In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes that worldly pursuits and pleasures will never satisfy the human heart. He shares a personal story of a girl who was weeping and seeking help, but her tears did not bring any change until she had a change in attitude. The speaker also discusses the difference between a sinner who continues in their sin and a true man of God who is brokenhearted over their sin. He highlights the importance of genuine worship and reverence for God, and warns against emotionalism. The sermon concludes with a story about a man involved in criminal activities, highlighting the destructive nature of sin.

Now a couple of times this week I've reminded you that the Bible contains 70 books and not 66. All the good scholars divide the book of Psalms into five books, so then of course you have four extra books to the 66, which makes 70. 70 is a biblical number, 66 isn't, 666 isn't, it's a bad one. But 70 is a biblical number, there were 70 elders in the Old Testament, there were 70 that Jesus sent out, and so you have 70 books. The best used, the most used book in the Bible unquestionably is the book of Psalms. Go to Scotland where they, they won't even use hymns, never mind choruses. And they wouldn't defile the sanctuary with having an instrument in it. But if you go there and hear them sing the Psalms, you'll never forget it as long as you live. They sing the Psalms metrical, not metrical, metrical version, and they're, they're really very, very beautiful, very inspiring. So here you've got 150 Psalms in this, in this book. And out of the 150, roughly 75 of them were written by David, and out of the 75, 18 of them are autobiographical. There are some Psalms prophetical. You know the 23rd Psalm, that's the Psalm of what we call the crook, the shepherd having a crook to rescue his sheep. But before that obviously comes the 22nd Psalm. Well what's that, well that's the Psalm of the cross. And after the 23rd comes the 24th, and that's the Psalm of what, the crown. Oh I like some of these breathtaking expressions of this marvelous and wonderful inspired man. As I said the other day when somebody said to Moody, how do you know the Bible's inspired? He said, because it inspires me. I hope it inspires you more than giving you merely knowledge. And so you have 18 autobiographical Psalms. And out of the 18 autobiographical Psalms, you have 8 penitential Psalms. And out of the 8 penitential Psalms, you have one outstandingly great penitential Psalm, which is of course this marvelous 51st Psalm. It's marvelous in any way, it's marvelous in its construction. Because in the first three verses, you have two different words for cleansing. In verses 1 & 2, you have three different words for sin in verses 1 & 2. In this Psalm you have brokenness mentioned three times. In this Psalm you have sacrifice mentioned three times. In this Psalm you have offering mentioned three times. In this Psalm you have, what else? Brokenness, sacrifice, offerings. The Holy Spirit, or the Spirit mentioned three times. Twice of the Holy, twice of the human spirit, once of the Holy Spirit. And you could juggle around with that for a long while. It's, it's an amazing construction in the psalm. And this psalm of course was born in a crisis experience of David. No man ever revealed his heart as David did. Not many of us keep a personal diary of our spiritual lives do we? Do you? Got a diary on today how sweet-tempered you were, how bad-tempered you were, how gracious you were, how covetous you were, how long you prayed, how selfish you were, how you pushed other people around, how self-pity. Do you keep a diary on your own life? Try it for a week. Don't live any different from the way you live last week. Keep a diary on yourself. You'll enjoy it. But, but David here, he shows you every range, every fluctuation in his spirit. Oh there are some things you can't put in these psalms. You know the most controversial, it seems anybody called Leonard is controversial. And Leonard Bernstein, who until last year, where are we, 70, 69, he finished his last performance with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. And, and he broke about every law in the book. He did what he should never do. Sometimes jumped off the podium, sometimes sang with a choir, sometimes dipped his baton down, and you should never drop the point of it. And he just broke every law in the book and enjoyed it. And the more he did it, the bigger the crowds were. And he really went to town. Now he had a friend who was touring in Europe. And he brought back a dog-eared manuscript that he'd bought. And he said to Leonard Bernstein, here I bought this in Europe, paid an awful lot of money. It's a very old original