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I had time with Gordon when he wasn’t well. He knew it was good for him to do things to make him physically weary to help him sleep better. It all took time and he could have felt despondent, but he didn’t. He kept going day after day.

Acts 26:22, “Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come.”

Like Gordon, Paul was able to speak with confidence because he had faith in God.

{something about} a person wrestling with poor health…

{then} Weary body gives way to other things…

It is not that this experience never touched his life again.

(Then Jim read a poem that Gordon shared with Jim at some point):

The Hardest Times of All

There are days of deepest sorrow

In the seasons of our life;

There are deep distressing moments,

There are hours of mental strife;

There are hours of stony anguish

When the tears refuse to fall

But the waiting time, my brothers,

Is the hardest time of all.

We can bear the heat of conflict

Through the sudden crushing blow,

Beating back our gathered forces

For a moment lay us low.

We may rise again beneath it

None the weaker for our fall,

But the waiting time, my brother,

Is the hardest time of all.

Youth and love are oft impatient,

Seeking things beyond their reach

And the heart grows sick with hoping

Ere it learn what life can teach,

For before the fruit is gathered

We must see the blossoms fall,

And the waiting time, my brothers,

Is the hardest time of all.

But at last we learn the lesson

That God knoweth what is best

And a silent resignation

Makes the spirit calm and blest.

And we bow our heads in silence,

At the changes in our fate

And our hearts will thank Him meekly

That He taught us how to wait.

(unknown)

Just waiting for what would come of experience. He could later share his feelings of that time. It is so easy to get weary in the middle miles. Today doesn’t require so much more than yesterday did. Just more of the same. It is a struggle to get into the presence of God, but He gives us strength to go on.

We don’t know what today will bring. Just wait. Sometimes think of waiting being a passive thing, but it takes {I’m not sure what word he used, discipline, perhaps?? Effort??} .

We have a hymn that says “patiently continue…” Gordon is now enjoying the blessing of patiently continuing.

Congregation sang No East or West

Acts 26:22, “Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come.” Gordon’s only sibling, his sister Doreen Winkler composed the following obituary:

Gordon Lawrence Winkler, first-born and only son of Emil and Wanda Winkler, arrived on Thursday, September 2nd, 1926 in Yorkton Saskatchewan. Surrounded by four of his loving friends, he died after a turbulent journey through cancer on Saturday, September 3rd, 2011. He is survived by his sister, Dr. Doreen Winkler, who lives in Toronto, and a number of cousins living in Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC.

Gordon and his family moved from Yorkton to Kelvington, Saskatchewan when he was eight years old in 1934. Together with his parents, he learned every aspect of agriculture, absorbed new ideas and improved ways of farming and continuously worked hard until the farm was a highly successful one. At Bates-town School, he was an eager, conscientious, and thoughtful student who, while very young, was a remarkably fine artist who loved to draw. This was clearly demonstrated throughout his life in his beautiful handwriting. He loved music and learned to play the piano. As an adult, he confided to his Mother that he was so glad she made him practice when he was young and didn’t want to. There was always music in the background when Gordon wrote his many letters.

Gordon loved the gift of poetry and great books. When he was in high school studying it, he read Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to his young sister, explaining the complex plot as he went along. This ignited in her a lifelong love of literature. In fact, he spent endless hours at home, reading to his sister who is blind.

As he grew up, he came to love the prairie spaces, the changing prairie skies, and the flowers, trees, plants and crops that grew on it. He loved and cared for the animals and always had a particular fondness for dogs which lasted all his life.

When he was twenty-four years old, he left the farm to go into the Work, and started out in Saskatchewan. When he was twenty-nine he was called to a foreign land. On his thirtieth birthday, in 1956 he landed in Korea, transported there on a rough freighter with eleven other passengers. He knew little of that country, its people, its culture, or its language. Nevertheless, he quickly learned all these things and laboured there for 27 years, returning to Canada in 1983. On one of his visits to his sister in Toronto, he was shopping with her at a local grocery store when he met and began speaking in Korean with one of the employees. Later, that man declared that Gordon’s Korean was “Perfect! And better than most native Koreans speak.”

When Gordon returned to Canada he realized one of his earliest dreams: he went to live in British Columbia in the Work and remained there until his death. While there, he made many trips to places around the world: Europe, the British Isles, the far east, and South Africa, among others. Yet, he loved the beauty of BC: the mountains, the scenic landscapes, and all the fruit trees and the flowers. He was truly happy in that province and he worked tirelessly, often reaching the point of burn-out and, on a couple of occasions, serious depression. Each time this occurred, he picked himself up, dusted off, and soon recovered, and went right back into the labour he loved as a Worker.

Although Gordon appeared to be of a solemn, rather stern nature, he was a warm, loving, and caring man whose concern for others always exceeded care for himself. He was loved and cherished by so many both in faraway places and in his homeland. In spite of this, he never lost the common touch, and never gave much credence to his successes. He was much more focused on the things he felt he had not done well or could do better. His love of God was foremost in his life and it was clearly apparent in his entire being.

The following is Gordon’s own account of how he began his walk with God, as transcribed by Sandra Perry prior to his death.

”In 1912, my Mother’s father, Grampa Breen lost his horses and found himself at Daff Pinder’s home at Springside. It was Wednesday, and Grampa was invited to stay for the meeting. Although his English was limited, he enjoyed the spirit of the meeting. With the hospitality of that day, Grampa stayed the night and when he left in search of the horses the next morning, he was invited back if the horses were not found. Grampa returned on Saturday and was in the meeting again on Sunday. He asked Daff if meetings like that could be in his home. Workers were not very numerous and so Daff and his neighbour, Chris Merriman, had some meetings. A number of folk came, many of them were Lutheran. After a while, Willie Jamieson was able to come and the separation came as a result. Grampa Breen was the only one who made his choice. Gramma opposed the Truth, saying that Grampa didn’t know anything about these men.” Grampa said that was true, but they had a spirit like men in the Bible.

My Grandmother disliked her daughter (my mother) who, at sixteen years of age, made her choice to follow Jesus, so she and Grandpa would go off to the meetings at the Leonhardt home while the other 11 children went to the Lutheran Church with Gramma. Grampa died when I was six years old in August 1932. He had a severe stomach cancer and the night he died, my Mother was the only one in her large family who would stay up and watch with him. She sent me home with my Dad early in the evening.

My father ran away from home because of opposition in his home. He was forced to learn the catechism and could not find it in the Bible. He went to work for Daff Pinder and, as a result, listened to the Gospel. When my father and mother were married, they lived with Grampa Winkler who was a Lutheran and always wanted Dad to go with him everywhere he went. His sister, my Aunt Mary, was married in BC. His brother, Charlie, married and went to Minneapolis to work. He and Aunt Gladys had two children, Lorraine and Betty, who lived and married there.

I made my choice to serve God at age 21. I was working with my father on the farm at Kelvington, when I responded to the call to the Harvest Field. I started in 1950, when I was twenty-four years old. A second call came to go to Korea in 1956, where I laboured until 1983.”

At this time, we mourn Gordon’s passing but we rejoice in the knowledge that he is with God whom he loved and faithfully served with sincerity, love, and true compassion.

Romans 8:38,39 captures this promise to Gordon.

“Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

2 Corinthians 6:1, “We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.”

Today in Salmon Arm, we are laying to rest one of our workers. Workers together with God. This week I looked through 1st and 2nd Corinthians to see the different names Paul gave to himself and to his co–workers.

1 Corinthians 1:1, Apostle Even as children we learned that an apostle is a sent one. So, the question is, who sent them? Everyone here can answer that. God sent them. I’m not here because I decided this was a good way to spend my life. I am here because of an experience of God calling me and thrusting me forth in the work.

Ministers If ministers, what do we have to share? We are ministers of the word of God, ministers of the Spirit. That is why, when you have ministers in your home, you feel the Spirit of God. We are ministers of the Spirit. That is why, when ministers are at your table, they share the word of God.

Your servants We are servants. Whom do we serve? We serve the Lord Jesus, but we also serve the church, our friends. Not that we do your bidding, but in the sense we are helping the Lord’s people come closer to do the bidding of God.

Labourers If labourers, what do we do? We seek those lost. We help those found get closer to God. We share in the ministry of the Kingdom. We must not miss the privilege of labouring for those in prayer.

Today we are burying an apostle, a servant, a minister, a labourer.

2 Corinthians 6:4, But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

2 Corinthians 6:6, By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

2 Corinthians 6:7, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

2 Corinthians 6:8, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

2 Corinthians 6:9, As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

2 Corinthians 6:10, As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Approving. Giving proof to those observing that we are the ministers of God.

In Pakistan, we were travelling at Special Meeting time when we came upon a car that was stopped. In it was none other than the president’s children. The driver could not get the vehicle going. We stopped and one of our visitors from Sri Lanka offered to help. He said, “I had one of these Jeeps and I might be able to fix it.” Within 20 minutes the vehicle was going. He approved, or proved, that he had the knowledge to do what he said he would.

From many and varied experiences, by the power of God, in distresses, unknown yet known, in sorrowful experiences. In those experiences we try to display love, truth, kindness, longsuffering. When in a difficult experience, we can show the Spirit of Christ, show ourselves approved ministers.

Gordon, in my eyes anyway, approved he was a minister of God.

I was 8 years old when I first met Gordon. When the workers list came out in 1951, it had David Leonhardt and Gordon Winkler together in the Neilburg field. They spent a lot of that winter with us. Both, I think, were in their 20s. Gordon definitely was. I was 8, younger brother about 3, ??? {I need to check these}. We had a 3 room house, so we lived very close to those two men. My impression was these two men were happy together and were happy doing what they were doing. My impression was that workers are happy people. It was not a wrong impression.

In visiting homes in Saskatoon, many spoke of visits of Gordon and his young companion, Terry. The impression was that workers are happy people.

Another impression of Gordon was on my first home visit. I was still searching for things to share with people, foundation truths, because the Gospel work was so new in that land. I was with Gordon at a convention and he spoke from Matthew 5. He mentioned how he longed to be a servant, and show he was a servant. He spoke of a companion he had in Korea. Gordon would say, “Perhaps you could do this, this afternoon.” He would say, “But Gordon, I have done that already.” He would say, “You could do this tomorrow,” and his companion would say, “But I have done that already.”

That left an impression in my heart.

It is not possible to explain all Ezekiel’s wheels or all the Revelation’s horses, but we can share the Spirit. Wonderful if we could ask something of someone, and they would already have done it, because of being a servant .

Another time, Gordon was coming to Pakistan for special meetings. When I heard, I asked if Gordon could come early to have time with me in Lahore. On the way to a Gospel meeting in a slum area, Gordon fell and cut his leg. It got infected and he had to spend 6 weeks in Bud and Faye Young’s home with his leg elevated. I never heard him say, “This isn’t why I came to Pakistan,” but he accepted it. I hope I learn that from my own experience.

My last phone call with Gordon, he told me of the flood of negative thoughts that kept coming.

Isaiah 45:3, “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.”

This was not the first time Gordon had found treasures in a dark experience. Gordon struggled through those thoughts and feelings. In those last days, he found again a deep, deep peace so palpable that even the staff at the care home where he was mentioned it when they went into his room.

No matter how much we struggle in life, the final victory is what matters. Tom Fredgren was sick with cancer and he felt, “Why? Why?” He told me himself of going for a walk at Button Willow, and on the hill prayed. God spoke to his heart and said, ”When I called you, I knew of your impending illness, but I called you anyway. I didn’t call you to defeat, but I have called you to final victory.”

In Colossians 2:5, Paul spoke of their order and steadfastness. I would long as God looks down, He would see the same order and steadfastness in my life. Lately, I was at home longer than usual and when I woke one morning I said that I would have to keep in my life the order of a servant of God. I was in the place where I did not want to be but I did not want to lose the order of a servant of God. For every one of us, an order and steadfastness is necessary. We may have order here in the meeting but what matters is the daily order we need to have in our lives. It pleases God and brings us blessing. The order is to keep God first. God looks down and we know that He looks for this order. We live in a world with very little order, as we say there is no law or order. We wouldn’t want to have no order in our daily lives before God. People these days are so busy. They are rushing around but there is no order. In today’s world, there is a casual spirit and a casual attitude that never was before.

We all sang the hymn, “Begin the day with God.” If we followed that hymn, we would have good order in our lives. We would begin the day, go through the day, and end the day with God. That would be pleasing to God. If we do this day after day, there would be an order to our lives and we would get blessing. As we go among God’s people, we love to see those with an order in their lives. It is really beautiful as God comes first. As God’s servants, we too need to keep an order in our lives. We may be very busy and what we do may be all right but we wouldn’t want to get away from the order of keeping God first. We don’t want to get casual or lazy. We like to see order in the home on Saturdays. From a child, I knew about it.

On Saturday evening, God had to come first. After Dad died, Mum and I were having breakfast about eight o’clock. Mum said she wanted to keep the order in the home that Dad kept. We appreciated those who kept order in their lives and when they spoke in the meeting, they had something to say that was weighty. It came at a great cost because God came first. There will be a great reward for putting God first. He is no man’s debtor.

We heard about Daniel. He prayed and gave thanks as he did aforetime. He had an order in his life and he was going to keep it at any cost even if it meant his life being taken. Abraham, and so many great men we read of, all had an order in their lives. Abraham kept God first. Whatever God wanted, he did it. When making the altar to sacrifice Isaac, he laid the wood in order. He could have done it casually but he had respect for God. We can’t order this but we are responsible for keeping an order in our own lives. It is not for us to lord over God’s heritage but we have to order our own little patch.

Paul, in writing to Timothy, spoke about bishops and the need to rule their own homes. He was to keep order in his home, otherwise he couldn’t take care of the Church. He was to take care of the Church and rule his own home. We can give guidance to others but we must order ourselves. The enemy wants us to do anything but keep God first in our lives. There is so much to occupy our minds but we must keep God first. May our steps be ordered in His love and, if we have true love for God, our lives will be in order. I want to keep God in the centre of my life.

I enjoyed that hymn, “Hearts It Is The World Requires.” If we have a heart that God is pleased with, then we have a heart that the world requires. This world is a cold, corrupt place and God requires us to be lights in this world. Matthew 5, “Let your light….Heaven.” If we have a heart that God can work in, then we will be a light. This could lead to others glorifying God. If we have the right desires in our heart, we will have peace and those outside will see it.

I was thinking of Daniel and his three friends. They purposed not to defile themselves. There were others taken captive from Israel but only those four had the right purpose. They were willing to be different when different was right. They were not ashamed of what they believed in and God brought them into favour with the chief eunuch. It seemed that it would be impossible for them to refuse the king’s food but God took over. If we set our heart’s to be true to God, we can be sure that God will work. At the end of the time, Daniel and his friends looked better than the others. God was working in those young lives and they were given wisdom and understanding.

Then an image was made and all were to fall down and worship when the music was played. The penalty for disobedience was to get put into the fiery furnace. They told the king that even if God did not deliver them they were not going to serve the king’s god. They stood for what they knew to be right and they answered the king according to their conviction. Others would have seen how true they were to the God that they believed in. When the king looked into the furnace, a fourth was walking with them. If we are willing to stand for what is right, others will see Christ in us. Because the young men stood for what was right, the king began to show respect for their God.

God sent Christ to His own people Israel, but they had gone far from Him, following their own tradition but we, as Gentiles, had no hope of being with Him. Ephesians 3, “Strangers from….in the world…Christ.” There was no hope for Creation, if Christ had not come. He laid down His life for us. He surely had a heart that the world required. Every day Christ lived, He put down any selfish thought He may have had and He did that for our sake.

We would like to be like those young men. In the midst of what was ungodly, they stood firm for God.

When we shop for an item, if we do not use all of it, sometimes we are disappointed. Do you realize the disappointment Christ feels when our lives are not utilized for His will? Why do we limit the work God has in mind for us?

All the victories of the past we appreciate, but they do not mean anything today. We need victory today!

We tend to have strong opinions about our passions, but are they God’s opinions? Do they contain Godly conviction?

Do not allow your human burdens to affect your heavenly perspective.

We want to have a spirit of forgiveness even when others do not have a spirit of repentance.

Do not keep of a record of right and wrong; it hurts your spirit and creates a wedge, which is exactly what Satan wants, to push you further away from Christ.

It is your responsibility to pray for others, including your enemies!

Humility is the fashion of heaven. Why should we be any different?

The most important treasure is the eternal treasure we can claim even after the world passes away. Sometimes we can get so caught up with the form, the rules, the culture, the hymns, how to dress, whether dress pants, jeans, stockings, bare feet, etc. We need to stop looking at the form and keep focused on the treasure. If we get too caught up in the form or the traditions, we will miss Jesus. Remember, focus on what really matters, those things that cannot be taken away. Remember, Jesus is the way.

We want to fall in love with Jesus and lay claim to Him.

We don’t know what the future holds, and that is okay, because God’s love is full of assurance.

There will not be an unforgiving person in Heaven.

Mercy is not a license to sin. Psalms 85 and 89 = Mercy and Truth met together.

Baptism is not a conforming of our life; it is the death of our human nature. As professing is likened to our engagement, baptism is likened unto a marriage; settle your commitment in your heart now and forever.

You can have a lot of days after a killing frost, but the damage is already done.

Bitterness, like gangrene, works slow and will continue to rob you of your thoughts, fears, faith, heart, and finally, your soul. The scary thing to remember, it starts out small but will eventually consume you, if you allow it to.

God’s spirit has no language barrier. When we feel a situation with our brother has gone wrong, take it to God first and ask for direction.

One of the parables that Jesus spoke of in the 19th chapter of Luke has been on my mind for quite some time at other conventions as well as this one because it applies to every one of us in the Meeting here today, and it applies to me.

It tells us that after Jesus was speaking to Zacchaeus and others that He added and spake a parable because He was nigh unto Jerusalem, and because they thought the Kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a Kingdom and to return and he called his ten servants and delivered them ten pounds and said unto them ‘occupy till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’”

I suppose it wasn’t unusual for some of the disciples and others to think that this Kingdom of Heaven would be a Kingdom that would be established upon this earth like the Kingdom of David and Solomon. Jesus had already said before that the Kingdom of God is within you and it was there that the Lord is to reign and to have His throne. It’s there that He wants to have control in the individual lives of His children, and that’s where His Kingdom begins.

Although there were some here that thought about this, Jesus spoke this parable. He spoke of this nobleman. There was never any more noble man upon this earth than Jesus. He was noble in everything He did, and he was speaking to them of the time that he had spent here on this earth opening up the Gospel to them. He was going to leave them and go back and return to His place as a king.

I was thinking of that, and it tells us that he gave them a pound each. I was looking up the meaning of that word, and in Hebrew it doesn’t speak of the natural money of today, but it speaks of money that was used by the Hebrews. It was a bit more valuable than today’s one pound. It was something like a whole year’s wages for an ordinary labourer in the field, and so it was a fairly big gift that was given in this parable. It was a gift that He gave to His servants.

It made me think the first time I read this, “What did the Lord give me through the Gospel when He opened up the way for me to have a place in His family?” It should make everyone think that, “What did the Lord give to us; what was the thing He gave to us that was as valuable to us as it was to those men at that time?” That was equal to a year’s wages, but we know that what the Lord gave us was far more valuable than what we could ever get in this world.

He gave, first of all, His love when we didn’t love Him. He took away the love of the things we thought would bring pleasure to us, and He gave us His love when we did not love Him. We think of that love of God which is very different to human love. Human love is part of human nature and it cannot be anything else, but it also has a basis of selfishness. We want something for ourselves, but we think of the love of God, it is unselfish absolutely. God just doesn’t want something for Himself but He wants to give it to us, and that’s the love of God.

I was thinking of what Jesus had in His life; what He did and said of expressing that love. Jesus said to His disciples and to everybody else, that they should love one another as He had loved them, and, when we look into His life, we see that He did.

We couldn’t make a very great expression of our love could we? We could often speak about it and what it means to us and how God loved us when we didn’t love Him, but it needs to go a little deeper than that, so Jesus is saying here, “I’m giving this to you; I’m giving you My love and My mercy and My long-suffering and My patience and humility and forgiveness, and you go and occupy yourself with it.” “Occupy,” He said. We know the evidence of true love is what is done, not what is said about what God has done for us, but as we look into His word we see it is far deeper than that. We get to understand what it means to have the love of God.

I was thinking about how the Lord has made that salvation and redemption for us to help us to understand that love. We know He gave us a human body and a human nature from the beginning and we often feel like we’d like to despise that human nature because we are not very old when it begins to take control of our life, and it leads us to please ourselves and to have our own way, and want what it can do for us, but we realised then that it doesn’t bring us joy or any true gladness at all. It gives us quite a lot of trouble often and disappointments in many ways, and that’s what it was meant to do. You know, the Lord gave it to us and He had a very good reason and a very important reason to give it to us, so that we would have the opportunity of proving that taking our own way is a failure.

We think of the Angels that didn’t have this Spirit that they would like to look into it; this plan of Salvation that God has given to us. They would like to look into it because they never had this privilege, they were made as God’s Spiritual Servants to stand before Him, and to look upon His perfect life and those who appreciated it, were made His Servants, but quite a lot listened to Satan and were carried away.

The Lord in Revelation speaks about the old devil that he has a tail, and he sweeps his tail and knocks down a third of the stars of Heaven. He wasn’t speaking of physical stars, but He was speaking of what Satan had done when he carried away a third of God’s Spiritual Servants as a result of thinking there was something better in taking their own way. I believe God wants to give us the opportunity of proving that our own way is wrong and it will never bring us any true joy and gladness and peace that we thought it would. The Lord won’t have any worries in eternity because Satan won’t have a place there and one day decides he wants to take his own way.

God wants us to have the opportunity of being there, and I hope that this human nature has done something for us, by helping us to understand we would never want to have our own way, because it will fail us and leave us without any hope or joy in our lives for all eternity. We know it’s the first part of our human nature and we can’t despise it because the Lord gave it to us for that reason, and then another reason, a very important reason, is that it causes us to become sinners in God’s sight. It opens up to God, the opportunity that He planned right from the beginning of the world; from the very foundation of the world. We read of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, so the plan of redemption and Salvation was already there.

Right from the beginning it was a perfect plan; the plan to give us a human body and to give us a human nature and make us sinners. He knew we would all become sinners because before long, that human nature would take us in the wrong way. He did it at a great expense; a great cost to Himself and to His Son, to redeem us and we know that is the story of the Gospel that Jesus was willing. His life was not taken from Him, but He gave it and the Bible teaches us that Jesus gave His life willingly, quietly and obediently to be the sin offering for us when He died on the cross. He endured death with the greatest pain upon His natural body that He might be the sin offering for us. He wanted to do this because of His Spirit and His love for God.

He kept that same wonderful Spirit and love for God in His own life and right through that terrible experience. Then we know, at the end as we’ve heard already in the Meeting when He hung on that cross that He made that prayer to His Father that God would forgive them for they know not what they do. That’s showing His love for them too, we know. During that time, the man who was a thief on the cross with Him, and he repented and he understood that Jesus was the Son of God and the Saviour at that time. He said to Jesus, “Remember me when Thou cometh into Thy kingdom,” and Jesus didn’t say, “You are only paying the price for your sin now.” No, He said, “Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.”

We can see the Spirit of love, and you know, we see that the Lord had the Spirit from the beginning and He would understand His Father, and know what it is to say that we should love each other as He has loved us. Also to love sinners; those who count themselves as our enemies, and those who treat us badly. You know, we could never do that with our human nature, could we? God has made it possible because He has given us a love for what He has done for us. That’s what will increase the love in our heart when we realise that God has a wonderful love for us and what He has done for us.

I like the thought of that gift that was given to those men at the time, that it was something that increased with the using. You know, everything we use in this life will either break down or rust or fall apart; everything, but these things of God will increase with the using thereof. The love of God and His mercy and kindness and long-suffering and patience and His wonderful humility and forgiveness. Jesus has set this before us and we use these ourselves and also give them out to others. That’s what occupying means. We can’t talk about the love of God and the mercy of God and what God means to us, without first having these things in our own lives and we like to show it to others, we’d like to show all we do and say to everybody, “That’s what Jesus was speaking about in this parable. He wants us to do these things and we cannot express them in any other way but by giving them out, because no one could ever understand it apart from us.”

Then I thought that, after this, he commanded those Servants to be brought to him; those to whom he had given the money that he might receive what they had gained by it. The first one came and said “Thy pound has gained ten pounds,” and he said, “Well done, thou good Servant, because thou hast been faithful in little, have thou authority over ten cities.”

The second Servant had gained five and he said likewise to him “Be thou over five cities.” You know, I noticed that having authority means that you will have the control over the power of these cities. You know, Jesus was speaking of eternity; He was saying, “When I come back, I will be able to trust you in the new Heaven and the new earth, with just how you used the love and mercy and forgiveness I’ve given you down here on this earth, and these things have increased in your life because you’ve been using them as these Servants did.” Be careful of these things that we have, so that we can [be] used and given out to others. We can’t gain any natural things by holding some money and putting it in a cupboard, can you? It’s got to be given out to others and that’s what Jesus was saying.

Then there was the one man who came to him and he said, “Here is your one pound and I’ll give it back to you.” He didn’t speak about the other ones but he said, “I feared thee because thou art an austere man and takest up what thou layest not down, and reapest where thou didst not sow.” The nobleman said, “Thou knewest that I was an austere man – a hard man, taking up what I laid not down and reaping what I had not sowed, and you didn’t do anything with the money I gave to you.”

I thought that was rather unusual when I read that years ago, saying that God was like that hard man, but it’s not like that at all. What I believe is that we know the greatest joy to the Lord, is that we give out and be a help to others, and prove that in our life. His love and His mercy and kindness. David, after he had sinned, said, “Thy mercy is as high as the heavens,” there is no limit to it, and nobody has ever found the limit yet – there is no limit to God’s mercy. We understand that God rejoices in that; rejoices in giving to us these gifts, and they should mean something to us. This man lost his opportunity to do something for the Lord. God has given of Heaven’s best to us, and didn’t want to keep all the joy to Himself, and He wants to give us the opportunity to do something for Him, that’s what Jesus was saying. It will cost us something to serve the Lord, and it will cost us something to deny ourselves, and it will cost us something to be humble and to take the lowest place. It’s costly to be merciful and to have a love for our enemies and so forth, but when the judgment day comes and we stand before Him, we won’t be able to say that He hadn’t given us an opportunity to do His Will. He has given us that opportunity and He has opened up the way that we can prove Him, and have the joy that the Lord has, when He gives the best to us.

July 25, 2011

We had very helpful special meetings. Everything went well but, in the end, our elder Uncle Keith Olsen went to Sri Lanka and UAE for special meetings. A day before his return, he got so sick that they had to rush him in the hospital. His problem was that he could not pass urine. They operated and found out that he has cancer around his kidneys, and that was blocking the urine tubes. His Canadian doctor and staff advised him to go to Canada and have full treatment there.

Glad he agreed to that. Now he is back in Canada and is having treatment there. He says some days are good and some are bad. He has become very weak.

Right now, he is at convention but can not take part in the meetings. We hope with good treatment, he will get well again. We miss him much. He has spent 40 years in Pakistan. Now he says if he had not gone to Canada, he might have died by now.

Hymn 359: “So Strange it Seems and Wondrous”

At a sing once, a little girl asked if we could sing the strange hymn. We were puzzled but this is the one she wanted. It does seem strange to us and a wondrous thing that we are where we are.

I want to tell you a story that explains why I’m doing what I’m doing. One thing I’ve tried to do is be more positive. By nature I’m a pessimist. But it’s good to think about who we are and what we have. When I was still a young worker, our older brother, Howard Mooney, said, “You sometimes have to present some very straight messages, but don’t leave them without hope!”

Charles (Vaughan) spoke to us about the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. We can all leave here with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will leave here with each one of us. Even the non-believers, as a troubling friend John 16:7, “Nevertheless, it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” Expedient means “to your advantage.” The disciples would have found this very difficult to comprehend. They would have understood, “Come, follow me,” at the beginning. But now this? They saw His teaching, His compassion, His level of revelation.

What could be better than having Jesus with them? But there were limitations to having Him there in the flesh. He knew that if He left them they could experience having the Comforter, the Spirit with them. He could not be with them all the time even when He was on Earth.

John 4:8, Jesus sent the disciples away to buy food. He was on His own when He had a visit with that woman of Samaria. When the disciple returned, they said to each other, “Did we miss something here?” Well, yes, they did. They’d have heard that conversation about living water. Then there was that time on the Mount of Transfiguration. Only 3 of His disciples were there: Peter, James and John. The rest missed that, an experience second to none!

Jesus knew it was to their advantage to leave them so that the Divine Presence could come and dwell with them 24/7. We all leave here with the divine presence with us in us. The Spirit of God works in a life long before we are aware of it. Acts 10:1, Cornelius, he was a devout man who feared God. But he was not a saved man, not what we would call a “professing man,” but his prayers were heard. The Spirit was there, working in him. And when the angel spoke to him he responded.

Everything we’ve learned and enjoyed has been revealed to us through the Spirit during this “engagement period” of our marriage to the Bridegroom.

What better one to do this but the Spirit? We read of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three separate Beings. In the world there is a belief that this is one Being and it is spoken of as the Trinity. This is a man-made term and is wrong doctrine. A man named Constantine, in 300 AD introduced this idea to try to bring some unity in these already splintering groups. Col 2:9 speaks of the Godhead. (Also Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20) “For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” God did not die on the Cross, and the Spirit did not rise from the sepulcher; it was Jesus.

To understand it a little better, it is like the clock on that post. It has three separate hands working together, in perfect unity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost have an Oneness that we can’t comprehend with the human mind. But they are three separate Beings. We can’t subtract one from the other. They all serve separately but maybe one day will blend so perfectly.

It’s like food, blended together nicely to make a meal. I hesitate to talk about food because for the next 30 homes I visit I will be served the same food! But I like spaghetti, with a nice garden salad, and garlic toast. But not all mixed up, all on separate plates. People say well, they all end up mixed up where they are going. That might be so, but I still like them served separately!

Romans 8:9, “but ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” V14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” V16, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” This chapter is a very helpful one to help us understand the importance of the Spirit and how necessary it is for salvation.

Sometimes people ask us which translation of the Bible is the best one. The King James version is a good one. But the Spirit is the one true translator. We need the spirit to give us the message for our lives, for the ministry, for morals. We need the Holy Spirit to fill in the details. No man can tell us what the Bible means for us, only the Spirit can do that. The Bible gives us the outline, the Spirit gives us the details for us personally. If we come up with something when reading, something we don’t understand, the Spirit can help us. Just like when we were in school, we were told to colour in the picture, but stay inside the outline. If it doesn’t fall inside the outlines then we need to keep searching.

Can the Spirit teach one thing to one person and another thing to someone else on the same topic? The answer is No and Yes. When speaking of doctrine, the Spirit will not teach us something different where the doctrine of salvation is concerned for instance. But what about the “grey areas” and I hesitate to use that term. Can I be convicted of something for my individual life? Paul spoke a little about this, he said some things that he felt were things he was convicted about himself, and they were not necessarily the words of Jesus. He said these things are my convictions: for instance, raising children. Some parents have very different convictions about the right way to raise their children. I have seen some totally different approaches to raising children when it comes to discipline. Yet the children grow up, they profess, they even have a meeting in the home, and yet they were raised entirely differently. Take sports at school. Some parents say, “No, not outside of school.” Some have different ideas. Sometimes it can be confusing for the children. I think it is very important to let the children know that just because we do it this way and they do it that way doesn’t make them wrong. It’s important to tell the children this.

I was staying with a family once. There were some cousins visiting too, 4 or 5 boys between the ages of 12 and 15 or so. It was hot weather and on Sunday afternoon we all went for a walk along the creek. We came to a place where there was an inviting pool. One of the boys said, “Let’s go for a swim.” They began to peel off their shirts. One of the cousins said, “But it’s Sunday, we can’t go swimming on Sunday; it’s wrong.” The others hesitated but went into the water. I said to the boy, “Come and sit with me a while, here on this rock.” And I began to talk with him about how some families have different ideas about these things. He was indignant and even a bit self-righteous about it all. But as we talked he could see what I meant and to give him credit, he understood what I was saying. After a while he peeled off his shirt and took a little swim with the others.

There were two men working in a brewery and both professed. After a while one man said, “We should not be working here, they make beer,” etc. He left his job and because of his age he did not find it easy to get other work. The other man said, “Well, it’s only a few years till my retirement and I’m a payroll clerk, working in an office.” So he stayed on at his job. The problem was they were both at the same meeting and it caused problems. The first man got quite an attitude about it and after a while he stopped coming to meetings. The other man simply, quietly kept doing his job and is still going along nicely. The first man had a wrong spirit. He tried to judge the other man.

We can breed a critical spirit when we would be better to respect other people’s convictions provided they don’t fall outside of correct doctrine.

I like to think about the role of the Holy Spirit in my life. We read in Genesis 24:2-4 where Abraham’s servant was sent to find a bride for Isaac, the son. There are a lot of parallels in Old Testament stories. In this story Abraham was the father, like God. Isaac was the son, like Jesus. Abraham’s oldest and most trusted servant was like the Holy Spirit.

The servant was sent out with instructions and he obeyed Abraham. V4, He asked some questions, “What if she won’t come with me? What if she is not willing? What if she won’t leave her kindred? Should I take your son there?” Abraham said, v6 “No, bring not my son thither again.” He said that twice as if to emphasize it. V8, It was a picture of God and His Son, God watched His Son die once and He’s not going to watch that again. The servant performed everything that his master asked of him, just as Jesus did.

The servant took camels for the journey, camels are like the servants of God. The servant made the camels kneel down, v11, to be laden with his master’s goods. This is a nice picture — a kneeling ministry, a praying ministry, a Spirit-directed ministry. Acts 16, Paul and Silas in prison, prayer was made.

V14, The servant asked for a sign that he might know he had the right bride for Isaac. We don’t work alone, there are signs from above. He asked that the woman who comes to the well will accept not just the servant but the ministry. Matt 10:40, Jesus said, “Those who receive you receive me.”

Genesis 24:17-19, Servant ran towards the young woman and asked for a drink. There was an urgency! She brought him a drink and for his camels too.

V21, the servant held his peace and wondered. Is she as sincere as she appears to be?

V22, He took out a golden ear-ring, two bracelets and other gifts. She had given him water, he was giving her gold! Well, water for gold! What an exchange!

In John 2, we read of the time Jesus turned water into wine at the marriage feast. Common wash water in exchange for best wine! What treasures are in the house of God!

V23, The servant asked if there was room in her father’s house. Is there room in our life for these things? She said there was plenty of room and for the camels too. V26, The man bowed down his head and worshiped. It was all coming together now. V29, Rebekah’s brother went to meet the man at the well. He could see that her life was already enriched when he saw the gold upon his sister’s hands. V31, Laban said, “Come in, why are you standing out here?” The servant was still standing by his camels —it’s hard to separate the camels from the servant. V33, a wonderful meal set ready but the servant would not eat until he had told of his errand. The Spirit is called the Comforter but it’s not about his own comfort

V34, The servant said, “I am Abraham’s servant.” The focus was on the Father, just as it was with Jesus. Then he went on to tell of his master’s flocks and herds and so on. Told every detail. When the Spirit has a willing audience it does not withhold help. We’ve heard things here, nothing held back, told every detail.

V49, The servant said, “This is of God.” And he bowed again, v52, and worshiped. Then, V53, he gave gold and precious things to the family. When someone commits themselves to God, everyone in the house benefits. All of a sudden, there is something very precious in that home.

V54, “Send me away unto my master.” The family said, “Hold on, wait a minute.” They saw the cost. “Let the damsel abide with us a few more days, ten days at least. Then she can go.” Then it would be, well, it’s nearly her birthday, or Christmas or something like that. They were procrastinating. A little human nature comes in! When we procrastinate, we are making a compromise. That’s nothing but defeat on an installment plan!

V56, Servant said, “Hinder me not.” So they called Rebekah. She stepped up and said, “I will go.” There was total trust, total dedication. V59, Rebekah said good-bye and got on the camel and they rode away. She followed the servant. Like a Spirit-guided life.

We would think the servant had pretty much done his job. At least half of it anyway, but it was the smallest half! He had to protect her and guide her, all the way back. There would be bandits and thieves, snakes, maybe blisters and dehydration and so much more. He would have to educate her, there was so much to cover. She would want to know what is my bridegroom like? What is his father like? What is the kingdom like? There would be endless questions. The servant would patiently answer her and help her and prepare her to meet her bridegroom. Just like the Spirit helps us.

V63, Isaac was out meditating in the field. He knew they were coming but not when. We don’t know when Jesus will come again, even Jesus Himself does not know the time. Then he sees, here comes the servant on the camels and he knows his bride will be with him. V64, Rebekah lighted off the camel, and asked, “Who is this walking in the field?” The servant said, “It is my master.” She would have seen many men on her journey. She took a veil and covered her face, she would not take it off for other men.

On the day we meet our Bridegroom, when the Bride and Bridegroom come together, something will tell us, but the Spirit will be there. It will be like a double reassurance.

V66, The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Nothing hid between the servant and the son. They shared everything. I’m sure the servant told him everything. How Rebekah had never wanted to go back, she had just been so faithful, how he could have confidence in her.

There would be a wedding feast and she would get to meet the father. When we meet our Heavenly Bridegroom, we will get to meet our Heavenly Father and all come together as one. We cannot comprehend it now.

V67, Isaac took Rebekah to be his wife and he loved her. The Bridegroom of our soul loves us also. The journey was complete, it was a total success.

Luke 17:21, “The Kingdom of God is within you.” Our spirit communicates with the Divine Presence in us. Give the Spirit full attention. Full cooperation. It is imperative for our success. There’s a very special place in our heart for the older servant, the Spirit. I have a sneaking suspicion that he will be there when we meet our Bridegroom face to face and we will be loved deeply and have fellowship for all eternity. We cannot understand the depth of that fellowship. There will be a special place in our heart for the trusted servant and we will meet our Bridegroom every day and be loved for all eternity.

I hope you all have a good year; you won’t be alone. You will be accompanied by the very one God has chosen as his most trusted oldest servant. When we make it to the wedding feast who knows the depth of that blending? Will the camels be at the wedding feast? I think so! Have a good year, the best of years.

Hymn 208: ” Our Blest Redeemer”

Exodus 14:15 – “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.” We can be assured that every time the Lord speaks to us, it is a message to go forward; He will never speak a message to us to go backward. Many voices, and our own human nature, only have a message to go backward but every message we hear from God in this convention is a message to go forward in His will, where there is deeper, richer blessing. Moses spoke this to the people but the message came from God. I appreciated that David has already encouraged us to read God’s word. God has different ways of speaking a message to our hearts. He speaks to us as we gather like this before Him, and it is a message from Heaven. He speaks to us when we bow our knees in prayer and come humbly before Him. He also speaks when we read His word because all that we read in the chapters of God’s word is a message from Him, through His prophets, His servants, through Jesus’ life and ministry.

I will never forget when I was exercised about going into the work and I finally had the courage to write to the overseer in our province. He wrote back, “I would like to meet you.” I didn’t know him because he had recently come to our province from another province. He was an older man and I went in fear and trembling. But they were fears that I didn’t need. I found a very gentle, wonderfully wise man and these are some of his words of advice. “When you begin in the ministry, don’t worry about the preaching.” That was a great relief to me because it was one thing that scared me out of my wits! But he said, “Get acquainted with God’s word.” It is when we get acquainted with God’s word and seek to feed our own souls that we will hear the voice of God to our hearts and it will be a message to go forward.

It is good to understand the situation this day when God said, “Go forward.” Do you know what was in front of them? The Red Sea. There was no way forward. Behind them was the army of Pharaoh, and it was not a friendly army. It was an enemy army seeking to destroy them. Where to go? The message was to go forward, but where was the way? God opened a way where there was no way. If we are willing to take a step in faith, He opens a way as He did for these people. I am sure many of them would have felt, “This is the end.” Have you ever come to a situation like that? But what seemed like the end to them that day was just the beginning of a journey with God. We will come to situations where God asks us to do something and it seems impossible. But what seems like the end to us is just the beginning with God. God opened up that sea and they went through on dry ground.

Paul wrote about that. I Corinthians 10:1 – “I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” It was a tremendous experience for them and what we want to experience is to be baptized unto God by the baptism of the Holy Spirit and by the baptism of water. I Corinthians 12:13 – “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” That experience of the children of Israel is a type of our baptism. The baptism of the Holy Spirit comes first, just like Paul said. When they left Egypt, the cloud overshadowed them and led them. In their beginning steps with God they experienced the wonderful provision of God and they proved the keeping power of God. Then they came to the Red Sea experience and that is the way it should be in our experience. The baptism of water will mean nothing to us if we don’t know the baptism of God’s Holy Spirit first. It comes before the baptism of water and continues after the baptism of water. The word “baptism” means to be completely immersed, and these people were completely immersed in that cloud as it protected them. We want to be completely immersed in the Spirit of God, fully led by the Spirit of God in all we do, then we will know the blessing of God in our walk with Him.

So, they went through the Red Sea and there was a journey ahead. The waters just came back again and what did that do? It separated them from their old worldly life in Egypt forever. If we are led by the Holy Spirit then the baptism of water, when we understand what that baptism means and we are willing for it, will separate us from our old worldly life and we will keep going forward with God. When they got through that water, then what? They couldn’t jump on a train and head for the Promised Land; it was a journey of steps with God. It would be an overwhelming thing if we could see it, that big body of God’s people taking steps towards the Promised Land. In two years’ time, they were right there at the Promised Land. Numbers 13:1 – “Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.” Those men brought back evidence of the goodness of the land. They picked a cluster of grapes so big that it took two of them to carry it between them on a pole. Wonderful!

I love the beautiful picture we have of that in Ezekiel. Ezekiel 20:6 – “In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.” God picked the best for His people. He looked over the earth that He created and couldn’t find better, and that is what God has promised us if we will go forward with Him. “A land flowing with milk and honey.” Butter comes from milk, and it is one of the richest foods we could eat and we have experienced that with Australian butter; it doesn’t get much better. Honey is sweetness and that is what we are going to experience. There is nothing richer than the love of God and nothing sweeter than the peace and joy we have when we walk in the will of God, in obedience to His wonderful will. But this was the Promised Land; it is not Heaven. They had enemies to fight there, but there are no enemies in Heaven. Some disobeyed and lost out, but there will be no disobedience in Heaven. So this is a message to go forward, deeper into His promises for us and it gives us a little foretaste of what God has planned for us through the countless ages of eternity. Twelve men went up and came back with this beautiful sample of what was there, but ten of them said, “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” Numbers 13:20 – “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.’” Caleb, that dear man of God, said, “Go up.” He calmed the people. The message was still to go forward but there were only two, Joshua and Caleb, out of all those people and Moses wasn’t able to turn their hearts.

So, they were right there in the Promised Land; they had journeyed and proved the help of God and they were ready to enter deeper into His blessing but, no, they stopped. Why? Hebrews 4:6 – “Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief.” Revelation 21:8 – “But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” This is a whole list of people that will never enter Heaven, but their place is in the lake of fire, that is hell. The two types of people that lead the whole list are the fearful and the unbelieving.

I appreciated the message of faith yesterday. There is something we need if we are going to go forward, and that is faith. Hebrews 12:1 – “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” If you read through the book of Hebrews you will understand the sin that so easily besets us is unbelief. I see many times where my progress has been hindered and I have hesitated because of unbelief, not trusting. When we don’t trust, that is unbelief. Many, many things confront us as we walk with God and give us the feeling in our hearts that we can’t do it. That is unbelief. We need faith and we need the love of God. They feared the enemy in the land but, as Melanie was telling us, perfect love casts out fear.

There is something else that is very important if we are going to go forward. Exodus 33:13 – “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” This is Moses speaking. God said, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” What did Moses answer? “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” Moses understood how important it was that he had the presence of God with him. We won’t go forward without the presence of God and if we go in our own will and according to our own thinking, the presence of God will not go with us. If we don’t have the presence of God with us, we will be going backwards and that is a horrible destiny that we never want to experience. Going forward gives us a destiny that God has planned for His true people.

Deuteronomy 1:42 – “And the Lord said unto me, ‘Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you.’” When the children of Israel turned away from God, the message was, “Go not.” The reason He wasn’t with them was that their hearts were filled with so much unbelief and they turned away in hardness, so He couldn’t be with them. God cannot be with a heart lifted up with pride. But they went up in their own strength anyway and the enemy came down and destroyed them. If we are going to go forward, we must have His presence with us.

The Lord said to Moses, “I will give thee rest.” We experience rest when we have the presence of God with us. In spite of the enemy that is all around us, we can have rest and peace in our hearts. That is a marvelous thing, if God is with us we can go forward with rest in our hearts. If we don’t have peace, we need to examine our hearts. If there is no peace and no rest, we are not going forward. Exodus 33:16 – “For 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?” That is how we know. “So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” The presence of God gives us rest and separation from the world that would like to swallow us up. We have to live in this world, but we want to be separated from it. We don’t want to be going where the world is going and living the way the world is living. So, if we are not separated, what does that mean? God isn’t with us and we are not going forward. If we are walking with the world, we will talk and think and look like the world. But when we walk with the Lamb of God, we will talk and think and look like the Lamb, and that is going forward.

Deuteronomy 2:1 – “And we compassed Mount Seir many days.” They weren’t going anywhere, just going around in circles. Have you ever gone around in circles? Sometimes we meet mountains in our experiences: the mountain of self will, of self pity, of unforgiveness, of discouragement. All we are taken up with is the mountain and we go around and around the mountain. “And the Lord spake unto me, saying, ‘Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.’” That is what the Lord wants to say to us. We don’t want to be taken up with those mountains, but we want to leave those mountains behind and go forward to know the blessing of God.

I Kings 19:3 – “And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life.” In the previous chapter, we find the great victory that Elijah had but here we read of him fleeing for his life, feeling very alone. He came to a mountain and while it should have been a mountain of help, it was just discouragement. Vs 9: “And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’” I appreciate Elijah very much as a dear brother, and I can put myself in his shoes. There have been times when it was the same for me, when I was taken up with a mountain of no value that hindered my progress, and the Lord said, “What are you doing here?” Elijah had an answer. He was all alone, he was discouraged and all he could see was himself. Three storms came. There was the terrific wind that broke the rocks, then the earthquake, then the fire. But God wasn’t in any of those storms. I believe God wanted to give Elijah a little picture of where he was and these were like self inflicted storms. His own thoughts were like the wind, imagining how it was when it wasn’t that way at all. The earthquake was shaking his confidence and the fire was destroying his zeal for God, but God wasn’t in any of it. Afterwards, the still, small voice of God spoke a very loud message to Elijah. Vs 15: “Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus.” The Lord had work for him to do; there were two kings and the prophet Elisha to be anointed.

Matthew 5:23 – “Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Matthew 18:15 – “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” This is a similar message but the opposite situation, but both times the message is, “You go.” It is your responsibility to go to your brother and make it right. Sometimes if it is the one that is offended, there can be a mountain of unforgiveness. There is nothing that hinders progress more than going around the mountain of unforgiveness. Go and make it right.

If a man offends another man, there is a wall between them and fellowship is hindered. One is praying about it in his home and the other is praying about it in his home and the message God gives is, “Go.” They get up and meet and it is all taken care of. What gift do we have to give to God? Just this little life of ours, but it won’t mean anything to God if we have anything against a brother. Make it right and come back and offer your gift again.

There were two brothers in Christ, good friends who had fellowship together, and the two families went on holidays together. But something came up between them and destroyed fellowship and hindered the unity of fellowship in the church. It was a very difficult situation and nothing was happening. Each of these men had a daughter and these girls were very good friends. They never let the problem between their fathers hinder their friendship and fellowship. The two girls were traveling together in a car and another driver ran into them and one of these girls was killed instantly. The evening before the funeral, I was with the family and there was the casket with that dear 16-year-old life, snuffed out. The other couple came with their daughter. When they came into the room there were some tense moments, but that couple and the living girl went up to the casket. The tears started to flow and that big man turned to the father of the girl who was gone and they hugged and wept on each other’s shoulders. The problem was all gone, but what a price to pay.

We don’t need to wait for something like that to happen to bring us together. Jesus, our Lord and Master, gave His life. What did He say? John 12:32 – “And I, if I be lifted up from this earth, will draw all men to me.” If there is a problem like that, we want to meet the One who has given His life for us, at the foot of the cross. How could we hold any unforgiveness in our hearts there? Go, make it right and there will be progress. Matthew 28:19 – “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.” This was a message from the Lord to His apostle ministry. If the message comes to our hearts to go, we want to go.

John 12:20 – “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast . . saying, ‘Sir, we would see Jesus.’” Andrew and Philip told Jesus and what did Jesus say? Did He say, “Wonderful, I would like to see them?” The first thing He said was, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” It seemed like such a strange answer, but I believe Jesus was saying, “I am going – you go.” How could they go? By dying as a grain of wheat. That is how we go forward in this ministry, by dying to the natural side and it is wonderful when there is fruit. I heard a wonderful story in New Zealand and it touched my heart deeply. A handsome young man came out from Ireland to the Taranaki district and fell in love with a beautiful lady. Then two sisters came with the Gospel and he was moved to go and take this message to others. Six weeks before their wedding, they broke off their engagement. The young lady’s father had financed them a farm but they put it all aside and that young man went into the ministry. The young lady also offered, but didn’t have the health to go. She remained single until her dying day to encourage him to keep going. In 1921, Willie Fullerton left the beautiful country of New Zealand and went to the harsh winter climate of Canada and Stanley Watchorn followed in 1924. It was Stanley Watchorn and his companion who brought the Gospel to my parents. Some years later I had the privilege of sitting in Uncle Willie’s Gospel meeting and that was my opportunity. I thank God that they were willing to go forward and die like a corn of wheat, and that is why I have the privilege of being with you folks today. The message of God is to go forward and that is where the richer, deeper blessings lie.

To speak about [our] brother Edward, friendly called Ed, I can write a book of hundreds [of] pages. But this will not give another life to our brother, that’s why I will focus on 4 highlight periods of his life as pastor in Benin. However, we know that human testimony is not important, only God’s testimony is valuable.

The 1st highlight period: 1984-1985; this was his first mission year in Benin where he arrived to help the workers’ team that year. Ed was the first worker that I have heard, that Sunday afternoon of August 1984, at the gospel meeting in the house of Feu Christophe Vodouhe. He was with his companion worker Leslie Pountney.

It is when I noticed his disappearance that I realized that he was in Benin for just one year. During a working trip in New York, and Montreal, in October 1985, I was expecting to find him in that town, but he was in another field at that time. However, with the help of the friends with whom I stay, it was possible for us to have a telephone conversation.

The 2nd highlight period: 1993 – 2009; this was the time when Ed returned to Benin as overseer. As a man of God, he stays among us full of love and zeal for the gospel, the kingdom and the people of God. As a spiritual man, he knows how to help the weak and discouraged persons. He has shown his love for the people of God and for the Gospel by giving the precious gift which is the Gbetagbo’s conventions.

Before the birth of the convention’s place in Benin or in West Africa, I can remember Ed in 1996 during its first visit in that field which was maize, groundnuts, and beans plantations. I can remember his visit in 1997 with a few friends from Canada. I can remember our discussion in private, these days when he wants to know if we can find a place for a convention in Benin. I can remember his radiant face the day I told him that Gbetagbo is available and can be used for conventions.

Beloved brothers and sisters, I cannot remember how many times our brother Ed has come back to that question, either in private or at 3 (Francoise and me). He has never taken a decision hurriedly, proving that he is always led by the Holy Spirit. As a spiritual man, loved by the people of God, he has mobilized a team of about 10 friends from Canada that come to Benin to construct the roof of batch 1 at the convention’s place.

He often leaned on the church’s elders’ advice on important questions about the spiritual life of the people. I can remember the brother during successive conventions’ preps days, particularly for the first convention in 2001. I can remember Ed giving the first example for a work to be accomplished by his companions workers or by the friends.

The 3rd highlight period in the worker’s life of Ed: 2009-2010; it is the worker who doesn’t care about his health. It is the time when a persistent cough has begun to disturb him. Medical analysis in Benin has not revealed anything significant. During his visit to Europe, medical analysis revealed a critical health situation. I can remind that afternoon when the brother Ed has telephoned me from Holland, telling he is compelled to go to care of his health in Canada .

The 4th highlight period: January – March 2011; during his treatment, he was authorized by his physician to visit his beloved people of God in Benin. During its stay, he has mainly preached encouraging words and forgiveness words, etc. At the end of his authorized stay in Benin, we accompanied him to the airport, with the hope to see him again in Benin.

But, he has now finished his race. Beloved brothers and sisters, there is no doubt that Ed has given himself entirely to the works of God. With love, he has often walked in spirit. He possesses qualities of a worker we would like to have: keep a pure spirit even if we are weak. Either by phone or by e-mail, you will never find in Ed (when ill) a downcast spirit, or discouraged spirit. It is proof that he has always given the example of walking by spirit and not by flesh. May God help us to follow his example. Thank you.

Hymn 75, “I’ve a Friend” (Congregational singing)

Robert Eberhardt read obituary and prayed.

When I first came to MO, I met Margaret for the first time. She was a monument of strength to me—physically and spiritually. In recent years we have seen her physical strength taken away, but her spiritual strength never taken but increased. She was a pillar amongst us. We understand a pillar is a support to the whole building. Margaret was a strength to our staff, our friends in every way. We loved her for that. She understood the Kingdom isn’t about her, she didn’t say it with words, but she concentrated on the whole of the Kingdom.

Isaiah 38:12 (Hezekiah speaking), “Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent.” Margaret’s tent has been taken away. In Colorado, in the mountains, we saw shepherd’s tents in use while they were living with their flocks. One day we decided to mark the spot on the highway where they were seen, and later go and see it. We walked up where it had been, it had been moved, but there were markings on the earth — markings that the shepherd had been there with his sheep. Margaret’s tent has been taken, but there are beautiful markings on the earth. We will still love her influence.

Job 14:14, “If a man die, shall he live again?” She will still live in our hearts. A shepherd is known, by how close the sheep nestle to his tent when they rest at night. We loved to nestle close to her. She would always give counsel and wisdom with such love. Her influence lives amongst us. One Saturday night meeting she spoke in, she referred to Ruth’s choice. “It took her beyond death, into the eternal day.” We want to be inspired in our place to be as faithful as she was.

John 16:13, “Howbeit, when He the Spirit of truth is come…things to come.” I was thinking of the Spirit and the work of the Spirit. The Spirit works very closely with Truth. What is guided by the Spirit is Truth. When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, He mentioned those who would worship God in Spirit and in Truth. I have been thinking of the work of the Spirit. When one receives the Spirit of Truth one feels peace and joy that comes from God. The Spirit will only show us what is true and what has come from God. The Spirit has no opinion of His own. It is the same for God’s people and God’s messengers. As we go through life the standard we uphold is not the standard of our own opinion. It is something that comes from God.

Luke 11:13, “If we being evil know….Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.” We need to be obedient to God to have His Spirit. John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. He had been obedient to the Gospel. He was conscious of God’s guidance and he was obedient to it. Because he was in the Spirit, he received words that could be a help to others. It is our privilege to live in the Spirit. As we go through our daily lives, we could have the Spirit and whatsoever situation would arise, our response would be in the Spirit. The Devil put a thought into the mind of Judas and he also puts thoughts into our minds. It is possible for us to believe these thoughts. That’s what Judas did. He believed that thought and it produced in his heart fruit of a different spirit. We can do the very same thing.

One time, the Devil put a thought in my mind and I believed it because I thought it had come from God. I heard people giving testimony and speaking of the thankfulness in their hearts. I couldn’t enter into that, the result was a resentment began to well up in me. That was the fruit of believing a lie. I wasn’t in the Spirit that day so I couldn’t be guided into Truth. In the religious world, there are many people who are believing a lie. We may wonder what is their fault that they are deceived. We are all responsible that we would believe the Truth. The fruit that comes from believing a lie is totally opposite to the fruit of the Spirit. It brings a lack of joy, a lack of peace, and produces resentment. We need to watch our spirits and, as Jesus showed us, we should pray that we have the right spirit.

Don’t blame others. Get to the root of the matter.

When something is buried at sea, there is no trace of it and the Lord will place our sin in the sea of forgetfulness.

Sometimes, we have nothing to bring to Jesus except a deep need.

Be as a little child and then we will find it easier to press through the multitudes to reach Jesus.

We will never see a Shepherd gather His sheep together without a purpose.

Esther had to bring Haman into the presence of the King, too. Sometimes, we have to bring someone who has hurt us, hated us, etc., before the Lord so that our petition can be honourable.

He wants to hear our words now, and see the fruit of our words later.

Humanly, it is rude to interrupt someone; but when God interrupts us on our journey and thinking, it is mercy.

There is no room at all for revenge in the heart of a child of God.

We are not meant to be doormats or marshmallows {too soft}. We need to be firm, but never unkind.

God knows our hearts and knows when we need disappointments. God didn’t interrupt the Ethiopian eunuch on his way to Jerusalem – but when he was on his way back and hadn’t got any answers from the religious world.

Faith is our belief in action.

Baptism isn’t a deeper commitment; because when we profess we are totally committed then. Baptism is a SEAL to our commitment. When something is sealed, impurities cannot enter in.

The reason we are baptised is because it is the right thing to do. It is not about being perfect or worthy, but because it is the right thing to do. Matthew 3:15

There is something in our human nature that miracles become ordinary and then burdensome.

Don’t miss the beauty of the land because of filling our eyes with the strength of the enemy.

Our words will not suffice if our hearts bring not a sacrifice.

Vain people are looking for pleasure. Proud people are looking for place. God’s people are looking for Truth.

You can repay a debt of gold but never repay a debt of kindness.

If you are too busy to notice nature, then cancel a few things in your life.

When the outlook is bad, look up.

Disobedience is defeat; it may cost us our soul. Obedience is victory; it will cost us our own will.

We can be overcomers instead of being overcome. We can be victors instead of being a victim.

The victories of others encourage us, but only our own victory will save us.

Support the weak – give them a boost, not a boot. Who is the weaker one? Often, it’s the one looking at me in the mirror.

Correction is direction so that we can have perfection.

What we do is more important than what we say; and our spirit is more important than what we do.

If our mission is submission and our attitude is gratitude, we will go a long way.

One little effort is worth more than 1000 excuses.

We cannot always understand why, but if it is in the will of God, we know it will be safe and best for us.

Sometimes, God will not answer our questions. Instead, He wants to take away the question.

The enemy is not able to get through God’s defence, only our weakness.

Let us find the urgency to be ready every day.

If we are ever wondering what to do, deepen our relationship with God.

It is against the law to bury a dead person. We have to keep mortified the deeds of the flesh.

Satan is keeping good people too busy to do things we know we ought to do.

Whose feet we sit at in life will determine where we will sit in eternity.

Past present and future needs are all met by the oil of God’s spirit.

When we have a debt, sit down quickly and repay, forgive. He will forgive us in the measure that we forgive others.

We need to consider what we are allowing into our lives – are they things for which Christ died?

Every meeting should be an expression of our thanks for the shedding of His precious blood.

Our fellowship is a side benefit of our worship and without worship, that is no fellowship.

Don’t neglect the gathering of ourselves together, for THEN there will be no more sacrifice for sin.

We can have worship without fellowship (John on Patmos, etc.); Satan would like us to have fellowship without worship.

If it means we will not be recognised at the Throne, then it is not worth it.

Don’t plan to fail, plan to succeed. If we plan to fail, it will happen alright.

In the will of God, nothing happens by mistake.

Sometimes to be a peacemaker, we have to suffer loss. We have to lose something to gain peace in our life and between others. Lift up our eyes and see that we are not losing, but gaining.

Faith cannot increase and go from strength to strength unless we do what God has asked.

Human nature has no taste for death. But there is no other way to usefulness except by sacrifice. We cannot bypass the altar.

We never heard our parents criticize another, and when we were old enough to realise people are not perfect, we were old enough to have love and compassion.

The more we pray, the more we will feel the need to pray.

In feeding others, we feed ourselves.

Jesus never took tithes. He belonged to the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi. He came not to enrich Himself, but to enrich others.

It is not what you know, but whom you know.

A man clung to some wire across a river in flood. When he was rescued, they had to cut the wire from his hand. “Didn’t it hurt?”

“Yes, but I knew my life depended on clinging to it.” If we are a victim to an uncontrollable situation, cling even though it means pain until God sends help to us.

