story of salvation.

Remember the story of the Titanic….that immense liner they thought was unsinkable.

It was said; Even God Himself couldn’t sink this ship.

The first trip out….before the trip was over, it struck an iceberg, and it didn’t take very long….it went down.

According to the record, there were three honeymoon couples on board that ship.

When the women and children were ordered into the lifeboats…according to the man who wrote…the bride and groom couldn’t let go…when they were in the water they were fondly clasped in each other’s arms…the love that bound them to each other was stronger than death.

That is human love.

But divine love….no wonder the Lord’s people are held together, the world over, with a love like that binding them.

This is the end toward which God is working.

Maybe circumstances along the way…will turn out to be the best thing that ever happened…preparing us for that last place…when the bride has made herself ready and enters into that eternal dominion with Him.

Revelation 7. You see that group of people with the Lamb in Glory…the angel asked John, Who are these?

He said, I don’t know.

“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

The word ‘tribulation’ is taken from the Latin word ‘tribulum’; it was the old flail….the old primitive meaning of separating the chaff from the wheat.

The flail to beat out the grain to separate the wheat from the chaff.

So, when you read of tribulation in the Bible…remember, tribulation and separation are synonymous terms.

Maybe He uses one form or another to accomplish His purpose.

Paul said, “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

When we should be gathered together…and you would be doing so this morning if you were at home and like John on the Isle of Patmos that day…would be partaking of the bread and the cup.

When you partake of that bread…I don’t know what it means to you…all that I see when I look upon that bread is separation…many kernels of wheat separated.

That separated grain that made possible this bread….the emblem of the body of Jesus.

I get a fresh glimpse of all the separation in His life that He might be to you and me what He is.

When I partake of that there is a deep thankfulness in my heart for that One who was willing for the separation.

When I take a bite of that….I am testifying that I am willing for the same separation.

When we are willing for the separation, the Lord hands us the cup.

The bread then the wine, that is the order.

When we partake of that emblem and are willing for the separation pictured in that bread, then there is the cup.

Here we find these people rejoicing before the Lord…they go there….by being willing for the separation…the privilege of partaking of the cleansing.

Now they are rejoicing…and waiting for the time when the great reunion takes place.

Paul said; “To die and be with Christ is far better.”

Where are they?

They died?

I don’t know of any other verse that gives a better picture…some have already gone to be with Christ which is far better…some of us waiting to go.

Ephesians 1:9-10, “God has made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself; that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ which are in Heaven, and which are on Earth; even in Him.”

The end to which He is working…in the dispensation of time….both which are in Heaven and on Earth.

That is the great reunion that will take place some day.

Those that are gone on and those that follow…will all be together.

I like to think of it as a convention that will never end.

Those on earth and those in Heaven gathered together.

The only part about conventions I don’t fully enjoy is the separation.

Four days of wonderful fellowship…and so much to enjoy and rejoice in…and then you have to go out and face the world again.

That is the only part I don’t relish.

I wonder if you can visualize what Paul was speaking of in Ephesians 1: 9, 10?

Those still on the earth waiting to go…the time when we will all be gathered together as one…that great convention that will never end.

If a convention like this means so much to us, try to think of what that will be like.

The culmination of what God is working for.

We thank God He is the Almighty God Omnipotent on the throne.

But we can just rejoice as much that He has made the full provision for us through the Lamb until we are taken…

So that when the day comes, we will find ourselves rejoicing among those that are among that throng.

I once saw a sign that said, “Potter’s clay available here.” Wonderful when this sign is over our lives. Isaiah 54:8, “Oh Lord, thou art our Father, we are the clay and Thou art our potter, and we all are the work of Thy hands. ” We are God’s natural creation, the work of His hands has made us so wonderfully, but there is a greater, deeper work that God wants to do, the work of recreation. This work is a voluntary thing, it takes the yielding clay. God has the ability, He is the great potter, He is able to make something good and useful out of our lives, if we are willing. When we give God our soft heart, He is able to make a useful vessel. We like to see the children in the meetings, and as their hearts are kept soft, it is material that God can take up and use. It is important for children to have a soft heart towards God, and His people and His servants, and a soft heart towards the meetings. One day, God will take up their young lives and make something lovely from them. Our hope of fitting into God’s plan lies in being the yielding clay.

A man had been through dark experiences, and he said he could look back and see that God had walked beside him through those dark days. There were two sets of footprints. Then when things were really dark there was only one set of footprints, and the man said, “They were the times when the Lord carried me.”

There are two crosses mentioned in the Bible. The same lips that spoke these words, “Your sins are forgiven,” also spoke, “Go and sin no more.” There is one cross which is the centre of the gospel story – Jesus giving His life on the cross. But there is another cross that is not so popular, so few are willing for all the will of God. If a man is not willing to take up his cross, he will not be one of Jesus’ disciples. Galatians 5:24, “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” If there is no death there is no burial. We are no longer ruled by the affections and lusts of the flesh, but ruled by the life of Christ. This is the only way to live a life that is acceptable to God. Paul could say that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, his only hope of being righteous was as Jesus lived His life over again in him. There were no longer two lives, no longer two opinions, two ways. One was crucified and the other one lived. Paul did not trust in the cross of Jesus only. He also trusted in the taking up of his own cross, crucifying the flesh, doing the opposite to those men who put Jesus on the cross.

For a while a caterpillar is a caterpillar, then the next stage is going into a cocoon, then it comes out as a beautiful butterfly. This is a new life. The butterfly has a new appetite, it wants the sweetness, the nectar of the flowers. It is like the new life of Christ within us – when we are born again of His spirit, we have a new appetite, and we seek the favour of Christ. Noah walked with God, he had hearty fellowship. Hearty fellowship puts life into us, it enables us to keep alive. One time, a little boy went with his father to the grocery store. The father had a long list of things to buy, and the boy stood quietly while waiting for his father. He saw a large jar of sweets that looked so tempting. He kept his eyes on those sweets. The grocer noticed this, and he invited the boy to go and help himself, but no, the boy remained where he was. The grocer again appealed to him, and said, “Help yourself, have a sweet.” The boy shook his head. After a while, the grocer put his hand in the large jar and brought out a handful of sweets, and the boy held open both hands and received the sweets. Later on the father asked his son, “Why did you not help yourself?” The boy replied, “I knew his hand was larger and bigger than mine.” Our God has so much to share with us.

One sister spoke in her testimony that, during the past year, she had been dwelling on things that had filled her mind, but hadn’t fed her heart. What we feed on will either make us sickly, sleepy, or healthy. When we feed on the love of God, it will never fail us. It will put strength into us, and cause us to be healthy. Joseph was one who continually dwelt on the love of God. This caused him to walk with God. In prison, after he had been misjudged, it says that after the end of two full years, these were not empty years, not wasted years, they were full years that became so fruitful and enriched his life, because the presence of the Lord was with him.

One time, I went to a friend’s home and the wife took me into the backyard where there were two apple trees, planted the same time and the same size, but there was a great difference in their size now, because one was planted by the water. It was loaded with fruit, and this sister was so happy when she saw the fruit. The other tree was far from the water, and there was not much fruit. Psalm 1 tells us about the tree that is planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth his fruit in his season. This speaks of the man whose delight is in the law the Lord, and in His law, doth he meditate day and night. In Psalm 119, every verse mentions the word of the Lord. “How love I Thy law, it is my meditation all the day.” If the law of God is our meditation, we will be like the tree that is planted by the rivers of water. We know that things have to occupy us, but they do not have to have the first place, because as we work at common duties we can delight in the word of God. Jesus could say, “I delight to do Thy will. I do always those things that please My Father.”

Philippians 4:8 is a good diet. What we think upon affects us. We are not to feed upon the wrong things, not to feed upon sin or the failure of others, this is not a good diet. “Whatsoever things and 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, if there be any praise, think on these things. ” We only know defeat if we do not feed upon these things. Psalm 106:4, “Remember me, 0 Lord, with the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people, oh visit me with Thy salvation, that I may see the good of Thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Thy nation, that I may glory with Thine inheritance.” When I came to this land, I wondered what will my brothers and sisters see in me. Will they see something that will draw them closer to God? This matter of meeting with our brothers and sisters is no light matter.

Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” John 1:1, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” In the beginning there was God and Jesus, they had a fellowship that was very sweet. God was so happy with Jesus that He desired to have more sons and daughters like Him. God said to Jesus, “Let us make man in Our image.” When God made us of flesh and blood and gave us human nature, but we know that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. There is no place for flesh in the kingdom of God. There is no place for the fulfillment of human desires in God’s kingdom. God made the world for man. Man builds his own house and dwells in it. Man digs the ground, and sows seed, and eats the fruit thereof, and he lives. God has done this for man. But where does God live? God has taken man out of the same ground, God has made a body, yours and mine. No man has touched us. There is a place in us where He wants to dwell. He wants to dwell in us, and do a work in us to prepare us for eternity, and this brings home to us a great responsibility. God does not want any man to perish, but wants all to come to a knowledge of the truth.

God wants to give us an incorruptible body, He wants to do an incorruptible work. God has made a human body for Him to dwell in, and what is it that feeds His heart? He puts the incorruptible seed in our hearts which brings forth the incorruptible fruit, and we have love, joy, peace, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance. These are all one fruit, and it is love. This is what feeds the heart of God – our love. Joy is love in exuberance; peace is love at rest; longsuffering is love enduring; faith is love’s foundation; goodness is love’s standard; meekness is love seeking the lowest place; temperance is a balanced love. Where is our heart? It is in our body. God says, “My son, give Me thine heart.” If we give our heart, we give our body, too.

Romans 12, “I beseech you that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service.” Where does the body dwell? It dwells in the home. If God is with us in our body, in our heart, He will also be in our home. Home can be a place where God dwells with us. When a worldly person comes into our home, they should realize that God is honoured here, and I have to behave myself, be careful what I say and do. Our home can be a place where God can dwell with us gladly. Our heart is a secret chamber, and nothing is allowed to come in there but by our permission. If there is anything in our hearts that is not of God, anything that is unclean, it is there because we have allowed it in. We have to keep these things out. This fellowship was in Heaven before man was ever made that was supremely sweet. Are we worthy of this Godly into? Sometimes I do things that I shouldn’t do, and it brings sorrow to my heart.

Willie Hughes said at one time, “I have never shed a tear because of the hardness of the way, but I have shed many a tear because of my own human nature.” Enemy number 1 is the one we look at in the mirror. Our flesh wants its own way, but God sent Jesus to teach us to do the will of God on earth as it is done in Heaven. Jesus never pleased Himself, He always pleased the Father, and this is our example. Never please the flesh. Let us always seek the lowest place. Our human nature wants to have its own way, but if it has its way, we will not have the peace of God in our hearts. We have a three-fold enemy: the world, the flesh, and the devil. This enemy has no mercy on us. The devil wants to destroy the work of God in every heart – he does not sleep and he is not careful in the way he does it, but Jesus defeated him. The devil feeds the human heart, but Jesus crucified the human heart – He did not give in to Himself.

Genesis 49:1-27, “And Jacob called unto his sons and said, ‘Gather yourselves together that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.’” This chapter is like a picture album. Jacob was giving them a picture of themselves as he saw them. God wants to do this today. He has gathered us to hearken and to hear a picture of our hearts. Jacob was giving them a picture of their character. All are on a course to a saved or lost eternity. It’s not what is around us but what is in us that affects what will befall us in the last days.

Verse 2, “Gather yourselves together and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.” To hear is to receive with the ears. Am I ready to receive? To hearken means to listen with the intention to obey. It’s the obeying that counts. In four days, we will be scattered again. Our last days are so dependent on what we do with what we hear. Our father would like to prepare us for those last days.

“Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power; unstable as water, thou shalt not excel…” He had much talent and ability but not making much of the faith. Unstable, not excelling even though he had gifts and might. He was lacking stability. Water is influenced by everything surrounding it. If it is hot, it’s hot. If it is cold, it’s cold. Put it in a round cup, it’s round. Put it in a square dish, its square. Always flows to the lowest level. Instability is written over all human nature. God planned for us to be conformed to the image of His Son, not the world around us. He mentioned He was “firstfruits” or “firstborn.” The first-fruits have a responsibility toward those coming behind. It seems Reuben must have done something about this picture, for we read in Revelations 7 the tribes mentioned, and Reuben is mentioned.

“Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will, they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.” It seems they had a hard nature. “Instrument” needs control. Anger and self-will, two very hard qualities in their lives. Anger is one of those human qualities we would dismiss lightly, but how many homes are ruined and days spoiled by someone there who blows up? Anger is condemned again and again in the scriptures. Self-will takes us outside the walls of Jerusalem. It will remove that wall stone by stone and we will find ourselves standing outside. These two had two qualities of human nature that could have been used well if they were controlled by God. Simeon and Levi are mentioned together; they were like a “clique.” Too close to each other. Some people, it is best not to be too close to. The blessing was to divide them.

“Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, thou are gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from…” Judah was doing well, doing what he ought to be. The first part was good, honest praise. Flattery is when we praise to get something. We often need all the encouragement we can get, honest praise. It says his hand would be on his enemies’ neck, and not the other way around. Whose hand is on our neck? Is ours on our enemy’s neck, steering him around? Judah is a lion, king of the beasts. A lion watches his prey intently and lets nothing distract him from it. Every born again child of God should be like a lion. “Lion’s whelp,” a wobbly little lion, just taking its first steps, and understanding in a small measure what is his. This is the first of three phases in the life of a lion. “Lion couched,” concentrates of his prey and studies it carefully. We are thankful for those concentrating on eternal values no matter what would try to interfere. “Old Lion” – the old folks still with eyes on the prey, eternity’s values in view. “Who shall rouse him up?” It says he wasn’t going to let the sceptre go; the kingdom was first. “Thy father’s children shall bow down…” We thank God for those who are faithful; faithful mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers.

“Zebulon shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships, and his border shall be unto Zidon.” This is a kingdom minded person, by the sea to be of use in the kingdom. The ships went out Zidon. God’s servants go out from those homes even today. A haven needs to have depth and quietness. Home where nothing matters but salvation. We read in Psalm 107 about “they that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep. For He considereth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro…and are at their wits’ end.” Sometimes, we know what it is like to be at out wits’ end and come to a haven for rest, and then be sent out again restored. Deuteronomy 33:18, Moses’ blessing of Zebulon – “Rejoice, Zebulon, in thy going out.”

“Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens; and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant to tribute.” The two burdens, keeping yourself right and helping others to keep right. Galations 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Verse 5, “For every man shall bear his own burden.” We all have our own weaknesses and idiosyncrasies, etc., to bear, and everyone else has, too. Sometimes, another can come along and give us a lift. He saw “rest was good and the land pleasant; bowed his shoulder…” We need to see this right. Sometimes we can get looking at things darkly – look at the joy of the Lord and it will make us strong to bear.

”Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.” Adder – a small snake, a cunning creature. It can bring down a creature much bigger than himself. It says also, “I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord.” Judges 18:30 tells that idolatry began with Dan. It was a stumbling stone to the Children of Israel. In I Kings 12, it tells of King Jeroboam setting up idols in Bethel and in Dan, and giving the people a choice of place for worship instead of going to Jerusalem. The people had never been given that choice before and in Revelations 7 his name is omitted in the final list.

“Gad, a troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at the last.” He was a person restored; it says a “troop overcame…” There are lots of battles. No one gets off easy in this battle of life. He overcame at the last. The work of restoration is as important as salvation. The important thing is to overcome in the end. The overcomer is the one who wins the last battle. Maybe he lost quite a few in the middle, but the last one, he won. He told the story of Robert the Bruce, the Scottish king in hiding, watching a little spider trying and trying to climb up and falling back, only to try again until it finally made it and spun its web. “We haven’t failed until we fail to try.”

“Asher. “Out of Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.” Asher was a feeder; it says he had bread. In Acts 3, we read of Peter and John going into the temple and that lame man begging alms from them. Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none but such as I have, give I thee.” They had something better that would strengthen that man. They had bread, not junk food. Royal dainties come from the King’s table. They are small, easy to take in and tasty. So nice when someone has a royal dainty in Sunday morning meeting. Concise, clear and good. If you are going to have royal dainties on Sunday morning, you have to spend time before that.

“Naphtali is a hind let loose; he giveth goodly words.” A hind is a deer. Set free. A type of person brought into the liberty in Christ. Hardly touches the ground, leaps over the fences. Like the man in the Psalms, released from the miry clay. Full of grace because of thankfulness for liberty. What they say has as its goal the good of the kingdom. They’re not gloomy and picky; they appreciate what they have in Christ.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall; the archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob…” Fruitfulness characterized his life. A blessing everywhere he went, to those inside and outside God’s kingdom. He had two things which caused this: 1 – a well; his relationship with God. 2 – a wall; his relationship with the world. The well sustained him and the wall restrained him. God was dealing with him at the well as a youth. His brethren threw him into a pit where there was no water. He had his own well. Lots of dry experiences. You may think that alone you can’t serve God. Joseph did. He could have been bitter when he was thrown into jail, innocent. His well washed away all that. Verse 25 speaks about God helping and blessing him with “blessings of the deep that lieth under.” The well.

The wall. There is a boundary established by God in all things; light/dark, good/evil, sheep/goats. Joseph didn’t go over the wall. We sometimes hear people say, “maybe if I wasn’t different, I could help more,” but it doesn’t work that way. It says, “His bow abode in strength…” When a bow is pulled back to its full capacity and the arrow in it, then is the hardest to hold it. When his brethren hated him and when he was wronged and lied about by Potiphar’s wife, etc., he held his bow. It doesn’t take any strength at all to blow up. His hands were made strong by the mighty God of Jacob.

“Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey and at night he shall divide the spoil.” “Ravin” – to have an appetite. The first thing a wolf thinks about in the morning is his meat. Make time to spend with God early, make that first. Then we will have spoil to divide at night. We don’t live by making a living alone. Your household doesn’t live by bread alone. Before the living, we need something more.

There is nothing that has so much to do with our end of days as our character.

We sang that hymn, number 222, written by Jim Jardine. During the war time, when there was much anxiety around, this hymn expresses his thoughts, that people would look above to our one hope, which is being true to Christ. One reason we are gathered here today is found in Psalm 22, “For none can keep alive his own soul.” It is something that we cannot do on our own, to keep alive to God, and we see this picture right throughout the Bible, this need of fellowship. A shepherd loves to gather his sheep in, he loves to gather everyone, and is glad when all are there. Some may be wounded, some may be bruised, some may be lame, but when they are there, he can restore. If they are not there, he does not know, and they are lost and at the mercy of the enemy, perhaps even dead. The fact that you are gathered here today makes God glad, and He can apply the oil.

Psalm 139 speaks of the x-ray of God. When people find there is something wrong they go to the doctor, and he takes an x‑ray, and the x-ray reveals the cause of what is wrong. Here David said, “Search me, Oh God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts.” When a person goes to the doctor he wants to know, he wants the facts, wants to know what the x-ray reveals. This is a good attitude when we go to God. We want Him to search us, to reveal what is wrong.

Psalm 23, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.” When we are walking towards the source of light, the shadows all fall behind us. When we walk away from the source of light, the shadows are all in front of us. If we are walking from the source of light we will know fear as we face the shadow of death. This shadow of death is the king of terror, and the terror of kings. Let us walk to Jesus, who is the light of life. If we walk away from Him this shadow of death will haunt us, for this day is coming for all. This day will not bother us if we are walking with our face towards God.

Sometimes people have pie for dessert – sometimes it’s apple pie, or peach pie, or cherry pie, made in a round dish, and we take the first piece and it tastes good. We eat some more and soon there is only one piece left. When we eat the last piece, it tastes just as good as the first piece, but when we have eaten the last piece, there is no more pie. This is true of life, perhaps we may be working on the last piece, and we do not realize it. We may be enjoying life, in good health, but we may be working on our last piece. Life is a brief thing. One day our lives have to be returned, they are only on loan to us. We can return it either well-used, misused, or unused. Whatever we do, we will have to return it. We may not live a wild life, we may just follow along and our lives are unused. Some people lead terrible lives, and they are misused. It is good to use our time wisely, and God will add His blessing to it. This is a target to aim at.

In Solomon’s day, it tells us that he made two hundred targets of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. Sometimes people have a paper target, sometimes a cardboard target, or a wooden target, or a tin target. Solomon made a golden target. A gold target is a lot more worth than a paper target. Some young men start in life, and their father tells them that the main thing in life is to make a million dollars. The best way is to make it honestly, but anyhow, make a million dollars. Other people have another target, of educating themselves, studying, getting a degree, they rise in the professional world that is their target. Other people go farming and are successful. There are many targets in the world that people aim at, and many hit the target, but they are all cheap targets.

We read of men in the scriptures who had targets of gold. There is not a lot written about Enoch. He lived long years ago, without the benefit of the word of God. He did not have the chapter we read of about the children of Israel, he did not read about Christ, but Enoch seemed to understand God’s will. He had the right target in his life.

We read of Noah; God was unhappy with the sins of the world, it seems almost that the whole plan of the world was a failure and He wanted to destroy it all, but Noah was approved by God, and He showed him His plan of salvation. Noah could have felt that there would be no flood, there has only been dew up to this point, and the Lord speaking of rain coming seemed impossible. Perhaps when he was building the ark he could have had some ideas of his own, ways he could improve on it, but no, his target was complete and implicit obedience to what God wanted of him. This was a golden target. God said, “Come thou into the ark,” and He shut the door, and there was total destruction on the very same day. The rest of the world ignored and disregarded what God had said.

That man Abraham was led out by God, and he looked for a city that had a foundation, whose builder and maker is God. It would have been easy for Abraham to have lived and died like his father lived and died, but no. We read that all that happened of value in Abraham’s life happened after he was 75. We read of some, like Samuel, whom God dealt with while he was a little boy. Some we read that God dealt them in middle life, like Paul and the disciple; and here Abraham, God dealt with him after he was 75. Nothing of worth happened until God’s spirit moved. A lot of things have happened in our lives, but nothing of importance until God moved across our life.

There is a man we know in the police force, a top man; he was presented to the Queen in his country. He was a body-guard for the Queen. Eighteen months ago, this man had an opportunity to go to gospel meetings. His wife had died one year before. The revelation he got, he could see that what he was listening to his wife had never listened to. His wife missed what he now had a chance to have, and he said that nothing of value had happened in his life until now, when he listened to the gospel. It was the most important thing in his life. Lot chose to go down to Sodom. He suffered the consequences, but Abraham had a golden target – he prayed to God, first for 50, then 40, then 30, then 20, and the Lord responded and Lot was rescued. Abraham had lovely golden targets. Lovely to see those who are not satisfied to see others outside, but they have a regard to others who have not chosen so wisely, hearts that go out to the world’s needs, a world that needs our help and prayers.

During the Second World War, at Dunkirk, this town in France was being invaded by the Germans, so the British sent over to rescue their troops by sea, otherwise it would have been a fight to the death. Volunteers were called to take their boats to rescue these troops, many came, and one man arrived with a row boat and others said what could he do with a little boat like that, and he said, “Perhaps I can save one life.” It is the spirit of this man that is so appealing. This same spirit is what Abraham had, and it is the same spirit that we have to have as we look out on a world that is wasting their time, wasting life, living for things that are useless. Abraham did not say it was no use, he prayed to God because he felt that help would come.

Then we read of Joseph. He was in the pit, there was no water, and his brothers traded him off as a slave, they did not care. It would have been easy for Joseph not to care about them. He could have said, “They don’t care about me.” The opportunity came later when Joseph showed he had a golden target. He wanted the relationship to be made right. Wonderful if we can make this request to our Father in Heaven, when there is any kind of trouble, that it may be made right. This is a golden target.

Moses chose rather the affliction of the people of God. He had an important place in the royal family; he could have been content with that and said, “I’ve got it made, why should I make all this trouble trying to help these people?” He had eyes lifted to a golden target. We need to keep our eyes on target, otherwise we might miss it. We need to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. When we get our eyes off Jesus, and start thinking that we are better than a brother or sister, we get our eyes off the target and we might miss it. It’s possible to just want to be important in the eyes of people, and get lifted up, but this brings the wrong reward. In a meeting, we could give a testimony to impress our brothers and sisters, and we may impress them, but there is no reward from above, because we have already had our reward in the meeting, but if we keep our eyes on the target there will be a reward.

Joshua had a golden target when he was leading the people to the Promised Land. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” When Joshua was buried, he was buried in the border of his inheritance. It shows us that when he was buried he was just on the border of all that he had lived for. We can enjoy all things in this life in the way of God, and when we come to the end, we come to the border of what the Lord has prepared for His faithful ones.

We read of Ruth who had a golden target. Her sister-in-law lost the target, and went back to Moab, but Ruth kept on the target. She chose three things: God, God’s way, and God’s people. Some people like God but they do not like His people. Some people like God’s people, but not God, but we must have all three as our target.

We read of David, he had a golden target. He was persecuted by Saul, and when Saul died and he was now king, and in authority, he said, “ Are there any of the household of Saul?” Not to square the account, but to show the kindness of the Lord, even to one man. He did not have a target of revenge. He didn’t say, “Now, I’m king, and should have been king long ago,” but he now wanted to show the kindness of God, that had been shown to him.

Solomon also had a golden target. The Lord asked this man, “What do you want?” He did not want riches. He felt he was so weak, he wanted wisdom, and the Lord was pleased with his target, and said He would give him this, and also riches and gold. There came a time when he lost view of the target. Solomon became a victim of his own folly. We could get worked up in our own ideas, and although we see others who have made a mess of things, we think it won’t happen to us, but we have to face this, that none of us have the Wisdom of Solomon. Don’t let us ever get the feeling that we are on safe ground, because none can keep alive his own soul, we all need the help of all.

Daniel was a captive in Babylon, he and his companions were prisoners, they were at the mercy of their captors. During the war, a sister worker was in Norway, at the time when Germany over-ran Norway, and she was placed in a prison camp. When she came out, she told us that she realized she was helpless in that camp. There were guard dogs surrounding the camp, there was barbed wire, and there was no power in this world that could help them, no military power. The only thing that they could not take from her was the love of God. She did not fear or fret, because she was true to Jesus. She said that the only thing that could affect her life was this old self. No political power could separate her from the love of God. Daniel purposed in his heart, and he had the courage to stand true to that purpose and that conviction. He would not partake, not eat or drink of the kings meat. The prince, who was in charge of these men, came and said to them that he was in danger of losing his head, and this is an angle that weakens a lot of people. The enemy comes along and somehow wants to get you involved, and you say, “No, I don’t want to.” Then the enemy says, “I’ll get in to trouble if you don’t.” Then you yield a little and say, “Maybe,” and then they put pressure upon you and you give in. Daniel did not give in. This man said he would lose his head, but Daniel said that didn’t matter, he had a right target, a right purpose.

John 3:16, is the nicest target of all. God had every reason to feel hopeless with the world. Thousands of people had lived useless lives, but God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth should not perish but have everlasting life. While we were in India, we went to Mysore and saw the palace of the Maharajah. We saw pictures of him riding on a golden throne on an elephant, and we saw the splendor of that place. We’ll never know till later the contrast of Jesus leaving the glories of Heaven to come to this earth. The splendor of this Maharajah is nothing compared to the glory that God has prepared for His people. God sees you faithful, and if Christ is our life, when He appears, we will also appear with Him in glory. This is the key to the whole thing: If Christ is our life, then shall we appear. There is more glory to enjoy than any king in this world has.

Jesus, at the age of 30, went out to preach. Judah and Israel were under the Roman occupation, taxation was oppressive, life was joyless. Jesus went out to preach and say, “Come, and follow Me.” A few responded and the wonder of God’s great kingdom was unfolded to them. Then the world turned against them. Jesus said to them, “Go to all the world, preaching and teaching.” This is a beautiful target.

This light will not go out until Jesus comes again. “Tell people about the things that ye have seen and heard. You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” One time I wrote to a salt company and asked them the question, “How does salt lose its savour?” They replied that salt never loses its savour, but in the language that Jesus used, it was true of the language of that day. They took water from the Dead Sea, and the water evaporated then left a white substance which was not salt. It had a little salt in it, but it was mainly made up of two elements, Sodium Calcium Sulphate, and Sodium Calcium Carbonate. This was put on the fish and meat, and the salt would go into and leave the other substances behind, and people would scrape this off and it would then be good for nothing. If rain came upon this, the salt would be leached out and this remaining white powder would lose its savour. Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth,” showing the measure of the spirit of God in us is the value to God. This is the “salt” in the human body. If we remove the salt from our lives, remove the Spirit, we are good for nothing. The only thing of value to God in your life is the spirit of Christ – we are the light of the world, we are the hope of the world.

There have been some storms in our country where you could not see too far. One time in open country where there were no roads or fences, a father came to visit his daughter, and there was a snow storm. The daughter thought perhaps he had not started on the journey, because he didn’t arrive by evening, and she went to bed. When daylight came, she looked out in the field, and there was the shape of a horse and sleigh. She went out and found her father. He had died, looking for her home. He was so close to safety, but he could not find the place. She wished that she had put the light in the window all night long. People are depending on us all. There are eyes on every one of us, and people who are looking for hope can look on our lives and say there is hope for me. A hopeless world can begin to feel there is hope now. We could do something foolish and turn a soul away for all eternity.

One time I visited an iron foundry, where they were melting iron to make wheels for a railroad. They had big kettles and they would tip the molten metal into a mold. A little carelessness, a little splash of metal, could finish a person forever. Over the door of that foundry was this sign, large enough for all to read it, “Your first duty today is to be careful.” God looks down, and He cares. We may feel that there are many friends and workers who don’t care, but God does care. This is true of human love, between a husband and wife, and parents and children, there is care and concern for the future. Parents are not only concerned about today, but also the future. God loves us, and I hope we can appreciate this.

One time in a shipyard, there were men building a freighter, and it took a thousand man-hours to build this freighter. It was going out on its maiden voyage, and it had to go through a narrow gap. It was war time, and every ship that went through this gap had to give a signal. A fishing boat came through and gave no signal, so the soldiers fired a shot across the bow of the boat, and right behind this boat was the new freighter, coming out on its maiden voyage, it was hit and went down. We may do our best for our children, and our best for our neighbors, and our children may do their best at school, and we may put in many man-hours, but one careless shot can undo a lot of things that others have done.

A man who wrote some of our hymns, Jim Jardine, had a brother who had not composed any hymns. Once at convention he said, “I have composed a hymn. The first verse goes like this: ‘Go on, go on, go on.’ The next verse goes: ‘Go on, go on, go on.’” There is no way of going back There is no way to sit down, but to go on, go on, go on. This is our golden target. We must keep the light alive. We need to be careful, we need to promote unity, and we need to be looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; let this be our target. We will sing hymn 323, it’s a hymn that I like at the end of a meeting:

“Dear Saviour, leave me not alone,
Hold Thou my hand within Thine own;
The shadow of Thy wings sublime
Protects, assures me I am Thine,
That I am not my own.”

Nicodemus was a religious man who instructed others.  He came to Jesus by night, he was too proud to come during the day.  He asked Jesus about salvation, and Jesus told him that except he was born again, he would not see the kingdom of Heaven.  He asked Jesus how he could be born again.  He had been religious, but he realized that he had never begun. Sometimes people have a car that they are not very happy with, so they look for another car.  Then it begins:  how much am I going to get for the old car, they want the most trade-in value.  Some people want the most trade-in value for their old religion, but when they see that they have to start at the beginning, it is a shock to them.