manuscript. It's over 200 years old. Now, now Leonard, you just sit down at the piano and play it for me. He said, well how can I do that? I can't play it. He said, you can but you won't. He said, I can't. Well why can't you? Look, he said, if you take my microphone and head it behind that cathedral organ, or behind that harpsichord, when this certain person was writing this manuscript, and you could play it over to me, and I could catch all the cadences, all the moods, all the speeds, all his emphasis. If I could listen to that a dozen times, I might go and present it to you in a way that I just can't do now. Because I don't have the atmosphere, I don't have the emotion. Now I don't believe in building emotion in meetings. You may, I don't. You know, the modern evangelist has to establish a rapport with the people. Condition you. A dozen good jokes, or you know, feel real good. Get the folk on your side, you know. Don't, don't have any sense of antagonism. And as we drove up tonight, I thought of Paul's words. I, I rather like Paul. And remember what Paul said, if I'm the servant of men, then I'm not the servant of God. You can't have it both ways. You're gonna please the crowd, you'll grieve God. And if you please God, most likely you'll grieve the crowd. You've got to make a choice somewhere. Now I don't believe in building emotion up. But I'll tell you what, I do enjoy it when the glory comes down. Now, now, you can build emotion up, and all be set. I remember a lady who told us, you know, I went to my previous church for about 10 years. And, and you know, I sat there like a dummy every Sunday morning. But this new church I go to, you know, every Sunday morning I go, the first 15 minutes I cry. I never cried as much in my life. You know, the pastor gets up and he says, you know, we're gonna sing that lovely song, you know, I'm drifting like a ship without a sail. Have you noticed how many hymns are concerned about me, not about him? We don't give God much worship and glory in a meeting, as I told you the other day. Buck Singh told me the one thing he'd never seen in a church in America was a church where they could worship God. We try and work it up, prime the audience, spend 10 or 15 minutes, clap your hands. Now I don't mind you doing that. Do it, do as you like, you're free, it's in the Fifth Amendment. And you can do it as you like. But I'm talking about real worship when the glory of God comes down and you want to shut your eyes because you think the one who walked in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks walking in the midst, you wouldn't want to whisper a talk, or touch anybody, or chew gum, or do anything. You think God is in this place, and I know it. I can't, I can't play that music he said. Well how do you think you're going to translate a psalm like this? Now there's some emotion, but emotion and emotionalism are very different. Here's a fellow, and he's carrying a dish of beautiful, wonderful herbs, spices, and meat into his father. And his father, blind there, says, come near my son, come near. And he says, Father, this is the moment I've lived for. I've come to receive my blessing. What? I've come to receive my blessing. Blessing? Well, who's the one I gave the blessing to? You mean my brother, he stole my birthright. He's stolen my blessing. I've found that one blessing blessed me, even me or my father. I've often wondered what happened to the dish of soup, I guess it hit the deck. But do you think there's no emotion in an experience like that? Hmm? How did David write this psalm? Well I'm sure he didn't write it on a typewriter. And when I read it, it's on nice India paper with a very nice type, but he didn't write it like that. It's punctuated with periods, colons, semicolons. What have you got? No, no, no, no. This psalm isn't written with ink, it's written with blood. It isn't punctuated with periods, it's punctuated with groans and sobs. Here is a heartbroken man. Ah yes, the man that wrote this psalm wrote the 23rd psalm, didn't he? And when he was living so near to God. Ever tried to imagine him there with his guitar, sitting on the hill outside Jerusalem, strumming it away and sweetly looking over and saying, when I consider thy heavens the work of thy fingers. Have you ever thought him peeping through that little peephole on the door of time, looking right down the corridors of time, and in that 24th psalm where he says, lift up your heads O ye gates, be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, the King of glory is coming in. He had a preview of what a hymn writer says, from earth's wide bounds and oceans farthest coast, through gates of pearls stream in a countless host, singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost, hallelujah. He's seeing the end time, he's seeing that period when the trumpet has sounded, and the dead have risen, and he's seeing the holy dead. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Oh yeah, he had some of the most amazing revelations and ecstasies any man that ever lived ever had. But you see he's not having them now, he's down in the gutter. He's a heartbroken man, a heartbroken man, a broken and a contrite heart, a broken and a contrite heart. I will not despise, I have no offering to bring. It would be easy to give an offering, sure it is. See to put your hands up like that, see to give God ten extra bucks. Better get a heartbroken condition about your sin or your separation from God, or the fact that the church around you is paralysed, it's something entirely different. This man wrote the 23rd psalm, yeah? He wrote the 8th psalm, what's his man, he wrote the 139th psalm. When he was living as near to God, not only has he ever lived, but any other man ever lived. You've got to live awfully near to God to say what he said in that psalm 139. Do you remember how he winds it up? He just takes his heart out as it were, bears his heart and he says, search me O God and know my heart. Another hymn writer I quoted the other night says, you know, how shall I, whose native sphere is dark, whose mind is dim, before the ineffable appear, and on my naked spirit bear the uncreated being? How can this corruption stand before a holy, impeccable, infallible, ineffable God? Another hymn writer rescues us maybe when he says, you remember, thy kind but searching glance can scan the very wounds that shame would hide. But here he's living right on the victory, victory plus in his life, and he says, search me O Lord and know my heart and try me and see if there be any wicked way. I wouldn't want there to be one little thing which is cutting me off from the fullness of the blessing and the riches of thy grace, search me. He doesn't say that here, he says, hide thy face from my sins, blot out all mine iniquities, create in me a clean heart. He's falling over himself to get restored. Rather amazing the man that wrote this psalm was a millionaire wasn't he? And a monarch. But he says, my sin is ever before me. Did yours ever come up like that before you? He'd seen a beautiful woman, he looked too long, he coveted, he desired her and to get her he had to commit adultery. And now all the ecstasy is gone and grief has come and darkness has come and gods are far off. And to me the most pitiful man in America tonight is not a man in an insane institution or a woman who's blind or somebody who's crippled. The most pitiful man may be a man going into the Waldorf Astoria tonight and his wife's dripping with diamonds and he has a hundred million bucks to his name. The most unfortunate man in America is the man who brought us forsaken. And for years I meditated over this phrase and couldn't find an answer. He says, take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Why? And then I think I, I found an answer to satisfy myself, it doesn't satisfy you. Who was the king before him? Well Saul. Saul the anointed, Saul who had the holy oil, Saul was elevated to be a leader of the people. And the Spirit was on him and not only that he had gifts of the Spirit, he prophesied, but he died a suicide. Remember how Saul, when God had forsaken him, went round and he says, you know I've tried everybody and nobody gives me a word of comfort. If only I could, if only I could, well I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll go see that old witch down the road, you know, they say she can deal in familiar spirits. And he went round and paid her some money and he says, would you bring up Samuel? And maybe the only time in history there was ever a genuine reincarnation. Samuel comes up and David says, Samuel, oh here's the prophet of God. You know Samuel, you remember you anointed me to be king, didn't you? Yes I anointed you. He said, but Samuel, God forsaken me. And he thought Samuel would smooth it over because he was a king. But Samuel would say, no he's not forsaken you, he's a little grieved with you, you know, and like you don't have as much favor as you used to have, but he's not really forsaken you. God has forsaken, God hath forsaken thee. You notice what Saul said? He didn't say call on our God, he said call on thy God. God hath forsaken thee. And you end out and propped up his sword and fell on it, and then the Malachi had helped to put him to death. The man who once had the anointing, the man who once had prophetic gifts, and every eye in Israel was upon him. And he sees the danger now, the lights are flashing, and he says, that's what hath, take not thy Holy Spirit from me. He