An inheritance is not something we earn – it is a gift.

Read and pray and then accept our day.

Even if time is short to read and pray, give it our very best. If we do that, the next time we will want to do it more.

How long should you pray? Until peace comes and you feel settled in the will of God.

Pray for those we don’t get along with. We cannot be hard towards someone we have prayed for.

Everyday, God has something for me and if I don’t read and pray, we will miss it.

While you are young and your mind is clear – read, read, and read.

Sometimes we can be glad that the last chapter of our life is closed and the book of our life is still open.

Ruth 1- the loyalty of a soldier. Ruth 2 – the humility of a servant. Ruth 3 – the patience of a fisherman. Ruth 4 – the compassion of a Shepherd.

Humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less.

Our testimony is not words we say, but what we are and what we do.

He doesn’t want us to glory in our infirmities. Don’t put our feet on the table – but under His table. Mephibosheth – II Samuel 9:13

Prove our worthiness by our willingness.

The mind is the mill that grinds the grain that feeds the heart.

You can starve to death carrying a recipe book around – you have to act on it.

7 ingredients for bread – Love, Faith, and Humility are the active ingredients. The rest are Grace, Truth, Righteousness, and Patience.

Read till fed. Pray till soft.

True happiness doesn’t come by doing what we want to do, but by doing what we must do.

There is no time lost in waiting if we are waiting on the Lord.

If we get the door shut, the Lord will open the window.

It is not the length of prayer, but the depth of prayer.

When a young person is thinking of finding a mate – don’t go out in the field and try and catch a butterfly, but spend some time in the market place where there is bread.

A spot – wash it out. Wrinkle – iron it out. Blemish – cut it out.

We cannot take the table with us, but we can take with us the strength of the table.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Know ye not that your body…. for ye are bought with a price are God’s.” I have been thinking of the price that has been paid for our Salvation. I have enjoyed reading again of the price that Jesus paid, especially on the day He died on the Cross and died in agony that we could be saved.

I remember years ago, a Worker speaking about this and he gave an illustration which really affected my heart and helped me see the price that was paid. He told us of two soldiers who enlisted in the second World War. They came from two very different backgrounds. One had a very wealthy family and the other was poor. In the trenches, they became very friendly and the rich one asked the poor one that if he were killed in action and the other survived, to contact his family if he were ever in need. He gave his friend the address of his home folk. The rich one was killed and the other survived and went back to civilian life. After some time, when he was really in need, he decided to contact the family on the address, when he went he found a vast mansion and was brought in to meet the owner. He told the owner about his son’s request and he said, “He was my only son and now that he is gone then all my riches are yours.” He inherited everything although he had no right to it. But because the son had died, he could come to the father and he had the right to everything. We are bought at a very great price. None of us has any right to be here today. Jesus died and shed His blood, He gave all He could give, so that we can have everything today but we are not our own, we are God’s.

We must remember these two things. We are bought with a great price and we are not our own. Graham has shared with us the same thoughts from Daniel as were on my mind. Daniel and his three friends were captured in Babylon and they knew they were not their own. They knew there was a God in Heaven and they couldn’t do just as they wanted. They knew they must do things God’s Way, not their own way. They purposed in their heart not to defile themselves. We have only the right to do things God’s Way. To those four it must have seemed impossible and to human reasoning it possibly was impossible. They were determined to do things in God’s Way and then God helped them. When Daniel spoke to the one in charge of them he said that he feared the king. Daniel possibly feared the king too, but he had a greater fear of God. The world is just the same as it always was and we can’t just glide along and fit with it. That is not the teaching of Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:17: “Come ye out from among them and be ye separate…. Be not conformed to this world.” I have met some who strike off all that is written in the Old Testament. I love to read about Daniel and how he was living the Truth that Jesus taught and Paul preached. It takes determination not to be conformed to the things of this world and there is a beauty in it. They may be small things but in them we can see the greatness and power of God. When the image was set up and the order given to worship it, Daniel’s three friends remembered that they were not their own. They could have thought that no one could see them but they were not going to let God down. They said they would not bow down to the image even if God did not deliver them. They were thrown into the furnace and the Son of Man was with them. It cost them something. They had to take steps in faith. They didn’t compromise with man’s ideas and they proved the power of God and that is our privilege today.

Someone said recently, “There’s nothing like that today. There are no furnaces.” If we are doing what is right and not pleasing ourselves, there are furnaces. If we sidestep what is right, we will never get to know about this furnace. Today this furnace is the furnace of persecution. We can live a life of compromise and never know of persecution. We can live an upright life in a dark, evil, corrupt world and we will sooner or later have this fiery furnace, but we will also know of the freedom that comes from walking in the fiery furnace with Jesus. It is important not to avoid occasions that God may bring our way to stand for Truth. It is often little things but if we are just in those we will be faithful in big things. Parents may try to avoid those situations when bringing up their families. If we allow our children to face a little persecution in school, it is a great preparation for the Work of God later. I am glad for what my Mum and Dad stood for. We understood the persecution but we also understood the peace that came. Those that stand for right will never lose. I have seen it.

Some years ago, a man in Romania began serving God with all his heart. When Communism fell and private enterprise got going, he became very involved and prospered. But his soul wasn’t prospering. It was agony to be in a meeting with him. Sometime later he came to us and told us that, in the business he was in, he had to be crooked to exist. He said, “I have decided to turn my back on the life that I have been living.” That was at a great material loss. He didn’t sell off what he had. He walked away and left it. He began to drive a lorry and that man got peace. When he spoke in a meeting he had something to say. That was the fiery furnace but Jesus went through it with him. No one would know to look at that man what he had been through. There is no smoke from the fiery furnace but he has peace.

A young couple in Romania started up a small business and employed two people. They went to a tax office to get the right procedures sorted out. They had forms to fill in about what they paid the employees. The clerk told her she should just put down the minimum wage and not declare what she was actually paying because everyone else did that. Because our friend insisted on putting down the right amount, the clerk laughed at her. Our friend went away happy.

A few years ago, I stayed with a young family in another country. They were from two different countries and were working apart when they decided to marry. Then the young man got work in the same land as the young woman and she rented an apartment. Her colleagues at work said, “You will now be living together.” When she made it clear that that wouldn’t happen, they just laughed at her. But that young couple are happy. They did it God’s Way. We are not our own to do things the way the world does them or how our own human nature would want it. We are not our own but when we do things in God’s Way, we have peace.

Matthew 5 -7, Jesus’ teaching on the mountain. He was bringing us back to the basic truths which are like the constitution of the kingdom of heaven.

End of chapter 4, Jesus performed some miracles and great multitudes followed Him. They were from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond Jordan.

Chapter 5 begins by saying Jesus saw these multitudes; they were needy people. He had been helping them in a physical way and possibly, some also in a spiritual way. He knew they all had a spiritual need that could be weakened. Seeing those multitudes, He withdrew from them and went up into the mountain. His disciples followed Him. It seems that He knew the hope of the multitude really is in His disciples.

Our experience here at convention is like a mountaintop experience. When we climb the mountain, like getting away and above from the normal activities of life. Jesus was putting something into the lives of these disciples that would help them to be a blessing to the multitude.

We’re thankful whenever we hear of someone who has responded; someone who has accepted an invitation to come to gospel meetings and has come. Then, when someone has made their choice to follow Jesus, it is like being called from the multitude. So, that’s like the way the chapter begins. When the chapter ends, Jesus says, “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” We might conclude that all that Jesus was sharing with them was to help them become more like their Father. The more we’re like our Father, the more we’re also like Christ, His Son.

The first verses of Hebrews tell us that Jesus is the “brightness of His glory and the express image of His person,” which is so much like Him. We sometimes see a little boy, who is so much like his dad. Sometimes we see a little girl who is so much like her mother. We see a likeness there. There was never a son more like His Father, than Jesus Christ. So, the whole object of our coming together is that we might receive something into our lives to be more like Jesus and more like our Father. We would like to have the spirit of our Father.

This chapter gives us little keys to the blessing of God; that will lead us to the blessing of God. A hymn says, “Now may Thy richest blessing freely flow.” These “blesseds” are teaching us how we can tap into that flow of God’s richest blessing; how it can come into our lives through our attitude towards Him; how we can be enriched by Him. That blessing makes us the salt of the earth and the light of the world. You’ll notice when Jesus talked about the light of the world, that He mentioned light in two different ways: LIKE A CITY set on a hill and can’t be hid. Even from quite a distance, it can be seen.

Psalm 122:3, “Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together.” When you see its lights from a distance, you don’t pick out any individual light, you just see a group of blended lights. A wonderful testimony goes forth from God’s children – the love, unity, and the fellowship is often what people see. Not particularly any one light, but just this grouping of lights. Fellowship of lights that are closely bonded together makes a very strong light.

Jesus’ other illustration of light is LIKE A CANDLE. Only one little candle in a house, is an individual light – like you and me. It says here that it gives light to those who are in the house. If we want to be a light to the world, we’d have to be light to those who are in the house too. Someone said, “The light that shines the farthest, shines the brightest nearest home.”

Later in this chapter, Jesus speaks of different laws that you read about in the Old Testament. This is the Law and every time, He says, “But I say unto you.” I have something a little different for you and He enlarges on what God really wants us to grasp regarding those laws. He goes much deeper than what the Law went. He goes into thoughts, motives, and desires. Did you notice there are different laws, but every one of them really has to do with our relationship with others?

The “Blesseds” have to do with the relationship with God and that leads to being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. That helps us to bring something Godly into our relationships with others. When our relationship with God is healthy and alive, and we’re using the keys to make it rich, it helps us to bring a sweetness into all our relationships.

Let’s go over these laws and bring out how they have to do with our relationships:

1. The first one deals with our relationship with a brother in Christ, who is being tested and how we can move to make it right. We need to be concerned about reconciliation with a brother. These relationships go all the way through from a relationship with a brother to a relationship with an enemy. An enemy is someone who has done us damage; to us personally, or the truth generally.

2. The second law deals with moral things. God’s people should have (on every hand) morally pure relationships.

3. The third law is the married relationship that should be kept the way God intended.

4. The fourth law deals with our word. People must be able to depend on our “Yes” and “No.” When they can trust that, the relationship grows. When our “Yes” is “Yes” and our “No” is “No,” people know they can depend on our word and it adds much to a strong and wholesome relationship.

5. The fifth law deals with reactions to people. When someone says or does something hurtful, inconsiderate, or unkind – how do we react? When you turn the other cheek, there are three things we’re not doing: not fighting back; not trying to hurt them as a result of them hurting us; not running away. We’re not exposing our hurt; our cheek is turned away; we’re not advertising it. It’s a wonderful Christ-like reaction!

Then it tells about demanding people who ask more of us than what we think is right. Jesus talks about just going a second mile.

They all have to do with relationships: with a brother; keeping moral relationships; marriage relationships; keeping our word so people can trust what we say; reaction when things go wrong in a Christ-like way; demanding relationships and then a relationship with an enemy.

At the beginning of chapter 5, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” – is a key we can all use to tap into God’s richest blessing by feeling and recognizing our need. Our need tells us to approach the presence of our Father. A person could do that only through Christ. A need is a key everybody has. Hebrews 4:15, our High Priest is touched by the feeling of our infirmities, the fact that we feel it. Everybody has an infirmity, but when we feel our infirmity, it touches our High Priest when we are aware of it.

Psalm 40 ends, “But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me.” This is a wonderful key to the blessing of God. Psalm 40 begins, “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. He hath put a new song in my mouth… and many shall see it.” There was more than just hearing it – they could see it. The Psalm begins with a cry in a pit and ends with a song on a rock. The Psalm ends with, “But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: Thou art my help and my deliverer.”

Sometimes we lose our song. We already heard much about joy. When we lose our song, something is wrong. We want to get it back. The Psalmist wanted to get it back. So we cry. It’s serious when we lose our song, but it’s tragic when we lose our cry. When our cry is genuine, it will bring our song back again. Feeling this need brings us into the sweet flow of the rich blessing of God.

The next is, “Blessed are they that mourn, they shall be comforted.” Ecclesiastes 7:2, “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” God has planned life that sorrow would do something for us.

A hymn says, “Let sorrow do its work.” Part of its work is making our hearts more serious. Another hymn says, “Joy and sorrow interwoven.” God has wisely planned it that way. Sorrow makes the heart better and has wonderful potential to make the heart softer, more serious. Like when we go to a funeral, we feel more serious about life. Sorrow makes our hearts softer.

Another work that sorrow does is to make the heart more trusting in the One who has given us life and who wants to guide us safely through.

2 Corinthians 7:9 is another work that sorrow does, “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” “Not to be repented of” just means not to regret.

There’s a sorrow because of failure, defeat; sorrow and/or also sin. It’s wonderful if that sorrow can work towards repentance and repentance can work toward salvation. Repentance isn’t something that just happens when we make our choice. Along the journey of life again and again, failure and defeat comes, so it’s a continuous thing to be repentant and not presume the mercy of God. Not to just think, “Oh, the blood of Christ was shed and that makes it all right.” No, it does Not make it all right.

Ezekiel 43:10, “Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities and let them measure the pattern.” Maybe we’re aware of our iniquity, but we’re not really ashamed of it. Being ashamed of it, will help lead us to repentance. The way to be ashamed is to measure the pattern. It means to have a look at Jesus, He is the pattern. This will help us to have a godly reaction to sin.

Verse 11, “And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house and the fashion thereof and the goings out thereof and the comings in thereof.” If we can just be ashamed, God can show us more and more. “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” We can know true forgiveness and true comfort.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Meekness seems related to submission that is a key to the flow of God’s richest blessings. Two definitions of meekness: meekness is submission without resentment. We heard of a little boy who was asked to sit down and he did. But he said, “I’m still standing up inside.” That’s submission with resentment. The other definition of meekness is submission to God and gentleness toward men. In another language, the word used for meekness is the same as for an animal whose will is broken and has submitted to a master.

A worker told a story of an animal as they walked on a jungle trail. Around a bend, they met a fierce-looking great black bull. This bull was being led by a little girl around 10 years old. That animal was many times her weight. If it wanted to, it could crush her little body into the ground and break every bone. But, it just followed her and the workers asked her about this. “Yes,” she says, “It’s very big. We call him Midnight, because he’s very black.” They asked her if it ever tries to run away from her. “No, no,” she says. “He never tries anything, he just follows along.” They asked her where she was taking him. “Oh, I’m taking him to the neighbors who have a plough and they want him to pull the plough for them.” She pulled on the rope a little bit and said, “Come on, Midnight,” and he just followed along. That wasn’t weakness on the part of the animal, he was meek; he had learned submission very well.

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” We all feel we want to be right. Isaiah 32:17, “The work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance forever.” Many people would like to have peace. But how about the process that brings about peace? Do we want to be right with God? Do we want to make whatever adjustments the Lord could ask, so that we could be right? Little children need correction; a vine needs pruning to be fruitful.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” It’s easy for parents to be merciful to their children after they misbehave when they see repentance. The Lord loves to show mercy, but He looks for repentance. It’s a privilege to show mercy to each other. We want to forgive. If we fail to show mercy, we burn the bridge over which we ourselves must cross. We think of Jesus looking over that group of angry people that put Him on the cross and He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, they shall see God.” An old worker once said, “They shall see God in others.” The pure in heart shall see God in others and in experiences. They will see His hand in everything, in great events and small.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” We don’t want to be trouble makers. Peace makers follow after the things that make for peace.

A problem between brothers. If I know my brother has something against me, what do I do? We go to him. Matthew 18 puts it the other way around. If a brother has trespassed against you and now you have something against the brother – now it’s just the other way around. It doesn’t matter which way it is; we’re still left with the responsibility to go and do what we can to make it right.

In California, two brothers had problems when business dealings had gone sour and didn’t turn out the way they had expected. The recession really hit California; many of the friends lost their jobs and homes; some were in severe financial trouble. Sometimes, a business dealing with a brother can bring real strain on their fellowship. These two men had this business deal that went wrong and they got together to talk it out. Then both got angry and were blaming the other and parted with very unkind words.

Saturday evening, one brother was in his home thinking about being quiet and that he’d be in the meeting the next morning with that brother. But, he couldn’t get settled. He finally was convinced – he’d just have to go see that brother and he went to the other home. He rang the doorbell and the other man came to the door. It was a cold winter evening and he was putting on his coat. He felt just the same way and he also wanted to go to the other brother. He too couldn’t face the Sunday morning meeting without making that right. They had a visit and the next day they had a wonderful Sunday morning meeting. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m sure they both just said, “I am at fault.”

Abigail went out to face David and 400 of his men that were out to destroy her husband. She said, “Let the iniquity be on me.” She was a real peacemaker. Sometimes, we all can be inclined to be stingy to accept the blame. It all goes so well when we can just say, “I was wrong; I’m sorry.” Those brothers were reconciled.

The next one is about relationships being moral and morally pure. There are backgrounds to thoughts and what’s in our hearts to the direction our meditation is going. Maybe it’s a bad background. Try to nip a wrong thought in the bud – early. Jesus meant this when He said, “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out” – what we look at. “If thine hand offend thee, cut it off” – what we touch. This all is background to this. We need to be so careful.

We’ve got to keep our relationships morally pure. In the world, it doesn’t matter. But, it matters in God’s kingdom. Women can help in this matter by modest dress and ways of interacting. Modesty, mostly just means being covered (determined how much others see). The world is careless about modesty. I know that in America, modesty in society has become brazenly immodest.

Marriage and marriage relationship. Jesus said here and in other places about divorce and remarriage. Matthew 5; Matthew 19; Mark 10; Luke 16; Paul writes in Romans 7 and I Corinthians 7. If we read these with a very open mind and try to understand, we can look at them for loopholes, or, we can look at them trying to understand what is being said. We’ll see without question that God does not appreciate or favor divorce in any way.

Malachi 2:16, “For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that He hateth putting away.” Other translations and languages say, “God hates divorce.” The Lord doesn’t favour remarriage after divorce (Matthew 19:9 except in the case of fornication; Matthew 5.32 saving for fornication). It is adultery for the sinner. Paul calls it adultery . We might try to make this vague, but the message is clear.

My parents gave us no reason to question their love for God or one another or for us. I grew up in a rural farming district and among all our Protestant and Catholic neighbors. I didn’t know of 1 divorce case. Those people, that society, without the help of the Spirit just didn’t accept divorce and were able to see that marriages remained intact. Here we are with tremendous help that those people didn’t have. So, scripture encourages us that if we are married, to make it work. Probably, in all marriages there are times when it is hard work and if you are divorced, remain single.

These are some of the foundation teachings in Matthew 5 and it’s helpful to look into it. It’s wonderful to know that we still look today to these same wonderful foundation truths. We’d like to just use the keys to this wonderful flow of the blessing of God into our lives, so we can keep relationships what they should be, so that we can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

John 16:13, “Howbeit, when He the Spirit of truth is come…things to come.” I was thinking of the Spirit and the work of the Spirit. The Spirit works very closely with Truth. What is guided by the Spirit is Truth. When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, He mentioned those who would worship God in Spirit and in Truth. I have been thinking of the work of the Spirit. When one receives the Spirit of Truth one feels peace and joy that comes from God. The Spirit will only show us what is true and what has come from God. The Spirit has no opinion of His own. It is the same for God’s people and God’s messengers. As we go through life the standard we uphold is not the standard of our own opinion. It is something that comes from God.

Luke 11:13, “If we being evil know….Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.” We need to be obedient to God to have His Spirit. John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. He had been obedient to the Gospel. He was conscious of God’s guidance and he was obedient to it. Because he was in the Spirit, he received words that could be a help to others. It is our privilege to live in the Spirit. As we go through our daily lives, we could have the Spirit and whatsoever situation would arise, our response would be in the Spirit. The Devil put a thought into the mind of Judas and he also puts thoughts into our minds. It is possible for us to believe these thoughts. That’s what Judas did. He believed that thought and it produced in his heart fruit of a different spirit. We can do the very same thing.

One time, the Devil put a thought in my mind and I believed it because I thought it had come from God. I heard people giving testimony and speaking of the thankfulness in their hearts. I couldn’t enter into that, the result was a resentment began to well up in me. That was the fruit of believing a lie. I wasn’t in the Spirit that day so I couldn’t be guided into Truth. In the religious world, there are many people who are believing a lie. We may wonder what is their fault that they are deceived. We are all responsible that we would believe the Truth. The fruit that comes from believing a lie is totally opposite to the fruit of the Spirit. It brings a lack of joy, a lack of peace, and produces resentment. We need to watch our spirits and, as Jesus showed us, we should pray that we have the right spirit.

Dear Staff,

These few lines come to you from St. Paul’s hospital in Saskatoon.

Word will have reached you that I was admitted here Thursday morning with a bowel obstruction probably caused by malignant tumors pressing on the wall of the bowel.

A CT scan and biopsy of these tumors was scheduled for today to determine if they are the same type as the prostate cancer. However, that test could not take place because the machine was not operating.

I have no pain, fever or discomfort but am only allowed IV fluids and ice cubes.

My family, including my mother is here with me to stand by. Clifford and Lloyd come tomorrow. If only days remain for me, let it be days. If weeks, then let it be weeks. If a year, then let it be a year. I can only say from my heart, “So be it. God’s will be done.”

I have requested that (you) not use my cell number to call me as I do not have the emotional strength to deal with so many calls.

With brotherly love in the Gospel,

Your brother,

Keith

Part of an e-mail I just received.

Keith O is not well at all. He was being treated for prostate cancer and ended up in the hospital Thurs night with a blocked bowel — to discover more tumors in that area. Today he is being moved to palliative care!! The family is shocked!! Keith is shocked. They are all there or coming today. His dear mother is on her way today – she is over 90 and recently had surgery and is not well herself Keith was born in the fall of 1942.

186 Prayer is a mighty source of power.

Luke 18:1 Then Jesus spoke a parable to them, that men ought always to pray and not lose heart. I am so glad to know that Jesus understands our human frame, he understands us totally. He knew that he had to write these things to encourage us to pray. He said we ought to always pray and not lose heart. I am glad for the encouragement we can get through praying. What would cause me to lose heart to pray? I realised it is when I don’t see results, and when I pray thinking what do my prayers help. Does it help anything? I can’t see anything changing. I can so easily lose heart in the place of prayer. Jesus wants to encourage us today, just to continue to pray, so we don’t lose heart.

We heard of people praying 30 years, 40 years in certain things. Such a long time but they didn’t lose heart, just continued to pray. Just after this Jesus spoke the parable of the widow who came to this unjust judge. By her continual coming, she did not lose heart to come to this unjust judge. The odds were so against her coming to this man, he was so unjust. She could easily have felt, what is it going to help. This man is so unjust, will he help me. She just continued, and I am sure she realised this was her only hope. The only one who could help her so she just went there continually. I am so glad that we can come to the righteous judge and he wants to help us. Wonderful if we can come to that stage that we can realise that God is the only one. We will not faint in the place of prayer; we know that is where our help can come from.

In the 6th verse, The Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith, and shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them. There were so many things against this widow, but there are so many things for us, that are in our favour as we come to this place of prayer.

The first one is that we are coming to the righteous judge, the just one. Righteousness will prevail. We are coming to him as the elect. We are chosen, the Afrikaans ‘die uitverkore’ a chosen people, a handpicked people. We are so encouraged as we listen to testimonies, to see how God has brought people into his great fellowship.

And lastly, those that cry out day and night unto him. God never becomes tired as we cry out to him. If I don’t cry out to Him he might become sad, but as I cry out to him it brings joy to his heart. I am depending on him, that is where my strength comes from. May God help us that we would not lose heart in this place of prayer, and continue to pray for one another. Prayerful people are thoughtful people. People praying for one another, for their companions, husband and wife praying for one another, family praying for one another, the little church praying for one another and becoming also thoughtful for one another’s need. That circle of prayer is growing bigger and bigger, and uniting us as one.

The first message was to the church at Ephesus. They had left their first love. It is amazing to read what they were able to do, in spite of having left their first love. It just meant that God had lost the first place in their hearts.

A little more than 27 years ago(1966) when I left my home country South Africa, to go to Korea an elderly sister worker said to me, “Well, Ernest, I suppose you think you are making quite a sacrifice to leave your country, your parents and everyone you love to go to a country where you do not know what to expect, but I want to tell you today that it doesn’t matter where you are, the greatest sacrifice you will ever make is the price you will have to pay every day to give God the first place in your heart.” In those years. I have found that those words were so true. The greatest sacrifice you will make will always be the price you all have to pay every day to give God first place in your heart.

I suppose none of you could dare to think you are serving an idol. But do you know what an idol is? It is first the thing that is occupying the place in your heart that God should have. The thing that occupies the first place in your heart is the thing that your thoughts run to when they have a moment to wander. Ask yourself, “Where do my thoughts tend to hang around?” You will find out what it is that has first place in your heart when God loses the first place in your heart you lose your way to the tree of life; you don’t feel the warmth of God’s presence; you know you are missing it and deep down you feel very uneasy.

Ezekiel 44:1 – “Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the Lord unto me. This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.” A spiritual temple which was never a building. It is your body, and you read of a door which must be kept closed and never opened because the Lord God of Israel has gone in there. To me that is an exact picture of the door to the first place in our hearts. 

Before we made our choice, we were opening and closing that door all the time. But when we made our choice, it was an awful battle and that is what the battle is, to put out whatever is in there, and open the door so the Lord can come in and take first place. Then the door must be shut. Sometimes we are very careless and without realising it we have opened the door and something else has slipped in there. God is not going to share that place with anyone or anything else, so He just quietly withdraws. If you make that choice again, and it was not going to be any easier, you will find your way to the tree of life.

II Samuel 9:1, “And David said, ‘Is there yet any that is left from the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’”

Verse 3, “And the king said, ‘Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him?’”

Verse 7, “And David said, ‘Fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul they father and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.’”

David wanted to be kind, he wanted to do something good. It is a good desire when it is in our heart to do good and to be kind. Sometimes it is not easy to do it, and sometimes it does not work. There are a lot of things in this world that we see that we can do very little about, but we can show kindness. It is always in season to bear the fruit of kindness. It leaves no scars nor regrets.

Don’t be surprised when sometimes our kindness is not fully appreciated, but you did not do anything wrong by being kind. God gave the world the greatest gift of kindness that was ever seen when He sent His only Son into this world. Jesus was not received by most and most misunderstood He was the greatest kindness this world has ever known.

Sometimes when we try to be kind, there are those who maybe won’t understand. Maybe they themselves have not shown kindness, and they will not understand what it is – the kindness we are trying to show them. Jesus came into the world to express to the world the kindness of God. God was so kind and so understanding that He sent to us the plain, simple gospel message. A wonderful kindness that God has shown.

David felt he had a debt of kindness. I also have a debt of kindness, and I wish I knew how to pay just a little. All true meaningful and lasting kindness begins with God. God is the source, the spring of all kindness.

David remembered that Jonathan had been good to him, he had been a true friend, he had risked his life for David, and he defended David before Saul. He had put his own life in jeopardy. David did not forget this and it was a debt he wanted to pay. Mephibosheth was to receive kindness from David, not because of anything he was, but because of what Jonathan was.

David lost nothing by being kind and we will never lose when we are kind. There is much, everything to be gained, and nothing to lose. It is a wonderful privilege, if in any way, I could show some kindness to someone.

It is one of the few acts or deeds in life that we can do and we won’t have any regrets for. It is one of life’s few pleasures that we can truly feel good about is just showing a little kindness to someone.

Sometimes it is not received so well. I have received kindness from people that I did not even know, but they knew my father and I am his son so they were kind to me. You have been kind to me, I have not done anything for you. I wish I did. But you have been kind, and I appreciate it. It is not because of me. It is because of God looking down from Heaven that you have been kind to me. God wants us to receive kindness with thankfulness.

God wants to be kind to us. The kindness that God shows to us is because of Jesus and what Jesus did and our love for Him and our willingness to obey. God wants to be kind to us, and He wants to give us a place. When the king gave Mephibosheth a place at his table, the door [was] opened. We can go to the throne of grace every day, regardless of what has been troubling us. We could take it there. We can share it with Him, our Father. It is this place we have been given because of Christ.

There is a proper way to show kindness, and there is a proper way to receive kindness. Kindness comes from the heart. It expects nothing in return. If we expect anything in return, it is not kindness. Kindness must be received with gratitude, and it can’t be demanded and God help us, it is never taken for granted. Mephibosheth was lame in his feet, but at the table of the king, it was hidden. It was not an issue. Our inabilities and our weaknesses should not keep us back from the kindness of God. Mephibosheth would have realised he is here not because of himself, but because of another who has opened the door and made it possible for him to receive grace.

The kindness of God has helped me, and it has helped me today and I know it will help me in the future. I know if it wasn’t for the kindness of God, I could not go on in God’s way. The only way I can continue is because of God’s kindness, wonderful care, and mercy. Without it, we cannot continue. God has set us free from our past and our guilt. It all is part of the kindness of God. We receive so much of God’s kindness and the only way we could ever repay, even in a small measure, is to be kind to others.

We heard of one of our friends who were working at a place where he was facing a lot of hardship and persecution. Things were said about him that were untrue and unkind. But he was kind to everyone. Bye and bye, he was called in by the supervisor who asked, “But how can you be like this?” He said, “Yes, God has been kind to me and He expects me to be kind to others.”

This is part of our privileges in this way of God – when others are not so kind, we can still be kind. An older brother who has come to the end of his life, when asked said that when he would have his life over, he would live it the same except he would show more kindness. Already this old brother had been a very, very kind man all his life. We can never show too much of this kindness.

When Samson was bound in prison and had his eyes put out, the enemy knew nothing of the kindness of God. They knew not the power of prayer. Except we have fallen in the way, we will not know the kindness of God and the water He pours on us to revive us to live again. When Peter was having his greatest struggle and facing his greatest defeat, Jesus was the most kind.

Jesus was kind to people who others did not want anything to do with. We never will have the right to be unkind. Let us be more kind than is necessary to everyone we meet because everyone we meet is having some kind of a struggle. We may not know about it, but the only thing that is going to help them is if we are kinder than is necessary.

Kind actions begin with thoughts of kindness. God has no part in unkindness, because He is always kind.

II Samuel 10:2, David wanted to show kindness to Hanun and they missed it all together. They could not understand what is this kindness that David is wanting to show them. They understood greed and selfishness. They have never seen kindness and they couldn’t understand it. I wonder if we sometimes misunderstand the kindness that someone has tried to show to us. Maybe sometimes, we misunderstand the kindness of God.

We need to understand the kindness shown to us because there is a deeper purpose in it. David used what we could call diplomacy with Hanun. It failed because Hanun did not understand kindness. There was a leader of another country – he said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick. ” Sometimes we forget to speak softly and just carry the big stick. That is not kindness. David was using the diplomacy of kindness. He had learned that as a shepherd and he learnt it well.

We could use kindness in our relationships with others and with those we work with. It is always becoming for a child of God to show kindness. From the beginning of time, from the beginning of creation, God has always used the diplomacy of kindness. In the gospel is a full example of the diplomacy of kindness. If we are not kind to a stranger, maybe they won’t have any hope of knowing the truth.

God is longsuffering in His kindness towards us. It is a part of His goodness. We appreciate it so much. Thinking of the cross, there are so many things that we can learn from Jesus that will help us to obey God.

The cross teaches us about the wisdom of God. It teaches us we must love others first, how to suffer and how to be kind. We deny many things about the cross of Jesus instead of obeying it. It teaches us the law of kindness.

There was a man who went to visit his mother. He was not walking in God’s way. He was kind and caring for his mother. He got saved when two of God’s servants came there and the wonderful comfort they could give. He could not understand why he could not give the same comfort. But he listened to the story of Jesus and then he understood kindness and it brought comfort to his mother.

I was thinking of the time when Joab had slain Abner. II Samuel 3:39, David said, “Although I am anointed king, I am weak this day. The sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me.” Often we feel we cannot understand the hardness of some. There was a tenderness about David and he felt he wanted to show kindness to his enemies. This was the man whom even the smallest or weakest of the flock could trust.

Kindness has a wonderful healing effect and it leaves no scars. Kindness is a fruit that we need more of. There was a sister worker who before she went into the work, worked in an emergency room. People would come in injured, hurt. Many because of fighting, wrestling, or showing off. She said that they treated them with the same gentleness and the same kindness like any other patient. This is how kind God is to us.

Sometimes we are hurt due to our own choices, things that I chose, but God is so kind and so understanding. We will have no regrets for times we have shown kindness. There is still a lot to learn about it. From my own experience, those who have shown kindness have made all the difference for me.

We need to have soft and willing hearts. Hearts are not made soft by whips and hammers but by gentleness, through kindness and love. Everything that is true is not kind and does not need to be said. We can never be over-kind.

There is nothing kinder than praying for another, and we can always do that. We sang in that hymn, “Every deed forms a part in this building of ours for the love that we show and the kindness we bestow, He has promised us a bright reward.”

Luke 12:51

“Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division”

The Gospel is bound to bring division, separation.That is God’s first and last work: Separation…He separated light from darkness – His 1st work – and He is going to separate the sheep from the goats – His last work (Mat 25:32). It is difficult, almost impossible to separate 2 things that are stuck together without any damage. The hardest separation God’s people have to face is not with the world but with the flesh, the human nature. It’s there since we came to this world and will be there to the end. Yet, through the Gospel He gave us a new life, another nature, those two are stuck together and separation has to come.

Ps 131:2

“Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.” A weaned child doesn’t get his food from his mother anymore, he eats something else. The mother is the world… the flesh… It is a great time in our life when we get nothing from the flesh and the world anymore, our food comes from somewhere else…We read in Gen 21:8 that “…Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned” We don’t read that he made a feast when Isaac was born, yet it was a real cause for joy… Not easy to wean a child, sometimes it gets sick even… The same for us spiritually but our Father will rejoice when that time comes in our life. A child has to grow first to be weaned one day.

There will be some damage naturally speaking, but doing that won’t spoil our spirit as it is the only way to bring it to perfection. It wasn’t easy for Abraham to cast out Ishmael, we read that it was “very grievious” to him but he did it. He learnt his lesson from that and did it on his own in Gen 25:5-6. “ And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country”

Sunday Morning
Sent: Mon, Jan 25, 2010 4:17 am

Subject: Sun am

Good evening,

We drove and walked through the hardest hit areas of Port-au-Prince today. Even as we walked through and over these buildings our minds couldn’t take in the magnitude of what has happened. Everyone is sleeping in the streets in front of their homes because their houses are so fragile. As you walk through the streets there are people just sitting and staring, still in shock. Once, some ladies held out their babies as we went by hoping we would take them away from the horrible circumstances. There are endless stories of people narrowly escaping being crushed, only to have watched their family, friends, coworkers or fellow students not make it. One lady talked about falling 4 stories and somehow landing on her feet and away from the building. Seven story buildings collapsed like an accordions. The smell of dead bodies still trapped under the rubble… They are digging mass graves just outside the city.

But because of the need to eat and drink, people are quickly returning to some semblance of normalcy. The street markets are full of people bartering and buying, hauling rice, vegetables, coal and water on their heads and scavenging metal and whatever else they can dig out of the piles of rubble.

This morning as we were sitting in the Sunday morning meeting and watching the Haitians filter in…. I was thinking that it would be impossible for God’s people here on this little secluded island of Haiti to comprehend the thousands and thousands of God’s people in Canada, Africa, South America, Australia, Mexico, the United States, the entire world, that are thinking of them, praying for them and wanting to help them. The amount of emails and phone calls pouring in with care and concern and offering help is astounding. It made me think of Heb 12:1 “…seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses…..” I think it would be impossible for us as God’s people here on this little planet earth to comprehend the thousands and thousands of God’s people in heaven that are watching us, praying for us, and wanting to help us continue. This experience has made me appreciate the thoughts and prayers for us that we never know about.

The meeting was something I will never forget. Here were people that had just suffered tremendously, physically and emotionally, literally confronted death (a few of them had actually been trapped inside buildings that had collapsed on them) and all of them mentioned how fast life can be gone and how they just want to be ready. It sounds simple but when you know what they’ve gone through, just days before, it was indescribably powerful. You could literally feel the unanimous, heartfelt agreement and thankfulness as each person gave their testimony.

I’ll post some pictures via Picasa as soon as I get them organized. It was a long day today but great to travel to the different friends homes and see how they are getting along. Haiti is a beautiful country and wonderful people.

Have a good night,

Scott

Monday, January 25, 2010 07:06:35

Have you ever seen coals that would not die but they just had to glow and burn again? Yesterday morning up on the mountain side above Port au Prince in the cité called Fort Mercredi the coals refused to grow cold. Each time I think of it…..it all glows again within me. The meeting spontaneously combusted again and again…three times after the last hymn was sung. Each person, visitor and Haitian, spontaneously spoke once more and then again, adding their love for Christ and flowing thankfulness to the warmth of brotherly fellowship with the Lord that we had just savored in Eltude’s little room. After that the conversation turned to what we looked on down below and where they were the 35 seconds when the earth quaked this is indelible engraved in their minds for the rest of their lives.

Eltude was a young lady just getting married when she met Orin Taylor and Charles Lauchner. She shared in her testimony Charles’ words to her at that point in life. They have been a stay to her through all the storms. Her daughter, Sheila, and grandson, Ralph, live with her. Sheila spent years working in the assembly factories of Port au Prince. She had worked her way up to the “inspecteur” position in a clothing factory making 3 US dollars a day if she met the quota of inspecting 2500 garments a day along with her helper. If they didn’t make the quota…..a half that wage. Omanes was in his taxi van. He wasn’t able to make it home that night through the ensuing chaos, but got a signal just long enough on his cell to tell Guerda that he was OK. Guerda and Sheila were downtown buying vegetables where they find them cheaper coming in from the countryside by truck near the wharf. This market is always a teaming anthill of humanity. They were in a taptap when the street began to heave. Everyone bailed out and ran. Sheila ran one way. Guerda stood in the middle of the street and then trying to keep from falling. Then she looked for Sheila. She saw her under a store front in a crowd of people. She shouted with all her might, “SHEILA, VINI” (Sheila, Come)…and somehow above the din Sheila heard her and flew towards Guerda. At the same moment the building came down and all under it were crushed. They couldn’t see for clouds of shocking dust. Guerda thought of her children, Danny and Orin. They began to run through the streets in anguish and panic. She found herself in the arms of a neighbor running down through the labyrinth of narrow paths of Fort Mercedi the other way saying, “Don’t cry, I saw them, they are OK.”

The homes of Fort Mercredi are perched on a steep hill. I thought they would be the first to fall. Different from the other cités is Port au Prince – under it is a solid rock. Most stood. During Orin Taylor and Charles Lauchner’s first year in Haiti they became very familiar with this area. Fortunately school was out and Danny and Orin were safely home. Their schools are rubble. We returned to Vaillant and to our pleasant surprise found that Mike and Rachel had a nice meal prepared for all of us. From there Mike went with us and we visited Genese. For days she couldn’t or wouldn’t speak. I was so relieved to sit with her and her sister, Margaret, and Genese talked with us much like Genese we’ve always known. When the house fell Margaret’s two children were also in it. It is a miracle they were not crushed. They found a tunnel through the debris and came out on their own. Genese was trapped under fallen blocks. They covered her head and torso. Margaret was just coming home from her work. She ran all the way. She found Genese’s feet sticking out. When she called Genese moved. With stones she broke away the blocks and pulled her from the crushing cement. Her wounds are healing. I cannot say how grateful I am she is alive. And to see her alive just doubled and tripled the gratitude that she is ALIVE. Did the disciples feel the same when they saw him “ALIVE.” The BODY is so ALIVE…how could we ever doubt…..”Touch the wounds, Thomas….believe!” ALIVE in the world today. ALIVE in eternity. Waiting for the day to “all be gathered together in one.” (Eph 1) May God help me to never be a numb or dead member in such a living body. From there we took Mme Finfelix home. Glenn thought he had her persuaded to come home with us to Cabaret. But the last minute, no. Home is still home. Even a one room little round stone walled home with cracked walls is home. She spends the nights with her neighbors in the street. We at least got a tarp for them to sleep under, and does what she can during the day to be a help. I know her fiery courage is an inspiration to all of them, young and old. So her candle burns in her place…in the darkest night. May we thank God for such light.

A friend from MN arrives Thurs with tents to share for as many as we can in a plane he has rented. One of the Air Force officers who helped us with Caridad had been a Morman Missionary and fondly remembered ju de chadeque (chadeque juice…a fruit something like grapefruit but exotically unique) and asked if I could bring him some. We found our way back out onto the airport, under the wings of all those C 17 and every other kind of plane and down to the tent hospital. I looked over my shoulder and he was rolling them in his hands. Now I must go. The work will soon start again here.

With much love, your brother, Dan

A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION, WHICH WE APPRECIATE…SURELY AN ANXIOUS TIME FOR ALL THERE.

Sent: Wed, Jan 13, 2010 11:31 am

Subject: Several Letters Re Haiti Quake

1-11-10

We have no phones. But the wireless is working thanks to the inverter and batteries. Mike, Allan, Yves, Mado and I are fine. It was a tremendous shake. The walls of the factory room are badly broken, the pillars are damaged but the house stands. Several of the windows are out of their place. Everything upstairs is all over from the shake. The wall by the fish tank fell and the wall of the brothers’ quarters fell out, too. It is now dark. We’ve put up two tents for the night.

From time to time a tremor passes. Many houses on the hill fell in a heap. No one was killed there. But word is coming that some were killed in Cabaret. As I said we have no phone signal so we do not know anything about Port au Prince or the rest of Haiti. Allan and I were visiting upstairs when it hit. The whole floor was shaking up and down like a huge head of a drum. It moved back and forth so much the mattresses in the depot are on the floor, the shop is a mess. At this point I’m not sure if we can save the factory and house….we’ll see what the night holds.

Your brother,

Dan Henry

Subj: Fw: Dan: Letter #2

Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 7:41 AM Our dear friends…

Thank you for word from so many of you, with concern for all here after the quake hit yesterday. Florence and I are in Cap Haitian, which is on the northern coast of Haiti. We felt the shocks, but there doesn’t seem to be any severe damage in this area. There still isn’t phone service in Haiti, so no way of contacting anyone that way, but we are fortunate that the internet service is still working. We were able to communicate with Dan Henry last evening via Skype and at least have word that the brothers were all together at Cabaret and are ok. We haven’t been able to contact the other workers here in the north of Haiti (Glenn, Joe Layman, Sonia, and Lea). They don’t have internet service except to go to a cyber cafe and we haven’t heard from them yet. They are likely ok, but would be concerned about everyone else further south! We fear for our friends in Port-au-Prince, so close to where the epicenter of the quake was. There are many there whose homes are on the hillside and could have easily fallen… No news of most of our friends yet, so we wait….. The brothers (Dan, Mike, Allan, Madochee, and Yves) were at the convention grounds when it hit and there is quite a bit of damage there. They slept in tents last night because it was safer than being in the rattled buildings. At midnight last night, I felt the bed shake again, so wondered how hard it was still hitting further south. We’re 100+ miles from there. Dan and Mike are going to try to go into Port-au-Prince today to see who they can find and what they can do to help….. it will take a lot of effort just to get through the streets….. the devastation is unimagineable. It has been raining here for a solid week, but it doesn’t sound like they’ve had that there in the south, so that is a relief, too. We have to cancel our meeting tonight because of so much water in the streets….

At times like this it’s very real that nothing of this “earth” in our lives matters because it’s so soon shaken… what matters is the Christ within and an obedient response to His Word, the only solid foundation. Keep a humble, submitted heart! Thanks again for your love and care.

Love,

Susan Eicher

This came from Dan Henry last night, Glen Yung:

Luquel got through on this number….509 3455 2848. His house stood. They are all out in the street together as the tremors keep passing. He said they heard the National Palace, the Ministry of Justice and the huge old Catholic Cathedral are down. Many of the taller buildings are down. And many of the houses around him. We are thinking of the other friends the millions that live on the side of the hills of Port au Prince. We have no further word. Luquel said the streets are full of debris and impassable. We are staying outside. From time to time, the earth really shakes again and cement falls from the cracked walls of the building here. We have communicated with Florence and Susan in Cap Haitian by SKYPE but we have no news of Glenn, Joe, Sonia and Lea. But we are seeing now that the center of the quake was 10 miles west of Port au Prince.

1-13

I feel a little bit like the man in the Bible who ran ahead with the news, but he didn’t really have any idea of what was actually going on. However, with the amount of phone calls and emails coming it seems like a good idea to try and stem the tide of questions with the little bit of news that we have. Joe is with Glenn Richards in a town on the far north part of Haiti in a place called Jean-Rabel: it would appear to be over 100 miles from the epicenter. We have had no word from Joe and expect no word until he is able to send a message. To get to the area where they are baching they had to ford rivers – twice being in water over the hood of the vehicle. So, very isolated at this point anyway. My mom has continued to try and call him every so often, but so far the calls don’t go through. We have also sent emails, sms messages, etc to Joe; he hasn’t responded yet. He will when he can. When I called to ask Mom if she had heard from him she said, “Well, I wouldn’t expect to. There has been an earthquake there.” So, she is her ever practical self. I think that many of you would have seen the email from Dan Henry telling about the damage at the convention grounds. And that email also included some pictures. Five of the seven brothers on the staff were there at the time. They are sleeping outside in tents until things settle down and they can better assess the damage. He didn’t have word from the sisters nor from Glenn and Joe, but didn’t seem to expect to be able to hear from them just yet either. He said that there was no phone service, but that he could send word out through the internet service that they had at the grounds. Sorry to not have more news to send to you; but as soon as we do, we will relay it. Virginia and I have started meetings in Vacaville, and hope to begin this Friday in Ukiah and this coming Sunday in Petaluma. We have two who seem to be listening well, and others that we hope will come.

Your sister,

Robin Layman

===================================================

A relative of Glenn’s wrote Wed pm:

Just received word that ALL the workers have been accounted for and all are well…….though some nerves have been tested!

Uncle Glenn said their neighbours were horrified when he said we are to pray for the Lord’s return!

Communication lines are very sporadic…….so may not hear too much from our workers for a while………..U. Glenn had not heard what the damage was and was looking for word from Canada!

==============================================================

a letter from a worker in Jamaica:

Dear friends,

You’ll be hearing the news of the quake in Haiti and KNOW you’d all be interested. We don’t know the severity of every place or thing or friends yet, but the 5 brothers were at the Cabaret conv grounds when it struck yesterday p.m. There is no phone service in the country, but fortunately there’s still internet connections…..but Dan cannot reach Glenn and Joe nor Sonia and Lea (they don’t have internet access except when they go to a cyber). He reached Florence & Susan via skype and us by e-mail.

The pictures below show the ‘mess’ on the grounds – – the first photo is the staff brothers’ little sleeping quarters, and others are the big house on the grounds. Dan wrote this a.m. saying that they slept on the ground in tents during the night, and the continual after-shocks kept dropping more cement from the destruction of the house – we wonder how safe it’ll be??

Dan & Mike were leaving with a full quantity of water for themselves for the day in their backpacks and heading into the capital this a.m. to see if they can get to the friends to see how things are with them. I nearly fear for them too, as the streets are in an awful state right now. The palace, lots of govt bldgs, and the cathedral are all down — the cathedral was in flames as well, we understand.

This is all that we know for now. We hope for the best, but fear the worst for some!

Love in Him,

Doreen B.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this from Jody McChesney Hi everyone, I spoke with Brad again tonight. The work is going good in Haiti. They are enjoying working together and of course the special fellowship. It is hot but they have been able to truck water in, so that is good. They are all a little on edge because they are predicting another earthquake this week-end sometime. Around 6.9 they say,so hopefully all the work so far doesn’t go down. They think the house would’ve came down on Wednesday in the 6.1 tremor had Dan not put in metal supports right away. Brad says that he can’t feel the tremors like the others can. They are more in tune. They may have someone sitting on the ground tomorrow,so they can feel if it’s coming. Brad may feel his first earthquake yet. Emmanuel and Rania are there. They were at convention with us. They are in the process of being adopted by Gerry and Krista Beyers from Ontario. They thought they probably had a year left in the process but it has been pushed through. When their orphanage was evacuated to the states on Tuesday, they were able to come to the grounds, and Gerry and Krista are hoping they’ll be coming home possibly tomorrow! We are so thrilled for them! Scott Wainwright is there with his dad. We met him in Cabo San Lucas five years ago, so it’s great for Brad to get to know him a little better. He’s just really enjoying ALL the good company.Thanks for all the thoughts. Love, Jody (mcChesney)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this from my sister:

Hi, just home from the hospital but want to drop you a line before I call it a day. I heard back from Glen this afternoon, and he didn’t think Derek would make it back tonight but would probably stay at the border hospital and come in the a.m. So tonight I figured he should be back in cell coverage range anyway. So from the hospital here I called him on his cell and he and Neil were THRILLED to be able to chat for a couple of minutes. Oh the miracle of the love of God, is always such a beautiful thing to behold!!!

They did find Caridad and she is being well taken care of. He thinks the antibiotics are working. He left her nephew and some supplies there and headed back to the border. About 6 pm another tremor hit, and it caused panic in the orphanage across the way from where he is. Everyone from the orphanage is camped outside now and won’t go back in to the building. Then a pastor came along and started preaching and some started singing and clapping and it seemed to break the tension D. said. J He got some video clips of it and some pics but is having trouble sending them. Maybe once he gets back to the batch. Derek is spending the night in a building with a bunch of the doctors and he will head back in a.m. On Monday he plans to return with some more supplies and some family size tents. Seems they are all staying in one big tent on the grounds currently.

He said to pass on his love and greetings to any who ask, tell them the work is progressing well and as quickly as they can because of the continued tremors and said to say thanks so much for all the care and prayers that have gone that direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Sent: Friday, January 22, 2010 7:35 PM

The days are running together, sorry. I am just too tired to write much this evening. We had a very profitable day, got 3 pillars poured in the front, and hope to get at least 4 more tomorrow. A great crew here, and we go through a lot of water, even though the temperatures are mild, only in the mid to upper 80s, but the sun is hot, and this in the middle of winter. It does get cool at night and we need a blanket in our tent. We get interesting and encouraging bits of news, a 15 day old baby found alive yesterday. Things seems to be headed in the right direction in the city, but it is a VAST job to relocate those who have no home. There seems to be no running water or electricity. We haven’t been there but have sent supplies to Mike, who is in contact with and meeting the needs of our friends.

Again, there are not words to express our appreciation for your thougths and prayers, and every varied way you have shown your support for the workers and people of Haiti, so I’ll just say Thank You,

Glenn Spunaugle

Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2010 6:27 PM

Subject: Sat. evening in Haiti

Today started with a beautiful cool morning, so clear and fresh, and it gave us inspiration. Haiti is a beautiful country if you can look over (and around) the people, and what they have done. We all had plenty of energy and got off to a roaring start. The heat of the day slowed us down, but we did accomplish a lot, and stopped work early because it is Sat. It seems to me that the bulk of this project will be completed next week. The plan is for us to go to Port-au-Prince for meeting tomorrow morning. I believe all the visitors are going in. There are 3 Canadians, and us 3 Americans. We expect to see the devastation up close then.

Some of you may get this letter twice, please forgive me, I found another group in my address book, and added it in, so there will be some duplication. We have several children here on the grounds, and 2 of them are in the process of being adopted by a Canadian family. They are on notice that they may get the approval to go to Canada any time. It has been great to watch them play and have such a good time, we really need to be more childlike.

We hope that each of you have a wonderful meeting tomorrow morning, and that the result will be closer unity among God’s people. It takes serious events sometimes for us to really understand what is important and what is not. I hope I can learn the lesson.

A brother, Glenn Spunaugle

I received an e-mail today from Glenn Richards, the overseer. He’d written me yesterday, and was ready to send it when the quake happened. So he sent it this a.m. They are very far in the West, felt the tremors, but there is not damage there. He has Joe Layman with him. The other 5 brothers were with Dan when the quake hit. All workers have been accounted for, and are safe. gkp

This update is from a sister in the W. part of Haiti… It arrived Wednesday p.m.

******************************

Well, by now most of you have the news from Dan’s emails and maybe the pictures as well of the convention grounds that was hit hard by the earthquake last night. I won’t forward that on, but you can ask if you didn’t receive them.

We are glad the phone service is SOMEWHAT restored – circuits are busy and often we can’t get through, but we did talk with Glenn and he and Joe are fine, as we assumed, since the north was not hit as hard. Houses shook strongly, but nothing cracked nor fell from what we can see.

Just talked with Dan and he and Mike are making there way across Port-au-Prince, they were near the stadium when I reached them, they had been by the bach at Vaillant and found it fairly well, things upside down inside the house – topsy-turvy, he called it, said the doctor’s house next door is down and others in the area. Then when I reached Cindy Chatelier’s the brothers walked in while I was talking with her. She said that their house was cracked but they are fine, she did say that Caridad has a broken foot and Genese is in the hospital, she was staying at her sister’s who lives across from Caridad’s – so that area had a good hit. She didn’t know of any other friends hurt or homes damaged – said that her grandmother’s area is fine. So we are relieved if that will be true for all of the friends but until we hear for sure, likely there could still be injuries. Hopefully Genese isn’t too serious. No doubt, Dan and Mike will be heading her way if they can get there.

So this is just to share the news as we have it for now. . .. .

We are very conscious that God has His way of working good through some of the most difficult experiences so we are sure this will be true again. We see the population here in Port de Paix is stirred up – distressed, here at the cybercafe many are coming in, calling, hearing of deaths and devastation with their loved ones and we sure feel for them without the anchor of the Lord’s presence in their life – just like the little boats rocking and rolling on the sea – hoping not to capsize. . .

Won’t keep you longer and will try to send more word as we hear. . .Sherri Griffeth

Date: Thursday, 14 January 2010 17:16:34 -0700

Received this from a very reliable source. Glenn Spunaugle has the Rosebud Canyon home for older workers. He has been to Haiti. There are so many spams going around on wanting you to help the people of Haiti, but very little of what you send will ever get to anyone that really needs it. One of the friends sent him a note and this was his response.

I received this this morning. If you want to send it on please delete our name.

Date: Thursday, 14 January 2010 07:06:31 -0500

Dear Friends,

At this time cash seems to be the best and you may send it to me:

Glenn Spunaugle

3800 S. Post Road

Guthrie, OK 73044

I will be getting the funds to Dan Henry in Haiti, and he will know where to best distribute it.

Thanks so much, Glenn

—–Original Message—–

To: ***@aol.com

Sent: Wed, Jan 13, 2010 11:16pm

Subject: help for friends in Haiti

We are wondering how we can be of help. Can you give us some idea what is needed and where/how can we send it? We can send funds, clothing, whatever would be most helpful. Please let us know.

Thanks, M & J

====================================================================

Friday, January 15, 2010 8:51 PM Haiti

Dear friends, I was working all afternoon trying to get into Haiti in the next few days, but after communication with Dan Henry, I have decided to stay here for now. It seems that things may get dangerous over the next days and weeks, as people run out of food, water, gasoline, and all kinds of everyday supplies, and violence is very likely… See More.

The brother workers are staying at the convention grounds in Cabaret, and are going to work on saving the main house. It has severe damage, and building supplies are also in short supply. Several of the friends from Port-au-Prince are staying at the convention grounds now, as their homes are not habitable. There has been a tremendous outpouring from our friends here to send help, and once this crisis is past, there will be great needs for new homes, or rebuilding the old ones, etc. for a prolonged time. It seems that there is no immediate medical needs among our friends, so we are grateful for that. We feel relieved to know that most of our friends escaped injury. Dan wrote that one lady was missing and presumed dead, I haven’t heard any more about her, and we may never know.

Thank you for all your care and concern, you probably will never know what this will mean to our Haitian brothers and sisters,

Glenn Spunaugle (Okla)

It says in Psalm 116:12, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people.”

If I can, this morning, I would like to speak with you about six cups.

The first is the cup of salvation, that we have read of in Psalm 116.

The next is the cup of regret, in Revelation 14:10.

The next is the cup of death, in Matthew 26:39.

The next is the cup of redemption in Genesis 44:2.

The next is the cup of fellowship in I Corinthians 11:26.

And last of all, the cup of plenty Psalm 23:5.

That is six cups. You may think we won’t get over them in time, but I’ll promise to quit on time. I just love that verse, “What shall I render to God for all that He has done for me?” He simply said, “I’ll take more from the hand of God.” And this is the character of God. When I think of a mother who has borne an infant. Nine months she has carried that child, and now you see the baby at the mother’s breast. Taking more. This is the love of a mother.

What a wonderful thing it is, what love does. We could give without loving, but we could never love without giving. Now, God is love. I just love what he said here, “What shall I render to God?” God really doesn’t need anything that I have to offer, except my love, except my praise. He simply said, “I’ll take more from the hand and the heart of God.” Isn’t this our experience? That’s also why I love the verse we have sung just now. From every stain made clean. This hasn’t been a week without failure, a week without flaw, but I am so thankful within my heart today. I believe the past is covered, never to be remembered against His children again. I am just so thankful. We are not going to turn the Grace of God into lasciviousness. Live it up. Do anything. Go anywhere. But even when we have done our level best, I have never spent a week, a day, without failure.

I hope we all understand that when a man steals a dollar, he is just as much a thief as when he steals ten dollars. And while you or I may never have committed some of the grosser sins mentioned there in Romans, we’re still guilty. But I liked what Willie Jamieson said to me one time. He said, “Harry, we’re just as guilty as though we had committed them all.” A false religion makes for Pharisee-ism. “I’m not as bad as that fellow. Because I haven’t done this, or that, or something else.” But sin brings us all to one level. I’m so thankful, what will I render to God? I’ll just take more from God.

I like what he said, “I’ll pay my vows, now, in the presence of all His people.” I like the expression, “Winners never quit and quitters never win!” Vows are very solemn. Personally, I haven’t made many vows. I’m scared to! Because vows are binding. Sometimes parents say to us, “My child isn’t professing any more, so it isn’t so serious if he’s doing things that are so very, very wrong, because he isn’t professing.” I think that’s terrible teaching. I hope as a mother or a father, that you’ll let your children know that vows are binding. And when we’ve made a commitment to God, it isn’t for time alone, it’s for all eternity. To me, it’s like the marriage vow. You might not be true to that vow, but you’re still a married man, still a married woman. There’s NO way out, and when we make this commitment to God there is no backing off. “I’ll pay my vows now in the presence of all God’s people.” I hope none of us will ever be foolish enough to lead someone to believe that they’re not professing now, so it isn’t so serious, where they’ re going or what they’re doing.

This cup is a cup of mixed experiences. It is a very mixed cup. When we made our choice to serve God, God didn’t put us on cloud nine, and everything has been lovely since. Joy and sorrow is interwoven, victory and defeat. I appreciate so much that it is in the defeat, it’s in the valley that sometimes we learn life’s most vital lessons. Thank God for those who have known the humiliation of defeat. No one stands so straight as one who stoops to help a fallen brother. God save me from these people who are always victorious, who have never known the scalding tears of humiliation and defeat burning their cheeks. They don’t understand me. I’m so thankful for those over the years, when I have failed, and failed miserably, that they haven’t come with a kick. They haven’t come with criticism, they have come, reaching a hand of compassion, of understanding. I don’t very often mention this, but one time, at a convention in my heart, I’d quit. I felt that there’s no where to go, except to go out. I hadn’t talked about it, there was no discussion, but a brother who had an understanding heart, I’ll never never forget, in the darkness of that last night of the convention, he came to me and he took my hand in both of his and simply said, “Harry, don’t leave us. Please don’t.” So easily he could’ve spoken differently, of failure in my life to feed, but he had compassion.

Thank God for those who learn the lessons that only defeat may bring. Now, God isn’t planning defeat. I like again what Willie Jamieson taught me, long years ago. People talk about Adam’s fall, but Willie said, “Adam never did fall. God simply gave him a nature that made him aware of his desperate need of help.” If Adam had been all that Adam would have liked to have been, he wouldn’t have needed the blood. He wouldn’t have needed the lamb. God has given us all a nature, making us realise how desperately I need help. God never intended for sin to drive us from the Lord. God intended for sin to drive us to the Lord. A companion of mine told us one time. He got into a fight, and he was wrong, he said. This man really lit into him, and do you know what he did? He simply took to his heels. He was a good runner, and where did he head for? He headed for home and he jumped the fence into the yard where his father was working, and he was safe. Even though he was wrong, when he came home, that bully was no longer able to maul him. And God planned sin, that you and I might be driven to our father, who alone has the provision for us. Whatever our need may be.