Luke 17:10, tells us of ten men who were lepers whom Jesus met.  They had no future, they were outcasts, and they had no hope.  Jesus healed these ten, and one came back to give thanks, and Jesus said, “Where are the nine?”  Then He said to this man, “Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole.”  God has given us all good health, and no one thinks much about the one who has given good health.  This man had the spirit of appreciation, which opened the door for Jesus to give him a blessing, that made his life complete. God wants to add to our lives that which will make life complete.  In Canada there are squirrels, and in winter they have all their nuts in the tree, in the store-house, and they are very satisfied. This is the picture of a lot of people in this world.  They have a home, a family, a store-house of food, money in the bank, and this means they will not have to work later.  This is the expectation of most people, but unlike the squirrel, human beings have a soul.  God wants their fellowship throughout all eternity.  A man will spend thousands of dollars to build a house now and be comfortable, and will live until he has attained that.  But he will not spend one dollar for his eternal house, he will not spend one dollar to make a home in his heart for the spirit of God, where God can dwell.  God looks down and loves the world.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  This is the love of God.  The same heart that loves this world is hungry for love from this world.  There was a man who had a son, who lived away from home and had not seen his father for some time.  The father got sick, and was not expected to live very long.  He wrote to his son and asked him if he could come home. The son replied and said “Father, I am too busy to come, but here is a cheque for $1,000.” That was not what the father wanted.  Long years before that father had poured out his love for his son, and all the son wanted to do was to pay him out.  God has poured out His love on mankind, and all that people want to do is give Him money.  The religious world thinks this, that we need to do something for God, but God wants from people some of the divine love that He has showered upon them.  God has showered blessing upon blessing on us; on the judgment day, will He have to say, “You did not love Me?”

In November in Canada, it gets very cold, and the ice starts to form, but is still thin and is dangerous.  A mother we knew had three children, and she loved them. They were inside the house playing, but they wanted to play outside, and she said no.  They kept on and on until their mother gave in, and let them go out to play. She told them not to go anywhere near the pond, which had a thin covering of ice over it.  After a while she went to see where the children were, and there was a hole in the ice and the children were drowned.  At the funeral, we saw those three little caskets, they were nice little children but now they were separated from the one they loved and the one who loved them, because they failed to obey the voice of the one who loved them.  She gave the warning, what not to do, but they failed to obey, they were separated forever.  We are separated from God when we fail to obey the voice of the One who loves us, we need to respond to His touch.

In Amos, God was showing a plumb line.  He asked Amos what he saw.  He did not see the wall, but he saw the plumb line, and this plumb line represents Christ.  The plumb line is a simple tool that is used by a carpenter.  It is not used to measure, but is used to see that the building is upright.  God gave the invitation to the whole world that He was going to establish a plumb line that was upright. Amos did not see the wall, but he saw the plumb line.  People in the world see the wall, they see that the gospel is going to separate those whom they love in this world, those whom they are involved with, and they turn away.  A woman came to the meetings who had tried everything in this world, and said there is nothing in it.  The first revelation she got was, it is so right, she saw the plumb line, she did not bother about the wall but she could see that it is right.  The honest heart will see the beautiful way.  The wall only separates from association that would leave us outside forever.  In Noah’s day, God brought in a flood.  After the flood, God put a rainbow of hope in the sky.  This was His covenant that He would never do it again.  This rainbow has never been touched or changed by man, and no man has made five cents out of it.

In Hebrews 8, we read that Christ came, and He was a better covenant.  Moses and Abraham had the old covenant, but now there was the new covenant, the way of Jesus.  In spite of all the religions in this world, in spite of all the muddy footprints, in spite of all the buildup of financial systems, God’s true and beautiful way is still untouched by man.  Jesus never collected five cents from anyone.  “As My Father hath sent Me, so send I you. ” We can be glad today that in spite of all that is in the world, we still have God’s beautiful way.  The rainbow is still as beautiful today as it was in Noah’s day.  We have no confidence in human nature, or human ability, or having a big number of people, our hope is not in clever preaching, our only hope is having God’s favour upon us.

John 15 tells of a wonderful relationship between Jesus and His disciples.  He said, “Ye are My friends.  From henceforth I will not call you servants.”  It was a great honour for the disciples to be the servants of Jesus, but Jesus wanted them to have a greater relationship.  A servant does not know what his master is doing, the master does not tell all his business to his servant, he just tells the servant what to do.  A relationship between master and servant is easily established, and easily broken.  He called them, “My friends.”  This relationship was much closer than master and servant.  We who are not worthy to be a servant, He wants us to be His friends.  We need to act in keeping with a relationship like that.  There are to be no secrets, no closed subjects, nothing that God could not speak to us about.  A person will tell a friend things they will not tell others.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray to His Father, He said, “For the Father Himself loveth you.”  He gave them confidence in prayer, because God loved them.  He did not want them to pray to a God who was not concerned, but to a God whose delight it was to help them in their need.  In the Old Testament, the twelve spies went into the promised land, and they were all agreed on one point that it was a good land, but ten said that the enemy were too strong.  Two reasoned in a different way They saw the big walls, the saw the strong people, but one thing that mattered to those two men, was, “If the Lord delight in us, we are well able to go in.”  The only thing that mattered to them was having the favour of God, and God could do what they could not do.  Let us fear anything that would cause God to withdraw His favour from us.  We have a past full of mercies, a present full of privileges, and a future full of hope.  We do not all have the privilege of giving the strength of our youth, but we can all give the best that we have.

Proverbs 30:15; “The leech hath two daughters crying, ‘Give! Give!’” They cry.  Satan does not want us to have joy.  He is saying, “Give, Give.”  The cares of this life are crying, “Give, give us your time, your strength.”  The pleasures and achievements of this life say, “Give, give.”  They are sucking the blood, taking the very life out of us.  It will leave us with nothing at the end of life, no treasure in Heaven, no hope beyond.  Satan is cruel.  God has a heart full of love, and He encourages us to give, and make our life richer.

Ecclesiastes 11 is a chapter of giving.  “Cast thy bread upon the waters.”  When we give, we are always richer.  The little that we have, when we give it, we end up with more.  Jesus lived for others.  He had a right spirit, He kept giving, and it came back and was so worthwhile.  We read of lives like Joseph, like David, they cast the bread of mercy and kindness.  David cast the bread of kindness to Saul, and after many days it made him richer.  Paul and Silas were in prison, with their backs bleeding, had the bread of thankfulness, and cast it upon the waters.  They sang praises. Before the night finished, they saw a man receive salvation, and they were more thankful than ever.  Cast thy bread upon the waters.  It may take many days, but it will come back.  “Give a portion to seven, and also to eight.”  Giving to seven speaks of our duty, things in our service to God that are our privilege and duty, and we give that gladly.  But giving to eight is something beyond that, it is the little bit extra and this is where our joy is found, going a little bit further than we have to go, that’s what gives joy.  “For thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.”  Putting the extra in today, for we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.  The woman that brought the ointment did not realize that this was her last chance to do this for Jesus.  We need to press our best into today for we do not know what evil will come, when time and opportunities are finished. Everything we do is like a little seed, one day there will be a harvest.  God wants to teach us the joy of giving so that our joy might be full.  Many people may make fun of us, and laugh at us, but it is good for us to realize that they do not understand.  I was at a bazaar one day, and a man with a fruit cart had put the fruit out so nicely.  A man came along and bumped the cart, and upset the fruit. The owner was angry, he stepped out to speak to this man, when he saw that the man was blind.  He could not see, he did not understand.  People say and do things against us that hurt us, but they are blind. Let us take no notice, let us not get upset.

While David was in rejection, as the rejected king, Mephibosheth had the marks of one who was mourning.  He had not washed his clothes or dressed his feet all the time his king was away.  Our part is to remain faithful to our king until He returns, to show us the glory of the kingdom.  Ziba slandered Mephibosheth before the king, but this did not matter to him.  This man bore the marks of one who was mourning.  He bore in his body the marks of loyalty to the king.  The King said to him, “You and Ziba divide the land.”  Mephibosheth said, “Let him take it all,” he was not concerned about a natural inheritance, all he wanted was his king to return in peace, this meant everything to him.  Proverbs 14:35, “The King’s favour is toward a wise servant.”  Our wisdom is being loyal and true to the king. Those wise stewards received the talents according to their various capabilities, they used their wisdom in being profitable with what was entrusted to them.  We may not be as capable as many, but we can be as faithful as any.

One of the reasons we are gathered together is that there is something about us that can’t absorb all that we hear in meetings. I got to figuring one time to work out how much water it takes to grow wheat, and I calculated an average rainfall, an average yield, and I was surprised that it takes 13,000 gallons to produce one bushel of wheat. If you grew some wheat in a pot and just added water when necessary, it would not take very many gallons. That is because when wheat is grown in the field so much water runs through, so much runs off, and not very much is absorbed. That is so with the living water from above. If we could absorb, in the first few months all the truths of Jesus, and follow them, we would have enough to save us.

But then there is so much that runs right through, so much evaporates, we do not take it in, so we need this continual watering of the living water. We need to take more and more. We need to remember that this life that we live is not so important. Sometimes we think our lives are a big thing, but our lives are so small, and how small is our offering, at best. If we were able to add up all the ages of the people who are living now, and add it to the ages of all the people who have ever lived, it would be a tremendous number, and that would be just like one day of one eternal life. So this makes our life look so very small. It is so hard for us to grasp the length of eternity, it is so worthwhile to obtain what God holds out to us.

There are some words I never like to hear and they are the words, “I don’t care.” These are words that affect our work, whatever we do. Remember that God sees us as a people who do care. We are examples, we are serving God, and we are not to get the feeling that it doesn’t matter. These are terrible words to say. I think of one man who was doing some questionable work, and someone said “Why do you do that kind of work?” His answer was, “I’ve got to live,” but I say, “Must you live?” He said those words as if the world would stop if he did not live. We all can be useful, and it is an honourable thing in the eyes of the Lord for us to be so, but we do not have to live, none need to live, God can do without anyone of us. God gave Noah instructions how to build the ark, and this was for Noah’s future. God’s plan of salvation was not depending on Noah. God’s will and plan for this world will go on without us, it does not depend on any of us, but our future depends on God, and on us obeying Him.

Psalm 100, tells us of seven things that we need to do, and there are eight things mentioned that belong to God, that are His. This 100th Psalm can keep a person fully employed; if a person does those seven things they won’t have any spare time. If we do them, we will appreciate the things that are His, that belong to God. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him.”

The “will of God” is a common term but what is the will of God? In Thessalonians it says, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you.” A person could be confined to bed, could be old, and say, “I can’t do the will of God now,” but it tells us here about the beginning of a day, and if we are thankful, we have done the will of God. If we are handicapped we can rejoice, and go through the day being thankful, and we will have done the will of God.

When Jesus had the last meal with His disciples, He took the cup, the fruit of the vine and said, “This is My blood.” He broke the bread and said, “This is My body,” and He gave thanks. It was not human nature that made Him thankful. If a person was condemned to death and someone came to take his place so that he could go free, the man who took his place would not say, “Thanks very much, I’ll do that,” no, that would not happen. It took the divine love of God to give thanks for the privilege of dying on Calvary. We may not be thankful in the same manner as Jesus was in dying on the cross. In life, we like things to go smoothly, with no shadows, but the dark experiences will do more for us. When they gather roses for perfume, they gather them in the night, because they know that 50% or 60% of the fragrance is lost in the sunshine. Some people are afflicted with bad health, others are handicapped, but it has been the right thing in their lives, it has sweetened their lives. It is good for us to accept the dark experiences, not to shun those times but be glad for them.

Paul wrote of the need of dying daily. “For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.” He was not telling them that they had stopped breathing, but now they were dead. When you hide something, you do not see the thing that is hidden, but the thing that it is hiding in. These people’s lives were hid with Christ in God, and they were dead. In Manitoba, there is a friend with a lot of pigs on his farm, and one thing about a pig that is different to a cow and horse is that a cow is used for milk; a horse is useful while it is living, but a pig is no use until it dies. A pig is despised in many ways. The way we are most useful to God is when we are dead to all that there is in this world. We may see things that others are enjoying, we may wish we were part of it, but we should not live wishing to have what the world has, but we should be living so that the world wants what we have.

Psalm 107:4, “They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way, they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. He led them forth by the right way that they might go to a city of habitation.” There is a mystery in the human heart, and it is that no life is complete without God. I once read a letter from a man, who said that the time came when he owned all the land that he could use, and he did not owe any man any money; he had all the machinery he wanted, he had a good wife and children; he felt he had everything he needed but felt there was something missing, until the gospel came, now he feels his life is complete. There was a vacancy, a place that could never be filled except by God. We cannot bear the load of life alone, we need the one who will walk beside us, who will walk the same road, and help us bear our load, walking side by side.

Psalm 46:4, “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God.” There is a lot in the Bible about rivers. Some rivers start high in the mountains, in the melting snow, and it is a crystal clear stream, going ever downward and accumulating more and more filth as it goes down. This is a picture of children, born so innocent, and as they get older and live in a world that is so dark, stains come upon their lives as they are going ever downward. The stream becomes more polluted, and children at 13 are further from God than they were at ten. We read of Paul when the Lord appeared to him, he was going downward, there was murder in his heart and the Lord stopped him. Acts 26:17, “Delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.” God appeared to Paul for this purpose, to deliver him from the Gentiles and from the people, and then to prepare him and send him back to them.

In California, there are millions of acres of ground, dry, barren country, and around it is billions of tons of water, but this water does not bless the land. There are the lakes of water, the swamps, and they do not bless the land around, but the Lord draws the water from the sea, and leaves the salt. The Lord draws the water from the lakes and leaves the mud; and draws the water from the swamps, and leaves the slime. It is this water, the rain that blesses the land. God sent His Son into the world to gather out a few people, just a part of this world that was innocent and pure, and sent them to the same people, the same men, water that had been raised up from a dirty swamp. This is God’s story. We may be this water that is pure and innocent, and by this love and by this spirit we can help other men. Jesus’ last words when He was dying on the cross, when men did not deserve one kind word, He said, “Father, forgive them.” They had a need for forgiveness. At the end of life, it will not matter how much land we have, how much money we have, how much we have traveled, or how famous we have become, but the one thing we will need more than anything else is forgiveness.

In the world, there are some very famous rivers: the Ganges, the Nile, the Amazon. But there is a stream that is different to any other stream, it is called the Gulf Stream. It carries a thousand times more water than any other river. It does not have banks of clay, it is a warm stream that begins near the Gulf of Mexico, and it is a warm current running through a cold ocean. It is like the stream of God’s love in this world, that no one can explain; it is a picture of God’s love and care. Scientists do not know where the Gulf Stream begins or where it ends, but they cannot deny its presence. The same as scientists do not accept there is a God, but they cannot deny the effect of the love of God. God’s way works mysteriously, it changes lives. We might think that the Lord cannot do very much with us, but if you go to the beach and find a piece of driftwood, it may be scarred, weather-beaten bounced around with the waves , a carpenter would not look at a piece of wood like that, he would throw it in the fire. When he needs timber, he goes to the yard and gets a straight piece of timber. I have seen driftwood made into a thing of beauty. When Jesus looked out on this world, He did not look for the most dignified people, but He saw lives that were scarred, twisted. Jesus saw possibilities when He hung on the cross.

There was one thief beside Him, and all he wanted to do was get down from the cross, but Jesus could see that the other thief had a different attitude; He saw that he was twisted and scarred, but He saw the possibilities in his life. When God looked upon us, He saw possibilities. Sometimes we give the wrong opinion to others and we say that we are this and we are that, and every one of us is like that, we are good for nothing, but the Lord has taken us in His hand, and God can beautify us. Before, we were living wasted, Godless, selfish lives, hopeless lives, and God touches us and He changes the picture, and we are thankful for life. Sometimes we may not be satisfied with the job we have, the health we have; we may have the job someone else has, we may want to live in a different place, and we may wish a lot of things but one thing we should be thankful for, and that is that we have got life. We are still living. Some kings, some world leaders, who have passed on, would give anything to have life.

We see the picture of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man neglected the opportunities in life time, but Lazarus had the best pall-bearers a man could have, the angels carried him. The rich man now wished that he had more time, yes; it was now a different picture. Millions pass from this life wishing they had what we had, as they look back they are wishing for a few months only so they could live different to how they have lived on the earth, but they never have the chance. We should be thankful for the life that we have: we have opportunity. I remember a man who was away all summer, and had some very exciting experiences, a man who did not think seriously about life, but now he was dying, and things were different now. He wasn’t thinking now how grand to be doing the things he had been doing. Those who have tried the world and come out of it, they appreciate life. The road of life is long, but it perfectly possible to arrive safely, but we need to remember this, that we are never very far from ditch. Even though we may be traveling on the centre of the highway, we are never far from the ditch.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” There are by-ways which are off the highway. We need to remember that we are never very far from the ditch. There was a little boy, three years of age, and his mother had a harness around him which she would tie to a tree or a post, but Jimmy resented this harness. He promised his mother that he did not need it, that he would be a good boy and would not go away, so after a long time his mother took the harness off. Sometime later she heard a noise, and went to look for Jimmy and there he was in the mud. Here was Jimmy before, promising that he would stay there and not go away, but he did not understand that inside Jimmy was a desire to do wrong. We need to remember that we have a human nature. We read of the colt whereon never man sat, and we know that horses – that have not seen a man – will kick and fight when they are being broken-in. The horse does not understand that the man wants to be his best friend. The man could shoot the horse, and there would be no more kicking, no fighting. God does not remove human nature, He wants a people who will be broken and submissive to Him.

We have heard in this convention something about God trusting us and us trusting God. One time after a convention we were cleaning up in the tent where the meetings were, a little girl had left some notes she had made. This is what she said, “I don’t know many people here but those that I do know are the best people in the whole world,” and I just thought, when I read that, “God’s people are trusted by the God of Heaven and trusted by little children and that is a great responsibility, to be trusted in that respect.”

There is an old couple in Canada, very faithful souls, a couple of grandchildren come to school nearby in that city near where they live. They always go to grandfather’s and grandmother’s for lunch at noon. Those little children, their own parents didn’t go to meetings that the grandparents did but they had a very great respect for those grandparents. The little boy came back to school and heard a little discussion. Perhaps you have heard it, a few years ago, there was a subject came up. I don’t know who started it, but they talked about God is dead. A couple of teachers were discussing this when the boy came along and said, “God is not dead. Granddad was talking to Him today at noon.” That little boy had complete confidence in his grandfather; that grandfather bowed his head at the noon meal and prayed to God. That little boy had complete confidence that his grandfather was talking to God and that kind of trust is something that is a great trust.

A little girl in Canada, too, she was a little slow getting her work done. One day, the teacher made her stay in after the others had gone to do some work. The little girl did not seem to be in too big of a hurry even then. Everybody had gone, the teacher, too, could have gone if it wasn’t for this little girl. She came along and said, “Hurry, Cindy, time is fleeting.” She said, “You know, we have a hymn with those words. I will sing it to you.” The teacher said, “Go ahead and sing it.” She sang the hymn; so, this little girl got courage the next day and took an invitation to the gospel meetings. Then, at supper time, when they had finished, the teacher phoned the little girl’s mother and asked, “Where are these meetings? I think it would do Cindy a little good if my husband and I go to the meeting.” Her husband and herself were at the gospel meeting, all because a little girl had a little confidence and courage to speak about the things that meant a lot to her. “You know,” someone said, “Perhaps for some, their only view of Christ is what they see in you.” You may be at school or work, at some office or shop or whatever, living in a community. The neighbours see you and perhaps for some their only view of Christ is what they see in you. That is a great responsibility.

It is a privilege to be those that would realise that, even as Jesus said to His disciples. He said, “Ye are the light of the world.” He considered those disciples that began to follow Him were the one hope of the world and two or three men talking on one day. They said, “Do you know many of those translations, versions of the Bible translated from the original?” So, those men were talking as to which they thought was best. One man had one view and another had another. This one man said, “I like my mother’s translation the best.” They said, “What translation is that?” “She translates the Bible into everyday living.” That is true. When it is all finished, there is a lot of people round us don’t read the Bible but perhaps see you and me and it is how we translate God’s Word in everyday life that will be something perhaps that they will really be acquainted with more than actually looking at the printed word. Good for us to just remember some of these little things. Sometimes any of us get the feeling, “Well, my little part in this Kingdom is not much,” but you know, it is amazing how much you can be a help in the Kingdom. You know, sometimes that some people are added to the Kingdom; in gospel meetings, some people, complete strangers, begin to come and get interested and kind of get helped. Well, sometimes people kind of feel, “Well, it was in so and so’s meeting;” it even happens sometimes preachers get the feeling it was in our meeting. That is very foolish thinking, it is amazing how many people have a little part in someone getting helped.

You know, a man from New Zealand, you know about him, he was the first man to get to the top of Mount Everest. Of course, his name went round the world in the newspapers, through radio broadcasts announcing the news. He said, “I would never have got to the top but for 300 porters that was part of the support party that made it possible for me to reach the top.” You know, when we get to the end of life, when it is all finished, we will be just like we were speaking the other day about the right kind of people. The Lord was telling them what they had done. They said, “When, Lord?” Even when we go to gospel meetings being part of the people makes it possible for the meeting to be held. Two or three people come for the first meeting, or a few times, if they were the only people there it would be difficult, perhaps, to preach easily to them but the fact that there are others there. They all have a part in the fact that the gospel is preached, somebody gets helped; like they say, it takes every blade of grass to make a meadow green. This is true we all can have a little part in this.

You know when Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world,” to those disciples of His, He was calling them just exactly that and in the verse right near there, it speaks about a candle. A candle isn’t a very powerful light. I was amazed to find long ago there was a large lighthouse and when black-outs were necessary, the power of the lighthouse was in candle power. You know, when Jesus lived in the world He was the light of the world. He didn’t leave the world in darkness; the light of the world today is still measured in candle power, individuals, God’s people scattered over this world in which the light of Christ shines forth. The power from the lighthouse is measured in candle power. One thing about a lighthouse, the man that looks after that lighthouse, at the end of the year his whole satisfaction is in the fact he was able to keep the light burning all night long, for 24 hours even. You know, he doesn’t keep track of how many people are guided by that light, he wouldn’t know. His satisfaction is that he is able to keep the light burning.

We were on the north shore, Lake Superior, a man made a living fishing. He came back with whatever he caught out from the shore line, on the rock islands. I asked somebody, “Was that lighthouse on an area more dangerous than others?” No, actually people that frequent the waters were people that lived in those waters all their lives they were acquainted with the places that were safe. This man said, “That lighthouse is when perhaps it is dark or stormy or a fog comes in sometimes and to those that are out there, the lighthouse is a guide to help them find the way back to safety.” It was actually providing light to those that already knew the way but because of rough weather that might come sometimes, they might lose direction, this was a little guide. You know, friends, we might finish life and think we have never been a help to anyone to be brought into God’s Kingdom. You know, friends, we might be surprised, like we were talking about the other day, you did this and this and this and they said, “When?” You might be surprised, like the man who ran the lighthouse. He was not acquainted with how many people he helped with the light, the fact is someone experienced a little rough weather, got a little discouraged and wondered which direction to go. If you keep your light burning, perhaps they would get a little courage from you, you may not be aware of it. Sometime later on, they might even be able to tell you, “You know, it was you one time when it looked black for me I felt like giving up, you encouraged me, you weren’t aware of it, perhaps.” Good to remember the precious privilege we have of being those that would be even like those porters that helped that man to reach the top. He would never have done it on his own, so it is friends, we all can contribute one to another. Good for us just to remember that.

You know that man Peter, when Jesus talked to him when He was about to leave the world. He didn’t ask Peter how much did he know about the Old Testament, He didn’t ask Peter if he understood every miracle that had been performed, what lesson could be learned from that miracle. Did he catch the reason why He told certain parables and all those kind of things; do you know what He asked him? He asked him if he loved Him and you know friends, you go to a little meeting, you might feel you can’t contribute a new interpretation or unravel the mystery in the Bible, let me tell you this, when you go to a meeting and realise those that you meet with they love the Lord, that feeds your heart. Jesus, when He saw Peter loved Him, He said, “Feed my lambs;” that was the one thing Jesus asked. It wasn’t what Peter knew of the law or what he could quote of the Scripture, nothing of that kind, but, “Do you love Me?” Friends, when we gather together, if others can recognise we love the Lord, it is going to feed the hearts of others so it is good to remember that little thought.

Another little thought about this matter of our responsibility toward one another. There is a little poem I enjoy sometimes which tells us this:

Why for the sheep should we earnestly long
And as earnestly, hope and pray?

Because there is danger if they go wrong,
They will lead the lambs astray.

For the lambs will follow the sheep, you know
Wherever the sheep may stray

When the sheep go wrong, it will not be long
Till the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep, we earnestly plead
For the sake of the lambs today

If the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost
Some sheep will have to pay.

Sometimes, as we have heard already in the meetings, people feel, “Well, what I do with my life? What interests I take up? What activities I become involved in? Well, it is more or less just up to me, if the Lord is not pleased with it, I am willing to take the consequences.” But remember, like the poem says, there are others depending upon your life and mine, whether we know it or not. The things we could do can affect other people and cause them to do the same just as the lamb will follow the sheep, it will soon be as wrong as those that lead them astray. Good for us to remember some of these little things.

We were hearing already about salt. Jesus tells His disciples they were the salt of the earth but if the salt has lost his savour, to be trodden under foot of men. I wondered a long time ago just in what condition salt lost its savour. I wrote to a salt company and got a very interesting letter. He said, “I enjoyed the little thought passed on in your enquiry about salt. I want to tell you that salt never loses its savour.” He said, “I would not want to change one word as it is written in the Scripture, in the gospel, because at the time it was written when Jesus spoke to those disciples, those people had no way of having pure salt. Well now, to be able to get the residue from the water evaporated from the Dead Sea, there was other minerals there beside salt because they knew nothing else they called it salt. They took that salt and put it on meat and fish and the real salt went into the meat but always left a little white powder; they had no other name, so it was salt that lost its savour. It was calcium sulphate and calcium carbonate mainly what it is. You put some salt out in the sea, the real salt is leached away, you have a white tasteless powder.” They call it again salt that lost its savour; pumps weren’t invented yet anyway all they were doing, this salt went into a tank, to another and again, pumped until finally you get pure salt but the little thought came to me.

When Jesus looked on those disciples, He was thinking in the language of the day. You know what, the disciples, they were not pure salt, neither we are that are gathered today pure salt. As long as there was a measure of the Spirit of Christ in those disciples they had value to God, what was left had no value. That is true of us too, if there is a measure of the Spirit of Christ, it makes us valuable to God; if that goes out, what is life? Life is worthless and it is good for us to remember this. We can look on people and feel sometimes that perhaps at a time in their lives they were willing for the control of God in their lives and had a measure of the Spirit of Christ. But if it has gone out, you begin to deal with the same person, you find they are not truthful, they are not honest, that is why God’s Spirit goes. Did it change? No, no, it is that it is not there because the Spirit of Christ doesn’t change. As that man said, so it is good to remember some of these little things, good for us to understand God’s lovely way as it is explained to us in the gospel, in the Bible.

One other little thought mentioned that is over in John. Jesus said in chapter 12, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.” Over in Haggai, it says, “There is seed yet in the barn.” You know, when a farmer comes to time for planting, he could have seed ready. But back in Canada, there are different conditions here than there. I remember going to one particular farm one day and enquired how the seeding was going. He said, “We haven’t started yet; the seed was ready, it was in the barn.” A little later, I enquired, “I am not doing anything yet, the conditions are not favourable.” Here, apparently, you wait for rain. There could be too much rain; unless conditions are favourable the seed stays in the barn. Jesus spoke about His Spirit, His Word like seed. Again it has to have a favourable seed bed, even a hungry seeking heart or else it stays in the barn. God looks down on millions of lives, the seed is still in the barn. God longs to set His seed in the heart. Jesus explained that people’s hearts were like a little bit of soil; sometimes people get big ideas of themselves.

It tells us in the Scriptures not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. Somebody said, “A good cure for conceit is to think of all the things you don’t know and can’t do it might help steady him and bring him back down to the level again.” Anyway, it says in the Scriptures, “We are just dust.” You know, dust isn’t a very glamorous commodity, whether the housewife finds it in the home or on the farm. In its most glamorous state, it is mud. The difference is, something has come down from above and made it possible to be a seed bed, that is all the difference between mud and dust. One thing is useful – the farmer can’t take a lot of satisfaction of a thousand acres of dust. God looks down on the world, what He is looking at is nothing but dust, for all have human nature. The Lord wants to get that thing that is best into us.

So then, that is the story of the seed – it has to have a favourable seed bed. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” People could read that verse kind of quickly, I used never to give it much more thought. You know friends, supposing a farmer said, “I want to start you off in farming. I am going to give you one kernel of wheat.” That is not much of a start. You take one kernel of wheat, in four years you will get a bushel, even using an increase of 30 fold on one seed. Do you know, friends, if you keep planting the product of that one grain, the next year you will have 30 grains, you plant the 30 grains and the next year, you will have 900 grains. You plant the 900 grains and the next year, you will have 27000 grains of wheat and so on. In 12 years, if you can find land to sow this wheat, you will have more wheat than you can find land in this world. You know, we met a man here recently, within the last year, he used to go to meetings. He doesn’t now, but his wife does, he is trying to look for ways of trying to excuse himself. He came up with the idea, “It is time we people proved what we are teaching people is the continuation of what Jesus gave to the world.” He wanted to have somebody to be able to show to him every generation in the Bible, to give names and so on.

I told him I would be glad to have a visit. Finally, they arranged a day. I told him, “You take a look at a handful of wheat, it tells its own story. You don’t think to ask somebody, ‘I want to know what it was 15 years ago, 50 years ago.’ I don’t believe it is wheat; you don’t have to ask whether it is grown in Australia or Canada or USA, you look at it, it is wheat. The Lord of the harvest told us in Genesis, it would produce after its own kind.” You know friends, truth is truth, it is the same thing. We were shown a verse already in the meeting. Deuteronomy, God is truth, it was before the world began. I talked to this man. “Well,” I said, “Before there was the written word, even Enoch and Abraham and Jacob different people, they walked God’s way. They had an understanding of His way, they had the seed of the right thing in their lives. I say, you know, between Joseph and the parents of Moses, for 400 years or more there is no mention of any names. It doesn’t say who gave seed to the next person but Moses’ parents had the right seed; through it, we see they put something into Moses, the Lord was able to put His hand on him and use him in a mighty way. We read over and over again about the remnant; finally we get to the place in Malachi. Even the historians tell us those are the silent years we don’t know what happened in that time. Mary and Zacharias, the remnant in that day, the right thing was preserved.”

There was the birth, then Jesus preached, people responded, some didn’t. In the book of Acts, we read about a greater response; before the finish of the book of Acts, there was persecution and a scattering around, the Corinthians and Thessalonians moved away. Then came what we read in history books, dark days when the power of Rome began to control the governments of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, England, and countries of Europe. It was as much as life was worth to speak anything different to what that church upheld. But, you know, one of the friends up in Canada going for a Doctor’s degree in history did a thesis. They have to choose a subject nobody else has written about, how that same church affected governments of England and Canada in the 17th and 18th century. When delving into it, they saw what they thought was so called Christianity for the first time in what is now Germany, they found people already worshiping Christ in their homes. There was the big remnant seed. Then, you know, friends as I said already, there has to be favourable conditions in the seed bed before seed is produced. You could have a tree in the back yard with 10,000 seeds, it is wonderful how many seeds grow; perhaps one or two because they didn’t find it favourable in which to grow, they wouldn’t grow. Under the American and British flag, you find more favourable conditions and as a result the seed grew. If you find you are down to one seed, didn’t Jesus say if one kernel was put in the ground you could end up with more wheat than there is land in this world?

There is the story of the gospel it takes favourable conditions for the truth to flourish. Some people disregard the fact that He sent two disciples together, if He had sent one at a time, that is no problem; the problem is the hardness of people’s hearts. Jesus went into a place one time, He wasn’t able to do anything because of the hardness of people’s hearts. There is nothing wrong with God’s way; if you take it one person is able to interest two people in one year. If those two people each interest two other people, they haven’t got very far. Well, two people interested two other people, it is not very fast; you figure it out; you find in 31 years that you have two billion people each looking for two more people. There is nothing wrong in God’s way in the world but the hardness of people’s hearts make it difficult; when you find a favourable seed bed. God’s was progresses. It is not too hard to find people who talk about the Bible but you know what we like to find are people who really want to be right with God. When you find people who really want to be right with God, you find a favourable seed bed making it possible for God to do something for that life. Good to remember that little thing, God is anxious to help us, so this is how it is. You know, just like there are enemies of the truth, there are enemies of wheat; different kind of blights.