calls the Spirit of God, the Spirit of God, pardon me, the Spirit of Holiness. And because he's the Spirit of Holiness, he convicts of sin. He's called the Spirit of Life, and therefore he convicts of death. He's called the Spirit of Fire, therefore he convicts of coldness. He's called the Spirit of Power, therefore he convicts of weakness. Oh, well we're living in a day of course when we've rather rewritten the record, the vocabulary, haven't we? This man doesn't hide, he doesn't moderate, he uses these bitter bit of phrases. He says, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. What's he saying in essence? He's saying, I'm a, I'm a, well uh, I'm a backslider. Now we don't use that word anymore, that's a dirty word, you don't use that anymore. You just make it smooth and say, well you know, John there, we need to pray for him, he's out of fellowship. Well I'll go for the Scriptures anytime and use this bitter word, he's a backslider brother. However, whichever way you look at it, he's a backslider, isn't he? Restore unto me the joy, we try and get it some other way. The joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit. You know this, this, this, Psalm again has some amazing words in it. But you see again, we, we don't do what the Bible does. The Bible talks about iniquity and we've modified it. We've kind of scaled that word down from iniquity and we call it infirmity. God says sin is enmity against God. You see every man and woman, they're not all prodigal. Ooh some of them have too much respect to go to the swine troughs and the flesh pots and live in Sodom and Gomorrah. But I don't believe God's first argument with a man is he's a prodigal. God's first argument with a man is he's a rebel. God's not going to rule my life. Ooh you could live as clean as an archangel and go to hell. You don't have to trail through the sewers. You don't have to go down Bourbon Street. You don't have to go to the night spots, the flesh pots. Just refuse to let God have dominion over your personality. That's all. No, no, no we don't call it iniquity, we call it infirmity. We don't call it wickedness, we call it weakness. We don't call it enmity, we call it error. But oh you know when I get down to these words I find that these words are really, really, really tough things to take from the book of God. It doesn't call sin a blunder, it calls sin blindness. It doesn't call sin lawlessness, liberty as we do, it calls it lawlessness. David doesn't try to modify it, he's prepared to take all these stinging rebuking words. And as the old hymn says, the cords that were broken, he wants them to vibrate once more. The relationship is a broken and a contrite heart oh God. Did you ever break a limb? 1951 I did a two-week meeting for Dr. Tozer. And we had, he said, the best revival in his church that he'd had in nearly 30 years of ministering there. I'd never taken a soloist around with me, other people can, or a song leader. I've usually taken a prayer partner. And I had a whole, I had with me old Tom Hare, the Irishman. And we had had morning prayer sessions and we had had, he, on the, on the Sunday, on the Saturday night when we went to bed, Tom Hare hadn't been to bed for five nights that week, he'd stayed up and prayed through. And when we went to bed, I tell you we were tired that night. And do you know what happened? The hotel caught fire. And we had to jump out of the fourth story window down and hit the deck. And Tozer puzzled it out and he said, do you know what I think? He said, I think we got so far into the devil's territory this week that the devil said, there's only one thing to do and that's kill those two fellows. So he set the hotel on fire to try and kill them. You know you better watch it. If you want blessing, you're just asking for the devil to chase you ten times hotter than he'll chase anybody else. Because if God opens the window of heaven, the devil will open the door of hell and you'll be caught between the two. You've got no choice. You know when I jumped out of that window, I hit the, hit the sidewalk, broke my back in three places and both my legs and, and my, my feet. And I just lay there in the gutter three o'clock Sunday morning. And no preacher should be out on the street in his pajamas at that hour. It's not healthy. But there, there I was lying in the street in my, in my pajamas and, and, and I couldn't do a thing. I tried to get up, nothing would respond. Oh I knew my back was broken. Tried to push up with my hands, couldn't do anything. And a fellow came around the corner and I don't know where he'd been or what he was doing, but he just looked and he says, hi. I said hi. He said, what are you doing here? I nearly said playing tennis, what do you think? He