This cup of salvation, it is a varied cup. It is in the gloom of the valley that the lily grows, as our brother has told us about already this morning. It is on Sharon’s sunny plain that the beauty of the rose is apparent, but it is in the gloom of the valley that the fragrance of the lily is also found. You and I need both experiences. May God help you, with myself, to lift the cup of salvation. And whatever the experiences that are planned for us, the mixed experiences, may we be willing for them all. For the development that God plans in all our lives.

The next cup that we mentioned is that cup over here in Revelation. This is the cup of the wrath of God, poured out, it says, without mixture. The saddest words of tongue or pen are, “Oh what might have been!” And you can think of nothing in all your wildest imaginations, like a lost eternity. There is no going back. It is settled. The saddest words of tongue or pen are, “Oh what might have been!” It says that the third angel followed saying with a loud voice, “If any man worship the beast and his image, received his mark in their forehead or in his hand. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture, into the cup of His indignation.”

Do you know what brings this about? Receiving the mark, worshipping the beast. Receiving his mark in our forehead – that’s our thinking. Or in our hand – that’s our fellowship. We may not be what we think we are, but we are what we think. That’s the reason that we need to be so careful, what we allow into our consciousness. What we read, what we look at or even what we listen to, because it is so true. We may not be what we think we are, but we are what we think. If we receive the mark of the beast in our thinking, influenced by the world. The world’s religion or whatever the world has to offer, it will lead eventually to bitter regret.

What more can God do? He sent His son to Calvary. He died there. He sent two of His servants to your door, they knocked there. But since then He has sent His Holy Spirit, knocking at the door of your heart, and mine. He can’t do any more. And if you and I turn a deaf ear to all that God has done and is doing, this will be the result. Oh, the regret of having this cup of His wrath.

I love that verse where the Psalmist said, “Great peace have they who love Thy law and nothing shall offend them.” It’s tragic when people become offended. And unfortunately some such people think themselves to be sensitive. When all they are is touchy. Sensitive people are never offended, touchy people often are. “Great peace have they who love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” I often think I can measure my love by what it takes to offend me! Now we’ve all been hurt and no doubt we’ll be hurt again. But hopefully, we’re all too big to take offence. Like our sister has already told us, discipline is never easy. But God disciplines those whom He loves.

I hope that none of us will come to that day when this cup will be the only cup from which we can drink. The cup of regret. Poured out, it says, without mixture. There is something about some decisions, they are everlasting. I think of a couple I knew, a grand old couple, they died heartily in the faith, but they had sad eyes. And I used to wonder why their eyes looked so sad. After I got to know them very well I learned that they had been offended. They had a large family, I think 10 children. They had spread their bitterness, they had spread their offence, and none of their children were in the faith. Some of them had become hireling preachers. That old couple, their hearts were broken. I’m only telling you this, helping you hopefully, and myself too, to understand that we cannot afford to take offence. If somebody tries to offend you, that’s their problem. It becomes my problem when I take offence. I hope that none of us will ever be forced to drink from that cup of His indignation, poured out without mixture. The saddest words of tongue or pen are, “Oh what might have been!”

The next cup that we mentioned is the cup of death. That is in Matthew 26 and we know the chapter very well. When in the garden Jesus prayed, “Oh My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” But fortunately He said, “Not My will but Thine be done.” I hope we all understand that God loves sinners but God hates sin, and sin will be atoned for. There is only two ways that it can. You and I can come to Christ, and in His blood find atonement for our guilt, the atonement for our sin. What if I don’t choose to come to Christ? If I want to do my own thing? Nobody’s going to run my life! And God will accept your answer. God has given all of us the choice. I love that verse that I’ve often quoted:

Listen to the salutation of the dawn,

Look well to this day,

For yesterday is but a dream,

And tomorrow is only a vision.

But, this day well lived,

Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well therefore, to the choices of this day,

This is the exhortation of the dawn.

You may refuse and chose not to come to Christ and God will accept your decision, but you will pay with your own soul in a long, long, lost eternity. Because sin will be atoned for. I am so thankful that He drank the cup, He drained the cup. I appreciate in that chapter, repeatedly He said, “Oh, My Father,” but on the cross He said, “Oh, My God..why hast Thou forsaken Me?” I am sure that we all understand that.

That day, three dreadful hours,

The sun refused to shine, withheld its light..

Between two thieves, God’s Son divine,

His spirit took its flight.

There mid the darkness, ‘Neath those rending skies,

He gave His life, a willing sacrifice.

The price of sin. Once every year, we know, the High Priest laid his hands on the goat, and all the sins that were confessed, were laid on him. The sins that were not confessed were not remitted. But all the confessed sins of the people of God, were led by that goat to an uninhabited place. No eye can see, no ear can hear the cry of the goat and there it died. It died alone. This is what happened on the middle cross, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” In the garden it was “My Father,” but on the cross it was “My God.” He was meaning the judge of all the earth. He who never sinned, took your sin, your guilt, and mine, and bore it for ever away. I love that verse that says:

I cast into the depth of my fathomless sea,

All your sins and transgressions whatever they be,

Though they mount up to Heaven,

Though they reach down to hell,

I bury them deep, and o’er them shall dwell,

All my waves of forgiveness, so mighty and free,

I’ve cast all your sins in the depth of my sea.

In the cold quiet depths, far away from the shore,

Where they never shall rise to trouble thee more,

Where no far-reaching tide, with its pitiless sweep,

Shall stir my dark waves of forgetfulness deep,

I’ve buried them there and o’er them shall dwell,

All my waves of forgiveness so mighty and free,

I’ve cast all your sins in the depth of my sea.

DO YOU BELIEVE IT? I hope with all my heart that you do, that I do. Coming to Christ, we believe in His word. We believe in His way, and oh friend, we also believe in His blood. They tell me that in the Roman Empire, political prisoners, on occasion, were put to death by a cup of poison. It was potent, it was swift, and it was deadly. To the man who drank that cup, death was swift and sure. But if the guilty man had a friend, and he came and took the cup intended for the man that was guilty, and drained the cup. The cup could never be refilled, and the guilty man went free.

Isn’t it wonderful that we have that kind of a friend? The cup of death that was filled for me. If I got what I deserved, I know exactly where I’d be going. Oh how thankful we can be that we have a friend who drained the cup, and we’re free. Because that cup of death, the price of sin, has been paid for. I am so thankful that there is one, that you have a friend and I have a friend, who was willing to take the punishment that was planned for you and planned for me. “Oh My Father, if it be possible” but friends, it was not possible. If He had not drained the cup, you and I would drain the cup of our guilt.

The next cup we mentioned was the cup of redemption. I love the story of redemption. I love to be able to tell sinners that there’s hope, I don’t care who you are. One time, a man came to us who had professed. He came to our batch and he said, “I’ve come to tell you about my past.” He began by saying, “I’ve been in prison..” I remember we stopped him and said, “Now if you want to tell us it’s okay, but we really aren’t interested.” He was shocked. He could hardly believe it. Years have gone by and he has told us on more than one occasion, how thankful he is and how shocked and surprised he was, that we weren’t digging into his past. Isn’t it wonderful, friends, we don’t need to know the past of anyone. The blood will cover it. I am so thankful, this is a glorious story, the story of redemption. Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it. Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb.

Now please don’t feel that I have suggested the possibility of turning the Grace of God into lasciviousness. This is what the whole religious world has done. Live it up. Go anywhere. Do anything … it’s all under the Blood. That’s turning the Grace of God into lasciviousness, and God will not tolerate that! But on the other hand, there’s no sin that you could, or I could commit, that the blood won’t cover. If there’s honest and Godly repentance. This cup of redemption is found in that story that we all know very very well, in Genesis 44, when those sons of Jacob, came back to their brother. And isn’t it wonderful, in the sack of the youngest brother, was the silver cup. Silver is always a symbol of redemption. He didn’t put the cup there. Joseph, the older brother put the cup there. And you and I, we didn’t obtain the cup, the cup was given us. These men brought double money in their sacks. They thought that this could be purchased, this could be bought, but their money did them no good. You remember that they stood before Joseph, not knowing who he was, and said, “We be true men.” A bigger lie was never told.

I hope none of us are conceited enough to tell God that “I have been true.” My friends I’m a miserable failure, my hope isn’t in my trueness. My hope is in His trueness. I often wonder if we really believe that hymn that we sometimes sing. “I am trusting Thee Lord Jesus, trusting only Thee. Trusting Thee for full salvation, great and free.” Are you and I really trusting in that? Oh we’ve been walking in this way so long. Been in the work so long, and there’s been a soul or two gotten saved in a mission that we’ve had a part in. Oh may God save us from trusting in that! I am trusting Thee Lord Jesus, trusting only Thee. If that really is true, how can we stand and say to the Joseph of our day, “We are true people.” I believe the way is true and I believe my fellow servants are true, but friends, I know the plague of my own heart. I know the sin, the failure, even in my thinking. In my spirit and in many ways. How in God’s name can I stand at the feet of Jesus and look into His face and tell Him, “I’ve been a true man!”

I love what they said in that story, “What shall we say to our Lord, how shall we clear ourselves?” I appreciate so much, as has already been mentioned, that when Jesus stood in Pilate’s judgement hall. He stood silent, not a word escaped His lips. He spoke not one single word in His own defense. I hope you and I understand that someday you and I will stand dumb and silent in the tribunal of God. What will we say in our defense? Isn’t it wonderful to really believe that we have a friend, we have an attorney. Do you know what His plea will be? Not my virtue, for sure. His plea to God the Father, the judge of all the earth will be, “That man gave himself to me, he’ s mine, he’s my responsibility. With my blood I’ve paid the price. I’ve paid for his guilt, I’ve paid the debt he owes to God and man.” That cup was put there by another hand. How thankful you and I can be that the silver cup is ours, from which we drink.

Years ago, when I was a lot younger than I am now, before I was serving God, I was out one night with a friend of mine. We went too far, stayed too late and spent too much. I’ll never, never forget. It was very late, time to go home and I looked at the needle of the car and the gauge was sitting on empty. I had spent my last dollar! I asked this girl if she had any money and she said that she didn’t. Well that was terribly embarrassing, to take a girl out and not have enough money to get her home okay. But there we were! Do you know what I did? There was a rug in the car, that belonged to my mother. It wasn’t all that expensive a rug, but my brother who was dead had given it to mom, and to her it was priceless. In my perplexity, I pawned the rug! I got enough money to get home. I took the girl home and I went to our home and I went to my brother. I told him my predicament and I’ve always appreciated his attitude. He didn’t tell me how stupid I was, I knew that! He didn’t tell me how foolish I was, I knew that too! Do you know what he did? He reached for his wallet and he gave me the money, and I went back and redeemed the rug. No credit to myself, it was a brother that was very kind.

Isn’t it wonderful: Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it. Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. I have a brother. All the stupid things I have done, all the wrong choices, wrong places I have gone, I am so thankful that He produced the redemption price, the redemption money. I just love this cup, this silver cup, the cup of redemption.

The next cup I would like to mention is the cup of fellowship. We all know that cup, sitting here on this table. In I Corinthians, Paul was writing there and he said, “As oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup you do show the Lord’s death till He comes.” I like what he said. You’re showing something, not telling something. I think many a Sunday morning meeting has been ruined by doing too much talking. The greatest sermon that you and I will ever preach is that we are in that Sunday morning meeting. We may have had a good business deal or we may have had other things to do. As our sister has told us, like Mary we could be cumbered with much serving, all good things. But ah friends, where are you on Sunday morning?

One time, we were preaching on an island and I happened to call on this home. Passing our card, and this lady was very indignant and as she was sweeping her porch, I really thought she was going to hit me with her broom. But I’ll never forget, in the course of our conversation, she said, “I will have to admit. If there are three Christians on this island (and she mentioned the names of our three friends), it is them. I could set my clock on Sunday morning by when that car goes past our drive.” Friends, it wasn’t what those people said, it was what those people did. As oft as you eat this bread and drink this cup you are SHOWING the Lord’s death, till He come. It isn’t what we say, and on a Sunday morning, I’m often guilty. Maybe I’m guilty this morning. Far too much talking. It’s the LIVING of this thing that makes the whole difference. Paul said, “I’d rather speak five words” that really matter than ten thousand words that bore people to tears! I don’t know if I should tell you this or not, but we had an elder at home, and a very fine man, but there were those in his meeting that came repeatedly with, “Can’t you do something. He talks too long.” He was a good friend of mine and finally I got up the courage and I went to speak with him. He bristled! He said, “Harry. Don’t you understand? I’m the elder and I’ve got to feed the flock.” I called him by name and I said “Unfortunately you’re not feeding the flock. All you’re doing is you’re boring the flock.” Friends, there’s a world of difference. I don’t care whether it’s a worker or an elder. In a Sunday morning meeting, it isn’t really what we say that is vitally important. It’s the fact we’re there and it’s the life behind the few words that we speak.

Then he went on to say in this chapter. “Whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily. He is guilty of the body and the blood of Christ.” Then He said, “Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.” Now we all know, and there isn’t time to talk about it, but when the Passover was eaten originally. They had to search their dwelling for leaven.

There are three kinds of leaven. The leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy, just simply pretence. There is one prayer I’ve often prayed. That is that God will give me the courage just to be honest. Not to pretend to be something that I really am not.

The second leaven was the leaven of the Sadducees, which was unbelief. They didn’t believe in the life to come.

The Leaven of Herod was simply the leaven of worldliness. There isn’t time to talk much about worldliness, but I just wish there were, because a lot of people have a mistaken idea of worldliness, that it is the way we dress. Well now I certainly think we should be somewhat conservative in the way we dress. But some people can wear their dresses to their ankles and their collar to the neck, and men can wear clothes that are ridiculous, thinking they’re Godly! Thinking they’re not worldly, when all they are is being ridiculous.

Do you know what worldliness is? It’s backbiting. It’s jealousy. It’s unkindness. That’s the way the world is living. And they’re fighting. What was that verse we had in our study, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen. She has become the home of every foul spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Friends THAT is worldliness! When that creeps in among us, when I don’t treat my companion the way he should be treated and I knife him behind his back. Or I say unkind things to him and about him. Friends, THAT is worldliness! May God save the church from that kind of worldliness creeping in among us. That’s the leaven of Herod.

The thing is, “Let a man examine HIMSELF.” It is so much easier to examine the other man’s dwelling, and look for these wrong things. Here is MY dwelling, and here is MY responsibility. How do I treat MY companion? It isn’t how you treat your companion. I care and I am interested. But friends, I am not responsible for searching your dwelling. But I am responsible for searching MY dwelling. He said, “Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.” But listen to THIS. “He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself.” Have you ever wondered what makes one unworthy? You know I used to sit on a Sunday morning and review the week. Many a time I thought “Well I can’t take the emblems today. I am altogether too unworthy.” Friends, the more miserably I’ve failed this week, the more thankfully I reach for those emblems.

Do you know what makes you and me unworthy? It’s exactly what the Apostle said here. “Not discerning the Lord’s body.” Friends, this isn’t A way. This is THE way. This isn’t A church. this is THE church. He said, “For this cause many are weak and sickly and maybe even sleep.” You know there are some that could break bread with us this Sunday and break bread with some other denomination next Sunday and break bread with yet another religious persuasion the following Sunday. Friends, they have never seen THE body. He said the thing that makes eating and drinking unworthily, eating and drinking damnation to himself. It is “Not discerning the Lord’s body!”

Years ago, a man came to our meetings and he was from a European country and he had belonged to the State church, but he didn’t believe it. He came to our country and joined another church and he didn’t believe that either. When he was coming to our meeting he felt very much attracted, but he used to say to us, “I wish you fellows.(I don’t know if this expression makes sense to you but this is the expression he used ) I wish you fellows would put it on the line.” He said, “I feel tremendously drawn to this but I can’t get it.” I remember finally saying to him, “Nick, we can’t, and if we could, it would feed a conceit in us that would literally destroy us.” We mentioned what Jesus said, “I thank Thee oh Father, Lord of Heaven and earth,” … that you’ve hidden this to certain people and that you have revealed it to those who are humble enough to be babes.

We told him that this is a truth, a revelation that comes, an understanding that comes. Not by explanation. but by revelation. Isn’t that what Jesus said to Peter that day? “Who do men say that I am?” And you know the answer. You’re Christ, that’s who you are. And Jesus said, “Peter you’re a happy man.” I am so thankful, whatever lack there may be, I think in all our lives, in mine anyway. There is one thing in which there is no lack. I KNOW in whom I have believed. I KNOW that this is God’s way. I KNOW that these are God’s servants. I KNOW that this book was inspired by the Holy Spirit. There are lots of things wherein I am a failure, but ah friends. Isn’t it wonderful that we KNOW in whom we have believed. Well may we examine ourselves, do I really believe it?

There isn’t time to talk about believing, but that’s the crux of the whole matter! Do you know how we could tell those who believed in Noah’s day? No doubt a lot of people, just like today. Everybody believes! You belong to your group and I’ll belong to mine. We all believe so we’re all going to meet in glory! We’re all going to meet in Heaven! Friends, there’s a VAST difference between mental assent and heart belief. It’s with the heart that man believeth unto righteousness. Do you know how you could tell those who believed in Noah’s day? They were in the ark! Do you know how you can tell those who believe in OUR day? They’re in the ark. Now you may say, “How about those people who have never heard the Gospel?” Friends, I’m going to leave them in the hands of God. I love that verse in Genesis 18, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right!” I’m not wise enough or Godly enough to make judgement. I can make discernment.

But friends, I like what a brother said about his own mother, “I feel that if my mother had died before the workers came, she would have gone to a saved eternity. My reason for believing that? She was in this church and she wasn’t satisfied. She was in that church and she wasn’t satisfied.” Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice.” And she didn’t hear the shepherd’s voice and she didn’t stay in that religious persuasion. Fortunately for her, the workers did come, and she died in the faith. But I liked what this brother said. I don’t know the people out there who have never had the privilege of meeting two of these men, or two of these women, that’s for God to decide. But I do know that “the heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament showeth forth His handiwork. Day unto day declareth wisdom, night unto night declareth knowledge,” and I’ll leave judgement for God to decide.

But I am so thankful that we are a tent full of people and we’re drinking of the cup of fellowship I love, as I said, in a Sunday morning meeting. I’m always glad when the emblems sit in the centre of the room and I look across the room and I see my brother, and I see my sister … through the Blood. Have you ever looked at a red object through a red glass? If you haven’t try it sometime and you’ll be surprised! A red object is no longer red! I’m not a chemist, I’m not even very intelligent, but I’ve tried it. I don’t understand salvation but I do know that when God sees you and when God sees me, through the blood. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. The cup of fellowship. We all meet round those emblems because that’s our only hope, friends. That is fellowship! When I look across the room and I see my brother or my sister, not through the critical eye of my opinion, or my ideas. As I see them through the Blood, I see souls made white, “though their sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow.”

Now the last cup, and that is mentioned in the 23rd Psalm. The Psalmist said, “My cup runneth over.” Isn’t it wonderful that we have been brought into something that is abundant. I like the way the Psalm begins. “The Lord IS.” That is just a statement of fact! Only the fool has said in his heart that there is no God. You couldn’t look at this building out here and deny the existence of a builder. I don’t know this builder, or what he looked like or anything about him. But the building is there and the building tells me that there was a builder on the spot. And when I look at creation, I understand a little of the creator. Only the FOOL has said in his heart there is no God. I defy the world of science, the world of intellect. Bring them on, anybody you want to. The man or the group of men, who can speak another world into existence, like this world that you and I are a part of.

The Lord IS! I am so glad that with all our hearts we believe that the Lord IS. But oh, isn’t it infinitely more wonderful when we can go on and say, “The Lord is MY shepherd!” Now I know He is a shepherd but ah friends, I am so thankful that He is MY shepherd. He is planning my future, He’s planning my way. I like a lot of things in the Psalm but there’s just one I’d like to mention. “He leadeth me into green pastures.” When I made my choice, over 60 years ago, as I think I mentioned the other day. I thought “I’ve got to do this or go to a lost eternity,” and I didn’t want to go there. I thought this is going to be pretty dead and pretty dry, to spend the rest of my life like this. But friends, I can’t tell you how thankful I am. The pastures are STILL green! It’s never gone dead on me. It’s never gone dry on me. It’s infinitely more wonderful than ever I thought it could be. And now at the end of the journey (I’m not going to be around another 81 years!) I am infinitely grateful that this is ever so much more wonderful than it has ever been in all these 81 years. He has brought me into green pastures. This hasn’t gone dead, it hasn’t gone dry.

I can’t tell you what it means to see old people who are aglow and athrill with this thing that we have been brought into. Maybe I’d live to be almost 92! (like my dad). The meeting was in our home all my life. But my dad was no longer able but he and mom used to love to go to the Gospel meetings. He couldn’t drive anymore but when anyone said, “Go” dad would say, “Where?” and they’d be off. Then one day, the elder’s wife (a younger couple that were grand people, wonderful to my mother and dad), said to my father, “Mr Brownlee, you shouldn’t be going to all these meetings. Night after night. You should be saving your strength.” Dad kinda chuckled when he told me this. He said “Can you imagine anything so ridiculous. Encouraging a man in his 90s to be saving his strength. Saving it for what?” Friends, isn’t it wonderful. The old people among us. I’m thrilled to see the white hairs in this meeting and to see them still aglow with enthusiasm. It’s gotten better, it hasn’t gone dead, it hasn’t gone dry.

Last of all, I like the way the Psalm ends, “My cup runs over.” It isn’t a scarcity, it’s the cup of plenty. Privileges, fellowship, my cup runs over. It ends by saying, “Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” I don’t know how many of you met the old brother Bert Hughes, he died in his 90s. I heard him in his old age tell a story. One time he saw a shepherd bringing home a band of sheep, and he was following the flock. He asked the shepherd, “I thought the shepherd led the flock, but here you’re following the flock.” And this shepherd told him, he said, “You don’t understand. In the morning, the shepherd leads the flock out to new pastures, to new privileges, but in the evening the shepherd follows the flock in lest perchance one had become lame. Lest perchance one is sick, lest perchance one be left behind.”

How grateful we can be for the great Shepherd, but also for under shepherds who are following the flock. They aren’t bossing. They aren’t barking out orders. They’re following the flock. How thankful we can be that “Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Thank God for this cup of salvation and for all these other cups from which you and I are able to drink. And may God stay the day, deny the day, that we will ever be forced to drink from the cup of regret. A cup without mixture, filled with the indignation of the wrath of God.

“Neither count I my life dear unto myself …” Paul said. Counting is important. There’s no hope of success until we can count properly. There’s a cause that matters more than creature comfort. “Is there not a cause?” David asked. James said, “We count them happy that endure” (James 5:11). Those with grey heads are those who have endured. Kingdom has rested on stability, sticking power. Winners never quit and quitters never win. Peter said, “Add to your faith virtue ; and to virtue knowledge…”(I Peter 1:5). Let peace and grace be multiplied unto you ( 1 Peter 1:2). Multiplication is swifter than addition. To add is good, but to multiply is better. Romans 16:17, “Avoid those who cause divisions and offences.” God divided right from wrong, all humanity – sheep from goats. Division should be left to the Lord. The Lord will put division between his people and Egypt. Jesus came to bring division, father from son, mother from daughter (Luke 12:51).

NUMBER 1

Paul said ” There is one God and one mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5) the only decision is to serve him or not. Mediator is go-between. So glad Jesus understands both God and us. This takes away all self-praise. Sing the song of Moses (deliverance) and the song of the Lamb (redemption). On Sunday morning the whole meeting is tuned to the one God and one mediator. Avoid self praise, self love, self will. All praise be to the Lamb.

One way. God promised He’d give His people one heart and one way. Since there is one God, there is only one way. This is good for the children. They might be rebellious but they’ll never be confused. It’s a walking way, not talking.

One great high priest He ever liveth to make intercession for you and me. He has never died. Man tried to put Him to death but failed.

One faith, Paul said. We know who the author is. This faith didn’t come from any place but the homeland of eternity. Jesus is the author and finisher of it.

One ark in Noah’s day.

NUMBER 2

This number is plural, the number of confirmation.

a) Jesus sent His disciples 2 by 2. The 2 tell the same story – confirmation the message is confirmed. The ministry is not a competing one but a complimentary one. Age needs youth and vice versa. Paul said, “Timothy has served with me in the ministry.” Peter and John met the lame man. Paul and Barnabas Paul and Silas, always the 2. Picture of the cherubims in Exodus 27. At the west end of the temple were 2 cherubims above the mercy seat. Temple was place of sacrifice, not of worship. Their wings were outstretched, like 2 messengers swift to go at heaven’s bidding. They were looking to the one who sits on the mercy seat, not at one another. Messengers still point us to the one who sits on the mercy seat. Woman taken in adultery received mercy from the only one who could have condemned her. Mercy is always ahead, because all are facing the western horizon.

b) 2 books – Bible and the Book of Nature “The heavens declare the glory of God …” (Psalms 19:1) Most eloquent voice is the voice of nature. It’s the same message as in the Bible. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Way doesn’t change but we must change. Don’t take a stand in ignorance and defend it in stubbornness. There’s no growth without change in us. The silent message from the Book of Nature tells us Jesus is the same and God will never change. Nature will never change. Awesome power of “God is seen in Nature – no noise – it’s silent,” the silent power of the Spirit. We can judge the Creator by the creation. There’s no building without an architect The Bible says, “It’s appointed man once to die.” Time as an everlasting stream bears all of us away.

NUMBER 3, Strength

“The three-fold cord isn’t quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12) There’s strength in unity. “One shall chase 1000 but 2 will chase 10,000” (Deuteronomy 32:30). Devil wants God’s workers to be at odds.

a) The world, flesh and devil is great but Father, Son, and Holy Ghost greater. Satan belongs to the angelic kingdom and we are no match for him but we belong to the divine’ kingdom with the Holy Spirit; we are a match for world, flesh, and devil. Over the cross was written, “This is Jesus, King of the Jews“ in 3 languages – Latin, language of the Romans; Hebrew, language of the Jews; Greek, language of the Intellectuals. There was power in that message.

b) Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh they wanted to take God’s people 3 days journey into the wilderness. Awesome power of separation. Pharaoh of today wants separation between man and wife, parents and children but this is not true separation.

c] Gideon [Judges] Midianities had impoverished God’s people. Gideon was a mighty man because he was hiding, threshing out bread for God’s people. 32,000 men aligned themselves with Gideon. This was too many. God told the fearful to return home. 22,000 men went home. 10,000 men left – still too many. God tested them, brought them to water and only those who lapped water like a dog – 300 of them were worthy not those who knelt down to drink. They brought deliverance to God’s people Nothing wrong in young men being successful and raising a family but thank God for those who don’t stoop to satisfy their own flesh ,and base human appetites. In Old Testament, when a man died, his younger brother usually married his wife to raise a family in his name but who shall declare the generation of Jesus? Is it not the young men who go into the work and raise a family to bear the name of Christ, not their own name? This name will be written on their foreheads (Revelations 7:3).

NUMBER 4, Equality

God is equal. God is impartial.

a) Altar was 4 square. When our lives are placed on the altar, our identity is lost. Turtle doves and bulls when burnt, their ashes are indistinguishable. This is a united effort. When the fire of God’s love has done its glorious work, we can’t distinguish one sacrifice from another.

b) Exodus 20:26, “Neither shall thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.” Altar was not to be approached by steps no different levels. We all serve on the same level, otherwise the naked jealousy or envying will be exposed.

c) Revelations 21:16 talks of a city that is 4 square, that is equal. God didn’t promise that there won’t be injustice in this world but we are travelling towards justice. There we will have justice, tempered with mercy.

NUMBER 5, Man’s number

a) God without man is still God but man without God is nothing. Feeding of the 5000. Man didn’t have the answer – only 5 loaves but man with God fed 5 thousand

b) David and Goliath. That stripling just had 5 smooth stones out of the brook; no armour, sword or spear. There’s a river that flows from the throne of God. When we face the day with smooth stones from that river, we’ll be able to bring the enemy down.

c) I Corinthians 14:19, Paul said, “Better speak 5 words with understanding than 10,000 words in an unknown tongue.” Wonderful ideal. Talk less but say more, that’s a wonderful thing.

d) Moses wrote 5 books in the Bible. How could he remember all those details, but man with God can do anything. Wonderful how the Bible has been preserved through the centuries.

NUMBER 6, 666 Devil’s number

Mark of the beast. When we give the right hand of fellowship to the world there’s a mark on our lives. This number is very close to 777, God’s number. Devil doesn’t care about our religion which maybe very close to the truth so long as it’s a phoney. The devil’s counterfeit which was what Jeroboam gave to the people (I Kings 12:27–33).

NUMBER 7, Perfect number

It is complete.

a) 7 days of the week. God created the world in 7 days. He rested on the 7th because creation was accomplished. Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.“ Works are the result of salvation not the means of salvation. If we believe, works will follow. If we believe, we won’t be Methodists, Baptists, etc. Here’s there is no other Way to walk in. There’s nothing can make us more saved. Salvation is a gift of God. Work of redemption is an accomplished, finished fact. Works make people self-righteous The Pharisee was quite pleased with himself, not the publican but the publican was justified, not the Pharisee with all his good works. If we are saved, works will follow.

b) 7 notes on the scale 7 colours that make up the rainbow. All of music is made up of these notes blended together. There’s harmony and we are the symphony of God. It only takes one note to bring discord.

c) 7 priests and 7 trumpets to bring down Jericho. It’s complete. We don’t need more than the Bible, There was a space between the priests and the people. People shouldn’t move in on the servants of God and vice versa. On 7th day, they were to march round 7 times. Complete obedience will bring the walls down and there was complete victory through complete obedience.

d) Naaman was told to dip in the Jordan 7 times. Complete obedience brought complete healing. Medical science couldn’t do it but God did it.

e) Genesis 7, door of the ark stood open for 7 days. Complete mercy, then the people left the ark, they left through a different exit, through the covering of the ark in the roof. When we leave these meetings, we should leave our old life behind.

Since the earthquake hit Haiti yesterday, the phone has run lots, so will just create a list of some of you that I feel will be interested in the news that follows. I will try and share with you whatever I hear. Glenda

This arrived Tuesday evening, just before our g. mtg.

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I received this from Dan Henry. he called on SWkype, but I couldn’t hear Glenn Spunaugle.

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Wed. morning, word came through others that Susan E. and Florence T. in Cap Haitian in the North are okay. Then on the phone from Glenn S., he said that Dan and Mike are heading into Port-au-Prince this a.m. to try and check on the friends.

I am going up to check on e-mail now, and will also forward and share what I receive.

GKP

Just to say that we are fine this morning at Cabaret. During the night again and again the tremors passed. Some were strong enough make the buildings rattle. There was enough sideways movement I wondered if they would fall. Inside the buildings everything is thrown every which way. Like as if they were box that was tipped from side to side. We were sleeping on the ground in tents. This morning at daybreak would just another beautiful cool morning in Haiti. But we are getting news via the net of the devastation in Port au Prince and Jacmel. Mike, Allan, Mado, Yves and I had a little meeting to try to plan our day. As soon as we can Mike and I leave with a days supply of water in our backpacks and we will go to Port au Prince to try to find as many of the friends as we can and do what we can. We understand that most of the streets are blocked with debris.

The brothers with the help of men here will start with the clean up and repair here.

The phones are still out of order so I have no more news from anyone outside our immediate circle here at Cabaret.

Dan

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Wed. 11 a.m. from Susan Eicher

Our dear friends…

Thank you for word from so many of you, with concern for all here after the quake hit yesterday. Florence and I are in Cap Haitian, which is on the northern coast of Haiti. We felt the shocks, but there doesn’t seem to be any severe damage in this area. There still isn’t phone service in Haiti, so no way of contacting anyone that way, but we are fortunate that the internet service is still working. We were able to communicate with Dan Henry last evening via Skype and at least have word that the brothers were all together at Cabaret and are okay. We haven’t been able to contact the other workers here in the north of Haiti (Glenn, Joe, Sonia, and Lea). They don’t have internet service except to go to a cyber cafe and we haven’t heard from them yet. They are likely okay, but would be concerned about everyone else further south! We fear for our friends in Port-au-Prince, so close to where the epicenter of the quake was. There are many there whose homes are on the hillside and could have easily fallen… No news of most of our friends yet, so we wait….. The brothers (Dan, Mike, Allan, Madochee, and Yves) were at the convention grounds when it hit and there is quite a bit of damage there. They slept in tents last night because it was safer than being in the rattled buildings. At midnight last night I felt the bed shake again, so wondered how hard it was still hitting further south. We’re 100 + miles from there. Dan and Mike are going to try to go into Port-au-Prince today to see who they can find and what they can do to help….. it will take a lot of effort just to get through the streets….. the devastation is unimagineable. It has been raining here for a solid week, but it doesn’t sound like they’ve had that there in the south, so that is a relief, too. We have to cancel our meeting tonight because of so much water in the streets….

At times like this it’s very real that nothing of this “earth” in our lives matters because it’s so soon shaken… what matters is the Christ within and an obedient response to His Word, the only solid foundation. Keep a humble, submitted heart! Thanks again for your love and care.

Love,

Susan

“Where quiet waters flow.” HE led us there again. Yesterday morning in Dupraz’ home in the western suburb of Carrefour, it just seemed a little flock of sheep knelt, rested and drank again of those quiet waters. The first Sunday after the quake, this city of tumultuous, laughing, hardworking, music-loving millions was still and silent as death. Morbid. And rightfully so. Our own hearts were bleeding. Yesterday, religious fervor filled the streets under blue skies and hot sun with crowds led by their pastors, prancing, dancing, drumming, shaking branches and flowers high in the air, chanting slogans against Satan, people running to join the excitement, whether Catholic, Rastafarian, voodoo adepts…the streets filled, the parks spilled over. All week, the nation has been harangued with radio and megaphone messages that God’s wrath had spilled over on Haiti because it is the most sinful people in the world. Yes, we bow our heads and admit we are sinful people.

But the “most sinful?” They were told if they didn’t fast and pray for three days God would strike them with a worse catastrophe this week. That first Sunday, Germain seemed to forsee all this and spoke of Jesus’ words, “Or these eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men who dwelt in Jerusalem?” Luke 13:3, “I tell you, Nay, but unless ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” It is a wake-up call to serious thinking. Again and again we’ve heard that humble plea, “I’m not better than any of those who perished, I just want to be ready…now it seems so foolish not to be ready.” I too, repent. Natachia spoke of the privilege of not being troubled. Rutha spoke of John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled”, and her overflowing thankfulness to be able to find peace in upheaval, and knowing where this has come from in her life. A neighbor of hers, Bania, who began this past year, was just bursting with feeling, speaking of all the neighborhood rushing to this crowd or that crowd, blaming her for not joining the rush. She testified that Ex 14:14 is true, “Hold your peace…the Lord will fight for you” and the quiet peace she was finding in her tent and the Lord very near her each day. Why run? Gedeus also spoke of all the running this week and his joy, “We didn’t need to run to find the way. We’ve been walking in it already.” What a joy to just keep on walking home with Jesus, hand in hand. In all this boiling and rolling pot, God sees every heart. May those crying to know a quiet place near to HIM find it. It was deeply touching for me to feel Jean Pierre’s peace of surrender to Christ in his words. It wasn’t so a while back. The struggles of youth. But last year, his older brother, who had been running with a tough crowd, was poisoned and died looking up into his mother’s eyes with these words on his lips, “Mom, I didn’t think you loved me because you didn’t like my friends. Now I see you loved me and wanted to save me.” And slipped away. Dupraz and Bethanie were a lovely couple and a beautiful little family with Daphne and Bertrude. We lost Bethanie, so young, in 2006. Daphne’s clear part in the meeting surely fed her father and all of us. The God of ALL comfort… What more does the little flock need….ALL COMFORT.

After the meeting, we heard more stories of “Where we were” in those 35 seconds. Cindy had just left her school. She would still have been in it, but, as class president, had spoken to the professor, reminding him that the class was for two hours, and that he had started one half hour early. He gladly complied….their early exit saved the class. Dupraz is the chief dispatcher for SECOM Rent-a-Car. For only the second time in his 13-year career with this company, he left work early. He always stops in at Caribbean Market, the biggest and nicest grocery store in Haiti, on his way home, which is just across the street from his office. Every other work day of the year he would have been inside the store at exactly the moment the quake hit. Hundreds perished in its collapse. Twenty-seven days after the quake, a survivor was pulled out alive. It hit the news!! But later the hushed reality hit, he was a looter trapped inside by another tremor. At least he was saved alive. Daphne was in the morning session of her school. Thousands died in the afternoon session of this highly coveted school for girls when it collapsed during the afternoon session. Dany was at home. She bolted out of the house and ran to find her mother, Mary, who sits by the street selling vegetables. On the trail she suddenly turned back. Just ahead of her, two men who were running with her were crushed when a hillside home crumbled and crashed on the trail. We took these folks home. Home is now the tents that have been shared with us. They are so grateful and proud of them. Homercille, told me a neighbor was jealous of the tent and threatened to burn it when she went out. It rained hard in the night. She went to that neighbor and asked them to come and spend the night with her in the tent. Twelve people took refuge in the little tent together. Last night it rained for the first time in months at parched Cabaret. My old tent that I use at preps and convention time leaked on me. I laid awake thinking about the thousands under sheets and wished they had the tent. This old world is hardly a place for a family with all its disasters and dangers. But God has woken us with a feeling and love for Family, and He has prepared a HOME that is perfectly worthy of FAMILY. FAMILY FOREVER. Our hearts cry at His wisdom in not leaving us here forever.

This morning we plan to put a 30 X 60 tent. Tomorrow the Jamaican army will bring a group of Jamaican doctors and nurses to give this area a “Day Clinic.” We hope to set up some tables, beds and chairs to make it a little more comfortable and the tent will provide some shade for the doctors and those waiting in line.

Regarding the moratorium the government had passed on building in Port-au-Prince, we have good news. When I spoke with the Minister of Justice on the phone and asked him if we could proceed, he gave me an appointment to see him. I took this to mean he needed more details than what could be shared over cell phones. So I went prepared with sketches that would convince him that the engineering would be earthquake and hurricane resistant and pictures of building materials to be used that are good quality. It wasn’t that at all. He just wanted to see me as an old friend. He stood up from his desk and came around and gave me a big hug….the mode of the day when you meet your friends alive. He shared his experience. He was in his second floor office of the Ministry of Justice. He woke up in the choking dust, in the two-foot space under a fallen pillar that had jammed in a way to hold up the debris of the building, leaving him this “space of life”. He found the chief of staff lying beside him in the dark alive. Four hours later, rescuers pulled them out. He went right to work helping search for his colleagues. Nineteen were found alive. Fifteen perished. He found a close friend pinned under the concrete. He spoke to him, gave him water to drink, and his friend closed his eyes and died. When we got around to doing business, I never showed him anything. I explained what we wanted to do to help, and he just said, “Dan, there is no problem…go ahead.” I felt so relieved. So glad.

Today, once the tent is in order, we plan to start on Orel’s house. Really, it was just shaken apart as it probably never had enough cement in it from the beginning to stick together. Some of these places in Port-au-Prince don’t have an easy solution. They would not be difficult to repair, but they have a neighbor’s house looming on the next shelf cut out of the mountain directly above them, ready to fall in the next tremor. There is no such thing as a “safe space” …they are one on top of the other. And the friends’ homes in some cases pose an equal threat to the house below. Looking at them would give you the impression that they were hastily built. It couldn’t be more contrary. It’s taken them years to build their little homes. In order to build something and get out of the never ending grind of facing an angry landlord for late rent, this is what they do. If someone has a salaried job, government or company, they enter a “sole.” This means two or three very trusted friends put their monthly salaries together. This month the combined salaries are mine. The next two months, yours and then yours. With the combined salaries, they rush to buy stones and cement to start a foundation on a rented (10 year) little plot of land on the mountain side stretching high above Port-au-Prince. Four months later, it’s your turn again, and you rush to buy a few sacks of cement and sand at a shaving cheaper price because of this combined capital, and pay a man on the side of the street to make cement blocks in a single block form. The blocks are stacked. Patiently waiting for the next turn. Then you buy more cement to make mortar and put up a few blocks. Often, at this point, you find the land never belonged to the person you rented it from, and you start all over again. During this long period of time, sometimes years, the salaried spouse’s income is being consumed in this way. They live on the income of the other, who maybe makes fried pork to sell on the street, selling water, selling fruit, selling used clothes, whatever. It is a glorious day when the little couple and their babies can enter the one-room shelter with tin over their heads, blocks not yet used to stack in the door at night for protection and hold each other, and thank God for their deliverance from paying rent. It is not a home hastily built as it appears to be.

We have a beautiful morning. It is usually 92 degrees in the shade by noon. Tomorrow we look forward to Derek coming again from the doctor with supplies and also my brother (Flip), his wife (Jan), and son (Willy). They can help us for a week. With joy, I look forward to this.

Mike has had good luck sharing water truck loads of water with the camps in the streets near Vaillant. But the boys were aggressive when trying to share bags of food. The government has decreed that only women can stand in lines now for the distributions, and it seems to be working better. Even then, it’s a huge job to get it done.

It was a special moment to see Caridad again at Vaillant. She’s looking good. The wound is healing but “not all healed yet” for sure. I asked her if she liked the helicopter ride…..”I LOVED it!!!!”

Again, with our gratitude. Your brothers in Haiti

I have a favorite story and I try to tell this story every place I go. So, I have a choice of telling the story either here or next week. Anyway, we don’t want to put it off until next week. The story is about my father during the second World War. He was on a submarine in the South Pacific and this day they were on the surface of the sea and an accident took place and the submarine began to dive unexpectedly, very suddenly going down. The hatches were opened and there were men on the deck. There was a scramble to get inside. My father was inside safely. There were 88 men on the ship. At the last moment, there was still one hatch that was open and one young officer, Lieutenant Blenn, was outside of that hatch and the water was beginning to rush in. He had only a couple of seconds to decide what to do. Try to enter and save himself and in that way maybe everyone would die or shut the hatch from the outside and make sure that he saved everyone else. This young man shut the hatch from the outside and saved everyone on the inside. He was then washed out to sea in a whirlpool of water. They never found his body. My father told me later that Lieutenant Blenn had been home on leave just before this and had his wedding. His young bride was waiting for him at home. But he never came home because he had given his life for his friends. One time, there is no greater love than this, that a man would give his life for his friends. When I think about that young man, Lieutenant Blenn, if he had not done that, I would not be here because that happened in 1944 and I was born a few years later. So if he had not done that I would not be here at convention. You know we always want to stop and think about the other one. The one on the outside who gave his life to save others and that was Jesus. If He had not done that, no one would be here. You would not be here and I would not be here. We would not have a convention. That is Jesus and we want to remember Him. I heard a story about a young family – father, mother, and son – and they were in a little boat. The boat capsized. The father was a very good swimmer but the mother and son did not know how to swim. The father was trying to save them both but the mother began to plead with him, “Save our son. You can’t save us both.” So he saved their son but his wife perished. She had given her life for her son.

We have a young man over there in Romania and in 1979, he offered for the work. He had to wait a long time. There was a law in Romania at that time under communism that you had to have a job or go to jail. There would be a lot of people in jail in the states right now, wouldn’t there? Anyway, that was the rule. So he had to wait 14 years to start out in the work. One time, we were in a little summer camp up there, before he went into work and he said, “I have a favorite verse and I am going to keep this verse in my heart. It is going to be my verse.” It was that same verse: there is no greater love than this that a man will give his life for his friend. He said, “I want to do that.” He is a very useful brother worker now but he had to wait 14 years to start out. I was thinking a little bit about Jesus giving His life. It’s kind of a picture of pure gold.

I think all of you know that when you purify gold in the fire, the impurities come to the surface. The purpose of that is to take the impurities away. We have things that happen in our life, you are under a little bit of pressure, in the fire a little bit and you said something that you should not have said or you did something that you shouldn’t have done or maybe you showed a spirit that wasn’t exactly perfect. Has that ever happened to you? When you’re in the fire and something comes to the surface, the purpose is so that it can be taken away. That is good because it is going to be taken away. That is me, but you look at someone else and you say, “Whoa, look at the way he reacted.” You see something on the surface that is not too good and you can criticize and say, “What a person they are,” and you forget that there is pure gold down underneath. Here Jesus was on the cross and there was nothing that came to the surface, it was just pure gold. He was in the fire but there were no impurities. He was the only one that was just like that. He was not just that way at the finish, but it was all of the way.

I was thinking about Abraham when he was going up the mountain. He was prepared to offer up his son, Isaac. In his hands he had two things, the fire and the knife. To sacrifice, we need the fire and we also need the knife. We might say that this matter of self-denial and cutting things off is suffering and we don’t want to do that. We have the love of God and the fire.

There were the Pharisees, and they were very strict. They had the knife all right, but Jesus said, “I know you. You have not the love of God in you.” To bring an acceptable sacrifice you have to have the fire and the knife.

In Mark 9, Jesus said that if your right hand offends you, cut it off. You’re going to have to have a knife to do that. I noticed that it doesn’t say there that if your brother’s right hand offends him, cut off his right hand. The knife is for you to use on yourself. Self denial means cutting off the things that shouldn’t be there. It will be painful but do it. That is part of sacrifice.

Back in the Old Testament in I Kings 18, there was Elijah the prophet and 450 prophets of the Baal. The test was to see who had the true God, Elijah or these prophets of Baal. So they put it to the test. They each prepared their altar and their sacrifice. The one whose God answered by fire from heaven would be the true God. The prophets of Baal prepared their sacrifice and began to cry with loud voices up to their God. They cut themselves with knives but there was no answer. They had the knife but they didn’t have the fire. Then there was Elijah who quietly had his sacrifice on the altar and poured water on it three times and filled a ditch around with water. He then quietly prayed to his God and fire came down from heaven showing that the sacrifice was accepted. Maybe you feel like that yourself sometimes, you put your life before God, then comes this fire from heaven, the love of God from heaven into your heart. This is showing that He is accepting your sacrifice. You used the knife and now He was giving you the fire you might say, “He is accepting your sacrifice, the fire and the knife.”

In Romania, there was one very religious man. He was very strict with his children. They were not allowed to go to the movies, no sir. One little 12-year-old girl went to the movies. He was so upset with her that he shaved her head bald. He had the knife but where was the love and the wisdom? That was kind of like the Pharisees, they had the knife but they did not have the fire. We need both the fire and the knife.

In II Corinthians 6:2, the other day I was telling you how I made my choice and that I had read a verse that really woke me up. Just a day or two before that last meeting, I finally did make my choice. I opened up my Bible again to this passage where it says, “Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.” Boy, that day was a tough one for me, a terrible day for me and a wonderful day for me, terrible and wonderful. The day of salvation is a terrible day and it is a wonderful day.

When the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea and the army of Pharaoh was behind them and the Red Sea was before them. There was no way through and there was no way back and there was no way out. What could they do? It was a terrible day. But God opened up the Red Sea and they could go through. What seemed impossible was possible and it was a wonderful day. It was a terrible day and it was a wonderful [day].

The jailer in Acts 16, when he saw that the earthquake had come, and all of the doors of the prison were open, he thought the prisoners had fled and he was going to kill himself. A terrible day, then he heard the words, “Believe on the Lord, Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” A terrible day and a wonderful day. The day that Jesus was on the cross was a terrible day, a terrible day but there had never been a more wonderful day. It was a day of salvation. The day of salvation is a terrible day and a wonderful day and we want to appreciate that. What God wanted to do with that was to win our hearts so that our hearts would belong to Him.

We have already heard about the parable of parables, when the Gospel goes forth, about the sower in the seed. If you had a nice big garden and you had a bag of seed that would cover all of your big garden, you might wonder how those little seeds are going to completely cover that big garden or you might say, “Conquer the garden, so that the garden would be covered by that seed.” The little seed begins growing and spreading out and the fruit appears. Even though it is small and weak, it covers the land.

I Corinthians 1:25 says, “The weakness of God is stronger than man,” and that is very true. Now, what is the weakness of God? If you want to see the weakness of God just look at Jesus on the cross. A human body suffering, not fighting for His own will, not asking for help from His Father to escape. The weakness of God is stronger than men because the weakness of God can conquer thousands of hearts and we see that often in this work. We’ve heard of some young sisters preaching the gospel and they had been in the work for maybe a half a year, and many hearts were won. It’s good that when we are weak, He can make us strong.

In Luke 15, it tells us about the prodigal son. When he came back to his father’s house, he was pleasantly surprised because of the love that his father showed to him. We could say very definitely that his father had conquered his heart by his goodness and his mercy. He had conquered his son’s heart.

In Exodus 21, we read about the Hebrew servant that served for six years but then in the seventh year he could say, “I love my master and my master’s house and I will not go free.” He had that choice. When he said that, it was a very good testimony about his master. It means that he was convinced that his master was very good and that this was the best place for him to be and he wanted nothing else instead. A very clear testimony, “I love my master and I will not go free.”

The other evening when some of you were listening and I was telling about our young brother worker who was put to a very difficult test. Probably the most difficult test of his life up to this point, which was a few years ago. It was his seventh year in the work. There was an opportunity to have what he had always wanted by nature. He could have chosen differently. I still remember his words that he wrote on a little slip of paper and left for me. He said, “I want to be a servant forever.” He was making the choice that “I love my master and I love my place and I’m going to stay in my master’s house no matter what the cost might be.” I want to be a servant forever. That is a wonderful testimony.

I’m going to tell you a story and this goes back to the darker days of American history when there was slavery in America. Maybe you have never heard this story. There was an auction where they were selling the slaves. There was a young black man up for auction – young, strong, and handsome. The price was going up for who was going to buy this black slave. There was one man there who kept raising the price. He kept bidding higher and higher. That slave saw him and in no uncertain terms and in not very nice words, he let him know that he was never going to serve him. He was never going to be a slave no matter how much he paid. In the end, that man bought him. The slave was crying out in not a very good spirit, “I am not going to serve you. You may have bought me but I am not going to serve you.” So the one who bought him, the new master, said, “You know, I was looking at you – young, strong, and handsome – and I felt so sorry for you so I bought you to set you free. Now you are free, you can go wherever you want to live the way you want to, you are free to go.” So this young slave fell down before his new master and said, “I will be your servant, your slave, forever.” He did not have to do that. It was his choice and that is what he chose to be, a servant forever.

There was a family over there in the Ukraine with seven children and the second to the last was a little boy named Tema. He was a typical little boy, a little bit stubborn but he got plenty of pats on the back, kind of lower down, you know. He was doing better and better, nice little fellow. Actually, he seemed to win the hearts of everybody in the family, everybody’s favorite little boy. The favorite of his grandparents and workers. He was three years old. One day, something happened and we would just have to say, “God took him.” An accident took place and he was in eternity. Their favorite little boy was in eternity.

There is a woman over there in Ukraine, her name is Oksana. She and her husband had just one son, one child. This was before they had heard the Gospel. This little boy was eight or nine and he got sick and went into eternity before the age of 10. Then the gospel came later and Oksana heard about God giving His only Son willingly as a sacrifice. The Gospel won her heart and she could understand that, she loved her only son. God had given His only Son for her sake, gladly, and her heart was won. She made a lot of changes. Her husband, a policeman, was listening also. This summer, she was baptized. Her heart was won and we would like to have our hearts won, also.

Hannah, when she kept her vow, took her little son Samuel after he was weaned. I don’t know how old he would have been because they fed them differently than they do now. They didn’t have all of these baby foods that we have now. Samuel was maybe a couple of years old. They took little Samuel, you might say to convention, once a year and left him behind. Sometimes you take something to convention and sometimes you leave something behind at convention. Samuel was the dearest thing to Hannah’s heart and she left him behind as a sacrifice.

There was one man in that meeting and his little daughter was going into the work that year. Actually, he was the owner of the convention grounds. He came up to me after the meeting and said to me, “You made me cry.” He was leaving his little daughter behind at Convention. Even though he was the man of the convention place, he was leaving something behind.

In the Old Testament when they had the Passover feast, on the 10th day of the first month when they were going to keep the Passover, they brought in a little lamb and he was there until the 14th day. There might have been some children in the home and they had this little lamb in the home for four days and he probably would have won their hearts. But he was going to have to die and it would not have been so easy. On that day when Jesus was on the cross there were people standing around across and Jesus had won their hearts. Jesus was suffering and they were suffering, also. When the resurrection came, because He had won their hearts, the greatest sorrow that they had ever had now became the greatest joy that they would ever have.

We think about Jacob in the Old Testament losing his son Joseph. The greatest sorrow that he ever had but when the time came that he saw his son Joseph again, almost like a resurrection, his greatest sorrow turned into his greatest joy. So it’s not so bad to have sorrow if it is turned to joy. It is good when God can win our hearts. The question would be, “What would be our response to all of these things?” We would not want all of the things that have been done for us to all be in vain. It would be nice if Jesus could look down from heaven and look at you and He would just be happy. He could say, “You know what I did and it was not in vain.” And He could just be happy knowing that it was not in vain.

One of our brother workers in Ukraine named Bill was learning the Ukrainian language, which is not a very easy task by the way. He was in his second year and had a new teacher. She was not too anxious to teach a foreigner but she had agreed to do it. She asked him why he wanted to learn Ukrainian. He said, “I am learning the language so that I can help Ukrainian people learn about the Bible.” “Okay,” she said, “I will be your teacher, but there are two conditions. First of all the text book will be the Bible and every day you will read me a chapter out of the Bible and explain it to me and I will correct your mistakes. The other condition is that I will not take one penny for the lessons.” She was a rich lady of course, and lived in a one room apartment which was the bedroom, living room and kitchen, with her husband and teenage son. After a couple of months of lessons, she asked him a question one day, “If you had come to the Ukraine knowing that you would only help one person, would you still have come?” Right away, Bill answered, “I would have come just to help one person.” Then she said, “Well, you came to help me.” After that lesson, he came home pretty happy. So, tough as it was, he had not come to the Ukraine in vain even though it was a real struggle. We would like to give that same feeling to Jesus as well.

We have heard a lot in this convention about “our best and our all.” Now for the kids, I am going to tell a couple of stories about our best, give of our best to the master. There was this little boy in school and he liked his teacher so he thought that he would like to bring her an apple from their apple tree at home. That’s kind of old-fashioned but it was something that they used to do. So he picked the best apple from the tree that he could reach and brought it to his teacher. He came to her desk and there were a couple of other apples on her desk that were bigger and better than his, so he was very discouraged and decided not to leave his apple there at all. He started to walk away but then he thought, “This is my best,” and he turned around and put his apple on the desk and went away very happy. He thought, “I just gave my best. Maybe it wasn’t better than someone else’s but it was my best.”

Here is another little story for the children: it was another day at school and it was the teacher’s birthday. Some of the children had a nice present for the teacher, all wrapped up with ribbons and all. There was one little boy from a very poor family and he had nothing to give, nothing. But after school, he came up with a gift just as well. It was wrapped in brown paper. So after school the teacher opened up his gift, also. It was dried bread wrapped in brown paper. The teacher knew that every day when this poor boy came to school his lunch was just dried bread wrapped in a brown paper bag. He had given her his lunch. That was all he had. The next day the teacher thanked the children for the gifts that they had given but she said, “The best gift was given by this little boy. Nobody gave anything better than that.”

In Iowa in 1932, there was a young brother worker and after the Gospel meeting one of our friends found him in the living room and he was crying. The friend asked him, “Why are you crying?” He said, “You know, I did not give my best in the meeting.” You would suppose that that young brother worker would just give up and go back home, but no, he continued the rest of his life trying to give his best until he was up in his 80s and went into eternity. He labored in China and in the Philippine Islands and he gave his best. Now we would also like to give our all. Not just our best but our all.

Most of you know about the widow who gave two mites. She could have given just one but she gave two. I don’t know just what that means to everyone individually. For Jesus, that might have meant the first mite was to live a perfect life, teach people the truth and be an example, and the second mite was going to the cross. If He had just given the first mite and not the second mite, everything that He had done would have been in vain. Well, maybe for some of our friend’s children the first mite is to learn to obey your mom and dad. Sometimes I read that verse that says, “Children, obey your parents in all things.” But wouldn’t it be kind of neat if we could just kind of erase that word, “all?” Just leave it, children obey your parents and cross out the words, in all things. Well, you’re not supposed to cross out things in the Bible. So you are to obey your parents in all things. With children it might be obeying their parents is the first mite but to give the second mite would be learning to obey God, otherwise giving the first mite would be in vain. To obey your parents.

Maybe for some of the older people, you have gone through a lot of trials and tests and now in your old age maybe you have some illness and suffering ahead but you want to be faithful to the end. Well if you are not faithful in giving that second mite, being faithful to the end, everything up till then would be in vain. We want to be willing to give the second mite. I spoke about this at a convention quite a while ago in Iowa. There was one young woman in that meeting and that really got her. After that meeting, she offered for the work. She decided that she would give the second mite. That was her second mite but that is not for everyone. We would just like to be willing to give our all.

There is a woman there in Mark 14 and she broke the alabaster box. She gave her all. You might say that she was doing in a natural sense what Jesus was doing in a spiritual sense. Jesus’ life was like a box that was filled with the most fragrant odors, fragrant ointment, a perfect spirit, but the box was going to be broken and the odor was not going to just fill the house but was going to fill the whole world. His spirit would go out into the whole world and would be a blessing to many people. That woman was willing to break the box naturally and Jesus did the same thing spiritually. You might say to take that second step and give the second mite.

I told a story at another convention a couple of weeks ago about a little girl and her name was Christie. She was a little girl with Down’s syndrome and I am going to complete what I didn’t tell a couple of weeks ago. She liked to read the Bible even though she couldn’t read and she liked to write letters to the workers even though she couldn’t write. She was very hearty but very limited. I will just say that the church where I went to when I was a boy, the preacher never spoke very long until he got off on financial matters which seemed to be close to his heart. He got fervent on those things. Now if you will excuse me I am going to get off on these financial matters and you will forgive me, okay? Here is little Christie with her mother one evening. I got a letter from Christie and her mother and a letter from my mother. Christie’s mother explained what happened. Christie asked, “Where is Dan?” “Well, he is off in Romania.” “Does he have enough to eat and a place to sleep?” She wasn’t sure but said, “I think so.” Christie went off to her room and brought back her piggy bank, which was her prized possession. It was nearly full. She took the money and said, “I want to send Dan some help so that he has enough to eat.” She started shaking out the coins on the table until the piggy bank was empty. Her mother asked her, “How much?” They counted and she had $3.77 and her mother asked her, “How much do you want to send to Dan?” She said, “Everything, of course.” So little Christie gave everything she had and a month later, she was in eternity. But she had that testimony that she had given her all. At her funeral it was said, “She had done what she could.” Quite a testimony for a little girl with Down’s syndrome who died very young.

At a meeting several years ago, there was an old sister worker whose name was Hazel Hughes, a sister to Garrett Hughes. She was up in her 80s and speaking in a meeting about giving the last drops of our sacrifice. They were kind of weighty words because she was giving the last drops of her sacrifice.

I am going to tell you one thing that I won’t forget from this convention. I might forget a lot of things but one thing that I will not forget is what Betty told us the other day about the last drops of your sacrifice, very precious pouring it out before God. I will remember that. I may forget even what I have said but I will remember that. That was the best thing at this convention so far already. Maybe someone can top that but I can’t, I am not that far along. Maybe there is someone who has done a lot for you, maybe a friend. Someone that has done this and that for you and they come over and ask you, “Can you come over and help me?” And you think, “I’m sorry, I am too busy, I have no time, but he has done so much for me so I am going to make the time to help. Whatever you ask me to do, I am going to do it because you have been such a good friend to me.” That is the way that I feel about Jesus. He has done so much for me that if He comes around and asks me, “Will you please do this?” I cannot say, “No,” because He has done so much for me. That is the only thing that I can reasonably do because He has done so much for me.

I was in a convention at a kind of a distant place a year and a half ago and I was talking about this. I noticed that there was one young woman in the middle of the crowd. She looked like she had been electrified. I don’t know what happened to her but anyway, her name is on the workers list now. Something happened to her and she decided, “Well, the Lord has asked me to do something and she couldn’t say, ‘No.’” We want to be willing to do whatever He asks us to do.