In West Canada, the whole future of the country depends on wheat. In 1915, there was a bumper crop. In 1916, a good crop coming along. Do you know what happened? Rust, if there is a beautiful crop but there is rust, it is like a curse on the land. The next year it was dry, again there was rust; dry again and it is the same, rust. Some years ago a little girl, she is now a lady, 11 years old took lunch out to her father to help him harvest a crop that was badly rusted. While eating lunch, he happened to see one good head of wheat; he put it in the lunch box and said, “Take it home, I will look at it later.” He planted it the next year, it came out, there was no rust; he planted them again; finally he had a good field of wheat, no rust. The government became interested and from that wheat developed other varieties. Now you go through and see thousands of acres of golden grain. When Jesus came to this world, He came to a conquered country, like Czechoslovakia; the Lord sees life was a burden to them, a joyless existence, they didn’t see any future there. They were taxed and oppressed but Jesus came and brought hope to the world, like the two heads brought hope to the farmers. So it is, friends, we are glad today for that which Jesus brought to the world is still in the world.

Some people, they think of all the religion in the world, the different ideas, that is fine; you know, a long time ago, God brought a flood of waters on all living and destroyed all except that which was in the ark. Noah got instructions, he did everything God commanded him; when it was all over, you can picture the scene of desolation when the water receded, mud and death. You know what happened. God put His rainbow in the sky, a token that He would never again flood the earth. Now, right down to this day, the rainbow is a beautiful thing. That rainbow never brought material benefits man has never been able to make five cents out of it. It is still the same wonderful, beautiful thing as when Noah looked upon it the first time.

You read in Hebrews 8, “That is the covenant between me and succeeding generations;” other covenants He gave to Abraham and Moses and others. A better covenant came to the world through God’s own Son, that was a beautiful thing. Those people that responded to them, it was like a rainbow at a time when everything looked hopeless and desolate. Here is Jesus come to bring hope to the world, like the two heads of wheat, Jesus came, it was a marvelous thing. Man has never been able to make anything out of the rainbow and the beautiful way of Jesus, man has never been able to make five cents out of it. They make money out of religion, the empires of the world are founded on religion. This is unmarked by selfishness, lives going out to proclaim the message, “As the Father sent Me, as freely as you have received, give to others.” You know, it is the same thing as it isn’t good taste to leave the price tag on a gift, so it is when lives go out to preach the gospel, it is not a matter of continually telling people what they could be, the prospects they might have had, that is just leaving the price tag on the gift. You know, the greatest price tag of all is the price tag Jesus paid when He left Heaven’s glory to come to this world. You can go through the most glorious backgrounds, it will never be as grand as when Jesus left Heaven’s best to come to this world and give His life in order that we might be those that can have a part in God’s Eternal Kingdom.

You know, someone put these words in a poem –

A bell is not a bell until you ring it
A song is not song until you sing it
Love wasn’t put in a heart to stay
Love is not love till it is given away.

A bell is a piece of metal, until you ring it. A song is just a piece of paper, it doesn’t come to life until you sing it. So it is, God in Heaven set the example. He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. God gave His Son, the same Son gave His life, love in action. This same Jesus, the things He preached about in Matthew 5 – 7, He practiced on Calvary. He was the One that gave His all and that became something alive, this wasn’t something talked about. He never asked anybody to do anything He wasn’t willing for Himself; this has appealed to me. He never asked anybody to do anything He wasn’t willing for Himself. Love is something that has to be in action in order for it to amount to anything. The world talks about the love of God and bask in the fact that He is full of mercy, kind of feel that they can take advantage of it. You know, we talk about the love of God, we sometimes forget the same heart that loves them is hungry for love in return.

I sometimes tell about a man who had quite a large family and those children had scattered far and wide, especially one son he hadn’t seen for many years, he became successful in business. The father found he only had a little time to live and sent to his son and asked would he not plan a little visit with him. Do you know what happened? He said, “Business is very busy,” there are great demands for his time, he couldn’t come, he sent him a cheque for $1,000. Poor old Dad, tears ran down his cheek, it didn’t amount to anything. The father was wanting a little of the same love that he had bestowed on that son early in life when the little boy couldn’t care for himself. The father, nearing the end of life would have liked a little love in return. God has poured out His best on every person, no one will be able to say on the judgement day, “You never loved me,” but the Lord longs to see some return, some indication that we appreciate His love.

We were hearing about those verses in Malachi about the time God said of some people they hadn’t accomplished great things those people. It says of them, “They that feared the Lord, spoke often one to another.” There was a bond there, the first thing in their hearts and minds. It tells us in one place in Isaiah about I will make mention of His loving kindness. You know, sometimes it is easy to make mention of a lot of other things you find people, the first thing they want to mention is the loving kindness of God. They spoke often one to another, those that feared the Lord, the Lord took and wrote a book so their name would be remembered forever. Sometimes, when people die, in this day and age at the funeral, they talk about the person’s actions that have been appreciated very much. They say the best inscription is not written on a tombstone, the best epitaph, or inscription is on the hearts of those that knew the person. So it is fine, people, they die, those that knew them remember them for a long time and think much of them. But you know, 200 years go by, who is living to remember them anymore? No one, finally those that are living when a person dies is gone and their remembrance is gone from the earth but when the name is written there it is to be remembered forever by God. It tells of those people there, “They shall be Mine in that day when I make up My jewels.”

You know, in Canada in the 30s, there were hard times; a certain company of West Canada grew wheat; it was dry for 4, 5, 6 years, they did not have very good crops, some hardly any, people were very poor. One man, he had eleven children and just had a little bit of land; he was having a struggle to provide food for the little family. A man down the road had a lot of land, he was better off, he came to him one day. There was a child, she was two years old, I can just picture she would have been a lovely little girl, he had taken a fancy to this little girl. He said “You have eleven children. I would like to adopt that little girl I will give you as much land as you have.” It was something the man needed, a little more land to provide food for the family. You know what the father said, “No, she is mine.” The little girl at two years old didn’t understand the love of the father that kept her in the family but some years later, she was able to understand and appreciate the love of her father that made it possible for her to remain part of that family. Today, friends, we could have a little understanding of the love of God; we know only in a measure; we see through a glass, darkly; it takes the other side to know, to begin to appreciate more the love of God that made it possible to be in His family if we are faithful to Him.

It speaks about jewels. The amazing thing to me was this: Do you know what most jewels are made from? Most people know diamonds are made from coal. There are millions of tons of coal but there are only a few diamonds. I was surprised to find opals, found in Australia more than in any part of the world, are made from sand. Sapphires and rubies, they are the same material as a grinding wheel you see in a carpenters shop. Carborundum; it is not hard to find, it is not very expensive but it is the same material as sapphires are made of. Somewhere in the creation of this world, somewhere, somehow, sometime, something happened and you have diamonds. Somewhere, somehow, sometime, something happened and you have opals. Somewhere, somehow, sometime, something happened and you a ruby or a sapphire, you know, it is just out of common material. There is lots of sand, carborundum, coal in this world, we are all made of the same material but somewhere, somehow, sometime, the gospel message got through to people, they were willing for God’s leading. Those people that kept true to Him, they are those God looks down upon, “These are My jewels.”

There is no more wonderful thought at the end of life to find we are going to be accepted in His realm. It is good to remember these thoughts, the possibilities, indeed the very great possibilities when we preach the gospel. You know friends, from one kernel of wheat the results are almost unbelievable. Sometimes we look down the years and ask, “How did it happen?” Someone listened to the gospel and responded, later possibly the children and their children and the story is endless. To think of God’s lovely, beautiful way still in the world, clean, undisturbed by the hand of man, undamaged even as the rainbow, the way Jesus gave to His disciples is not muddied by the grimy grasping hand of people, not a religion. No, no, oh! Friends, count it a beautiful thing we are part of it.

A little thought I will just mention – I met a lady one time, her husband, he had been in the Army at that time and wore a uniform. On his shoulder, it told exactly what regiment he belonged to, the rank he held; after the war was over, he doffed his uniform to enter the Secret Service. He was a little bit embarrassed, because it was secret, people wondered how he was spending his time. They wondered if he were doing anything. He was actually more valuable to the country in the Secret Service than when wearing a uniform displaying his rank. A little thought came to me, “Sometimes we think we haven’t very much we can do, even if we were bedridden and couldn’t do the things we would like to do and used to do. We can still have a part in the Secret Service praying for those even scattered far across the world; in doing so we might be performing more service in God’s Kingdom than when we were active.” Good for us to realise this, there are possibilities within our own grasp, like the man on Mount Everest couldn’t have got there without the porters, many a soul will realise they got to God’s realms because of many that had a little part in it. Remember, it is a wonderful privilege, may it help us to appreciate it and value it and realise that the love of God that has come down upon us, the same God loves us and is hungry for love from us day by day.

This is the first day of the week, the day of the week that we remember perhaps more vividly than any time the sacrifice of Jesus and we would be those that remember it wasn’t just His death that meant everything. Religious systems tell us He did it all, He died for sinners to save us from our sins, that is true. There is no people in the world believe more in the blood of Jesus than God’s people but we need to remember it was what happened before He came. Up in Heaven when He made and planned that this world is as it is and put people on it and the hope for the world was in God’s Son and then it was His coming and then it was His life while He was here.

Then His death, then His resurrection that makes the whole story complete and we find in Colossians, it tells us, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” It tells also in Colossians when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Our life, it is one thing to remember that through His death that there is redemption and cleansing and forgiveness because God has planned it so that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins and when Jesus’ blood was shed. No other blood was ever shed like His blood; the blood of lambs and bullocks slain in the earlier years of the Bible, they were just a type of that which was to come and no human being ever bled and died the same. God’s ones, like the martyrs even in Bible times, but the blood that flowed through Jesus life flowed from a perfect life. There was purity in that different than any other blood that ever flowed.

Remember that, it was the life before His death that made it possible for there to be benefits in that death. You find things in His life, He was so great yet so humble. You find He was wise yet so simple; He was mighty yet so gentle. You find He was firm yet so warm; no one was ever more misunderstood yet no one was more understanding than Jesus. That is a part of His life, that is the kind of life He lived that in spite of the fact that He was God’s own Son, greater than any other person that walked this earth. In spite of the fact no other experienced what He faced, though so great He was so humble; though so wise He was simple; even though He was so mighty He was so gentle. He was firm, He didn’t give in at any point, yet so warm; even though He was misunderstood, He was understanding of others, so we can be glad for this.

In Luke 22, it speaks there about when He had His last meal with His disciples, He took the bread and cup. He told them, “This bread represents My body, soon to be broken. This cup represents My blood, soon to be shed.” It said, “He gave thanks.” You know it had to be the divine person that He was in order to give thanks for what was ahead of Him. He did all for us. You find if someone came to your door and told you, “There is someone condemned to death down at the court house. It is possible for you to go down and take their place, you could taste death for them and they would go free.” Would you be likely to say, “Thanks for telling me, I will be right down?” Would you? That is not human. Here is Jesus, He was the one who didn’t deserve death, He was free of all guilt. Even Pilate said, “I find no fault in Him,” yet here He was looking out on a sinful world, He was going to die for the world and He gave thanks. That was the divine Spirit in Him, it wasn’t the human that caused Him to do that.

So you find, it goes on in Luke 23 how when that violent crowd that was part of high priests and religious leaders and allied Him to Pilate and began to accuse and make false accusations. They were more fierce saying He stirred up the people, then they began to tell Pilate if he was to release Him, he would be no friend of Caesar’s. You know, Pilate finally gave in and let the crowd do what they wanted to do. If you read that chapter in Luke 23, in its completeness, you find here those boisterous and arrogant at the beginning of the chapter, felt they had things in their hands, they arranged this death of this one, of this life that was showing them up. The light of the world showing up the darkness in their own hearts and lives, you find that is how the chapter began. You read further, you read some of the things that happened, you know, this is what happens right now in this world. You find God is trying to get through. He starts with young lives, as early as ever possible, He tries to get through later on, perhaps as they resist, He tries to get through. Later on, if they still resist, He tries to get through and very often He does it.

You find in this story, it tells about how there were women following Him to the cross, they were weeping, they realised the kind of torture ahead of Him. He said, “Don’t weep for Me.” He realised those people hadn’t begun to follow Jesus, their future was black unless they did. “Don’t weep for Me,” finally they nailed Him to the cross, two thieves, one each side of Him. One man, you know what he wanted, more of the same kind of life he had always lived, “If thou be the Christ, imagine doubting it. Remove yourself and us from this cross.” He wanted to go on as always. One man was different. His heart was softened. He just asked a simple thing, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” You know, the Lord was getting through to that other thief. You know the man in charge of that occasion was a centurion, a Roman officer with at least 100 men under his control. He had seen wars and battles and bloodshed, lives taken, it was nothing new to him. He would have seen lots of crucifixions; it was the common form of taking care of criminals in their day. As far as he was concerned, three people were crucified, he was in charge.

That man began that day as an ordinary day. Do you know when the darkness came over the earth for three hours in the middle of the day, the whole world was made to realise this was a different One hanging on the cross than had hung there before? The Lord got through to the centurion, even the centurion, in another chapter said, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” You know, that man, the Lord got through to him that day; the Lord got through to the thief on the cross and others in Luke 23:48. A great multitude, some so arrogant at the beginning of the chapter, when they beheld the Sight, smote on their breasts; it is now the Lord got through to them.

You read in the first part of Acts and you find that some of the same crowd Peter preached to and said, “You who crucified the Lord, the same multitude,” he said, “This is the story of God’s plan from the beginning.” Finally, some of those same people asked, “What shall we do?” The Lord got through. So it is, friends, God longs to even get through to us today, help us to realise what has been done for us to make it all possible that we would be able to find something, put into our lives, something we didn’t want at all. You find, in the world, people do lots of things that are artificial, a lot of people bulk big in this world; it all finishes differently.

We read in Matthew 6, it tells about some people Jesus talked about, “They have their reward.” For a lot of people you know, it will be a dreadful thing. Many of God’s people are brought in the same classification, those people you read about in Matthew 6, seeking to do things to be seen of others, for recognition, with the wrong motive and so on. As a result, they have their reward.

You read about Belshazzar, that man, didn’t he bulk big in the eyes of the world: he was a king; the last night of his life, he had a feast for a thousand of his lords. He was the most important one among them; you know what Daniel had to tell him, “Thou art weighed in the balances and are found wanting.” He didn’t weigh anything. He bulked big in this world; when it came down to being weighed on the kind of scales God used, he weighed nothing. You know, here we are, God’s people; we are to examine ourselves, ask ourselves the motives behind the things that we do. It might seem to be right, it might appear right, in order that we can be those at the end of life wouldn’t find we do not weigh anything. Good for us to remember some of these little things.

We read in Luke 23 about the Lord and His time, then it goes down and tells about the hours of darkness and Christ calling out, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” You know, in ordinary life, if you had parents, you would be expecting them to stand by in your hour of distress; some people you know who are only acquaintances, who are nothing special to you, don’t stand by in the hour of grief, you accept that. You know, friends, if your very dearest and best friend, at the time you needed them most, turned away from you, it would be hard. You find the reason for it in Isaiah 53 where it tells about Jesus, “All we like sheep have gone astray and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

In Habakkuk 1:13, it speaks about God, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on iniquity.” There never was a time when there was a greater accumulation of iniquity than that day when Jesus hung on the cross. The iniquity of the whole world gathered together and laid on His shoulders. It says of God, “His eyes were pure and He couldn’t look on iniquity;” God didn’t forsake His Son because He was disappointed in Him, because He had done wrong, it was nothing of that kind. No, there was a close relationship between the Son and the Father but it goes on to say the Lord turned His eyes away and to the Son, it was more cruel than the nails in His feet, the thorns on His brow, the lashing He had received, the cruel things that were said about Him didn’t mean as much as the fact His own Father forsook Him for us, because the iniquity of the whole world was upon Him.

So it is good for us to just appreciate what was done that day, to realise there was Jesus in agony as far as the body was concerned then to find His Father forsook Him. It goes on to say on His shoulders was the iniquity of the whole world, including us. So it is good for us to just realise this. You find the same Jesus we talk about before the world began, we read about His coming, His life, now we are talking about His death and then the resurrection that brought hope to the world; a little band of people. Maybe to those that turned away from Him, you know what the darkness did to them. It brought terrible condemnation in their hearts; they realised, here this arrogant, boisterous crowd with their demands to crucify Him. When they realised God was in this whole matter, terrible condemnation subdued them, they smote their breasts. You find a little band of people who began to follow Jesus. You just picture how there was some joy and satisfaction in the fact that God was in it and then picture perhaps a little sadness.

You read in Luke 24 of two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, troubled and puzzled because of the events that had happened. But now, Christ arose and showed Himself to them. You know, friends, what the world saw when Christ was resurrected from the tomb? They saw an empty tomb. Only the Lord’s people saw Christ but the world, they were blocked out, they saw an empty tomb and they realised no tomb could hold Him. They said the disciples came and took Him away. The soldiers were paid big money to tell lies about what happened, claiming He had been stolen away; a greater condemnation to them; to prove He hadn’t risen from the grave they paid big money. You know, the world today, people are paying big money to be told about Christ that which isn’t true about His resurrection.

You find this part of the story of Christ, this same Jesus, in John 14 when He was talking to His disciples about these events taking place. Christ talked about His coming death, He didn’t talk about the manner of how He would die, He was going home. He spoke about His Father’s house, that is where He was going ahead so that they would be where He would be found. That is how He looked upon death. Home, in our language of ordinary life is one perhaps of the more vital words you can find in the world. People get separated from home at times, they long to go home, they have the feeling, “I would like to get home;” as they get near home, it is a joy to think of getting home. You know, the fact is God had prepared a home, an eternal home. Now members of that eternal home are those who are making a home in their hearts for His Spirit; when that is done, God will open to us His eternal home.

There is a song gone round the world, “Home Sweet Home.” It wasn’t written by a man enjoying the comforts of home; it is the story of a man walking along the street on a cold, rainy night, he had nowhere to go. He stood in front of a window where the curtain was open, he saw a family gathered around an organ enjoying the comforts of home. He went away to spend the night under the bridge and because of that experience, he wrote those words, “Home sweet home.” There is no place like home. Not because he was enjoying a home, he was wishing he had a home. You know, in eternity, you find Jesus telling about the rich man. Lazarus was on the other side, he was looking at Lazarus enjoying the comforts of home. He wished somehow or other Lazarus could come and change the picture for him. He had brothers still on earth; he wasn’t enjoying the eternal home God had planned for him. It was a little picture of death Jesus gave to His disciples, just to be going home.

You read about Paul when he talked about soon leaving the world, “The time of my departure is at hand.” You know the word departure, I read a while ago in the Greek language there are several meanings. It is used when you unyoke an animal from the plough. The word departure is used when someone was losing their chains or bonds. Departure is used when loosing tent ropes when the tent is picked up and moved to another location. Departure; it is used when a ship is being loosed from the ropes from the docks, ships and even railroad stations, the time when the train arrives and departs, the airport, too. Paul looked upon leaving this world this way as a time when he would be unyoked from the toils and labours, from this world, free from the bonds and chains he had experienced so often, losing the tent ropes to move to a different location, a ship leaving the dock.

You know, in the old days, people used more ships to travel on. Friends would gather down at the dockside, there would be streamers between those and friends; finally the boat moved out and the paper would break. All those that were left on the shore, they realised their friend, or friends were now on a safe voyage. Someone was in control of the ship sailing out to move on to another destination, sailing on to another shore. That is the picture of death. You find especially if it were possible for friends to watch the ship going further and further out, it is seemingly growing smaller, but not so, the ship is not diminishing in size, it appear that way to the human view. Sometimes we have waited beside the bedside and seen human life ebb; they are not as strong as they once were; they get weak and seem to disappear to the human eye, but actually not, but it is by the will of God they are on another shore. It is a picture of death.

Then in the Scripture it tells us about in Samuel, “We are as water spilt on the ground that cannot be gathered up again;” a picture of death, a very clear picture. You know when water is spilt, it can’t be gathered up, for sure. You know, our lives are being spilt day by day, drop by drop we can’t withhold. We could say, “Well, I am 20 I would like to stay 20, 40, or 60,” no we can’t; day by day, drop by drop our lives are poured out, we can’t withhold or stop it. One thing, we have a choice in whether it is poured out inside or outside the will of God. You find Jesus set the example by His life. He poured it out inside the will of His Father right down to the time in Gethsemane when He prayed. He wouldn’t have minded passing up that experience, “Nevertheless, not My will but Thy will be done.” Every bit of His life was poured out, drop by drop till the last drop was poured out inside the will of God. This is our privilege.

We find another picture of death in Ecclesiastes, four little things that are likened to death. Pitchers, you know, pitchers in that day were made of clay, anything made of clay is easy broken, sometimes even when quite new, it could be broken beyond repair. This is true of life. Sometimes a little life, not very old, can be broken beyond repair. It tells us about the pitcher you read about broken beside the fountain. Jeremiah said, “God was a fountain of living water.” You find some lives, their pitchers are used for a long time beside the fountain; perhaps they look kind of checked and cracked and chipped but still in use until finally the day comes when it is broken beyond repair, it could never be used. It is wonderful it was still beside the fountain. We have seen some lives, they don’t look any longer brand new, they are chipped and cracked, showing marks of age but they are still beside the fountain. You go to visit those people you can get a little something there to refresh you coming from the fountain. The day comes when it is broken beyond repair, it is wonderful to find them still beside the fountain at the very last.

Another little picture of death, Paul wrote about how this earthly tabernacle is dissolved, he spoke about a building not made with hands. You know, referring to the old tabernacle you read about in the Old Testament, that Old Testament was made of perishable material, cloth, wood, and skins. You know it was used for a long time. If you read the history of the tabernacle, you know what it would be, it wouldn’t look any longer brand new as the years went by. It would be weathered in the sun and wind till finally it had marks of age upon it; finally the day came, it tells us in two different places, when that which was more permanent was erected. Solomon’s temple made of stone and in the heart of the tabernacle was a little box we read about. It was called the ark and that Ark of the Covenant was 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, 27 inches tall; in the heart of the tabernacle, there was a pot of manna and Aaron’s rod. What happened to it? I don’t know.

In the day when the tabernacle was led away, never to be used or read about any more, that little box was moved to the temple and do you know what was found in it? Nothing was found in it but the law of God on two tables of stone that were put there at the beginning; God had written His law upon two tables of stone. Before God did that, God wrote His laws on the fleshly tables of the heart. So it is friends, a wonderful thing for a day is going to come that this tabernacle, this body of yours and mine, are going to be laid away, no longer to be used. Won’t it be wonderful if out of the heart of this tabernacle of yours and mine is taken the law of God, the law of Christ, the law of love and not junk? No selfish human desires and ambitions will crowd out the will of God but just the law of God, the law of Christ that came into the world that we read about. There is so much in Hebrews, as we were saying in another meeting about the new covenant that came with Christ, there came a better covenant. Wonderful if we could be those when that day comes, the day of death, as it is going to come for everyone of us, that there will be nothing found there but that.

So these are all little pictures of death and there are a few verses in the Bible tells us about the time Elijah was taken up and Elisha was left. Some others you read about after that occasion went to find the body of Elijah; Elisha spoke against it. Anyway, they never found him. You know, Elisha didn’t want to speak anything about the body of Elijah. As soon as he was gone they asked, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing because of your life, my life, when the Lord takes us home, someone could feel because of what they saw in our lives they would ask, “Where is that same God?” and as a result, they might seek Him and find Him. You know, there have been some occasions in our day like that. Some people died, when they finished, some people watching their lives felt, “I would like to know the same God they did.” Just like Elisha did, he wanted the same God to be His God.

Friends that is a little picture of death, another little picture, it tells us in Matthew 13 about the pearl. Jesus said His Kingdom was like a merchant man seeking godly pearls; when he found the pearl of great price, he got rid of what he had to get that pearl. Perhaps the background for this was, in those days there were very troubled times. Sometimes people had to flee; they would invest as much as they could in this precious pearl. When the time came in the middle of the night, they would get warning they had to flee. They have to leave their herds and flocks and homes, even their family. But they could take a pearl and you know, friends, it is a little picture of what Jesus was trying to explain that day. Those that find the greatest prize, they day will come, it doesn’t matter whether you have much or little, you will leave it behind you; family, money, property, all will be left behind. Whatever your activities have been, you will leave it all behind; if you have the pearl of great price, you can take it with you. It tells us about this man, a lot of people admired the pearl and realised the value of it but this man bought it, he made it his own. It is good to be those when life comes to an end for us we will be those people who have that which we can take with us, even if everything else has to be left behind.

One thing that made it possible for Jesus to finish as He did was because, as has already been mentioned, there was faithfulness is His life preceding His death. You know, in this world today, we find they run in certain places what is called a marathon race. Back in the days of Greece, the marathon is a little over 26 miles, it is a good long race. Today they run this race; you know what happens to a lot of people? There is usually a big crowd at the starting point to encourage them, there is a bit of excitement because the race has begun. Then friends, we are down the trail, there are a few perhaps at the finish. Perhaps there are some there to encourage them to put their best into the last little lap of the journey, the finish. I will tell you something, you know where the big toll comes? It comes in the middle miles, after they pass the little starting point, the strain of a long race begins to take its toll out on the lonely road. Then there is no crowd around you, the miles become a weariness, unexciting now there is no romance or glamour, they are out on their own, traveling the middle miles. I will tell you something, those middle miles are very necessary if the beginning is going to have any meaning. If there is any hope of a glorious finish, those middle miles are very, very necessary and without those middle miles, the beginning is meaningless and the glorious end is impossible; the middle miles are necessary. So it is friends, you find now it can happen.

Over in Isaiah 40, the last verse in very familiar to most. It tells us, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint.” You know what that amounts to? Those people on a long race, they don’t run continually, from time to time they will pause, not to quit but just perhaps to get a little refreshment, get their breath back, to look behind and see away in the distance where they started. They see that they have accomplished quite a little they look ahead and see the goal way off in the distance. Weill have gone this far, I will make it the rest of the way. They pause, quitters never win, winners never quit. Just pause in the race and go on after a rest, they don’t quit until finally they cover the middle miles and a glorious finish is possible.

I remember a boy in Canada, 1200 miles from home. I know the very place where his life came to an end. He told some he was going to drive without stopping. He drove continually 1200 miles. You know, in the early hours of the morning, no one knows exactly what happened, he was within sight of his home town, he wanted to get there but weariness came over him and he went off the road. I know the place where he finished his life, within sight of his home town, because he never stopped to have a rest. You know, friends, if you have the feeling, we can make this journey on our own, we can’t. There is the answer right there in Isaiah, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,” and as a result, to be able to cover the middle miles and make the beginning meaningful and make a glorious finish possible. Jesus was one, He renewed His strength often; He prayed often to His Father and gained that strength and encouragement and finally finished gloriously. No life ever finished like His.

You know, some of you are acquainted with the fact that James Jardine, a worker in Scotland, who preached many years in Germany and the US composed a number of hymns. He had a brother Nicol who never composed hymns that anybody knew of. One time at a convention, he said, “You know, I have written a hymn;” everybody wondered at Nicol writing a hymn. “I will tell you what the first verse is, ‘Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on,’ and the second is the same as the first.” That was his hymn and you know that probably friends, we all of us sitting here in the middle miles, we need to be those that would seek to learn what it means to get a little strength from the Lord day by day in order that we might have a glorious finish. Some of these little things are good for us to remember. God is anxious we would be those who would know a glorious ending and as a result, prove God’s love for us has not been in vain. Remember this same Jesus came to this world and faced the cruel things the world heaped upon Him, the fact that He was faithful right to the death. This same Jesus faced the boisterous crowd. His last words were to pray to His Father to forgive them. He knew if anything the crowd needed, everyone needs it at the end of life, it was to be forgiven. When we have come to the end of life, because of something in us we make it impossible for God to forgive us, that is going to be a terrible thing. Let us be those that will make it possible for the Lord to be able to forgive us.

You find this same Jesus, He is the one we read about in Hebrews 12. It speaks about looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. You know, in the world, sometimes people have targets, they make them out of paper, wood, they are not very expensive targets. Well, you read about Solomon, he made targets of gold. There is a lot of difference between gold and paper and wood. You find some people in the Bible had targets of gold. You read about that man Noah we have heard about already, his target was complete obedience to the will of God, a golden target. You find when Abraham found Lot had chosen to go down to Sodom and Gomorrah; when the time came, the place was going to be destroyed. He could have felt, “That is what he chose, that is what he is going to get. That is what he deserves.” No, Abraham pleaded help would be sent. Abraham had a golden target. Even when Joseph was sold so cruelly by his brothers down to Egypt, he was put in a pit without water, his brothers were eating their lunch. Finally those men came and Joseph was sold; his brothers went home and told the story that was a lie, they said he was killed by an animal. Joseph could have gone down to Egypt and said, “Well, my target is to get revenge;” he didn’t. Could we forget? He could have said, “They don’t deserve one thought of my times;” when he had an opportunity, his desire was to see his brothers made right; a golden target.

You find when David was so ill treated by Saul, even to the point of Saul seeking to take his life, he was misunderstood and the terrible things that happened. When finally David became king, he could have felt, “I can get revenge against the house of Saul.” No, he sent a message, “If there be any of the house of Saul that I may shew the kindness of God unto;” a golden target. You find Daniel and the three Hebrew men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, there were thousands of people down in the land that were captives, they are the only four mentioned that tests were brought on them. They were thrown in the furnace and the lion’s den; the target was to remain true to God; a golden target.

Then friends, just remember, God made the world and put people on it. He watched countless generations living selfishly, godlessly, He could have felt, “I will close the chapter.” No, He was willing to send His Son. You know, the Son was willing to come and you know that same Son never looked down and said, “What is the use of going?” He came that that generation and successive generations, including our generations today might have a hope beyond life. He had a golden target. “Whosoever believeth and followeth Me might have salvation.” He was able to plant the very same thing in the hearts of His disciples who went out into the world to go all over the world preaching and teaching the same things, “Whatsoever I have taught you.” Those men went out again with a golden target. One thing about a target, you know, if you don’t keep your eyes on the target, you are sure to miss it. Our one hope of ever getting the centre of the target is by keeping our eyes on it. That is what it tells us in Hebrews 12, looking unto Jesus, keeping our eyes on Jesus that we would not be those that would get our eyes off the target.

Paul in Corinthians spoke about some people comparing themselves among themselves or measuring themselves by others; those people were not wise. You know, friends, when people start to do that, they have got their eyes off the target. If you or I get to the point where we look back and feel, “I am a lot better than I used to be,” I look upon somebody and say, “I don’t do the things they do.” You know, we are comparing ourselves by ourselves among ourselves and others, our eyes are off the target; our eyes need to be on the target. Jesus has lived and as it tells us in Colossians, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, “then shall ye also appear with Him in Glory.” So, as we think of these things, we think about Jesus coming, Jesus’ life, His death, His resurrection, and what it all meant. We are able to gather here today as we are.

We met some people one time who invited us to a little gathering, people that claimed they were seeking to follow the Bible. I thought we might find hopeful people there; we got there, they were interested in the next big event that would happen in the world. They somehow found some verse that told them when the UN would be formed; some other verse somewhere told them something else and now they were looking to see what the next big event would be. After leaving those people, I said to my companion, “You know what I think? Possibly the next big event for those people would be just pain, ordinary death.” You know, friends, we could look back on lives, some have gone through wars, countries have been involved in but there will be no event that will ever affect our lives more than death. So it is good, friends, for us to be those when the picture changes and death comes, it would be wonderful if we could be those that realise Jesus came to give us life after death.