said, well get up. He said, you know some traffic could come around the corner and you'd get hurt. Isn't that subtle humor? I said, I think I'm hurt already. No, no, get up he said. I can't get up. Well don't be stupid. He said, you know something might come around that corner and it wouldn't have chance, he'd just run over you, he'd crush you. I said, I'm afraid I'm crushed already anyhow. He said, you can't stay there. I said, I don't want to. The lad said, I can't go. Well he said, I'm not going to let you lie there. And he bent, I said, don't touch me. I certainly will, he said. And you know he put his, he put his hand under my broken legs and he put his arm under my broken back and licked me all, lifted me up. He thought he was doing me a favor. I don't know what kind of a favor because there was a snowbank at the side of the street and he laid me in that. Whether he was putting me in deep freeze just to start, I wouldn't know. But he laid me there and then I began to shake and to shiver. You know I never lost consciousness one second, but I'll tell you something. As soon as that man picked me up, and you may have had a worse experience, I don't know. But as soon as he picked me up, every one of those broken bones rubbing together, you know like you take two broken wires of electricity and they spark. Oh every nerve I had screamed out. And my mother used to say, now always be, you know, never be weak, don't shout. And I bit my lip, as a matter of fact I bit a hole right through the inside of it. I wasn't going to squeal, be a good English bulldog and don't say anything. I like saying a lot. But the bones were broken. Oh brother what a, what an experience. And you know this song never meant too much to me until I had that experience. Now I hope you won't have to have it to realize what it means. But I can understand what David says, the bones which thou hast broken, he hadn't got a broken bone in his body. He's a healthy vigorous young man, but his relationship with God is broken. And he says, oh the pain of it, the agony of it. More than once people have said to me, well brother Amy what's the difference between the sin of a sinner and the sin of a believer. So supposing for instance here is a man, a Christian, he tells a lie. Here's a man, he's a Christian and somehow falls into adultery. Here's a man and well he just does some silly thing and didn't intend to do it, but he got mad and hit a man, he struck the wall and he died. Well what's the difference in the sin? No difference, not a bit of difference. The difference is in the attitude of the sinner. This man will go and do the same sin again. But oh if the man is a true man of God, when he's committed a sin like that he's a heartbroken man. Nothing satisfies him. Oh don't take it too serious David. Just look through the window, see that bodyguard outside of you. Every time I see those soldiers my sin is before me. I remember I put the captain of the guard to death. My sins before me when I look out. Listen to that little baby crying in the other room. Yes that reminds me of the baby I fathered to Bathsheba. I can't turn one way or the other way. God has sent me in. My sin is ever before me. I've said more than once I think modern evangelists are about the most stupid men on earth. How do you break up the fallow ground, sow the seed, water the seed, and gather a harvest all in an hour? Do you know? Because I don't. But all the evangelists, we had a good evangelist, he was a nice man in fact. You know I think maybe a spiritual any man. But you know hardly anybody came to the altar all the week. You know what we should do in most churches? Burn the altar, it's become an idol. Charles G. Finney the greatest soul winner America ever had, never made an altar call within 30 days of starting a gospel crusade. 30 days he piled on the agony. He didn't preach the love of God, he preached the wrath of God. He didn't preach heaven, he preached hell. He didn't preach law, grace, he preached law. He didn't say you know you're just a poor little unfortunate thing born with a little black spark in you. And God loves you but hates your sin. He really said what the Bible said. God is angry with the wicked every day. You can't separate a man from his sin. You know the church is so sick today. We need an evangelist to evangelize the evangelists. We need some teachers to teach the Bible teachers. We need some counselors to counsel the counselors. We've never been as sick as we are now. Somebody gives you a little tract with four laws on it. Do you believe this? God wants to make you happy, has a plan for your life. All you have to do is say yes Lord. And I met a man he says I'm going to Europe. In fact he came to a crusade I was having