When I went over to Romania to labor, there was an old sister worker. Her name was Bernice Riser, a wise old sister worker. She said to me, “What looks like a sacrifice is usually a privilege.” And she was right. We are glad that we have the privilege of sacrificing for His sake, because He sacrificed for our sake.

Leviticus chapter 1 tells us about the altar and the whole burnt offering. Jesus brought the whole burnt offering by giving His all. Really for Christians, believers, that is kind of the equivalent of Romans 12:1, present your bodies a living sacrifice unto God which is your reasonable service. Give your life to God. That is kind of the New Testament equivalent of the whole burnt offering. When a little baby is born, you say, “This little baby only belongs to the parents 75%.” No, this baby is a gift from God and belongs to the parents 100%. He has been given to you to care for and he is yours 100%. When you are born again, you belong to God 100%. You can no longer say, “I belong to myself.” We would like to bring this whole burnt offering.

In the Old Testament there were three different sacrifices that we hear about quite a bit. Maybe before that, I’ll mention that salvation comes in three steps. The first step of salvation is: Jesus gave His life for us. The second step is that we respond to that and say, “I’m going to give my life to God.” The third step is that God sees that and God gives us a new life which is eternal life, salvation. That is a little bit like these three sacrifices that we read about in the Old Testament. Usually we read about these three and usually they’re in the same order; the sin offering, the whole burnt offering, and the peace offering. The sin offering, that is Jesus; the whole burnt offering, we give our life to God; the peace offering is what God gives to us when we give Him our lives, He gives us peace. That is a great thing for us and for those around us when we have peace and joy. Everyone would like to be with people like that.

There was Hannah in the Old Testament and she wasn’t very happy. She didn’t have any peace nor any joy. What was the problem? She was coming to the convention every year, coming to the feast, but she wasn’t happy and she wasn’t joyful. They brought their sacrifice, their peace offering, but she hadn’t really brought the whole burnt offering. Then there was that day that she made a promise to God, “You give me a son and I will give him back to you. This will be from you, through you and to you, a sacrifice.” So she gave a whole burnt offering and she got the peace offering. She was singing a new song which she had never sung before and she had this joy and peace that she had never had before because she finally had brought the whole burnt offering. She had finally given her all.

Let us go back to Exodus 24. We talked about the blood of Jesus and there was also the blood of the Old Testament. They sacrificed animals and they took the blood and Moses did something with it. Exodus 24:7 says that Moses had read them all of the law and the people answered, “All that the Lord has said, we will do and be obedient,” and he sprinkled them with blood after they had said that. Now if we could do that with God and say, “All you have asked, I will do and I will be obedient.” The important word is “all.” Then the blood comes into play. If we are not willing to do all that the Lord has said, then the blood of Christ does us no good at all. It’s only after we have said that that we are sprinkled with the blood.

When I was a boy, my mother was really a good mother but she had those things that she kind of wanted me to do. Every Saturday morning, my mother made a list for every one of us kids, the things to do on Saturday morning. As soon as you were done with everything on the list, you were free to go and play. I remember that the list was kind of long, maybe eight or 10 things. Some things I liked to do and would do them rather quickly but there were always one or two things that I really didn’t want to do but I knew that I would not be free until I got them all done. I suffered quite a bit sometimes when I did what I didn’t want to do but when I did I was free. I needed to be willing to do it all to gain the promise of being free to go and play.

I’ll mention one other thing in the Old Testament. The leper, when he was cleansed, was supposed to bring a sacrifice to the priest to show that he had been cleansed. There were two birds that he was supposed to bring. One would be killed in an earthen vessel under running water and the second bird would be dipped in the blood of the first and would be set free to fly over the open field. When we read about that, we might think that we don’t understand that quite too well. I think that it is quite clear what that means. The first bird is Jesus. He is the heavenly creature, from heaven, living in the human body (the earthen vessel). He was killed in the earthen vessel over the running waters of this world. Not in the water but over the water, you might say. Not affected by this world. He is the first bird. The second bird was dipped in the blood of the first and set free to fly over the open field. A beautiful picture of being set free to fly over the open field. That is a picture of what we should be, dipped in the blood and set free. There is nothing more sad to me than to see a bird that cannot fly. Have you ever seen a little bird that is sick or injured? You almost want to take the little bird home and feed it or do something to make it well so that it can fly.

There was a little girl over there in Romania, she was 12 years old. She talked to her dad and said, “Daddy, I want to talk to you, just the two of us together.” “Well, what do you want to talk about?” “Daddy, you know you have taught us to pray and every night I have been praying but I don’t have words to express how I feel but the last little while I have been praying more and I have a lot of joy but I can’t put it into words, Daddy.” So here was this little girl, sometimes you say that kids are little angels but you wonder what kind, but here she was sprouting her wings and learning to fly spiritually. It is nice to see a little girl who has joy. She is all grown up now and lives in Washington state, by the way, you might figure out who she is. The effect of Jesus’ sacrifice can be the right thing and the right thing is that if we are willing for all and give our best then we can have peace and we can have joy. The conditions for that is, that we have to give our all and be obedient when God asks us to give the second mite. There is much more that could be said but let us sing a hymn, number 245.

Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:46:09 -0700

Hello from upstairs in the main house, the one we are working on. This morning I got up early in our tent out in the field, came upstairs to shower, and immediately the house was shaking. It is only the second one I have felt, and it only lasted about 5 seconds, but it was enough to make the house make a little noise. No damage, though. Today, we finished the last of the 14 new pillars around the outside of the building, so tomorrow most all the crew can focus on the inside. Today we did have a problem. As we were taking out one section of the damaged concrete block wall, one of the pillars began to bow out. They immediately cleared out the building, but nothing else happened. We know the house settled a little in that point. Tomorrow, we hope to get up more of the sheer walls, there are 8 to do, and we have almost 3 completed. Also there will be several new pillars inside. The downstairs of this building is just one large room with no dividing walls, and we use it for a flag factory during the year, and ladies dorm during convention. We originally had 2 pillars downstairs, but now will have 6. When finished, this will be one strong building. We are losing some windows, there will be none in front, perhaps 1 in the back and losing 4 on the sides. We are looking forward to Derek H. coming back from the D.R. tomorrow, and bringing with him, Nancy Kidd, wife of John who has been here since last week. Derek will be bringing some more supplies, but things are beginning to open up here, Dan was able to get propane today, and Mike said one of the supermarkets in P-au-P was open today, the open markets seemed pretty normal when we were there Sunday. So things are gradually getting back to a sense of normalcy. But hearts are heavy, and Dan said after talking with many of the friends, they said “Our heads are empty” like they just don’t have the capacity to think, plan, figure out what to do next. It will take some time, we just want to do what we can to support them until they are able to function normally again.

Thanks for your awesome support, Glenn Spunaugle

Dear friends and family,

Tonight finds us very thankful for the common convenience of a shower. About supper time, the cistern ran dry. Dan called the water man that we use, and convinced him to come tonight, so he came at about 7:00. You really can’t appreciate things until you have to do without them. I am thinking of all those sleeping in tents, and in the street under makeshift tents made out of bed sheets. It was cloudy all day, and I thought of those, and how it would be if it rained, and sometimes it can really rain here. This is the dry season, and the rainy season doesn’t start until April, so maybe it won’t. It seems that Luquel has found some land, and is getting the deal moving to build himself a new house, as his was damaged beyond repair, even though it did stand. It has been such a useful home, gospel meetings on the roof, under a tin canopy, Sunday morning meeting for the last few years, and I have enjoyed many a meal in their home, also many gospel meetings I have attended there. I am sure there are many more of our friends that will face the same, but Luquel is just one who goes ahead, doesn’t like to wait. Many are still kind of in shock, and think it is too early to rebuild. We are looking forward to a shipment of tents coming in Thursday, and some of our friends will be very grateful for that.

We had about 5 crews or teams going today, so we didn’t make major advances on any front, but good progress on a lot of fronts. Tomorrow, we should pour the last of the new outside pillars, and begin on the inside ones. We almost have 1/4 of the sheer walls up, the rest of the walls will be regular cement block.

Joe Layman makes 6 loaves of fresh bread every day, and there is not a crumb left over. Allan Saville is our main cook, and also does laundry for all of us, it sure is nice for us. We and six visitors have a tent out in the field, and an extension cord for a single bulb, and we think we have it pretty good. We are using the convention bed frames, so we are not on the ground.

We continue to marvel and be amazed at the outpouring of sentiment toward the people of Haiti, and especially our friends.

Thanks for your part, Glenn Spunaugle

God obviously esteemed Job very highly. I have been thinking quite a bit of Job and enjoyed studying through the book. I am sure that others have found exactly the same thing at times.

We heard in prayer that we sometimes cannot express how we feel. I don’t know if you’ve had this experience, I’m sure you have, I hope you have, that sometimes when you just don’t know how you feel and you cannot express what’s in your heart. We feel terrible. We feel miserable, we feel wretched. We don’t know how to pray, what to say. We don’t know how to express how we feel. Then we open this book and we find that a man who lived 3,700 years ago is telling me exactly how I feel in words that I could never express myself, so accurate that it absolutely frightens you. He’s telling you exactly how you feel. Exactly. You couldn’t put it in better words yourself. Have you had that? You know that’s an amazing thing and it tells us a few things. It tells us that this battle has never changed in 3,700 years, and a lot more. It’s never changed, this Spiritual battle. It still costs the same. It also tells us that we are not nearly as unique in our experiences and in our feelings as what we thought we were! It also tells us that the Way of God has not ever changed one iota. The people of God experienced and it felt in their struggle exactly the same, thousands of years ago, as we do today, so much so that they can explain our feelings now that we don’t even know how to explain ourselves.

In the beginning of this book, we find it almost looks like a challenge by Satan and that challenge was met. But there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s not only proving that Satan was wrong but there’s a lot more to it than that. This book gives us a wonderful shining example. It also answers some very difficult questions. We’re very glad for that. I’m sure that we would be very much poorer, our Bible would be very much poorer without this book of Job. Something that was quite remarkable to me was, after all that Job had said and his friends had said, and Job had said and his friends had said over and over again, at the end when God Himself spoke, you’ll notice that for a full four chapters God was talking to Job about the wonders of nature. That was how He answered him. He said, “Now you look at all these things. Do you understand them?”

Can you figure out how it happened, how it works? These from the littlest creatures – He spoke about the universe, He spoke about animals, He spoke about plants. He told Job to consider these things. Job said eventually, “Well I put my hand on my mouth, I was talking of things that I knew nothing about. I understand so little and I was saying so much.” Do you know what it shows me? I think it’s a good idea because this is what God Himself was saying It shows me it is a good idea for us to take a little more notice of the marvels, the wonders of nature. It’ll increase our faith. Some of us don’t know very much about it. There are amazingly interesting things, marvelous things to be seen in nature. It also shows us just a little about the character and the nature of God. Then it shows us something very important – how little we really understand, how little we really know. This brings me to something that has always been a help to me. It has been for many years already. That is, one day when I made a little decision all on my own, that was that I am not going to be so foolish as to doubt simply because I do not understand. That has been a help to me for a long, long time.

That is really what that is all about – just to help us to understand. That in effect is what God said to Job – you know so little and you’re doubting so much and it’s only because you don’t understand. If we could only know the greatness of God! The question is put in this book regarding suffering, misery, pain. That’s why I said there are some very difficult questions that are answered in this book and we are glad that they’re here. There is something else. You know, these “friends” of Job, when they spoke to him, they were so sure that everything that happened to him was because he had sinned so much. Really they had reason to think that way, because of what we read in the Old Testament. God had promised that His people would be healthy and that if they didn’t obey Him they would be afflicted with disease and so on. So really they did have some reason, but they had actually never seen these things that they had accused Job of doing. They just assumed it! You know, the Devil very effectively uses people who jump to conclusions! He uses people like that to sow misunderstanding, to sow trouble and to bring unnecessary sufferings – people who jump to conclusions, and I am one of them! Sometimes it looks so obvious. It’s a dangerous thing to assume people’s motives! Even if it looks obvious. Things are not always what they seem. Many a time, perhaps most of the time things are not what they seem. It is good to remember that.

Just a few thoughts in this book. In the 1st chapter 11th verse(Job1:11), Satan said, “Put forth Thy hand now and touch all that he hath and he will curse Thee to Thy face.” The devil thought that he would and God knew that he wouldn’t. This tells us that the devil doesn’t know us as well as God knows us. God knows us better than what the devil knows us. The devil thought he would and God knew that he wouldn’t. When he finally wouldn’t the devil even tried to use his wife, to prod her and said, “Tell him to curse God and just end it all. Curse God and just finish his life.” But we know what Job answered his wife when she started with that. Not only does God know us better than the devil knows us but God knows us a lot better than we know ourselves. He knows what we are able to take a lot better than we know ourselves. Sometimes we think we can’t take it, that we wouldn’t be able to take a little bit more. God knows we can. We think we can’t but He knows we can, but He also knows what He is doing through that suffering and pain in our lives. He knows that even though we feel we cannot take it now, but in all we are going to be ever so thankful for it when we realise what He’s done through it. That’s the thing that we so easily forget. Then God said to Satan, “Alright, he’s in your power, only upon himself put not forth thy hand.” This was the first, and each time God put a condition. I like that very much, so the devil couldn’t just do what he liked either. He was limited by what God allowed. The devil is limited. He can do a lot but he is only limited to what God allows. God is Almighty and He said to Abraham, “I am your shield,” and if God is our shield, we can be absolutely certain that not one single thing is going to come to us unless God allows it. If He allows it, He knows it may hurt but He also knows it is going to be good for us in the end. We read toward the end of that first chapter: it says that Job rent his mantle and he shaved his head and he fell down upon the ground, but then he said, “I came naked out of my mother’s womb, naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” A marvelous, solid attitude. We heard about attitude today. What a marvelous attitude but it was not without terrible distress. This is not possible unless we are very, and continually conscious of God. He said that the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, I think that helped him to bear the loss. If somebody comes and steals your car that you’d paid a lot of money for, you’d feel pretty bad about that, but if somebody lends you a car and he comes tomorrow and he says he needs it back, you’ll not feel so bad. He’d only lent it to you anyway and I do believe that it is going to help us a lot when we suffer some terrible losses in this life, if we just remember, “It’s all lent to me anyway! Someday I am going to lose everything, natural possessions and also all natural relationships.” They are all going to be gone. If it doesn’t happen now it is going to happen sooner or later anyway. I think it helps us to take it a bit better if we realised that we are only losing a little earlier what we are going to lose anyway. Sometimes by losing it a little earlier, it does us a lot of good. It’s very hard for us sometimes to keep our eyes lifted up.

When his wife said to curse God and die, Job wanted to die. In the next chapter he said, “Let the day perish wherein I was born.” He cursed the day in which he was born and later in that chapter, he said, “Wherefore is life given to him that is in misery and life unto the bitter in soul which long for death but it cometh not. I dig for it more than for hidden treasures. I’d rejoice exceedingly and would be glad if I could just find the grave.” He was just longing to die, he couldn’t stand it any more…BUT he didn’t commit suicide! I wonder if this is a little bit how that demoniac felt when he was amongst the graves? I wondered sometimes why he was amongst the graves. Maybe he felt like this too, “If only I could die.” He was so miserable and so wretched, wishing to die and being among the tombs. Maybe envying these people that are lying there … but HE didn’t commit suicide either. Job still had enough of the fear of God in his heart that he felt he couldn’t put forth his own hand to that thing. Very, very fortunate and we can be very thankful and Job will be for all eternity, that he didn’t put his own hand to that in spite of his terrible misery. He spoke in the 23rd verse of the 3rd chapter, “Why is light given to a man whose way is hid and whom God hath hedged in.”(Job3:23) He felt, “Doesn’t matter what I do, it is wrong on every side no matter which way I go, it’s just misery and disaster. Nothing works out. I am just hedged in on every side.” In another place, he said, “I feel like God has set me for a target and He’s just throwing His arrows at me.” He felt that God was against him. It seems that he really felt that God was against him. Even in spite of that he kept true. You remember what Naomi said? She also said, “God is against me,” so she said not to call her Naomi but to call her Mara, bitter, but you know in spite of that she kept true.

In the end of the 4th chapter we read – I will read it in my revised version which is in my margin, speaking about those who were destroyed, “Is not their tent cord plucked up with them?”(Job4:21) Do you know what that made me think of? I didn’t hear it first hand, I heard it second-hand. I think it was in America, quite a long time ago. A worker spoke about an experience at a certain convention and it was a place like this where they had tents at the convention. During the convention there was an old man who had lived there all his life and he came along and he said to the worker responsible for the convention, he said, “I can see that we are in for a bad storm. You had better double-stake your tents!” The worker took notice of the old man and they double staked the tents. Do you know how you do that? Afterwards the brothers will explain it to you, if you ask them. They double-staked their tents and that storm came up and he said it was a terrible storm. The worker said that they were glad that they had double-staked the tents. Then he spoke and he said, “There may be a terrible storm coming up for some of us after we leave this convention, we don’t know.” All he said was, “You had better double-stake your tent!” If you read the beginning of the book of Job, then you’ll be able to see that Job was a man who double-staked his tent. That was why, no matter how the storm came, no matter how fierce the tempest was, no matter how it “rukked” and “plukked” at his tent, the cords were not pulled out. That’s why that tent stood.

I noticed some words in chapter 7 and verse 6, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and are spent without hope”(Job7:6). Sometimes one feels like that. You know that the weavers shuttle just going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Sometimes we feel that our lives are just going by a day at a time and very quickly too. You know the weaver’s shuttle is going back and forth, and back and forth, but it’s leaving a thread that’s weaving a cloth. Our days are going back and forth and back and forth. Sometimes seemingly, as Job thought here, without hope, without much to be seen for it, but you know, as the days go back and forth they are leaving a thread that is weaving our testimony. I noticed in the 20th verse of that chapter he said, “I have sinned. What do I unto thee?”(Job7:20) Look in the margin again. Even if I sin, what do I do to God, He is so great and I’m so small, how can I do anything to harm or to hurt God? Well I suppose, come to think of it and the greatness of God, we can never comprehend it and I suppose in comparison we can hardly comprehend how small we are. One would be inclined to think, “Whatever could I do to hurt God or to bring Him loss?” Do you know that there is something that changes this. That is simply the fact that God loves us. You know very well that it is the person that you love is the person that has the power to hurt you. That is the reason why we can hurt Him. He loves us and that is why we little mortals have the power to hurt Him.

Then in the 9th chapter I saw in the 16th verse where Job said, “If I had called and you’d answered me, yet would I not believe that He had hearkened to my voice”(Job9:16). He was feeling pretty low to say words like that. Even if He spoke I wouldn’t believe that He’d answered me. You know it would be too bad if we got so discouraged and so down in ourselves, that we wouldn’t even recognise when God does speak. We can say this…maybe we come to convention with a heavy heart when we think of what we are and what we have been. No victory and we’re feeling miserable and we feel well, “I’m sure God won’t speak to me. How can I even expect Him to speak to me.” We need to be careful not to get into such a state that we won’t recognise it when He does speak. We need to have an open ear. Do you know what is a danger? Sometimes God chooses a certain person, it may well be in one of your testimonies, to say the very thing you need to hear, and you could miss it because your mind is wandering, thinking of something else and missed it and that was the very thing that God had for you in this convention. It doesn’t matter what the past has been, what the present is even, but if we really have a desire in our hearts, “If only God will speak to me, I am going to do what He says.” If you have that kind of spirit we can assure you that God WILL speak. It’s hard to get that thing settled in our hearts. A few verses late in the 20th verse, he says, “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me”(Job9:20). This reminded me of what I heard many years ago also. I have never forgotten it and it has been a help to me many times. I don’t remember who said it. “NEVER justify yourself. If you’re in the right you’ve got no need to do it, and if you’re in the wrong, you’ve got no right to do it!” so NEVER justify yourself, just leave it to God. That’s wonderful advice.

In the 9th chapter in the 29th verse, he says, “If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?”(Job9:29) In the margin, it says, “I am going to be condemned so why then do I labour?” In other words he felt, “Well, I’m finished anyway. I’m condemned anyway. God’s condemned me so what am I still struggling for?” That’s a very dangerous thing and fortunately it was only in a short moment of terrible despair that Job said that. You can see later on that that was not his general attitude at all. That would be another terrible thing too, to give up hope for ourselves when God still has hope for us.

It’s a dangerous thing to be our own judge. Better to leave that to God. I’ll tell you another little secret, that’s another thing that helped me long ago. Just a little choice or shall I call it a decision, a resolution. I decided that if I’m going to go lost someday it’s going to be because God gave me up, not because I gave up. I made up my mind about that. Doesn’t matter how terrible I feel but I’m not going to give up. If I’m going to go lost someday it’s going to be because God gave me up, not because I gave up myself. I’m still going to hope in His mercy, I know it is greater than the measure of man’s mind. It’s far better to let God be the judge.

In the 12th chapter and the 3rd verse he said something a little surprising, “I’m not inferior to you”(Job12:3). That’s what he said. You see Job did not have an inferiority complex, but he WAS a humble man. We can say that because the two are VERY different. Humility makes for a very loveable person but an inferiority complex makes for a very difficult person. Inferiority complex is unfortunately a very difficult thing, it reacts so differently. A person that’s humble and corrected, of course they feel hurt, their pride is hurt too and they feel ashamed … but they get down to it and they realise, “I have got to get down to it and I have got to correct that. That’s all.” That’s a humble person, but you know a person with an inferiority complex, they immediately respond, “I can’t do anything right. Everything I do is wrong. I’m no good.” They take offence and they withdraw more into themselves than ever. You cannot get near them. They put themselves beyond help. They become a difficult person. Of course people like that, they react strangely and they don’t realise it themselves. An inferiority complex makes people react in a strange way and that causes them to be misunderstood. When they are misunderstood the inferiority complex grows bigger and it becomes a vicious circle. It is very different from humility. Job was a humble man but he did not have an inferiority complex.

I noticed the 12th verse. There again in the margin it says, “Your memorable sayings (this is Job talking to his comforters) are proverbs of ashes.”(Job12:12) In other words… all very nice words but all burnt out old sayings. I was in a place one time and just by coincidence where there was a lady lying very sick. She was not one of our friends and while I was there a minister came in and oh my, I don’t know when I had heard such smooth, beautiful words that he said to her. It was like decorated ice cream. His words were beautiful but you know you could just tell…it was like a little recitation and he had obviously said the same thing dozens of times by different bedsides. It just came out so beautifully. Beautiful words can sound very hollow but words that are simple and sincere, genuinely from the heart, can be very beautiful.

Then in the 13th chapter in the 26th verse, he says, “Thou makest me to posses the iniquities of my youth.” You know, for a child of God there is only one thing that is going to bring back past iniquities. Only one thing, that is if we are not prepared to forgive a brother or a sister. If we’re not prepared to forgive then our own iniquities come back on our own head and that is what the Lord Jesus said Himself. A dangerous thing but that is the only thing.

In the 16th chapter in the 2nd verse, he said, “Miserable comforters are you all.”(Job16:2) When they first arrived there where Job was, it says that they sat there for seven days and seven nights and they did not say one single word. They realised that his suffering was immense and then they were wonderful comforters. They didn’t say a single word, they just sat there feeling with him, wonderful comforters, but then they opened their mouths and started talking a lot, thinking that they were saying the right thing. Well if you read what his friends said, a lot of it was true and a lot of it was very good BUT it was the wrong thing! The wrong time, the wrong place, that was the problem.

Sometimes we just think we have to say something, in some circumstances, and we blurt out the wrong thing. If we just kept quiet and were with the person then maybe it would have been a lot better. I like so much what I read about a little girl. She had just come back home from visiting next door where her little friend had died. Her father said, “Where have you been?” “Oh,” she said, “I’ve been next door to comfort Mrs Smith.” Her father said, “What in the world could YOU do to comfort her?” “Oh,” she said, “I climbed up on her lap and I cried with her.” I liked that. Now there was a comforter.

In the 1st verse of the 17th chapter, he said (excuse me going to the margin which is the revised version but it is just that I liked that), “My spirit is broken.”(Job17:1) You know what that made me think of? I’d like to remember it too. It was what Willie Pollock told us, (a brother who laboured in Panama who is from Ireland). He said that discouragement breaks down our spirit and it opens the way for other wrong inclinations to come in. Very true! I just noticed in the 22nd chapter there that Eliphaz was talking about all the wrong things that he had thought Job had done, you can read it yourself. Verses 6-9, he accused him of quite a lot of things that Job had never actually done but he imagined it and he probably thought he was quite right.(Job22:6-9)

You know sometimes we imagine what the situation is and we feel quite smug and we are quite sure we are accurate in our assessment of it, but we can make some terrible mistakes. A long time ago, there were two workers who were using a post office box and one day one of our friends was going to go in that direction and they gave him the key and asked him to please collect their mail. So this person went and opened the box and got the mail out and there was the mail for the workers and amongst it there was also a letter for a young professing man in that place. So this person that collected the mail, afterwards he gave the young man this letter and he said to him, “You’ve got a cheek! Using the workers’ post office box for your own use! Quite a cheek you’ve got.” Well the young man didn’t say anything but that person who spoke to him did not know that it was that young man’s box that he was letting the workers use. Sometimes we guess and we feel so smug and we think that we’ve got the right assessment but we can make some terrible mistakes and make awful fools of ourselves. One has to be so careful, as I said, not jumping to conclusions, not assuming people’s motives. It might look obvious but we can make some terrible mistakes.

I think my time has gone but anyway I wonder if I might just mention one more little thing. In the 26th chapter, he said, “Whose spirit came from thee?”(Job26:4) This is what Job was saying. You know, when it comes to talking with people, winning an argument or convincing people is not so important as the spirit that we show. This man said a lot of things but Job just said to him simply, “Whose spirit was that?” You know sometimes I have had to ask myself, “Now Ernest, after this little thing that we have had, whose spirit was that now? Was that the spirit of Ernest Robinson or was that the spirit of Christ?” That made me feel pretty bad. “Whose spirit came from you?” Sometimes we may feel bad when we get into an argument with some of these people who know their Bibles backwards like the Jehovah Witnesses and so on. We find that they get us into a corner and we can’t answer and we feel terrible. We think, “Surely if I had the presence of God, I should be able to flatten them. I should be able to answer them,” but you know, that’s not the way it is. Don’t worry about that. Do you know that Jesus said when He sent His disciples, He said, “I am sending you as lambs among wolves.” If we could win every argument and flatten everybody in every argument we would not be lambs among wolves at all, we would be lions among wolves. That is not how we were sent. It’s a matter of showing the spirit of the lamb that’s far more important. There was a young Jehovah Witness in one place that visited one of the workers. Came to the batch where the workers were and was arguing his head off. This verse and that verse, but later that man was disappointed in what he had, even though he grew up in it. He came back and he wanted to hear more. Later he professed and I am sorry to say that he is not going on. He hasn’t gone back to the Jehovah Witnesses but this money bug, making money, is what got him. Anyway one thing I’d like to tell you. He said that man that I’d met would NEVER have convinced me with any argument. The thing that brought me back when I was disappointed in the Jehovah Witnesses was just that I had never met a man with a spirit like that! He himself said, “Don’t think that you are going to help any of those people with argument.” No you won’t do it that way. He said, “What brought me back was, I had never met a man with a spirit like that!”

The time has gone but I like thinking of Job and because of that I like thinking of the words of a hymn. It’s not in our book.

“Not now, but in the coming years, It may be in the Better Land, We’ll read the meaning of our tears And then, someday, we’ll understand.”

After Jesus fed the multitudes, the leftovers were likely used to feed Him and His disciples for some time, as we know that Jesus was not working miracles to feed Himself. So the leftovers were possibly used for a more noble purpose than all the rest, because later we see that many of the multitude that followed were told that they were only following for the sake of the bread and fish.

I thought of the “leftovers” in God’s kingdom – those who have become leftovers of life for Jesus’ sake and for their testimony’s sake. One might wonder why Mary and Martha were not married…but we only need to look around at many of our young sister saints to understand. Not all have the health for the work, and not all are called for the work. Many would like to settle down, but because God has the first place in their lives, they are not just going to settle for anything that wears trousers and says it is professing. They would want someone whom they could be proud to introduce to any worker or saint as their husband; one who would help to build a Godly home, one who would be a worthy father bringing up the children in the fear of God. It has been said, “Some women marry males, but they are certainly not men.” James Johnston says, “Some women choose a husband in a worse light than they would choose a hat.” We know only too well that there are not just too many such worthy young men eligible, as usually the qualities that a noble young woman would look for are the very qualities that cause the young man to think of the work. So it’s not hard to understand Mary and Martha’s position. However, such young sisters are also human, and they would see a happy young professing couple, perhaps a meeting in the home…all so commendable and right in the sight of God…and they would look at those cute little children, and secretly feel a stab of pain deep down inside and feel, “I am just one of the leftovers of life.”

In one place where I was there was a very nice young brother, and a very nice young sister, and they found each other. One day, they were together with several other saints and were being teased and enjoying it…all so happy! But in the company, there was a young sister who knew that such a day would never come for her. However, she was also teasing the young couple and laughing just as brightly as the rest. But there was one fleeting moment when she obviously thought no one was looking…and I didn’t miss the flash of pain in her eyes. How I admired that sister! “Behind many a smiling face there lies a broken heart.” I wish I could hide my feelings so well!

In our country, there is a man for whom I have the deepest respect. When he professed, his wife left him with three little children. So he became one of the “leftovers.” All the years, he has kept his life free and struggled on bringing up those children, washing their clothes, and cooking their food after coming from work, and teaching them to love and revere God. No one can know the bitter struggles that must have been in his heart many a day; the temptations, the daily self-denial of human nature. He is a fine man and could easily have found another wife, but he wanted to keep within the will of God. Only God knows what it cost him, and only God knows what the reward will be!

In America, there was a woman whose husband left her because of the truth, and she was left with three boys to bring up. This was made extra difficult because some of the boys resented the truth, feeling that it was the cause of their father leaving, and they also resented the meetings which had been placed in their mother’s home. But she persevered and God was with her, and today one of those boys is in the work, and there are countless numbers of people rejoicing in the truth and thanking God for him. His name is Andrew Abernethy. But behind the scenes, there was a noble mother who had the willingness and the courage to face being one of the leftovers of life for Jesus sake.

There are other circumstances which can cause one to be numbered among the leftovers. Those who are there know it only too well. Workers, of course, are not leftovers. They have chosen gladly to spend their lives in the work and their lives are full.

Harry Brownlee told of a bach he and his companion had near a railway line. One day, they were reading in the newspaper about the enormous cost of the war in Vietnam, how many millions of dollars every week. Just then a train passed, and as they looked out they noticed that it was all painted grey, and no one was looking out of the windows. Later, they found out that it was a train filled with corpses of soldiers killed in Vietnam, being taken to be buried. Harry said to his companion, “We have just been reading about the cost of the war in dollars, but there goes the real cost…wives left without husbands, children left without fathers, parents left without sons.” Some of our friends think they are making quite a sacrifice by not having TV and foregoing other things of the world, but if ever you are tempted to think it is costing you so much, just stop for a moment and think of the price being paid by the leftovers, every day, all their lives. There is the real cost!

We know the old story of the man in ancient Rome who was accused and convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. He was put in prison with a heavy iron weight chained to his leg, meaning he had to drag it wherever he went for over a year. He got to hate that weight and often sighed “Oh! If only it were lighter!” But when he was finally found innocent, the judge ordered that in compensation he was to be given gold in the same weight as the iron he had dragged around all that time. Can you guess what the man sighed then? “Oh, if only it were heavier!” As we said, only God Himself knows what it is costing those who are facing the loneliness and heartache and secret struggle against temptation so as to preserve their testimony – those who have become leftovers of life – and when many of us see the reward they will get one day, we will say, “Why didn’t God give me a chance too?” But probably we will have to be told, “I would have, but I knew you couldn’t take it.”

We may wonder about those who were entrusted with this experience, but made shipwreck. I do believe God gave them the experience because He knew they could have taken it…and isn’t it an awful tragedy that they didn’t!

It seems that the Lord Jesus felt especially at home in Mary and Martha’s home in Bethany. We read that He was a “man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” and today still no doubt the Lord Jesus feels especially at home in the hearts of the “leftovers”…those who know the taste of hidden pain and secret loneliness. Some are callous and insensitive and ignorant enough to refer to our noble young sisters in this position as “old maids.” It makes me think of those well-known words, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

As I said in the beginning, most likely those leftovers, after the multitude was fed, were used for a much more noble purpose than all the rest. Few of us probably realize what a noble place in this Kingdom is being filled by those who are valiantly facing the experience of being “leftovers of life” for Jesus sake.

One is so glad that the Lord Jesus did not forget the leftovers.

** as spoken by Ernest Robinson at a convention. I received this from Ernest while at Wando Convention in Korea 2001. Since receiving this, it has been suggested this was Theodore Convention, 1978.

Luke 10:25-28, Salvation comes down to two words: Love God! We are not going to heaven unless we love God. When a young man is in love, he doesn’t count miles or money; when a young lady is in love, she is willing to give up her country and many other precious things because she is in love. Jacob was willing to labor for Rachel for many years. It seemed just like a few days to him because he loved her. If we are in love with the kingdom we will be willing to sacrifice and serve for His dear sake and people will know it. Salvation loves God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our minds. The last one is the mind. God wants the heart first. Salvation begins in the heart.

Do you know that your soul never dies? Our souls will either be in Hell or Heaven. Do you love God with all your heart and all of your affections? There will come a time when an angel will put one foot on land and one foot on the sea, and he will say, “Time no longer.” You have run out of time, you have run out of opportunities, and you have run out of privileges. You will choose where you will live. We need to love God with our souls–the deep part of our being, the part that governs our bodies. Salvation is a very serious thing because eternity is forever. Then Jesus turned to the lawyer and inquired how he interpreted these teachings? He answered correctly, “To love the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love thy neighbor as thyself.” Jesus said, “This do, and thou shalt live.” He had it in his head but not in his heart. His head could not deliver his heart. In other words, he was dead! We meet a lot of dead people in the gospel. They don’t love the scriptures, they don’t love God, and they don’t love the kingdom. If you are alive, you will love this Kingdom of God.

We have been having gospel meetings for some Chinese people. We have been using an interpreter. In the Chinese language, there are two words for love. One definition is the common meaning for love, but the other definition the Chinese don’t use because it means perfect love, the pure love and the unselfish love. In the work of the gospel we can use this definition of love because God’s love is perfect toward us. We won’t get saved because God loves us, for that is not salvation. We must love God more than anything else, more than our possessions, more than our family. We must love Him with all our heart. God will give us this kind of love.

Our lives are like a loaf of bread. The first work of the Spirit is to purge out the old leaven. We can’t do these ourselves, but God can do it for us. When bread is being made, all the ingredients are put in: yeast, salt, sugar, flour, and so forth. Then the dough is kneaded and baked. The yeast is like the Spirit because it affects every fiber of that bread. When the Spirit works in our lives, it works in our brain, our heart, our thinking, and our feelings. The salt is like the love of God because it controls the yeast. This work of salvation is on the inside. Do you know what God did? He was moved by love for humanity, and He sent His beloved Son into this world to give us a pattern life to follow. Then He sent the twelve apostles. These men were motivated by love. The sisters having these meetings were moved by the same love. They canceled all their own plans, and they submitted themselves to the will of God. They are taking the living message to a dying world. Jesus was the “Amen” of God. When God asked Him to come down to this earth to live and die, He said “Amen.” When God asked him to submit, he said “Amen.” When God asked Him to love another, it was “Amen.” Can you pass the “Amen test?” We might be able to pass the love test and the faith test, but can we pass the Amen test? When God wants us to invite a stranger to a meeting, can we say, “Amen?” When God moves you to pray for someone, can we say, “Amen?” He wants to put the love of Christ in your hearts.

How much do you weigh? Did you know there is a verse that says you are weighed on a scale? Not body weight–God weighs our spirit. You are weighed in the balance. God has an interesting scale. He weighs the motives and the spirit. He weighed this man and he was found wanting. He weighs our love. Are we found wanting tonight? When you leave this meeting tonight, it would be wonderful if our spirit, purpose, and motive were weightier. We will have a little more conviction, a little more love, and a little more purpose in our lives.

There was a sinner woman that came into the presence of Jesus. She was uninvited to this home because of her manner of life. When she came to this home she was criticized. She was weighed by Jesus, and she was weighed by her critics. She washed Jesus’ feet and then took some expensive oil and anointed His head. Jesus was moved by her repentance, her broken spirit and her sins which were many were forgiven. Her critics saw her past, but Jesus saw her future. The love of God reached down from heaven and touched her soul.

It tells us, “…she loveth much.” Could this be said at your funeral service that you loved this kingdom much? When we confess and forsake our sins it changes the balance because God adds grace and mercy. The critics were left wanting. This man loved little. God is interested in the quality of our service. We could be just lukewarm–a lukewarm attitude toward our soul, toward our spirit, and in our prayer life. God wants to turn up the temperature of our service.

Salvation is a serious matter. Jesus was serious about salvation. In John 4, we read about a lady that needed salvation. Jesus hadn’t eaten, and the disciples wanted Him to eat, but He said, “I have meat to eat that you know not of.” Jesus was so serious about helping her that He forgot to eat. One day Jesus went forty days without food. He esteemed the word of God more than the necessary food. He was facing Satan, and it was a serious matter. On occasions, Jesus would pray all night because life was serious. He was a man like us with human passions, but He always pleased His heavenly Father.

Jesus wept on three occasions. That is how serious Jesus was. He wept over Jerusalem, His people. If only they knew the things that belonged to their peace. We can’t find peace and fight against the will of God. Joy won’t come until we submit. The cost of obedience is nothing compared to the cost of regret. There are people who are in eternity at this moment weeping because of the choices they made on this earth. When the rich man went into eternity, Jesus pointed back to the previous days and years and the choices he made that resulted in his destiny. But the other man, He pointed to the future. All the past was gone.

Do you know how great Christ is? The scripture tells us that it will take all the ages of eternity to show the exceeding riches of His grace and kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. His grace and kindnesses are great. We will know more about that some day. Jesus also wept over people. Wouldn’t it be sad if Jesus wept over you? Do you have a joy that is unspeakable, a peace that passes all understanding? Recently, I was at a mortuary with a widow. Her husband was in the casket. Some people came by and expressed their sympathy. The widow responded she was happy because her husband was in eternity. She said, “He is in a saved eternity where he wanted to be and that makes me happy.” The gospel made the difference in their lives.

Jesus wept when He prayed. Have you ever wept when you have prayed? Hebrews 5:7 tells us that in the days of His flesh, when He prayed there was strong crying and tears. Jesus was serious about prayer, and He was serious about getting results. He was serious because eternity was forever. We don’t need to be worried about things that are going on in this earth. The “Ancient of days” is on the throne. God is in control, and He won’t allow anything to happen on this earth to harm His people. One day God came down and said, “Samuel, Samuel.” There was a work to do and Samuel was prepared to hear the message and react to that message.

One day many years ago, our older brother Jack Carroll, asked what verse in the Bible speaks more about the urgency of salvation than any other verse. Someone spoke up and responded with that verse in Zechariah 3, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Our lives are like that brand. Our lives were being consumed by this world and God reached down and plucked us out of the fire. We feel sorry for those who haven’t been plucked out of the fire. One lady I visited recently said, “I like myself just as I am.” She said, “Do I have to change to receive faith?” Do I have to change to be saved?

I was in the Potter’s House in England. We watched how that potter took a chunk of clay and began working with it. That chunk of clay is like our lives. It is worthless. The first potter did a work, and then that piece of clay was put on as a conveyor belt, and it went to a second potter, and he did a work, and then it went to the third potter where the gold was applied to the final product, and then it was fired and put on the shelf. We saw worthless clay being formed and made into a $20,000 vessel. Now, this lady said, “I like myself as I am.” We are not worth very much until our lives end up in the hands of the Potter, Christ Jesus.

1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” The blood of Christ is for a walking people. They have found the word of God as a lamp to their feet and a light to their pathway. People watched Jesus walk. The scriptures are for a walking people. The kingdom is for a walking people. We can go to the Sunday morning meeting and speak, pray, and sing because we are in the light and the blood of Christ has washed away our sins.

It is possible to get accustomed to darkness. We could love darkness and become comfortable with living in darkness. If you are eighty years old, you have spent forty years in darkness. When the earth rotates towards the sun, there is light. When the earth rotates away from the sun, there is darkness. We can either choose to live in the light or live in darkness. In Exodus, God brought darkness upon the Egyptians that could be felt. They didn’t move for three days. Hell is going to be total darkness for all eternity. Is that where your choices are going to take you?

We were once in a home and a knock came at the door. The man of the home answered the door and two ladies wanted to leave their religious papers for us to read. Our friend told them, “We’ve come from different backgrounds, and we’ve had different experiences.” The man of the home then went over and turned the lights in the home off. He asked these religious ladies, “Where is the piano? What color is the carpet? Where is the clock?” They didn’t know. All they could do was offer their opinions about where things were in the house. But as soon as the lights were tuned on, everyone agreed on where things were. Jesus is the light. We are walking in the light; we will see all things perfectly. There will be no opinions. God invites us to love that light. Then we can have mutual fellowship together and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.

I want to tell you a true story about a husband and his wife and their two sons. The husband was raised in the Truth and the wife didn’t know what truth was about. One day they were down at the horse races. Horses and horse races were their life. They were addicted to horse racing and gambling. One day this man told his wife he wasn’t going back to the racetrack, but he was going to the gospel meetings. He said, “I want to raise our boys in the Truth.” The wife said she wasn’t interested in the meetings. She volunteered that he could have their sons, and she would take the horses. He took the sons and left the wife and horses, and he went to meetings, and they made their choice. She is still down at the racetrack. She loved darkness and he loved light. Can you imagine in eternity this lady being asked, “What did you do with your life?” Her answer will be “Oh, I spent it down at the racetrack!” What would her reward be?

The lawyer came to Jesus and didn’t have any light. He was dead. He had head knowledge but nothing was happening in his heart. He loved the law, but the Law could not give him life. Salvation was at his fingertips, but he couldn’t see it because he loved darkness. May we invite Christ into our lives so that we will have life, joy, peace, and a new song.

Since one soul is worth more than the whole world we have many reasons to rejoice. One man has a professing wife but has rejected the gospel for many years. Now he has quit smoking and drinking and has been listening well in the past four meetings. A religious man is also attending who has had some contact with the Truth for many years. A 91 year old lady has known of the Faith for 50 years. She is a quality woman but has not been needy until now. Maybe this will be her day of visitation by the gospel.

A Mexican lady in our field has 2 brother and 2 sisters in the Harvest Field in Mexico. She has also 4 more siblings who are still single and who knows?? There have been 13 children in their godly family.

It has been inspiring to hear of our professing doctors, nurses and others who are helping with medical needs in Haiti.

In Acts 1:1 Jesus finished his perfect work on earth. In 2:1 the Holy Spirit put its seal upon that precious work. The Spirit chose the day to arrive (first day of the week, Pentecost, Sunday), and chose the location of the home (although there were many synagogues and a temple) and chose the ministry Christ ordained 1:13 and the saints in verse 14. It also chose to fill them with the Spirit. It brings us joy and confidence to know that this has not changed through the years.

I have been invited to attend the conventions in Australia and New Zealand near the end of the year. I told Mark that I was too old and he didn’t listen to me, ha. This will be a rare privilege although unworthy.

A lady gave her testimony and told of the extra things she wanted to get rid of. She made a big pile and one by one said, “Oh, I might use this later. This one might have value, etc.” She made excuses and the pile virtually didn’t shrink. She said, “I think this is like my own life”.

A 94 year old saint lady said, “Each day I profess all over again and return my life to God.” She is a pillar widow and has two meetings in her home. I think she has professed for over 80 years. We are still surrounded by faithful witnesses.

We recently received the list of visiting workers we will have for our conventions in the Spring and Summer from around the world.—Thanks kindly.

A bro,

Everett Swanson

Thank you for your prayers, testimonies and thankfulness. I have been reading about the “I AM’s” in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.

Exodus 3:4, “God spoke to Moses and he said, ‘Here am I.’” This is the right response when the Lord speaks to us. It is like giving God the authority to work in our life. Then the Lord spoke to him again in verse 11 and Moses said unto God, “Who am I?” and then the answer, verse 14, “God said unto Moses, ‘I AM THAT I AM.’” It is a wonderful thing to have this kind of a response. Shortly after Moses said “Here I am,” he wondered “Who am I?” I really don’t think I am capable and able for this. You are asking. I am only frail; I think it would be better if you used Aaron or someone else. Maybe it is very healthy for us to ask the question: “Who am I?”

Luke 18:13, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his hand upon his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’” God looked down at that man and said, “That man is justified.” He heard the broken spirit and contrite heart. God says, “I live with that man.”

So the Lord heard a cry and spoke to Moses about that cry. This cry that arose to the ears of God changed history. If you lose your song, that is serious, but if you lose your cry, it is fatal. A cry to the heart of God has changed the whole course of history.

There is a nice verse in Psalm 34:17, “The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.” When God heard that cry, He moved Moses and Aaron to do something about that situation. God’s servants are about to go and preach the gospel and you wonder why there aren’t more cries. This world is ideal to produce a need. There are lots of problems, lots of strife, war. Jesus came preaching and showing the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God and there are a lot of sad tidings, but Jesus came to bring glad tidings.

The Lord said to Moses, “I want you to go to King Pharaoh and speak to him.” How would you like to have that job?! Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord?”, but he found out Who the “I AM” is! It wasn’t long and the rivers turned to blood and He gave darkness to the Egyptians and light to the Israelites. He gave life to the children of Israel and death to the Egyptians. Finally, Pharaoh said “You can go, but bless me when you go.” He began to see who “I AM” is. He didn’t know how great God is and we don’t know how great God is, either.

In the New Testament, we read about the “I AM.” John 6:35, “I am the Bread of Life.” The children of Israel did something that was quite dangerous to do. They “limited the Holy One of Israel.” One time God said, “I could have brought honey out of the rock for you – I didn’t … I could have defeated all your enemies for you” and in Isaiah 48:18, “I could have made your righteousness as the waves of the sea” … “I could have made your peace like a river” … Exodus 13:17, 18 – “I could have given you an easier way to go into the Promised Land” … He didn’t have to take them across the Red Sea and through the wilderness. God had a much easier way for them, but they would not go. This year can be a lot easier for us if we can just cooperate. We can look back and see all the things that could have been done for us, but one thing I love about the gospel: it is the work of prevention. In Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” God keeps us back from independence.

There was a young man, who went to convention, and he was in the work. He decided after this convention he was leaving the work, but it was Bread that prevented him leaving. God can prevent us from a useless life. God can prevent us from a lot of sorrow. It is the “I AM” that can do this for us. How many hundreds of needs do we have in this convention? Amongst us we have hundreds of needs and He just said: “I AM.” Whatever you need spiritually, “I AM.” Do you need peace? “I AM.” Do you need to forgive someone? “I AM.” There is no one on earth can say “I AM” except Jesus. A man might say: “I am a chiropractor” and a lady, “I am a nurse” but only Jesus can say, “I AM.”

One day I went to a large warehouse. I was going to get some plumbing supplies for convention. There was everything a person would need for plumbing. I picked up all these supplies and arrived at the counter. He said, “What name are you purchasing this in?” I couldn’t use my name as I didn’t have an account. I gave the name of our friend. He looked it up and said, “Yes, do you have a right to use that name? If so, you can buy anything you want in this building!” Jesus said, “You can use My name before the Father. You can pray in My name, you can ask in My name. Whatever you need, My Father will give it to you.” The storehouse is completely open. There are no shortages. There is no lack, but we cannot come in our own name.

That is the hope we have as we pray in Jesus’ name. John 6:35, “Jesus said, ‘I am Bread.’” For you, when you bring Bread to the Sunday morning and Wednesday night meeting, you can say, “I have Bread today.” Jesus said, “I am Bread. I was willing for the planting, I was willing for the dying, I was willing for the growing, for the crushing, I was willing for the fire.” When we walk into the Sunday morning meeting, we walk into the presence of the “I AM;” we walk into the presence of the King. People go into the meeting and sometimes they are heavy-hearted and they leave and they are so happy. Sometimes friends wonder why we are not so friendly at the beginning of the meeting. It is because of reverence. After the meeting they said, “Oh, that meeting really helped me!” They talk now. In the Kingdom of God, we don’t have common days, normal days. When we get into the presence of the King and we are cleansed and we have seen Christ, we are inspired and we have a song. Is that a common day? When we walk with the “I AM,” is that a common day? What a privilege to be in the work, where there are no common days!

Jesus said, “Give us this day …” Did He say, “Give us this day our weekly bread?” No. He said, “Give us daily bread.” One morning a man went to work and told his children, “Good-bye.” Ten minutes later, he came back and his son said, “Dad, how come you’ve come back so early?” “I forgot to get my daily bread. I forgot to meet with the King today. I didn’t get into the presence of the Holiest today. I have to spend some time alone with God first.”

There is a country where friends cannot meet together for meetings and they cannot leave the country.

One day a man told his wife, “I am having my convention today.” He went into the convention and closed the door and said, “I want to be alone today all day.” He met with the King, he met with the “I AM.” He began to sing, and he began to pray and God was there, and the whole day he spent just alone with God. We often sing, “God is here amongst His people.” A neighbor came over and asked, “Where is your husband?” “He doesn’t want to be bothered today, because he is spending today with God.” There is a verse in Ruth that says, “God has visited His people by giving them bread.” God will visit you today with Bread and tomorrow God will visit you with Bread.

Recently, I was in a third world country and someone said, “We are going to have lunch with a very poor lady. She really cannot afford to feed us like she does.” We went into the home and she had a lovely meal for us. They said, “She really can’t afford this.” When I looked at the food, she said: “Have some more.” I felt guilty even having a bite! She said, “I love to do this!” She wanted to share her bread with us. She has such a beautiful spirit. She feeds with her spirit. When I sat down at that table, I didn’t know how much that cost her. When I sit down at this table here, I don’t know how much this has cost. I have no idea how much this cost God. I have no idea how much this cost Jesus, and the Lord’s servants even shed tears before meetings like this. Sometimes, they spend hours getting alone with God and I like to realize that this is the Lord’s Table.

Remember in the Old Testament a story of a rich man who had lots of sheep and animals and he spared them. He wouldn’t use them and he came to a poor man that had one lamb. He took that lamb and killed it for that man who was passing through. That traveler sat down and he had no idea how much that meal cost. There was a family with broken hearts, because their only little lamb was given. This traveler sat down and never realized how much this meal cost. I feel like that man in the Old Testament that was put down at the table, Mephibosheth, and he put his lame feet under the table and all looked at him and said, “You are like one of the king’s sons.” He ate with royalty and he ate with the king.

John 11:25, there is a little bit of confusion. It has to do with “I am the resurrection.” Lazarus had died and when Jesus came, it seemed too late. If you had come earlier, you could have saved Lazarus, but You are too late. Jesus said, “I AM the resurrection.” They saw Jesus as the “I was,” as what He could have done if He had come earlier. To Martha, He said, “I AM the resurrection.” Martha said, “Yes, I know he will be raised later.” She saw Him as the “I was” and the “I will be.” He said, “Martha, “I AM.” What could He do for us today as the “I AM?” Christ is a Creator. We often sing, “Create in me more love for Thee.” He is a Creator.

There is a verse in Romans about us having the spirit of the resurrection now. When we come into the presence of Christ, even in a fellowship meeting, there is a spirit there. In life, we can have the spirit of the resurrection before we die. We were talking to a man recently and he said, “I just lived for myself until I sat at the funeral service and realized that is my mother that is being buried today; this is the end of my old life.” He was going to allow the Lord to be working. He looked at this faithful life and said, “I am going to change.” There is only One can change us, and that is the Lord.

There was a marriage in which the lady wanted to change her husband and she couldn’t. She told the workers, “My husband is impossible; he’s like an orangutan!” She said, “I am a lady.” We said one thing, “Before you go after 30 years, love him and be so kind to him as never before, for 30 days and don’t worry about the reaction.” Thirty days later, we asked, “How is it going?” She said, “I am married to the best man in the world!” A changed man because of a changed woman! How can we change somebody else? It starts here in the heart. The Lord wants to change us, and that can even help our companion and our friends, but it is the “I AM” that can create something in us that we never had before.

Today is the day of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It seemed like this was the end of Jesus. Three days later, people came to anoint His body. “He has died, but we will try to anoint His body; that is the best we can do. We will bring some spices.” They looked, and there was nobody there, and there were two angels in the tomb. One sat where Christ’s head had been and they realized, “He’s alive!” … “Why are you seeking the living among the dead?” One angel was marking out the walk of Jesus, sitting where His feet had been, and the other angel was exactly at the head, marking out the mind of Jesus. We are glad there are no changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Something else Jesus said, in Revelation 3:14, “‘I AM’ the Amen.” Christ was the “Amen” of God. When God asked Jesus to die for our sins, He said “Amen.” He had a struggle to say Amen. There was no battlefield like Gethsemane. When Jesus came into Gethsemane, there were two wills, but when Jesus left Gethsemane there was only one will. Jesus was willing to be conquered, willing to submit Himself to the will of God. He learned to say “Amen” every time God spoke to Him. Could you pass the “Amen” test? When the Lord asks us to do something, can we say “Amen?” I thought of Peter facing the “Amen” test. Jesus came to wash his feet… “No, you’re not going to wash my feet!” You know how strongly he said that “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus then said, “Well then, YOU can have no part with Me.” It took a matter of seconds from the time when he said, “Never,” till he said, “Wash my hands, feet and head.” Peter passed the “Amen test.” Jesus said after Peter had fished all night, “Go back out.”

He was hungry, tired, and the nets were washed. He didn’t want to go, but he added a very important word I need in my vocabulary: “nevertheless.” Jesus said, “Nevertheless.” Peter said, “Nevertheless, I will go out into the deep.” He passed the “Amen” test and then James and John came out and helped too. They all got involved in a miracle. The miracle is on the other side of obedience. Because he passed the “Amen” test Jesus said, “You can catch men now instead of fish.”

Another “I AM” is found in Hebrews 4:14. He is the High Priest. Do you know what He is doing right now? He is before God and He is interceding for us. He said, “If you confess Me before men, I am going to confess you before God.” The next time you talk to somebody about Jesus, Jesus will talk to His Father about you. He is the High Priest between us and God. In the Old Testament, the High Priests wore a mitre and right over his brow were the words “Holiness to the Lord,” but he was still a sinner. Christ is the only One Who had perfect thoughts. When we get into the presence of the “I AM,” we are in the presence of Holiness. On His shoulders were the names of the tribes of Israel, the Lord’s people. It is nice to think that He is carrying our burdens. They did a little work on the shoulders and they engraved these names. We sometimes sing “engrave this deeply on my heart.” You might take something from this convention that is engraved on your heart.

The “I AM” can engrave something that is permanent. There is something about this high priest that is encouraging. At the bottom of his garment was a pomegranate and a bell, and a pomegranate and a bell all the way around his garment. What made the sound? It was the fruit hitting the bell. In Jesus’ life, His words came from fruit. And when that priest walked in the temple, they realized He is still alive and He is carrying blood for me and for the ministry and carrying blood for the church. We have a High Priest today that is talking to God on our behalf.

In the Old Testament, there is a little picture I want to give. The Lord wanted a tabernacle built, Exodus 35, and He chose two men. Did He choose those men because they were highly skilled? They weren’t skilled. God gave them skills. God made them able to do what they were doing. In this ministry, we are not able, but God can make us able. This year, the journey will be too long for you, and the mountains will be too high for you, and Satan is going to be too strong for you, so you will need Christ, you will need the “I AM.”

He is able to “do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” He does the impossible all the time. We just had a mission recently in the West. A couple came to one meeting and she said, “I hate this I don’t like this at all.” He said, “I like it.” She said, “If you keep going, it is the end of our marriage,” but he kept going and pretty soon she said, “You are changing … I like these changes! … maybe I can go and change.” Now, they are both coming together and they are happier people. He couldn’t do it and she couldn’t do it, but the “I AM” can do it. He does the impossible.

When I thought about going in the work, I thought I can’t do it! I couldn’t and I still can’t, but He is able, and so one thing I appreciate is the fact that I am happier in the work than I was when I was out of the work. If we allow Christ to come into our life, we will be happier, because He is the High Priest and He is able.

We had a Bible study and one little thing I liked: a man came to Jesus and said: “My child is dying, will you come to my home?” Jesus never went to the home. He never went to see the boy that was dying. Jesus said, “Your son lives,” and the man believed. As soon as he got home, they said: “The fever has left your son.” “What time was it that the fever left him?” “It was the certain hour that the fever left and he became well.” He said, “That was Jesus!” That is the “I AM.” “He didn’t even have to know where my boy was.” That message just went and came to where that boy was and he became well. It says that the man believed. When we believe, it opens the door for miracles. Jesus said to Nathanael, “I saw you under the fig tree,” and he believed it. Jesus said, “You are going to see greater things from now on if you believe that! I am going to take you further and now you are going to see angels ascending and descending on the Son of man.” As soon as we believe, another door opens. The “AMEN” and the “I AM” comes in and does His work.

At convention we hear a lot of things, and there are times when it is nothing that we heard a worker or one of the friends say that helped us. There are times like that, that while somebody us speaking, God puts a thought in our minds and that is the thing that remains and helps us. It is amazing how God speaks in a meeting like this. We have to speak also but God doesn’t just depend on us and He is able to speak in spite of us and tell people something, and that has often happened to me. There are some meetings that you hear some things that are quite interesting and you are quite alert and you hear things that are easy to listen to. Yet some meetings it is hard to listen. It is kind of boring, but it is not necessarily those interesting meetings where God is speaking. Sometimes it is in that boring meeting that God Himself has put something into our minds and spoken to us and we are conscious of it. The one who is speaking on the platform knows nothing about it. We just pray that God would hide us, that we wouldn’t be seen or heard, but that there would be the voice of God heard in the meeting. We can get in the way sometimes by trying to be too interesting. In Korea, maybe you’d remember Don Garland who was here in Durban, he was telling about when he was in Japan. He had learned the Japanese language and he was in the middle of Tokyo when there was a big fuss and they saw a motorcade coming past. He wondered what it was and oh, it was the Emperor who was going to come by. People were thronging along the sides of the road, trying to get a view of the Emperor. Of course Don thought it would be interesting to see him too and you would remember that he is a big fat man. So while he was craning to get a view he heard two little Japanese ladies behind him. They probably thought that he didn’t understand Japanese and they were saying “If only it wasn’t for this big fat foreigner here in front of us we might also see our Emperor.” Don often mentioned that and he said that is his big fear that when he speaks in a meeting that there would be too much of that big fat foreigner and the people would not be able to see Jesus. So that is a fear and one has to be careful.

I’ll just read a verse in Genesis 25 from verse 21 “Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren and the Lord was entreated of him and Rebecca his wife conceived. The children struggled within her and she said, ‘if it be so, wherefore do I live.’ She went to enquire of the Lord and the Lord said unto her, ‘Two nations are in thee and two manner of people shall be separated from thee. The one people shall be stronger than the other people and the elder shall serve the younger.’” If you read on a bit you will see that it was Esau that was born first and then Jacob was born. It must have been pretty soon because Jacob had Esau by the heel. He had his hand on his heel, grabbed him by the heel. Quite interesting. I am not a psychiatrist but I can tell you one thing that the majority of people in this meeting have schizophrenia. For the children that don’t understand what that means, it is somebody with a dual personality. Two people in one body. Those of us who are serving God all have it and we all have an awful problem because of that – these two people in one body. Before we served God it was only Esau. Now we are going to speak here about the human nature being Esau and it is not my original idea, you have heard it many times, and the new life that God has given us is like Jacob. Jacob was the second born but the older had to serve the younger. There is a difference here as Jacob was quite grown up before his older brother sold him his birthright. But in our case, actually, Jacob is only born when Esau decides to sell his birthright. That is when Jacob is born. In other words, it is only when this human nature, this self, gives up its right to control our lives. It is only then that God gives us the new life.