You know, my old grandmother, I spent my summer vacation on the farm, lived many years on the farm. In the evening as the sun would go down, she would predict the kind of day tomorrow will be by the setting sun. You know friends, what makes a beautiful sunset? The atmosphere around the sun when the sun sets. It will be a beautiful day tomorrow; if there is a black cloud over the sun, it indicates it is not a beautiful day. You know friends, it is true of people as they come to the end of life; we know, too, it is possible for people, when some breathe their last, you find a black cloud over their lives – rebellion, stubbornness to do God’s will. You wonder about the eternal day that is dawning for them. Others’ lives, you find a beautiful sunset, they are resigned completely to the will of God as a result the atmosphere is so different. It indicates the eternal day dawning for them will be a beautiful day. I hope and pray we will be those who realise we are hastening towards sundown, we need to be those who let God’s Spirit rule over our lives, willing day by day to let His will be done, that Christ would be our life when we come to the end of our lives. Christ in us, the hope of glory. Good to remember these little things, remember the things as Nicol Jardine that day he composed a hymn, it was a matter of go on, go on, go on. Good for us to realise it is in the middle we meet some weariness, at times it is not very exciting but very, very necessary in order for the beginning to have any meaning and that a glorious end could be possible.

I hope and pray we will be those who would remember that Jesus was faithful in the middle miles. There were times the pressure was great, it would have been easy for Him to feel, “What is the use?” No, He was faithful in the middle miles and the result, in spite of the way the world turned against Him, He had a glorious ending. Remember the cruel thing that happened to Him, forsaken by God, it wasn’t because His Son disappointed Him, but because His eyes were so pure He couldn’t look upon iniquity. There was never a time when there was a greater accumulation of iniquity on the shoulders of the One who had never known sin, the iniquity of all the world, the iniquity of us all, that very experience happened for us. It was greater than anything else He went through in His experience, was the fact that His best friend, His Father, had turned away from Him because of what was happening because of us. I hope and pray we will be those who would appreciate more and more what God has done for us, what He has brought us into, we will be able to prove His love for us has not been in vain.

In Romans 14:22, it tells us how to be happy. A lot of people these days are forever going up and down the line looking for amusement, fun, and entertainment and so on, supposedly trying to find happiness but it tells us here what true happiness is. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. It just goes to show that if we are those that don’t allow anything in our hearts that would condemn us, that is the key to happiness and we are to remember that what God allows and what God is pleased with are two very different things. One time a man told me about some plan he had, it was not good. I tried to discourage them from those plans. “Well,” he said, “If the Lord wants to stop me, He can.” I said, “Don’t be foolish.” In that city where we were talking, there are lots of people in this city living terrible lives. They are spending their time and strength on the things that are not pleasing to God, yet God is allowing it.

You find back in the Old Testament about some people on the way to the Promised Land, they started to murmur and complain, they thought about the meat they got in Egypt, and they wished for more of that. The Lord gave it to them, lots of it, and then when they put that meat into their mouths and began to chew it, the Lord’s anger was kindled against them. The Lord gave them what they wanted, He allowed them to have it but He wasn’t pleased with it, so people could live their lives, follow plans that are not good. It is good if we were mindful of the will of God and that we do allow in our own lives that which would be pleasing to God. This little verse tells us, “Happy is he, which he alloweth,” and this truly seems to be the key to happiness.

Over here in Matthew 7, I think it is, it tells us about some people who were the wrong kind of people. You know, when it came to the end of life, Jesus made it very plain there are going to be some people accepted and some people not. The difference would be the wrong and the right kind of people. It tells us in verse 21, “Not everyone that sayeth unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom. Depart from Me ye that work iniquity.” You know, those people were trying to refresh the Lord’s memory on a lot of things they thought they had done that was supposed to be good and you know how you remember things. It is by telling about them; then, you can look back in your own life and think of a lot of things that happened you don’t even remember. A few things you remember, it might be amusing or sad things, whatever the occasion was, you remember them mostly because you have referred to them many times and spoken about the incident and because you spoke about them, it kept the memory fresh about whatever happened. These people apparently had been telling about the things they had done they thought was good, now they were afraid the Lord wasn’t aware of it and they were trying to refresh His memory. The Lord told them, “Depart from Me.”

In Matthew 25, it tells of some of the right kind of people, they are the people that will be accepted at the end of time. You find there in Matthew 25, beginning at verse 31, when the Son of man shall come in His glory. Verse 33, “He shall set the sheep on the right hand.” These have to be the right kind of people. He tells them, “I was hungry, you fed Me; thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in,” and so on. They said, “When, Lord?” They had forgotten all about those things and the Lord refreshed their memory about the things they had done. Now, why didn’t they remember them? It was because they were the right kind of people. He told them they did it to the least; when these people had seen the opportunity to do what was only the right thing to do, they did it and forgot it. When there was an occasion to do, they did it and forgot it. Another occasion came they did the right thing and forgot it. Now, the Lord was refreshing their memory and these people were invited to come in to inherit the Kingdom, these were the right kind of people. It is good for us to learn some of these little lessons, they are vital and helps us to know what is acceptable and pleasing in the sight of the Lord.

You find over in Thessalonians, it tells us about some people. Paul was writing to these people said to them, “In everything, give thanks for this is the will of God.” Sometimes people might argue this term – the will of God – it is a general term. Somebody might start to wonder, “Am I doing it? Can I do it?” Here, it tells us in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God. Even someone that would be bed ridden and not able to do the things they would like to do, or used to do, but if they are thankful, thankful when they begin the day, thankful for what God has brought into their lives and go through the day being thankful. At the end of the day, they are thankful and isn’t it a beautiful thing, in doing so they have done the will of God. Someone asked somebody some time, “What is the main difference between people?” Well, it seems a lot of people take life for granted and some people take life with gratitude that would be the difference. It seems the attitude of gratitude seems to open the door for the Lord to be able to add blessing to any life.

If we are the kind of people you read about back there in the Old Testament, that has been referred to already, complainers and so on, well, we are just sort of unthankful – that would lay it open for us to have a bitter spirit, a sour spirit. I remember a lady, her family came from Austria to Canada, she listened to the gospel and things had gone for her much different than she really ever dared hope when she came to a new country. She made this statement, “If I were to grumble, I would sin.” That woman just felt so good, so thankful for what God had done for her, she felt if she were to grumble, it would be a sin. I have appreciated that person over the years, it seems that has been the key to her whole service to God and we will find people look out on life, sometimes from the same circumstances and some people think one thing and some another.

You find over in Canada in the spring of the year, some of those little farms get some baby chicks from the hatchery and raise them. I had a letter from a lady one day. She said, “You know, we have bought 200 baby chicks this week.” She said, “I am looking forward to all the nice fried chicken I am going to have in two months.” I had another letter from a lady miles apart. She said, “We have bought 200 baby chicks. I am thinking of all the feathers I am going to have to pluck.” You know, there was the difference; one thought of all the benefits, the other person thought about what kind of drudgery was involved. Some people look on life and some people count their blessings, not only one by one but ton by ton. Some people are thankful and other people are counting the miseries of their experience. So these are some of the little things it is good for us just to remember.

It tells us in the Bible, God said He was a jealous God and jealousy is generally considered a hateful quality. If you hear of a jealous person, you don’t like to hear about that. I read in a dictionary once, referring to God, it means He is intolerant of unfaithfulness. You know, I don’t know about this country here, but in Canada, I tell people you will never find perfect husbands, perfect wives – they are pretty scarce. That doesn’t mean there are not very good marriages where everything goes along fine because, remember, in the home, men may not be perfect, wives are not perfect but that doesn’t matter. You know what matters is that the man likes to think he is number one in the eyes of his wife and the woman likes to think she is number one in the eyes of her husband. Anything that would block that, it is something that they don’t tolerate, they wouldn’t want someone else to come between them so they are not number one. There are other little differences; the man might bring in muddy shoes or one day the woman’s cooking might fail. Those things they can overlook, one thing they like to feel is number one in each other’s eyes. God looks down and views His people, they are not the most brilliant or talented by any means but He likes to feel He is number One. He is intolerant of anything that would come in between Himself and the first place in our hearts and lives. So, it is good for us to remember that kind of thing.

Another little thought before I get on to what I was going to speak about. Some of us gathered here are not so young anymore, including myself. When you travel along the roads sometimes, you come to an old sign post, weather beaten, like some of us here, some of us here are no longer brand new. But you know, a sign post, as long as it is pointing the right direction it still serves a very useful purpose. It might be weather beaten but it is declaring a message. It is pointing in the right direction, it is useful even though it has been there a long time; even though we have been around a little while and we are no longer brand new but if we are declaring the right message. If we are pointing the right direction to others around us, we can still be useful. Good to just remember that, remember also that we are not to hinder. Remember Paul writing one time about not hindering the gospel, this little thought we need to keep in mind.

One time, I visited an iron foundry. It was a small foundry not modern as some places are. They poured ore out into a kettle and it was put in a little cart and wheeled down a little alley and put into mounds. They were pouring metal like water but a little carelessness would be costly. There is a large sign over the door, “Your First Duty Today Is To Be Careful.” You know, lives were at stake if they weren’t careful. Remember, we in this world, we mingle among souls for whom Christ died, we need to be careful. You know, I worked in a ship yard a few years ago, during war time in the city of Vancouver; it had a narrow neck into the harbour. In war time, they placed guns and soldiers there with instructions that every boat that came in they were to give the right signal; if not, they were to fire across at the back of the boat. If there was no signal yet, they were to fire in front of the boat; if there was still no signal, they were to fire at the boat.

Those soldiers were down there some weeks, and they were itching to get to use the gun. A little fishing boat came in this day and didn’t bother giving the signal; they fired a shot; there was still no signal, they fired another shot but you know, here was a brand new freighter on its trial run but they didn’t know. They put a shot right through the new freighter, that ship was towed back into dry dock; thousands of man hours had gone into building it, but one blow and it upset a lot of people’s work. You know, lives in this world, children brought up in homes, parents have done their best, other people worked certain hours, living beside neighbours, they have done their level best to try to build up something that will eventually be the Lord’s work in that life if they responded. We carelessly, like those soldiers that day, just not thinking say, or do something that would be just like a shot, a blow that would undo the work even of years of someone trying to do something for somebody’s soul. Good for us to remember our first duty in this world is to be careful, at the same time to be those who realise, like we have been hearing about correction. Someone said there is a lot of correction on the road to perfection. You know, in order for us to finally be those God would be able to accept, we are going to have to accept a lot of correction.

My thoughts have been a little bit this last little while on the book of Amos. This book of Amos and a chapter that you find in Isaiah 6, a very familiar chapter, the time when Isaiah looked upon the Lord sitting on His throne and this happened about 25 years before that according to the dates in my Bible. This man said, “In the words of Amos, in the days of Uzziah,” it tells about himself. This is the way he described himself, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son but I was a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit.” You know, he wasn’t a man who had special talents, he hadn’t been educated, he hadn’t a pedigree of any kind, he was a man who looked after cattle and gathered fruit; the Lord laid His finger upon him and now he had a message for the people. This message, you find, was not just the best message for some people. It tells us in verse 3, certain people were speaking against him, using threshing instruments of iron, a cruel thing. We may not be the kind of people to take an iron rod and beat somebody, but it might be easy to say something that would be unkind, that could be cruel, a very unkind thing, instruments of cruelty; we would be as guilty as those people mentioned here. Now, verse 6 tells us of some other people, they were carried away captive. You know, there is not one that lives but what he has influenced others. When we come to the end of life, it is going to be great if because of our influences we have been able to encourage someone even to begin in God’s way. If we are those who are unwise, it would be a sad thing if because of folly, of our influence, others are carried away into captivity. Good for us to remember this where the Lord’s anger was kindled against those people.

It tells us in verse 9 because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom and remembered not the brotherly covenant. You know, one thing we have to remember, we are just fallow travelers to eternity. Out on the ocean, there is an unwritten code of the sea that even the largest ship would go to help the smallest ship if it is in distress. It would be a shameful thing after a captain has arrived at the harbour to have found out he had failed to respond to a cry of distress on his way. So it is good for us to remember we are fellow travelers, we each need each other to keep encouraged. We need to remember we have the wonderful privilege of being brother to brother along life’s way. It tells us in verse 11, it says here of some people, because he did pursue his brother with the sword something like those that were cruel. You know, that is a terrible thing if we are that kind of people. You remember Joseph when he was dealt with so unkindly by his brethren, it could have been his purpose – “I will get even with those brothers of mine some day;” that opportunity came his way, he did his best to see his brothers made right. Here, they pursued their brother with the sword.

The first recorded death in the Bible was murder and it was one brother killing another. Cain killing Abel; that is a terrible thing, here was Cain, it wasn’t a case we find in law courts where somebody murdered somebody and it is found he has been provoked to it because of that other person attacking him first. A case of self-defense, finally killing the other person; they would look upon it and give it some measure of consideration. Here was a brother killing his brother, it was because he was apparently bitter because the Lord was accepting his brother’s sacrifice but not his own. The Lord told him, “If you do well, sin lieth at the door.” Cain had the opportunity to do right and didn’t do it. You find that down here in verse 13, it tells the people did some terrible things that they might enlarge their border. You know, sometimes we suggest they just better leave this alone and so on. They sort of resent it.

You know this matter of resenting a thing that can spoil us in many ways. One time, a lady was taken at convention time and shown where she was to sleep. Just at that time, a big truck rolled by on the highway. She said, “I don’t think I can sleep here.” The sister said, “Well, I don’t think it will be the noise that will bother you and keep you from sleeping but your resentment to the noise.” This is true about life. We can build up resentment against certain things that really don’t affect us too much, yet we build up quite a case and it can disturb our spirit and spoil the blessing of God; the happiness that ought to be there because of resenting that which in fact, is doing us no harm at all. Good for us to remember that.

In this country, I read about it over in our country, they have sanctuaries for some wild life, birds, and animals. You know, the borders of the sanctuary are not restrictive but protective. The animal or bird is quite at liberty to go outside the border but, after a while, they learn there is safety inside the border. It is dangerous to be outside the border. We are wise when we learn there is a border to God’s Kingdom. We are safe inside it, we are not safe outside. You know, a little mouse comes out of a hole, in the corner he sees a little cheese in a trap; he just looks closer, get the smell and has a desire to taste. No one has ever seen a happy mouse in a trap. That is how the world is. It sometimes appeals to young people, they like to look on what is going on, they often get a little sniff of it, it must be exciting and often perhaps even want to get involved too. As we say, it is better to shun the bait than struggle in the trap. Good for us to just look on the world with a right sense of values and realise, after all, it is just artificial and recognise what God has for His people is good.

It tells us in chapter 2 about burning the bones of the King of Edom. It is almost like a deep hatred there. They were not just content to even see a person dead but they went a little further. It is a terrible thing when we find people that have within their heart a sort of malicious spirit that would just spoil any opportunity for the Lord’s Spirit to have anything in their lives. Then it tells us in 2:4 because all those people despised the law of the Lord.

In Psalm 119, the Psalmist said, “I stood in awe of the Word of God.” You can count yourself a happy person if you have a proper, true respect for God’s Word when you look at God’s Word. It doesn’t happen so much in the world any more, people might be blind to the future meaning of what God wants of them. You can show them; that is what it says in a certain verse in a chapter later, they will see it themselves because they have respect for God’s Word and it pulls them up short when they are perhaps careless and doing the wrong thing. They have a respect for God’s Word, something that they did accept at one time. It is not in the world today. The general idea of the Bible is, don’t pay too much attention to that but, friends, and remember this: God means what He says.

It is a good thing that we are those that respect His Word and in the world there is lots of advertising that is true. I remember in Canada, one tobacco company used to have a sign, “Everybody smokes Old Chum tobacco.” A milling company’s sign says, “Eventually you will use our brand of flour, why not now?” But everybody was reading this sign but they didn’t. Those are statements the world makes but they are not true. When you read in the Bible, “Every knee shall bow,” we know we are talking about things that are going to happen, that are true. Good for us to have a deeper respect for God’s Word.

It tells us her in verse 6, they sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes. A terrible thing when people are like that; there is a little opportunity for gain. They sort of feel, “Well, I shouldn’t kind of miss out on this;” maybe they think it isn’t just right to do it but they will do it for a while anyway. You know, one man was asked one time why he was working at the kind of work he was doing, it was kind of questionable. He said, “Somebody has to do it. I have to live.” This person said, “Must you live?” That shook him a bit. We have to remember friends God can do without any of us. God need not use any of us, none of us are important and the fact that we must live, don’t ever get that notion; as far as God is concerned, He can do without all of us. We need to get that straight. One man, because of his nature, this person tried to show him a little lesson. He took him to a window and asked, “What do you see?” “A lot of people.” “Fine.” He took him to a mirror and said, “Then, what do you see now?” “Well, I just see myself.” He said, “Do you know the difference between the two panes of glass? One has silver added at the back of it.” As soon as a little silver is added, all he saw was himself; when the silver was added, he couldn’t see others.

You know, there are some people like that, they just might consider others to a certain degree but suddenly there is an opportunity for gain and they see nobody else but themselves. The ships on the ocean for a number of years, there was no control, but definitely a lot of ships were overloaded and would go down, but they still did it. I was surprised to find out at Lloyds, insurers particularly of shipping in the world claimed it lost one good size boat which goes down in the water every day. The fact is, some years ago, perhaps 100 years, a man named Samuel Plimsoll realised there should be a mark on the ship that would be the safe loading point so he devised this plan and now every freighter has that mark on it. Insurance companies won’t insure if they go above that. The owner of the ship, if he could just put on more cargo, a foot or two above that line and if it is plain sailing perhaps it would get through and make a lot of money. But you know, as long as he is doing that, he is sailing dangerously. Sometimes, people in this world just get overloaded, they have the feeling, “I can add this to my circle of activities, I can add this extra. I will be a little better off.” They do, they make a little more money but finally they are beginning to sail dangerously.

Jesus was speaking about that, being overloaded with the cares of this world and as a result living dangerously. It is good for us to know where the safe load is. The Lord expects us to do our work diligently, not to overload; it is a dangerous thing. These people here, there was greed. You find over here in chapter 3 it tells about some people in verse 2, punish you for all your iniquities. You know, someone has described iniquity; sin is doing wrong but iniquity would be to defend the wrong. We are not likely to go too far, to do something wrong but it would be a terrible thing when we have done something wrong and we try to defend it because we are on the wrong trail. Now, if we started doing that, trying to defend the wrong; we would like to be a people when we have done wrong, we are willing to repent. David didn’t do everything right. One mark about David, he was a man after God’s own heart. David was one when he did wrong and was brought face to face with it, he would repent. Good for us to repent and not start to defend ourselves when we have done wrong.

The next chapter, 5 times it mentions here, “Yet have ye not returned unto Me.” That is the most marvelous thing, God’s mercy, God’s love. We read about people supposed to be His, often through the Bible so often they are on the wrong trail. He is still offering them benefits and blessing if they would return unto Him. We can come to these conventions having got a little off course, as we have been hearing already, God would like to see us those that would return unto Him. There is a verse in Psalm 22 tells us, “None can keep alive his own soul.” Sometimes we have a little feeling, “I can kind of operate independently of others;” some people have the feeling they don’t need to go to meetings. Just read their Bible and they will get along fine but it says, “None can keep alive his own soul,” that is why we gather here today as we are because we have need of the help of God. We need to be those who realise we need one another, we need God’s help or we are going to perish.

Then it goes on and tells about, in the same chapter 12. Here is a verse used so often concerning people out in the world and far from God but, you know, the people this was written to were supposed to be God’s people. “Prepare to meet thy God;” Israel, these were in Babylon, the Greek the enemy of the people serving God. God looked down upon them and felt they weren’t prepared to meet Him. He encouraged them to prepare themselves. Good to keep this little thought, life is uncertain, death is certain, we need to be prepared. Sometimes on a highway you see a sign, “Be prepared to stop.” We need to remember when we drive along the highway there is only a little line between us and oncoming traffic. That is all that separates us from an accident; it may not be our fault, we might be driving carefully, but through faulty mechanism or carelessness, it would mean the end. “Be prepared to stop.” One young woman, not long married, he was a wealthy man, they had the money to do everything they wanted. They did some of it; he had an accident and died. The widow had sorrow they had many wonderful plans but never once planned for it. They planned all the things they were going to do, places they were going to go they had money to make it possible. So they were making all plans but never once prepared to stop. It is always good for us to remember some of these little things. It tells us in chapter 5, “Seek ye Me and ye shall live.” Verse 8, “Seek Him that maketh the seven stars, the Lord is His name.” You know, over in Acts 27, I think it is, it tells about that shipwreck that took place; there was a big storm; Paul spoke and said they first should never have started out. The South wind was blowing softly, they disregarded the advice given, they went out, it
wasn’t long after, it said, a big storm arose.

It tells us of Paul, he stood out in front of them and admonished them. Admonish means to counsel somebody kindly. He told them, “Don’t be afraid, there is no hope for the ship but there is hope for the lives within the ship.” You know, this is true of life. The gospel doesn’t come to tell people that they are going to live 500 years, 1000 years even 80, 90 or 100 years, the gospel comes to bring people a message. There is hope within the soul in the body. It says getting near to the shore and wishing for the day – this little verse, “Seek Him…that turneth the shadow of death into morning.” You know, with all the power plants that light up factories and homes and streets, even though they are able to turn a lot of lights on but they have never been able to turn night into day. The only one who can do that is God. Jesus, the light of the world, He is the One who can turn night into day.

Seek Him and the One who can turn the shadow of death into morning. David wrote in Psalm 23 about the shadow of death. One thing about that is if we are facing the source of light, the shadows fall behind. You turn your back on the source of light and the shadows haunt you and frighten you, that is what people of the world have. This death is the terror of kings and the king of terrors, this one that frightens them. Whether kings or slaves, they look ahead and have to realise they haven’t made some arrangements. It causes fear in their hearts because they are walking away from the source of light. But those who have known something about walking towards the one beckoning them to come, even as Jesus told His disciples, “Come, follow Me,” then we are walking towards the light and the shadows fall behind us. You know, shadows have a purpose, too. You know, a painter, when he is making a painting of a bridge, mountains, trees, lakes, to someone that doesn’t know much about painting, they might feel it is complete. He will put in dark shadows and you might think it would spoil the picture. It sometimes takes the shadow to make a picture complete. No one enjoys it; like a ship. No ship that ever sailed has known smooth water all the time; no life has ever lived but what it ran into certain experiences that were not easy. Sometimes these shadows have the effect of deepening our confidence in God.

I read one time about roses – when gathering them for perfume, they gather it at the darkest time. A rose loses 50 to 60 of its fragrance in the light. A woman in hospital where they care for long term patients, she sits in a wheel chair. That woman her face beaming, claiming what joy she had found in God and Christ; the shadows are all behind her; it seems there is fragrance from her life even though to some people, it would be a shadow in her life to experience what she is experiencing. This is the one we can seek, the one who can turn the shadow of death into morning. We are gathering here at convention today, we want to be those who could keep our eyes upon the time when we can be those who would be part of that convention that will have no closing hymn. That convention with those of God’s people gathered round His throne to be with Him forever. It won’t be a convention starting her on Wednesday night and closing on Sunday night with a closing hymn, that convention with God’s people gathered there forever, there won’t be an end, a termination to it. It will go on and on and on, so it is good for us to be those who would realise we have a precious privilege as a result of knowing His blessing. It tells on further here, I haven’t time to speak about everything in it.

It tells us in chapter 6, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.” Verse 4, “They lie upon beds of ivory.” It tells about them drinking wine but they were not grieved with the affliction of Joseph. Here were people they were in Zion, dwelling at ease. You know what happens when one is at ease, perfectly at ease. It is easy to go to sleep; you don’t go to sleep when there is a lot of activity around you. This could happen, we could be those that could get into this place where we are at ease, feeling we have found God’s way. We know the right way to worship the right kind of worship and mentally feel, “Well, there are a lot of people round us living foolishly. I have been wise and accepted what is right.” Those people were lying on ivory beds, living on the lambs, the best of the flock, calves out of the midst of the stall, everything about it was just comfortable, everything just as people would generally wish for but they were not grieved for those less fortunate than themselves.

Good for us to look out on those in the world – Jesus did. He was One that had compassion. He came at a time when it would have been easy for Him to be disappointed about the conditions, He wasn’t. These people for generations had forgotten Him, they lived selfishly, they hadn’t responded to the Father’s love and favour and so on. What can you do with them? Now, Jesus looked on the world in compassion; we can look around us, people round us in our little town, just the kind of people you think there is no hope for them. You find Jesus met some of the most unlikely people and saw possibilities in them and as a result, was able to do things for them that meant eternal blessing to them. So it is good for us to be the kind of people that realise that.

You know, some of you remember at the time of the Second World War, the battle of Dunkirk. Dunkirk was down on the coast of France. The British sent a little army over into France to help; France wasn’t too well equipped. Perhaps 100,000 men all they had available at the time Hitler declared war. There they were trying to do their best and then Hitler swept through Holland, Belgium, and swept into France and France gave up, they laid down their guns. This little army, with their backs to the sea, overwhelmed in numbers, they hadn’t a hope. Over in England, people realised their only hope was to get them back to England. They called for volunteers. One man arrived with a row boat. They asked, “What are you going to do with that?” He said, “Perhaps I can bring back one man.” That old weather in the English Channel is stormy most of the time. It was like hopeless to do that but there was the spirit of the man, “Perhaps I can bring back one.” We need to look out on this world regardless of how hopeless the situation is and remember there are lives living out of Christ without hope, having to face death and the only hope, as we look on this world, is to be the kind of people that would not be like those that dwell at ease in Zion, just satisfied with their own position, not feeling for those less fortunate than themselves.

It tells us in chapter 7, some verses that are very familiar. The Lord stood upon the wall made by a plumbline, relating to Jesus that would come, the one that was the established standard of righteousness for all the world. You know, a plumbline is a very simple thing. It is used by construction workers yet; it is not to measure height or length but just to see it is upright. Did Jesus come to this world feeling that His time in the world was wasted because He wasn’t able to find millions to respond to His teachings? No, but what He came to establish was that it was right. You find when Amos saw the Lord standing on the wall holding a plumbline, He said, “What do you see?” “I see a plumbline.” You know, some people, when they are face to face with what they can see is the wall, they feel, “Perhaps it is separating me from certain things, things I enjoy, people I have things to do with,” and that bothers them but, you know, the honest person, do you know what they see? Like Amos did, they will see the plumbline. I remember one lady, brought up in a certain religious system, she saw nothing in it for her so she changed to something she thought was better. She still couldn’t and she sought something a little better. She came to some meetings where the gospel was preached and you know, after about two meetings, she saw this was right. You know, that woman didn’t see the wall, she saw the plumbline and was glad, she still is glad. When you find that which is true and right, you find that which is referred to in chapter 7 of Amos.

It goes on and tells about some people in chapter 8, every one mourns that dwelleth therein and drowned as by the flood of Egypt. You know, Egypt has been suggested as being a type of this world. You know what the flood did. It drowned people. You know, some people, because of getting involved in the world. It is good for us to just remember God has something better than the old world has to offer. I tell people sometimes back in Canada, things are a little different here, when you gather wheat here, it is usually tending towards the dry season. If we waited till it was dry enough, we would never gather wheat. In Canada when the wheat gets ready, very often it starts to rain, winter is coming on, snow falls. It is an anxious time to gather wheat before winter comes; sometimes you could be gathering wheat that is not just ready to gather; if they take it in to the market and find the crop damp, they won’t accept it. You look at damp wheat in the bins, it looks good enough. What is the difference? There is too much of the atmosphere of this world in the wheat; they won’t accept it, they reject it. Wouldn’t it be a terrible thing, after the Lord has done so much for us, the Lord is able to show us His way? We never see the need of being willing for it all because of being involved a little too much in the world. When you come to the end and the very time when the Lord would look upon us and question us, we would be rejected because of having too much of the atmosphere of this world.

Then it tells us in 9:9, a verse I have enjoyed many times, where it speaks about the Lord sifting the house of Israel. You know, when the farmer goes out to gather grain, he tries to gather all he can every time. When he is finished, he realises there is some grain still left out there. He doesn’t gather every crumb but, you know, here is a little picture, the Lord wouldn’t let even the least grain fall upon the earth. Some people might be isolated, not too well known, but if they have the right thing in their heart, the Lord is going to gather them in. He will not allow one of them to be wasted. It tells us in verse 15, “I will plant them upon their land.”

There is a picture in Deuteronomy, we read about Moses leading the people to the Promised Land. It said over and over again how good the land was, how wonderful was this land. What it would do for them and so on; even in spite of it the people seemed to lose their vision. You know, sometimes in Canada, you can go along and see a farming area. One side of the road are homes and apartment buildings and on the other side of the road, they are growing wheat. If you enquire the price of that land, they tell you so much per acre, far more than you expect it should be. You go 20 miles away and it is not so much. Why are they asking so much? It is not any better. Do you know why? Because they see this land that is next to that city will soon become part of that city. You know, this is a little picture, friends, of how it will be. You read about a city like no other city in this world. Some cities boast of a beautiful city, a spectacular city but there is no city like that city we read about in Revelations. It is 1500 miles long, the streets are gold, not like the gold of this world, gold clear as crystal, everything about it; there is nothing like it in this world. It is a good land you read about and the Lord was bringing them into it. It was the Promised Land, it wasn’t heaven, it was something God had promised them, they would be able to enjoy special privileges when they got there. The Lord has brought us into a good land – it is in God’s Kingdom in this world.

There is no organization so precious, there is no fellowship like it, it is land near the city, just so close to the place where we are in the earth today, close to the eternal city. If we remain in the favourable position that we are in, we will be those that will be part of the city in time. It is good for us to remember this picture, this place we have in this earth is close to that eternal City, and stay in the land until the land, one day, will be part of the eternal city. There is nothing like it in all this world. Good for us to enjoy some of these little thoughts. The key to happiness is, “Don’t allow anything that would condemn us.”

I will tell you about one other little verse in Romans 8. It tells us exactly the number of people that are in God’s Kingdom. You know, sometimes it is not so good to number them. There it tells us no more and no less. Romans 8:14, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” That is the exact number. Let us just remember this, friends, as we go out from this place, we will be those who remember our first duty today is to be careful. There are precious souls all around us. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. We are God’s people, God will recognise us, like that verse in Amos 9:9, even the least grain, God won’t forsake it or forget it. These little thought are good for us to remember, to put a guard against people that allow some of those things, that we wouldn’t be those that dwell at ease and go to sleep and not recognise the wonderful opportunity to do that which would be a little help to others. I would like to know more about Himself.

Syd Maynard used to say that it is not possible to estimate the value of a soul who is in touch with God, and we cannot fail God and not leave others at a disadvantage. God has called us into this fellowship. God can help us if we remain humble. To the meek, the gospel is preached. When we are meek, God gives us Jesus. Jesus said, “I am meek and lowly in heart.” Jesus is one who never saved Himself. He realized that if He failed, the salvation of man was finished. If we fail, a weaker brother or sister may be found outside the fold.

I have been thinking of our enemy, the world. Pharaoh was afraid of the Hebrews, and he felt that, if they increased, they would put him into trouble. He first asked the midwives to kill all the sons of the Hebrews but they feared God, and saved the sons. Then he gave the order that all the sons had to be cast into the river. This world has no mercy and no pity. He gave the Hebrews a very uncomfortable time, but we read of a man and his wife who were not afraid of the king’s commandment. They looked upon their child and saw that he was a proper child. The time came when they could not hide him any longer, so they made an ark of bulrushes, pitched it, made it water-tight, and put their son in it. They did not put the ark where the current could take it away, this couple did what they could, they put it by the edge. If we do what is possible, God will do the impossible, if we do not doubt Him, but trust Him. God will not play with our lives, He loves fellowship and He wants us in eternity for ever and ever. Let us not be afraid of what man can do.