in Ireland and he said you know I brought 500 of these tracts with me. Coming to breakfast one morning he said I had a great time coming down the road. Just left the house ten minutes ago and I led six people to Christ in the last ten minutes. Boy you couldn't get it much quicker than that could you? Our old theological fathers used to talk about prevenient grace. Remember that funny old term? The working of the Spirit of God may be years before you ever came to him. Oh what we need in America, what we need in England, what we need in this generation is a plague of Holy Ghost conviction. Till men and women get sick and they lower themselves. Oh you can bend at an altar now say sure I want to be saved. Amen brother the Lord's bless you. I want to be filled with the Spirit. Amen amen yeah you got a manifestation fine. Well come back next week. Oh I can't I, I'm, I'm singing in the Flamingo in Las Vegas for the next month in a night spot. I can't come I'm sorry I'd like to. But I'm singing with those nudie girls in Las Vegas. Oh what about you? Oh I can't come I'm just gonna make a film you know I'm one of the top entertainers in the country. Just being filled with the Holy Ghost. Who are you fooling? You're not fooling me I'll tell you that. Brother you can't be filled with the Holy Ghost and live in a lousy world like that. You've got to beat it and get out of it. Is this vile world a friend to grace to help me on to God? Huh? Why Jesus could have started off right away and say hey you're a Pharisee you know. Now I'm not gonna be rough on you. Let's just find a little place. We're gonna start an ecumenical crowd here in, in, in Jerusalem. And you know I'll come to terms with you on this level. And you're a Pharisee huh? And you're a Sadducee. Sadducees differed from you know the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection. That's why they were Sadducees. But he didn't make terms with any of them did he? No he laid down the law of the kingdom and when he needed followers the most and they started to say well you know I think you're a great fellow I'd like to join you. He says look you will you sit down and count the cost and they did. And they did not join him. Oh David can't find any comfort. Blessed is the man who receives a double portion of Holy Ghost conviction. Hmm? I preached in the Keswick meetings in London England. And they had a desk like this a little more ornate rather, rather beautiful desk. And the church was Gothic it had gorgeous stained-glass windows and it was an afternoon meeting with a lot of wonderful people in. And as I stood there just as we were singing the hymn before preaching I kind of fingered the desk like this and rubbed my feet and, and felt kind of a little happy not particularly inspired. But I was thinking of a man who used to handle that desk. His name was Toplady. Ever hear of him? He wrote a hymn called Rock of Ages Cleft for Me. I've actually maybe you have either I've hidden in the cleft of that rock down, down near the city of Bath where we used to live. But you know one day he got an overwhelming revelation of the sinfulness of sin and of the holiness of God. And he didn't talk in any terms about it any easy terms any cheap terms. He got to the place of David he had a broken and a contrite heart. And he sobs his heart out. He forgets his intellectual standing and all his culture. And there with a naked broken spirit before God he says foul I to that fountain fly. Wash me Savior or I die. Your sin isn't some little virus that's causing spots. Your sin my dear friend is a cancer that will burn in you in time and it'll burn through you in hell if you don't get rid of it. I'm persuaded you may not be. I'm persuaded our present Christianity is an embarrassment to God. We sickly compromises with the world with a Roman Catholic Church with anybody as long as we have a good time in a banquet eh? Maybe one night the Lord or let me see I'll only be here next week. Two nights next week to preach so I'd better find out God's mind what he wants those two nights. One night I would like to preach on John Baptist if he'll let me. Another night I'd like to preach on the judgment seat maybe next Thursday night if if I can get permission from above and and I'll have to do that. But oh my I remember you know that I ever heard a dear old Baptist preacher called Vance Havner. You ever hear him? Isn't he something? He's worse than me enough saying something. But I heard Vance Havner over the radio one day in a home in Chicago. Do you know he was saying from Winona Lake what America needs is a John the Baptist to go through the churches. You know pull down the hills, fill in the valleys, make the crooked places straight, uproot the trees. And then