In Korea we understand the right of the firstborn a lot easier because of the custom there and I suppose it is the same in China and Japan. There, according to the old custom, when the father dies, everything goes to the eldest son – absolutely everything. He gets everything and the other children get nothing, but that doesn’t mean that you can envy the eldest son at all. He gets everything but then he also gets all the responsibility of the father. He has to take the place of the father. He is the head of the home and he is responsible for all the other children and for looking after his mother till she dies. He is responsible and if there are still children at school then he has got to pay for them. He has to pay for them through university. He has a heavy burden. So you see he just takes over as the father of the family. So that is when we get this new life and from the moment that we have this new life born within us, it only came because Esau was willing to give up his birthright. That’s what it meant when we made our choice “I am giving over this new life that God is going to give me, that is going to rule my life now.” But from that moment there is a fight because Esau has given it up but he wants it back. All the time he is doing all he can because he wants to get it back.

If you read the 11th chapter of Hebrews you will read that, with tears even, he wanted to get it back. He repented that he had done that but there was no way, there was just no way that he could get it back, but in our lives he is struggling all the time to get this birthright back. That is why we are very much like Rebecca. There is always this struggle and life seems hard. These days it is almost common medical practice even though it was first done in this country, when they transplanted a human heart into somebody else. The problem that they found was that the body rejects it and that is exactly what happens to us, spiritually. When God gives us this new heart, this new life, Esau rejects it immediately. He doesn’t want it and that is why there is a struggle and he is not going to give up. To the end of our days he is not going to give up and he is going to do anything he can to get it back, to reject this new life. So in this case, Isaac was going to give the birthright to his eldest son anyway but Rebecca knew that it was not right. He had sold it and it was no good and she was going to help. So she had to help and she did help to get the birthright for Jacob. We also need help. This is a bit much for us because this human nature is powerful. It is dangerous and we need help and it is the help of the Holy Spirit that we need.

I suppose you would remember where we read in Exodus, about the children of Israel coming out of Egypt. What a struggle that was and all those plagues. Then all the times that Pharaoh said to let them go and then when he had relief then he said, “No.” Do you know what it was that finally brought freedom? It was the death of the firstborn. That is the only thing that is going to bring freedom in our lives, the death of the firstborn. That is why we have to die every day. That is the only thing that MUST happen, this human nature must die and that is when our freedom comes. It would be wonderful if it could die now and we could bury it but it is worse than a cat with nine lives. The next day it is alive again. Up and ready to fight again. That is why we have to die every day, daily. Paul the Apostle, if you want to read about it sometime, you can read about the struggle with the two natures inside him. In the latter part of Romans 7, he says, “I don’t do what I want to do and the thing that I know I should do, I cannot do it.” Then he ends up saying, “Who is going to save me from this body of sin? Oh the wretched man that I am,” because of the struggle of the two natures inside.

Maybe some of the older ones here would remember oom Koot Viviers. Oh yes, some of you are related to him. I heard from my first companion that when he was with oom Koot, every morning when he stood before the mirror to straighten his tie he would shake his finger at his image in the mirror and say “Vandag is dit weer ek en jy.” (It is you and I again today.) That is how it’s going to be. From the very time that we have this new life it is going to be a daily thing. “Today again it is you and I and we are going to have to battle it out.” We read here that it was just for a morsel of food that Esau gave up his birthright. Can you imagine? Yet in this life we have seen it so often, when some have given up something so precious just for a morsel of food. I am going to tell you about one time when Jacob sold the birthright back to Esau. I was talking about Don Garland and he was telling me about a man who was his companion in the work and he got caught in this fight and he got married. It wasn’t long after that and Don was with him and they had a talk at opposite ends of the table. Don got quite a surprise when suddenly he just dropped his head on the table and he burst into tears. He sobbed and sobbed and he said, “Oh Don, I have given up so much for so little.” Can you see Esau again? In this case it was different because it was Jacob who sold the birthright back to Esau. Giving up SOOO much for SOOO little. As Jacob was born he had Esau by the heel and that is what we are going to have to do right from the beginning. We’re going to get Esau by the heel right from the start.

I have seen some people trying to get rid of the old habits little by little. Just talking about smoking or drinking or whatever. “I have been smoking 60 a day and tomorrow I will smoke 59 a day and the next day I will smoke 58” and so on. They think that they are going to cut it off little by little like that. Uncle Ockert also told me about an old lady who had a little dog that she loved. This dog got sick and couldn’t be helped and had to be put to death. So she gave it to the servant and said “Please kill it but please kill it gently.” So the servant took it and she heard this terrible howling outside and she said “I told you to do it gently.” He said “I am doing it gently! I am starting at the tail!” It just doesn’t work that way. I remember one time, when I was young, I cut my arm and my mother put an elastoplaster on there. Those days that plaster had terrible glue on it, especially if you have hair on your arm as I do. Taking it off is a torture! Well, finally, it had to be taken off and my dad wanted to take it off but I knew he was not going to be gentle. So I said I would do it and so I started and, oh dear, it really hurt. So my dad couldn’t take this and he said “Step aside” and he got hold of this. I knew now that I was going to die. He got hold of a corner of it and ZIP, it was gone and it didn’t even hurt. I was amazed. That’s the way to do it. A clean cut, a clean cut!

If you have made your choice and now you have to go back to the office and you have always gone out in the evening to have a little drink with your fellow labourers. So now you have made your choice and now there is a bit of a problem. They would say “Come along let’s go to the pub.” “Oh tonight I can’t, I have just got a headache.” So the next time you’d say, ”I have got an appointment and I have to go right now.” You can’t keep on like that, eventually it is going to have to come out. Then, not only do they know, “Oh this man has made his choice and he is serving God now.” Not only will they know that but they will also know that you are ashamed of your religion. It is much better to make a clean cut.

You know, when a ship is going through the waves in a storm, the fatal thing is to try and avoid it. That’s fatal. With those big waves it is fatal to try and avoid it and turn sideways. That ship will capsize, you have to take the waves straight on and that is what we’ve got to do, take it straight on. You take it head on and you will be surprised how you will get through it. People will quickly find out where you stand and that is what they’re supposed to find out. In my case, my human nature has another name, it is not only Esau, it’s also called Goliath and when I think of Goliath it is very much like my human nature. The first thing that it says is that Goliath was a warrior from his youth. You know, I cannot remember any time when I was too young to get a spanking, a hiding from my dad. Some people used to say “How can you spank a child when he is so young?” and my dad said, “Well, if he’s old enough to be naughty then he is old enough to be spanked.” So I got it and I can tell you that my human nature was a problem from my youth. I think all of us are like that because it doesn’t take long to start. Also Goliath was a giant and he is far too big for us to tackle. My human nature is like that and it is so for all of us and that is why we cannot do it because will-power is not enough. He is too big and too strong and that is why we absolutely need the help of God and that is why it brings us to our knees at the footstool of the Lord Jesus. That is why it is the only safe place for a child of God. Also, remember that he was defying the armies of the Lord and cursing them. I know that about my human nature, that whenever this human nature is winning then I am bringing dishonour to God and His people. I know I have done it and I am ashamed of it but that is so.

One time in Korea I was on a farm and there were two dogs there in a wire enclosure. One was a big dog and one was a little dog and I couldn’t stand it because the big dog would attack the little one. The little one would get bitten and I couldn’t understand the mentality of the people who would put these two dogs together. Such cruelty to that little one that couldn’t defend itself. Every now and then it would cry pitifully when it was attacked and then I saw the picture. How often that has happened to me and I can tell you that this human nature has absolutely ill-treated Jacob something terrible, this Esau, and I’ll tell you why. Sometimes it is terrible what it has done to my spiritual life and I’ll tell you why. The reason is that the one that you keep feeding is the one that is going to win and if you keep feeding the right one then the other one will not be able to get the upper hand. We have to be so careful because it is natural to want to feed Esau. That is our natural inclination all the time, to want to feed Esau. It is just natural.

Talking about that, there was something that came to my mind. We have to be very careful when we make our choice, that we’re not going to serve the flesh any more, now we’re going to let Jacob take the reign in our hearts. In other words we make up our minds that we’re going to deny ourselves. There is another decision that we have to make right there otherwise it is going to be hopeless. That means that I also am going to have to avoid the things that stimulate those wrong desires. That is extremely important otherwise it is going to be hopeless and we all know what it is. The things that stimulate the wrong desires and you can say that you are not going to do it, but you are not keeping away from the things that stimulate those wrong desires. If we don’t do that we are going to fail, we are not going to make it. That is another choice we are going to have to make at the same time.

I remember when I was still young, Uncle Wilson Reid said one time “If God wanted us to serve Him, why did He give us this kind of human nature?” Maybe you’ve even had this question in your own minds. If God did not want them to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil, then why did he put that tree in that garden? There was a reason for it and everything that God did He had a reason for it. It was very obvious that it was necessary for there to be a test. The most effective test of virtue is temptation and that was absolutely necessary. This human nature is providing the struggle that God is using to temper our spirits, this new life that He has given us. He is using this struggle and our human nature is there for this reason. There has got to be a struggle but if we are willing to do what is right then He is going to help us. I was noticing a verse in Romans that says that it is only through the death of the firstborn that we get freedom and I do believe that it is a very important verse. Romans 8 verse 13, “If ye live after the flesh ye shall die but if through the spirit you do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live.” So you see how it is. Through the spirit, to put to death the deeds of the body and there is absolutely no other way. It is by having the help of the spirit of God with us that we get the power to put to death this human nature. God could have made us without this human nature to make us glad to do His will and to obey Him perfectly. He could have done that because He has all power to do it but can you think what the result would be? We would be a bunch of puppets, perfectly obedient but no will of your own. For that wonderful time in heaven when there is going to be a fellowship it is absolutely essential that you have souls that have their own free will and that is why God has done that. Otherwise we would just be a lot of puppets. You can make a machine that can cook your food and can wash your clothes and keep your house cleaner than any woman, but there’s no fellowship. Perfect obedience but no fellowship. So now you might understand what we’re trying to talk about.

There is a poem that many of you may have seen and it has something to do with this struggle between Esau and Jacob. The poem is called “The Soldier” and it says: His name is not on earth’s honour roll, There’s no medals fastened on his manly breast, But God has given him a place among the blessed, Because he conquered self, the only foe, That could have given to him a mortal blow. This Esau is the only foe that could give us a mortal blow.

I was at a convention in America quite a time ago and a sister worker spoke in the last meeting. She spoke a little about Esau and do you know what she said as she finished? She just said this and I felt that I needed that. She said “I hope every one of us is going to leave this convention with a wholesome fear of Esau. Esau is serious, he’s deadly and he wants to get that birthright back. I hope that we all leave this convention with a wholesome fear of Esau.”

This morning when Deon prayed, he mentioned mountains and he mentioned valleys. This afternoon I thought to speak a little about some of the valleys in the Bible. I wonder if you recognize the name of the valley of Achor? We read in Hosea 3:15, “And I will give her her vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for a door of hope.” We’re glad when we’re feeling hopeless and a door of hope is opened to us. Do you remember what happened there? It was when Achan hid that Babylonian garment and gold and so on in his tent. The temptation was too great. They were told not to touch the accursed thing but the temptation was too great and he thought no one would know, so he hid it in his tent. Well nobody else knew, but of course God knew. What he didn’t realize was that NOBODY would know it but EVERYBODY would be affected by the influence of what he had done.

More than a year ago, I was in an area that I had not been in before having meetings. In that area, there was a brother. His wife is a very fine, faithful woman and the man also professes. I have heard other workers and saints say it and I have felt it myself. There is just something about this man that you couldn’t put your finger on. He’d come to the meetings and he’d have a part, and I might say I had never seen anybody who could put on such a holy look in the meeting, BUT there was something wrong. There’s no warmth in the fellowship and it is not open. You don’t feel free to even have a spiritual conversation with the man. There are some that you can enjoy having a spiritual conversation with, but there are some like this man with whom you just can’t enjoy a conversation. Somehow it just doesn’t flow and this man was like that. Well, we went into his home and there I saw something that answered the question for me. “Oh, I see!” Maybe not many knew. Well, it’s quite obvious that he doesn’t see any harm in it at all. The amazing thing is that he sees no harm in it but everyone else can feel the effect of it in his spirit. There may be somebody here. Let me tell you something – if you are not in full fellowship, you cannot pretend. People may be very kind to you and very warm towards you, but they all know. They all know. However, we are glad for this door of hope. It could even be that you know very well what it is but you don’t see any harm in it. Well this door of hope is very simple. There is no other way but you are just going to have to get rid of the accursed thing so that you can be free. I appreciated what a brother said one time and I think of it often. He said, “We would be greatly helped by a vision of what we’re missing by not being faithful.” That thing that you can’t seem to let go is not giving you that much joy anyway. Just let the accursed thing go.

Do you recognize the name of the valley of Elah? That’s where David fought with Goliath. We all have that valley. That was a very, very important battle that day, an extremely important battle. Every one of us is going to have to fight that battle. Every one of us has a Goliath to face–this human nature. I just noted a few things it mentions about Goliath. It says in the first place he was far too big to manage. He was big–he was tremendous, powerful and the armor that he had, a normal person couldn’t even carry it. David had enough wisdom to know that there is no way that he can come against this man with normal weapons and armor. That won’t work and there’s only ONE way and that’s the help of God. That’s the only way that we’re going to fight this Goliath. To try and think that we are going to do it with will power and anything else like that, we’re fooling ourselves hopelessly! There’s only one way we are going to do it and that is with the help of God, to live in such a way that God can deliver us and be with us. It also says of Goliath that he was a warrior from his youth–that’s what Saul said to David. He told him that he could never fight against him because he had been a warrior from his youth. I am amazed myself at how young I was when this old human nature was already growing so big. It is like that; it gives us trouble right from our youth. Goliath was blaspheming God and His people and that’s what made David’s blood boil. He wasn’t going to stand for that. If this human nature of ours is not controlled and under the control of God’s Spirit, there is no way we can do anything because it is going to be a disgrace to God’s Truth and His Kingdom. That is quite a serious thing. We’ve seen that often. It’s a terrible thing to be a disgrace to God’s Kingdom. He WILL, if we don’t have him under control.

What I thought I’d just mention a little is what David aimed at. He saw that the only little spot where this giant was vulnerable was his forehead. I really feel that is the thing that I have to aim at. I realize that if I want to work against this human nature, then the first thing I have got to think about is my thoughts. That’s where the problems mostly come from. These thoughts of ours have a far greater influence on our very soul, our very being, than what we often realize. I wonder if you’ve ever thought of it–what is the thing that you do most in your life? What do you do more than anything else in all your life? I think we can safely say it is to think. Thinking – from the time you wake up in the morning till you fall asleep at night–there’s not a moment that you’re not thinking something. Maybe we get more influence from our thoughts than what we would ever realize. In the Proverbs it says, “That as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Do you see what that is saying? If we can change our thought pattern, we are going to change ourselves completely. We’re going to change our very character by changing our thought pattern. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he!” You have probably heard many times, but could you bear to have it repeated? “Sow a thought and you’ll reap a desire; sow a desire and you’ll reap an action; sow an action and you’ll reap a habit; sow a habit and you’ll reap a character; sow a character and you’ll reap a destiny.” It all began with a thought and it ends with a destiny–an eternal destiny. It’s worth aiming at the forehead–that’s what David aimed at and that’s what we’ll have to aim at if we are going to win–if we want to win.

We sing in the hymn sometimes, “Help us think the thoughts that keep our hearts aflame”–very nice if we can. I remember Howard Mooney telling us the best advice he ever had and at the time he never thought it would become the best advice he ever had. Somebody told him one time, “Howard, you just try this. At night, before you go to sleep, before you put out your light, you read your Bible and you just try to find a verse that you could enjoy thinking about, that you would like to think about. You just try and find one and then until you fall asleep, you just think about that verse and if you wake up during the night again, then think about that verse again.” Do you know what he said? He said, “I never could have guessed it then, but that little bit of advice has brought unbelievable riches into my spiritual life.” That’s one thing we can do to help us think the thoughts that keep our hearts aflame! You know what happens sometimes? It’s so natural and so much easier to think the thoughts that keep our human natures aflame. That’s a dangerous thing. I might just mention this. I think we all understand this kind of language. If our human nature is dynamite, then our thoughts are the matches!

There’s another valley that’s mentioned in the book of Joel. I think we know that verse quite well. In Joel 3 it says, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision.” Did you notice, talking about the place where we are making decisions–did you notice that it mentions a valley? Multitudes, there are a lot of graves in that valley! Sad, sad graves! I can think right now of some graves in that valley and whenever I think of them, I don’t like to look at the name on that gravestone. It just makes you feel terrible! People that should never have been there–sad, sad graves and it says there are multitudes there–and it is true, in that valley of decision, the worst place in the world to try and make a decision. There are many there, sadly. Uncle Alec Pearce once spoke about two raindrops. Maybe you’ve heard about that? Two raindrops that fell there south of Capetown on Cape Point–there’s a lighthouse on that very point. It has a pitched roof and these raindrops fell together, but the one fell on this side of the ridge and one on that side of the ridge. The one raindrop ran down the one side into the gutter and the other into the gutter on the other side. They went a little further and the result was that the one ran into the Atlantic and the other into the Indian Ocean. After some time they were thousands of miles apart and here they had fallen together.

My second year in the work, I was with Uncle Len Hartshorne doing some house-to-house visiting in the city of Boksburg. We came across a lot of unhappy people, unhappy that we knocked at their doors. We have experiences like that. Some of them threaten to put their dogs on you and some do it, too! Well this house I knocked on the door and a man came out in the middle of the day and he was in his pajamas. I said, “It seems like you’re not well?” He said, “Yes, I’m not well but come inside.” I went in and sat down. It was quite a thing to be invited inside. I’ll tell you briefly what he told me. “This is not an ordinary sickness–I’m an alcohol addict and I’m in a bad way. I have to tell you now. Because of that I have lost my job and do you see this nice house? I have actually lost this house, too. It’s going. That’s not the worst. My wife despises me and my children despise me. My life is just a wreck.” Well, then he wanted to know just a bit about these meetings, and he was amazed when I started to tell him. “Oh,” he said, “Have you ever heard of Alec Pearce?” Do you know those 40 years before that he heard the Gospel in the Transkei from Uncle Alec Pearce and his companion, in the same mission where Uncle Albert Webb was? He said he knew then that he should have made his choice but he chose the other way. Do you see those two raindrops? There was one man who had a meeting in his home, a wonderful elder, and the other man, a terrible wreck without any hope. We tried to tell him there was still hope but he wouldn’t come to meeting. There are terribly sad graves in that valley of decision. It was Bert Todhunter that told us, and it is very sobering. He said, “There are some young people that spoil all the future of their lives making wrong choices. Then there are some older people that make choices that spoil all the past of their lives.” When we make a choice, there is just one thing to remember. We may not be in a place to give you much advice, but we have seen a few things in a few countries. Could we ask you just one thing, specially speaking to the young people–don’t look at the road, look at where it’s leading. That might sound like we don’t need to tell you that, but yes we do because most people look at the road and they don’t have much regard for where it’s going and where it’s ending up. We can be traveling in a Rolls Royce and have the most beautiful music coming from the speakers and riding on the smoothest road with flowers and lovely trees by the side, but if you’re on the way to the funeral of the person you love most in the world, you’re not going to be enjoying that at all. Then again if you’re on an rusty bicycle and it’s windy on a bumpy road and it’s dusty and it’s hot and uphill, but if you’re on the way to meet somebody after many years, that you love the most in the world, there is a song in your heart and that old bicycle is all right. It’s not the road but it is what’s waiting at the end, that’s what matters and there are so few people that seem to have the common sense to think that way when it comes to spiritual things and the really important things. “Though crags and tangles cross it, praise God we will go on.” Don’t worry about the road; it doesn’t matter if it has thorns. We say in that hymn, “Where He has marked the pathway, all hail the briar and thorn.”

The Korean Bible says that if He has marked the way, we will tread on the thorns. The thorns don’t matter–it is what’s waiting at the end. So what we’d like to say is when you have to make a choice, don’t look at the road but look at the end of it and THEN choose. May we also say this–the problem is passion! Not only young people but older people also. Our passions can sometimes be very strong and they can lead us to make very wrong choices. We would just like to say this–please remember human passions are very, very fickle. Our passions pass away but don’t forget we’re going to sit with the results of the deeds done in those passions. Some of the most miserable people in this world today are people having to sit, some of them all their lives, with the result of deeds done in passions that they no longer feel. It’s a miserable thing to be very careful in this valley of decision. We need to think and think and think again, and pray. It’s wonderful to be like Abraham. Don’t worry if it seems like the other one seems to be getting away with the best of it. Let God choose for you–it’s IMPOSSIBLE to lose. Impossible! But if you’re going to choose for yourself, following your own passions, the very best you can hope for is mercy. We had better not be too presumptuous even about that.

We have that hymn; “I would be true for there are those that trust me.” Do you know that it was Jack Price that wrote that hymn? When he wrote it, it was when his sister was going to make a very bad choice. She was madly in love with a man and though she was professing at the time, he was not, and the whole family was absolutely upset because they knew it was going to be a disaster. They couldn’t talk to her. They lose their heads, their hearts and everything, it seems. One day Jack was so desperate and he got hold of her and he really gave her a talking to. It was at night and she went to her room. The next morning when she came to breakfast, her eyes were red and swollen. She’d been crying the whole night. However she said, “I won’t see that man again.” He was so glad that he was able to wrest her back from digging her grave in that valley of decision. Later she met a very fine man and she is happy today. All the children are professing. What a difference! It would have been a disaster. It was then that Jack wrote that hymn, “I would be true.” As I said, she spent the whole night crying.

In Korea, not so much any more, but when we first went there, the military training bordered on cruelty. Big strong men would be reduced to tears, and do you know what the officers would tell them? “We’re making you shed your tears on the training ground to save you from shedding your blood on the battleground.” So maybe some of these choices are going to cost a few tears, maybe you will cry all night, but it is better to shed a few tears now. You’ll get over it. Yes, you’ll get over it. Rather that than put your soul in terrible danger and dig your grave in the valley of decision. A sister worker in America got a letter from her younger sister. Her name was Edith. It was a very similar thing. She wrote and said she’d met a man too and that she was going to marry him and nothing was going to change her mind, but she knew she was going to have to leave the Way. So she just wrote to her sister Emily and she said, “I’m sorry to have to tell you, but I don’t see my way clear of continuing in this Way.” Well, of course that night Emily could not sleep, as she was TERRIBLY upset. In the middle of the night she got some inspiration and got up and wrote the words of that hymn we have in our book. “Lord Jesus teach me how to choose.” She sent it to her sister. It was never meant to be in our hymnbook as it was written for her sister. She sent it to Edith and she said, “I have only got one request. Before you finally decide, won’t you please sing these words that I’ve written and sing it to the tune of the old song that you and I used to sing together, ‘I’ll take you home again Kathleen.’” That’s its tune, you know. Well, her sister sang it and she felt she couldn’t go through with it. She changed her mind and it was the same story. Happily married afterwards. She’s still in the Truth and her whole family is too. So we are thankful for those who have helped us not to dig our graves in this terrible valley of decision. Maybe some of the more serious decisions some people make are when young people choose their mate for life. We were hearing about husbands and wives in these meetings already. Please just remember one thing. The choice for your mate in life is not only going to affect your salvation but it is definitely going to affect the way that your children are brought up. There have been some who have been in that position also having made wrong choices in that respect and have had the horror of not being able to do anything about it and seeing their children brought up and going the way of the world. Trying to pull the other way but it’s a very, very hard thing. I have no children, but I think I can imagine what a painful thing that must be. So just remember that it is not only going to affect your salvation, but it is DEFINITELY going to affect the way your children are brought up. In the Truth or not, it’s going to affect the atmosphere in your home. It’s going to affect many, many things. It’s better to be careful–VERY, VERY careful. That can also be a sad, sad grave in the valley of decision. I’ve known some that have lost their own salvation because of that and are miserable today. It didn’t bring anything near the happiness that they expected.

Just one more thought about the valley of tears. We read that in Psalm 84, “Those passing through the valley of Baca and make it a well.” If you look in the margin of your Bible, it probably says the valley of weeping, the valley of tears. I’ll just mention this briefly. While we were sitting here we heard about Joseph. He went through a long dark valley of tears. Wouldn’t it have been a terrible tragedy if he had dug his grave in that valley? However, he didn’t; he made it a well, a well from which God’s people are still drawing. The same with Job–just imagine the terrible dark valley he went through but he didn’t make it a valley of tears. What a wonderful man he was! God has given and God has taken away–doesn’t matter what. He lost everything. “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” We had a young man profess in Korea a number of years ago. He was a taxi driver. Then the law (it’s changed now fortunately, but then it was that if you’d hurt somebody with your car there was no question, no matter if you had no guilt at all), if you hurt somebody while driving your car then you went to jail. He was driving his taxi and a woman didn’t even look and she came out from behind a car to cross the road quickly and there was no way he could avoid her. Well, she was hurt and he was in jail for a long time. Anyway, he hadn’t been professing very long and he decided it was a good chance to get to know what’s in the Bible. He didn’t know what the Bible was before that. Well, he really studied his Bible while he was in prison. Now he is in the work and he is still drawing from that well that he had made in that valley. It could have been a valley of tears but he made it a well instead. You’ve heard of Sam Jones, the brother worker that wrote so many of our hymns which we will be singing at this convention, and have already sung–hymns that are a help to all of God’s people. Sam Jones had a heart problem that the doctors could not help, and he spent many a sleepless night. It was in those nights that he could not sleep that he wrote many of the hymns that we have in our book today. There’s another man–instead of feeling sorry for himself in the valley of tears he made it a well and it is a well that God’s people are still drinking from and will probably keep drinking from until the time that our Lord returns.

It has been said, and it is very true, that sometimes we can see further through a tear than what you see through a telescope. The Bible tells us that, too. The sadness of the heart is good for us. It’s good medicine sometimes because when we are feeling sad, we start thinking deeper thoughts than we normally would be thinking– sometimes we see further through a tear than we would be able to see through a telescope. Look a little higher at the things that are more important and a lot more serious. Some of us may have been in some of these valleys but especially let’s be careful of choices so we wouldn’t make our grave in the valley of decision and add our name to those multitudes in the valley of decision.

I thought of that verse where Jesus said to those disciples, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” We had better get to know! We had better find out what manner of spirit we are of. I remember when I was in New Zealand, the older brother there said something that has remained with me. He said “After all, at the end of our days there’s only one thing that’s going to matter, and that is whether or not we have the nature of the Lamb.” That’s the only thing that will matter. There’s something, I don’t know if you’ve thought about it ever – I’ve thought about it – there’s something in this world that’s very, very unfair, that is that not one of us had any say or could do anything about deciding, when we come into this world, what we’re going to look like! There are some people in this world that are VERY good looking and there are some people that are very much the opposite. It seems so unfair because you know as well as I do that if you’re good looking you get good treatment everywhere, especially when you’re a bit younger. If you’re the opposite, well, people are inclined to tramp on you. That’s just the way it is, and we have seen that many, many times.

I was riding on a bus in Korea at one time and those old country buses were supposed to stop anywhere along the road where there was somebody that needs a ride, it picks up farmers and anybody along the road. Well, this one day the bus was not very full and there was this dear old lady with this thing on her head, wanting to go to market and this bus driver was in such a hurry for some reason that day. I don’t know if he was hungry and wanted to get home for lunch or what. He passed one person after another and this poor old lady too and she would have had to wait hours for the next bus. He just went rattling past her pretending not to see her and that was awful. Then, believe it or not, further on there was a very nice looking young lady standing there waiting, and you should have seen how he put on the brakes and so very politely asked her to get on the bus. This is how it is. We humans are so shallow. We’re so small, so shallow and so mean. Well, it is true but actually it doesn’t matter because we are all getting older and we are all going to get the same way but the thing I’m trying to get at is this. It is true that we have no say what we are going to look like in this life but do you realise that you and I have all the say as to what we’re going to look like on the other side? Do you know who is going to be the most beautiful person on the other side? I couldn’t tell you the name but I could tell you who it will be. You will surely agree with me. The purpose of life is that we become conformed to the image of Jesus, (we read that in the Bible). It’s very easy to understand that the most beautiful person in eternity is going to be the one that’s the closest conformed to the image of Jesus. That makes sense, doesn’t it? We read in the Song of Solomon that HE is the perfection of beauty. In the Afrikaans it says “Hy is die lieflikheid self!” Well, now who is that going to be? It is going to be the person that has submitted most completely to the will of God in their lives, to everything that God has allowed, so that HE can work in that one’s spirit to make them more like His Son. It is the one that has just accepted everything and submitted and allowed God to work without resistance. There are not going to be many like that but the one that has done that the most is going to be the one that is going to be the closest conformed to the image of Christ and our eternal joy is going to depend very much on how much we have been conformed to the image of Christ. It’s not going to be for all the wonderful things we have done in this world but it is going to depend a lot more on what God has been able to work into us. So now, that is why this is such a serious question. Do we really know what spirit we are of? Well, God is helping us to know. He wants to help us to know how far we have got with this process, also how far we’re behind!

When my father was working on the railways, he was the man that I suppose you have often seen when the train comes into the station, he taps the wheels. I used to love to be with him when I was small and we had school holidays. Well, of course I wanted to know why he did that. He would explain to me. “Oh,” he said, “It is very important that these wheels are sound.” I suppose you’d remember as it was just a few years ago that that fast train in Germany, one of the fastest trains in the world, came off the rails and it was a terrific calamity. Coming off the rails at those speeds, it was about 150 miles an hour – imagine a train coming off the rails at that speed! Do you know why it was? They found out afterwards that it was because of one wheel that was not sound. That’s why that is so important. You can’t afford to have one wheel that’s not sound. He explained to me, “When you tap those wheels and if the wheel is alright you get that sound, a ‘ping,’ the sound of a bell but if there’s the slightest flaw in that wheel you just get a dead thud when you tap it. You can tell right away.” You see? That’s what God is doing. He’s giving us a tap, and sometimes a knock and sometimes a bang. He knows what we are but just so that we ourselves can tell what our spirit is by the response, it’s the response that He’s looking at! We can tell what spirit we are of when we see how we respond to circumstances or experiences. Sometimes we get pretty hard knocks. Maybe it would be easier to understand if we just mention a little bit about Job. I don’t think any of us ever have been or ever will be given a hard knock like Job was given. It was more than a bang, it was terrible – losing everything and finally his health as well. Do you know, the response after having been given a bang like that, with a big sledgehammer, his response was, “The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” He also said that as God has given us the good, shall we not receive the evil as well. What a marvelous spirit that man had. That response was as clear as a bell, showing that that man had a marvelous spirit.

Do you know what happens when you tramp on a shongololo? Have you ever tramped on one? I suppose you know what a shongololo is? That little black worm that curls up when you touch it. It comes out after the rain. If you tramp on one it is an awful stink! Terrible stink! Do you know that some people are like that? It happens to us too sometimes when we get a bad knock and get an awful stink coming as a result.

We have heard about Cain. God rebuked him and not unkindly at all, quite kindly in fact. He was so angry because his sacrifice was not accepted and God very kindly said to him, “Why are you angry? If you do well won’t it be accepted?” One thing that Cain forgot is that one thing that God looks at before He looks at the sacrifice, He looks at the person who is offering it first. God first looks at you before He looks at your sacrifice. Cain himself was not acceptable. He was not acceptable and so God didn’t want anything to do with his sacrifice. He just didn’t realize that and so God said to him, “If you do well, will it not be accepted?” But the response that came from Cain was murder and hatred because God had accepted his brother. So he was going to kill his brother. What a terrible stink, horrible stink that came from him. Poor Cain, what a miserable end he came to. God was giving him a knock, actually a very kind rebuke but the spirit he showed was so clear and his end was in accordance with that too.

Then on the other hand you think of David. He was a king after all, and he wanted to build the Temple and he got a little rebuke also. God said, “None of it you shed too much innocent blood in your lifetime, you’re not going to build that Temple, I’ll let your son build it.” Well, David didn’t have a nasty spirit over that. He had a wonderful response, “Well, If I can’t build it I’m going to do my very best to help my son to build it.” Wasn’t that nice. Have you ever heard what has been said? That there is no limit of possibilities and opportunities for service in this Kingdom….as long as we don’t care who gets the credit! Very true. David didn’t care that his son was going to get all the credit he still did his very best to prepare and to help him to build that Temple. That was such an opposite response. So this is what it is adding up to. We don’t know what spirit we are of and sometimes we think we are not too bad at all, till we get a knock and we see what response there is and we find out pretty quick. God wants US to know so that we can realize how far we still have got to go.

In Korea one time, we came in touch with a young lady who had been an Evangelist in the Presbyterian church, the biggest church there. She’d been an Evangelist and they really looked after her. They gave her a beautiful flat with a piano and furnished and a good salary and everything. Anyway she was a little unusual. The main elder of that church was a doctor and that doctor had been coming to our meetings but he was not willing for the humility of it. Somehow he liked the meetings so he kept coming and one day she went to him. Not to the preacher but to this elder and she said, “You know, I feel so uneasy, I am supposed to be an Evangelist and I’m living in clover. According to the Bible and if we are God’s servant, we should be knowing of some kind of suffering.” So he said, “I think I know what you’re looking for and I’ll tell you where to go, if you’ll promise that you’ll never tell them that I sent you.” I happened to be there at the time and so he gave her our telephone number and she phoned. She told me afterwards that the doctor had sent her. So we had a visit and she started coming to meetings and some time later she moved to Seoul, the main city. I’m not going to tell you the name but there was a certain worker there, an older brother worker. So we got her in touch with him but she was quite a hard case, I might tell you. She wasn’t taking things sitting down and she wasn’t going to, as you say in Afrikaans, “Sy gaan nie alles vir soetkoek opeet nie!” (She wasn’t going to eat everything as if it were sweet cakes) She wanted to be sure of everything and so she arranged to have a visit with this brother worker. Do you know what he said to me afterwards? He said, “Wherever did you find that wild cat?” But do you know what she told me afterwards? That was interesting to me. She said to me, “On purpose I gave him a few good pokes. I wanted to see what response I’d get.” Unfortunately she didn’t get a very good response because he was mad with her. Well, there we are, we need to be careful because sometimes people are poking us a bit and all they’re wanting is to see what kind of a response they’re going to get. It’s too bad if they don’t see the spirit of Christ! Do you know what happens to an octopus or a squid when he is in the water and you give him a poke? He gives off the most horrible black ink-like substance and it blackens and dirties all the water in the area. It dirties the water for everything else that’s swimming there. Do you know that some people are like that? They’ve been wronged and, of course, it may well be true that they have been wronged. Somebody’s done something or said something very unkind and very unfair, very unjust. Well, that may be true, they’ve been wronged and they’ve been hurt and they’ve been given a pretty bad knock. Then do you know what they do? They go around telling everybody what they did to them and dirtying the water for everybody else. It has happened to me, that somebody has come and told me something about one of the other friends, or even another worker. You know, you can’t help but think that there’s some truth in it, but then when I have met that person, the first thing that comes into my mind the next time I see them, is what’s been told about them. I feel that I wished that they’d never said anything because they’ve spoiled my feeling towards that person. If they had only kept it to themselves but here now they have dirtied the water for me and for everybody else, spreading around how bad they are and what they did. Well, leave that to God. He knows how to take care of it. Just leave it to Him but don’t dirty the water for everybody else as well. Our response is going to show to us what kind of a spirit we’ve got. Some of these fancy little sayings quickly get around the world. It’s no good thinking you can go to America or Australia and you can mention them because people will tell you, “I have heard that eleventeen times already.” Anyway I suppose you have all heard this, it’s nice to me and it speaks about forgiveness. “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the rose sends back to the foot that crushed it.” Is that not nice? Is that not VERY nice? We can see that in the life of Joseph. When he forgave his brethren they couldn’t believe that he could forgive them because they knew what they’d done to him. The years of terrible suffering and loneliness that they’d caused him and they just knew what human nature was and they couldn’t believe that he’d forgive them. Even when he’d said, “Don’t worry about it,” they were sure it was for the dad’s sake and so when Jacob died, do you remember the brothers talking to each other? “Oh dear now dad’s gone and now he’s going to get us.” So they came back and pleaded again…”Please.” “Well,” he said “What’s the matter with you? I’ve forgiven you.” You see his forgiveness was so complete and they couldn’t believe it was possible that he could forgive them. Well, he was like that rose, he’d been trampled. What a wonderful response!

Then of course we hardly need to mention but we will anyway, the Lord Jesus, praying on the cross. Did you ever realize? You know it’s not very easy to forgive people while they’re torturing you. Afterwards, I don’t know if it’s possible, but to forgive them while they’re still torturing you and you’re still in agony from it. To forgive them then, and not only that but Jesus forgave them while they were still torturing Him on the cross, and not only that He forgave them before they’d shown one ounce of repentance! Well, it’s a bit much for us to grasp, isn’t it? Yet we can aim at it if we want to have that fragrance of the spirit of Christ.

There was somebody, while thinking of response and the fragrance of the rose. Some of us here might have known him. Old Oom Pieter de Klerk from Umtata and his wife, Aunt Phoebe. For the generation who don’t know the old people, his daughter, Dorothy, married Pieter van Heerden’s brother, Jurgens, and they are there in America. Anyway Oom Pieter and Aunt Phoebe were a lovely old couple, a good elder. When I was in Korea some time ago I got a letter from Oom Pieter. It was just after his brother Johannes had died. He wrote to me, when he was sitting next to him at his deathbed, what the two of them were talking about. It was very interesting to me. He wrote something that I hadn’t even known and he said that when they were young, their father had a big farm and their mother died and the father married again. Then they had a younger brother, a baby brother whose name was Louis and he grew up to be one big rascal, that Louis. Anyway, there were three boys and apparently the father made his will to divide the farm and his possessions amongst them. However, when the father got old and his mind was not so clear any more, this Louis came along and he made a new will for his father and he got him to sign it, not even knowing what he was signing under false pretenses. Well, he signed it and these other boys knew nothing about it and when the father died…what a shock! Everything went to Louis and they had to walk off that farm, Pieter and Johannes, they had to walk off that farm with just their suitcases and their clothes and that was all they had. Anyway he wrote in his letter that while he was there with his brother, while his brother was dying, they reminded each other of that and they said, “Remember what we said when we walked off the farm with our two suitcases? ‘Ag let’s not feel so bad, let’s not have hard feelings against old Louis. After all he has only taken away from us the riches that are going to hinder us in serving God.’” Then he said “Isn’t that so?” Well, both of them lived alright and he said that it is probably true, that all he had taken away from us was the things that would have hindered us in serving God. Now there’s a response! How many of us would have done that? We’d be going to court right away to try and get this thing taken care of. What a response!

The Lord Jesus told us something about response. If you read Matthew 5:44, it is rather searching. Jesus said “I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you that you may be the children of your Father.” Well, that’s the way to respond but it’s going to take something to do it! It speaks about your enemies and I just thought to myself, when I read that, “What would help me is to ask myself, ‘Why he has become my enemy?’” Maybe I have not been so gracious in my attitude towards him or in my dealings with him. Maybe there’s some reason from MY side too! It’s not a bad idea to question ourselves like that. There again it is RESPONSE. Love your enemies, do good to those who despitefully use you.

You’ve probably all heard about Oom Koert Viviers, he was in the work in the very early days but then he went farming. There was a man with a wonderful spirit too. One day he was going to town and there was his neighbour with his lorry also on the road and it was stuck because he had a flat wheel. So Oom Koert immediately got out of his car and he went to help him but as he walked towards the lorry….Oh NO! His lorry was filled with Oom Koert’s sheep. He’d stolen his sheep and here on the way he’d got a flat wheel. Do you know, he pretended that he didn’t even see it and he kindly went up and he said, “Man, to change this big wheel on your own is not very easy. Come and let me help you.” The man was terribly awkward, of course but Oom Koert just chatted away and very kindly helped him to change the wheel and then as he walked back to his car he said, “Man, if you don’t mind, wouldn’t you just go and put my sheep back in my field?” and he got into his car and he drove off. That was a response like I don’t think I could show, but it was the best thing to do. I could assure you that man turned around and he put those sheep back in that field. He was so ashamed. You see the way we respond and show the spirit of Christ, doesn’t matter if we lose, but you’ll NEVER lose.

I might just tell you something that impressed me greatly. In Korea, one time Howard Mooney was there and at that time we had 15 American professing boys in the army in Korea. They were at this convention and Howard was speaking to encourage them but what he said was beautiful to me. Sometimes we can be in circumstances where we feel that we can do not a single thing for the sake of the Kingdom. The way we feel is that we’re almost handcuffed, we cannot do a thing for the Kingdom. He said, “But let me tell you that not one of us is ever wasting one moment of our time, as long as we’re showing the spirit of Christ.” You can do that no matter where you are and no matter what circumstances, he said that was the main thing and that none of us is ever wasting a moment of our time as long as we’re showing the spirit of Christ. I really liked that.

Well, those that hate you, Jesus spoke about that and there is something that I have tried to do about that and to remember when I find that there is someone who doesn’t like me. You get those people sometimes and it has helped me to think like this…”Well, Ernest, there are times when you have absolutely hated yourself.” Have you ever felt like that when you have just hated yourself? Well, I have thought that if I have hated myself can I really blame them for not liking me? Well, it helps a little bit.

We have an Afrikaans Hymn and I like that hymn very much. It’s a pity it’s not in our English books. It’s easy to find because all the Afrikaans hymns are in alphabetical order. It starts off…

“In droefheid en in nood O Heer Gee U my steeds weer moed”

And do you know what one of the verses says?

“Die uur van pyn bring menigmaal Wat voorspoed wou vermy Soos kruie heel bly sonder reuk Hul geur verbryseld sprei.”

Maybe some here have a bit of a problem with Afrikaans, I don’t know, but there is an English translation, even though it is not in our books.

The hour of pain and suffering oft produces. What we would miss if all were calm and fair. As spices left unbroken have no savour but crushed and bruised their fragrance fills the air.

Could I but see that in the darkest hour, there is a precious opportunity for that’s the hour, by graciously enduring, my spirit can bring glory unto Thee.

I’m going to close with one of the most frightening verses. I don’t know if I should say frightening but amazing, condemning, maybe condemning verses that you could find in the Bible. It’s in the Song of Solomon, if you’d like to look at it later. If you look at it carefully, it’s at the end of the 4th chapter, the last verse. Do you know what it says? “Awake Oh North wind and come thou South wind, blow upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow out.” Now just you imagine how mature we’d have to be spiritually and how much of the Spirit of Christ would be worked into us before we could DARE to say a thing like that! Would you be able to say that? Come on difficult experiences! The winds of experience, come on experiences and circumstances, let it come. Come along so that I can show to others the Spirit of Christ. Just inviting experiences to come along and give me a knock so that I can show by my response, the Spirit of Christ. Well, all I can say is that when I read words like that I know that I have got a long, long way to go. That’s what Jesus said, “You don’t know what spirit you are of,” and we had better find out. Our eternal reward is going to depend a lot on that. We had better start finding out! God is helping us. When things happen, just watch what our response is because that is going to give us a good idea how we stand.

I noticed the wording of Ezekiel 32:21, “the strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol.”(RV) When the rich man in Luke 16 was in the realm of the dead he was desperate to get a message to his five brothers who were still on the earth. I wondered what different ones would want to tell us if they got a chance.

Samson would probably say “Be careful of women!”

Saul might say “Watch out for jealousy and presumptuousness.”

Perhaps Abel would say “Keep on doing what is right, even if you are despised for it.”

Cain would say “Be extra careful of your attitude toward your brother.”

Judas might say “Watch out for the love of money. It will bring you to the place where it will be harder for you to enter heaven than it will be for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.

Herod (who was eaten by worms) would say “Fear the praise of men.”

Ananias and Sapphira would likely say “Don’t pretend to be what you are not.”

And likely that rich man in Luke 16 would be trying to tell us “Don’t live as if you are going to be here forever.”

Lot’s wife would say “Oh struggling soul press onward and keep the goal in view.”

Jephthah would remind us “You have opened your mouth to the Lord; you cannot now go back.”

Samuel would say “Whatever you do, don’t neglect to teach your children to love God and to fear Him.”

Hezekiah would say “Put your house in order; the call of death may come unexpectedly…and when it does come, remember, God knows best. How I wish I had just been willing to go when the call came!”

The disobedient prophet would urgently warn us “Be careful of a new doctrine…even if it comes from a servant of God whom you have been trusting!”

Both Joseph and David would encourage us to “Just leave it in God’s hands…His mill grinds slowly, but it grinds exceedingly fine.”

Job is saying “It’s not because God is against you. He is just refining the gold.”

Noah says “Keep at it…your labour will not be in vain.”

Belshazzar says “You are still too light…I am speaking from bitter experience. Only the measure of the Spirit of Christ that has been worked into you will have any weight.”

The five foolish virgins are admonishing “Your lamps may look all right, but what is in your vessels? It’s the part of your life that only you and God know that is going to be the problem.”

Achan says “There is nothing hid that will not be revealed. What is hidden in your tent?”

Naboth says “This heritage of Truth has been handed down to you at a terrible cost; defend it with your life. Don’t let the standard drop.”

Joab no doubt would say “Conquering all the king’s enemies won’t help you if you are not conquering self.”

Martha would say “Seek the place at Jesus’ feet and spend time there before you get too busy.”

And we are so thankful that our Lord Jesus is still saying “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.”

Noté las palabras de Ezequiel (Ezek32:21), “De en medio del Seol hablarán a él los fuertes de los fuertes”. Cuando el hombre rico en Lucas 16 estaba en el reino de los muertos, estaba desesperado por obtener un mensaje de sus cinco hermanos que aún estaban en la tierra.

Me pregunté qué nos dirían personas diferentes si tuvieran una oportunidad.

Sansón probablemente diría “¡Cuidado con las mujeres!”

Saúl podría decir: “Cuidado con los celos y la presunción”.

Tal vez Abel diría: “Sigue haciendo lo correcto, incluso si eres despreciado por ello”.

Caín diría: “Ten mucho cuidado con tu actitud hacia tu hermano”.

Judas podría decir: “Cuidado con el amor al dinero. Te llevará al lugar donde te será más difícil entrar al cielo que a un camello atravesar el ojo de una aguja.

Herodes (que fue comido por los gusanos) diría: “Teme el elogio de los hombres”.

Ananías y Safira probablemente dirían “No finjas ser lo que no eres”.

Y es probable que ese hombre rico en Lucas 16 esté tratando de decirnos “No vivas como si fueras a estar aquí para siempre”.

La esposa de Lot diría “Oh, alma luchadora, sigue hacia adelante y mantén la meta a la vista”.

Jefté nos recordaría: “Has abierto tu boca al Señor; ahora no puedes volver “.

Samuel diría: “Hagas lo que hagas, no dejes de enseñar a tus hijos a amar a Dios y a temerle”.

Ezequías diría: “Ordena tu casa; la llamada a la muerte puede llegar inesperadamente … y cuando llegue, recuerde, Dios sabe mejor. ¡Cómo me gustaría haber estado dispuesto a irme cuando llegó la llamada!

El profeta desobediente nos advertiría con urgencia: “¡Ten cuidado con una nueva doctrina … incluso si proviene de un siervo de Dios en quien has estado confiando!”

Tanto José como David nos animarían a “simplemente dejarlo en las manos de Dios … Su molino muele lentamente, pero es extremadamente fino”.

Job está diciendo: “No es que Dios esté contra ti. Él sólo está refinando el oro “.

Noé dice: “Sigue así … tu labor no será en vano”.

Belsasar dice: “Todavía eres demasiado ligero … Estoy hablando de una experiencia amarga. Solo la medida del Espíritu de Cristo que se ha trabajado en ti tendrá algún peso”.

Las cinco vírgenes insensatas amonestan: “Puede que tus lámparas se vean bien, pero ¿qué hay en tus vasijas? Es tu parte de la vida que solo tú y Dios saben la que será el problema “.

Acán dice: “No hay nada oculto que no será revelado. ¿Qué estás escondiendo en tu tienda?

Nabot dice: “Esta herencia de la Verdad se te ha transmitido a un costo terrible; Defiéndela con tu vida. No dejes caer el estándar”.

Sin duda, Joab diría: “La conquista de todos los enemigos del rey no te ayudará si no te estás conquistando”.

Marta diría: “Busca el lugar a los pies de Jesús y pasa tiempo allí antes de que te afanes en algo”.

Y estamos muy agradecidos de que nuestro Señor Jesús todavía esté diciendo “Perdónalos, Padre, porque no saben lo que hacen”.

Dear Friends, My special thoughts go your way these days with conventions going on here. Some have written asking about how our friends and workers are fairing with the flooding here. At this point, none of our workers or friends have been flooded out. Over 20 million people have been badly affected here and are in need of help. The people of Pakistan are doing what they can to help the needy and also the government is doing what they can. America and other countries are also doing what they can. Lots of people are living in temporary camps until the water dries up from their towns and villages and they can return home. One thing that is affecting all of the people of Pakistan is that because of so many crops and animals being destroyed the vegetables, milk, and meat have about doubled in price. This is a big problem for the poor people. Even in this area where we live all of the low areas like the parks are now lakes. There is a plague of flies, mosquitoes, and frogs.

This last week I moved to the city of Faisalabad. I have not labored here before. We have just 2 friends in this city. Shabaz, who is about 28 and his widowed mother. They mean a lot to us. Every weekend we go out of the city to visit our friends in other nearby places. One weekend we go to the village of 424 that is about 3 hours from here, where we have an elderly lady and her grand daughter who live on a farm. There are quite a few people living on the farm, and some of them sit in the gospel meeting we have there. We stay the night with them and have the Sunday morning meeting with them and have a few gospel meetings in the surrounding area. The next weekend we go to the city of Sargodha about 3 hours from here where we have 4 friends. One of them lives on a farm and the other 3 live in a Christian village. Our friends on the farms have no electricity or running water or bathrooms. We sleep outside there in the summertime. They cook outside over a fire. Our friends have lost a lot of their crops because of too much rain. We have Saturday night with our friends then Sunday morning meeting and a few gospel meetings in the area before returning to Faisalabad for our Sunday evening fellowship meeting. During the week we have 7 gospel meetings in the city of Faisalabad. We have some nice interest here. My new companion is Baila. Her companion, Karen, needed to move to Multan to apply for a visa, so I got to come here. Jill and I had the privilege of being the first ones to bring the gospel to Baila’s family. We used to travel 3 hours each way to get to her town every other week where we had a gospel meeting and turned around and came home. The effort was so worthwhile. Baila is such a jewel. Also her mom and two sisters and 3 nieces have professed. So it gives us courage to keep going and searching for the jewels that are still hidden amongst the multitudes here. Baila’s family is very poor. When we would go there we would have a meeting and cup of tea and eat a sack lunch on the way home. Many places we go they won’t let us get out the door without a meal, but Baila’s family really couldn’t afford to feed extra. I was at Baila’s home about 6 years ago when Keith told her that there would be a place for her in the work soon. She asked him what she should bring with her when she came into the work. He said, “You can ask the sisters, later.” So, when she asked us, we encouraged her to bring her summer clothes, as it was summer time. She said that she had one other outfit besides the one she was wearing. So we said it would be good if she brought her winter clothes as winter would come. She said she didn’t have any. They were all worn out last year. We said not to worry about it. Her needs would be met. We said if she had a suitcase, just put in her extra set of clothes and a comb and her Bible and that would be good. She said “I don’t have a suitcase.” We said, “Don’t worry. Just put your things in a plastic bag. Don’t worry about bringing a lot of things with you. It’s most important what you have in your heart. Bring a willing spirit, and a love for God and a love for others.” Baila brought all of that with her and she has gained a lot more along the way. She had tuberculosis before she was in the work and she is thin and not so strong, but she has the reputation of being willing beyond her strength. She is the one we all would like the chance to be with, because of the treasure that she has in her earthen vessel.

We have a pleasant little bach here on a quiet street. Our bach is a portion of the upstairs of someone’s house. We have a little courtyard that is surrounded on 3 sides by the rooms of the house and one side is the street side. So it is like a room with no roof. That’s where we sleep these days. It is not as hot now since the rainy season has started, but it is humid and around 100 for a high every day.

Love in Him, Jari

22 August 2010

There are four audio files of Ernest Robinson speaking:

Greek Chef

Huguenots

Pusan mission 3

Radio in Holland

Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as He hath chosen us in Him, before the foundation of the world. That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having predestinated us by the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. According to the good pleasure of His will.”

These words especially “Made us accepted in the Beloved.” We come across this in a few other parts, also. I’ll just mention one or two perhaps. We know about those words in Hebrews 10 and in Romans 5– you don’t have to look it up– I’m just going to mention them briefly. We read that we have access “through the Beloved.” This is an amazing thing; talk about amazing grace!

During my first year in the work, there was an elder in Bloemfontein, and that brother was a lot of help to me during my first year in the work. He just told me of an incident that happened during the First World War.

There were two young men, from England, fighting together in Europe, and they had become very good friends during the war. The father of the one was a very rich man and the other came from a very poor home, but, in the army, all are equal. One day, on the battlefield, the one was mortally wounded. He did not die immediately; he died a short time later. He was conscious until he died, and before he died, he wrote his father’s name and address on a little piece of paper. He then said to his friend, “You are going to promise me right now, that if you ever get out of this war alive and you are ever in trouble or in need, promise me now that you will go and see my father and he will help you.” Well, he didn’t like to, but it was his friend’s dying wish; so he went there and then promised him that he would, and he took the piece of paper with the boy’s father’s name and address. He did get out of the war alive, and it did just happen that some time later he was in dire need. His pride would not let him go; he thought he would rather die than to go as a beggar, but then one thing worried him. That was that he had promised on his friend’s deathbed, and it was his dying wish, and although his pride would keep him back, he said, “Because of that promise, I’ll just have to go.” He found the address. It was a very grand house and his courage just about failed him to go up to that door, but he did, and he knocked on the door. The dead boy’s father came to the door but when he saw this young man in front of him, not looking very good and not dressed very well, he was a bit fed up and his attitude was not nice, and in a very abrupt way he said, “Well what are you doing here? What are you looking for?” Well this boy was about to turn around right there, but he reminded himself again, “I’m here only because of that promise.” So he quietly just told the man, “I was actually in the war with your son and we had become good friends. I was with him when he died and this was his dying wish.” He then showed the father the piece of paper. The man took it and immediately he recognized his son’s handwriting. Right there his eyes just filled with tears and his attitude changed completely. He put his arm around the boy and he said, “For my son’s sake, come inside and welcome.” A warm welcome. The brother that told me just put it so nicely; he said, “Isn’t that how we come to God? Unworthy. Unclean. Not a single thing to commend us, but isn’t it wonderful that He says, ‘For My Son’s sake, come inside and welcome.’”

Well, we more or less know these things, but one thing this morning that I just do wonder, and that is, if we really know the immensity of what we have been allowed to come into. I wonder if you remember what this really was the presence of God. In the Old Testament, it was a terrifying thing and it still is. The people were terrified. We read about the Holiest place where the presence of God was. Only the High Priest, only one man on the earth, could go in there and only once a year. He also had to make VERY careful preparation and could not go in without the shedding of blood. Imagine us just going in anytime. You remember about the ark also, when it had to be transported. It signified the presence of God. It had to be covered with the veil and NOBODY DARED to look into it. One time they did–the men of Beth Shemesh, when David was bringing the ark back after it had been in the land of the Philistines. They dared to look into it. Do you know what happened? God took a very dim view of that and more than 50,000 of them lost their lives right there–just because they looked into the Ark. It was NOT permitted. Now here, you and I are looking into these things. That man, Uzza, thought he was doing something good. The oxen had perhaps stumbled and it looked like the Ark was going to slip and fall, and it was almost a reflex action, but that was enough to cause his death. It was terrible and David himself said, “I exceedingly fear, I am afraid. I don’t know how to handle this Ark.” I also think that we remember what we read in Hebrews 12. “You are not come unto the mount that might be touched and that burned with fire nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest.” They could not endure that which was commanded and if so much as a beast should touch the mountain, it should be stoned or thrust through with a dart. So terrible was the sight that Moses said, “I exceedingly fear and quake.” You see, the presence of God, the majesty of it is awesome, the dignity of it. It is terrifying actually if we could only know, and here we have access through the Beloved. God says to us, “For My Son’s sake, come inside.”

These things give me some very serious thoughts. What it is all about is, “How do I come into His presence?” We’ve heard about Esther; she was very careful before she came before the king and she made preparation. But how do we come, or try to come into the presence of God? I’m afraid, sometimes, unbelievably carelessly. Perhaps that’s the reason why we don’t get in! We have to be careful. The fact that we have this access does not by any means mean that we can be in any way careless about it. We have to be careful. The presence of God is awesome. The majesty is awesome. We’ve got to be careful. Who are we? But He says to us, “Come in, for My Son’s sake.” Wonderful grace.

Another thing. When we try to come into the presence of God when we pray, we end by saying, “In Jesus’ name,” don’t we? Do you realize that there is a terrible danger of that just becoming a habit, a formality or just a convenient or a formal way of ending a prayer? We DARE not do that! Absolutely DARE NOT! We had better not say that unless we know what we’re saying and why we are saying that. I have tried for a long time now, and I don’t say I always do well at all, but I have tried before I say those words, “In Jesus’ name” at the end of my prayer, I’ve been trying to think, “Well why do I?” I realize that if it wasn’t for Him, I couldn’t even pray, and I try to remember that, and to think about what I’m saying and why I’m saying it. We dare not do that as a formality. We’d be guilty of taking the Lord’s name in vain! We can’t do it like a parrot. Not when it comes to His name!

We sang that hymn and especially that verse is often in my heart.

“My Master, all my soul desires, the grace to serve Thee faithfully,
In reverence and in Godly fear, in meek unfeigned humility.”

That is many times the prayer of my heart. I pray that God would help me to do that, to come in deep humility, with reverence and Godly fear. That’s how we should be coming, in humility. The Lord Jesus said that except we humble ourselves as a little child we’re not going to enter at all! You see what we’re saying? None of us is humble by nature. We’re not humble. As uncle George Absalom used to say, “Die hoogmoed sit in die murgbeen!” (The pride sits in the marrow of our bones). It’s not in our nature, but we have to humble ourselves. I just thought there may be many things, but just especially three little things that could help us to humble ourselves. One of them is something that we all have. It would humble every one of us if we just used it. That is our memory. There is something else that I must admit humbles me. Probably doesn’t humble many, but it certainly humbles me and that is the mirror! There is something that would humble us even more than that, the mirror of God’s righteousness! We see things in others and it’s easy to criticize, but I’ve been very disconcerted at times when I’ve seen something in others and hated it, absolutely hated it and then afterwards realized maybe the reason I recognized it so quickly is because that’s in me! It’s terrible when you see it is in yourself.

The time that Nathan came to David, he told him about the rich man that took his neighbour’s only sheep to slaughter when his visitors came. David heard that and he was incensed. David was incensed; he got a picture of that man and he felt the man was vile and mean, the vilest thing a man could do. Could that be possible? He said, “A man like that is not fit to live.” Then Nathan had to show him, “You know, David, I’m only holding a mirror up to you.” David got a shock. He got a shock and he repented in dust and ashes. I think sometimes we don’t realize when we see some things and we are horrified and perhaps incensed, we don’t realize that God is only holding up a mirror for us, but we have not been able to recognize ourselves yet.

Clarence Anderson, who passed on a long time ago now, was in Central America. He put it nicely. He said, “We’re inclined to look at our brother through the magnifying glass of criticism but if we look in the mirror of God’s righteousness, we’re amazed to find that my brother is so much like myself!” Isn’t that true?

There’s another thing that’s very humbling. I have to be honest, when I come to a place like this and I get amongst my fellow labourers and the princes and the princesses amongst God’s people. It makes me feel so just like a worm. Yesterday I said to Aunt Martha here, “I feel like I’m just a ‘Gomtor’ (a beetle that lives in the gum trees). It does that, but you know what came to my mind? I wonder whatever I’m going to feel like when I see my Master.” One thing that I do know, and that is, that there can be NOTHING more humbling than that, that is, if we get a clear vision of our Master. Nothing would humble us more than that, but it would not leave us hopeless. You know, Job said at the end of his experience, “With the ear I heard of Thee but now my eye has seen Thee and I abhor myself and I repent in dust and ashes.” That’s what Job said when his eye had seen Him; he just hated himself. I don’t think there is anything that would humble us more than getting a clear vision of our Master. Remember what Jesus said? This is something we have got to work at ourselves because it is not in us. He who doesn’t humble HIMSELF is not going to enter.

So here before us, we see these emblems, and it reminds us of the things that had to happen before it became possible for God to say to us, “For My Son’s sake come inside.” Let us not forget the awesome majesty of what we have been invited into. When we come into God’s presence, let’s at least be VERY, VERY careful. It is a wonderful thing and I just love that thought… “For My Son’s sake, come inside.”