When God made man He said, “Let us make man in Our image.” God and Jesus were there together. Jesus said, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him.” Here we have the “we” of the New Testament, and before we had the “us” of the old Testament. Now, God has brought us into that fellowship. Jesus preached the gospel and brought the disciples into the same fellowship, and after Jesus went to the cross, the disciples went and preached, to bring people into this fellowship. 1 John 3, “That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” We have the “us” in the Old Testament, the “we” in the New Testament, and now the “our” in the New Testament, spoken by His disciples. We have been brought into a Godly fellowship that is supremely sweet.

Moses’ parents prayed earnestly to God, they did the possible and God did the impossible. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the water that was carrying many a person to a lost eternity, the floods of ungodliness. People were getting drowned there. She saw the ark, and the child started to cry. She had compassion. Moses’ sister said that she could call a nurse, and she ran straight to her mother. The world tried to separate mother and son, and in one day God brought them together again. If we do all that is possible for us to do, God will do the impossible. All we have to do is believe. God is all-powerful.

In John 20, we read that Jesus was crucified, and then later put in a tomb, with a stone rolled over the mouth of the tomb. The devil, in the heart of man, tried to separate Jesus from His faithful disciples. They did not fight against the government, they did not do anything, but just kept a love for Jesus. The stone was rolled away and Jesus was brought out of the tomb. Mary was preparing spices, and she had a true desire to preserve the body of Christ. It is a lovely thought that she did what she could. But when she got there, the stone was rolled away, there was nobody there, He was risen. Peter and John were there and they walked away, but Mary stood there, weeping. Good for us to have a love for Jesus as Mary had. She could not leave that place, she did not know what to do, and God sent two angels with a message of hope, and told her that He was risen. Mary’s sorrow turned to joy. After three days God brought Jesus and His disciples together again. There is nothing impossible for God.

Mary prepared the spices, and that is like our Sunday morning meeting. It’s good to prepare the spices, and take them to the fellowship meeting with the object of wanting to preserve the body of Christ, which is the church. This is what God expects of us. The world is looking on, and all in the world are not satisfied with the world, their eyes are upon us. What are we doing? Are we missing fellowship meetings, or are we present at every meeting? A man and his wife went to live in an empty house, and a neighbour said, “Don’t go there because those people next door are terrible people.” However, the couple went and lived in that house, and day by day these terrible people lived as they should live, they went every Sunday morning and every Wednesday evening to the little meeting. They left their house, and came back again, and after a time that couple was impressed, and they got the courage to speak to them, and said, “We see you going out every Sunday morning and every Wednesday evening, where do you go?” They told them that they went to a little meeting. They said, “Can we come?” It is not possible to estimate the value of a soul who is in touch with God. Let us be faithful in doing what we can.

We read of Joseph’s brothers selling him to a Midianitish man. Jealousy and envy were in their hearts. The father had sent Joseph to see how his brethren fared. The flesh sought to separate father and son. Joseph was taken into Egypt, and God never let his brethren see what he went through down there. God lifted Joseph up to be the top man of the country; the king had respect for Joseph. Joseph was brought out of the prison, and later God brought father and son together, after 21 years. Joseph sent for his brethren and said, “Come, and I will nourish you.” The world brought separation for one day; the devil brought separation for three days; the flesh brought separation for 21 years. This shows what the flesh can do, shows how very essential it is to keep the flesh under control that nothing will be allowed to come in to upset our peace. If we will be humble and meek, the devil will not be able to do very much. The meek God will lead in judgment, the meek will eat and be satisfied. God will lift up the meek, He will beautify the meek with salvation. Peter writes about the incorruptible ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. Joseph’s life was saved; Jesus’s life was saved, Moses’ life was saved; three were saved. Joseph saved a family; that family grew into a nation; God used Moses to save that nation; and then Jesus gave His life to save the world. This just shows us how far our lives can be used by God. We cannot fail, and not leave others at a disadvantage.

Joseph’s brethren lied to their father. They saw his tears. When the father thought a wild beast had killed his son, they kept quiet, they deceived him. Twenty-one years of sorrow for this faithful man. How far-reaching a wrong influence in our lives can go. When Joseph was in Egypt, Potipher’s wife lied to her husband. We can lie to God, too. Many people are living in this world, and they are lying to God. We read of Naaman when he stood before Elisha, and Elisha said, “I do not want to take anything,” but Gehazi followed him and he lied to Naaman. He said, “Two men have come,” he lied. Naaman gave double the quantity. When Gehazi returned home, Elisha said, “Where have you been? Did not my heart go with you?” He became a leper as white as snow. Naaman would go back to his house, and would have brought sorrow to that faithful child of God who brought him the gospel. He would tell her what had happened, and she would say, “No, you did not pay him.” Gehazi’s lie would bring sorrow to Naaman’s maid. Christianity is not a profession, but the possession of Christ in us.

The first thing that we have to deal with when we profess is our human nature. The children of Israel had to deal with Amalek. The first step in the ladder of salvation is the denial of self. The choicest cake is baked in the oven of self-denial. The fruits of the spirit grow and flourish in the soil of crucified flesh. When Jesus hung on the cross, from crucified flesh came the fruit of forgiveness. Forgiveness is love interceding for us. Joshua 4, tells us of two monuments. As the children of Israel cross Jordan, they took 12 stones from the midst of Jordan and erected a monument in Gilgal, and then there were 12 more stones that were placed in the midst of Jordan that are only known to the people of God. As we fight against our human nature, there is a monument that the world will see, they will see something in us, they will say, “Why are you so different?” But then there is also a monument in the midst of Jordan that only we know.

We are in a sacred family, the only family with an eternal future. Mary broke the alabaster box. There were voices against her, but Jesus said, “This shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” There will be a memorial in our lives as we are willing to break our lives for our heavenly bridegroom, to say, “No,” to self, and be willing for one hundred percent obedience. If the enemy kills us, they will kill Jesus too, as Jesus is living over again in us. In the dark-room of sorrow and affliction, God develops His finest negatives.

For the last few days, the paper has been reporting that a Russian satellite is about to crash to earth. This is causing some consternation. This machine is tumbling, out of control. At one time it was obedient to its maker, but it has taken over its own course, it is now on an unpredictable course, and man cannot estimate what damage will do, because it has become severed from its maker. While it was under control, it was bringing honour and glory to the country, but now it is bringing discredit, dishonor, and is an embarrassment.

Psalm 19, “The heavens declare Thy handiwork.” The heavens are bringing glory and honour to God, because of their unfailing obedience to their maker over thousands of years these heavenly bodies have circled the earth, and they obey His commands. There is no confusion with the heavenly bodies; God has put them on a course, in a heavenly course. God’s children are going forward in an orderly manner Acts 2:37, “What shall we do?” “Repent.” When there are some road repairs being done, there is a sign that says “SLOW” in large letters, or “STOP.” There is not a lot of small print as on an insurance policy, everyone knows what it means, because there is danger. There is not any danger that anyone would perish naturally, but men and women are in eternal danger of losing their lives. There are three things that need to happen for salvation. The first is “Repent,” the second is “be baptized,” and the third is “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This clearly marks the pathway to safety. This is all the gospel in one verse. It is a matter of receiving the Holy Ghost, which in the Greek is Holy Guest.

When we become a member of the human family, we are born into it. Also with the divine family we are born again, and receive the nature of God. A person may live a good life, they may give to the poor, but this does not make them a child of God. “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, by the love that ye have one for another.” This is one thing that identifies a child of God. If we went to a zoo and we hadn’t seen an elephant before, we could say that it is easily identified because it has a trunk, it is so distinctive. If people have love one for another, this identifies His people. False prophets can do many things, but this is not a proof that they are of God. The devil cannot produce love. Love leads to humility.

God’s people are held together without earthly headquarters. We can explain it this way, that there are sparrows in Ceylon, and where are there headquarters? Is it America, Russia? No. They are controlled and directed by a nature that God has given them. We are controlled by the nature of God. We once visited an old lady and she showed us her ornaments, and one ornament in particular she said she would not like to get broken, because it was given to her by someone she loved. Our lives are very ordinary, but because this poor life of ours has been given to God with our love, it matters so much to God. It means so much to Him.

Mark 14:3 tells of Jesus being in the house of Simon the leper, and a woman came to Him with an alabaster box of ointment, very precious, and she broke the box and poured it on His head. Others said, “Why this waste?” They were putting a measure on sacrifice. This that was so precious to the heart of God could not be measured, because it was given with love. This woman understood that this was her Redeemer, her Lord, her Master, and this was something she wanted to do for Him. Our love cannot be measured, it is something that means so much, and others cannot grasp what it means to the heart of God. Love is the vital ingredient.

I have been interested to see the condiments that go into making a curry, so many things go in. With our service to God, there is no substitute for the real ingredients. We may do so much, but if love is not in it, it is not right. Sometime when we cook something, we ask someone to taste it, and a good cook can tell when something is missing. When we put in the missing ingredient, it is just right. That is how it is with my service to God. I may put everything in, but then there could be something missing, something that doesn’t feel quite right. I go and ask my Lord, who is my friend, and He tells me that my love is missing. When I give my love, it feels right, and brings joy to us. We need to serve God because we love Him, not because we are expected to do so, but because we love to. This is what brings joy and satisfaction. Today, as God is looking on a hard, cold world that is careless, indifferent, the only thing in the world that comforts the heart of God is the love of His children, serving Him because they love Him. “I am purposed nought shall hinder, God shall have my very best, how to gain His loving favour, this my eager, earnest quest.” So much depends on the purpose of our heart. What we require is a fixed purpose, not a mixed purpose. To begin in the way of God is good; to continue is better; but to finish in the race of life is best of all.

2 Kings 4, tells us about the Shunammite woman. She was a great woman. She had a good purpose to do what she could for the Lord. They built a place of rest for the servant of God. Elisha was moved to ask, “What can we do for this woman, what would she like?” Her reply was, “I dwell among mine own people.” She had no great desires, she had begun to do so much that encouraged the heart of Elisha, but all she wanted was to continue to dwell among her own people. She did not mention that she did not have any children, and I marvel that she was so content to just say, after she had done so much, given her best, that she just wanted to continue life as it was.

We want to have a purpose like Hannah. She saw the tremendous need in the kingdom, and she had this desire that God would use her life. Abraham, also, desired a son, to share in his inheritance. This woman was just content to say, “I dwell among my own people.” She had no fixed purpose to do more and more for the servant. She did not desire to have a son who could be used in the great kingdom of God. It tells us of the “voice of many waters.” At the Niagara Falls, you cannot hear the person next to you, all other voices are drowned out.

John 12:24, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” The way of God is based on sacrifice, and maintained by sacrifice, in giving our lives wholly, and using our lives in the will of God. It is not a light thing. We can have questionings in our hearts unless we are convinced that we must give our all to God. If we have questionings, it will cause us to waste valuable time. The devil wants to spoil our lives by making us think we can give less than our all. Unless we are convinced that we must give our whole lives, it will be very hard for us to be whole-hearted in what we are doing. Jesus was showing here that there was only one way for the grain of wheat to be profitable, and that was to fall into the ground and die. Other than this, it would not be profitable. The seed is in itself and will bear fruit after its kind. We are living in a modern age today, and man can do many things, but the only way for a corn of wheat to produce a harvest is to die.

Scientists do not waste time trying to use it for anything else. The seed that is sown is gone, and gone forever. To serve God, to please God, we must give our all. We could be willing for some things, and not for others, and it brings no satisfaction. It is not difficult to do some things, but it is difficult to do all things. Men have tried to take away some of the sacrifice of the way of God, but there is no return. Just the same as God planned for seed to be sown in the earth to produce fruit, God planned the same for us. We need to grasp this, and retain it, that this matter of living for God means that our lives are sown like seed, otherwise we will remain unprofitable. If we try to be helpful, and escape the sacrifice, it will not work. We could plant just the husk of the wheat, or just the kernel, but it won’t work; the whole seed has to be sown for it to produce fruit. There is no question that it is profitable to sow seed in the ground. The farmer may plant a truck full of seed, but at harvest time, there are many truck-loads of grain, and it sometimes takes weeks to gather all the harvest in. As we leave convention, we are bearing precious seed. As we face another year, we are bearing the incorruptible seed. God wants us to remember that what He has put in our hearts is incorruptible, and He wants us to be obedient.

A contented worker means a great deal to the work. A contented saint means a great deal to the church, and a contented worker and saint together are the hope of the world. When God and Christ are in us, we are the hope of the world. We are not going out to play, we are going out to face tests and trials, we are going out to a battlefield. God’s hand leads us through our experiences, God’s love keeps us in our experiences.

I have made a study this year of “seven times” in the Bible. 2 Kings 5 speaks of complete obedience, which brings us into God’s family, and into an atmosphere of love. Seven times speaks of completeness. Five is man’s number; six is the devil’s number; seven is God’s number, perfect. The devil likes us to go to number six, but not to number seven. The devil wants to keep us from finishing with Christ. 99% service does not bring 99% satisfaction, but 100% service brings 100% satisfaction. Jacob went to God and prayed, “Lord, deliver me from Esau.” This is a prayer we need to pray daily, that God would deliver us from our human nature.

Naaman went into Jordan seven times: complete obedience. Peter said, “How often should I forgive my brother; seven times?” Jesus said, “Seventy times seven.” This is complete forgiveness. When Jacob bowed before Esau, he bowed seven times: complete humility. When the children of Israel marched around Jericho, they marched seven times, and the walls of Jericho fell: complete unity. The best way to deal with the tongue is to be silent.

Wisdom is composed of 9 parts silence and one part brevity of speech. Daniel’s three companions were put into the fiery furnace that was heated seven times greater than usual: this was perfect bitterness – something we expect from the world as we seek to do the will of God. The Bible tells us that we are just clay. Sometimes we are given to think that we are of some value, by education, we could feel important, but we are just clay. You could find very expensive land, and take away a wheelbarrow full of soil, and it would not make very much difference. You would not know where you had taken it from. This represents you and I. God wants to take this land, and put His seed into it. In the Old Testament there is a question asked, “Is the seed yet in the barn?” That is so for millions of people in this world, the seed is still in the barn. The Lord has not been able to take His seed and put it into the soil. If the farmer did not put any seed into the soil, he would not make any money.

In the world there are many “Christians” under different labels. What is a religion? It is just an imitation of what Jesus lived and taught. When we speak to people who have some religious connection, they say to us, “Tell us what’s wrong about it.” They try to defend it. If you were in the city and wanting to go to the country, and the bus came along, with nice seats and a nice colour, but the front wheel fell off when it stopped to pick you up, you would know that there was enough wrong with it, not to get on. Jesus is the way, and now is the day. We cannot put it off. We knew a young man, 24 years of age, had a traffic accident at 23 – he had had everything he wanted, but now, one year later he did not have all he needed, he did not use the time. One day we will face the same position, and you may not have all you need.

In Daniel’s day, King Belsha made a party. He was the king, and he had a thousand lords at this party. This was the most important kingdom of the day, and he was the most important person. It was a big party. The fingers of a man’s hand came and wrote on the wall. This was not scribbling, because the king saw part of the hand. The king was the richest man, but when he saw the writing on the wall he trembled. This was God’s messenger. Daniel spoke to him, not of how rich he was, but of his grandfather whose heart was lifted up, and God humbled him. “And thou his son, you knew all this, but you have not humbled your heart.”

At the end of life, it doesn’t matter how rich we are, how far we’ve travelled, how many degrees we’ve got, that is not the thing that will be discussed then, but it is how we lived and whether we have humbled our heart or not, whether we knew it and had not done it. God numbered his kingdom, and he died. This is the story for every one of us – one day there will be the handwriting on the wall, and our yesterdays will be behind us. All that will matter then is whether we humbled our heart or not. This king had a great position in the world, he looked big, but the day came when he was weighed in the balance, and he did not weigh anything. He thought that he carried a lot of weight in the kingdom, but he didn’t weigh anything in the sight of God.

I count it a very special privilege to be here and see the work of God in the lives of His people in this land. I appreciate it because of the sacrifice of His people and servants. Before I left the U.S.A. a number sent their greetings to you all, and also from England.

1 Timothy 4 has been a help to me. Verses 7, 12 and 16. Paul wrote a special message to Timothy. Vs.12: Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. It is possible to despise youth. Paul exhorted Timothy to be an example to the believers. Timothy had a good testimony and set a good example. It’s nice to see a good example and another thing to be one. Timothy had a difficult task to perform and Paul was exhorting him to help him. Timothy was left at Ephesus to see to some matters in the church. Paul had worked the mission and left the elders and written a letter to them and now he sent Timothy to help them. In Revelation we read again of the church at Ephesus. Paul had gone and I wonder where Timothy was. God was interested in this church and He spoke through John in Revelation that they had left their first love. They did a lot of good things bur some were teaching another doctrine and Timothy was left to set these thing in order. It’s very difficult to help those who are teaching another doctrine. (set of beliefs) It takes a lot of wisdom and grace to set things in order. Timothy’s conduct had to be excellent so that they could not find fault with him.2 Timothy 2;24. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle to all men, apt to teach, patient. I need to know a great deal of this working in God’s flower garden. A lady who professed in our meetings had seven children. Six months later her husband died. She was really rough and not neat. She had got married at 15 and we tried to help her to become neat. The friends got a place for them to stay in and we had a hard time top try and get her to care for it. Later she got a widows’ pension. A new neighbour moved into the district and she had what we call a green thumb. She soon had a lawn planted and flower beds, and our friend said to her; “I wish my garden looked like that.” “It’s easy”, replied the neighbour, “I’ll help you”. And soon they had lawn and flowers planted, but our friend’s garden never looked like the neighbour’s. So she decided to watch what she did and she weeded gently with a little trowel and sprayed the water on softly. She had weeded with a hoe and damaged the roots and just poured the water over the plants, and she spoke about it in the Sunday meeting and said; “I think that’s the way I’ve been using my children.” I thought that’s the way I must be myself. More careful with God’s people. It’s taken me a long time to learn it.

Next there was an exhortation to pray for rulers, and all men. Chapter 2, verse 1 and 2. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Some rulers we don’t approve of and it’s not so easy to pray for them, but here we get instructed to pray for them. In Cuba there are not many who gather together. We have all kinds of liberty and we don’t always appreciate it. In Russia they had a little meeting and some of the friends came a long way just for the couple of days because they so longed for fellowship. Three of the friends there died recently. One of our friends got very worked up about President Roosevelt and the result was he was out of fellowship for eleven years. Verse 8. I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. This is something that we men must do. One version says “hands which are unstained by wrath and doubting”. If we forgive we are forgiven. Nice to put things right before we enter the sanctuary. When the priest ministered in the sanctuary he had to wash in the laver. Times when I have prayed and didn’t get the ear of God, was because I needed to be cleansed. When we get cleansing we can have a nice spirit to all. Now we have a message for the women. Verse 9. In like manner also, that woman adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. There’s something about people that makes them present themselves as to be admired. We’re conscious of others but it would be good to be more conscious of being presentable to God in the sanctuary. How much time do we spend to make ourselves presentable to God.

The 11th verse says “Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence.” There were two young sister workers in Los Angeles having Gospel meetings. About two or three hundred people were attending, the friends give us wonderful support. A Church of Christ man was attending and wanted to have a talk with them. He kept pushing for a visit. They had a premonition as to what he wanted to talk about and asked me if I would come with them. I said I would if he approved. He was red hot and said he was so glad to talk to a man. He started by saying “you people don’t believe in the Bible”. I asked him why not, and he said that these two women were usurping authority over the men. So I asked him where Timothy was when Paul wrote to him. Timothy was at Ephesus and some of the women there wouldn’t listen to their husbands. They wanted to be the boss. Sometimes it’s hard not to want to be the boss because from when we’re small we want to be the boss. It’s best to break their wills when they are small. Over fifty years ago a woman took her little fellow out of the meeting. She had five boys and the baby was only about six months old. He would squeal and she would take him out of the meeting and bring him back. But he had a lot of spunk, he would arch his back and squeal again so she took him out and spanked him. After the meeting one of the women said to me “wasn’t it terrible what Olive did?” and I replied “When you can control your one daughter like Olive controls her five boys we’ll talk again”. These five boys were real mischievous little boys. As soon as your eyes were off them they were up to tricks, but they were disciplined by their parents. They respected their parents and later their teachers and employers and they had a nice life. It’s wonderful when parents work together, but when the woman is the boss the kids don’t turn out good. Where the man is the boss and the wife is the help it turns out good. It’s what the world needs. The only way is to have the love of Christ dwelling in us. It savours what we do. Do you know a woman who is the boss? Some men want to use their wives differently from when they were going together. They forget all the promises they made when they were going together. Paul asked the wives to be in subjection to their own husbands and he asked he husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Jesus was so kind He never ridiculed people. A young couple I knew before they got married had one boy of about nine. They were ready to separate but the wife made a new stand and started to talk to me. I asked “What did you do when you were going together, what started it? Why did you want him to come again? What did you do that made him want to come again?” We talked about their courting days and how different they were, and now they won’t forgive each other. Divorce only makes it worse. A lady wrote in the newspaper that she thought divorce as the answer, but it’s made it worse.

Chapter 3 tells us about choosing elders. The workers choose the elders, but it’s only the Holy Spirit that makes a person an elder. When the workers are chosen, they have to have certain qualifications also, but it’s only this Holy Spirit that can make a servant of God. It’s difficult to deny ourselves daily, take up our cross and follow Him all day. That’s the struggle I have. Before I left to go into the ministry I heard my parents talking of the experience of the early workers, being hungry and tired and nowhere to sleep, and I thought that would be hard. I hadn’t so much of it but that was easy. It’s taking up our cross daily that’s hard. Ten to twelve years ago the doctor found I had low blood sugar, and put me off all sugar. I thought it would be hard to do without the nice things but I feel so much better for it that I don’t mind. But what is hard is to deny myself when someone speaks roughly to me to answer pleasantly back. Jesus said “do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. I don’t like people roaring at me so I mustn’t roar at them. You can’t roar at people tenderly. It’s so necessary so that we can have a good relationship with our Maker. I had one companion who corrected me more than any other companion, but I admired the way he did it. He told me I spoke monotone, that I had a preaching voice and a visiting voice, and I asked him how I could overcome it. He told me to speak in the meeting as I would when visiting. It’s hard to hear yourself, but I tried.

James said “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” I need this wisdom. In the Californian desert there was a church with a few people. The elder moved away and there was no-one to qualify for that position. There was one couple there with some children, but they talked about others behind their backs and were selfish. So we couldn’t put the meeting there. The other couple had three children, but the parents quarrelled terribly. Fortunately the one child was a peacemaker, or I don’t know what they would have done. They were so opposite that we often wondered how they ever got married. They were very anxious to have the meeting, but we told them they couldn’t have it under prevailing circumstances. However, they were so anxious to have the meeting that they said they would try and stop their quarrelling and we said we would try and help them. That was 35 years ago. The meeting is not there now. He’s a sick man and moved away, but that couple grew closer and closer and made a desperate effort to forgive each other. Whenever I shook hands with them I thanked God for all that He had done for them.

Paul wrote “Exercise thyself unto godliness”. How do you do that? Well, if God is love, godliness is just showing love. Paul wrote to the Galatians in chapter six “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest ye be also tempted”. I have found that it has never made a matter worse to try and help if it is done in the spirit of meekness. But when not done in the spirit of meekness it makes it worse. Paul said to Timothy he must be an example in word. In our country there are cross words, ugly words, slang words, swear words, moderated swear words. I had a young companion and he was with me his first year. The second year he had another companion and was back with me the third year. One day he used a slang word, and I just looked at him. He knew me well enough to know what that look meant. He said “I learned that from you”. I could hardly believe it, but afterwards I checked myself and found it was so. Do you get my point? He just said it once and I picked it up. I had been saying it for years and I had never noticed. That’s how we have to examine ourselves. Words should be flavoured with love and kindness. If we can be like that we will be admired. How do we use each other, are we kind, how do you react? My companion helped me to see myself. After something had blown over, he said to me “You go quiet when things don’t go as you like”. I gave him the quiet treatment. It’s not so bad if it’s just for a couple of minutes, but if it goes on all day and the next, it’s terrible. There is no communication. He took an opportunity to help me. I am supposed to be a servant. I have no right of my own at all. That is what it means to be dying daily, and that’s what will make us useful in the Kingdom.

When we were in Hawaii the weather was nice and some people took us to a hotel for a meal. While we were waiting for the rest of the party a man and his wife of about sixty came along. She slipped on a loose mat and he shouted at her “Can’t you pick up your big feet, why don’t you look where you’re going. You’ll break your neck next time.” I just wondered how he would have spoken to her forty years ago. “My dear, are you alright, did you hurt yourself?” And what has happened since? With familiarity, love, tenderness and care goes away. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians about charity he told of three things that we could have and without charity it wouldn’t profit us. To speak with the tongues of men and of angels, to have the gift of prophecy and of knowledge etc. To give all we have to feed the poor and to give our bodies to be burned, but without charity it would profit us nothing. Love suffereth long and is kind. A lady who was having matrimonial problems spoke to me and told me what had happened at her home. A saleslady came to the door and she spoke to her in a friendly way, and after she left her little girl said “Mummy why do you speak so nicely to that lady and so ugly to us?” If you want a lonely, unhappy old age, just carry on like that. Love is not envious or emulous. Love has two prominent things that people in love want to do – to give and serve. I can’t tell you how it affects us when we see how people are so anxious to help us in the homes and want to give us so much. We can’t take it all because we haven’t the room in our luggage. I would like to manifest more of the spirit that Jesus has shown to me.

Once when we were looking for an opening somebody asked me if I knew a certain woman. I affirmed that I did. The person said “you didn’t know her when I knew her, but she’s a lady now.” God had changed her. One blacksmith was as hard as nails and he had a furious temper. Nobody ever talked back to him. Two sister workers had a mission and he made his choice. Twenty years later a man came to our meetings, and asked if we knew this blacksmith. He said you were the only people who could do anything for him. It wasn’t us, it was God who did it. God took him and made him all over. It matters whether we let Him work in and through us all day long and I must take up my cross and follow Jesus and at the end we’ll see Him as He is.

My thoughts this afternoon are found in the book of Judges, Chapter 21, verse 25. “They did that which was right in their own eyes.”

This book of Judges is a contrast between those who were controlled by the Spirit of God, and those who did right in their own eyes. Over and over again it says “They did that which was right in their own eyes.” We have known people who have rejected the Lord as their King because they wanted to do that which was wrong; they knew it was wrong, and they did not want the Lord or anyone else to interfere with their plans. But these people were wanting to do what was right. At first sight you might say that these people had found a paradise. There was no King to set the standard for them. In one place we read there was no magistrate to put them to shame. They were at liberty to live up to their own opinion and do that which was right in their own eyes, but instead of those people finding a paradise, they found just the opposite. There is no book in the Bible that registers more disappointment and heartache and sorrow than this book of Judges.

Solomon said, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death.” These people proved that, to their sorrow, over and over again. Jesus said that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God; he said that to religious people who wanted to do what was right. These people in the book of Judges also proved that to their sorrow. Over and over again it says, “They did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.” But according to their own reasoning they were doing that which was right, and the Lord had to deliver them into captivity until they awakened to the fact. I hope we can all rejoice this afternoon over the fact that we do have a King in our fellowship, and that we have the privilege of putting the government of our lives upon His shoulders, and that we have the privilege of His Spirit being with us to guide us. That is the bright part of the picture in this Book of Judges.

There were four men in particular upon whom the Spirit of the Lord came, and the Spirit of the Lord had a control over their lives and made them a blessing to each other and a joy to the heart of God. If you turn back to chapter 3, you will find the first man mentioned along this line. At this time the children of Israel were captives in the land of Mesopotamia. How did they get into that captivity? By doing that which was right in their own eyes. Mesopotamia was next to Babylon, and Babylon was a place of confusion, and the reason why there has always been confusion in Babylon is because people there are worshipping in a way that is right in their own eyes. Maybe from their place in Mesopotamia, they could see what might happen to them if the Lord did not come to their rescue; so in their distress they cried unto the Lord, and the Lord raised up a man by the name of Othniel.

In verse 10 it says “The Spirit of the Lord came upon Othniel” and he led those people forth to battle and delivered the people from the King of Mesopotamia and brought them back to their own land, and verse 11 tells us that the land then had rest. That is the order of God’s working with His people. The Spirit of the Lord led to victory, and victory led to liberty and liberty led to rest, and for the first time they could sing “How sweet is the rest of God.” I wonder if you appreciate the fact this afternoon that you are in fellowship with the only people in the world who possess the rest that God gives. The Scripture tells us that. The Lord said, “The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest.” There is no rest to the wicked, He said. And to the religious people in His day He said, “You come unto me and I will give you rest.” That was because the rest is found in no other place except in His fellowship. So the order here is the Spirit of the Lord led to victory, and victory led to liberty, and liberty led to rest, and the next time you sing that hymn “How sweet is the rest of God” may you appreciate the fact that you are among the only people in the world who know what it is to enjoy that rest. The reason why we possess that rest is because of the Spirit of God.

In chapter 6 of the book of Judges we read of another man upon whom the Spirit of the Lord came. It was the man Gideon. At this time the people were in the captivity of the Midianites and Midian means strife. How did they get there? By doing that which was right in their own eyes. There is nothing that can cause strife quicker than that. Well these people, again in their distress, cried unto the Lord and God raised up this man Gideon, and in verse 34 of chapter 6 it says “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and this led those people forth to victory.” Again the Spirit of the Lord led them to victory, and victory led them to liberty, and in this case, liberty led them to peace. Verse 23 of this 6th chapter the Angel said to Gideon. “Peace be unto thee, fear not, thou shalt not die.” To begin with, if you do what we ask you to do, you will end up in peace, and the promise of God was fulfilled on his behalf. The Spirit of the Lord led to victory and victory led to liberty and liberty led to the sweetest peace they had ever known in their day.

There are three things we would like you to notice about this man Gideon upon whom the Spirit of the Lord came. In verse 15, he spoke of his inability. He said, “I am the least in my father’s house and my father is poor in Manasseh, and Manasseh was the smallest tribe.” He said to the Angel, “Surely you would not expect a person like me to bring deliverance to Israel.” You might say he was just about as far down on the list as a person could be. The tribe of Manasseh to which he belonged was the smallest tribe, and his father was among the poor in Manasseh, and he was the least in his father’s house. So it is only normal that he would think that the Lord could not use a person like him.

The Lord said on another occasion, “It is not by might, or by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.” God was proving to Gideon and to the whole world, in this case, it is not a matter of being a powerful person in a high commanding position, but it is a matter of possessing the Spirit of God. There is a real message of hope in that for you and me. If it was a matter of power or might, or attaining to some great standard, it would be impossible for us to fill a place of usefulness, but the place of usefulness in God’s family has always been determined by whether or not we have the Spirit of God. God proved on this occasion that He could take a person who was the least in the land, and by the aid of His Spirit make one of the greatest generals he ever had.

There is another thing I want you to notice about this man Gideon, verse 36 he said, “Lord if thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, will it be all right if I put a fleece of wool on the floor, and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.” And the Lord granted that and when he went out in the morning the ground was dry, and he wrung a whole bowl full of moisture out of that fleece. The next night he asked if he could prove God the other way, and he said, “Tonight if I put a fleece on the floor, and it be dry only upon the fleece and all the ground be wet with dew.” And the Lord granted it. You can understand the assurance that Gideon needed here, can’t you? What He wanted the Lord to prove to him was – the surrounding conditions don’t make any difference to God’s promise to me! He was out to fight against one of the greatest armies in the country and all he had was three hundred men with him, without a single weapon. They had a pitcher, and a lamp and a trumpet. You would say the surrounding conditions were not very good for victory. The Lord was just proving to Gideon – Gideon, when I make a promise to you, the surrounding conditions don’t interfere with that promise whatever.