Rev. 2:4 The message to the church at Ephesus. “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou hast fallen and repent and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.” And verse 7, “to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” They left their first love. In other words, God had lost the first place in their hearts… And it is obvious, that as a result of that, they had lost their way to the Tree of Life. It could be that there is somebody in this meeting that has been feeling miserable for quite a while, and wondering what is wrong because you just don’t feel God near anymore, like you used to, in the olden days when you first made your choice, or even recently. You just don’t seem to feel Him near. And when you read your Bible, you are not getting much out of it. You don’t really enjoy it so much. And also, in the meetings it doesn’t seem to be like it used to be. Well, could we dare to tell you, the reason is, it always is – God has lost the first place in your heart. and you have lost the way to the Tree of Life. Now that is quite serious. And here is the remedy – Do the first works. We all know what those first works were. It was a terrible struggle when we first made our choice to give God the first place in our hearts. It was not easy. We have to cast out the thing that is in the first place there. And that is no small struggle. And if God has lost the first place in our hearts, we are going to have to do it all over again – that is the first works. We are going to have to do it all over again, and sometimes, or maybe, always – it’s even more difficult the second time, or the next time. But we HAVE to do it, otherwise we are in trouble!

I don’t know if anybody would remember – I wouldn’t expect you to, but fourteen years ago I was at this convention and I spoke about the word “Immanuel” = “God with us.” And the value of living so that God can be with us. And I just mentioned that there was a time that I thought that I had many problems, and maybe you think so too? You have many problems. But actually, all of us have ONLY ONE PROBLEM. And that is to live so that God can be with us, because, if we solve that problem, the other problems are going to be taken care of. There is absolutely no doubt, but sometimes we start backwards and we are so worried about these problems that we have – so many problems, and we neglect the ONE THING that is going to SOLVE THEM = Having God with us.

So, how do we go about making sure that God is with us? Well, this is the answer that I have given right now. You GIVE HIM THE FIRST PLACE IN YOUR HEART, and He will be with you.

In 1966 at the Namibia Convention, on the convention grounds, Uncle Fred Alder came to me and told me that I would be going to Korea. Well, one day during those preparations, I was in the workshop on the grounds there, and I was alone in the workshop, and Daphne Martin walked past. And she saw me alone in there, and she walked in. And she said, “So Ernest, you are going to Korea.” I said, “Yes.” She said, “I am going to tell you something today.” I will never forget what she said. She said, “Maybe you think that you are making quite a sacrifice, to leave your home, leave your country, leave your parents, and your sister, and to leave the workers that you have got to love, working amongst them, leave everything you have known, and go to a country where you don’t know one single soul, and when you don’t have any idea what’s awaiting you. I suppose you think you are making quite a sacrifice!” And then she went on, she said, “I want to tell you today, that it doesn’t matter where you are. The biggest sacrifice in your life will ALWAYS be the price that you have to pay every day to give God the first place in your heart.” And never were truer words spoken. I have had lots of time to prove that. And it applies to you also. It doesn’t matter where you are, but the biggest sacrifice that will be ever made in the hearts, in the lives of God’s people, is the price you are going to have to pay every day, to give God the first place in your heart.

I want to read a verse in the prophet Ezekiel. There we read about this temple – lots of details about the temple that was never built. Amazing, such details, and yet this was never built. But this was spiritual, and we know now that our body is the temple of the living God. But just this one verse in Eze44:2: “Then said the Lord unto me, this gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it, because the Lord, the God of Israel hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.” Well, I was reading this one day and I realized, I don’t know what you think about it, but as far as I am concerned, that is the door into the first place of my heart. You know, before we made our choice to serve God we opened and closed this door many, many times. Now this thing would come and have the first place in my heart, and then a certain person will come in and have the first place in your heart. Then you open it, and something else comes in and takes the first place in your heart. I think we were all the same? But then, when we made our choice, we opened that door for the last time. Or should I say, we should have opened it for the last time, and the Lord came in to take that first place in our hearts. And it says here: Never ever open that door again. Never ever. But the problem is that maybe some of us, or maybe even most of us, without even knowing that we were doing it, allowed that door to swing open, and something crept in there, and we did not even realize it at the time. And you know what happens when anything else comes into that place, God will go out. He is not going to share that place with anyone or anything. And now we are in misery and we don’t know what’s wrong, so – we have to do the first works, and it is going to cost something.

I wonder how we know what it is that has the first place in our hearts? There is a little test – there may be others, but one I know of: You just examine yourself and think to yourself, when I am driving the car on a long distance, or when this lady is sitting somewhere near, or when you cannot sleep at night – in other words, any time that your mind is free to just roll as it wills, what direction does your mind always go? What direction do your thoughts always go? You know, your thoughts always tend to hang around the thing that has the first place in your heart. It may be a little disconcerting when you find the answer, if you have a little honest examination with yourself, to find out what’s there. And you will find out why God is not as near as you would like Him to be. You don’t enjoy reading, or the meetings, or praying as you used to do.

One day I was visiting a house of a friend and as I got there I noticed they were cutting down a tree that was right next to the house. And it was a lovely tree, a beautiful tree, and I was quite upset, and I said, “But man, what is the matter with that tree, and it is such a nice tree and you are cutting it down.” He said, “There is nothing wrong with the tree. But we need to build another room on our house, and this tree is in the way.” See, when the people of God are putting things out of their life, it is not always because it is bad. Some of the things are even quite good. But you see, the reason is only because we want to give more place to God; we want to give Him the first place. And this thing, it is not a bad thing at all but it is not helping me to give God the first place in my heart.

There is a very serious verse – I found it serious, but even helpful, and we all know that verse where Jesus said, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” To me that is a serious verse. But, you know, He was not speaking about the iniquity in the world. There has always been more than enough iniquity in the world, more than enough. But when we start seeing iniquity coming in amongst God’s people, it’s a terribly discouraging thing, and it’s a thing that causes us to be disillusioned, and we are going to have to be so careful. And Jesus himself knew that this time is going to come, and He said, “Be careful that your love doesn’t grow cold. Be careful!”

I like the attitude that Joshua had – in his day he was trying his best to help God’s people to keep on the straight road that we heard about. It was not working very well, and things were going very bad, and finally, you know what he said. “Then you choose what you are going to do, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Now THAT IS THE ATTITUDE that we all need. When you see things are not going so well around, even in the kingdom, just make up your mind, well, you choose, but as for me and my house we are going to serve the Lord. Wonderful if we can get that thing fixed in our minds, no matter what – I am going to serve the Lord – Me and my house.

Now, you know, in Afrikaans they say, “Sometimes we jump from the ox onto the donkey.” Maybe I will just jump over a little bit. It is not really a different subject – but maybe in a sense it is, and it is something that has been in my mind for a long, long time, and very much in my desire – and that is to be more conscious of God; to be more conscious of Him. I know that I am not nearly conscious enough of God. You know what God said to Abraham? “Walk before me and be thou perfect.” I like the Afrikaans Bible: It says, “You walk before Me, THEN you will be upright.” Walk before me, then you will be upright. And I just know that if I could be more conscious of God, I would be a different person. I would be behaving a lot better. I know that. “Walk before Me.”

During my earliest years in the work, it happened that one year we were in Pretoria and at convention preparations, and those years you know, we were at convention grounds and we used to have a portable kitchen. And they brought this in, a wooden-iron kind of a frame thing, and some of us young brothers were putting it up over there, some little distance away. We were putting it up. And while we were putting it up, we were telling each other a few interesting things, and a few interesting stories. And quite a juicy story came into my mind. But just as I was going to start telling it, I noticed Uncle Fred Alder walking along to come and see how we were getting on. And I shut my mouth like a trap! I wasn’t going to have him hear me tell that story. So he came along and he asked us how we were doing, and so on, and then he walked away. But, do you know, as he walked away, I talked to myself. The other brothers didn’t hear, but I talked to myself. “Ernest, you hypocrite, are you walking before Uncle Fred, or are you walking before God? You were not prepared to tell that story in front of Uncle Fred. And yet without any trouble you were going to tell it in front of God. Are you not even conscious of Him?” You know I had a little visit with myself, and I needed it. There is something that might not make us feel too good, but, I am going to say it anyway. If there is something that you do, when you are alone, when there is nobody around; you do it. And you know very well that if there were somebody looking, you would not do it. Then I am afraid you have to admit to yourself that you are walking before man; you are NOT walking before God. So you see why I say that I wish I could be more conscious of God. I really would like to be more conscious of God, because I KNOW it’s going to make me behave a LOT better, a lot better. And I need it.

There is a verse here in Hebrews 4:13 “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” One time I was in Japan for special meetings and it was just before the meeting started, and I was in a home of some of the people there, and this man had to go into town, and he went into the bank. And I went along because a foreign country is always interesting to see what is there, and how they do things,…And I sat there watching while he was doing something, and I saw something most interesting. Behind the tellers there was a tallish man walking back and forth. What kind of soles he had on his shoes, I don’t know. Those days my ears were alright, but I could not hear a sound. It was very quiet. He was walking like a cat, back and forth. But I have never quite seen a man or a woman, anybody just like that. He had a deformed eye, and it was frightening. One eye was a terrible size – one big, big eye! As he was walking up and down behind these tellers, he was looking at what they were doing. And I knew immediately, this thing has a psychological effect, that even if he did not really understand their work so well, but just the thought of not knowing when these big eyes were looking down, would make them more careful. It was quite frightening, really. When I sat and watched that, I suddenly had a thought of my own. I thought – my, if I could be more conscious of that big eye that is looking down at me all the time – maybe two eyes, looking at me very carefully ALL THE TIME, I wish I was more conscious of God. I know I would be a different person. I’d be so much more careful.

Jacob, when he saw that ladder, when he dreamed and then woke up, you know what he said, “God is right here and I didn’t know it. This is a fearful place.” And do you know, that every place where you are, is a fearful place because God is right there and He sees and He hears. It’s really a fearful place. One time I heard Uncle Arthur Roberts say something about workers. And he said, “When we are speaking in a meeting we should be speaking as if God were standing right there.” Well you know, I know I should do that, but I know that if God were standing right there, I would be a lot more sober, and careful, and maybe I wouldn’t say so much? That has remained with me and I just remember that.

One time that I wish I could be more conscious of God, is when I am trying to pray. You know, if you’re before the President of the country, or the Queen or somebody like that, you’d have your wits about you. You wouldn’t dare have to say, “Oh, please say that again, I wasn’t listening while you were speaking.” You wouldn’t dare! You’d have your wits about you. And yet how often do I do that to God – allow my mind to wander? It’s because, I know it’s because I am really not conscious of who I am bowing before. I need to be so careful. This is a great need in my life.

You know, young people, you especially would know that very well. When you are in love, and the person that you love is somewhere around in the room, you are conscious of them all the time. It doesn’t matter, you may be speaking to somebody here and they are speaking to somebody there, but all the time you know where they are and what they are doing. It is just that way you are conscious of them all the time. And that is exactly how I would like to be conscious of God, like that.

I was in Port Elizabeth with Uncle Jimmy and we went to visit some people, and we got on the bus. And we were riding along in the bus. And the one bus stop, now this was the old days before there were hand phones, at one bus stop a middle-aged lady got on. And as she got onto the bus, she was talking. You automatically thought there was somebody with her, but then there wasn’t anybody with her, and she came and sat in the seat right in front of us, and all the time she was talking and talking and talking. And it wasn’t long before we realized that this lady had a most frightful disease. She could not control the link between her thoughts and her tongue. And it was very obvious that everything that was in her mind came out of her mouth. And some of it was shameful. She would never have said that if she had any control, and I felt so sorry. And you know what I thought – I am so thankful that I don’t have that problem. I think you would be too. But then suddenly I realized, I do have that problem. I do. Before God I have that problem. That’s how we are before God. Every single thought – it might just as well be as if it is coming out of your mouth before God. He knows everything I am thinking, and I am very thankful we have our thoughts to ourselves. You don’t really. God knows everything, and I would like to be more conscious of God. Now I have already jumped from the ox onto the donkey. Now we will have to jump on to the camel.

Now just a little bit of a change in the direction of what we were saying, and the reason is because this is the last meeting of the convention, and soon we are going to separate. You know, what we read in the Bible, that we don’t want to be like somebody who sees his face in the glass, and then goes away and forgets what manner of man he is. Now here at this convention, I think that we have seen ourselves a little bit, and maybe it has not been very beautiful. We have seen ourselves a little bit, but now we don’t want to go away and forget what manner of people we are – fall into the old rut.

Tharold Sylvester was telling us about a place in America where they made a big highway. And in one place where they had to lay this road there was a tremendous rock, it was as big as a house – a tremendous thing, and it was a problem. So all they could do was put a whole lot of dynamite under it, and then they had to clear a big area in that vicinity – a big area, as it was going to be very dangerous. So they got away and electrically they set off that dynamite, and you couldn’t believe that it could lift that rock right up into the air. And then it settled right back where it was! And I remember Tharold saying that God sometimes even uses experiences or maybe even what He tells us, almost like dynamite, to try to help us and move us out of the rut that we are in. And what a sad thing afterwards when we just settle right back where we were! All for nothing! Many in this convention have expressed gratitude, and I felt thankful it is in my own heart. We have heard of lots of people feeling so thankful.

We had two workers in Korea – brother and sister. Our visiting workers here, know them very well. Paul Boyd and Isobel Boyd. Isobel is not there any more. She is old now and not able any more. She is back in her home country. She told us one time about when they were still children, and Paul was quite a bit younger, and he slept in the same room that she did. And it was his birthday. And for his birthday he got a little wagon, and he was so thrilled with that little wagon, and the whole day he carted that wagon back and forth and putting all kinds of things in it, and take them and get them offloaded there – sand and whatever – he was very busy the whole day. He just enjoyed that little wagon so much. And then finally, it was bedtime and he couldn’t play with his wagon any more, but he insisted that that wagon had to be right next to his bed. And then, during the night Isobel woke up and lo, and behold, there was Paul, fast asleep with one leg out of the bed, and in the wagon! Well, one thing they had no doubt about and that was that Paul appreciated that wagon. Now a lot of us have said we are so thankful. Now wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could be like Paul, and when we go out from here, the way that we live, that God will be able to see our behaviour, and know that we really do appreciate what He has done for us. That is the way that we can show it. Sometimes I pray that prayer: please help me to behave so that thou wilt be able to believe me when I say that I am thankful.

It may be that there is somebody in this convention who is feeling a little bit faint-hearted because you just don’t feel there has been anything here that has been a direct message for you. You feel that you haven’t really heard your name. Well could we just say this – don’t worry about that too much. And I will tell you why, because it very often happens this way. Maybe you haven’t felt too touched in this meeting? But you could listen, and you have heard many things and some of you have made notes, and do you know something that Jesus promised, that the spirit would do? He said He was going to bring things to your mind, and He is going to bring it to your mind just when you need it. That is the promise that the spirit will do. Actually I was talking to Dale yesterday, telling him when I had an experience and was about to do something, and I prayed about it, because I was uneasy, and suddenly something just came into my mind like that – God can do it, He is able to do that, – but just when you need it. So don’t worry too much. Try to remember what you have heard here, and you will find that just when you need it, God will be able to bring it to your mind, and it is going to be a big help to you. And you know, at a convention like this, it is common that we make resolutions: I am going to do better, I am going to do better. At another convention I told the friends there about a man in America who got up and gave his testimony. And he got up, and he said, ”Every year when I have been coming to convention I have been aiming and aiming and aiming to do better, but this year I am going to go home and pull the trigger.” So now I would like to give you a little bit of a tip on how to pull the trigger. You know, we go home with the feeling – I am going to do better. I think I can tell you for sure, you are not going to do any better. But there is one way, and that is, instead of just vaguely thinking, well, I am going to do better, just zoom in on the one thing especially that God has been trying to impress on your heart in this convention. Just the one thing. And I am quite sure that every one of us – I have – everyone of us has felt that there is especially one thing that I am going to need to take care of in our lives. Just concentrate on that one thing, and make up your mind, even if I do nothing else, but this thing that I know is the most important, the thing that I must do – I am going to concentrate on that, and I am going to take care of it. And could we tell you, you will find it is true, if you take care of just that one thing, you are going to come back next year to convention with a song in your heart. You try it. But be sure to completely take care of that ONE THING. Paul said, “I don’t fight as one that beats the air.” Not just “Oh, I am going to be better,” but he has a mark and he aims at it.

There was a man in Australia whose name was Eustice Radford, and he was the owner of the convention near the city of Perth for many years. That convention had to be moved and now it is not there any more, but quite soon after he bought that convention place, his wife died, and his wife was everything to him. And the sorrow was greater than he could bear. And he pleaded to God – please, just to give him the strength to bear it, he felt it was too much. He couldn’t bear the sod? And as he pleaded earnestly to God, he just felt a wonderful calm and comfort coming over his soul, so much that he could hardly believe it. And he was so thankful that he wrote the hymn that we have in our books and that we are going to sing in a minute. In times of deepest darkness, in sorrow and distress. The reason I am mentioning that is just for one little portion in that hymn. And I am going to tell you about that in a minute. I will tell you about something else first. It was quite long ago when the first two workers left Australia to go to Sri Lanka to go and preach the gospel there. And this Eustice Redford went to the harbour at Fremantle to see them off. And I heard this from one of the workers – they are both dead now. And he said that Eustice Radford, said to them, “I can understand a little of how you two young men must be feeling going to the unknown, leaving your country, not knowing what is awaiting you.” “But,” he said, “I would like to comfort you with just a few words that I wrote in that hymn when my wife died. ‘How can we fear the future when Love has planned the way?’” And I’d just like to leave that with you. I believe those words are written on his grave. And I’d like to leave that with you. You know, we have all been talking about the future, but I think it’s a comfort if we can just remember, “How can we fear the future when Love has planned the way?”

In a convention in America a brother worker was speaking and he was in charge of that convention, and they used a lot of gates. And one day the owner of the place came to him, and he said to him – now that was a man who’d lived there all his life, and he knew that area, he knew the weather – and he said to him, “I am afraid we are in for a bad storm, you had better double-stake the tents.” I don’t know if you know what that means – you can probably guess – in putting an extra stake behind every stake that you connect with it, and strengthen it. You had better double-stake the tents. And he said, we took the advice and we double-staked those tents – all of them. And then the storm came. When the storm came we were ever so glad that we had double-staked those tents. Then this worker said, “Now we are going into the unknown future, and some of us may be facing storms and some bad storms. We don’t know what is in the future,” he said, “but it’ll be a good idea to double-stake your tents.” And I think we all know what that means. I do believe it is a good thing if we all leave from here, and double-stake our tents.

Could you forgive me for telling you just one more thing in closing? When I went to school, my parents were not well off and to be able to buy my books and whatever, my mother used to sit at the sewing machine, for hours every day. And what she specially would do, to earn a bit of money, she would go out to the shops, and she’d buy the remnants. You’d know what remnants are – the ladies would know – you can get them a bit cheaper. She had a knack of putting them together, and making especially children’s clothes. She could make some money that way. One day, one lady who lived a few doors from us had bought a piece of material, and they were not so well-off either, but she had saved and bought this piece of material and she wanted to make her own dress. So here she took it home and she had the pattern, and she put it on this material and she began to cut. And I don’t know how she did that, but she made a mistake and cut it wrong. And Oh, she felt terrible because it was expensive material – I mean to her. She was so disappointed. Then she thought of my mother. So here she comes with the pattern and this piece of material and she came into our house. “Oh Aunty Lucy, please, look what I have done! Is there any hope for this material now?” So my mother looked at the dress material and the pattern and she said, “My girl, I am afraid the way you have cut that material now, you are not going to be able to make the dress just like that, but now, don’t worry, we can do something else.” So she looked at the material and then she drew another pattern, and cut a new pattern out of newspaper. And she drew a picture of what this new dress would look like. And she looked at it, and she was thrilled, because she liked it better than the first one. And she took that material and all smiles and she went out. You know, my mother did not tell her that she had not made a mistake, but what she showed her was, there is still something left, and she was showing her how well she could still use what was left. Now I am glad that I have been away from South Africa for a long time and I don’t know you people so none of you can think that I am picking on you. But I do know one thing, that there are some people, sometimes, who are in awful agony or torment of mind, because, there is something in their lives – they feel they have had the scissors in their own hands too long and have cut too deep, and they don’t know where they stand now. You cannot tell anybody. Now where do I stand now before God? Well you know what God wants to show you now: Yes, you have made a mistake; you did wrong! But, there is still something left. All of us still have something left. Some of us are older, maybe not so much – some of you have more – but it doesn’t matter. You know what God is wanting to show you today? You have got something left – and don’t worry about the past. He wants to show us how to make the VERY BEST of what is left. And you are going to be amazed if you know what God can still do with what is left.

I’d like to tell you of a little promise which I can make with confidence, and that is for all of us including workers. And that is if we are going to be more faithful, more sincere than we have ever been before, and if we, from now on we are really going to give God the first place in our hearts every day, then I can tell you with confidence, make you a nice little promise, that the best days of your life are still waiting for you, no matter what the past may have been. Shall we sing that hymn that the brother wrote when his wife died – 292 ‘In Times of Deepest Darkness.’

In Matthew 24 it says, “He that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved,” and I noticed the verse just before it, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

That’s a searching little verse and we need to remember it. I don’t believe that it’s speaking about iniquity abounding in the world because iniquity has always abounded in the world, there’s never been a time that there hasn’t. When we start seeing iniquity abounding in the way, this is a dangerous thing. It says to be careful because of this the love of many is going to grow cold. We have to be careful of that. VERY careful. It should make us feel that our hearts are pained to see the Kingdom suffer loss and at least I am going to TRY to uphold the standard even if others are not. Even if I see iniquity abounding.

Thinking of “enduring,” I was reminded of what Heidi Fehrman’s father said long-long ago at a convention in Namibia. He spoke about the time when Jesus was on the cross and they were deriding Him and they said, “Others He saved but He cannot save Himself!” He said that for once these people told the truth! He just could not save Himself. He just put it this way and he said, “If it was only the nails that were holding Jesus on the cross He could EASILY have saved himself but it was not the nails that held Him there it was LOVE that held Him there. That was why He could not save Himself. I do believe that the greatest thing that will help us all to endure is LOVE. It’s the love that makes us that, no matter how it hurts, we can’t let go!” It amazes me to see some women and what they will endure from their husbands for the sake of their children.

Unbelievable! I don’t know how they can do it. Some bear some unbelievable things and it is love that makes them able to endure.

There was a brother that visited us from Central America, Willie Pollock, he died some years ago, an old man. Silver haired and a lovely old man. An Irishman. He, in his earlier years, spent a lot of time in Cuba and then workers could not go to Cuba for a long, long time. Then because he was Irish he was able to go back one time. It was some years ago after the friends had not seen the workers for years and years. No workers and no meetings. No Gospel meetings. Yet wonderful to see the friends just faithfully continuing. He asked them, “Here you are, no workers, no meetings and most of the time no fellowship. Why do you keep on?” One said, “We keep on because we haven’t come to the end yet!”

Another one said, “I keep on because I don’t want to miss out on what God has prepared for me.” Another one said, “I keep going because it might just help someone else to keep going.” Well these are some of the things that helped them to endure.

Well if it’s love that’s going to help us to keep our lives on the altar, no matter how the fire burns, then the question is, “How can I get more love?” Well maybe it’s a sobering fact but it’s a very certain fact that if we don’t love God then there’s only one reason… that is because we don’t know Him. It’s impossible to know God and not love Him. It’s impossible! If we don’t have any love in our hearts for Him it simply means that we don’t know Him and if we don’t know Him we’re in serious trouble. Jesus said, “Whom to know is life eternal. This is life eternal that they know Thee, the only true God and Jesus whom Thou hast sent.” Knowing Him is salvation and this is life.

So I thought I might take a little time to speak from this parable that is so well known, of the ten virgins. Barbara and Martha said that I don’t have to actually keep to the study for tonight. Aren’t I lucky?!

Anyway I thought I might just mention this parable a little bit. Because it’s so sobering. We use it in Gospel meetings a lot, but don’t forget, the Lord Jesus wasn’t speaking about 10 Buddhists and He wasn’t speaking about 10 atheists. No. No. If you look at this, He was speaking about 10 people that were professing. If there is one thing that this parable is going to teach us, that is that our salvation is not going to depend on our profession but it is going to depend on what we possess, not what we profess. The key to this parable is what I have just quoted now. It is what Jesus said, “This is life eternal, that they know Thee, the only true God and Jesus whom Thou hast sent.” That they know Thee, this is life eternal. We can guess what this oil meant and we always hear that it is the Spirit and that is true enough, but you know Jesus said in very plain language. If you look at the end of this parable He made it as clear as black and white what the thing was that they were lacking. Do you remember when the foolish ones came and knocked at the door? They wanted to be let in. Do you remember what the bridegroom said to them? “I don’t know you.” We heard about that today and what a terrible thing to be outside and say, “I don’t know Him.” There was a sister worker in America that told us about her father. She said that she had never known her father. He had left her mother before she was born, so she’d never met him and never knew him. Yet, she happened to be in the area where he’d died and the mother asked if she wouldn’t come to the funeral. Well she went to the funeral and she said, “You couldn’t believe the strange feeling of being at the funeral of your own father and having to say, ‘I NEVER knew him.’” It made her just think, what an awful thing to come to the end and have to stand before God and to have to say, “I never knew Him.” It’s going to be terrible. So as I said, that’s what the problem was. When He said, “I don’t know you,” He knew all right who they were but He was talking in this sense. Knowing Him in the sense of being in the right relationship with God and learning to have fellowship with Him in the secret place. That’s what He was meaning. They never learnt that.

As workers, we have a TERRIBLE responsibility and I am very conscious of that. It doesn’t matter if we can get people to profess and live a perfect life as Christians. As these here they had the lamps and they were burning. Even showing the light to others, showing others what a Christian should be. If we can bring people to that place and yet we have never led them to the place where they themselves are having fellowship with God in secret and getting to know Him. Then we have failed COMPLETELY! A complete failure. We’ve just deceived those people. It’s a terrible responsibility. We have to lead people to the place where they get to know God. That’s what we have to do. I noticed that it says that the foolish took their lamps but they took no oil with them. Not that they had no oil, not that they didn’t have enough oil. It simply says that they took no oil with them. This matter of knowing God, having fellowship with God. Either we do or we don’t. We either have fellowship with God or we don’t. It says here, the very first word in this parable is, “Then.” Then shall the Kingdom of heaven be likened to these virgins and if you read the previous chapter you’ll see it speaking about the end of the world.

The end of time. So you’ll find three parables in this 25th chapter of Matthew. These parables are telling us what it is going to be like “then.” They’re telling us, like this one, what it’s going to be like for those who knew God and those who didn’t know Him. If you look at the three parables later it’s going to tell you how it was that they were ready, what they did and what it’s going to be like. What’s going to happen to the ones that are not ready. That’s what these three parables are telling you.

Maybe I’ll just mention this. Nobody could see any difference when they were going together, they would have looked exactly the same. Nobody could see in their vessels if there was oil or not. You can’t see what’s inside the vessel. It’s a serious thing but when the bridegroom comes and we stand before God, it’s going to be that part of our lives that only God and I know, the part that others could not see, that’s the thing that’s going to come onto the stage as the terrible problem. The part that others did not know. The part that they could not see, but God and I knew about it. That’s the part of your life that’s going to be a serious problem on that day. I think we all understand that. Even if we can get people to profess and living as model Christians. The reason I say that is because we all understand that a clean Christian life, good deeds is the RESULT of salvation but it is not the SOURCE of salvation. The source of salvation is getting to know God. If we know God then these things will follow. But just by doing all these things, that doesn’t mean that’s making us a child of God. It doesn’t work the other way around. It’s the result of salvation, it’s not the source of salvation.

I was wondering, it says that the bridegroom came at midnight. In the first place it’s the most awkward time. A lot of people are going to lose their salvation simply because they are quite sure there is going to be another time later when it’s going to be a little bit different from now. This is a very awkward time, this is not the time. The most dangerous thought you could ever have. Did you know that “tomorrow” is the most dangerous day of your life? Did you know that? There’s an awful lot of people that are going to be in a lost eternity because they put too much faith in “tomorrow.” Believing too much in what I’m going to do tomorrow.

Can I tell you a little secret? There was something a long time ago when I had a most beautiful picture in my mind. I have a feeling that you have got that same picture in your mind this afternoon. Do you know what that picture was that I had? I had a very clear picture in my mind of what I’m going to be just before I die, before the Lord returns. I’m going to be so faithful, so sincere, I’m going to be putting in everything and the reason why is because I can’t afford not to. It would be terrible if I’m not, and do you have that picture in your mind? Of what you’re going to be like before you die? Before the Lord comes? One day I got an awful shock and I had to admit to myself that I was being totally dishonest. Do you know why? I suddenly realised that that was not genuine at all. It was not a genuine purpose at all because if it was a genuine purpose and if I really meant it I’d be doing it NOW. We deceive ourselves terribly. This dangerous day of tomorrow. Do you really believe that you are going to be any different tomorrow? It may sound a bit funny but have you heard what the definition of tomorrow is? Of what a wonderful day it is? I think it was Uncle Jurgens that told us:

Tomorrow is the day when ignorant people will learn and tomorrow is the day when lazy people will work. Tomorrow is the day when dishonest people will pay their debts. Tomorrow is the day when fat people will start dieting and tomorrow is the day that fools will repent. Tomorrow is such a wonderful day… a day that never, ever comes. A dangerous day.

Well it says those that were ready, not those that are fully purposing to get ready. The ones that went in were those that WERE ready. That’s what we learn from this chapter. If we’re not ready we had better get busy because do you know what it said in the previous chapter? We are seeing things these days. I am not a prophet and I’m not pretending to be a prophet but all the same we have two eyes and we can read the scriptures and we can see what is going on. We might just tell you that what Jesus said, if ever it has been true, then it is true now. He said, “So likewise when you shall see these things, know that it is near even at the doors.”

So we’d better be making SURE that we are ready. These days we don’t have time to waste and time to put off. We really don’t. This thing is pretty serious.

Another little thing I was wondering about when I read this. I was just wondering whether when these foolish virgins were together with the others they must have seen when the wise went to buy more oil. They obviously had more oil to put into their vessels. I suppose, maybe, because of their human nature they would have thought, “Do you really have to pay THAT much? So much sacrifice? Our lamps are burning all right they’re bright enough aren’t they? Do you have to do that much?” Well shall we tell you a little difference? If you’d like a test. You know there is still a difference between the five wise and the five foolish virgins today. There are the wise and the foolish virgins still today. It may not sound like such a big difference but do you know what the difference is? It may not sound like such a difference but it is a tremendous difference. They are still the same. The foolish ones are still feeling in their hearts like this. You know there are others that are putting in more than you are and looking more to the standard than you are, you know that but you’re asking yourself, “Is it really necessary? Isn’t this much alright? Do you have to go that far?” That’s the way they’re thinking but you know the wise ones are thinking exactly the opposite. They’re always feeling uneasy. “I know I’m not putting in enough. I know that I should be doing more.” Do you see the difference? It’s a very clear difference. So I don’t know which side we’re on.

Talking about which side we’re on, there is a frightening picture that Alwyn Blom put in front of us one day. He was talking about a farm, I don’t know where it was, somewhere in Namibia or someplace where they kept sheep. He said they didn’t like these sheep to be afraid of people so they never caught a sheep for slaughtering in front of the others but they had another way of doing it. They had a place when they sent the sheep out to the field and they had another fence. Just a thin wire fence and the one that they want to slaughter they just made sure that it is on this side of the fence and the others on the other side. Well the sheep are not so clever, you know. Well there they go along and this one’s so near the other sheep and as far as he’s concerned he’s going with them but then after a while on this side, the fence makes a turn and he can’t get any further. Then the other sheep go on to their pasture and this sheep is going back and forth. Starting to panic and thinking, “Why can’t I get any further?” Well then when the others are out of sight, that’s when they catch this one. Wouldn’t it be a terrible thing if we were like that? Foolish. Foolish enough that we’re on the wrong side of the fence and feeling that we are with the others. Going to meetings with them and also taking part but on the wrong side of the fence. You know, someday we’re going to get caught. It’s going to catch up with us someday. So we have to get serious about it.

One thing that I did notice here was when they’d seen the bridegroom, there was not one of them that was not prepared to pay the price. Not one of them, because it says, “THEY went to buy.” I don’t know why they were not prepared to pay the price beforehand, but when they’d seen the bridegroom and when they found out that the others were not going to share with them. I have a strong feeling that it doesn’t matter if suddenly the price went up ten times, they’d have still been ready to go and buy when they’d seen the bridegroom.

Here’s another thing we can say: there may be some these days who feel that the price is too high but we can say with confidence that when you’ve seen the bridegroom, when you’ve seen what God has prepared, that eternal love and what it’s really going to mean, when we’ve seen it there’s not one of us that wouldn’t be prepared for ANY sacrifice. Nor for any effort but what’s the good of it if it’s too late?

I suppose you have heard that the saddest words in any language are the two words, “Too late.” We were talking yesterday about that. There’s some way that we can give just a little hint of what eternity’s like. What heaven is like and what hell is like. We can’t explain it but this is just a little hint. Put it this way. If you had the chance to get something and you missed your chance to get it. Well the more you wanted that thing that you missed, the nicer the thing that you missed, the greater is the disappointment. That’s sensible isn’t it? If it’s some little fiddly thing you don’t feel so bad but if it’s something you desperately wanted and you could have had it but you’ve missed it. The greater the thing you missed then the greater the disappointment. Now maybe that will help us to understand when I say that heaven is so wonderful, that to see it and to know you’ve missed it, that in itself will be hell! So it’s only a little hint but when we’ve seen it there will be NOBODY that will not pay any price, be willing for any sacrifice then… but what’s the good when it’s too late?

So I’ll close by just saying this. Blessed is the person that sees the value of this oil while there is still the opportunity to get it.

Remember, when the bridegroom comes it’s not going to be the part of our lives that’s seen, it’s going to be the unseen part, the part that others cannot see, that’s going to appear as that terrible problem.

So may God help us that we may endure to the end and give us a clear vision that we may see things now as we’ll one-day see when our life ends and we go hence because we’ll behave a lot differently if we do.

We’ll close with hymn 399 “In Vain Do The Wise …”

On Friday afternoon while I was sitting alone in our tent between meetings, I saw the sun shine on one of the tent poles and create a shadow that looked just like a ship with masts and sails. It reminded me that our ministry is a Christian Fellowship, as in a fellow-“ship.” Today as our convention ends, our ship will be pulling into harbor. We will “disembark” from this year’s convention. It has made me wonder if we’ve changed during convention. Have we seen an increase in our faith? If we came to convention with some disbelief, are we leaving with less?

In John 19:35 … one of Jesus’ disciples wrote, “And He who has seen has testified, and His testimony is true. And He knows that He is telling the truth, so that you may believe.” The treasure house of Heaven is open to everyone. In John 10 … Jesus told his disciples, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there … that you may believe. ‘Nevertheless, let us go to him.” Jesus went and raised Lazarus from the dead. But Christ said, “That you may believe.” That is what Jesus yearned that people would do … have faith. Unbelief is a negative thing. It’s destructive. The world sows discord. Flesh sows doubt. The enemy sows unbelief and undermines faith. The world breeds cynicism. By nature, people are pessimistic.

In Luke 24, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary (the mother of James) went to the tomb of Jesus, only to discover that He is risen. The women rushed to tell the good news to the apostles. But the disciples had disbelief. Verse 11, “And their words seemed to them like idle tales. And they did not believe them.” Here was the very news that the disciples wanted to hear … news that they needed to hear. Yet, they wouldn’t believe it. It was too good to be true.

In Acts 12, Peter was in prison while the church prayed for him without ceasing. At one point, an angel of the Lord freed Peter, who immediately went to Mary’s house, where church members had gathered to continue their prayers for him. Peter knocked on the front door. A servant girl named Rhoda went to answer the door. Peter spoke. Rhoda recognized his voice. Without opening the door, Rhoda ran to the others and said excitedly, “Peter is at the door.” The church members thought Rhoda was out of her mind. “How could it be Peter,” they said. “Peter is in prison.” But Peter continued knocking on the front door. When the church members finally opened the door, they were astonished. The church members should have been astonished at their lack of belief, astonished for not believing what they had been praying for. Not believing that God could be answering their prayers. Christians should never be praying without believing. If I don’t pray believing, then I am wasting God’s time.

Sometimes in life, we see things that appear to be too good to be true but the promises of God are true. They will not disappoint us. We need to put our complete trust in God. During His ministry, Jesus was an eternal optimist. Jesus was realistic. Before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples that bad things were about to happen. But Jesus also assured them that only good would come out of it. Here on earth, human beings have a tendency to look back on things with optimism. But Jesus looked ahead with optimism. As with any storm, Jesus basically said there’s going to be a rainbow ahead, there’s going to be hope.

Following the resurrection, the disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus. Yet Thomas said he didn’t believe them. If you were to ask Thomas, “What would you want more than anything else, if you could wish for anything, what would you wish for?” Obviously, Thomas would say he would want Jesus back … if only that could be. Thomas was not believing in what he had been praying for. Unbelief is a robber. Thomas, why are you robbing yourself of this prayer that is being answered? There are infallible proofs of the work of God. We are hundreds of proofs in this tent right here who are attending convention. If you want to be a pessimist, the best time is when the devil comes for you. You need to say to Satan, “What you promise is too good to be true. I’m not interested. ”

God says what He means and means what He says. In Luke 8, we are told about Mary Magdalene whose life had been touched by Jesus when He delivered her from seven demons. She paddled upstream – against unbelief and found forgiveness.

The two gardens of blooming – the garden of Gethsemane and the garden of Golgotha. God’s people like a well watered garden. There are four ways to water a garden: [1] abundant rain – like our convention. [2] showers of blessing – like our Fellowship meeting. [3] Dew from heaven – being alone with God. [4] When the good husbandman has a little reservoir to irrigate the land. He opened it to water the roots of the vine.

I was once in a place for two years where there were no friends and we had two years of workers meetings, these were like showers of blessing until seeds well and now there are blooms.

A garden enclosed is my beloved. Wall and a hedge speaks of a double protection, like the Ark having double protection pitched within and without. The children of a virtuous woman were not afraid of the cold because they had double garments and God wants his children to keep as separated, not to let the world break in.

Isaiah 35:8: “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it.” The way of holiness is to know Fellowship with the bridegroom. When the north winds blow in the garden, the spices blow out. We have cold winds, too, not just soft breezes. When the winds blow, there we would like to be a Godly influence. Convention is like a warm influence preparing us to face the cold world.

Sometimes there are homes where the front garden is in bloom and the back garden may have fruit trees and vegetables, but there may also be a wilderness there. Behind the scenes there are often struggles. There may be an outward show of blooms but God knows what goes on in secret. The secret sacrifice, the secret fasting.

I am the rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley. The rose of truth being unfolded to us. It is not fully unfolded to us until the eternal morning, little by little it is unfolded to us. Great truth is of God, not of men. A rose loses 40% of its fragrance in the sunlight so it is picked at night to retain the fragrance. The day is Thine, the night also is Thine. (Psalms 74) The night belongs to God and He won’t suffer any that cannot bear the burden.

The Lily speaks of purity. I would be pure, my spirit would be free. God likes to purify us to make us as pure as honey, white as snow and clear as crystal. God can present the purity of His Son within us. There was a bad smelling dump and there were some lilies growing there which still have the lovely fragrance. The fragrance was true.

The violet – the more it is crushed, the more perfume it produces. Jesus was crushed and He suffered but He didn’t revile. He reviled not again.

There is also the Nard flower which makes spikenard. Spikenard is like the sacrifice. When I went to Bolivia, I used to look and see the planes coming over and would have loved to have gone home. I visited, while I was there at the time, a family of four children – they were very poor people. The children brought in some Nard flowers and I had such a nice perfume. The flower in the home and having that fragrance was so beautiful and nice. Mary broke the precious ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus and this would have been a great encouragement to Him.

Solomon mentioned the Camp flower – it is useful for making dye, that is dying material. God’s people can be useful together.

The hyssop flower – it is grown on walls, it sticks to the wall. Psalm 119:31: ” I have stuck unto thy testimonies.” When we are tempted sore we could be like the hyssop and stick on. Their fine roots spread out and adorn the wall inside and outside. We need to have a good testimony inside and outside the fold. At the Passover, the hyssop was dipped in the blood and spread on the doorposts. Such a noble use for a humble plant. At a flower show, the prize was given for the most variety of flowers. Sad if we harp on to the one note all the time. We have such a variety of help and provision for us. With the manna it was used in so many different ways. Such a variety of ways – baked as cakes, ground to meal.

There is also the flower which is called forget-me-not which was in God’s garden. We must not forget those who need our prayers. The poor and old and others. We must not forget the cost of our salvation.

There are no artificial flowers in God’s garden because it does not please Him. There is a story told about Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and how she gave him two types of flowers – real and plastic – and asked him to look at them and pick out the real ones. The King then asked his servant to open the window and the honey bee came in and went straight to the real flower. The bee could tell the difference. God’s people can recognize the truth.

The garden of Eden was a paradise but weeds sprung up there. They are like the little no harms and the breeze can take the seeds of weeds into other gardens. Take up the weeds.

In the garden of Gethsemane – there were blooms in that garden. Jesus prayed earnestly and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood and falling down to the ground. Earnestly praying – that is such a nice flower. Prayer and supplication, that is having a link with the heavenly husbandmen who are caring for our garden. The men who were going to the moon at one time were asked what was the most anxious time for them and they said that when they lost contact with earth was severed. It would be our biggest worry when all our contact with heaven is severed.

Peace is another bloom. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, peace I give unto you.” God wants to give us individual peace.

Another flower is the flower of patience. Jesus found His disciples sleeping and He said, “Could ye not watch with me one hour.” Patient is steady endurance without murmuring.

Another bloom is the love of Jesus – so unchanging without any variableness. Circumstances can change people, but Jesus has an unchanging love.

There was also the long-suffering. That is patience under provocation. He showed long-suffering with Judas and love was manifested unto the end. Offering as part of ourselves, is a living offering. My mother gave me a bookmark and it is old and worn but I still keep it because it is part of my mother, she made it herself. Jesus showed no revenge, He was of meekness, suffering without taking revenge.

Humility was also in the garden. Paul said in Philippians, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory.” Let us esteem others better than ourselves. Every one of God’s people from younger to the oldest has something to teach us. There was also the flower of appreciation. Jesus said, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.” We need to have a word of appreciation in season.

Grace is also another precious bloom found in the garden. Truth with grace is lovely.

When Jesus was crucified he said seven things: ” Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” When there is no forgiveness we are just destroying the bridge which is leading to heaven. “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” “Woman, behold thy Son, behold Thy mother.” “My God, My God why hast thou forsaken Me.” He had a perfect conscience before God: “I thirst.” ” Father into thy hands I commend my spirit.” ” It is finished.” That was the perfect work of redemption. Jesus’ atonement made up for our deficiency.

His blood flowed from seven parts. The blood flowed from His two hands, that is to cleanse us from our work. The blood flowed from His two feet, that was the cleansing for our walk. It also flowed from His head, cleansing of our evil thoughts. It flowed from His back, cleansing and forgiveness of our past. The blood flowed from His wounded side, from the inside we are cleansed. We don’t have to go to Palestine to visit these places to return to Calvary, but we can return to Calvary in our thoughts and hearts.

If we are going to have salvation in our garden, it is only through sacrifice and self-denial. If the seeds are going to fall in the shadow of the cross, there must be a dying before we can have salvation.

Daniel 6:4, 10, 16, 17 There are lots of lions dens in the world. Babylon was a lions den. The city was a lions den. Sometimes where our friends work is a lions den. Sometimes where our children are at school it is a lions den. They face fierce competition and peer pressure, greed and selfishness. Maybe even for some, their home life is a den of lions. Sometimes our minds can be like that. Could have anger and resentment. Some may have unwillingness and jealousy and envy. Dangerous lions can be our thoughts which attack us. If we don’t destroy those lions they can give us bad thoughts. It is sad but true that we could even enjoy these bad thoughts. Things like that can trouble us and cause hardships. These thoughts like lions need to be put out. If we don’t fight them then they could get into our hearts and then we will have lions in our hearts; and even sadder if our hearts become a den of lions. It will be troubling for us and others.

There are lots of things we need to fight against. An old sister at the age of 105 told us that we can walk on the sea of trouble if our mind is stayed on God. How do we fight these lions? There are these lions at our workplace. Lions circle then roar the attack. Babylon was a den of lions. Joseph in Potiphar’s house was in a den of lions. In prison he was a lot safer than in the lions’ den. There he escaped the lioness. The people found fault with Daniel. Those people were against him. They were lions. When could find no fault in him, they began to circle – Ch 6 vs 10; then the circle tightened. There they found him on his knees. How does it affect you when you see someone praying? Does it make you want to pray? Could it also cause resentment and scorn? Daniel was praying. If we go 30 days without praying, we could find ourselves in a situation worse than the lions den – on the road to a lost eternity. The fear of the den of lions could not stop Daniel from praying. There was too much at risk not to pray. Vs 13 they started to roar. Told the king that that slave doesn’t regard you. They roared out accusations. They loved to roar. Have you ever been roared at? I have been, and it is disturbing. Sometimes lions will roar out accusations. Nice to think of Daniel. I don’t think the king was affected by their accusations. He knew better. Vs 16 The lions pounced on him and gripped him and would not let him go. It was sealed with the kings signet. They cast him into the lions den — or maybe he willingly stepped in and waited for them to close it up. I believe he went willingly. There was no resistance. He was settled in the matter. I believe when he went to pray he had it all settled. He waited for them. The king stood at the door and talked to him. He didn’t try get out of the den. There was no shouting. Maybe he prayed some more. 

In Ch 8:15 he received a vision of Gabriel. He was afraid and fell on his face. He feared God. But now, in this situation, it doesn’t say anything about being afraid of the lions; but he feared God, he had a reverent fear of God. Something I have tried to picture. His mouth was closed. He maybe walked around a bit. He had a rest. What was in his thoughts. He could have thought of how God had delivered others. How he delivered Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Noah; and his 3 friends from the fiery furnace. What a wonderful comfort it would have been. He could have sung some hymns, getting closer to God. In Isa 11 we read of the wolf and lamb. Here it was the lion and the lamb. What changed the story? A lamb is not a match for lions; but the lions were no match for the Shepherd. There was no roaring that night. When an animal is not well, it doesn’t do much fighting. It seeks to get away and hide. When whales are injured they go out deep into the ocean and look for a place of refuge. Some friends had a business to catch sharks and they told me if a shark is captured and in a boat it is not a threat. All it thinks about is trying to survive. The lions mouths were closed and there was no roaring. The Lord closed the mouths of the lions. It is maybe not easy to close the mouths of our accusers.

Daniel had adversaries, foes within and without. Hymn says, “Or foes without that would destroy and lure us from God’s control….” Foes within are thoughts – lions within and foes without are situations we find ourselves in. vs 18 – Then King Darius went to his palace. He had a bad night. Daniel had a better night than the king. Daniel was inside the will of God. That brings good rest. Others outside were celebrating victory and how they would divide the spoil. Daniel was in the restful quiet place. The king was there early. He cried out, “….., is thy God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”

When the Lord Jesus came into the world, the world was a den of lions. As he went from place to place, Jerusalem also Nazareth had become dens of lions. The last time the Lord Jesus went into Jerusalem, he knew it but still went. Those lions began to circle, began to roar. They pounced, roaring accusation after accusation. In the garden they pounced. God didn’t close the mouth of the lions that night. He let them roar. After the grave, the lions’ mouths were closed. There was nothing more they could say.

God’s people at times find themselves in difficult situations. My grandmother wrote some letters about some things that she experienced in her frail body that she couldn’t escape. She was in a den of lions. There was no escape for Daniel either. Sometimes when our circumstances are like a den of lions, the only thing to do is to submit and accept. The nights he slept and had visions that were a picture of the situation in Babylon. It was a type of his situation. God could keep him, and He can keep us.

Three lessons we can learn:

First, be settled and pray. There is no situation that should arise that we should not pray. Be settled that you will be true; and may the fear of man flee from us.

Secondly, don’t let your surroundings trouble you. I spent many a night on a crowded train on a cold night. I wrapped myself up in a blanket, put in ear plugs and had wonderful meditations. The surroundings were not quiet.

Thirdly, lions have problems, too. Darius had problems. He was sorely displeased with himself. I have often been like that. Those who had Daniel thrown into the lions’ den had a tragic end. There was no solution to their problem. The world is a dangerous place. Go back and remember Daniel. Keep close to God and He will not fail you.

Ananias was told in Acts 9 by Paul, he had seen a vision that one would come to help him and fill his need. Verse 11, “And the Lord said unto him, ‘Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus; for, behold, he prayeth.’” I think that thought would have been very outstanding to Ananias. Now the change is there that the Lord is looking at a spirit that a feeling of need has been evident. He, in all his zeal and all his purpose of doing what he was, found himself recognizing, “Something is amiss in all my searching and all my efforts.”

We recognize prayer is a feeling of need. Formality is not a need of prayer. Paul knew a great deal about that. Feeling the need of prayer. He had not uttered words the Lord felt were a recognition of a feeling of a need of the Lord in his life. Luke 18:1, “..men ought always to pray, and not to faint..” Need to utter words in sincerity and with a purpose. It is what brings heaven nigh.

We hear people say, “Where is God?” and “How can I get to know God?” Knowing God is speaking and we hear that message for ourselves. My mother went to the preacher when she was young and asked him, “How do I get to know God?” He said to just believe. She said she did, and he said, “Well, that is salvation.” She knew she didn’t know God in the way she felt she should know Him. One thing she got from that visit is that he didn’t know God either. It didn’t deter her from seeking God out. A few years later, she had that grand opportunity, and made use of that opportunity. She believed the message she was given in recognition that God was a living God. It changed her life as it changed Saul of Tarsus’ life. “Men ought always to pray, and not faint.”

Verse 3, “And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, ‘Avenge me of mine adversary.’” She went to a judge who should have been capable of giving her what she needed. She continued to come, and the judge was moved not so much by her need, but by his own feeling, “She won’t cease and I’ll become weary of her continual coming.” He looked at it as a release for his own benefit. Just wants and wishes wouldn’t produce that. Wishing doesn’t move us to desperation – it is just a whim of the moment. He could see this woman wasn’t like this. He could feel her desperation and had the power to avenge this situation.

Verse 7-8, “And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” If we are in quandary and wonderment of how can we reach the heart of God? That is the answer – appealing to Him in our need. God can hear the faintest sigh and the anxious cry. He does answer the sincere soul. True prayer will reach the heart of God and present the favors of God.

Verse 8, “..will He find faith on the earth?” The question was not whether He would find religion on the earth, but will He find FAITH on the earth. That is what He will be looking for when He returns. The righteous and just will be walking in faith and keeping the faith. Those are the ones He will be looking for – the chosen of God. True sincerity in praying will assure this. Earnestness in prayer. Answering the need in prayer.

Verse 35-43, the blind man. A person who was in a definite need – he was blind. He was asking help from those who were passing by, to have mercy on him in his perplexed need. A picture of a person who is in search of help for their soul – looking for an answer for their plea. He must have had some understanding of the scriptures, because he said, “Jesus, Thou Son of David.” He knew He would be the Messiah, bringing peace to mankind. The woman at the well said, “I know the Messiah is coming, and when He comes, He will tell us all that we need.” She knew that – she had been reading the scriptures. Those that went before, rebuked him and tried to quiet him. There are those who would try to silence us in our need. But it says he cried out all the more, “Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me.” He found an answer for his quest, and help for his need. That we wouldn’t be feigning a pretense or form of need. This man was granted according to his wish. He could have asked for many things, but he asked to receive his sight. It is a spiritual insight that enables us to see things that are true and eternal.

Ephesians 1, that we might know some things. We wonder sometimes why some people can’t see, but we read of God blinding the eyes of those that believe not. The Lord doesn’t open their understanding – they remain blind because there is no insight and no life. They see, but they can’t see; and they hear, but they don’t hear. Prayer that was heard and prayer that was not heard is what we read here. We can utter desperations of need and it reaches heaven. We can seek to know our own need.

Hymn 93, “Only One Life To Live”

How many times in the bewildering chaos of the first days and weeks after the quake, have Haitians, professing and not professing asked me, “What about your Mom, Dan? Have you talked to her?” A mother’s love is deeply in the marrow of their bones. Yes, I wouldn’t mind a piece of pumpkin pie at Mom’s table in quiet, peaceful snow covered Magnolia. But honestly I’ve never considered for a second going home. That said, Sunday morning we went home.

Yes, home, three and a half hours south of here to the mountain region called Lozier. Because of all that has happened the past few years walking down the trail through the volcanic rock, through “fields” that we have worked in with pickaxe and hoe, and rounding the last bend, coming to a little home nestled in the shade of coconut, caribbean apricot, coffee, and cacao trees, into the warmth of mother and father, bubbling brothers and sisters, grandchildren, hugs and laughing because what else can you say and even the dogs happy to see us…we were home.

Seven years ago we were strangers. Gedeus and Natachia were with us. Gedeus turned very sober and softly mulled over that first rainy day when we met in that home, pointing to where he sat like he was seeing it all again. He had been very religious, baptized in an open sewer canal in Port au Prince by the men who converted him. Men lead by a man who had once walked the lowly way with Jesus. He was remembering his brother Frantz-ceau’s words, “Please reign in the brutality of your words when you talk to these men. They are of another spirit.” That wonderful day, the rain on the tin roof made the little home so cozy, eleven children all home from Jacmel and the capital (it hasn’t happened again), lively grandchildren.

All day long, the questions flowed. God had heard secret, earnest prayers…He answered in a wondrous way. A family was born. Sunday morning, in the quiet of that mountain home, I saw Gedeus, sitting quietly, reliving the miracle of that birth, shaking his head in amazement, bowing his head and murmuring sweetly his wonderment and gratitude, his father, Saintelien, sitting to the side savoring the moment. We met there in an unbroken circle around the table and emblems, sharing chairs as there weren’t enough. Our hearts cry in gratitude.

The mother boiled some congo peas and rice over an open fire. We relished the mandarins off the trees in the yard. A marine stationed here in WW I introduced mandarins to this area and today they are a cash crop for many families. And then we went down to Jacmel where the friends were waiting for us in the old bach. Again it was a moment of joy just to see each other, we sat in a circle and just looked at each other…words failed. Mucianne and Eve shared with me what they had “put on the table” earlier and soon we were on our way. We’ve not touched the mess upstairs.

The bach cannot be repaired. Here at Cabaret we also have the quarters where the brothers sleep that we’ve not touched with a wall fallen out of it and the new men’s restroom / shower faculty was damaged and the roof is leaking. Later.

The last blocks are going up this morning and by tonight we hope to have the roof on Orel’s home. We may start on Houmanie’s home this morning while this is going on. Her husband is the pastor of a Baptist church. He has been working with us. Houmanie had already taken in an orphan girl and boy and then when so many perished in the flood here, they took in six little ones who lost mother and father.

Tuesday, the Jamaican army brought a team of Doctors and Nurses. These men and women treated over 300 people that day. Some had been waiting at the gate since 4:00 am. The army distributed food to over 1,000. Olver and Madochee interpreted for the Doctors all day without having a moment to rest or eat. They asked us to help coordinate another day clinic in an area in need. Yesterday they returned to Garishe a few miles away. The nurses in the government clinic in Cabaret were excited like young girls to receive the supplies that have been shared. The Dr in charge was coolly reserved. But when he saw we weren’t taking pictures of the “donation” and filming or documenting the “giving” he really “came out of his shell.” He warmed and asked questions and even asked, “Why haven’t I been invited to your meetings?” The shaking has opened new springs…..

Yesterday the rumble of a 4.7 quake rolled over the land. More buildings went down in Port au Prince. Last night two more woke everyone up. How long?????

Commercial flights resumed Friday. Yesterday afternoon in the old cargo area of American Airlines, converted to immigration and customs, I met three young workers who’ve come to lend a hand for one month, Jake Nelson, Dirk Henry, and Mike Henry. Really a breath of air for us. Flip, Jan, and Willy leave tomorrow. We’ll miss them. We’ve had such good times working together.

Sunday Caridad’s foot looked swollen and the wound not good. Mike was trying to get her to a French doctor who visits the area on Mondays. If not we hope to get to the 82nd Airborne Doctors.

This seems so little answer to all that your messages bring to us.

With love, Your brothers

“Where quiet waters flow.” HE led us there again. Yesterday morning in Dupraz’ home in the western suburb of Carrefour, it just seemed a little flock of sheep knelt, rested, and drank again of those quiet waters. The first Sunday after the quake, this city of tumultuous, laughing, hard working, music loving millions was still and silent as death. Morbid. And rightfully so. Our own hearts were bleeding. Yesterday, religious fervor filled the streets under blue skies and hot sun with crowds lead by their pastors, prancing, dancing, drumming, shaking branches and flowers high in the air, chanting slogans against Satan, people running to join the excitement, whether Catholic, Rastafarian, voodoo adepts…the streets filled, the parks spilled over. All week the nation has been harangued with radio and megaphone messages that God’s wrath had spilled over on Haiti because it is the most sinful people in the world. Yes, we bow our heads and admit we are sinful people. But the, “most sinful?” They were told if they didn’t fast and pray for three days God would strike them with a worse catastrophe this week. That first Sunday, Germain seemed to foresee all this and spoke of Jesus’ words, “Or these eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men who dwelt in Jerusalem?” (Luke 13.4) “I tell you, nay, but unless ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” It is a wake-up call to serious thinking. Again and again we’ve heard that humble plea, “I’m not better than any of these who perished. I just want to be ready…now it seems so foolish not to be ready.” I, too, repent. Natachia spoke of the privilege of not being troubled. Rutha spoke of John 14.1, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” and her overflowing thankfulness to be [able] to find peace in upheaval and knowing where this has come from in her life. A neighbor of hers, Bania, that began this past year, was just bursting with feeling, speaking of all the neighborhood rushing to this crowd or that crowd, blaming her for not joining the rush. She testified that Ex 14.14 is true, “Hold your peace…the Lord will fight for you” and the quiet peace she was finding in her tent and the Lord very near her each day. Why run? Gedeus also spoke of all the running this week and his joy, “We didn’t need to run to find the way. We’ve been walking in it already.” What a joy to just keep on walking home with Jesus, hand in hand. In all this boiling and rolling pot, God sees every heart. May those crying to know a quiet place near to HIM find it. It was deeply touching for me to feel Jean Pierre’s peace of surrender to Christ in his words. It wasn’t so awhile back. The struggles of youth. But last year his older brother who had been running with a tough crowd, was poisoned and died looking up into his mother’s eyes with these words on his lips, “Mom, I didn’t think you loved me because you didn’t like my friends. Now I see you loved me and wanted to save me.” He slipped away. Dupraz and Bethanie were a lovely couple and a beautiful little family with Daphne and Bertrude. We lost Bethanie, so young, in 2006. Daphne’s clear part in the meeting surely fed her father and all of us. The God of ALL comfort…what more does the little flock need….ALL COMFORT.

After the meeting we heard more stories of “Where we were” the 35 seconds. Cindy had just left her school. She would still have been in it, but as class president, had spoken to the professor, reminding him that the class was for two hours, and that he had started one-half hour early. He gladly complied….their early exit saved the class. Dupraz is the chief dispatcher for SECOM rent a car. For the second time only, in his 13 year career with this company, he left work early. He always stops in at Caribbean Market, the biggest and nicest grocery store in Haiti, on his way home, which is just across the street from his office. Every other work day of the year he would have been inside the store at exactly the moment the quake hit. Hundreds perished in its collapse. Twenty-seven days after the quake, a survivor was pulled out alive. It hit the news!! But later the hushed reality hit…he was a looter trapped inside by another tremor. At least, he was saved alive. Daphne was in the morning session of her school. Thousands died in the afternoon session of this highly coveted school for girls when it collapsed during the afternoon session. Dany was at home. She bolted out of the house and ran to find her mother, Mary, who sits by the street selling vegetables. On the trail, she suddenly turned back. Just ahead of her, two men who were running with her were crushed when a hillside home crumbled and crashed on the trail. We took these folks home. Home is now the tents that have been shared with us. They are so grateful and proud of them. Homercille told me a neighbor was jealous of the tent and threatened to burn it when she went out. It rained hard in the night. She went to that neighbor and asked them to come and spend the night with her in the tent. Twelve people took refuge in the little tent together. Last night it rained for the first time in months at parched Cabaret. My old tent that I use at preps and convention time leaked on me. I laid awake thinking about the thousands under sheets and wished they had the tent. This old world is hardly a place for family with all its disasters and danger. God has woken us with a feeling and love for Family and He has prepared a HOME that is perfectly worthy of FAMILY. FAMILY FOREVER. Our hearts cry at His wisdom in not leaving us here forever.

This morning we plan to put up a 30 X 60 [foot] tent. Tomorrow the Jamaican army will bring a group of Jamaican Doctors and nurses to give this area a “Day Clinic.” We hope to set up some tables, beds and chairs to make it a little more comfortable and the tent will provide some shade for the doctors and those waiting in line.

Regarding the moratorium the government had passed on building in Port au Prince, we have good news. When I spoke with the Minister of Justice on the phone and asked him if we could proceed, he gave me an appointment to see him. I took this to mean he needed more details than what could be shared over cell phones. So I went prepared with sketches that would convince him that the engineering would be earthquake and hurricane resistant and pictures of building materials to be used that are good quality. It wasn’t that at all.. He just wanted to see me as an old friend. He stood up from his desk and came around and gave me a big hug….the mode of the day when you meet your friends alive. He shared his experience. He was in his second floor office of the Ministry of Justice. He woke up in the choking dust, in the two foot space under a fallen pillar that had jammed in a way to hold up the debris of the building leaving him this “space of life.” He found the chief of staff was laying beside him in the dark, alive. Four hours later, rescuers pulled them out. He went right to work helping search for his colleagues. Nineteen were found alive. Fifteen perished. He found a close friend pinned under the concrete. He spoke to him, gave him water to drink, and his friend closed his eyes and died.

When we got around to do business….I never showed him anything. I explained what we wanted to do to help and he just said, “Dan, there is no problem…go ahead.” I felt so relieved. So glad.

Today once the tent is in order we plan to start on Orel’s house. Really it was just shaken apart as it probably never had enough cement in it from the beginning to stick together. Some of these places in Port au Prince don’t have an easy solution. They would not be difficult to repair but they have a neighbor’s house looming on the next shelf cut out of the mountain directly above them, ready to fall in the next tremor. There is no such thing as a “safe space” …they are one on top of the other. And the friends’ homes in some cases pose an equal threat to the house below. Looking at them would give you the impression that they were hastily built. It couldn’t be more contrary. It’s taken them years to build their little homes. In order to build something and get out from the never-ending grind of facing an angry landlord for late rent, this is what they do. If someone has a salaried job, government or company, they enter a “sole.” This means two or three very trusted friends put their monthly salaries together. This month the combined salaries are mine. The next two months, yours and then yours. With the combined salaries they rush to buy stones and cement to start a foundation on a rented (10 year) little plot of land on the mountain side stretching high above Port au Prince. Four months later, it’s your turn again and you rush to buy a few sacks of cement and sand at a shaving cheaper price because of this combined capital, and pay a man on the side of the street to make cement blocks in a single block form. The blocks are stacked. Patiently waiting for the next turn. Then you buy more cement to make mortar and put up a few blocks. Often about this point you find the land never belonged to the person you rented it from and you start all over again. During this long period of time, sometimes years, the salaried spouses’ income is being consumed in this way. They live on the income of the other…who maybe makes fried pork to sell on the street, selling water, selling fruit, selling used clothes…whatever. It is a glorious day when the little couple and their babies can enter the one room shelter with tin over their heads, blocks not yet used to stack in the door at night for protection and hold each other and thank God for their deliverance from paying rent. It is not hastily built homes, like it appears to be.

We have beautiful morning[s]. It is usually 92 degrees in the shade by noon. Tomorrow, we look forward to Derek coming again from the doctor with supplies and also my brother (Flip), his wife (Jan), and son (Willy). They can help us for a week. With joy, I look forward to this.

Mike has had good luck sharing water truck loads of water with the camps in the streets near Vaillant. The boys were aggressed when trying to share bags of food. The government has decreed that only women can stand in lines now for the distributions, and it seems to be working better. Even then it’s a huge job to get it done.

It was a special moment to see Caridad again at Vaillant. She’s looking good. The wound is healing but “not all healed yet” for sure. I asked her if she liked the helicopter ride…..”I LOVED it!!!!”

Again with our gratitude, Your brothers in Haiti

Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:19 (PST)

Subject: Haiti

Just to let you know we arrived safely to the convention grounds in Haiti and left off our load of provisions about 4:30, I think. When we checked in on Caridad in the provisional hospital after entering Haiti, she was wanting to come with us. We really didn’t have room for her and her nephew who cares for her so we told her we would return today. We took provisions to the batch in the city and picked up Mike who continues to care for those who need to live there at present and he takes extra provisions from there to the other friends. We found out the main Doctor wants to keep Caridad longer as its very urgent that she receive a skin graft as her bad leg won’t recover without one. A group of Doctors had arrived for this special procedure and will get to her as soon as they can. She will need to stay a week after the grafting and then Mike will bring her to the batch.

In the area near the batch is where we saw the worst destruction of all and where many of the dead were found. Now many are working on removal of the structures as most of the construction in the city is concrete blocks and cement floors and cement roofs. We didn’t get back until about 1:30 and also need to stay over until tomorrow to leave as two of the Canadian friends are to go back with us and leave from Puerto Plata on Monday.

We hope another trip can be made next week or the following as the workers and friends are going to need continued help. They are now able to buy rice and other provisions here. Two men arrived by plane this evening with 25 camping tents and other provisions. Glen Spanaugle, Warren and Scott Wainwright are to leave from here by plane on Saturday. Was no need to even stop as we came through the border coming in so we’ll hope for the same good fortune as we leave tomorrow.

A tremendous amount of work has now been done with 14 pillars put on the outside and 10 inside and they will finish the last 5 more tomorrow on the 2 story convention home and building. Will be lots more to do but now not as urgent. They also want to help the friends rebuild little by little as soon as possible. Probably about 20 or 30 homes involved some fairly simple and others quite large. Our hearty best wishes to each of you and thanks again for all your deep interest and care that is so much appreciated by us all.

Glen, Derek and Gerardo

Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:18
Subject: Friday morning in Haiti

There is a beautiful full moon out, lighting the landscape of this afflicted island country. It is early, but then the days start early in Haiti, and it is cool and fresh this morning. This will likely be the last letter I will send from Haiti this trip. Our friends from Minnesota were able to fly in yesterday in a rented plane bringing tents and other supplies. Two of them stayed, while the third, the pilot and the plane’s owner, flew back. They will return again on Saturday, and Warren and Scott Wainwright and I will go back in the plane. Two of the Canadians who have been working here for over a week are going back to the D.R. today with the D.R. workers. So, our project is winding down. That is the structural stabilizing part of it. By the end of today we will have all the new pillars in place, 14 outside and 14 inside, and the sheer walls should be completed tomorrow, then it will be filling in the rest of the walls, and all the finishing. We all have been glad to have a part in this project, and to witness the calming down, and beginning of the return to normalcy. There is much work to be done in Haiti, but it seems that now it can begin, as the struggle to survive is lessening, and thoughts and efforts can move to reconstruction. It has been comforting to know that none of our friends perished in the earthquake, but it has been awesome to witness the bonding of God’s family worldwide, something I have never experienced before, maybe because it hasn’t happened to this degree before, and we feel it is a great honor and privilege to be able to witness God’s work being accomplished.

Thank you from the depths of our hearts for all you have poured out on us and to us in these trying days since the earthquake. It will not be forgotten.

A grateful brother, Glenn Spunaugle

We estimated that there was about 450 who gathered to pay their final respects. The dark-maroon wood grain coffin was situated near the door so that his body could be viewed before the service. Wayne Harris was the Pianist and he played introductory selections. About 10:00 A.M. – the hall was full to capacity holding about 315 people. The overflow filled an adjacent room where about 115 were seated but they could not see the speaker. About ten to fifteen late arrivals sat in the lobby. About 10:15, a sudden quietness came over the crowd and various family members were escorted to the front and seated. On schedule the casket was lead by the workers who were speaking in the service and the pallbearers followed. Right at 10:30 the service began.

OBITUARY: Mark Huddle recited his obituary including his years of service: 12-years in Washington State, 23-years in Colorado, 20 years in Oregon and Idaho, 6-years in Utah, 5-years in Illinois, 2-years in South Africa and 2-years in New Mexico. Mark – prayed

INTERLUDE: Hymn – “He Waits for Thee” Sung by Eric Printz, Doyle Smith, Zach Zimmerli, Jason Nichols, Teresa Sullivan , Jeanie Wright, Cindy Stearns and Dana Christie.

HAROLD BENNETT: 2 Corinthians 4:4-7, 18 – 1 Peter 5:4,5

My second year in this work was with Harry in Salmon, Idaho. We batched there because there were very few friends in that area. We passed out invitations during the daytime and in the evening we would visit the established churches. One saint lady, Grandma Williams, we visited often, she was in her eighties and sickly. When she was getting near the end, we visited her. Harry sat down and put both of his hands on her hand and visited with her about the Gospel and about going on to that great Eternal Home. Today, we are having Harry’s service and he has gone Home. I wonder how many funeral services Harry has taken over the years. There would be many faithful souls he helped to the finish. There are two reasons we have funeral services. The first reason is to show our respects to the deceased. The second reason is to remind ourselves that we are on the same journey and we will also be called Home.

Harry often spoke about the glorious things. We often say it is Faith that makes Christians, Trials prove Christians and Death crowns Christians. We read about a glorious God, a glorious Lord, a glorious King. He is the God of all glory. Jesus last message in John 17 was full of glory. He said to his disciples in verse 24 – “Father, I will that they also, who thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast give me: for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world.” His desire was that his disciples would be with Him in eternity and he wanted to do everything in his power to make that desire a reality.

Harry loved to preach about the glorious Gospel. He spent 70-years preaching the Gospel and his deep passion was to share this glory with the children of men. The broken down batch we stayed in and the drab hopeless building we used for meetings are left behind but he has gone onto a more glorious life. Once a year, I would come to Lacy to visit with Harry. On my last visit as we were escorted out of the area Harry was living in, and when we came to the last locked door, Harry passionately inquired, “Harold, couldn’t I have a small field with a companion who might have slowed down and have some meetings.” He was almost begging. His body and his mind was weary and tired but his heart and desire was ready to tell the Glorious Story one more time.

Ephesians 5:27 – “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Today we are not presenting a perfect man but we are presenting a perfect bride, the Saviour of the body. A bride without spot and wrinkle. He will return and bring those who are sleeping with him. They will be clothed with a glorious body and the bride will give them that glorious crown. I am thankful for Harry’s life and his companionship that have impacted my life and has taught me and we appreciate his glorious finish today.

JIM PRICE:

Harold was with Harry his 40th-year and I was with Harry his 70th-year in New Mexico. That is quite a milestone! When Harry came to us in New Mexico his memory was slipping a little. He always knew where he was and he knew the workers. We appreciated his positive influence on us. He would always ask us to give our testimonies and he never tired of hearing how the Gospel came to our families. The old law encouraged men and women to tell their children, and then tell it to the children’s children. I came here from southeast Colorado and in 1948 Harry was working in southeast Colorado . The fruits of his labors are still evident there where we have a Sunday morning meeting. Most of the friends who were there when Harry labored in the area are gone but there is one daughter and granddaughter in that field who are connected to Harry’s mission.

1 Corinthians 10:24 – “Let every man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.” Paul didn’t come to seek his own welfare or wealth but he came to seek the welfare of their soul. Jesus came not to be ministered to but to minister and give his life a ransom for many. Jesus first lived the life and then he taught the lesson. He was an unselfish man who gave and gave of his own time and strength for the sinner. A selfish person lives a lonely life. Nabal sought his own selfish interests and Judas was selfish seeking to satisfy his own pleasures. But the little maid in 2 Kings 5 was an unselfish soul who sought help for her master. Abigail was unselfish and she took the blame of another upon herself to make peace. Jesus was an unselfish servant and when he saw the travail of his soul, he was satisfied.

Joshua 14 – Joshua and Caleb were men of faith who could discern between good and evil. Joshua was 40 years old when Moses sent him to help his people. Then he said, “The Lord kept me alive these forty and five years and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.” At the age of 85-years, Joshua’s vision was more clearer than ever and his faith enabled him to enter into the Promise land, a type of heaven that awaits us. Harry walked with God faithful even up into his 90’s and he never turned back. God’s promises never let Harry down once. He was true to him until he finished his course at age 97. God places us in the body where it pleases Him. We can please God by faithfully filling our place.

Paul said in Philippians 3:13 – “I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” This day can also apprehend us and motivate us to seek that prize that awaits us at the end of the race. Caleb knew there were giants in the land but that didn’t deter him once. He knew the promises of God wouldn’t fail him. Caleb was apprehended and he overcame the giants and he entered into his inheritance. This is our privilege today as we seek that good land that awaits us. May we be faithful in fighting the good fight of faith.

MAX BOWMAN:

Proverbs 18:24 – “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Forty years ago I met Harry in a church establishment in Oregon. He was friendly and he invited me to his Gospel Meetings. He introduced me through the Gospel to his friend, Jesus. He was a true friend and I sought his friendship. A true friend is one you can pour your heart out too, knowing it won’t go any farther. Harry was a brother I could go to in confidence. He was a loyal friend.

John 15:13 – “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” Jesus was the friend the disciples needed. They sought out the friendship of Jesus and it was a relationship held together by love. It wasn’t a friendship that would let them down when they needed it the most. Jesus qualified it, “if ye ‘do’ those things.” Our obedience to his words makes for a close friendship.

Harry would remind us that His sinless blood was shed to cover our sin. His precious blood was spilled from Calvary ’s Cross that we might know forgiveness. Jesus was a true friend who went the extra mile. Psalm 116:13 – “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows.” Jesus drank the cup of death for us that we might know salvation. Under Roman law, if a condemned person was sentence to death, he was given a cup of poison to drink. But if someone came along and volunteered to drink that cup of death – that cup could never again be filled. That condemned soul was set free from his death sentence. Jesus drank our cup and took upon himself our guilty past and sins. He spilled his own sinless blood for our redemption and salvation.

Harry drank from the cup the Lord provided for over 70-years. It wasn’t easy. He was a brave warrior who never gave up the fight. His death is precious to God. When I visited Harry about 3 weeks ago, he asked me, “Where is my companion?” Harry had a heart for people. He was a compassionate man and he loved to deliver the Gospel. When you listened to him preach the Gospel he inspired your faith. When you left the meeting, you left inspired.

Proverbs 17:17 – “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Jesus was a compassionate Saviour. He loved the sinner and he never left a soul without giving them hope. In Luke 17, we have the account of the sinner woman who came to Jesus weeping. She didn’t feel worthy but her tears of repentance moved Jesus to forgive her. She washed his feet with her tears and kissed his feet and anointed them. She found in Jesus a true friend and she left his presence in peace. I knew Harry to be a brother like this. He was very sensitive toward people’s needs and to the person who felt defeated and down and out.

We found a list of “ideals” in Harry’s bible. The first one was honesty. Surely that is our high ideal today. No greater ideal than being honest with ourselves and with our God. Then down the list was understanding and compassion and having a love for souls. When I heard the Gospel through Harry, I felt these ideals in his life. He was always approachable.

I was reminded of Elisha’s request of Elijah and it was for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elisha’s request was granted and he never lost that spirit. My request today would be for a double portion of Harry’s love for souls. He had an eagerness to tell the Story and he was focused on that mission.

Proverbs 27:6 – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” We all need correction. Harry was always faithful to correct me on several occasions. One time I approached him on something that needed to be corrected. It hurt him, I know. But we were true friends and that is what counts. How glad we are for the correction that comes from the Son of God, that spotless One, who was like a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

*NOT VERBATIM

HYMN – The workers’ stood and sang the hymn – “Till Breaking of the Day.”

ANNOUNCEMENT: Max said he received a message from Graham Adams on behalf of the South African staff where Harry labored for two years. They wanted to convey to the family and friends that they greatly appreciated his ministry among them.

Graveside Service

Fir-Conway Lutheran Cemetery at Milltown

Conway, Washington

January 23rd at 4:00 p.m.

Officiating: Max Bowman , Bob Anderson

Selected Hymn: “We Love the Perfect Way “

Pallbearers: Dave Nealon, Dan Lawty, Jay Wicks

Steve Peirson, James Lindsey, Eric Hawkins

__________________

OTHER WORKERS INTERNED AT THIS CEMETERY:

Linda Heyes, John Vint, Jack Carroll, Mary K. Wetzel,

Anton Koutsourelis, Charlotte Brown, Lilly Wetzel, Jenelle Wetzel, Sydney Holt, Mary Hasper, Irene Bement

We have no phones. But the wireless is working thanks to the inverter and batteries. Mike, Allan, Yves, Mado and I are fine.

It was a tremendous shake. The walls of the factory room are badly broken, the pillars are damaged but the house stands. Several of the windows are out of their place. Everything upstairs is all over from the shake. The wall by the fish tank fell, and the wall of the brothers’ quarters fell out, too.

It is now dark. We’ve put up two tents for the night. From time to time, a tremor passes. Many houses on the hill fell in a heap. No one was killed there. But word is coming that some were killed in Cabaret.

As I said, we have no phone signal so we do not know anything about Port au Prince or the rest of Haiti. Allan and I were visiting upstairs when it hit. The whole floor was shaking up and down like a huge head of a drum. It moved back and forth so much the mattresses in the depot are on the floor, the shop is a mess. At this point I’m not sure if we can save the factory and house….we’ll see what the night holds.

Your brother, Dan Henry

Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 6:30 AM

Yesterday little pastures bloomed, little paradises by the spring in the desert. We didn’t give any instructions to any[one] about where to meet or how. The Spirit is by far the supreme coordinator in all of this. They strangled into this home and that home in PAP yesterday morning and the family sat at “the table” with our Lord. Most of the church buildings are rubble in PAP. I prayed for those who faithfully went to those buildings to worship that they would also be comforted this morning. I’ve never felt so deeply grateful for the Lord’s plan. He was so very near us and real to us all…just as much as if He were speaking to us in a human body, but even nearer…in the Spirit. Metor was the first to pray and the first to speak. He met Orin Taylor and Charles Lauchner their first year in Haiti (1971). He was a young tailor working for someone else at a peddle sewing machine in a shop on Premier Ave Bollosse. He looked up and saw Charles carrying on his shoulder planks to make benches and said, “This is different.” He had grown used to seeing leaders in the churches walking by with their hands free and others carrying their effects for them. He has had a stroke and is nearly blind, but, through the maze of debris, he and Suzette came to Bob and Roma’s home where we met. His speech is badly garbled from the stroke…but amazingly his prayer and testimony just rang so clear.. a joyous declaration of his Love for God and gratitude for His abundant Grace. As we sat there and each one spoke, it came so clear to me, “How could one ever taste of this PUREST LOVE and then turn to any other?” From time to time the stench of rotting flesh wafted through the room, but it was not in any way like in other parts of town. Now it seems to me that when I first saw the bach the other day, I was so intent on what we would find….I didn’t see the street. Yesterday I was astounded again….all around homes are destroyed and yet the bach is basically untouched.

Towards the end of the meeting Roger came in. After the meeting there was a long silence. Then I gave a little rundown of news of the others in Haiti. Though I didn’t want to increase the anguish of the days, I shared that Roselyn was unaccounted for. No sooner said, and Roger said, “No, I saw her this morning.”…a cry of joy filled the room. She had left work at the moment of the quake. It took her a long time to get home. In the chaos, the neighbors didn’t see her come or go but she had taken her child and made it to her sister’s home in the east of the city and couldn’t make communications with anyone during the rest of the week. We are so grateful.

The young folks had carried Caridad to the meeting. Mike dressed the wound one more time and then Joe, Allan, Yves, Germain, Caridad, and I made a round of visits to the friends we could reach in the city. We were deeply relieved to share with them what you have shared and they are deeply grateful. We are forever..one family. Omanes had just gone out to try to find someone to borrow from. Elifaite whispered to me….”I’d come to the end of my line of being able to borrow.” I was reading that the oldest form of writing, cuneiform, when deciphered are most often talking about the banal subject this man borrowing from that one…this has long been a way of life in Haiti…sharing what you have. And often when you don’t have. At each home….I just wish the warmth and the strength of the hugs, because we’re ALIVE, could have been for all of you instead of me.

We stopped at the orphanage where Jerry and Krista have a little boy and girl. They all seemed a happy little troupe. The perimeter walls were down so no security for the place other than their guards, but none of the children were hurt. There are evacuation plans for the children to the US.

During the visits, Caridad and her nephew stayed in the rig waiting for us. As we went through the city, we saw a team of French firefighters and doctors trying to cut through concrete to save a person trapped in a building but still alive. We asked a doctor to look at Caridad’s foot for us, as it is almost impossible to get through to get attention in what is left of hospitals. They wouldn’t come to the rig but said we could bring her. Joe carried her to them. They dressed it. One said, “It’s OK.” The other lady doctor said to me as Joe carried her away….”Get her to a hospital as soon as you can, the infection has gone too far…you may not save her.” I had been thinking of a doctor we know at Cabaret and the clinic here. But hearing this we decided to try to get her to the Navy hospital ship that [was] somewhere in the area. (We couldn’t see it from up on Fort Mercredi yesterday). The news was that the commander was complaining that they had the best hospital in the region and no patients. We were told to go to the hospital at the airport. The Argentine military hospital wouldn’t let us in…we aren’t military. The UN Base has no hospital. We finally decided to stop wasting time and get her to the good old country doctor at Cabaret. A Nigerian UN soldier was standing at a gate onto the runway of the international airport. We pulled in and I showed him my US passport and we asked for the “hospital,” he waved us through and told us to go to the end of the planes. We passed under the wings of all these huge military aircraft without anyone asking a question, passed the international press center confined to their roped off arena and kept asking for the “hospital.” Finally we were directed to a group of green tents. The officer told me not to come closer and to back up. When I asked for help for Caridad he said, “No, this is just for US citizens and military.”. So I told him she was my grandmother…his head bobbed and he said, “I’ll speak to the commander.” The commander came out and said, “We don’t do this, don’t bring more people.” But they took her in and gave her the kindest and best care. And did it joyfully, explaining each procedure to her grandson. By the time they had cut away the infected dead flesh and gave us instructions on how to dress it each day, and the dangers of her still having more infection and losing the foot, or worse, I was still hoping for a hospital and professionals to care for her. I asked Joe to look around for Navy men. These kind men were Air Force Special Forces and ready to treat military needs. An Air Force Soldier girl in the tent hospital had Haitian grandparents, too. We were soon friends. She said, “I’ll be back.” Joe found that they would not lift anyone to the ship hospital if they were not military or US Citizens….and that they were having meetings to try to change that status. But the Air Force was taking some to a tent hospital at the Dominican border. The same commander that Joe had been talking too walked in the our friend and asked, “Do you want her to go to the hospital?” They asked me to put earplugs in her ears. Then they took her and a US citizen UN personal who’d lost a leg onto a helicopter and lifted them away. Our little Caridad on an Air Force helicopter taken away to the best of care!! God Provide!! I returned to the tent to thank these men…they were gone. While Joe and I were standing there two soldiers came and asked me for General so and so. We told them we were the last guys to ask.

Tomorrow three men from Canada are arriving through the Dominican Republic with two of the workers from there, Derek and Erick with a van and supplies. And in the afternoon three men from the US arrive on a special flight. We’ll be glad for their help.

I find comfort sleeping in the tent. It is open at the top, when I awake I see the beautiful stars so far away. Somehow it is comforting. The BEYOND. Supply planes fly right over us day and night. That too is comforting. It takes time. But they are doing what they can and it will be better.

With love,

From all of us

Again thank you, each one of you, for your thought of all of us in Haiti. Please pardon the lack of news from my part. We’re just trying to do what we can and think of the next step…..and when the day is done it seems we’ve done so little, what can we write that would be news that others don’t already know. And to say the truth some of this is mind numbing and my strength to even try to put words together is simply gone.

All stores that weren’t crushed that I know of remain closed in this area. Anything that you can buy is bought on the street which is the usual thing in Haiti anyway. We couldn’t buy a bag of rice or beans yesterday in Cabaret but could buy small quantities here and there. Allan found some vegetables and fresh beef. We are OK. The water supply is very low. I was able to reach the truck that supplied us at convention time and he promised to come last night but didn’t show. Gas is selling for $14 US on the black market…if you’re lucky enough to find the guy who has it. I will do my best to find diesel this afternoon so that we can keep going with what needs to be done. Because of long term friendships with the men who own the two building supply places here, they opened their stores and gave me all the steel support poles they had (used to shore up scaffolding) and we have them placed in the factory to help the damaged pillars support the building until we can go further. They also opened their depots and gave us iron and cement on credit to begin the job. We have a rock foundation already laid for the wall that fell. Tomorrow morning we hope to start digging for a new foundation outside with the original one for the factory (women’s sleeping quarters) and build new pillars (iron and concrete). A young brother and sister, Vensio and Fiorda, made their way here from La Plaine just to see if we were OK and to get news of the rest of the friends. I sent word back with them for Gedeus to come as fast as possible. He arrived and went right to work. He is a top notch mason. He wouldn’t leave his wife and two boys to stay here, though. And no one can blame him. They were camping in the yard of their rented home. Rony and Clarel took him home and brought them all back and they are a happy little family camping here and I am comforted to have his expertise on the job. I know no one that can lead a team better than him. In 2004, he had sent his wife out of the building turmoil in Port au Prince and the growing hunger to the mountains above Jacmel to his home at Lozier. When his father sent the message, “It’s time for you boys to come up here,” and opened his home to Mike and I as a refuge, she was praying. When we walked in the yard she said, “God has answered my prayers. I was praying the Lord would close the door so the workers couldn’t leave Haiti, lest my soul be lost.” Gedeus came home on the first truck out of Port au Prince a week later to tell his family to just hang on to what they had learned of Christ…that the workers were all gone and no one knew when they’d be back. He came in just as meeting began in his own dad’s back yard. Natacha had begged for a chance to make her choice known to the family and to have the peace of full commitment so she was ready to simply stand at the end of the meeting…..he stood before she did. They asked their little boy David (now 6 years old) what he would choose for a name for his little newborn brother….”Jonathan…because David and Jonathan were best friends.” Now these little boys are happy campers. And their parents are thanking God again and again. The school where David attended that Tuesday morning is a pile of rubble.

I was prepared to go to Port au Prince with water and supplies Friday but the friends begged me to stay. Ti Joel from here had seen with his own eyes men slashing with machetes and shooting, robbing and taking anything they wanted. The national penitentiary is wide open and all the hardest criminals are in the streets. Luquel also called and told me to stay. Olver took my place. We loaded a backpack full of water and fruit and he made it without any problem. He took my camera and took pictures. I will not share them. I may never look at them again. God sees………..and that is enough. A nation, a wonderful people… there is a side….just for others to see… to see….no.

Mike was out all day yesterday in the city. He found Eve (25). Her family in Jacmel had no word of her and we thought she was in Jacmel. She is fine…camping in the street like everyone else. The trucks, buses, pickups are loaded…every toehold on top of a bus..a crowded mass of humanity fleeing. There are lines of people walking. When we were trying to get into the bach, Mike drove and I got out and tried to direct the dead stop snarl of panicky people trying to get through. I was afraid at first, but then realized my white hair was the best police cap…they looked at me and quieted and we worked together and opened the jambs. But still it took 4 hours to just go about 1.5 miles. All the while a silent troupe of dazed people were flowing by like a river of homeless humanity, their eyes glazed, zombified, staring straight ahead, looking neither to the left or to the right at the nightmare of chaos, nor down at the bodies…just ahead, reliving their own nightmare or fixing their sad news in their minds for the family they hoped would be waiting….or praying the family they were looking for would be alive.

This morning, some will have meeting here. Some will go to join Mike and the others in Port au Prince. After meeting Caridad is waiting for us. We’ll bring her out here and see if we can doctor her foot…it is badly infected and it seems they can’t get her into a hospital in Port au Prince. Yesterday they finally dug the bodies of Genese’s father and brother from the rubble. Until now she, her mother and sister would not leave the alley. The sister’s children are with Mike at Vaillant. We will do what we can to persuade them to just leave it now and come home with us and we’ll take care of them here.

Caridad gave her testimony at convention and about broke the meeting up. She started out by saying the way was such a wonderful way that you could walk in it bare foot and not get a splinter nor even dust on your feet. Then she told about in Jan. last year when Glenn and Mike told her they’d be coming for a visit. She said she put on her best dress. She said, “An old lady and not pretty and the workers coming to my home,” and this all in the most colloquial Creole. When Haitians are amused they can hardly stay seated and the wave went through the assembly. Then she told about them asking her if meeting could be in her little home. With a beaming smile that lit the tent she told about the most wonderful gift of her life that the brothers brought her that day….and the meeting broke and took a moment to settle…..the wave of her joy lifted every heart.

From midnight to 4:00 am Friday morning I was getting calls from the south because DIGICEL had opened their towers for a moment in that area. All are fine in Les Cayes, Roche a Bateau, Virgile, Payant and Massolass.

Pardon more. I wish we could do more. We’ll do what we can. Yesterday we sent Olver and Germain on the motorcycle to Carrefour with help for the families in that area. They were very grateful and more so just to know others are thinking of them. They remain camped in the streets but well.

Again, I have no idea where to find the return for your love and care for all of us here. This came from God and may we love Him more in return.

Your brother,

Dan

There was a young worker over there in the Ukraine and every year at convention he said the same thing. And what did he say? “Another year.” And the next year he would say the same thing. So, maybe I’ll say it to you here, because he is not here – it is another year. They go by pretty quickly and soon eternity will dawn. Maybe for somebody this is their first convention. And maybe for some people that are here today this will be their last convention, we don’t know. I like to go back to my very first convention that was in Illinois . I was 21 when I made my choice. We were Lutherans as I grew up. Mother made her choice when I was 16. I never went to convention until I was just 22. The reason why I didn’t go to convention before I was 22 was because I didn’t want to go to convention. But when I made my choice I was really hungry and I wanted to go. I remember the meetings and what we heard and it was a great time. Until about Saturday almost no young people had given their testimony. I remember the testimony I gave that Saturday afternoon. Basically I said, I know I am young and have a long way to go and I could go a long way if I have faith and willingness to go and I will. Then I said, I must go a long way to go all of the way.

Today I am going to speak about beginning, continuing and finishing. We have a hymn that has those words in it, no. 28:

“Began, continued, finished, the crown of life they won; Hark! As their voices call us, the race of life to run.”

So that is the subject for today. My sister went to convention with my mother about two or three years earlier than I; she wanted to go to convention. She was about14 at the time when she went to her first convention. She made her choice and put all of her heart into it. My mother was a college professor’s wife, and quite a fancy lady. She made her choice and made all of the changes in her life that she could that was possible, as soon as she could, with all her heart. Anyway, my sister went off to convention with my mother and you know, she kind of looked like a sister worker but she was too young. It was one of the other girls at convention that said to Linda, your mother must be pretty strict. My sister said, “Well, our mother loves us.” She was headed in the right direction and a few years later she was a sister worker. I was thinking about my father, he went to his first convention when he was almost 71. He was 70 when he made his choice, 50 years after my mother made her choice. He was a grumpy old college professor. It was hard to live with him. My mother wrote me a letter one time after they had been married for 46 years. She said, “Your father did something today that he has never done before in 46 years. The first time he admitted that he was wrong about something.” I think that just meant that he was a typical man. He was always right and it’s hard to live with a husband who is always right, but that’s the kind of man he was. Now here at the age of 70 he made his choice. I wasn’t there to hear his first testimony but there were plenty of others that told me about it. He said, “Frank Tyson, who is a brother worker that was in their field for several years, once told about the old mule that didn’t want to get up. His master raised his voice a little bit and he still wouldn’t get up then he shouted at the old mule and he still wouldn’t get up so he took a 2 x 4 and hit him over the head.” Then my father said, “I am that old mule.” That was his first testimony, quite an admission for an old college professor who had always been right to say that he had been stubborn, very stubborn. Sometimes they say there are two kinds of people: there are stubborn people and very stubborn people. Well, in our family it is the men who are very stubborn. Well, he finally began and started to go.

Of course we know this could be our last convention. There was a young man that came to convention, I think it was in New Mexico. He had come quite a way to be at that convention and he was talking to a young brother worker after the convention who had not been in the work for too long a time. This young brother worker had not too long previously been engaged to this other young man’s sister. The young man, Jim, said, “You know, I have been thinking that I too should give my life to this work like you have.” He was a very serious young man and he was going out from convention to go further and maybe even possibly go into the work, asking God now what should he do? On the way home on his motorcycle, because of a crazy driver, he went into eternity. But he had in his heart that he wanted to do God’s will and he wanted to go all the way. Well, I guess he did go all the way but the journey was much shorter than what he expected. That was his last convention.

In Switzerland there was a family that had 14 children. That is quite a few. One little boy who was only five and his auntie was one of the sister workers. The sister workers had stayed with them there for a week or two before convention preps began and every day his auntie, Johanna, would read him something out of the Bible, tell a story out of the Bible. Preps began and the sister workers had to leave and he was kind of sad because they were not there anymore. A week or two later he went off with his father and mother, brothers and sisters to convention. I don’t know how they got there; maybe they had a large car. When the convention was over that little fellow said to his daddy, “I don’t want to leave here. I want to stay with these people for ever and ever.” His dad said, “But we have to go home.” So, he obeyed his father but about two weeks later there was an accident and that five-year-old little boy went into eternity. His father remembered what he had said about two weeks before, “I want to be with these people for ever and ever.” I don’t think a little five-year-old boy could be more ready for eternity than he was. He loved the workers, he loved the meetings, and he wanted to be with these people for ever and ever.

I was just up in Washington visiting a couple that I had met in Austria in 1988, Bill and Marian, anyway about five months ago the doctor told Bill that he had only six months to live. And the doctor told Marian that she had only two or three years to live. We had several days and nights together and good visits and a convention together. Bill made a trip up there to Milltown 2 for another day of convention because he just had a feeling that this might be his last convention, maybe not. Anyway, sometimes it’s going to be the last convention. Let’s think a little more about this thought: began, continued, finished. We know that to begin in God’s family we must be born again.

There was a younger man over there in Romania whose name was Costel. At his first meeting, there were only four of us there, in his neighbour’s home, he had two questions. The first question was, “Does the true church exist today?” And the second question was, “How do you become born again?” He said he was a member of the Baptist church and had been for three years and they are always talking about being born again. How do you become born again? I would like to be born again but I know that I am not yet. So I told Costel, “God sees your desire, you keep on praying and you keep on reading your Bible and doing God’s will and He will show you. That is God’s business and we can’t do it. Just pray, not my will but thine be done. When you are born again you will find yourself in God’s family and that will be the true church and God will give an answer to both questions. We won’t try to answer those questions today.” About two nights later this young man made his choice, he understood what that meant. As I mentioned, there are two kinds of people, stubborn people and very stubborn people. Now there are two kinds of births, a difficult birth and a very difficult birth. There is no easy way to get around it. Being born again is not easy. It is a great struggle and it is a great thing when people finally give in. If I were to give my testimony, I would have to think a little bit about the caterpillar and the cocoon and the butterfly. A caterpillar is a beautiful little creature and they are always crawling around on the ground and looking for something to eat. They are always wanting to eat and eat and eat, really selfish little creatures but they can’t fly, of course. Over there where I labour in the Ukraine they are always asking me about a typical American and I tell them that a typical American sits in front of a television set eating potato chips and drinking beer, anyway he’s just kind of a big old caterpillar, looking for something for himself. We know that the only way for a caterpillar to become a butterfly is to be in a cocoon. Now, I happened to find myself in a cocoon for about five years. It is kind of dark in there, in the cocoon. My mother made her choice when I was 16 and I knew that this way was the right way, it was the truth. And I knew that if I believed it and was going to walk in this way it would mean I would be doing God’s will and not my will and I was afraid of what that was going to lead to. Actually I thought that if I ever made my choice how am I going to get out of being a worker? It kind of scares you doesn’t it? Anyway, I didn’t make my choice right away. I had my worldly friends and I would go with them and they were doing some things that weren’t too good. Somehow I could not do the things that they were doing. That was back in the days of the hippies with their long hair and beards and smoking marijuana and all of those kinds of things but I could not do what they were doing. I didn’t have the freedom of the caterpillar. I would go with my mother and my sisters to the meeting on Sunday morning and heard them giving their testimonies and they seemed to be happy and enjoying themselves. I didn’t have any peace, I didn’t have any joy, I just felt condemned. I just felt like a fish out of water. I didn’t have the freedom of the butterfly nor did I have the freedom of the caterpillar. I was kind of like in jail you might say. I had thought before that if you make your choice to serve God then you can’t do this and you can’t do that, so many things that you can’t do. Kind of like being in prison. Actually I was inside the cocoon and it was dark and it was lonely and I had no freedom. When the caterpillar gets out of the cocoon it becomes a butterfly and it has spiritual life. It goes from one sweet thing to another. We like to have this freedom of the butterfly.

Maybe I’ll just tell a little bit about my father. Maybe first I should say something further about this being born again. I was on a home visit and I was in Michigan for a convention. There was a lady who gave her testimony and that was the most interesting testimony at that convention for me, I still remember it. She stood up and all she said was, “It took me 21 years to be born.” Well, okay. After the meeting I tried to look her up and found her eventually and I said, “Now, what did you mean by your testimony?” She said, “I made my choice when I was 14 and now I am 35. I never had real joy and peace until this year.” It took her 21 years to be born. Making your choice and being born does not mean exactly the same thing. For some it may be sooner and some later. How long was she in the cocoon? We would like to have this new life that only God can give. Now I’ll mention a little bit about my father because he is probably the best example of a beginning as a little child. About two years after he had made his choice, I got to go home and visit him. By this time I was getting my weekly letter from my father. My father had a perfect record until that time; he had never written me one letter. After he made his choice to serve God he had a perfect record, he wrote me a letter every week. So he changed. I still remember the first letter. “Dan, I don’t know why I didn’t understand this before, but now I do. I did not know true love before, but now I do.” At the end of the letter he said, “I am the happiest man in the world.” After a couple of years it was arranged that I go home to see my father because his health was not very good. He had been in the hospital actually in a coma for two months and in intensive care for three months before he made his choice. Now he had made his choice and I had a chance to go home and meet my new father. It was Saturday night when we were sitting in the living room and for the first time in my life I saw my father reading his Bible. He said, “Dan, I have been reading here in Zechariah, is it talking about Jesus’ second coming?” I thought to myself, “Dad why are you reading in Zechariah, you should be reading in Matthew or Mark.” But I said, “I think you are probably right.” So then the next morning I get to hear my father’s testimony for the first time. He said, “I have been reading in the book of Zechariah,” and I thought, “Oh no!” He said, “Here it tells us that God told them to measure the city of Jerusalem and I think that God wants to measure me. He wants to see if my faith is right and my love is growing,” and that was all he said, just like a little child. So the next week I get to hear his testimony for the second time. This time he spoke about the idols in Samaria . He said, “You know, I have been thinking about these idols in Samaria, there were so many of them. Why were there so many idols in Samaria? The answer is that they didn’t have a living God so they had all of these idols instead. If they had had a living God they wouldn’t have had to have all of those idols. Today there are so many different religions and I wondered why they have so many different religions today.” He said, the answer is the same: “If they had a living God there would not be all of these religions they would just have God and that would be a true faith.” So then on Monday we were sitting around the table talking and Dad said, “Dan, you know what I said in the meeting yesterday? Was that okay?” So here he was asking his little boy. Anyway, my dad had become a little child and it was a big joy to everybody. I just might mention this: when my dad was in the hospital the doctor didn’t hold out much hope of his recovering before he made his choice. I got a letter from a lady back home. A young professing woman, and she said, “The whole world is praying for your dad, the whole world.” Of course that was not true because I don’t think the people in Oregon were praying for him, they didn’t know him. What she meant was that everyone there in Iowa that knew him was praying for him because his son and daughter were in the work and he had been coming to the gospel meetings but he had not made his choice. Well, it’s a good thing that other people are praying. When he did make his choice it probably brought great joy to a lot of people that had been praying for him.

I think I might just as well mention this about me and my testimony. I think about that man in Mark 2 who had the palsy and was borne of four to Jesus you know; they let him down through the roof. I just kind of think this way; I did have a grandmother who was professing. She was kind of the key to us finding the truth. My mother was away from home when she found the truth. My grandmother was a widow with five children and was looking for something that would satisfy. She went to one church, then another, then another and another. It was always the same story. Finally one day after going to the last one and being disappointed again she came home and fell on her knees and prayed. She wept and said, “God I have done everything that I know; now you have to do something.” Ten days later two sister workers knocked on her door and told her that there were meetings just down the road in the schoolhouse. After the first meeting she said, “I have found what I was looking for.” My mother was away from home; she had gone off and got married to this college professor. Anyway, by this time my mother had professed as well as my grandmother. My two sisters, one eight years younger than me and one four years younger than me had made their choice also. So here I had four, my grandmother, my mother and two sisters all praying for me. I didn’t have a chance. This man with the palsy was borne of four and I believe I was also. Don’t forget to pray for others because it is not in vain.

I thought I would mention this first miracle that Jesus did in John chapter 2. This is the miracle where Jesus turned water into wine. Jesus’ mother, Mary, said, “They have no wine.” We can think of the water as being God’s word. Jesus said, “Now are you clean through the word I have spoken unto you.” That is like the water of his word. In Psalm 104, it speaks about the wine which maketh glad the heart of man. That is something different, wine is not water. Wine brings a warmth and a power and it says that wine maketh glad the heart of man. So, in the Bible wine might be a symbol of joy. Well, we were having some meetings once a week in a tuberculosis hospital, seven women who had tuberculosis in one room. We would go once a week and have a little meeting with these seven women. One time I spoke on John 2 and I asked, “Do any of you have any joy and any hope?” They all said, “No, no joy and no hope.” I said, “Good, very good, because there was no wine but there might be a miracle.” It’s pitiful when there is no wine. When Jesus turned the water to wine he could have turned the wine that wasn’t so good to better wine. But no, he waited until the wine had run out completely. That is what happens in people when there is no joy and there is no peace and no hope. It seems that you are down to zero. That is when God begins to speak and to work.

We have heard several times in the meetings already about the one faith. If someone was to ask you, what is the one faith? What would you say? The one faith is not believing in God but believing God. Abraham had faith and God spoke to Abraham and Abraham believed God. That is the one faith, the faith of Abraham. That is when we believe God and obey. We would like to have that faith and follow Jesus. That would be the faith of Jesus not just faith in Jesus. So anyway let’s think about this miracle that took place. There were four conditions: first of all there was no wine and secondly there was water, lots of water. Thirdly there were the servants that obeyed Jesus when he said take this water to the governor of the feast. So that was three of the conditions. Can anyone tell me what was the fourth condition for this miracle? Well, Jesus was there. That was the fourth condition then the miracle could take place. I like to think that this is the miracle that takes place in any human life. There is new life spiritually because the water is turned into wine. I remember when I made my choice. Before that I never read my Bible and then when I started to read it I got a shock or two. One day I came home from school and I was so distressed and so troubled and in my distress I tried to pray. I couldn’t pray. So what do you do? You have no comfort and no peace. I took my Bible which I had never read, opened it and read one verse and slammed the Bible shut, it was too much for me. Here was the answer from God, Luke 6 verse 46: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” That woke me up a little bit. It was a couple of weeks later that I made my choice. I had had this feeling of being in prison, I can’t do this and I can’t do that, but I was looking for anything that would give me some peace. It was what you would call a very difficult birth and I won’t go into all of the details. I tried to run away from the last meeting but my sister chased me down and got me to that last meeting. When they sang the last verse of that hymn I didn’t stand up but then they sang that last verse over and before it was through the second time I did stand up. I was beat, I will tell you. Just like a little baby when it is born, it was quite a process. But you know, I got a surprise. Now the Bible was alive and sometimes I would read the Bible four hours a day. It gave me comfort and there was struggle and lots of tears. It was just like the water had turned into wine.

I told you what my father had said; “Now I am the happiest man in the world.” So the water had turned into wine for him also. Okay, so that maybe is enough for the beginning. Began, continue and finish. So I have found the way and I am in the way but being in the way and walking in the way are two different things. Suppose that I am in the way but not walking in the way, well, I am not going to be in the way. Just in the way of someone walking in the way. So, we don’t want to be just in the way, we want to be walking in the way, making progress. To continue doesn’t just mean to stay in the way or to continue in the work, it means to go further. I remember that when I was a boy we would take our trips out to Colorado from Iowa on old Highway 30 and it took a long time to get there. There were no interstate highways back then. My little sister would say to Dad, “How much further is it?” He would say, “Just a little bit further.” I think that we could put it this way, there is no one here that has gotten there yet, so then what do we have to do? We have to go further. We have found the way but we have to go further. When Paul wrote to the Philippians (1:25) he said, “I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith.” He was encouraging them to go further. We want to encourage people to go further. Okay, let me give you an example. The American way is to buy something on the installment plan. Maybe that’s not so easy to do now with the economic crunch. The old way was to buy a car and pay so much a month and that was called the installment plan. So you get this loan and you start paying it off and you have it for a year or two and you still have a lot to pay. Then maybe you say I don’t think I can make the payments anymore and what is going to happen? If you can’t pay the price, what is going to happen? You might lose the car. You have been paying on it for a year and a half or two years and then stop paying, you lose the car. You need to continue to pay until the whole price is paid; otherwise you are going to lose what you have. The same thing happens spiritually, you need to continue to pay. Those wise and foolish virgins: the foolish ones didn’t continue to pay. They had a little oil at the beginning but they didn’t continue to pay and their oil ran out and they didn’t have oil when they needed it. One of the workers in Switzerland told a story about going through the mountains in Switzerland with a group of workers at Special Meeting time. I don’t know who was driving and if I did know I wouldn’t say. They passed up a gas station and the driver said we are in a hurry so we are not going to stop and get gas; we have enough to get there. So they passed three or four more gas stations on the way. Then all of a sudden they came to a stop on top of a mountain somewhere and there were still a few mountains and valleys between them and the next gas station. They were stuck. The worker that spoke about it said that was just like the foolish virgins. They had many chances to pay but they just hadn’t paid the price. So, stop, take the time and pay the price. When I came across from Ukraine to Canada recently by plane, I didn’t know the way to the airport very well so I took a taxi. Over there taxi drivers usually only have a few quarts of gasoline in the tank because it is expensive. So anyway, we took off in this old taxi and all of a sudden the engine died because there was no more gas in the tank. Fortunately it was a downhill coast to the gas station. Maybe some of you feel that way coming to a convention. You are out of gas but it’s a downhill coast to convention, so fill her up, okay. I don’t think that you ever get filled up.

I am going to take you back to Luke 14:28 — 30. Most of you know that this is a little parable that Jesus gave about building a tower. “Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he has sufficient to finish it? Lest happily after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all who behold it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish.” So there is a question, we started to build; do we have sufficient to finish it? We have started and we want to continue and can we finish? Do we have enough building materials to finish it right now? The answer to that is no. God has a storehouse and there is enough there for everyone in this building today to finish the tower. In fact there is enough in God’s storehouse for everyone in the world to finish the tower. What is the price to get the materials? The price is submission, simply submission to God’s will. We have to be willing. I am going to take you now to a chapter in the Old Testament and I can tell you right now this is not your favourite chapter. I don’t know if you have read this chapter but I would guess if you started reading this chapter you would probably skip over it and go to the next one. Numbers chapter 29: this is telling about the sacrifices at the feast of Tabernacles. There were three feasts in the Old Testament. The first one was the feast of trumpets and we will say that that was the beginning then there was the feast of the harvest when the first fruits were brought in. That was seven weeks after they first put in the sickle, and that, we might say, was the continuing. The last feast of the year was the ingathering when all of the harvest was brought in. This was the feast of Tabernacles where they dwelt in booths. These were temporary dwellings to remind them that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth and that they would soon be passing on into eternity. So here we have the end and the finish. The feast of Tabernacles is a little bit of a picture of old age. I just noticed here that there are quite a few gray hairs. In the Ukraine we don’t have too many. I am getting a few but as time goes on I am getting less and less. One of our friends there who has a convention on his place and he said, when the visitors come over here I always want to see if they have any grey hairs. Anyway it’s nice to see people who are getting older knowing that someday they are going to come to the finish line. So here we have a picture of old age and maybe you who are older can take this to heart. Every day of this feast they brought some sacrifices, and this is where it gets boring. The first day they brought 13 bullocks, 14 lambs, 2 rams and one goat for a sin offering. The next day it was the same except one less bullock. This went on for seven days, one less bullock each day. Isn’t that interesting? You probably had already skipped to the next chapter before you got to the second day. This is the picture of old age. The bullock is a symbol of strength and the lamb is a symbol of submission and there were the two rams. The two rams might symbolize a clear purpose and a strong determination. The one goat was for a sin offering, well you can’t leave that out or everything else will be in vain. What happens when you get older? I don’t know too much about that yet. It seems that you get weaker and weaker. One less bullock each day, less strength. There were 14 lambs, that was the biggest number, a symbol of submission and that never diminishes. It takes just as much submission to the very end. You say, God’s will be done no matter what the condition. You say the very same thing to the end. Submission to God’s will, that is the price you have to pay. You still need that clear purpose and strong determination and the sin offering. That is a picture of old age. It also kind of makes me think of a car going to a certain destination. Well, you need a steering wheel, gasoline, a motor and you better not forget the brakes. The fear of God is kind of like the brakes. The brakes better work or you’re going to get in trouble. The love of God is kind of like the motor, that is what keeps you going further and further.

In the book of Revelation and chapter two it speaks about the church of Ephesus. It says that they left their first love. I like to think of people that I knew that did not leave their first love as some of the best examples. When I was back there in Iowa there was a man named Glenn who had lost both legs because of diabetes. He could get out in his garden and kind of scoot around and do a little work and pull a few weeds. But mostly he just sat and read his Bible and prayed and visited with anyone who would come and visit with him. He said, “You know this is the best time of my life. I have never had so much time to read and pray until now.” God was very merciful to him by giving him lots of time in old age to read and pray. He was looking on the bright side. In the Bible we read a lot about rain, the early and the latter rain. The seed needs that early warning. I remember when I made my choice the Bible was all new. You can’t get enough of it hardly. But then sometime later in life, in the summer, it gets dry and that is when you need the latter rain. This man Glenn, was getting the latter rain. When he came to gospel meetings, we had a hall that had too many steps up. He would be the first one there and he would sit on the first step and then scoot up one step at a time to the top. He had not lost his first love. There was another man from Iowa, his name was Vernon. He was great for inviting people to gospel meeting. They might not come but he invited anyway. He was 75 years old and the sister workers came to his house one day and no one answered the door. They had a key so they went on in and found him lying on the floor. He had had a stroke and was in eternity. They had the funeral and there were 750 people there. About half of them were friends and the rest were people from the town. He was a very respected man in the town. So he got a lot of people to that meeting. There were about 15 people there at the visitation who told his widow that on the day that he died he had invited them to gospel meeting. That was quite a testimony. On the last day of his life he invited 15 people to gospel meeting and he got 350 outsiders to come. He had not lost his first love, trying to help other people to the last. That is the way that it is, you have found the truth and you’re so happy with it that you want to invite everyone else to have what you have.

While we’re talking about love, I am going to give you a little test. This test only has one question: “What do you do when you have free time? Well, you do what you love.” You can think about that for yourself. I don’t know the answer. Think about Abraham going up the mountain ready to offer up his son Isaac. You remember how God sent the angel to stay his hand. He raised his hand with the knife to slay his son Isaac but God stayed his hand and he saw the ram caught in the thicket so he didn’t have to sacrifice his son. So what was in Abraham’s heart? He never loved his son more than he did now and he never loved God more than now. There was more love in Abraham’s heart. We’ve heard about David, he failed miserably. He committed a big sin but God forgave him and he was restored. As a result he loved himself much less than before and he loved God more. What about the prodigal son? He came back out of the world to his father’s house. What was the result? He now hated the world; he had seen what was out there. Now, he loved his father more than ever. When we fail we are forgiven and we love God more. That is what God is looking for more than anything. Now, we are trying to find our way to the finish line, to go all the way. God has given us a map when he gave us the Bible. If you are going to use a map there are two things that you have to know, where you are and where you want to go. We were in Germany one time in the home of an American couple and there was another American couple that was coming to see them and they did not know their way very well and were trying to find their place. They called the home on a phone and said we cannot find your place, can you give us directions? They asked the question, where are you? The man said, “I don’t know.” Well, it was kind of hard to give directions. First of all, you have to see where you are before you can find the way to where you want to go.

Maybe now we should switch over to finishing. That is the most important thing. Began, continue and finish. There was a little lady back home, her name was Laura. She was 99 1/2 years old. We went to visit her in the hospital. She was bed fast at that time. She said to us, “You know, I can’t do anything anymore. I can’t even raise my hand anymore but she said I can say one thing; I love God with all my heart.” We just thought that God was her witness. A month later she was in eternity. That was a beautiful finish, wasn’t it? There was a lady over there in Luxembourg, her name was Margaret and she had cancer. She was just barely 60. She had a husband and several children. She had cancer and was dying slowly but here she was in the Sunday morning meeting. She was weeping when she was giving her testimony. She said, “Maybe you think that these tears that I am shedding are tears of sorrow and pain but these tears are not tears of sorrow and pain, they are tears of joy because soon I will be home.” The next week she wasn’t there, that was her last Sunday morning meeting and she was in eternity the next week. Now I will take you to a convention in Iowa in 1991. There was an older brother worker who had laboured in the Spanish work for many years. He was well up in his 80s and he had cancer. He was not expected to come to convention and he was not on the speakers list. But here he came for one day. When he got on the platform and spoke, that was something that I will never forget. He read John 17:4 where Jesus said, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” He said, “I could say the same thing today that Jesus said, ‘I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do.’ It was like heaven was opened and God said what he said was true.” He went on to say that I hope very soon I can say it is finished, it is finished. He was going to cross the finish line. It’s a beautiful thing to see people finish like that. Thinking about Jesus when he finished like that, with the spirit of forgiving his enemies, thinking about his mother, helping the thief on the cross. That is the way he finished. Stephen finished the same way. It is a spiritual race and what you have to do to finish is to finish spiritually. If someone finishes a winner, it’s not a sad thing, to finish a winner. Jesus looked like a loser, Stephen looked like a loser, but spiritually they were winners. When they finished with that kind of a spirit, they were winners. I suppose that anybody when they are sick and dying, getting thin with cancer, or whatever the case might be, might look like losers. But when they finish with a spirit like this, they are winners. It’s nice to see people finish like that. The purpose of the convention is this: to help some people begin, to help others to continue and go further, and to help other people finish. That is the purpose of convention. We would like to be faithful in trying to help people to finish.

I’ll tell you a little story from Holland. There was an older lady there, I think her name was Anna; I’m just not quite sure. I heard this story from another brother worker, Pete Bloekker. Pete said that this Anna had a nice little apartment above her that the workers quite often stayed in. Lots of friends came and went, a very open home. But then Anna came to the point where she just wasn’t very able anymore. Friends would go to visit her but as the years went by they kind of forgot about her, so she wasn’t getting very many visits anymore. At the special meeting time Pete gets up to preach from Matthew 25: 40 “And the King shall answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.’” He read that verse that way and then he read it in a different way: “Inasmuch as you have not done it unto Anna, you have not done it unto me.” Well, after that she got a lot more visitors. He stirred them up and woke them up a little bit, didn’t he? He was trying to get them to do their part in encouraging people to finish and go all the way. You know, workers have to finish too. I’ll just tell you one more story from Iowa. This is about a sister worker named Anna and she was strict, oh boys. The young girls were kind of afraid of her. If they did their hair a certain way or wore certain clothes, she would tell them. If their skirts were too short, better watch out for Anna, here she comes. She was strict. The last two years of her life she was cared for by the sister workers in different homes. If anybody did something for Anna, she was always very thankful. She was no problem and she never complained. She just had a perfect kind of a spirit, thanking them and not complaining. It was nice to see that, that was the way she was finishing up her days. There was fruit and it was ripe. When fruit gets ripe it gets very soft and sweet. Anyway, if we have some fruit that’s not quite ripe, maybe still a little hard, it will have to ripen and turn soft and sweet then it is ready for the harvest. We want to have fruit like that to take us into eternity with joy and peace. We would like to be willing to go all the way and finish. When my dad finished 3 1/2 years after he professed, my mother wrote me a letter and said, “Your Dad made it first (meaning before her).” I’ll tell you the feeling that I had when my dad died at 73 1/2 years. He went to the hospital and died rather quickly and went into eternity. I could have thought that God had taken my father away from me, but no, God has given my father to me. When Jesus died what would you say? God has taken Jesus away from us and now he is up in heaven. No, he gave Jesus to us. In Austria there were three Sunday morning meetings and now they’re down to one and the friends were so unhappy and I asked them, “What happened to all of the people that used to come to meeting?” And they said, “They are in eternity.” “Did they finish faithfully?” “Yes.” Then you shouldn’t be sad, you should be happy because they finished as winners. That is the main purpose of it all, to finish with a spirit like that.

Maybe we could sing that hymn number 28: Began, continued, finished.

I will speak this morning about the ability of our Great physician, and I will take you for a little visit to the Doctor’s Office, where we can examine some of the familiar problems that often afflict the hearts and souls of God’s people. Some time ago now, I read something that was written by a doctor, and he said that medical science recognizes that emotions are responsible for the majority of our sicknesses. Then he went on to list those emotions: fear and worry, resentment and anger and hatred, envy and jealousy, excessive condemnation and regret, and sorrow and loneliness. I looked over that list of emotions that medical science recognizes to be responsible for a lot of our illnesses, and I was surprised to see that it is a list of common illnesses of the soul, problems that the gospel and the power of God and the grace of Jesus Christ should solve and settle in any person’s life.

Fear and worry. Could that thrive in a faith-filled heart? Resentment and anger and hatred. Could that get very far in a Christ-filled life? What about envy and jealousy? What about regret and condemnation? Our faith in the cleansing and forgiving power of the blood of Christ takes that away, doesn’t it? It’s a wonderful thing to me to know that in Jesus we have got everything to make us healthy of soul, and that is again going to be reflected. to a certain extent anyway, in healthiness of mind and body. We would like to just go into the Doctor’s Office this morning and find out what medicines Our Physician might prescribe for some of these illnesses and what instructions He has to give.

We will start out by asking Him what He has to say about fear and worry. Some time ago, someone wrote in a letter a little gem thought that has meant an awful lot to me. This person had been reading about the times when Jesus used this little expression, “Be of good cheer.” He noticed that it was only used three times by Jesus, and the first time is in Matthew 9:2. That time He was talking about the past. The second is in chapter 14, and that time He was talking about the present. The last time is in John 16, and that time He was talking about the future. Here we have a little concise outline of the beautiful provision that there is in Christ to take care of our past and our present and our future so that we can be of good cheer. We do not need to be afraid; we do not need to fear. Jesus died to take care of our past, and He rose again and is a living Christ to take care of our present, and He is coming again to take care of our future. To have living fellowship with a Christ like that, doesn’t that instill confidence and trust in your heart?

So, we are going to ask this Physician what He has in His Word to help us with fear and worry. One of my companions used to tell about a lady who said this near the end of life, “I have had many, many troubles in my day, but most of them never happened.” I think we understand what that means. As she looked back over her past, she could see that so many times she had fretted and worried about what might happen and maybe looked like was going to happen, and she kept herself in a constant state of unsettledness, when most of the things she worried about, the Lord took care of before they actually happened. It’s too bad if we go through life like that.

I would like to leave with you a few thoughts about the “fear not’s” in the Bible. Someone said one time that there are 365 “fear not’s” in the Bible, one for every day of the year; and that may be so, though I haven’t yet been able to find them. But while I was searching for those, I did find a list of about 77 or 80 “be not afraid’s” and “fear not’s” that do have a definite, direct application to our Christian life today.