Maybe we could pause long enough this afternoon to remind ourselves that God’s promises to you and me do not depend on surrounding conditions. There are no hidden clauses in God’s promises. He means exactly what He says. Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians that when the Gospel was preached to them, the promise God made to them through Christ was “Yea,” and “Amen.” He said it was not “Yes” and “No:” in other words, the Lord was not saying to them through the Gospel, “I can help this person, but no, I cannot help that person, he is too far gone.” He didn’t say, “Yes, I can help you when everything is going good, but I can’t help you if some foreign power took over.” Paul said, “The promise God made to you through Christ when we preached the Gospel was Yes, and Amen. Yes, I can help you when everything is going good, Yes I can help you just as readily when everything around you is going bad.” I like the little thought that is given to us in Isaiah 40, in this connection, verse 15, the Lord said that all the nations were just like a drop of water in the bucket. Now a drop of water into the bucket does not change the picture whatever. You take a drop of water out of a bucket and it doesn’t make any difference, and the Lord was saying to these people if all the nations of the world were united against you, it wouldn’t make one bit of difference. He said, “It is just a drop in the bucket, and every promise I have made to you, I am able to fulfil, regardless what the surrounding conditions are like.” God not only gave Gideon this assurance, but He took him forth to battle and proved he was able to do what He had promised. In chapter 7, verse 17, there is one more statement concerning Gideon I would like to mention. He said to the three hundred men with him, “You look on me and do likewise.” Gideon knew these three hundred men with him had not had the relationship with God that he had. He knew that the counsel which God gave to Gideon himself, the men had never heard it, and he knew that trying to counsel them by what he had heard would only be found as they were going into battle. This is the part we want you to notice. He said to these three hundred men “You look on me, and what ever I do you do likewise.” He said, it shall be as I do, you shall do also, and the Lord will give us victory. Do you know why Gideon could uphold himself like that before those men? Because he was living a Spirit controlled life. Maybe this will contain a little message for you parents in the meeting this afternoon. We know you are anxious to help your children in a God-ward direction. We know you cannot be lecturing them all the time, but you can do like Gideon did. You can be so controlled by the Spirit of God that you can tell your children “You just look on me, and you do what I do.” You are safe to do whatever I say, and you are safe to go wherever I go, and if you do, you will get the victory. We feel that way also when God entrusts us with a young companion. I have a young companion just starting out by my side, I knew that young man had not learned to know the Lord like I do, and he didn’t know the mind of the Lord as I had learned to know it. I didn’t want to do any lecturing because that can sometimes crush a young worker, so I just prayed the Spirit of God would control my life to the point he could look upon me and do as I do and be safe. This was one of the things that led to one of the greatest victories that Israel ever knew. The Spirit controlled mind that others could follow and do what he did, and go where he went and share in great victory.

Chapter 11 of this book we read of another man upon whom the Spirit of the Lord came. This man’s name was Jephthah and in verse 29, it says, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah.” At this time the children of Ammon were coming down to attack Israel. The people turned to Jephthah as the one to lead them to victory. Verse 29 says, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and the same results took place. The Spirit of the Lord led to victory, and victory led to liberty and liberty led to fruitfulness. We often have heard people speak of the vow that Jephthah made. He said, “If you give me victory and deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” At the top of my Bible somebody wrote Jephthah’s rash vow. But I would like to tell you why I don’t think that was a rash vow. It tells us this man had a daughter, she was the only child he had. There were no other brothers or sisters in the family and when he would have come home from his other journeys the first one to run out of his house to meet him would have been that daughter. It would not have been a dog because the Jews did not allow the dogs in the house. It would not have been one of the servants because the servants kept themselves in the background until they were told what to do. It would not have been his wife because the women in those countries keep themselves behind the doors and greet their husbands there. No doubt when this man had come home from time to time this little daughter had been running out of the house to meet him, and I feel satisfied in my mind when he made this vow to the Lord he knew what it was going to cost him. He knew it would mean giving his only daughter to the Lord, and the thought of that brought him very low. I appreciate parents who are giving their children to the Lord even though it does hurt inside. I don’t say that he gave this daughter to the work. But I say that this is a picture of a father giving his child to the work. This would have cost this man double, because this was the only child that could have perpetuated his name on the earth. The Lord told the people in the law that if a man had no sons then his daughter could have the inheritance and carry on his name. That meant a great deal to the Jews. When this man gave his daughter to the Lord, he knew that that meant his name would die out in the history of the Jews, and when this man gave that only daughter to the Lord, he did something that he could not afford to do, but he did it because his love for the Lord was so great. I might mention in passing that this fellowship is made possible because of people who do what they cannot afford to do. When Abraham took that son Isaac up to give him to the Lord, he did something he could not afford to do. Abraham was at the age when he needed that boy, and the boy was old enough now to be a real help to his father and when Abraham offered that only son of his to the Lord, he did something that he could not afford to do, but he did so because of his love for the Lord. We had a young girl in our field who is now in the work. When she was only fourteen years of age, her mother went through a physical experience that made her wholly dependent on that girl. Not only was she an emotional support to her mother, but a natural support to her mother, and this went on for years and the girl was now 22 years old. They had come home from the convention and the girl was very silent that night. The mother asked her, “Why are you so quiet?” She said, she was just thinking about when workers leave convention and how wonderful it must be to go to a field with a companion. The mother said to her, “Would you like to go into the Work?” She said “I would love to more than anything in all the world, but I cannot leave you, mother.” The mother said to her, “If you want to go in the work, you go; I will be able to take care of myself now.” When that mother gave her only daughter to the work she did something she could not afford to do, but she did it because she loved the Lord.

There is something else in the background of this story of Jephthath. The children of Ammon had come down to battle against them, and you may remember, that Ammon, the father of this family was born in the most disgraceful, degrading conditions that a man could be born. He was born to a young woman who had sacrificed every respect and common decency in order to preserve the name of her family. After this meeting, if you read Genesis 19, verse 38, you will know what I am talking about. This son Ammon was born under those conditions. He was the product of a woman that had sacrificed every common decency to keep the family name going, but Jephthah, on the other hand, was willing to make any sacrifice necessary to keep the Lord’s name alive on the earth, and as far as I have been able to find, his name just dropped out of the picture as far as Jewish history is concerned. When he gave his daughter to the Lord, it meant he would be a nameless nobody in the eyes of the Jews from that time on, but he didn’t lose anything. If you turn to Hebrews 11, verse 32, you will find Jephthah listed in the honour roll of God. If you put the Lord first in your life and give Him the proper control of your life, it may be you will be a nameless nobody in the world, but no one has ever done that but what they have ended up in the honour roll of God, just like Jephthah did. In one sense, this battle between Jephthah and Ammon is the battle that still goes on among people today. There is a tendency in the human race to want to make a name for yourself and sometimes, even among the Lord’s people, we have to decide whether I want to live to make a name for myself, or live to extend God’s name in the world. We just pray the Spirit of the Lord will come upon every one of us in this meeting this afternoon like it did Jephthah. You might lose your esteem in the eyes of your fellow men, but you will go down in the annals of the record of God.

Maybe we have time to speak about Samson, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord came several times. Chapter 13, verse 25, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him the first time. It tells us that he was living between two places. If you turn back to chapter 9, verse 41 you will read these two places where the borders God had placed for the tribe of Dan which he was among. The reason why it was easy for the Spirit of the Lord to rest upon him was because he was living in the centre of God’s will. He was living within the borders the Lord Himself had set for him. I would just like to talk for a few minutes to you young people in this meeting this afternoon. We would certainly encourage you to live in the centre of God’s will and in the centre of God’s people, and live within the borders the Lord Himself has set for your young lives, that will give the Spirit of God a chance to rest on you and to direct you into what is best for you. Whether you will have the glorious privilege of going out into the Work or whether it will be your lot to stay home and raise up a family, it will be easy for the Lord to direct you if you just stay in the centre of His will.

A year ago we had two young people offer for the work in our state. The one was a young sister and the other a young brother. They offered at different times, so the one did not know what the other was doing, but each of them came to me with the same statement. They said, “You might be surprised if I tell you I want to go into the Work.” I said to them, “I am not the least bit surprised.” I had been watching those young lives for several years, well the girl for several years, and the young man since he professed, and every time you saw them they were right in the centre of God’s Will. They were not border line dwellers. There was no doubt when you looked upon their lives that they were living right in the centre of the borders God had set for them, so it was no wonder God could put His Spirit upon them and give them the greatest privilege He ever gave to man or woman, and both of those young people are enjoying a place in the harvest field today. We would say again to our wonderful young people at this convention, you just keep yourself in the centre of God’s will. Remember it is God that sets the borders around your life, not the workers, just as it was God who set the borders around the tribe of Dan to which this man Samson belonged. You keep yourself in the centre of God’s will and put yourself in the position where the Spirit of God can rest upon you, then God can direct you into whatever place God feels is best for you.

Chapter 14, we read of the next time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson. Samson was going along this day and a lion came out of the vineyards and roared against him, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, and he took that lion and he rent him in two just like he would a newborn lamb. God proved to him that day that the Spirit of God is also a Spirit of power. Later on, when he came back to that place, he thought he would turn aside to see if that thing had really happened. Did I really do that? Did I really take that young lion in the fullness of his strength and tear him like that? He turned aside and there was the carcase of the lion, and the bees had made a nest there, and he took some of the honey and ate it himself and brought some of the honey and gave it to his father and mother, but he never told them how he got that honey. That is because he was controlled by the Spirit of God. He could have told his parents of the way he endangered his life to get that victory, he could have told them how ferocious that lion was that he killed, but he didn’t tell them anything about that, but all he did was bring them the sweetness of the victory. Maybe there is a little lesson in that for all of us in this meeting this afternoon. When you come to the meeting and you give your testimony, you just bring the sweetness of the victory. Sometimes there is a little blanket thrown over the meeting when people talk about their battles and struggles and disappointments when they are giving their testimony. I have always been glad that Psalm 102 and 103 have been put side by side in the Bible. In Psalm 102 the Psalmist was speaking of how much it cost him to be a child of God, but in the 103rd Psalm he spoke of the wonderful benefits. You will notice that Psalm 102 was a prayer and Psalm 103 is a testimony. This man felt his loneliness. He said, “I am like a pelican of the wilderness, I am like an owl in the desert, I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.” He felt so isolated from the rest of the world, and he gave other expressions in this Psalm as to what this was costing him, but the wonderful part of it was he took that into the place of prayer, and poured it out before the One who could do something about it, but when he went into the meeting, he took the 103rd Psalm “Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits.” If any time you feel discouraged, and you feel the battle is pretty hard and you feel the foe is pressing in on you, don’t take that into the meeting. You do like the Psalmist – you take that in before the Lord, pour it out to Him, the One who can do something about it, and then you will find it will be easy to bring the 103rd Psalm into the meeting. In other words, like Samson, you will leave the story of the battle out of the picture; you will bring the sweetness of the victory you can share with others.

May God help us to perceive this afternoon that we do have a King in this fellowship, and we do have the privilege of putting the government of our lives upon His shoulders, and we have His Spirit within us that guides us into the enjoyment of everything we have been speaking about this afternoon. May this help us to realize we are the most fortunate people on the face of the earth, and we are the only people on the face of the earth that can sing, “How sweet is the rest of God.” May we appreciate this as we should for His sake, him the One who can do something about it, and then you will find it will be easy to bring the 103rd Psalm into the meeting.

I have tried to equip myself the last while with the prayers of Elisha, and I have tried to find out why the Lord answers each of his prayers immediately. In II Kings 6:17, I felt I found a little secret concerning his prayers. This was when Elisha and his companion were spending a night in a village called Dothan, and during the night the armies of Syria came down and surrounded the Village. The young companion got up first, and he looked out and saw the hosts surrounding the city and he panicked. He turned to Elisha, and he said, “Alas, my master, how shall we do?” Elisha said, “Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Then he prayed and said, “Oh, Lord, open the eyes of this young man that he may see,” and immediately the Lord answered that prayer. Then he prayed, “Lord, smite this people with blindness,” and the Lord answered that prayer immediately, and Elisha said unto those people, “This is the way,” and he led them into the land of Samaria. Then he said, “Now, Lord, open their eyes,” and the Lord answered that prayer immediately. I like to think of this as a picture of a mission. It was a mission that began with close companionship, and it ended with one of the greatest victories recorded in the Old Testament. Elisha was a wonderful old companion, and the reason for that was that he had also been a wonderful young companion.

One day when they were trying to identify Elisha to the king when the king didn’t just know who he was, they said, “This Elisha which poured water on the hands of Elijah.” Over in those countries they still eat with their fingers. Those that are in their homes when the meal is finished can walk over to the sink and wash their fingers, but there were no facilities like that at the place where we had conventions, and outside the door, there would be a girl about sixteen with of water. When the meal was over, the people would go outside, and this girl would pour water on their hands while they washed them. Someone had seen Elisha do this for his older companion, Elijah. That impressed them more than anything else that Elisha ever did. When they were identifying him to the king, they could have said, “This is the Elisha that parted the river Jordan,” or, “This is the Elisha that healed the waters of Jericho.” But no, they said, “This is the Elisha that poured water on the hands of his companion.” This reminds us that it is our spirit of service in our ministry that impresses the world more than anything else that we can ever do.

Now in these verses, we read of Elisha, the older companion now, that he is rendering the same service to his younger companion that he rendered to his other companion. When his young companion was panicky, he sat down and talked to him, and said, “Fear not, they that be with us are more than they that are against us.” What he was doing was allowing that young companion of his to see things through his eyes. I thank God for the old companions that I had when I first started in the work who often sat down and let me see things through their eyes. There is something about the truth that you just see gradually, and you just see it more wonderfully every year, but each year, you see it a little more plainly and a little more of its greatness. Paul prayed for the church at Ephesus that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened and that they would see the height and the depth of the love of God. Those people had professed for over ten years and were doing well, but Paul had professed over thirty years, and he saw a lot more than they ever saw. What he was doing was just praying that the Lord would open their eyes to see the wonderfulness of this thing that he saw.

After Elisha had allowed his young companion to see things as he saw them, then he prayed that the Lord would allow him to see things for himself. The Lord opened the eyes of that young worker, and he saw then why his older companion had such confidence and faith in God. One of the greatest privileges that God ever gives to a worker is to have a young companion. It is wonderful to be able to help them after their little discouraging moments and their times of sadness and bring them to the place where they see this is as wonderful as you see it for yourself.

Then Elisha said, “Lord, smite them with blindness.” In other words, Lord just helps them to see how blind they are. One cannot help people, especially those of a religious background until first of all they realise they are blind. Spiritually speaking, this army was made up of blind men who were following a blind leader. If the king of Syria had not been blinded by his own pride and selfishness, he never would have tried to destroy those two servants of God. So Elisha prayed, “Lord, help them to see how blind they are.” The Lord answered that prayer immediately. Then he led them out into the land of Samaria, and he said, “Now, Lord, open their eyes.” I believe he meant, “Lord, now You have shown them how blind they are, now open their eyes to see the goodness of God just as I see it.” The Lord again immediately answered that prayer. The king of Israel said to Elisha, “At this point, my father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them?” “No,” he said, “Feed them. Give them a feast!” He was manifesting the spirit of Christ at that time. When the disciples said to Jesus, “Shall we command fire to come down and destroy them?” Jesus said, “No, you know not what spirit you are of. I am not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

The spirit of Christ in Elisha manifested on this occasion and the spirit of Christ he showed to his young companion shows why God was anxious and ready to hear and answer his prayers. Elisha realised that the only thing that is going to help these people is to give them food. That also helps people to realise that they are wrong. They go to their own church, and they go through all the formalities of the church, and they don’t get any food for their souls there that is the common complaint. That was the thing that convinced my parents that the Methodist church was wrong – they never got anything there to feed their souls. When the two workers came into our district, the thing that convinced them first of all that these workers were right was because they did feed them.

So, Elisha had prayed that God would open their eyes to see the goodness of God, and so he wanted to give them a demonstration of the goodness of God, and so he fed them – if your enemy hunger, feed him. So after giving them a good feed, they sent them home, and it was a total victory. The last verse of this story says that the army of Syria never invaded the land of Israel again. Why should they fight against the God who had fed them so abundantly, when He had every right to destroy them? So this was a total victory, no lives were lost, and no was injured, and complete victory was won. This was all brought about because of a servant of God who knew how to pray and knew how to feed people.

There is another little incident that will just take a minute to tell that parallels with this one. That is when Rehoboam became the king of Israel in the stead of his father, Solomon. The people in the area came to him and said, “Your father taxed us so we just couldn’t keep up with the taxation, and couldn’t you make it a little easier for us?” So Rehoboam when to the old men who had counselled his father when he was kind, and he asked them, “What should I do about this?” The old men counselled him by saying, “If you be a servant to these people and speak good words to them, and you feed them, these people will be your servants for ever.” Now in one case, we read of a man who was a servant to the outsiders and knew how to feed them, and won the victory that way. But in this case, it was a man who was a servant to his own people inside the kingdom. But this principle works in both cases. There is a working principle there that I have certainly appreciated, and that is that people are responsive. John said, “We love Him because He first loved us.” We give our best to Him because He has given His best for us. The counsel the old men gave to the king Rehoboam was, “If you just make yourself a servant to these people, they will respond to that and be your servants.”

There is a sad ending to that story, and it is that some young people came into the picture and they told the king, “Don’t you take the old men’s counsel, you just take control of the situation, and you just beat them into submission.” Rehoboam took the counsel of the young men, and it caused a division between God’s people. It caused the tribes of Israel to revolt against the tribes of Judah, and this is what took them in captivity into Babylon later. We are glad that we have this counsel and we can profit by it, even if Rehoboam didn’t. You just make yourself a servant to these people and speak good words to them, and feed them, and they will be your servants for ever. When you get the victory that way, it is a complete victory. No lives are lost, no feelings are hurt, and no damage is done. It was our brother, Willie Phyn that called my attention to this verse concerning Rehoboam. I will tell you where it is found, and maybe you would like to mark it in your Bibles. It is found in I Kings 12:7.

We are very glad to know there are so many of you interested in the truth, because you are the hope of the kingdom. Some of us don’t have many years left, if any. Many of us are living on borrowed time. You young people can be very useful working together, as you consecrate your lives to the Lord and let Him work in and through you, making you a light in this dark world and a witness for Jesus. That word “witness” comes from the Greek word “martyr,” and a person who was a witness was willing to lay down his life to tell the truth — you young people here tonight have an opportunity of witnessing for the Lord Jesus. If you do, you are going to have a wonderful future and you will come to know the peace and rest of God that you could never know any other way but by being true in whatever place that you are going to serve the Lord. I am reminded of quite a few young people in the Bible who were very useful in their day, and today they have left us a wonderful example of being obedient to their parents, and the parents having that wisdom from above to guide those young people right.

Let us consider Isaac [Gen. 22]. We do not know how old Isaac was when God asked Abraham to offer his son; some think he was just a little boy, but I rather believe he was a young man because when his father laid the wood on him to carry up the mountain for that sacrifice, it would have been a little more than an ordinary person could carry. He must have been really strong, but when they reached the place of sacrifice, Isaac willingly submitted to his father — such faith, such confidence he had in his father and the Lord. God had asked Abraham to offer his son and Isaac was willing to give his life. I don’t suppose anyone would know what it meant for that man Abraham and his wife Sarah to offer that sacrifice. You people here who are fathers and mothers might know a little better than I what that would have cost. I feel today that you fathers and mothers and you young people have a similar battle. For a father and mother to consecrate their lives to God, and to have their little children different than other people’s children in the neighborhood and at school, and see them face that reproach and scorn of the world, takes courage. It is difficult for the little ones too, but because they love the Lord and have a reverence for Him, they are willing to do it for Jesus’ sake if the parents encourage them in that direction.

There was a young mother in Ohio who was quite angry when I went there for a visit. She said to me “When my little girl ( five years old) goes to school, she is going to be like other little girls.” She told me about her parents, how hard they had made it for her. Twelve years later it was my privilege to visit the same mother who sat in the same rocking chair. Tears were streaming down her face when telling me about her 17-year-old girl. She was just like other very rebellious girls and now the mother wanted her to be different. Can I impress upon you tonight that the time to start giving those little children a reverence for God is when you hold them in your arms! You who have those little ones in our trust, I hope you can give to them the same thing that Abraham gave to his boy. Then we get the picture of when he was ready to go through with what God asked him to do. The angel of the Lord said ” Abraham, lay not thy hand upon the lad…for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” There was a ram caught in the thicket and they offered it there together. When I think of those people in the Bible, there is a similarity today, because this world is very wicked. It is only Christ in you that is going to help you that have the courage and love in your heart toward your children and others, also a forgiveness in your heart toward everyone, no matter what they do to you. Then you will have the presence of God with you and you will know the joy of His salvation and have the power that will enable you to do what you can’t do in any other way.

Then we think of Joseph at 17 years of age. There are quite a few here at that age. It wasn’t very pleasant in the home when his brothers hated him. His father had known what it was to wrestle with God and to submit to God in a way that left a mark on him. Jacob was able to put into Joseph a love for God and a reverence for His Kingdom. Because his brothers hated Joseph, they sold him as a slave. I don’t know if you can get a picture of gentle Joseph when they pulled him up out of that pit. I hope you will read the story in Gen. 37. This boy was sold as a slave; his master saw that God was with him. It wasn’t so much what he said. His master saw God was with him. Can other people see that God is with you? That is the main thing, children. (Pardon me if any of you don’t like that word. But it is used in the Bible. You seem like children to me. It just seems like yesterday when we were holding some of you as little ones.) Why was God with Joseph? Because he had no hard feelings toward his brethren. They didn’t do him right. The next thing he was in prison because of Potiphar’s wife. She wanted him to commit adultery, but he didn’t yield to temptation. The prison keeper saw God was with Joseph, and when he was brought before Pharaoh, the ruler of the land noticed immediately he had the spirit of the living God. That is what they saw, and I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you and me to live so closely to God that his very virtues are seen in us and people will associate us with Him. When Joseph saw his brethren there was only one thing in his heart, and that was to help them. You young people will have a very hard battle because wherever you are — school or work — people will want you to be like those in the world and you must make a decision. No one else can make it for you. If you consecrate your life to God and serve Him, he will give you the needed help to keep true and glorify His name.

I am only going to mention a few, but I feel personally if you look up about the young people in the Bible and read of their trueness to God, it will inspire you to give your best. Samuel was a faithful young man [1 Sam 3:19-4:1]. It was a time that was very, very dark spiritually when Samuel was born [1Sam3:1]. The people were so distressed when they went up to offer a sacrifice to God because of Eli’s wicked sons. They didn’t do what God asked them to do and here they were the leaders. When Samuel’s mother went up to Shiloh, she made a vow from the depths of her heart that if the Lord would give her a man child, then she would give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. Samuel was born and after he was weaned (wean means to detach or alienate the affection), when he learned obedience and was over being pouty, etc., Hannah took Samuel to Eli’s house. Then Samuel ministered before the Lord, grew on and was in favor with the Lord and with man. We read “And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was [text obscured]”. God spoke to Samuel who became a true messenger and priest. Everyone knew Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. Could you think about what that father and mother put into that young boy before he went to the house of Eli that kept that young lad separated from the defilement that was in that home. I hope you can understand that this is the power of God and that power can be in you and me to keep us consecrated to do His will.

David was another one I thought about. We notice he was prepared, herding sheep and being true to God and having an explicit confidence and faith in God. When he went to visit his brethren and saw that great giant who defied Israel, he remembered when God had delivered him from the lion and bear, and he said, “I will go.” What made him feel so badly was that this man defied the name of God and he was willing to go so that “all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” It wasn’t for any fame of his own, but to prove to others that there is a living God. Every one of us here tonight have that same privilege of consecrating our lives so that God can work in and through us and other people can see by our consecrated lives that there is a power that they don’t know anything about. A few people interested in their soul’s salvation may ask you about your faith and you can point them to the way that leads to life.

Daniel and his companions were of the King of Judah’s seed, intelligent young men with the ability to learn the Chaldean language, and the Babylonian king took them to minister to him in the palace. It says of Daniel that he “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat.” Dan. 1:8. I don’t know what that meat consisted of — perhaps all the entertainment that went on in the palace, as well as what he was to eat and drink. Daniel asked if they could be put on trial, with only pulse to eat and water to drink. This they did, and at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat, and it wasn’t too long until the king knew they were serving the living and true God. Do you feel this way when you go to school, that you are not going to be defiled with the things of the world? It is very hard also when you go to work. I remember when I started to work with rough men who made fun of me. One of my friends worked in that same factory; he went to meetings, but he couldn’t take the reproach and wanted to be one with the men and listen to their dirty stories and enjoy them. I couldn’t understand. On my lunch hour, I would eat by myself. It is not hard to see why that man didn’t continue long in the truth. We can’t serve God unless we have a power in our lives to be separate from the world and consecrate ourselves to worship Him and Him alone.

I would like to mention the parents of Jesus and John the Baptist. Jesus was brought up in a place with no reputation; one man said, when he heard that Jesus came from Nazareth, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Here God entrusted His son with a woman who found favor with God and a man who was just and upright — ones who would shelter and guide that young life. When Jesus was twelve years of age, He uttered those words, “… wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Start with the children when they are tiny and you can put into those little children a reverence for the one you serve; you cannot do that unless you serve Him in spirit and in truth yourself. Of John’s parents we read, “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” The other priests weren’t that way, but Zacharias and Elisabeth were — consecrated to God. As young men Jesus and John kept consecrated, and then when the time came they were shown to Israel, about thirty years of age. John was able to prepare the way for Jesus and then Jesus came on the scene. It is wonderful what we read, “The people sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up . ” Do you know what it is to sit in darkness? But, “They which sat in darkness saw a great light.” Why? Because He was radiating His Father in heaven. Everyone could see that John the Baptist was a prophet sent from God. These are just some. There are others I would like to mention, but I must go on if I’m going to answer these questions.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING BORN AGAIN AND PROFESSING? There is a lot of difference. When people are born in the world they get a nature and act like human beings because they have been born into a human family. When people are born again into God’s family, they receive a new nature. How does that come about? A person hears the Word. He is convicted in his heart that he is wrong, acknowledges it to God and purposes he is going to forsake all wrong and begin to walk in the light. Then God in heaven gives that person a new life, and life has power. Even with the tiniest blade of grass, the seed is planted in the ground and germinates and the plant pushes out of the ground in spite of gravity. If one is born again, it is similar. God gives him life, and he is able to say, “No, no, no, I don’t want the old life.” But how long will a baby live if you don’t feed him? Not too long. How long will you live when born again if you don’t start to feed? When you pray and worship God in the secret place, you have a relationship with God, you get a power — life and strength. It will enable you not to be moved by the things around you. So many people who have made their choice, when it came time to start to worship God, they knew they should pray, but they couldn’t humble themselves to do it and they had no power. They had no courage. We have an example in Peter. He denied Jesus because he didn’t have the courage to confess him, but a marvelous thing happened. He went out and wept bitterly. What do you read in Acts 4:3, 12, 31-33? “Peter, full of the Holy Spirit….” He was able to speak and he didn’t fear what the Roman Empire or the Jewish nation would do to him. He declared that Jesus rose from the dead and that there was no other nation under heaven whereby men could be saved. When did he get that courage? When he was full of the Holy Spirit. Every person in this meeting can have this life if he earnestly prays, and then he will have the sweetest fellowship with God. “Profess” means to declare or admit openly. When a person makes a profession in the truth and he neglects to pray and worship God, he dies quickly, receiving nothing from God. You can be in meetings, but if you don’t pray and have a desire to read His Word, you get nothing.

WHAT DO PEOPLE MEAN BY HAVING A CONVICTION AND HOW DO WE GET IT? Webster’s definition of a conviction is: “State of being convinced, especially of sin. A strong persuasion or belief: as, to live up to one’s convictions.” When a person is born again, he has convictions. You have the mind of Christ and start to think differently — you know right from wrong — and you start doing what is right in the sight of God. If you don’t have any convictions, that is tragic. I don’t know how to help people without convictions. They are jellyfish, wishy-washy. But just as soon as a person begins to serve God, he has convictions. This is what I am going to do and this is what I am leaving behind.”

DOES GOD ALWAYS SPEAK TO US BY NAME? I think most of us have sat in gospel meetings and felt, “This is for me.” Whether our name is spoken audibly or not, we have been spoken to many times, even when not in a meeting, perhaps when praying. I will never forget the time when I was spoken to when I felt I couldn’t take another step in the ministry. I will never forget the help God gave me at that time when I earnestly prayed.

WHY DON’T PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT GOD PLANNED JUST ONE WAY TO PREPARE PEOPLE FOR EVERLASTING LIFE? John 12:40, II Cor. 4:4. If a blind person was up here and I said, ‘There is the table and my hymnbook and Bible, can’t you see?’ No, he can’t see. He can feel it. If Satan has blinded people’s minds, they can’t understand. This is the purpose of the gospel. ‘To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light.’ I am sorry that the person who wrote this question is like I was when I first started in the ministry. I thought anybody could read the bible and know what is true. Now I understand that people can read the Bible but can’t see the truth, but when we live consecrated lives they can see God is working in us, and that is their hope.

WHEN SOMEONE ASKS IF WE THINK WE ARE SAVED AND THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE, WHAT IS A GOOD ANSWER? God is the judge. Remind them of what Jesus said in Mt. 7:21: ‘Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils? In thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity. What do you tell people when they ask if you believe this is the only way? I tell them what Jesus said in John 14:6 ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ My purpose is to follow Jesus in His true way.

IS IT ALL RIGHT TO READ BIBLE REFERENCE BOOKS? Bible dictionaries give us quite a little information about different nations, customs and people. If you want to learn about the temple service you can read quite a bit about it there, but if you want to look up the New Testament church, you can’t find it. God has hidden that from the wise and prudent and revealed it unto babes. Only the people who are born again can see His Kingdom, as He told Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” We must be careful what we read and study. Does it agree with the teaching of the Holy Scripture? Why do we use the King James version of the bible? We believe it is the best translation of the Bible. There are other translations that might help us to understand some verses better, but according to brother and fellow worker, Anton Koutsourelis, who was a professor in English before he began in the ministry in Greece, the King James version is the best translation.

IS MONEY REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE FURTHERANCE OF THE GOSPEL? I think it is the same today as it was in Jesus’ day because in [Luke 8:1-3] we read of the women who “ministered unto him of their substance.” We read about Paul when he wrote to the Philippians 4:15-17. These people sent little gifts to Paul. We don’t get gas for nothing–we have to pay for it. People loan us a car. When we go to the store, we don’t beg for what we get. Our people–and only our people–have the privilege of ministering to us. If people get too far in debt and can’t meet their obligations, we would rather they pay their debts than give us a gift. One man in Indiana told me when we stopped at his gas station to announce our meeting that one of our friends went to the gospel meeting on his gas–he never paid the bill he owed for gas. We then told our brother it would be better for him to stay home and pay his bills so that man would know he was honest. God’s people have the privilege of helping us. We are responsible for how we use the little we receive to not waste it. What we don’t use we share with others and we can get along, but it is nice when people see the privilege of ministering. I grew up in a very poor home, but my parents told us we shouldn’t spend anything on luxuries except for company; we saved as much as we could so we could minister to His saints and servants . If you have an open home and entertain, it costs you something in dollars and cents. Any person, young or old, was welcome in our home if they behaved themselves. If they didn’t conduct themselves right, my father or mother never hesitated to tell them, “We don’t allow that in this home,” and if they got angry and left the home, they said, “Good riddance to bad rubbish.” They didn’t want people in our home who were not respectful to the kingdom of God. Do you teach your children to sacrifice or not? Do you invite others to your home? It is a wonderful thing to do because you are helping your children see the privilege of laboring with Christ. The Philippian church helped Paul because they wanted him to go and help others.