I’ve got the prescription in my pocket, but I don’t have eight or nine hundred of them, so please don’t expect to get one after the meeting. You could take your concordance and find your own list of “fear not’s.” I like to look at that list in this way: It’s just like a bottle of “fear not” pills, 77 of them in my list, and that is almost a three-month supply. If we were to take one every day, preferably before breakfast, memorize it, and meditate on it during the day, taking special note of the circumstances under which that “fear not” was given, and what made it possible for God to extend that assurance, and get that digested into our system, that would make a marvelous difference after three months. We were talking about this in Sri Lanka one time at the special meetings. There was a man who really took that seriously. Approximately three months later, he wrote me a letter. “I will have to admit that I could hardly believe it would have much of an effect on me, but you said to do it, and I did. Long before I got to the last pill, I noticed that I had been raised to a higher level of appreciation for the power and care and ability of God than I ever had before. I understand better now Peter’s words that we ‘have obtained like precious faith.’”

The first pill is in Genesis 15:1. “After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” The important part of that little verse is the first part: “After these things.” You and I cannot take the assurance of that verse to ourselves until we first go back and find out what the things were that happened in Abraham’s experience that made it possible, finally, for God to say, Now, Abraham, fear not. He didn’t give him that assurance right at the beginning. You will find many things in the previous chapters that indicate the direction Abraham had purposed to go right from the time it says he departed from Ur of the Chaldees as God had spoken to him, through the time he

handled that strife between his and Lot’s herdsmen in such a Christian way; the time he went to rescue his brother Lot after his brother acted so foolishly; until the time he took a definite stand against the king of Sodom. Now God could say, “After these things,” if you keep this up, if you keep heading in this direction, you have absolutely nothing to fear, but I will be with you and look after your future and “be your exceeding great reward.”

Now we’ll mention a few things about resentment and anger and hatred. This is not medicine; this is instruction. If we follow this instruction it will help us to deal with that kind of thing. Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Matthew 18:15-17, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglects to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.” Luke 17;3-5, “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he trespasses against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a -day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him and the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.”

These verses all deal with problems that could arise between brethren inside God’s family and fellowship. This is what we need to do in order to keep from developing a spirit of resentment and anger that will sour our spirit and rob us of the blessing of God. You might have noticed that in Matthew 5 it is talking about a situation where you are ready to offer something to God and then you remember that your brother has something against you: you have done something that has hurt your brother. The verses in Matthew 18 are turned the other way around; it’s a situation where your brother has done something against you. What is the teaching in both cases? Who initiates the process of reconciliation in both cases? It is you, isn’t it?

That brings into focus a little truth that we have heard often and know so well, that this Bible doesn’t tell me how you should treat me, but it is full of instruction how I should react to you regardless of how you treat me. If we can read God’s Word with the thought, not of finding how other people should treat me, but how I should react when others say and do things that hurt me, and apply it, that is a rich and wholesome way to do it. The way Jesus taught does away with any possibility of both parties waiting for the other party to make the first move. There is no misunderstanding at all about whose responsibility it is to move first, it is mine if I am involved in it.

Just before this teaching in Matthew 18, we read where Jesus said, “If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee,” and “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee”… if thy brother offend thee cut him of, no If your brother offend you, go to your brother and talk to him, and do all you possibly can to make it right. We can just boil it down to this teaching: You be very strict and hard on yourself, and you be kind and merciful to others. That is just opposite to our human nature, if we make a mistake, we’re inclined to make excuses for ourselves and let ourselves by easy, but if we see someone else making a mistake we come down hard on them. If we can learn to follow this set of rules, it is going to help us to keep our spirit right in every kind of situation.

We can go on to envy and jealousy. In I Corinthians 12, Paul paints this word picture of God’s family being like a body. There are many lessons we can learn from this chapter. I think that in fifteen verses the word “body” is mentioned eighteen times. This chapter is the most concentrated teaching about the body of Christ that we have in all the Bible. We would like to pause a little while at verses 12 and 13. “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free: and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” Two verses, and the word “one” comes six times. It looks like Paul is just straining himself to get this thought clearly and definitely and indisputably across: there is just one body. If we can start out with a foundation like that, that will help us to get ourselves and our feelings and emotions sorted out about our place in the body and the place of other people in the body.

I like the illustration about the various fingers having a bit of an argument. The thumb thought it was-greatest because it’s out in front of all the others. The index finger thought it was most important because it’s the one that points. The middle finger thought it was because it stands taller than all the rest. The fourth finger thought it was most important because it’s the ring finger. The little finger just felt it was such a wonderful privilege to be in the body. That is the way every one of us should feel. It doesn’t really matter so much how big or small the place is that we have, nor how many or few talents we have; the fact that we are in the body is what opens the way for all the blessings that God has planned for His people. We should just be so thrilled with the fact that God has spoken and given us a place in the body that we don’t worry about whether somebody can speak better or gets more visits or privileges than we do.

Verse 18 tells us, “Now God has set the members in the body as it hath pleased him.” It is not hard for us to understand the meaning of that in the natural body. When God planned the natural body, he created every member with the thought in mind that there was a need that that member was going to have to help fill, and He gave every member all the ability it needed to fill the place he planned for it in the body. Turn that around to the spiritual picture Paul was painting in this chapter, and remember that the human body is the picture of the body of Christ and every member a little picture of you and me. “God has set the members,” every one of them, there are no exceptions to this rule, “as it hath pleased Him.” One of the reasons why sometimes we get a little bit dissatisfied or discouraged and feeling that things are not going as well as they should be is that we have never yet fully got settled in our heart and mind that I am going to be willing to fill the place that God planned I should fill in the body: maybe I am trying to fill another place that I have never been fitted to fill. This brings dissatisfaction and envy and strife. 

I will mention something for the benefit of the young people, and the older people can get a bit from it too. There’s a verse in the Bible that gives the secret, or the key, to happiness. Most of you will know that verse in John 13:17, “If you know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” Could we put it this way: If you know your place, happy are you if you fill that place. You may not feel able and you may not feel worthy, but if God gives you a conviction in your heart that there is a place in His family that He has planned for you to fill, you will never be happy as God wants you to be happy until you are willing just to fill that place. 

You might forgive me if we go on a little bit of a side road for a few minutes. In the last meeting, we were talking about some of the “take heed’s” in the Bible. One was, “Take heed to yourselves,” found in Luke 21:34. In that verse, it says, “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” When I read that a while ago, I have to confess that I wasn’t very clear about what the word “surfeiting” really means, and I had to look it up. It usually means an excess of eating or drinking. The first definition in the dictionary was an excess of anything. Jesus said to take heed to yourselves, lest you become overburdened with the excess that you see all around you, especially, looking ahead to the last days. We live in an age of excess of so many things, excess of money, excess spare time, excess entertainment, and excess of so many things. All of these give us a certain type of temptation that we have to take heed lest we fall prey to it.

But there is one thing there is not really an excess of: If you just look over to the rows on this side where the brother workers are supposed to be, there are quite a few empty spots there, aren’t there? No, excess there yet, why do you suppose those seats are not all filled? Is it because the Lord is not much concerned about calling brother workers? or sister workers either? We all know there is an awesome need in the world today, and that there is no one more concerned about that need than God Himself. If there are vacancies there, I feel it must be that there are some young men and young women on whose life God is putting His finger and showing them where their place should be, and they are not willing for that. We just say once again, if you want to be truly happy, if you know your place, happy are you if you fill it.

We will think for a little while about the next one: excessive regret and condemnation. That takes our minds to what we have already heard about, the wonderful provision that God has made through the sacrifice and the blood of His only Son. In I Corinthians 11 we read about the emblems that the Lord gave to His disciples. Beginning with verse 27, “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But 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. For this because many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” There seemed to be a virus running through that Corinthian church that was making them weak and sickly and even putting a lot of them to sleep altogether. It had to do with their attitude toward the emblems, which in turn reflected their attitude toward the sacrifice of Jesus.

At one of the other conventions, one of the brother workers gave us a whole meeting on the benefits that come from the blood of Christ, a long list of verses and benefits that we derive knowingly or unknowingly from the sacrifice of Jesus. I have enjoyed feeding in that pasture since that time, and I tried to get it down in size where I could comprehend it a little better, some of the benefits that have been opened up to us through the blood of Jesus. I’ll give you a little list of them this morning that it might enhance your appreciation for that sacrifice: Acts 20:28, we were purchased. Hebrews 9:16-20, through the blood of Christ the New Testament covenant was dedicated; it became valid and sealed. Hebrews 9:26, sin was put away, and there is the possibility of having all our sins put away. Hebrews 10:18-22, the new and living way was opened up and we have the privilege of coming into the holy presence of God. Hebrews 2:14, “through death he might destroy him that had the power of death.” Revelation 12:11, the power of the devil to discourage us and condemn us was annulled.

How do we take advantage of that provision? First of all, we have been purchased; but even though a price has been paid for something, that cannot be used by the person who bought it until it is handed over unconditionally to the one who paid the price. That is how we begin to become a partaker of the provision that is in the blood of Christ. Secondly, it’s like God putting His signature in blood upon that covenant. But we know that a covenant is not of any value until the second person puts his signature on it. A covenant is something involving at least two people. All the promises of that covenant and the provisions of that covenant, through the blood of Christ, God has clearly shown that He is prepared to stand behind it. He is waiting for us to put our signature there too, to indicate our willingness to fulfill our side of the covenant. Then all the provisions of the blood of Christ become ours. You can go on to the fact that the blood of Christ redeems us, it delivers us, it purges us, it sanctifies and justifies us, and so many other things.

I think the problem in the Corinthian church was they had the idea that just the taking of that bread and wine alone was what made them partakers of that vast and wonderful provision. They kept drifting on the way they were, not so much concerned whether their life was in the hand of the One who had purchased them and sealed that covenant, thinking that in some magical way by the taking of that bread and wine they were going to receive all the benefits. We don’t believe in magic but we believe in miracles. As we look out over the faces of the Lord’s people here, we know you are here because of miracles that have taken place in your heart and have changed your desires and goals, and have brought you out of various kinds of horrible pits and set your feet in the pathway of God and amongst His people. When we take the bread and wine, we take the bread first. That helps me to understand that if I am going to have the-benefits of the cup that comes afterwards, I have to be willing to take my place in the body of Christ, because all the benefits of the blood are for the members that are in the body. When we are willing to put our life completely into the hands of the One who purchased us and to fill our place in the body, that load of sin and guilt that burdens the hearts of many people can be taken away.

Excessive sorrow and loneliness. Many times, during the convention it has been mentioned what a sobering way this convention started when our brother John, whom so many knew so well, was laid to rest. We had the funeral service, in the first meeting, and even though there has been sorrow in one sense, it has been wonderful to talk with the members of the family that knew him best and to see evidence of a resignation to God’s will, and even a peace and a joy at the thought that this one whom they loved so well kept faithful and true to the very end so that now he is beyond the reach of the devil and of temptation, and the journey is finished. When Jesus began to tell His disciples clearly that He was going to have to leave them, that disturbed their peace; and He said to them, “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.” In that way Jesus comforted those disciples. 

Aren’t we so thankful for this gospel that introduced us to Jesus and to a

relationship with Him that will never pass away. Those disciples earned a vivid lesson, a lesson that all of us will learn one day if we don’t already know it: that is, every human relationship is going to someday come to an end. No matter how much we love someone, no matter how much we need someone, no matter how much we depend on someone, no matter how beautiful the human relationship might be, always in the back of a person’s mind there is this nagging truth that this will not last very long. We come to this conclusion that there is no human relationship we can develop that will last for very long, no relationship at all, except our relationship with Jesus.

We have enjoyed so many wonderful things that already we are beginning to see the value of that relationship, and as every new storm arises and every new loss occurs we become more and more conscious of how precious it is that we now have a relationship with someone who will never leave us and never forsake us and will always be there to help us through all the experiences of life.

Ed Alexander spoke of the phrase, “The many standards earth has set, the joy it offers warily” from Hymn 130.

Proverbs 16:11, Proverbs 11:1, a just weight and balance are the Lords; all the weights of the bag are His work. A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight. God has given us one true measure in Jesus. The world’s standards continually change, but God’s standard doesn’t change.

God isn’t asking anything of us different from the standard of heaven. A plumb line is one of the oldest unchanged tools used by man. It becomes affected only by wind, or if it touches the ground. Jesus’ life was not affected by the winds about Him, and would desire us to live our days on earth as days in heaven.

Balance in our lives comes through grace and truth. On every hand, we hear of leftists and rightists and extremists. Saul of Tarsus was once an extremist. He knew the ways of the Jews so well, but God sent him to the Gentiles. As he learned more of grace and truth, there came a balance. Wonderful when everything seems out of balance about us, and yet we retain a song in our lives. This can make us a safe influence amongst others.

Some of you have heard that I first heard this gospel when I was twenty five years old. I was in university in Washington, my home state, and I had been going to these meetings for some months. I had a difficulty in understanding – understanding how all these people wanted to be together and stay together.

You will remember that it was my next door neighbour who invited me to the gospel meetings, so I decided to go to her apartment and ask her the question. I did not know how to ask the question, so I thought about it for a little while and then I thought about glue, and that is how I asked my question. I went to my neighbor and asked her, “What is the glue that makes all these people stick together and stay together?” I was scared and also angry. I was scared because I did not know the answer, and angry because I thought they were hiding something from me.

I was standing by my neighbor’s refrigerator and there on the refrigerator was a photo of all the workers. I pointed to them. She was very nervous in how to answer me. In those days I was very ornery, I misbehaved a lot, I enjoyed seeing her upset. I think it was because when I heard the messages about God, they bothered my heart and maybe I thought it was only fair that she be bothered by my questions. Well I will just bother her. I told her that I would not leave her apartment until she gave me the true answer. She started to shake. I thought to myself, “Good, here comes the answer. What is the answer? What is the glue?”

In a very quiet and humble way she said, “It is love.” I laughed at her. I took my hand to her and brushed her away and said, “Love!” Because I already knew what love is because my mother loved me, my father loved me. I believed that came from a loving family and my family was nothing like this. So I said to her, “It is not love because I already know what love is.” I said to her, “If it is love then I don’t know what love is.” “Well, it is love,” she said.

I left her apartment and slammed the door. I found my heart was very hard, and said to myself, “That will teach her.” In the United States, in our apartments, some of the walls are made of wood so it is easy to listen through. I slammed my door to my apartment and now she knows I am not happy with her wrong answer. I think I walked two steps into my apartment after I had slammed the door, and now I am going to tell you a true part of my testimony. Something came down on me that pushed me to the floor. Today, I know it was the power of God that pushed me down, I had just caused pain to one of His children. She gave me a true answer and I laughed in her face. It is almost that God spoke to me right there, and these are the words that came into my mind, “James, you do not know what love is.” That really hurt deeply, but it was a true answer. We have to learn about love. We really do not know what love is until we recognise how much we are being loved by God.

It was in the gospel meetings that I heard about God’s love, but during the weeks and the months, I began to recognise how much He was loving me. One Thursday afternoon, I was sitting in my classroom at the university. My Professor was teaching a very important lesson. I gathered all my books together and I stood up and walked out on him and went home. All my classmates were looking at me. While I was sitting in the classroom, I realized that all my life God has been loving me. I thought that I knew what love is and only now as an adult, am I finding out how much He loves me. That afternoon, I went to my apartment and sat quietly. I had some very important decisions to make, “Could I love Him because He loved me?”

One time, someone did something to me that was very hurtful. He said to me, “I can do this to you because you are a Christian, because God has commanded you to love other people, so it does not matter what I do to you. You still have to love me. You are also commanded to love God.” He said that is what the Bible teaches. I said, “It does not.” I said, “I love God and I love you because first I have been loved by God.” I John 4:10, “Herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” We love God because He first loved us. It is at times like this that we learn how much we are being loved.

In this very same chapter, verse 19, “We love Him, because He first loved us.” That was the beginning of a very important change in my life. I realized that God loves me more than my own Father and Mother. We know the love of God is different than any other love, and I would like to give a definition of God’s love. God helps us in our basic needs, and He does not have a reason to do this. He has no selfish gain; God loves us because of what we need done in our lives. Yes, my father and mother loved me, but that love came out of themselves. There was always something about it – they always wanted something in return from me. When my mother got older, she shared with me how many times she had been hurt. She would do for others, but they would not return or do something good for my mother. I could tell she wanted to do it freely, but there was always something that she wanted to have returned to her. Understand that please, that it is okay, it is human. That is the way love is among us, but that love is to recognize a greater love that has a far greater freedom to it. Makes it possible to do things that we would not be able to do, you can reach out to others and reach out to God without being selfish about it. It is a wonderful freedom, we can love one another with God’s love.

God’s love is a pure and unselfish love. It is very important that we understand that love is not an emotion. Love is not a feeling. Love is not a thought in the mind. Love is action, love is something we do. Love is work. Love is what happens when we make a choice, because I will tell you why. We may not feel in our heart any reason to love somebody. In fact sometimes, I would just like to hate someone – they deserve to be hated. That is how I feel about it, and I can think of reasons to hate. I used to be God’s enemy. I was a sinner. I had no strength to do what is right, and He loved me. That is God’s love. He loves all mankind. He loved us when we were at our absolute worst. How can we love another unless we choose and say, “I will love another?” I can’t think of a good reason. I don’t feel like it but my decision is that I will love that person.

How do you love with a choice? Love will give, love will care, love will listen, and love will forgive. These are four works of love. I am so thankful that God gave to me that He cared for me, that He listened to me, that He forgave me – four works of love. Look how you feel when someone will give to you, and care for you. If only someone would listen to you, and when you repent and say you are sorry, it is so wonderful when someone will forgive you.

We have a song in America that says, “What this world needs is love.” It will sing about it, It will talk about it, but God is love. We must have God’s Holy Spirit in our lives and let Him love you. You will find yourself enabled to love one another, those four works of love, love will give. John 3:16, that verse is quoted more often than any other verse in the entire Bible. Look at what that verse says, “God so loved the world of mankind that He gave.” Love will give. God gave His only son to us, and God continues to give. All of us here are being loved by God in many, many ways. He gave us life, He has given us breath. We have a world to live in. He has given us a body, given us a soul, given to us a spirit. God has given to us a lot.

God will care, love cares. Matthew 6:1, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth that thine alms may be in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.” A very good piece of scripture – it talks about alms, it is like mercy, it has to do with a feeling of pity. We could look at somebody and maybe think of how it would be like if we were them, seeing them in their need. You feel for them and it is like if this happened to me, if I fell in the ditch. However it is better to stay where we are and think of what we would appreciate or want done to me if I was in their position. Somebody could come to me and help me, that is different to saying they need help over there – when we realize what we need then it helps us to understand what others need. That is why we are moved in our hearts to love another. We do unto others what we want others to do unto us. There are times in my life when I just wanted someone to listen. Many times, I just wanted someone to care for me, for someone to give me some time, or just to give me a chance.

One time, I went to a large gathering in the City of Portland. I really didn’t know what they were going to talk about. I just saw it on a piece of paper as an advertisement, so I just went to listen at the back of the room. There was a man in the front who was speaking, and he had a lot of things to talk about. He asked one question, “If at any time in your life you could be loved, would you appreciate that?” Nearly everybody raised their hand, but nobody had the answer and nobody seemed to be loved like that. That is exactly the way Jesus loved us, and He continues to love us. Personally I want to dwell in that love, I want to be in fellowship with Him and with His people.

So in this reference, there is a feeling of pity towards another person. We sense in ourselves a need to do something, we can think about it, we can have some feelings about it, but love will do something about it. Jesus encouraged us just to do it, and He said do not do it like some who do it, so they can be noticed by others, hearing the sound of a trumpet when someone would do a good thing. It was done in public for all to see, that men would notice what was done, and would admire you for helping another person. The motive is selfish gain, really not God’s love. We want to love in meeting the needs of others, not do it for selfish reasons. You know what it does not matter if no one sees it. It does not matter – I am just meeting a need. If people see it or not, I am not doing it for that reason. We just need to do what needs to be done at the right time. Jesus did many, many things with a great crowd around Him because it was the right thing to do at the right time for that person. He was loving that person even though there were people around to see it. He did not do it so that someone would play a trumpet. He did not do it just because there was a crowd to watch. He was not doing it so someone would stand up and applaud but love met the need of that other person. Love will give and love will care and Jesus cares for us.

We cannot save ourselves. He is our Saviour. We cannot get out from under the slavery to sin. He is our deliverer. He enables us to walk through life in a safe way, Jesus is God’s choice of the way to walk. In this world I am lost but in Jesus, I have found the way. I am not lost anymore. I know what road I am on. It is the highway of God, it is the way of holiness. I am following Jesus, and it will lead to where He is today. He is sitting on the right hand of God in heaven. I know that is where I will be when life is over. He loved me and gave Himself for me. He loves all of us and He has given Himself for all of us. When we recognize Him for who he is, it is time to pray.

I remember when I was going to those gospel meetings, it was time to start praying. It was so hard for me to pray. I lived alone. I would pull across the curtains at night, still could not pray. Nobody is watching. It is just hard to bow down before the true and living God. It was time to talk to God and love will listen. God loves me because He listened to me. You will know God for yourself when you pray to God. He will listen to you like no man has ever listened to you. You can share things with God that you would never share with another person. You can tell Him everything. When it is all over, He will love you, and He won’t hate you for all you have said and done.

I remember the night that I bowed down before God. I started to share everything I could out of my heart. I said to myself, “What are you doing this for? God knows everything anyway.” It is really important for us to open our hearts and have the humility to share all with God. We really need to know, “Will He still love me when I share all this with Him?” There is a lady living in Washington State. She wants to talk. It seems that nobody wants to listen to her. Well, I don’t want to listen to her either. Love will listen, so I asked myself the question, “When are you going to love her? You talk about love in meetings like this. You know God listened to you so why don’t you listen to her?”

My third year in this ministry, I was with a man called Mike. We were on our way to visit a person. He said to me, “We are going to do something different this afternoon. We are going to this person’s home. We are going to give them a good listening to. We are not going to say anything. We are going to listen.” Several years later with this other lady, I mentioned I decided to give her a good listening to. We picked a place and we picked the time. I prayed to God for help to listen to her like He had listened to me. His grace in me would enable me to listen for I wanted to listen with the love of God in my heart. We were sitting together and the conversation began. I thought to myself, “I wonder what we are going to hear today? Nobody else wants to listen to her. Here it comes.” I listened with a genuine listening. She started to talk and then she stopped. She turned red. She just burst into tears, and she cried and cried. I got a box of tissues for her. I thought to myself, “What does she want to tell me?” The time to visit was almost finished and all the tissues were gone so I said to her, “What did you want to tell me?” She said, “Nothing. You were listening. That is all I wanted – that someone would listen to me.” We had to schedule another visit, but love will listen.

God will hear your prayers. He listened to me when I poured out my heart. That night I began to repent. I realize love will forgive. It was good for me to share with God the things He already knew. I shared with Him the many sins that were in my life. Jesus came into the world to take away sin. In the gospel meetings, I heard of the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary. I know that He died a punishment death. It was a death that I deserved because I misused all the things that God had given me. My life, using my body for wrong purposes, hating and being mean to other people, never really loved my Mother and Father like I should have, didn’t know how to love my brothers and sisters. I really did need God’s love in my life.

I felt the love of God forgiving me when I asked God to forgive me for my sins. I understood that the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary made it possible for me to be forgiven. So there are a lot of things go on in the human soul all the time, lots of thoughts in our minds, lots of feelings in our hearts. Sometimes it is just hard to go forward. Sometimes, we don’t know how to make that next step so we choose to love. With that, we take a forward step. Sometimes in taking that forward step makes us come closer to God Himself. Maybe a step forward in prayer, a step forward when we read His word, we step forward when we stoop to help another person. Others have basic needs in their lives, and we want to help meet that need – nothing selfish but realizing that God has loved us so much and now I love Him and I love my fellow man.

My Mother was very sick for 6 years before she died. She was in and out of the hospital many times. We thought she was going to die on many occasions. I knew of all people on the earth, she loved me the most. I also know that God has loved me in a very special way. Because Mother was going to die so often, we cried a lot. It was almost like a play, a dress rehearsal. Time would pass and she would get very sick again, so she was in the hospital, bed very low to the floor. My sister had to go on her knees to talk to her mother who lay on the bed. Mother was very weak and could hardly talk. She said, “Do you know that I have loved you children more than any other mother has loved her children?” I have learned that all mothers love their children. My mother does not know how much. She does not know how much God loved her, so it is hard for me to answer her. “I love you more than any mother loved her children.” I told her lots of mothers in the world love their children too. She said, “Yes, but I have loved you more than anyone has loved their children.” She knew I could not believe her and because she knew that she was not going to tell me anymore. She had more to tell me, so she started all over again to say the same word. I still did not believe what she was telling me because I knew a greater love, but there she lay, so weak. The third time again, the same words. By this time, I am crying, and my sister is crying. I finally said, “Yes, that is true.” She said, “I have something that I want to tell you. I have something that I want you to do when I die. Will you do it?” I said, “First, what is it?” She said, “No, will you do it?” I did not want to be mean to her, so I said, “Yes, I will do it.” “After I die, I want you children to love one another.” That is the only thing that our mother asked us to do after she died. Nothing about the big house, nothing about the house full of furniture, nothing about the money, anything valuable, nothing mattered. She understood it was important to love, but even though she understood in a very limited way, it made us realize that God has an unlimited love.

Too many people look back on life with regret but you will never be sorry for every time that you chose to love. God was not sorry that He sent His Son into the world. Jesus has no regret about bringing salvation to all mankind, the greatest love that any person will know in their lifetime. I Corinthians 13, “In this life, we have faith, hope, and charity but the greatest of those three is charity,” which is God’s love.

Keep yourself in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you into eternal life.

I am going to tell you something today that you don’t want to hear – at least I know this human nature don’t want to hear it – it is a very simple thing, something we have to learn to do – some basic thing that all Christians should learn. It is this matter of waiting. Not an easy thing. You know, waiting means not one step forward – not one step backwards. You just stand here and wait – not easy. It can mean so much – wait – so many different meanings or suggestions when we think of wait – to wait can mean to be faithful while you are waiting – faithful in the way you are waiting. Waiting can mean endurance – patiently waiting. But it can also have a slight meaning of resting – to wait on the Lord. Such a simple little word, but with such a great deep meaning – to Wait.

You people here in Durban should know – or should have heard it when Uncle Lesley was here and I was with him – he often said it – I don’t know how many times – I have been a few times with him, even in Cape Town he said, “Waiting time is not wasted time.” I thought to myself – I don’t know how it was with you people – I just rolled my eyes inside and said, “There he said it again.” I don’t know if you feel the same, but I can tell you when it comes around to the practical part of this thing – it is so different. Standing at that point and wait.

In the Gospel meetings, we sometimes speak of the “cross roads.” Crossroads – that is for people who are just looking for Truth and for the right way, but in this sense it is different – different because our feet are already in the path of life and when we made the choice, we could not see what was lying ahead and somehow all of us will come to a spot where will have to wait – where the road forks. You can either go to the left or to the right and you just wait until you know. Uncle Jimmy used to say, “If you don’t know what to do – do nothing.” In other words, just wait, wait on God until you have the surety of which way get direction – each one has a destination as we heard the other night – just do it or don’t. Ending in different directions. You know, looking back and if I may share some of my mistakes, I know most of them is just because I didn’t wait. I didn’t wait long enough! And I know now that it would have been so different if I had just waited. So – this thing of Waiting. We can go out and chose – left or right – shall I go this way or shall I go that way.

King Saul did that – there was an allotted time for him and Samuel said, “You go on and just wait for me there and we will do the necessary sacrifices there.” He just waited with his men and of course, got kind of restless – you know told them to calm down – and then he went on and did it. And he was just putting the things down and here came Samuel. He was waiting but not long enough. And because of that, the kingdom was lost and we can lose out completely because I haven’t been waiting. Haven’t been waiting long enough Such a scary thought that we can lose out because I haven’t been waiting.

I don’t know if you remember Tom Hinkle when he was here. I believe he was only at Ixopo but he told us a beautiful story. I am sorry that I am going to repeat it here but there are perhaps some that have heard it – he was telling us about a certain man – a cowboy, living out in the country, doing what he was supposed to do, looking after his animals – a lonely, lonely life out in the veldt (fields) with his animals. And one day, a call came – an urgent call came, “Come over there is urgent need of your presence,” from a family member. So he left – set out with his horse and his faithful friend, his dog – watch dog. And he left and he went to the station and because he knew he was just going to be a few days, he said to his dog, “Just wait here. Wait for me.” And there he sat on the station waiting for his master. Something sad happened to this man – it was when he was with his family – sudden death – maybe a heart attack – I don’t know but he died. Back at the station, there the dog was still waiting faithfully. This poor dog would wait for a train that comes from this direction – this is the direction my master left and when he heard a train coming from this direction, he would get onto the platform and wait. And there he waited for many years. The Station Master just took him under his wings, encouraging this faithfulness – this enduring in waiting. He gave him shelter and there he waited until his last days. It is a beautiful picture of how you and I can be. Faithful loyal waiting.

In our Worker’s Meeting one year, just practical advice was given for us, but to you in a different sense. This Worker was telling us that when you show somebody an address, you often say, “I will hop in my car and you just follow me and I’ll show you.” So when you get to the traffic light and you see it’s amber, because I’m mindful of the one behind me, I rather wait. And we have been here four days waiting and God has been here waiting for us and now, it’s time to go. The light has turned green and we must go but remember – God has been mindful of us – waiting for us and as we have been waiting here, we can continue in the year ahead of us and let us remember, “Waiting Time is not Wasted Time.”

[Ernest Robinson is from South Africa and labours in South Korea]

John 12.21, some came to Philip, one of the disciples and asked, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” Then Jesus spoke of the need of dying; to be able to get a vision of Jesus, we need to die. In America, there is a large statue of George Washington, placed on a great pedestal and on the one side, there is engraved in small letters the constitution of America. If you get close enough, you can read the small letters but if you are away at a distance, you cannot read it. When you look from a distance, these letters that are engraved so nicely are engraved in such a way that you see a photo of George Washington. We have the Old and the New Testament, and in them are lots of words. When you see them in perspective, it is a picture of Jesus. Most people in this world read the words of the Bible but they do not see Jesus. We sang in that hymn, “We would see Jesus, this is all we are needing, strength joy and willingness come with the sight.” All of us have a struggle thinking about the future and how we will continue but all we are needing is a vision of Jesus and strength and willingness will come. To receive this vision of Jesus, we need to die; the revelation will not come unless we are willing to die, Jesus said. One time, Jesus thanked His Father that He had hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes, those who had been willing to die and who received a revelation of Jesus and been willing to be born again, to those who have become children of God; to them, God has revealed these things.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” After various answers, He asked them, “What about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you Peter, for flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you but My Father which is in Heaven. On this foundation of revelation, on this rock, I will build My church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” That is, the false churches who will not prevail against those who have received this revelation. The church of God is built by those who have received a revelation of Jesus. If people do not receive a revelation, you cannot push them into the church but if they receive a revelation, you cannot keep them out. Some people have received a revelation, a very clear revelation and then something happens and they lose it. It is because they have ceased being willing to die and so they lose what they have had. I know a person who had a very clear revelation of this truth and was willing for it for a time and that person was no longer willing to die. Now when I meet that person, it is so sad, there is no vision at all.

Moses was asked to put up a brass serpent on a pole. It was because the people had become murmurers and they were not willing for the provision of God and so many died. Then they cried unto God in their need and God told Moses to put this serpent on a pole, and whosoever looked to this pole were saved. Jesus showed this in John 3, that this was a type of Himself, that whosoever would look to Him would be saved. All through the Bible, we see that false teaching has been compared to a serpent. There is a lot of false teaching in the world today and the only way that we can escape is to look to Jesus. In II Corinthians, we read that the Devil transforms himself into an angel of light, and also his ministers transform themselves as an angel of light. He has the power to make it so holy and so beautiful. Jesus said, “If it is possible, it will also deceive the very elect.” They can also be deceived. It is an amazing thing that when we get a vision of Jesus, how quickly we get the willingness and the strength.

I would like to tell you of a happening in Namibia. It is like the centre of Spain, a lot of barren country and the farmers need a lot of land to make a living, so the farms are big. In these days, the farmers did not have cars. Once a year, they had to get to convention, so one of the friends had a lorry and he would go around all these farms and pick the friends up to take them to convention. When they got nearer to the convention, there was a well called the “Lion fountain.” It was because there were lions about there. This well had the nicest water you have never had, so the friend would stop his truck there and all would get out and drink from that very nice water. One man would stand guard in case a lion appeared. On the truck was an older lady who was very big. She had a bad leg and it was very difficult to get her up onto the truck. There were some older ones so they sat up in front of the truck. So they got a ladder and some pulling and some pushing they would get her up to the truck. There was lots of groaning and moaning and finally, she was on the truck. Now, they were at the water. Some said to her, “Susan, you do not need to get down from the truck. We will bring you some in a cup so you can drink.” “No,” she said. “I am going to get down and drink direct from the fountain,” so this is what she did. While they were all drinking, suddenly there was a shout from the watchman, “Lion!” All ran for the truck like a whirlwind. Then they thought, “Where is Susan?” They could not see her anywhere. Finally, they saw her on the truck. She had not needed any ladder, not needed any pushing or pulling, there was no moaning or groaning, she just got right up there on the truck and no one saw her get there. This is like some friends we know. They can hardly keep going, they need so much encouraging, they are always saying the way is so hard, “I cannot do it,” and “Why do we have to do this and that?” but if only those people could get a clear revelation of Jesus from people who do have this vision [and] do not need to be pushed and pulled, they will want to be there.

Songs of Solomon 5.16, “He is altogether lovely.” In Afrikaans, it says, “He is the very embodiment of beauty and loveliness.” It is impossible to get a vision of him and not love him. I do not know why the five foolish virgins did not pay the price as the wise did but I do know that when they saw the bridegroom, not one of them was unwilling to pay the price. In fact, they would have been happy to pay 10 times the price, but two of the saddest words in any language are these: “too late.” Paul wrote that eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for those who love Him. In other words, this is so wonderful that we cannot see if with the human eye, and the human ear cannot hear it and we cannot imagine it with the human heart, we cannot understand or grasp it, for we will never be able to understand the depth of the heart of God. God has made all things beautiful in this world. He created the earth, the trees, the mountains, the birds and the animals. All so beautiful, for us to enjoy for this short life, so what can Heaven be like? To see Heaven one day and see what it is like and to have missed it, will be like hell to us. The rich man in hell was craving for just one drop of water. He asked [that] Lazarus [could] put his finger in water and give him one drop. This water is not the water we get from the tap. In hell, he opened his eyes and for the first time he understood the words of Jesus when He spoke to the woman at the well, “This water that I shall give you will be like a well of water springing up into eternal life.” This is the water that the rich man now could not receive and he was in torment.

Hebrews 8.5, this was when Moses was asked to build the tabernacle, “See saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed thee on the mount.” This tabernacle was complicated and had lots of detail in it, and you may have read all the detail but there were still some things that are not clear. We had a worker in Korea who now labours in Mongolia. Denis Wilhoit and Denis built a model of the tabernacle. Denis was chemist before he went into this work and so he pays attention to detail. Then there was a brother in Alaska who also built a model of the tabernacle. He even used as much as possible the original material that was in the original. Then there were two smart sister workers in Africa who decided to make a model of the tabernacle. You know what is the most interesting thing about them? It is this – not one of them is the same. There are some details that are not clear so it is very hard to make it to accuracy, but it was not difficult for Moses. It was because he saw the original pattern on the mount. He was given a picture of the tabernacle by God, and so there was no confusion. In the religious world, there is so much confusion, all building on the pattern, all having read the detail in the Bible, but no one can have it accurate so God has given us Jesus so that we can understand the pattern of God.

We had a worker in Korea from Australia, Eddie Leitch. He only laboured there for four years and got cancer. So he went back to Australia to die. In the last meeting, he had a large gathering before he went back. he said this, “When the death angel was coming over all Egypt and the homes of the children of Israel, no one would have felt safe because of their faithfulness but because of the blood being on the doorposts and because they remained in the house. Now that I am coming to the end of my life, I don’t feel safe because of my faithfulness, or for my years in this work, or because of the people that have been helped the only thing that makes me feel safe today is the blood that was shed for me, and that I have remained in the house, in this fellowship until today.”

Now when it comes to the taking of the emblems every Sunday morning – how should we feel, do we perhaps partake unworthily by not remembering the blood that was shed for us. I will tell you a story that may make it more real to us, as to how we should and in what condition of heart we should partake of the emblems each Sunday morning. I have an uncle who was also called Ernest. Near to his home, there was a river. In this river was a dangerous whirlpool and there were signs up saying, “Danger, keep away.” One day, my uncle was walking along this river. He heard shouts for help. He came nearer and he saw three boys in this whirlpool shouting for help. They had got too close, they had done the wrong thing, and young boys are often more courageous than they are wise. My uncle knew that these boys would drown. He knew it was very dangerous for him to go in, also but he was a strong swimmer. He went into the water and he saved one boy. Then he heard the screaming of the other two boys so he went in again. He saved another boy but by this time his strength was gone. He was spent but then there was the screaming of the other boy still in the water. He went in again and this time, he saved the boy but he himself had no strength to get out so he drowned in the whirlpool. Now when these three boys would go past that spot and saw the whirlpool, they would stop and look and have some deep thoughts. That is how we should partake of the emblems, remembering the One who gave His life and have deep thoughts. Later the disciples would have passed by the place of the cross and would have had deep thoughts. I hope that at this convention, God will be able to give us a new fresh revelation of Jesus so that strength joy and willingness will come with the sight.

Matthew 13:33, another parable spake He unto them, “The kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” This helps us understand how we receive the kingdom of heaven. When we receive it into our lives this is how we become part of receiving the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 17:21, “Neither shall they say, ‘Lo here!’ Or ‘Lo there!’ For, behold the kingdom of God is within you.” A woman had three measures of meal and put leaven in it and waited for the whole to be leavened. When we receive the kingdom of Heaven, it has to do with the spirit of God. As we are willing to receive this into our lives something is going to happen. Before the leaven was put there, meal was made. A broken and contrite spirit. In order for meal to be made it takes a crushing. Would there be any point at all for a woman to take three measures of wheat that had not been crushed? The leaven needs meal. It needs grain that has been crushed and made into meal in order for there to be any evidence of it working. A broken and contrite spirit is what takes place.

Matthew 5, the ones that were blessed: what was happening that they could be blessed was things happening in their lives. Crushing going on was preparing them for something very special for them to receive the kingdom of heaven like leaven. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Is there anything more crushing than when we feel how needy and helpless we are? This is the kind of attitude when the leaven of the kingdom of Heaven can work. When that leaven is put into the meal, then she can see what is going to happen, and she can see what she wants to do with it. God wants us prepared to spend eternity with Him. There is going to have to be some work to be done in our lives in order for that to happen. Being poor in spirit helps us to seek God, and then the leaven of the kingdom comes and life takes on new meaning. God does have a purpose for my life. “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” The loss of someone, or the loss of health, or whatever loss very often a loss will cause us to mourn. This is a crushing experience that can cause us to think about life and what God has in mind for us. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Meek people experience the crushing and know what it is to have a broken and contrite heart. It seems so opposite to the way we think of the way we should be blessed. True blessing of God comes as we have that broken and contrite spirit that God can begin and do a work in our hearts that will bring forth his purpose for our lives.

What could limit the leaven working in the dough? When a woman is making bread, you hope everything will turn out okay. You worry about enough water or flour, and then you put it in a warm place. The dough needs to get warm, not hot, but warm. Some experiences can cause us to understand the love of God for us. To think of the way God’s care and concern for us can help us to understand God really loves us, and this begins to warm our hearts so that the leaven of the truth can work in our hearts. Jesus made us aware there is more than one kind of leaven. There is the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. Hypocrisy could be working in our hearts. Trying to appear one way outwardly when you feel differently inside is hypocrisy. The doctrine of Herod is like leaven: they could speak wonderful words but they didn’t do what they were speaking. This is a terrible doctrine. Trying to appear something we are not is a terrible leaven because it will bring spiritual death to us. Be sure it is the leaven of the kingdom that we are receiving – the truth of God. Anything we receive from Jesus is truth. This is a safe leaven, a true leaven.

Matthew 5:25, “And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years.” There was an issue of blood in this woman’s life. The leaven hadn’t been working in her life. So often people say they have an issue they need to be taken care of. She knew it would bring death to her. In order to get help with it, she touched Jesus’ garment. This was a disease that was working in her. In a spiritual way, this can take place in our life, also. Some of the things that could be working in our hearts would make it impossible for the leaven of the kingdom to do its work within us. This was something that needed to be taken care of.

Contagious diseases that would destroy the leaven: (1) murmuring. When God’s people started murmuring against Moses and Aaron it caused death amongst them.

(2) complaining. Always complaining about things. What could we do in place of complaining? If we had the spirit of contentment it would do away with the complaining.

(3) Spirit of criticism, a very contagious disease. What do we do when we have a disease and feel like we can’t overcome it? We need to do what this woman did. She knew Jesus could help her with this. This is exactly what we need to do. Then our heart can be like three measures of meal and God’s purpose can be seen in us as the leaven of the kingdom is working in our heart. Three measures of meal.

I Thessalonians 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” To me, these are the three parts of that meal. Jesus wanted every part of each of those. Every body, soul, and spirit would be affected by this leaven of the kingdom. Every part of our soul would be affected and our whole body affected by the leaven of the kingdom. When we receive this, it will be manifest in our spirit, soul, and in our body. Every part of our being, our countenance, the way we behave, what we do will give evidence of the leaven of the kingdom working within us. This leaven will not leave any part of our being untouched. This means I need to stay soft and warm to the God of heaven. Yield to His touch so that leaven can continue working and accomplish what God has in mind for us.

Sometimes other things will be added to bread and make it really tasty like dried fruit, nuts and seeds. But have you ever noticed that the leaven does not change the nuts or the fruit or the seeds that aren’t crushed and ground? It is just there in the dough. It keeps its identity. Could we have something in our lives that would keep our own identity that would mark us as being a little different from our brothers or sisters, something of our own thoughts and ideas that we have that is a little bit different from others? The leaven hasn’t affected it. Jesus was not like that. He did not have anything added to His life. Jesus was crushed and made into that living bread that we love and partake of. Keep soft that contrite spirit – that broken, contrite spirit that would make it easy for God to continue to work so the leaven can be accomplished, and we will be identified with heaven when the end of our life will come. I hope our hearts will be open to receive the kingdom of Heaven, and we receive truth, and we receive Jesus.

Hymn 203, “With Childlike Trust, O Lord, We Come”

Genesis 11:1 says the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. This is God’s ideal. This could be referring to everyone speaking the same language, but I doubt that, for chapter Gen10:5 shows different tongues prior to this. Our God likes unity, 6 times in John 17 Jesus prayed that His disciples be one. There is strength in unity.

I remember a lesson I learned early in school. A father gave his 7 sons each a stick of wood. He then took these 7 sticks and bound them as one, and asked his sons to try and break it, but of course they couldn’t. Then he gave each son his own stick, and they broke their individual sticks easily. Jesus taught a house divided against itself shall not stand. Abraham Lincoln quoted this from Jesus’ words in one of his speeches.

Though Genesis 11:1 is God’s ideal, this utopian condition did not long prevail. In Gen11:3, they began to say, “Let us,” etc. And they also began to use substitutes – brick for stone, and slime for mortar. In Gen11:4, they went farther astray, “Let us;” again, not taking God into their plans. They wanted to make their own way to heaven, and they saw the need to make a name for themselves. They were not satisfied with God’s name. This is the beginning of denominationalism.

When men are born again, they are born with their Father’s name. They do not have to take a name, or make one of their own. When I was born into the Copeland family, I was born with a name. They saw the worth of unity, they did not want to be scattered, but the course they took automatically separated them.

In Gen11:5, God came down to see this city and tower they were building. He was not satisfied with what He saw. So in Gen11:8, He scattered them, and confused them. Gen11:9, He confounded, or confused them, and they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth. This was called Babel, or confusion. And for sure, it’s over all the earth.

Today, if a seeking person would seek for a way to serve God, he would not know which way to turn. He would be in confusion. This is the curse of the religious world of today. We see its effect in Jesus’ day, division of thought. It was strong in Paul’s day, and hindered his labor to proclaim the Gospel. It’s still strong in our day, the number of denominations has multiplied. It may be strong, but its days are numbered, it will not last forever. God is still on the Throne.

Gen11 shows its beginning, Rev18 tells of its end. In [Rev18:1] we read of a mighty angel coming down from heaven, and in Rev18:2, he cries mightily, “Babylon is fallen!!” Rev18:3 says, “All nations have drunk of her fornication.” Rev18:4 brings in another voice, “Come out of her, My people.” Rev18:12-13 tell of her merchandise, gold is first on the list and the souls of men are last on her list. Rev18:17 says, “In one hour, so great riches is come to naught.” I’m not sure if this hour is what we think of as an hour, but for sure it’s going to be effected in a short period of time.

I’m so thankful for the Scriptures giving us such a clear picture of confusion, or religious denominationalism. Rev19 tells of the true Bride coming into her rightful place. Rev19:1-6 are the true alleluia chorus, sung by the true Church, the rightful Bride. She comes into her rightful place only after the false bride is properly disposed of, as Rev19:6 says, “The Lord God omnipotent (absolute and universal) reigneth.”

I once heard the Mormon choir singing the Hallelujah chorus, and it was most beautiful. But a far greater chorus that we read of in Rev7:9-10 is singing this song of praise, singing in the Spirit, and with deep feeling in their hearts, making a melody beyond human comprehension, that will be well pleasing to our God and His Son.

I liked reading in I Kings, chapter 21:23, “And of Jezebel also spake the Lord saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’” And that is exactly what happened. Jezebel was cast from the tower onto the cobblestones below, and the dogs came and ate her and lapped up her blood. I’ve been walking along the roads on the property here the last few days and getting acquainted with some of the neighbours’ dogs. Dogs are like people, as they all have personalities; they have a common nature, a dog nature. That nature of a dog is it likes to bark at, or chase anything that is moving. That is a pretty general rule, and I know there are some dogs that seemingly get victory over that.

Another thing about the dog nature is that they will pretty much eat anything. As indicated in Kings, they ate Jezebel. I was raised on a farm and we had a boxer dog. That dog would eat just about anything, but it would not eat peas. My father used to try and get the dog to eat them, kind of fool the dog. He served up some leftovers and put some gravy in there, and sneaked five or six peas in there. The dog would eat the meal quickly, and 10 minutes later you would check the bowl, it was spotless, but in the centre there would be five peas sitting there. One day, my dad thought he would take it a step further. He sliced some roast beef very thinly, then he took a pea and wrapped it very tightly inside it. He called the dog in and gave him this little package. The dog just went gulp, like they do; it was gone and a few seconds later up comes the little pea. I could never figure out how that dog did that. I knew that I could not dare try that with my vegetables; I would not get away with it.

I liked thinking about three dogs found in the Bible: the starving dog, a dead dog and a runaway dog. Before that, we will look at a donkey, and even before that, we will look at a lamb. We will go to the fifth chapter of Revelation. This is a chapter about worthiness and unworthiness. Unworthiness has a place; it has a place in our experience and our walk. If it gets too big or out of its place, it casts a shadow on worthiness. John was getting a revelation. He saw sitting on the right hand of the throne and he saw a book sealed with seven seals. And then a strong Angel proclaimed with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and loosen the seals thereof?” No man in heaven, no man on earth or no man under the earth was able to open the book to look thereon. John wept much for no man was worthy to open the book. One of the elders spoke up and said, “John, weep not; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. When He had taken the book, the four and twenty elders fell down before Lamb and they sung a new song, “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood.” We have this book; it was sealed. It represents the mind of God, the mysteries, the secrets of God and even pertaining to the eternal salvation of humanity. No man was worthy to open it. John wept just because there was no one worthy to open it. But the angel said to John to focus on the One that is worthy, that our course is Christ. Consider Him because He is worthy. I think salvation will be withheld from a number of people, not so much because of their unworthiness but because they fail to acknowledge the worthiness of Christ. Unworthiness amongst the Lord’s people can cast a shadow over the One that is worthy. We can get like John and weep over unworthiness. It can diminish in our own self the worthiness of the Lamb, take away His worthiness.

John the Baptist was a man sent by God and he was a man that was chosen and called with a very special calling, the forerunner of Christ. He was to prepare the way for the Lord, make His paths straight, and I like to think about that. It reminds me of a runway at an airport. A big jumbo jet coming in needs a big, straight runway. Jumbo jets need a couple of miles; they are not meant to go around obstacles, go around corners or go over things. Often people want Christ to land in their lives but they say, “Can’t we leave this on the runway, can’t go around it or maybe turn a little at the end of the runway?” We have to have the right pathway for the Lord to land into our lives; all He wants is to land in our lives and if we don’t allow this, He will abort us.

John the Baptist preached that in Matthew 3, he seemed to have a little problem with that. When Jesus asked him to baptize Him, John said that he forbade Him. That is a powerful word; it means to utterly prohibit. But Jesus said, “You are to baptize Me.” When we come to a door, we often stop and say, “You go through first,” that is politeness. I don’t think this was politeness; John was digging his heels in, he was not ready to baptize Jesus. Maybe not all the words said were recorded. John’s ministry was so spotless, so perfect to the point everything was so right. Jesus just conveyed to him, “This situation is not how you feel; this is about My willingness and the worthiness of God’s will, His righteousness. Are you telling Me I am to leave these waters without being baptized, that you won’t do it because you feel unworthy?” John saw that shadow was cast because of his unworthiness on the worthiness of the Lamb. And yes of course, he baptized Him. Yes, we understand that we are unworthy; it’s a necessary part of our testimony.

II Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” We accept we are undeserving, we have not earned any of these benefits or blessings, we are not worthy. These gifts that have touched our lives, we are not worthy of, we do not deserve them but we have to accept them and move deeper into the will of God. We have to do it to not cast a shadow. The elder in that chapter in Revelation 5 was worried about the focus that John had. Wasn’t it wonderful to take his focus and say look at the Lamb and what a positive future he had and not being negative? When we dwell on our unworthiness that is negative; when we look at the worthiness of Christ, that is positive and that will work very well for us. Let’s go back to Revelation 5:10, “And hath made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the Earth.” You know, we’ve been promoted, promoted to kings and priests. We are reflecting the light of Christ. We’ve been asked to carry Christ into our communities, schools, and workplaces. We take the ministry into different areas by the gospel.

The donkeys in Matthew 21:2, it was a place where the colt was tied where two ways met. Jesus sent His disciples to get that donkey. That donkey was going to carry Christ into Jerusalem, which it did. The reason that that particular donkey had that privilege was firstly, he was chosen; he was available and he was willing. So Christ used that little animal to enter into Jerusalem. No creature on earth is worthy to carry Jesus. We are not worthy to carry Christ, but we have been chosen and we want to be available and willing. How do we become chosen? It says many are called but few are chosen. Maybe everyone is called, and maybe everyone is chosen concerning the ordained plan of God. There is room for everyone to have the privilege to enter the kingdom of God, but individually, it is a matter of choice. We choose to be chosen.

Faith is a gift from God. If faith is a gift from God, how do we get it, if we can’t get it of ourselves? Faith is given for those who desire to believe; God gives you the gift of faith. A young couple wanted a child for their family. They decided they would adopt, so went to the orphanage. They spent the day there going from dormitory to dormitory. They made up their minds before they went that they wanted a little blue-eyed boy. As they went through the rooms, they were meeting children. They kept going past a crib where there was a little brown-eyed girl. She would crawl up to the edge of the crib and put her arms out towards them, pleading, “Take me, take me.” At the end of the day they went home, it was not a little blue-eyed boy, but the little brown-eyed girl they took with them. Why did they take her? It was because she chose to be chosen. She made it very clear she wanted to go and she did not worry about being unworthy. She made it very clear she was desperate to be taken home. And we know Christ is like that. We feel so badly for humanity. If only they would reach out their arms, He would take them home for all eternity. But they will not reach out, and we feel sad for them. Donkeys are not very glamorous creatures; there are not many things you can say are appealing about them but the donkey that day was blessed. There is a poem called “The Donkey’s Load.” It tells about the lowly beast of burden, the donkey. This donkey got to carry the most precious treasure that day and it felt so blessed.

The three dogs, the first one is Matthew 15:25. “Then came she and worshipped him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to the dogs.’ And she said, ‘Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table.’” She was referred to as a dog; she was a Gentile. She was not offended. Why, because Jesus said her faith was great, she had an appetite for the bread of life. She had a deep need and she was not going to be put off being fed.

In Matthew 5:6, Jesus said, “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be fed.” Dogs will eat crumbs off the floor even though they are small. They have good eyesight and you would wonder if it is worth the effort to lick those crumbs up. Is it worth it? If you put enough crumbs together, if you’re persistent, you will get a slice of bread, and then more and you will get a loaf of bread.

This woman was persistent. She started with crumbs, and that would lead to a slice of bread, and it would lead to a loaf. Great was her faith and great was her appetite. There was a couple we visited with, a few years ago now. On our first visit, they were telling us all they did. They were of a different denomination; he was the elder of the committee and she was a treasurer of the committee and she finally said to us, “We tell you all the things we do in a week; we are very, very busy, but you know what, there is no bread there for our souls, nothing for us spiritually.” She was a starving dog. They were very honest and they came to meetings. The very first meeting they got a few crumbs, and they just kept coming and before long they had the loaf – all because of honesty and a desire to be fed.

Another dog I was thinking about is the dead dog. It is in II Samuel 9. I was thinking of Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan. King David came to him, in this chapter, and all this son could say was, “Why are you coming to me? I am a dead dog.” There is nothing more useless than a dead dog. When you look at his life, you realize things had not gone well. His grandfather, Saul, had been an embarrassment and a complete failure as King over Israel. His own father died on the battlefield. He had lost his inheritance, lost his lambs and he was a cripple. It says that he and his family lived at Lodebar, which means a barren place. That man had been crushed, he felt like the dead dog. And David came to him and said, “I’m going to show you kindness and I will invite you to my table, and you will feast there forever more as a King’s son.” When life deals a person a bad hand of cards, so to speak, often they are so crushed and feel so unworthy and so undeserving of anything better and they would say, “I am not going to trust it; I don’t believe it.” Or sometimes they get bitter. This man had every reason to get bitter but he did not respond that way; he saw something different, he saw an opportunity, he saw a privilege that could be his and his family’s: out of a barren place to a King’s table. His son would not have to be raised in a barren place; he could come to the Kings Table. He saw it and embraced it.

Maybe it is a little like me when I came to meetings; maybe that is my testimony, really, when I came to meetings. I was not raised in the Truth; I had an adopted grandmother in the Fellowship. I went back to this certain city to finish my studies in college; I was studying television and broadcasting and had another six months to go. I told my grandmother I had a car and I would take her to some of those meetings she has asked me to attend. I was a teenager and living in her basement. After about seven meetings, she said the sisters would like to have a visit and would I like to come over to her suite, and I thought, “What have I got in common with those two missionary ladies?” So I went over there. The older sister was very direct; she just said, “We are very glad to see you, Doug, in our meetings, you really do listen well. Are you reading?” I said, “Yes, Grandma has given me a Bible; I am learning some things,” and she said, “That is good. Have you ever thought about becoming a Christian yourself and becoming part of your grandmother’s Fellowship?” I said, “No, I am not ready yet. I’m just starting to read the Bible and it could be two or three years before I’m ready.” She said, “I have been reading the Bible for 40 years and I feel I have only scratched the surface.” She said, “The Bible is revealed as we walk with God, so you don’t have to worry about that.” She asked, “Is there anything else?” I said, “I am not religious; I’ve never gone to a church in my life.” She said, “That is actually in your favour; if you are a little religious and have man’s doctrine, you have to unburden that before you can learn the right things. You’ve got a clean slate as far as that goes.” “Well,” I said, “I am not like my grandmother or my grandmother’s people; I come from the world; I have been at places and done things for years I am too ashamed to even tell you about. The truth of the matter is you probably wouldn’t want me in this Fellowship.” And she smiled and asked, “Have you got to the place in the Bible where it says Jesus came to help, not to save the righteous, but He came to save the sinners? You know what you are; Christ can help you.” That was the end of the conversation, as far as the elder sister.

As they left that night, I went down to the car and opened the door to the younger sister who had not said anything all night. She was in her second year in the work. She turned around and she said, “Can I ask you something?” She said, “I was never in the world. I professed when I was eight, baptized at twelve and offered when I was eighteen and went out when I was twenty and I have never tasted the world.” She said, “Let me tell you what is out there, and you correct me if I am wrong.” She said, “Is it fun out there?” “Yes,” I said, “We have lots of fun.” She said, “Lots of good times?” “Yes, good times; we call them that.” She said, “And parties?” I said, “Yes, I’ve done a lot of that.” She said, “I will tell you now what is not out there; there is no true joy there in the world and that is what you’re missing. You want to look at your grandmother real close before you walk away from it.” She closed the door. That was the icing on the cake for me. When I went to college, I had never used the word joy and my friends never used that word, either. We don’t use it because we don’t have it; that is why we don’t use it. That must be what I am missing in life. I just said, “God, if You could give me peace and joy, I will serve You and do whatever You would ask of me.”

Joy is not smiling and laughing and being happy all the time. Joy is air. It is air in the tires. You know why people put air in the tires; it is just to smooth the ride. When you drive along the gravel roads with the pot holes, you still hit the potholes; it does not stop the potholes, but you don’t feel them as much. You get through it okay. And that is what joy is to me. We know we have joy if we are not easily offended. That is a good indication we have joy. Our happiness is not based on what other people do or say to us, it’s about our relationship with God. We will have joy if we are content. One of the biggest struggles that God’s people have in our generation is being tempted to live for things that we should only live with. The world lives for material success, Christmas to Christmas, more money, more things. The Lord’s people live for peace with their God. So we learn to live with these things, not for them like the world. Another thing that indicates if we have joy is if we’re not discouraged easily. It is a sin to be discouraged.

You may have heard of the story of Satan having a garage sale. He had a table with all his different tools laid on it and in the middle of the table there was this little wedge and it had the highest price on it. He said, “That is my special tool; if I can get that into a person’s life, into their heart, I can use any other tool as long as I can get in the door with a tool of discouragement.”

Luke 15 is the story of the runaway dog. We know the story of the prodigal son who came back as a whipped dog, with this tail between his legs, just slinking back home, condemned. His father received him with open arms. And all he wanted was a place in the home, and he could’ve offended his father, he could have cast a shadow on the whole thing. If he had said, “I’m going to live in the servants quarters,” he would’ve offended his father. There would have been no reason for a feast if he had brought the same attitude that he had left with – I will not fit in with my father’s will – that is why he left. Here he is coming back. There would have been no one rejoicing; the only one rejoicing would’ve been the elder son and the fatted calf. But he brought the attitude of “I will fit in.”

I will tell you a story about a man raised in the truth, rebelled as a teenager, went into the world big time, a long way away. He was thirty, and he was going to an auction in the country. He had a rough night the night before and he had to park a long way away. He was walking towards the auction, some people were already there, and here comes a familiar face from the past, and it was a servant. He will not know me. This servant, which was his habit, just smiled at him and asked, “How is your day going today?” That man said that was the turning point for him. He was convicted that very moment; that man has peace with God and joy with God; that man is where God wants him to be. And he said, “I’ve got to head back home, too.” I do not know if that servant ever knew that was the turning point. That man went back; he wanted peace, he wanted security, he wanted it on God’s terms, not his own terms.

Next week when we leave here, we will go to a Sunday morning meeting and we will gather around the emblems, the emblems of the slain Lamb. What thought will be foremost in your mind as you are sitting there, only one week past convention? Will you be consumed with the failures we already had with the first week after convention? Will you be feeling like a hypocrite, so unworthy? Feeling unworthy is necessary; it helps us with humility and thankfulness, but above all other feelings, when we look upon the emblems, we need to be focused on the worthiness of the Lamb. I do not want to offend God this year by casting a shadow on the worthiness of Christ with my own unworthiness. God wants to do things in us and for us at this convention this year. We need to turn all our focus on the One that is worthy. His worthiness will wash over us like the tide in the ocean, cleansing us, inspiring us, encouraging us and that will help perfect our joy and our peace. One other thing it will do is to perfect our spirit. We will become more and more like Him as we allow His worthiness to wash over our own unworthiness.