HOW DO WE GIVE MONEY TO THE WORKERS? Mt. 6:3-4, “‘When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thy alms may be in secret.” When should we start? The only people who have the privilege of giving God’s servants money are the ones who are consecrated to God. Have you parents taught your children to sacrifice for the Kingdom, or do you just want them to keep everything for themselves and get all they can out of this world? When you help God’s servants, you give it as unto the Lord and if we don’t use it right, that’s going to be against us because that is your consecration to God. My needs have been met and I am not asking anything for myself. There were times when I wished I hadn’t spent money when I was with other boys, just to treat them, as it could have been used better. I know what it is to sleep outside in a haymow or empty building, to not have much, but that was a sweet experience. The hardest thing in the work is to be around people who profess to be serving God and are indifferent, false accusers, fault-finders, who don’t want to go to meetings, they don’t care much for the fellowship, they are just living for themselves. It is the deadliest thing to the workers. I hope you will be filled with zeal to live a more consecrated life to God.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN ABOUT, GIVING ALMS (TITHES) TO THE CHURCH? IS THE 10% WE READ ABOUT STILL NEEDED TODAY? The tithe (10%) was asked of the Children of Israel, and this is the reason. There were 12 sons of Jacob and each son’s family became a tribe. We read of them coming out of Egypt and entering the promised land which God gave them. In the last twelve chapters of Joshua, we read of the children of Israel getting their inheritance in land, etc., but the tribe of Levi was not to have an inheritance in land except for cities in which to dwell. What did the Levites do? The Lord said in Numbers 18:20-21 “… I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.” Then the Levites would be getting about the same as the other tribes. The reason we don’t tithe is because it is not necessary. God’s love in the hearts of His people moves them to minister to His servants. When Clara Yeates had surgery, God’s people ministered willingly. When she left the hospital, there was about two dollars left after all the bills were paid. The year before I was with Lloyd Watkins in 1930, he and his companion went to a certain community to have a tent mission. There was no apparent interest and they wanted to move to another town, but they didn’t have any money. While waiting, they continued the meetings and a young family moved across the street and started coming to the meetings. That young family decided. Three weeks later, someone sent a gift and they moved on. They would have missed that family if they had had money to go when they wished. Only God’s chosen people have the privilege of ministering to God’s servants.

WHY DON’T WE HAVE SUNDAY SCHOOLS? It is the duty of parents to teach their children. So many people send their children to some school and they don’t know what kind of a teacher is teaching. Some parents don’t take responsibility. Some men want to sit down and read when they get home, or do what they want to do, and some mothers don’t take time to teach the children. Dt. 6:5-9. I wonder, do you take interest in your children? I read a little quip in a paper that said, “If we gave our gardens as much care as we do our children, all we would have is weeds.” In this world today, people are anxious to have a nice home. It is good to make it comfortable, but if children are disciplined with love, and the father and mother love one another, it is a wonderful atmosphere in which to raise children. Many children in the world today have everything but love. I am glad today that my parents took us with them all the time until we got old enough to be on our own. When you are with your children and you are teaching them, they will know what God wishes for them to do.

HOW DO WE EXPLAIN TO OUTSIDE FRIENDS WHY WE DON’T SPEAK IN TONGUES? That is simple. I Cor.14:1 9. This word “tongue” in the King James version just means languages, and if people who claim to speak in tongues went to Japan they wouldn’t have to go to school to speak Japanese, but we notice they go to the language schools the same as our fellow-servants. Paul said he could speak in languages more than they all, but “I would rather speak five words with my understanding than 10,000 in an unknown tongue.” That is how you can explain it to other people. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit was present. The people there spoke in other tongues (languages) as the multitudes represented 15 different regions. “And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” I can’t explain this last part — they spoke one language and the people heard in another. God did the miracle.

WOULD GOD PHYSICALLY HEAL SOMEONE IN OUR DAY IF IT WAS PRAYED FOR WITH ENOUGH BELIEF? Yes, I believe God could heal today, but the reason God healed people in Jesus’ day was to prove that Jesus was the messiah. All the healings Peter and others did were to prove that Jesus was the Christ. God gave Moses the commandments, the Old Testament law, and everybody received it. Then Jesus came to fulfill the old and introduce the new. How were people going to believe? He performed those miracles so people would believe that Jesus was the Christ.

WHAT ABOUT WHERE PAUL HEALED ALL THOSE PEOPLE IN ACTS? AREN’T THE ACTS STILL CONTINUING TODAY? Phil. 2:25-27. Paul didn’t heal Epaphroditus who was sick nigh unto death. The healing Paul did was to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was with those servants who represented Jesus in the world, but people today have a selfish motive. They are trying to patch up the old body that is going to deteriorate as we get older. II Tim. 4:20, Paul didn’t heal his companions, because there wasn’t any purpose in it –they believed and followed Jesus.

WHAT SHOULD WE SAY WHEN WE ARE ASKED THE NAME OF OUR CHURCH? You just about have to give your testimony. It’s hard because we don’t have a name — the New Testament church didn’t take a name (Acts 9:2), but it was called many names by others (i.e. church of God, church of Christ, church of the firstborn.) It is all the same — it belongs to God. John. 8:31-32; when Jesus stood before Pilate, He just spoke of the “truth.” Jesus was the clearest declaration of truth the world ever saw.

WHAT IS THE CONCRETE FOUNDATION OF OUR BELIEF? The New Testament is the foundation of our belief. Mt.5-7 are the fundamental principles of our belief.

WHY DO WE MEET ON SUNDAY? That’s the day of Jesus’ resurrection. We celebrate His resurrection, the greatest miracle in the world, and this gives us a hope beyond the grave. We commemorate that day by the breaking of bread, Lk. 22:19, I Cor. 11:24-25.

WHY DON’T WE KEEP THE SABBATH? Jesus said He was the lord of the Sabbath, He is greater than the Sabbath. That is the day Jesus met with His disciples after the resurrection.

WHERE IN THE SCRIPTURE DO WE READ THE ORDER OF THE FELLOWSHIP MEETING? [I Cor. 14] We read of singing in the spirit, praying in the spirit and speaking in the spirit, and we read about the breaking of bread. I Cor 11:17-34.

HOW DO WE EXPLAIN WOMEN PREACHERS? In Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, Peter said this was a fulfillment of Joel, “I will pour out of my spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit and they shall prophesy.” This is absolute proof that some of the daughters, handmaidens of God, prophesied. The definition for prophesy is in I Cor. 14:3. Our sister workers do not usurp authority over the men. I Cor. 14:34-35.was for the married women.

WHY AREN’T THE ELDERS GIVEN THE TITLE DEACON OR BISHOP LIKE IN I TIMOTHY? The two words elder and bishop are synonymous. Paul wrote to Titus about ordaining elders in every city. “For a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God.” Titus 1:5-7, Acts 20:17. Paul sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church; vs. 28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves and unto all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the flock…” Those are the elders, or bishops. We don’t use the term bishop so much today, perhaps because in the religious world it pertains to the head of a denomination. The deacons were helpers to the elders and had the same qualifications as did their wives. It would be good for those of you who are elders and deacons to read over the qualifications every once in a while, and the wives should read what pertains to them.

WHAT IS A SCRIPTURAL ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “HOW WILL CHRIST RETURN?” Acts 1:6-11. When Jesus was with His disciples just before He ascended, He asked them to be witnesses. When He finished speaking to them, He ascended and the angel came and said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” He is coming back the same way He went; that’s all I know.

DOES ONE HAVE TO TAKE PART IN PRAYER AND TESTIMONY IN FELLOWSHIP MEETINGS? Some feel they can’t, though they desire to. It is necessary. Rom 10:9. The definition of “confess” is to acknowledge or own, as a fault or debt; To acknowledge faith in.” If you acknowledge it with your tongue, it is necessary to talk, and if you can’t talk, you use sign language. In the Sunday morning meeting, you have the privilege of making confession to what the Lord was to you through the week — the help He was to you, and that will be a help to others. It is not necessary to give a big sermon. Some people are timid. A little girl decided in our meetings who was an A student, but the poor little thing didn’t have the courage to give thanks at the table. We said, “Just give thanks for the food, don’t make a long prayer.” She did that. Then she was afraid to pray. We said, “Just thank God you have the privilege to be in the meeting, etc.” She didn’t have the courage to take part in meetings. We said, “You enjoy reading the scripture, don’t you? Just read a verse and say this is what you want to do.” We must grow and we must have the courage to start. However, there is the possibility sometimes of taking part in meeting and not being helpful. We saw a nice little church formed; they were quite a distance from any of our friends. We went to preparations and received a letter saying that they had had an awful meeting. We wondered what had happened. They were getting along pretty well when we left. We asked later what had happened in that terrible meeting. It was harvest time and everybody was busy working and each one thought the others would have something for the meeting . They all went to the meeting, but no one had prayed or gathered food from God, which made the meeting empty. We were glad they learned that lesson when they were babes. Everyone has a real responsibility, whether young or old. If you are lazy and you don’t want to do it, you will miss your reward.

HOW LONG SHOULD WE SPEAK AND PRAY IN MEETINGS? I don’t like to put a time limit on this, but I will say if you are going to the same church every Sunday and you speak over five minutes, you soon won’t be appreciated by the church. When I was a little boy, we had two and sometimes three who each spoke for 20-30 minutes and the meeting lasted two to three hours. They gave a thought and repeated it over and over, just as if we hadn’t understood. To be appreciated, be brief, but have a nice complete thought, which has been a help to yourself.

SHOULD WE START OUR PRAYER WITH “OUR FATHER? That is what Jesus taught us in Mt. 6:9, “our Father which art in heaven…” It is also important to end a prayer in Jesus’ name, Jn. 14:13-14, Jn. 16:23.

SHOULD WE SAY “AMEN” ALOUD TO OTHERS’ PRAYERS? Amen means “so be it.” Jesus used it in Mt. 6:13. It is good to say this.

PLEASE EXPRESS YOUR VIEWPOINT ON ATTENDING THE WEDNESDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDIES AND GOSPEL MEETINGS. The Wednesday evening Bible studies are to give people a little help in studying the Bible and listening to the testimonies of other people. You have the privilege of encouraging people in that little meeting. Some people don’t go to the Wednesday night meeting — they don’t feel their responsibility of helping other people. I am very sorry for that. But those of you who are interested in the church will make it a practice to be there and if someone comes weary, you can speak a word in season to them. Dear friends, you will never know what those Wed. night meetings meant to me when I was working in the factory, living with ungodly men. It just seemed to me I got a drink of heavenly water in those meetings. One man told me the reason he didn’t go was because he never got anything out of the meeting. He had decided in our meetings so I asked him if he ever took anything to the meeting. He replied, “I think you are right.” If you go with a prepared heart, you will go away with bread. Some people don’t go to gospel meetings — maybe their business requires their time. I remember one place many years ago where we had only a few friends. One man was very anxious for us to have gospel meetings where he lived and worked. All the time we were there he came only on Sunday night when his business was closed. One day he offered me some money and I said I didn’t want to take it. He said, “What is the matter?” I replied that I thought he needed it because he didn’t come to the gospel meetings during the week. He said he had to take care of his business. If he couldn’t close his business for an hour-and-a-half to be at the meeting, his money meant more to him than the meetings. He didn’t like it and he never ministered to me again. Let me tell you, I would rather work with my hands than to ever stoop to having to take money from people who haven’t their heart in this fellowship.

WHEN CHILDREN PROFESS YOUNG, BETWEEN NINE AND TWELVE, SHOULD THEY BE ENCOURAGED TO WAIT UNTIL OLDER BEFORE BEING BAPTIZED? WHEN SHOULD THAT PERSON START THINKING SERIOUSLY ABOUT BAPTISM? I don’t like to see children baptized much before they are 16 because that is the time when a child — boy or girl — starts to understand the pressure of the world, the desire of the human nature and the lusts of the flesh. Are they willing to die to the world, flesh and devil? If they die to these things and are buried with Christ, then God will give to them the risen life of Christ to demonstrate to the world. I will never forget what Jack Carroll told me at Santee. There were two sisters who wanted to be baptized, one was about 11 and the other 12. I went to him and told him I felt it wasn’t the right time because I feared they didn’t realize what baptism meant. He said, “You don’t have to take all the responsibility. Talk with the parents. They would know whether the children feel their need to pray, and the need of separating from the world.” The parents would know better if the girls were ready for baptism than we would. The father spoke up and said the one was ready because she felt her need to pray, and had broken with the world, etc., but her sister didn’t feel her need to pray and they had to keep talking with her about separation from the world. The older one said, I will wait for my sister,” and she did. I don’t like baptizing real young children. If you baptize one and not the other, they can’t understand. We have baptized some people and they hadn’t died. It is against the law in California to bury anybody who isn’t dead, and we shouldn’t baptize people if they aren’t dead to the world and the lust of the world and the pride of life. Jesus died to the world, the flesh and the devil, and lived true to His Heavenly Father.

WHAT DO YOU ANSWER SEVEN AND EIGHT YEAR OLDS WHEN THEY ASK IF THEY CAN PROFESS? Children differ greatly. Some little children are very serious and God has dealt with their hearts. I could never say no, but I do talk with them about their responsibility to obey their father and mother. Some children profess because other children do, but they won’t get help doing it that way. I don’t know how to answer that question generally. Parents should take responsibility in guiding them. One little girl said, “But I am old enough to die!” You couldn’t say no to that one, could you?

WHAT KIND OF THINGS SHOULD YOUNG PEOPLE PRAY FOR? I appreciated this question. It helped me to study a little about prayer. Mt. 5:44, “Pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you.” Can you do it? It’s wonderful if you can. It’s a struggle for me, but I must put forth more effort to practice this. Mt. 6: 9-13 is the sample prayer of Jesus. Are we interested in His kingdom coming, His will being done in earth — in our life and in the lives of others? “Give us this day our daily bread.” Daily bread could mean our strength to face this critical world where there is so much reproach toward people who reverence God. Mt. 9:38, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.”: I won’t ask for your hands, but I would like to ask how many of you have prayed that prayer today, or this week? You who are naming the name of Christ, Jesus taught us to pray that the Lord would send forth laborers, after looking upon the multitudes of people without God. Jesus also said in Mt. 26:41, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” Col. 4:3-4, “Pray also for us, that God would open unto us the door of utterance that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.” I have never felt the need of help more than in these last years. I hope you will remember to pray for the servants of God so they will make the truth manifest as they ought to speak. You tradesmen, as you get to the end of your working days, become expert in your trade, but in our work, we never learn how and we must always depend upon the Holy Spirit to teach us. James 5:16, “Pray one for another.” Before you go to meeting, do you pray for everyone in that little church? It will do you good if you do. It will make your little church close and harmonious.

IS IT GOOD TO PRAY THAT GOD WILL MAKE A CERTAIN THING HAPPEN TO LET US KNOW HIS WILL IN A PARTICULAR MATTER? We read of some people in the Bible doing this and I have heard of others doing it, but I don’t remember ever doing it myself. I would rather have faith and be like a little child and let Him lead and guide me.

SHOULD YOUNG PEOPLE BE ASKED TO GIVE THANKS AT MEALS BEFORE THEY PROFESS WHEN THEY ARE SOFT AND TROUBLED? This responsibility should be that of the parents in the home. Sometimes people include their children when they sing grace at the table; sometimes they ask the children which grace they want to sing.

HOW CAN PARENTS ENCOURAGE THEIR CHILDREN TO SEE THE NEEDS OF THE KINGDOM, APART FROM PRAYING FOR THE HARVEST FIELD AND SHOWING THEIR LOVE FOR GOD’S SERVANTS? If you are sacrificing for the kingdom and your life is consecrated to the Lord, it will have an influence. I didn’t think about the work while I was in high school. I decided at 19. When I saw the fellowship we were enjoying in Christ because of a servant of God being willing to leave his widowed mother, his occupation, his country, and come to our poor part of the country to bring the truth which changed the whole future of our lives, it made me so grateful Thinking of his sacrifice and other people wanting to know the truth, the only thing I could think of then was to give my life. I didn’t have the best health, I could hardly pray in meetings and it was very difficult for me to give my testimony. But, hearing Dad and Mother rehearse over and over their joy in knowing the truth and being in God’s family helped to move me to go into the harvest field. When Archie Turner was with us in San Francisco in 1960 on his way to the Orient, I told him he was the 13th worker to leave for the Orient that year. It was then he told us that in 1905 there were 52 young men and women who left Great Britain, going to South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the USA. Those servants invested their lives in God’s kingdom, and that is why we are enjoying the truth. Archie said some of the people who were serving the Lord had very nice homes. They sold their nice furniture, heirlooms, etc. and gave the money to help the 52 young men and women to go to the different parts of the world. That’s how the gospel came to us. When I was in Italy, I happened to mention this at a convention. Florrie List, one of the workers who is hardly able for the work now, told me when she got through school and was working, she wanted to buy some nice furniture for their home, as they had a fine home, but just had second-hand furniture. Her mother said, “Florrie, we used to have that kind of furniture, but when the workers were going to other lands, we sold it so we could help them go. We don’t want that kind of furniture now, we just want to help in this great kingdom of God.” How could those people have invested their lives and money better? I just thank God for those early servants of His who were willing to sow their lives as seed and for those people who labored with them in the gospel. I love working with you people in California and appreciate your interest in this Kingdom. We want to keep that interest kindled and alive. It will help your children if you keep showing them how much you value the truth, your desire to help others, and the sacrifice the servants of God made to bring us the gospel.

I was about 19 when I decided and then I began to pray and worship God. A year or so later, when thinking of the sacrifice of God’s servants that brought the truth to our family and seeing that the harvest was great and laborers few, I was moved to give my life to help those who were lost. Dad and Mother often told us about the servant of God who left his widowed mother, his occupation and country, coming to our part of Michigan, making it possible for us to know the truth, which resulted in a happy home. With this upon my heart, I couldn’t pray that the Lord would send other people unto the harvest which was great and laborers so few, when I wasn’t willing to go. My keen interest in learning a trade and getting ahead in life evaporated and I couldn’t be happy in doing anything but going into the work. My experience was like this. When I was 22 years old, I was anxious to learn a little about the work, so I visited with our older worker in Michigan. He spoke with me a little about his experience in the harvest field. After convention he wrote to me saying if I wanted a place in the work, a companion was waiting for me. Then the impact came of leaving all — everything, even what the future holds out to all young people. This was a terrific struggle because this is a choice for life. When young men and women offer to lay down their lives to carry the gospel, we know their struggles. Workers are not freaks of nature. God created a man to desire to have a wife and a woman a husband. Every day we die to these desires so we can be better able to help in the Lord’s great work. We hope when young men and women leave all to enter the work you will pray for them and write to them. I treasured those first letters I had from our friends in Michigan; they helped me over my many struggles. How many of you are praying as Jesus said, Mt. 9:37-38, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” How many of you prayed that prayer this week? Have you ever prayed it? I hope you will.

HOW DO WE GET INTO THE WORK? If that’s in your heart, speak with some of the workers, and usually they tell me about it. Then we would like to talk with you a little and help you see a little of what the work is like and how you can prepare yourself to be useful. If one feels called to the work, what is the best way to prepare ? I don’t know anything better to tell you than to learn how to be a good, willing servant, and when people ask you to do something, don’t resent it, and if people correct you, don’t resent it. Thank them for it if they think that much of you and that will help you. Abraham’s servant was wanting to get a wife for Issac and was looking for a woman who would serve. He asked Rebecca, “Would you give me a drink?” She said, “Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also.” Ten camels! I used to think it was something to pump water for ten cows. If you want to be successful in the work, serve! When Jesus saw strife among his disciples over who would have the greatest place, He said that was all right among the Gentiles. Lk. 22:24-27, “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them, But if shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” That is what Jesus did at that passover feast, His last feast with His disciples. It was the custom for one to wash the feet of the guests. Nobody took that humble place. Maybe Peter thought it was John’s place. After the feast was over and everybody had had a chance to serve and nobody had been willing, “Jesus laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet.” “He that is chief among you, let him be as your servant.” If there is anything that humbles me, it is the humility of my Lord and Master, and I want to have more willingness to submit myself to my Master and to serve my brethren. The most effective servant is neat in his appearance, his suitcase is neat and his room is neat. It is very necessary for a boy to be masculine and a girl to be feminine, then they can be a real help in the kingdom of God.

HOW CAN YOU LET HONORABLE THINGS, SUCH AS AN OPEN HOME, AN HONEST MARRIAGE — USEFUL IN THE KINGDOM’S CAUSE — TAKE FROM GOD FIRST PLACE? L. 10:11, they had an open home, but at this time Martha was hindered because she was complaining about her sister’s service. Ananias and Sapphira seemingly had an honest marriage — they agreed — but they agreed to lie against the Holy Spirit. In spite of what may have been a good marriage, they died because they lied against the Holy Spirit. You might get along well with your husband or wife, but how are you living? Does God get first place? “Useful in the kingdom’s cause,” made me think of Solomon. “They made me the keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept.” Song of Solomon 1:6. A tragic experience came into Solomon’s life when he was careful about the affairs of the kingdom and neglected his private life with God.

WHY DO WE TAKE THE BREAD BEFORE THE WINE IN SUNDAY MORNING MEETINGS? Mt. 26:26-28, Mk. 14:22-24, Lk. 22:19-20. “Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” His body was broken and then His blood was shed, so naturally the bread would come first. Who should give thanks for the emblems? How about the young kids who have been baptized? We would like to see people mature spiritually giving thanks for the bread and wine.

WHEN IS IT BETTER FOR A PERSON NOT TO PARTAKE OF THE BREAD AND WINE? When we have unforgiveness in our hearts, it is best to not take part in breaking bread. This is what was happening in the Corinthian church, I Cor. 11:17-18, the people were coming together for the worse instead of for the better. In the 28th verse, Paul said, “Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” The breaking of the bread is a memorial feast and every time we partake of these emblems, we should think about the sacrifice of Jesus who purposed to fulfill God’s word and pour out His life so we could be redeemed. The twelve apostles all partook of the bread and the fruit of the vine, but only Judas partook of it in the wrong way. The eleven disciples were prepared to lay down their lives with Jesus, but fear caused them to forsake and deny Him. Judas premeditated what he did and it would be wrong for us to partake of the bread and the wine if we do not plan to obey God’s word. If you don’t mean to be true to God, don’t partake. Some say, “So and so is getting by.” Forget it; you are standing before God. Remember the words in Col. 3:25.

Older folks are supposed to set the example. However, there are some who seem to find fault with everybody. I thought we are supposed to help and encourage, not put others down. Yes, I agree, and I can’t understand why some people find so much fault with others, but they do. Jesus said, “Judge not that ye be not judged… And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” A beam — a great big 2 x 4. Here we are, we judge, and we don’t think about ourselves and our shortcomings. Sometimes my spirit hasn’t been good and it has separated me from God. Others may have the same experience. I don’t say your mistakes are right, but I can feel for you, and I hope our older people will be an example to our younger ones who are following us. If we really love our brethren, we don’t advertise their faults, but try to help them.

WHAT ARE YOUNG PEOPLES’ RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE OLDER FOLKS? If you can be courteous and perform favors with politeness, that would help a lot. Paul gave Timothy this advice in I Tim. 5:1-5, “Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; the elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity. Honour widows that are widows indeed.” Just be nice and polite and willing to serve. Is it asking too much to give the friends where the meeting is a call when not coming, or when more people are coming? Personally, I think it would be very kind to do so.

HOW CAN WE HELP THOSE WHO DON’T PROFESS OR WHO ARE HAVING SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS, BESIDES PRAYING FOR THEM? The best way we can help other people is to manifest charity, I Cor. 13, the love of God. Charity suffers a long time and is kind, etc., is not envious or emulous, wanting to be above other people, isn’t puffed up, boastful, isn’t selfish, doesn’t seek her own, is never irritable, never broods over an injury, etc. Forgive people instead of brooding over their wrongs.

HOW CAN WE GET HELP TO TAKE CHASTISEMENT, ESPECIALLY FROM OLDER PEOPLE, WITHOUT BITTERNESS? Simply by being humble and exercising ourselves in the love of God. It’s a little bit easier for children who have been taught discipline when young, before they have a good memory. When you teach a child discipline, be sure you love the child — the two go wonderfully together. What will help us to not murmur? By possessing the love of God (charity), I Cor. 13.

WHAT ABOUT CHRISTMAS CARDS, GIFTS AND TREES? Have you ever analyzed the word “Christmas”? It means “Christ’s Mass”. In other words, a mass for Christ. We don’t have a mass for Christ at that season; we worship Him all the time. The Christmas tree is an idol in the false churches. It belongs to the world, not to God’s people. Jer 10 tells of cutting down the tree, decorating it and then worshiping it. Sometimes our people get their children clothing or other things they need at the holiday season.

WHEN YOUNG PEOPLE GET TOGETHER, DO YOU PREFER THAT THEY AVOID LARGE GROUPS AND GET TOGETHER IN SMALLER GROUPS? WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS AND DANGERS TO AVOID WITH EACH KIND OF GATHERING? There were three women in one area and they were bent on getting the young people together. They all had young people and thought it would help them spiritually if they had social times together. Sometimes they had big gatherings, and when I heard the police were called in to try to quiet them down, it grieved my heart. I told them what a shame and reproach they were in the neighborhood. There should never be large gatherings for young people unless there is someone there to control them. If young people can get together and act like ladies and gentlemen, that is nice — once in a while, but not too often, maybe every two or three weeks. Too much familiarity breeds contempt and bad things happen.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUNG PEOPLE GETTING TOGETHER AT A PIZZA PARLOR AFTER GOSPEL MEETING? WOULD GOING TO A HOME AFTERWARDS FOR REFRESHMENTS AND A SHORT WHILE TOGETHER BE AN ALTERNATIVE? There is a possibility of losing the inspiration we received at the meeting if we have a gathering afterward. However, if a person went to a home for a short time to visit about the meeting, it might prove helpful. There’s a danger of being too familiar. It is a good habit when a person can go to their room and in prayer thank God for the help they received.

SHOULD WE INVITE NON-PROFESSING FRIENDS TO COME TO SOCIAL EVENTS WITH THE FRIENDS? I think it is better for our young people not to be too involved with non-professing friends. However, there can’t be a law as some might like our fellowship and they are not trying to contaminate our faith. Some may be seeking help for their soul.

IS IT OK TO HAVE GATHERINGS ON SATURDAY NIGHT? Absolutely no. Do you know what you can be doing Saturday night? You can be getting ready for the meeting Sunday morning, trying to get a little bit from the Lord to feed God’s people in the Sunday morning meeting. It is tragic to spend your evening any other way, unless you have to work.

ARE THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES FITTING FOR GOD’S PEOPLE — MOVIES, PLAYS, MASQUERADE PARTIES, MOCK WEDDINGS, ROCK CONCERTS? We just question anyone’s salvation who would desire these things — they are feeding on flesh. A sheep or lamb never feeds on flesh.

WHAT KIND OF BOOKS, MAGAZINES, PAPERS, MUSIC ARE ACCEPTABLE? Sometimes you want the new. Some magazine articles are not edifying. Phil. 4:8 “Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.” If we can think on constructive things, it will help us to strengthen our spiritual life. Some books will corrupt us, others are educational. One must be very careful with music in order to have our heart and soul in tune with God. We stayed in a home once where they didn’t even have a curtain on our bedroom door. They played the radio from about 5 a.m. until midnight. When we went to pray, all we heard was worldly music. When I did get a little quiet place to pray, those crazy tunes would come into my head and also the words. When you can sing the songs of Zion, there’s a response in your soul that will edify; the other songs can be dangerous to our spiritual life.

WHAT ABOUT GETTING INVOLVED IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AT SCHOOL — SPORTS, DRILL-TEAM, BAND ETC.? Before I made my choice, I loved to go to games, but I felt guilty when I spent money for my own pleasure when I could have used the money in better ways. In the sports world, there are idols — the ones at the top. Sometimes we have seen pictures of those idols in saint’s homes — which is not good, also beauty queens in girls’ rooms, but those girls are not with us now. If we are serving the Lord, He is the one we worship. This will separate us from the sports world. I have yet to see anybody really spiritual involved in sports.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT DRINKING WINE? Some of our people who once took a little wine became alcoholics. The world uses it so much. I feel it is best to avoid all appearance of evil. When I see people take wine in their homes, I am afraid. I have seen people who took a little wine and I don’t think the parents were bothered, but I know what it did to the children, some are alcoholics. Now the parents are responsible because they had it in the home. In the world people drink and call it a good time. One man who decided in our meetings said: “This is the first time we have ever enjoyed the holidays because we won’t have sore heads.”

WHY CAN’T PROFESSING BOYS AND GIRLS GO OUT TOGETHER JUST AS FRIENDS? Professing girls get labeled as boy-chasers, too serious, just wanting to get married. Therefore, the boys don’t take them out. Because of this, the boys date outside, and the girls date outside because they get tired of waiting and sitting at home. We had our problems when we were young too. I was so interested in getting ahead in the world that I wasn’t interested in dating anybody, but we had an open home and girls and boys came and some of those girls were too aggressive. One lady was so anxious to tie me up with her daughter that I could hardly stand the girl. One lady said, “None of the boys will go out with my girl.” I could understand, because she wasn’t a lady. A boy who is hearty in the truth wants a girl who is true to God, and a girl who is hearty in the truth wants a boy who is true to God. If girls want to fix up like the world, the good boys won’t want them. If you are thinking about getting married, be serious. If you get a partner who is true to God, you are getting a prize. I will say to you, don’t make a decision quickly. Pray to God. he might lead you into a more useful life. I would like to mention Arnold Scharman. There was a brother, Percy Smily, who lived in a divided home. Arnold liked that man and told him he was thinking about having an open home. Mr. Smily said, “Well, that is nice, but suppose it turns out like my home? I can’t have the workers come. Have you ever thought about the harvest field and prayed about it??” He hadn’t, but started to and the next thing, he was in the work. Today Arnold is in Germany giving the last ounce of his strength. He has been such a comfort to many in Europe and throughout the world and to our family as well.

AT WHAT AGE SHOULD GIRLS AND BOYS BE ALLOWED TO DATE? My parents think 16 is young enough, but I know of some dating younger. I know of some who have been very sorry that they dated young. Sixteen is too young as far as I am concerned, but you might not be in agreement. I know some who married just out of high school, and the woman took off and left her little ones — too tired, washing diapers, sitting up with babies, working all day, and wanting to be having a good time. She started dating at fourteen. The boy was left holding the sack. Some girls get in trouble and they are ruined. There is cleansing and forgiveness, but you live with conscience. I preached with a young man who said, “Oh, I wish I could be like you boys. I know God has forgiven me, but my conscience is so seared, and I think of things….” It was his relationship with women. He was scarred. He said, “Oh, if I could get free.” He was plagued. It wasn’t that God didn’t forgive him. God is merciful, but the devil never forgives and wants to torment you all the time for your past failures. Rev. 12:10.

DO YOU HAVE POINTERS REGARDING A COUPLE GOING TOGETHER — HOW THINGS SHOULD DEVELOP FROM ACQUAINTANCE TO FRIENDSHIP, COURTSHIP, ENGAGEMENT, AND THEN MARRIAGE? HOW LONG SHOULD THE ENGAGEMENT BE? I think you should ask somebody who has gotten married. That is out of my category. Find a couple who gets along really well together, who are kind to one another and love one another, and ask them!

WHAT CAN AN ENGAGED COUPLE DO TO PREPARE FOR A MARRIED LIFE THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO THE KINGDOM? Phil 1:27, “Only let your conversation (manner of life) be as becometh the gospel of Christ: and whether I come and see you, or be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” Should a couple show affection in meeting (like holding hands)? Absolutely not! That is not what the meetings are for — do that in private if that’s what you want to do.

WHAT KIND OF WEDDING SHOULD A PROFESSING COUPLE HAVE? One that would become the gospel of Jesus Christ. What would you think of a girl who has gone through school and stayed separated, been humble, a real princess, and then she has a worldly wedding? She is throwing the whole thing overboard. Have a humble little wedding. Invite people afterward — fine. Whatever you do, keep it so it will be a blessing in the kingdom of God.

SHOULDN’T WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS BOTH BE PRIVATE, MEANINGFUL AFFAIRS? I would say that they should both be meaningful affairs, but such depends on the family. There’s a lot of difference between a wedding and a funeral. Ecc. 7:2-3, “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.” A wedding is usually a time of feasting and if conducted humbly it will become, or befit, our humble fellowship meetings. A funeral usually is a time of mourning and it sobers our hearts. We do appreciate your love for one another. When Ed Hernstedt passed away recently, many attended his funeral because of the help he was to so many in having convention on their farm for twenty years and a meeting in their home.

WOULD YOU DISCOURAGE MARRIAGE BEFORE GRADUATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL? Absolutely yes, and maybe for a little time afterward. We would like to see the boy saving up a little money so he would be able to take care of his wife, and the girl should learn how to cook and keep house. There was a girl who had a good mother. She came home from college and said, “I am getting married.” Her mother didn’t say no, but, “If you are getting married, you are doing the cooking and housework. I don’t want any girl to leave my home who can’t cook and keep house.” After two weeks, the girl said, “Forget it!”

WHEN YOUNG PEOPLE QUIT SCHOOL, THINKING THEY CAN COMPLETE IT LATER BY CORRESPONDENCE COURSES OR A G.E.D COURSE, AREN’T EMPLOYERS BOUND TO THINK OF THEM AS DROPOUTS AND QUITTERS? I suppose they would. I think employers want to see young people ambitious. If they quit school and get a job, they would wonder if they would be a profitable employee. G.E.D. courses can get you a diploma, but a drop-out is a poor advertisement for getting a job.

WHAT ARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OF THOSE WHO HAVE MARRIED OUTSIDE THE FAITH? Most are not with us today. John Porterfield took a census of this and found that over a period of 45 years in Arizona, out of 69 who married outside, only 13 are in the truth today. A man gave his testimony who heard the truth in Los Angeles. His wife went along with him, but never made her choice. He spoke about the separation it brought into their home after he decided. The first year he went to convention he found himself drawing closer to God and further from his wife. Every year the gulf grew bigger between him and his wife. He said, “Everything she was living for, I was trying to die to, and everything I lived for, she was dead to.” Some have felt they could be a help to someone outside if they married him. Once in a while they are, but we have seen some very tragic things. A promising young woman about 20 felt sorry for a divorced man who was lonely. We heard they were going together, but she said, “No, we aren’t, we’re just friends. He is lonely.” All at once something happened and she was in love and they married. Love is blind and marriage is an eye-opener. That woman had a very sad life.Remember when you marry, you make a lifetime According to the vow. words of Jesus in Mk. 10:11-12 and Lk. 16:18, people who divorce and remarry commit adultery. Some people who have done this say they are having fellowship with God. Prov. 30:20, “Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.”

WHY IS REMARRIAGE AFTER DIVORCE FORBIDDEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT? Because the words of Jesus, Mt. 5:32, Mt. 19:9, Mk. 10:11-12, Lk. 16:13, I Cor. 7:10-11,39, Rom. 7:2-3, “Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another, committeth adultery.

WHY ISN’T DIVORCE PART OF ONE’S FORGIVEN PAST? When people divorce and remarry, they commit adultery and every time they have relations as man and wife, they commit adultery. These people continue right in their sin. Only if they forsake their sin and put it away can it be forgiven. Prov. 28:13. ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.’

ARE THERE ANY CAREERS THAT WOULD BE ADVISED AGAINST FOR A CHILD OF GOD? There are some that would be very hard for you, like music. I know one man who played in an orchestra; he was good. After he decided, he went back to Milwaukee to some big party where they wined and dined. When he came back, he asked if we could make him an outline where to go and what to play. We said we could, but it wouldn’t do any good. We told him, “You have something better. You have the Holy Spirit. When you feel uncomfortable there, don’t go back, or don’t play a piece of music if you aren’t comfortable — quit!” Two weeks later he resigned and everyone of his old friends thought he was crazy. If you have the Holy Spirit within you, there are some kinds of work you can’t do. One of our Mexican brothers got a job as a janitor. He advanced to quality control. They wanted him to be dishonest, but he couldn’t. Do you have that kind of conscience? You can’t be dishonest and serve God.

COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHY IT’S WRONG FOR WOMEN TO WEAR MAKE-UP OR USE HAIR COLORING? I hardly think any of you people would do that. You know what is the beauty of a woman — a meek and quiet spirit. It is a marvelous thing in a man also. When Peter wrote about wives, he said, “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel….” The only woman in the Bible who was painted up was Jezebel. She was a wicked Zidonian princess, an enemy of God’s people, one who killed a number of God’s servants. If any person wants to flirt with the world and be like the world, that is where they are going to end. If you want to keep true to God and be a light in this world, honest people will admire you.

WHAT ABOUT GIRLS TRIMMING THEIR HAIR, OR HAVING LONG HAIR EXCEPT FOR BANGS? The scripture says if a woman prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, it is as if she were shaven, and her hair is ‘given to her for a covering.’ Long hair is a glory to the woman. If you really want to obey God and do it willingly, you will have a reward, but if you want to get around it, you can, and maybe nobody will know it but God. Partial obedience is not acceptable to God. God is no respecter of persons. Be honest with God. One woman coming to our meetings saw all the women had long hair and asked why. So we read her I Cor. 11:5-6, 15 to her “… a shame for a woman to be shaved or shorn. She said, “I must have bangs”, but she never cut it again. Two years later I was teasing her. She said, “You will never know how many times I had the mirror and shears,” but something in her would hurt and she couldn’t make the shears work. There was a boy born into that home. When he was two years old, one day he went quiet. His mother tiptoed around to see what was happening and their wee lad was by the davenport with a book open, on his knees praying. Who taught him to pray? He was doing what he saw his parents doing. The Holy Spirit will teach you what is best.

IS IT ALRIGHT FOR LADIES TO WEAR DIAMOND RINGS, OR GOLD PINS? A person who uses these things is craving what belongs to the world. If you want to be a representative of the family of God, live a modest life and have a meek and quiet spirit. One woman told me that her husband had given her her engagement ring. I said, ‘The scripture teaches that if we love one any more than Christ, we are not worthy of Him.’ Mt. 10:37-38. I didn’t know that there were some in our fellowship who have diamond rings who have meetings in their homes. I don’t approve. I wouldn’t be true as a servant of God if I held up another standard than what the scripture teaches. In the world, sure, that is the custom, but not in God’s kingdom.

HOW DO YOU ANSWER WHEN ASKED WHY OUR WOMEN DON’T WEAR PANTS? Dt. 22:5. “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for ALL who do that are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.” That is scripture. A young girl was going to school with two of our girls. Our sisters were the only ones in the high school who wore dresses. This girl asked her mother if she could have a dress. The first day she wore a dress, all the girls said, “You are going feminine now.” Sure, that is what girls should be — feminine, and boys should be masculine. Remember, you serve either the Lord Christ, the world or yourself. Which one are you serving?

WHAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE APPAREL FOR GIRLS TO WEAR SKIING, HORSEBACK RIDING, JOGGING, ETC.? Some things are pretty hard to do and be a Christian, and if you don’t deny yourself anything, it is pretty hard to fulfill scripture. “If any man will come after me let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’”

IS THERE A SCRIPTURAL REASON WHY WE DON’T GIVE SHOWERS OR SALES PARTIES? When people are invited to a shower, they are expected to bring a gift, which is simply asking for a gift. This isn’t even polite. At the shower, everyone knows what the others gave. Jesus taught in Mt. 6:3, “… let not your left hand know what your right hand doeth.” That’s why we don’t approve of showers. A sales party is given by a person who profits by inviting others to their home and it is making merchandise of God’s people. The kingdom of heaven is built only on sacrifice and if it wasn’t for this sacrifice of Jesus and our fellow-workers and friends, you wouldn’t know one another. It looks to us like people taking advantage of the blood of Jesus just for natural gain.

I would like to thank all of you for your interest in the kingdom and for your presence here. Any time we can be of help to you, we are only too glad to do so. We love you and we need you. We hope you will have God’s help so you can be a real help to others in the kingdom.

Joshua 17, 18, and 19, the journeying was over and the Children of Israel had come in to possess the land. God had given them something to develop. Because of their willingness to work and serve, they could increase what they had been given and find more joy and rest.

Josh17:14-15, “And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, ‘Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the Lord hath blessed me hitherto.’ And Joshua answered them, ‘If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if Mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee…’” Joshua encouraged them to go and develop the portion that had been given to them. They said we are a great people and this is not enough, but Joshua said, “There is plenty there for you to do if you just go out and develop it,” and then they would find there was more than enough. God in His kindness gives us the things that are necessary for us, He gives us a place to fill, and if we are willing to go out and serve and do what we can in that portion that has been given to us we will find that it brings satisfaction and peace in our hearts. We will find there is more than enough there to keep us busy right through our lifetime here in the world.

They were a great people, but greatness isn’t shown by big thinking. We show we are a great people by our willingness to use that which God has given us and by seeking to develop it so that we become more and more like the Son of God who has made it possible for us to get to know the first fruits of the gospel. Greatness in the world is defined by big thinking, and actions that are renowned, but in this service of God there is no great acclaim attached to what we are doing or how we are using these talents God has given us. But there is the well done of God. The Pharisees were seeking the approval of men but Jesus Himself was looking for the approval of God upon His life. God’s blessing is what we want and it is God’s blessing that is going to change our lives and our outlook. God gives us things to do and we can use those things in order to bring about a blessing upon our lives that will endure for all eternity.

When Jesus spoke about people standing before God, He said they would hear these words. “Come ye blessed of my Father.” They were able to stand before God and rejoice. But there were other people who will have to hear the words “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Those two classes of people will one day be standing before God, and as we have been listening to the words that God has spoken to us here, we have a feeling in our hearts that we belong to God and to His family and we know a little of His blessing upon our lives. We want to develop into a people that represent Christ in the world and show forth His praises in the world.

Joshua told these people that it was their privilege to go out and develop that which had been given to them. Sometimes when we feel we haven’t got too much to do, we begin to look around and things outside seem to be very pleasant and they attract us and we begin to develop something that is not inside the family of God. That won’t bring a blessing into our lives, nor enable us to stand before God and hear those words “Come ye blessed of my Father.” God shows us the things He wants us to develop, they are things that He has given us, and showed us in the beginning. There is no other foundation any man can lay except that which is laid. While we are busy in that kind of work during our lifetime here, it is going to bring satisfaction and peace in our hearts. Joshua told these people that there was a mountain there covered with timber, go and cut it down and develop that land. There is a wilderness there that needs to be cut down in order that something better can be produced. That is a work that God would like us to do, to get rid of the confusion of the world that stops us from developing. He wants love to develop in us so that we would be moved to do the things Jesus did in the world. The Truth of God is something that we can build upon. Anything that is a denial of God’s salvation needs to be cut down and destroyed so that something of value can be built there. Get rid of the things that are useless in order to develop the things that are good. Self righteousness is a great tree that grows very profusely in the lives of people, but this tree has to be destroyed in order to promote the righteousness of Christ in us. When Jesus looked upon the Pharisee people, He saw that that was something that was being developed instead of destroyed in their lives and they were losing the benefit of all God’s provision for them. They were developing the wrong thing. As we are trying to develop that which is good God knows us, and we won’t need to hear those words, “Depart from me, I never knew you’.

How will this work affect our manner of life and our influence one with another here in the world? The influence of a great wilderness is a smothering influence that hinders the growth of that which is good and profitable. But when that smothering influence is cut down, it is possible for something to be planted and to grow and bring forth fruit. God can give us the seed of eternal life in our hearts and we can become a tree that will bear fruit and our influence will be sweet in the earth, something that people will be drawn to. Jesus spoke about a man who had two sons and he divided to them his inheritance and the younger son thought it was a good time for him to leave his father’s house and go out and use this portion that had been given him for his own ends. So he went out and he wasted his father’s substance. It also speaks about the older son, he didn’t waste his father’s substance but he didn’t use it either. There is not much difference between wasting it and not using it. The older son didn’t develop that which had been given to him, he was making friends that were not his father’s friends. There was something outside of what his father had given to him that he was developing. When this younger son realized how stupid he was, he sought to go back to his father’s house. The desire he had was to be a servant that he might be able to get some of those things that he had wasted. He wanted to know again the provision of his father’s house. He was willing for anything if he could just get back there and be a servant in those things that he knew belonged to his father’s house.

We might be able to claim that we haven’t wasted our Father’s goods but maybe we haven’t used them either and we have been seeking our own interests and not the interests of our Father. When the younger son came back, there seemed to be a great reluctance on the part of the older son to receive him even though the father received him and told him that his brother had come back. But he wouldn’t claim him as a brother, he said, “When this your son has wasted…” He had been developing self righteousness in his life and the result was that when his brother came back, he didn’t receive him and that grieved his father. He was concerned about the loss of property but he wasn’t concerned about the loss of a brother. It is good if we can put the family of God first in our lives and if there is a concern in our hearts about the loss of a brother. God wants to develop in our lives the same love that Jesus had for the world. As He looked out upon men and women everywhere He saw that they were like sheep having no shepherd and He had compassion on them.

Jesus could see the possibility of people being His brethren in the world and He was willing to love them in order to draw them unto Himself. We are glad today that that is so. It came about in our own experience too. He showed us that He loved us and He saw the possibility of being able to call us His brethren. Be concerned about what our Father wants us to be and do, not concerned about developing our own interests. Jesus was concerned about His disciples because He loved them and He wanted to help them. Jesus said to the disciples, “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples if ye have love one to another.” It was something that was being developed in their lives and it showed that they were followers of Jesus and that they belonged to God’s family. Our Father who has given us our portion wants us to use these things.

We read of the man who went into a far country and he gave talents to his servants. Two of them went out and used their talents and achieved something as a result of it, they had more when the master came back again. But the third man who had received the one talent, all he had was his brand new talent and that is all he could give back. He didn’t please the master. It won’t please our Father if all that we have is what we have been given and we haven’t been willing to use it. God wants us to increase in everything that belongs to Him. It is like an investment that increases as time goes by, whereby we can lay up treasure in heaven and rejoice for all eternity. Sometimes people have a brand new conscience because it has never been used. God wants our conscience to become more and more sensitive by reason of use so that He can guide us better and cause us to serve Him better along the journey of life. Be more sensitive to the things that please God and less sensitive to the things around us.

Many of these things are developed through affliction and suffering. Up in the Torres Strait where I have been, there is a Japanese company which is farming oysters in order to grow pearls. They have a lot of platforms built in the sea and, under those platforms, they hang ropes with boxes tied to the end of them and they put the oysters there. But first of all, they do something to the oyster. They take half grown oysters and insert into the flesh of the oyster a small sliver of pearl shell and it goes right in. Then the oyster is put into these containers and they are hung below the platforms for about five years, and after that there is a pearl developed. That pearl is developed in suffering. It is because of suffering that it comes about. Very often in our own lives, the things that can be developed in us that are like pearls, something of value are developed through suffering. It is not always in good times that these things are done. God knows how we can develop that which is good within our lives. Sometimes we don’t like it. I guess the oyster doesn’t like that sliver of shell in his flesh and, because of that, he begins to work to make it more comfortable and the result is that a pearl is developed. Those pearls are precious. People will give a lot for pearls, they don’t need polishing or anything worked upon them. The things that can be developed in our lives are like that too, it doesn’t need any further work if it is the work of God. If we are developing the things that God has given, it is going to be a beautiful work at the end and something that will bring us pleasure and joy. Jesus spoke about the man who was looking for the one pearl of great price and, when he found it, he sold all that he had in order to obtain it. That man wasn’t prepared to accept anything that was of lesser value than what he wanted. The pearl of great price is developed in us as we are willing for everything God brings across our pathway.

Joshua told the children of Joseph that there was a hill covered in timber that they could go and develop and that would be their portion. What they developed from that hill would be something of greater value than what was theirs. What can be developed as a result of God giving us something to work upon will be of greater value than what we have left behind. Let go of everything that would be of lesser value in order that we can obtain that which is of great eternal value.

Joshua 17:16, “And the children of Joseph said, ‘The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron…!’” There were plenty of hindrances to this work and there are plenty of things that will hinder us from developing that which God has given to us. But Joshua said, “You will be able to do it because you are strong.” We are not strong in ourselves but we will be able to do this work because of the strength God gives to us. These people had iron chariots and were great men, notable men in the land, but Joshua said, “Thou are a great people and hast great power.” Our human nature is a strong man too, but by the help of God we can be strong and overcome and build upon the things God has given to us so that His name is honoured and glorified. It was the unity of the kingdom that Joshua was concerned about, each tribe and family doing their part and building on that which God had given to them to make the kingdom strong and enable them to overcome their enemies. They had to put away the things that were just natural growth. Learn to overcome the natural growth so that we can develop the things that come from God.

This thing of obedience, there is no substitute for it!

Hebrews 5:8-9 and 13:13, Hebrews 6:1-3, how do we go on to perfection? By obedience!! Perfect means complete. How can you lack anything if you are obedient to God’s will? It says, “This will we do if God permits.” Story of an older mom and pop who were sitting in their chairs one day talking to one another. The mom says to pop, “Some day one of us is going to pass on and the other is going to be left alone.” “Oh, mom, let’s not talk about that.” The mom replied, “Well, when it happens, I’m going to move to California!” It’s so easy for us to make plans for the future instead of for the present.

Hebrews 13:10, they were feeding off the altar when they were getting something regarding Christ. Feed on the altar and get a spirit of service. We have an altar to feed off of that those who serve the flesh have no right to feed off of.

John 6:27, “Labour for the meat which does not perish.” Meat off the altar. It’s the doing. How do we find rest? How do we get healthy spiritually? It’s in the doing! If we find ourselves missing something, it’s possible it could be traced right down the line to simple disobedience. God wants our growth to continue. God doesn’t want us to be stunted in our growth. Sometimes people can be spiritually sick so long that with any little bit of improvement they think they are doing great!

It’s going on to perfection. “You need that one to teach you again.” It’s still the spirit of God’s servants to teach again. There is not much going on or growing on without this foundation. Sometimes people take steps of disobedience outside the will of God and they think they can come back anytime. Foolish thinking!! Repentance is just not thinking we are going to change but it’s God granting that repentance. This thing of repenting is our life line. There was this drunkard that was so pitiful and others wanted to help him and he said through tears, “But you’ve got to want to change.” That’s right! This thing that is to be perfected is our spirit.

Hebrews 12:23, “Spirits of just men made perfect.” Jesus had that perfect spirit in all things. There is nothing quite so vital as our spirit. Even in our mistakes we can have a perfect spirit. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I need your help.”

Luke 17, our faith can be increased. It can grow. Faith can grow through obedience. Jesus said, “I command you to love one another.” It’s not difficult to love those who love us, but love our enemies! Loving someone who is difficult is going to bring us to our knees and we are going to get help. Sometimes it’s obedience to His commanding us to love someone that will bridge the gap that otherwise can well be a disaster!

Luke 8:14, “and that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit unto perfection.” We want to go on to perfection this, too. Sometimes we know what is to be done and we are aware of these things, but what’s the matter?! It just could be this, there are weeds growing there and you bring no fruit unto perfection. There are cares of life. Weeds show up before the harvest and the thing to do is deal with them, by the roots! Pull them out!!

I Timothy 6:6-9, “Godliness with contentment is great gain, (etc.)” Verse 17, “trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” Contentment and enjoyment are two things God intended for His people to have and if we don’t have them, we are missing something. True contentment comes with God in this life. Life more abundantly!

II Corinthians 12:9, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” I am glad for what we heard about Gethsemane this morning. Where did the strength come from? “Not My will but Thine be done.” Perfect strength! My weakness is far more useful to God than my strength. Sometimes we feel like we’ll get in the border of this thing, just into the edge. One boy who had made his choice, made some wrong choices and wrong friends and later, he said, “I never intended on going out so far.” Get into this as far as you can and there is no other way than through.

James 1:4, “Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Another vital thing, PATIENCE!! Here again we can look to Jesus. He endured. Patience is endurance. Just keep on keeping on enduring and you’ll know about patience. When you are sweating and toiling and see no results and you continue sweating and toiling, then you know Patience. There are no borders to patience. If for any reason we think we are approaching the borders of our endurance and for some reason we feel we can’t go on any longer, take a look at Calvary. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR TURNING BACK!!!!!

Eva and I had some disappointments at the beginning of the year, and when we were preparing for the Gospel meeting, not knowing whether any would attend, but knowing that a few faithful friends would be coming to stand by us, Eva used to say that “first the children should be fed,” and this helped me in my preparation. We were grateful to know that there would be a handful of friends – perhaps no more than six sometimes – and they were eager and waiting to see what the Lord would give them to eat.

Thinking of the words of the Psalm: “Fret not.” Sometimes people wonder how they are going to get through this wilderness journey, this life’s pilgrimage, but I like the words of the hymn, which gave me the answer, “Be true today” – just to be true today. Each morning, as one would awaken to face the new day, not knowing what it may hold, if we could just settle this in our hearts as a waking thought, “I will be true today,” and as we strive after that ambition, we are going along the way in this pathway.

We hear the expression these days, “world recession,” and I do not understand much about it, but I understand the word means “a withdrawal, or a holding back.” How wonderful it is that, once again, the attitude in God’s Kingdom is so opposite to the ways of the world – there is no question of a recession. One of the reasons why we are gathered today and why God wants to gather us together in the little meetings, it is to urge His people and to help them to go forward, never to know anything about this recession.

In Psalm 37, it mentions three times, “Fret not thyself.” We studied that Psalm for a Wednesday evening meeting, and in the morning of that day I had a letter from a Brother abroad, and he mentioned this very Psalm and gave the Spanish translations for those three “Fret not’s.” Yesterday, those words came to me for no accountable reason, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. Speak comfortably or speak gently to them.” God’s people need comfort, they need tenderness, gentleness. I know there are many of you who feel the need of comfort for so many reasons – comfort because of loss, comfort because of disappointments, because of sickness, because of difficulties in the lives of loved ones as well as in one’s own life – comfort so that we will not fret in our journeying. Fretting paralyses, but trusting stabilizes. Fretting certainly paralyses us.

The Spanish for the first “Fret not” is “Be not impatient with others.” I have thought a lot about that, and I realize how impatient I could be with others – impatient because people will not come to meetings – impatient when they do not listen – impatient when people in a district show no interest. Being impatient can cause us to be fretful and can lead to a loss of usefulness. We could be impatient with one another, we could feel that someone does not understand, and “Why don’t they understand?” We have to guard against that because it just creates fretting.

The Spanish for the second “Fret not” is “Do not be disturbed.” We can think, “Why can’t I get on as well as another person, either naturally or spiritually?” There is a tendency to feel that way. “Why am I not getting out of the Bible what the next person is getting?” That will not help us – it creates a fretting spirit and it will keep us back from ever getting anything from the Bible and getting anywhere when we pray.

The Spanish for the third “Fret not” is “Do not lose your composure.” God wants to see a composed people, a people who are steady and true and constant, and who are trying to live up to that vow, “I have vowed to be true and to change not” – that quiet steady composure in our lives, and that assurance of hope and a joy and a peace that only come from a whole-hearted service to God.

For another Bible reading, we studied Psalms 42 and 43. Several times David asks his own soul, “Why art Thou disquieted within me?” Have you ever asked your own soul? Sometimes I have pulled myself up and asked myself why am I fretting and why have I lost my composure. The answer is in these Psalms, “Hope thou in God.” There will be these days of fretfulness, but David said, “Hope thou in God.” That took him into the sanctuary, and it took him to the altar.

I would like to find my hope in God that would take me into His sanctuary, and would lead me to the altar. In continually trying to sacrifice to God, that is the way I find my peace.

It is a real privilege to be here with God’s people in the country. We’ve heard much about this country and to me, it’s a wonderful privilege to be here. I take an occasional look backwards and to me, it’s wonderful how I’ve been able to continue till the present, but it is only because of God’s grace.

More prayers have been said for this country than for many others. I’m beginning to understand that a lot of credit for me is due to God and the prayers of God’s people. We can be thankful that we’re in a family who has members who care for one another. Like to think that as a result of this meeting, we can understand the greatness of our calling in Christ. If we don’t understand the value of it, we won’t make the sacrifice as we should. If we value this Way of God, we will look after it.  

Solomon’s words. The value of words often depends on the standing of the person who spoke them. If you went through a red robot (traffic light) and I said to you that you are under arrest, you’d think it a joke, but if a burley policeman said the same words, you’d take them very seriously. A successful person’s advice, we’ll take heed to, but we won’t take too much notice of advice from an unsuccessful person. We can place reliance on Solomon – he was a preacher, son of King David, a King in Israel. That makes us value his words.  

The Book of Kings tells more about Solomon. He was an accomplished person, and we can value his words. Kings 4:32. He spoke 3,000 proverbs. He was a sage, a wise man. His songs were 1,005, he was a musician. He spoke about many trees – he was a botanist. Cedars in Lebanon were mighty trees. He’d be able to tell about them and the hyssop, the type of timber and their age. See what a man he was. He was able to speak about fishes, birds, animals – a zoologist – we can afford to take notice of his words.

Vanity of vanity, all is vanity. I can imagine him sitting reflecting on past life – entering life with nothing on, no clothes or knowledge. Then he grew and inherited wealth. Through wisdom, he was able to increase that wealth. Now he realized the sands of time were running out and he had serious thoughts and knowing it would not be long before he would leave all he’d built to someone else who may not be as wise. He came to the conclusion that life is just empty and worthless.

Business men are always worrying about profit. If they don’t make a profit, the shareholders would tell them to close business. Solomon was wise and could see that people could go right through life and come to the end with exactly the same as they began with in the beginning. A child comes into the world with fists clenched and goes out with hands open and with nothing in them. He says, “What profit is there of all labour under the sun?” We may be very successful in life but will go out with nothing. Ask ourselves, “What is profit to life?” None. What advantage have we over the unborn? None if we live for material things – we still go out profitless.

You’ll pay a lot to a lawyer to get advice. Here, we’ve words of a King – free of charge. Would we not be wise to take heed to them? Everyday, people are born and adults are leaving but the world remains. We’re here for a little period, like a mighty army marching to the grave – humanity comes and goes. He’d taken one father’s wealth and now another would take it over.

Solomon uses three illustrations from nature. It’s simple, unchanging, universal. That is the reason Jesus chose the same sort or illustrations. One generation comes and another goes. Sun also rises and goes down. In reality, the sun is stationary, but for practical purposes, it looks as if it rises. It’s weak in the morning, reaches peak at noon and declines again, – we can look into its face. Isn’t it like life – like a new born babe – so weak, grows, develops and rises into life till his peak and then goes down. In many cases, many are so weak and helpless just before going out to Eternity.

In Sri Lanka, a man used to go into a jungle – he had wonderful strength to climb and help people. Wrote wonderful books, a writer and famous surgeon. He must have had wonderful stamina. He was bitten by a snake, and he cut it out and kept going. One day I saw a picture of him at 92 years of age, and I saw a little shrivelled man in a wheelchair. He soon went out to Eternity. Like the sun, he rose to get to the heights in fame and power and went down western slopes to complete the circle of life. We do the same and don’t take these earthly things with us.

He uses 3 illustrations. They all end where they started from. The wind comes and returns to where it started. Sir Winston Churchill was a wonderful orator, who was able to swing people to the left or right with his words. After his peak, he went down.

Then it speaks of rivers. There are mighty rivers in the world, very useful to mankind but they all have the same thing in common – came from Heaven as rain, down to rivers, then down to the seas and lifted by the process of evaporation to the Heavens. We think of people who are so useful and others who live in obscurity, they all go right round the circle of life and end up in the grave. It’s too bad if there’s nothing more to life than that. Think of how empty life would be and purposeless without Jesus in our lives. The emblems remind us of the life of Christ.

In John 14, Jesus spoke to His disciples and said, “I go to prepare a place for you…..and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 17:24, “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou has given Me, be with Me where I am that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me…” Through the Gospel, God has shown us a Way that we can live so that the reward of our labours can go with us. Jesus here was speaking to His disciples but they didn’t realize the wonder of His words spoken. “I’m going away and coming back so you will be where I am.” These disciples were not very mature at this time so to speak. Didn’t realise that Jesus was offering reunion after death.

If you live in Jesus’ Will, you will be reunited with Him. I believe they loved Jesus very much and were very sad when He was taken, and they were so disappointed that they went back to their old way of living. To think that after death, they’d be reunited not only with Jesus but one with another. A wonderful family He has brought us into, an unending relationship, something that spanned over death. If only disciples had kept that vision clear before them. End of this life is not the end of our relationship with Christ. We’ll come from North and South including Abraham….. Shouldn’t we strive to be united in the Will of God.

Mark 16:6, “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified. He is risen; He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him.” Those words must have had a wonderful effect on them. Wonderful words of hope for perishing humanity. Go and look for yourselves. Though they didn’t fully realize when He first said, “Where I am…” They remembered it and it added a new dimension and meaning to life. No wonder Paul said, “If we have no vision of the resurrection, let’s eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow, we die.” Seeing Him risen must have changed and electrified these men to think of having a part in Eternal Life.

Those weak, frightened men went out proclaiming the risen Christ with courage. History claims that Peter was crucified upside down. He wanted a part in a better resurrection. This life wasn’t dear any more. Acts tells they were beaten and told not to preach. “Ought we to take heed to what you say or to God,” Peter said, “Judge for yourselves who we ought to take heed to.” That messenger gave wonderful words when he said, “Jesus whom ye seek is not here, but He is risen, behold the place.” Hope brings wonderful thankfulness, which should arise in our hearts when we think of what Jesus has brought us into. If we keep a vision of Jesus , it will help us through difficult days.

When we take a service, (funeral) we bury the body not the spirit. The spirit goes back to God who gave it. Peter spoke with the Lord Jesus, “He hath shown me that I must put off shortly this tabernacle.” Peter knew his body must go to the grave and spirit back to God. We can run – the end of this life if not the end at all. God in His own good time will give that life a new body. Paul said, “Death is a clothing upon, not an unclothing.” On that occasion, we’ll receive more – an experience of gain. For worldly people, death means a loss of all they have left behind. We know that Jesus rose again with a similar body but a better one. You could recognise the nail prints but the body did not respond to the laws of nature – Jesus could go through closed doors. It’s the kind of body God wants to give us, a better body, a resurrected body.

I Corinthians 15:34, “Awake to righteousness – speak this to your shame.” They were beginning to lose their vision of the resurrection life and drifting back to the old way of life. Farmers that sow seed or wheat, have faith in the resurrection of what they sow. Therefore they put it in the ground and let it die and they have a wonderful bargain. If we could have faith that there’s a resurrection and sow ourselves and not let things of earth rob us. If we let earthly things take all our time, if we haven’t got a vision, we’ll hang on to our life and we won’t read, pray, and instruct our children. If we do these things, there is to be a rich harvest. The disciples were willing to lose a few short years to gain endless eternity. If the farmer hadn’t faith, he’d keep the seed and there would be no harvest. People have faith in nature but not in the God of nature. “Thou fool, this night they soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? ” ….not spiritualising. When this body goes back to the dust, we must die then this new life comes up from it. You sow a bare grain of wheat and from it something more wonderful comes up. You know the seed is wheat and what comes up is wheat, but from it springs a plant with maybe 100 or more, something much more wonderful comes up.

The resurrected body will be much more wonderful. He spoke about the dead, those gone back to the grave. Those still living will be caught up into the air, (God’s family) and will receive a resurrected body, an immortal one because we can’t inherit the Kingdom of God with a human body. Some people doubted that God could give them a body, but it’s in the reach of God to give us a spiritual body when the time comes. He gives fish, birds, etc., different kinds of bodies and makes heavenly bodies, moon, stars, etc.

“O death, where is thy sting?” Death is very painful especially to those who have only lived for this world. The person who is not living for God is leaving their home and goes out into Eternity to live in isolation. But for the people of God, they are not leaving home, but going home to God, that is for those who have lived in the Will of God. Path of the Just is like shining light that is getting better and better, brighter and brighter. There’s no more light to that day. Path of the wicked gets blacker and blacker. To God’s children, the grave and death have been robbed of its victory through Christ.

May we be encouraged to sacrifice and lose our lives in this world so that we may gain Eternity. Suffer loss and be grateful for all Jesus has done and sacrificed for us to bring this wonderful Salvation within our reach.