in his own whimsical way said but God help the man. He'll need a fiberglass suit. Sure you start exposing sin in the church. Oh if you expose sin in sinners and other that's all right. You bring some kids converted from drug addiction that's great. But you start exposing the cancer in the hearts of preachers and deacons and elders and someone. Why we were in a Southern Baptist church two weeks ago we nearly had a riot. We nearly had a riot. Didn't we Martha just some nights? Almost had a riot. Brother, God came down some nights and those people didn't know where they were or what they were doing. God just cut people's hearts open like that and showed them what was inside and they were so sick and they were so broken and so contrite. You know I like this little word that David has here. When he's recognized all his sinfulness and his sin and his backsliding and his failure. He comes and he says have mercy on me. That's a lovely word isn't it? Huh? When no built the ark there was only one door wasn't there? And if you come to the ark of safety there's only one door that you can get in and it's the door of mercy. No other door. Not if you're as rich as Creases. Not if you're six old, all well into Oklahoma and your granny left you a fortune. That won't make any odds. Just one door. You know I've often, I wonder how Noah got the crown. How in the world did he get those animals through that one door? I can see him getting two or three monkeys, though they'd be mischievous, that and getting elephants. But I sometimes wonder how he got the giraffe in. I think he maybe backed it in. How did he get a giraffe in through that door with a neck like that? Boy that'll be as hard as God getting you with your long stiff neck. Maybe he'll have to back you in it. Hmm? How did he get all those animals? There was only one door. By which if any man entered it. I remember one day teaching a team challenge and before I spoke in the morning session a little fellow, I forget his name, a little Puerto Rican stood up and with the tears running down his face he said, just before Brother Abner speaks he said I, I think we should sing, you know what, almost our national anthem. Amazing Grace, how sweet. And you know those kids stood up. And I sat there and looked till the tears ran down my poor old heart cheeks too. You know every girl on this side of that section of the church, almost without section, exception, was a prostitute. Oh they weren't five dollar prostitutes, they were prostitutes to your darling ball players. They gave me names of the guys they slept with. And that they got two thousand dollars for a weekend. And one girl had five full length mink coats. And a stack of jewelry in a box this size and that depth. And she drove up to the our office in a white Cadillac. But she said after a while, when she'd been there and God saved her, she said you know there wasn't one girl. Though they went out looking like Marilyn Monroe or someone else. Gorgeous, beautiful girl. Went to the leading hotels in the city. But she said when they came home at four o'clock in the morning or five o'clock there wasn't one girl that didn't cry herself to sleep every night of her life. Hmm? I looked at the other boys. Martha said to me one day, you know that fellow Peppy looked such a nice fellow. I wonder what his life is. One day I was taking my dinner as they handed it over the table. I said hey Peppy you're a nice guy. Say how long have you been in this racket? And he smiled. He said well Brother Rayfield the first time I carried a gun, I carried a 38 when I was eight. In fact the first man I murdered I was eight when I murdered the first man. And I said how many more did you murder? Lost count. I was in a double murder when I was 12. I was in another double murder about two years after that. And then I was in you know that famous racket. And he said you know I've not been out of sing sing long. I did ten years. And every boy there you could write a whole book on the lives of them. And you know that, you've heard that hymn many a time. It never moved you to tears did it? And I looked at that bunch of renegades and rebels and sinners and dirty rotten critters that they were. And they were singing with tears running, amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Once I was lost. See we're trying to get people saved they don't even know they're lost. We're asking them that they hate sin. They don't know what sin is. It's a habit, it's a way of life. And those prostitutes were rubbing tears away. Big husky boys they were crying. He says oh let's sing it again. Brother Rayfield come and sing it. Sing it twenty times before. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved. I once was lost but now I'm found. I was blind but now I see it was grace. It was mercy that came to me. A few weeks after I went to a stuffy church. There's a pretty blonde here. And I don't know why the preacher's a silly guy. He says that before brother Raymond speaks supposedly sing amazing grace. The answer to that is amazing grace how sweet the sound that saves. Saves a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found. I was blind but now I see it was grace. I nearly said put a nail in it. But she sang it, she sang it so sweetly you know. And it didn't mean a thing to her. And I thought sister why don't you shut up singing lies. Yeah amazing grace you were never a wretch. Not even when your husband told you. You were never a wretch. Oh this man is broken and burdened. There isn't a clean air in his life. I'm foul. I'm full of sin. I'm vile. Have mercy upon me oh God. And you know what he did. Because afterwards he wrote that marvelous psalm. He brought me up out of a horrible pit. And then he wrote the hundred and third psalm. Didn't he say oh forgive us all thine iniquities who healeth all thy diseases. Boy I'm glad he doesn't do half of it and leave the other half to me. Because I'd been a mess. Across the main street of Andrew Burson years ago there was a big sign. Well about 1859 they had the big revival in Ireland. It was just before that. Maybe a little after I forget which. But a young man Brownlaw North whose grandfather was the famous Lord North. He got money. Hit society. Became one of the worst men. Came just like Lord Byron. Prodigal. Handsome. All the ladies fell for him. His daughter had drunk everything. And he got so bad that when he got to Paris even wicked men left him. They shunned him even the wicked shunned him. His language was so vile. Nobody would associate. Even the harlots deserted him. Everybody. One night he stood on the edge of the River Seine. And he said nobody's written from home. Nobody wants me. Everybody's dropped off. I'm alone. I'm a derelict. I'm going to jump in that muddy street. And he got his hands up to jump. And he didn't. And now across the main street in Edinburgh was a sign. Brownlaw North evangelist. And he had real revival. One day a steward said you just give this to Brownlaw North. And they slipped it to him as he was just going to come to the pulpit. And it said on it. Dear Brownlaw this is your old friend from Paris. How dare you preach. Before you stand up tonight I'll recite all your sins. And show them what a dirty wicked villain you are. Your old friend. And Brownlaw went pale. Need a drink of water? No. Can I help you? No. Thank you. Went in the pulpit. Put his Bible down. His hymn book. And he said I have a note here doesn't it. I don't know in this vast audience about twelve hundred people. I don't know where my friend is. But this is what he says. Dear Brownlaw I'm your old partner in crime and sin. And remember we were buddies there in Paris. And you're the dirtiest thing I ever saw. You crawled through the sewers of hell. You broke every law of God and man. And tonight I'm going to expose you and tell. And he said now just before I even begin the service. Will that man stand up and tell this audience my sins. I said will you stand up and tell the audience my sins. Stand up. He said you know everything he says on this on this list is true. Everybody quit. Everybody forsook me. And I was standing on the edge of the river. And I was just going to jump in. And he said suddenly all my sin hideous dirty filthy vileness came unto me. But somehow I don't know why. Suddenly I saw the cross. And in the moment that my sin came upon me he said. I remember that very old hymn that he used to sing. And it was just as though a big arm reached down because the hymn began to sing in my mind. In loving kindness Jesus came. My soul in mercy to reclaim. And from the depths of sin and shame in love he lifted me. From sinking sands he lifted me. With tender hands he lifted me. From shades of night to planes of light. All praise his name he lifted me. Have you ever noticed in this psalm that this man doesn't make any reference. He doesn't blame Bathsheba for his sin. You say well he sinned against her. No he didn't. He sinned with her. He's nothing to say about Israel. This is a monologue. Have mercy upon me O God. According to the multitude of thy tender mercies. Blood out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge my transgression. My sin is ever before me. Against thee the only have I sinned. And I have done this evil in thy sight. He's not looking for a scapegoat. He's not saying well it's partly something I inherited or it's my friends or environment. He says I am a sinner. And you'll get nowhere until you get the whole catalog of your dirty rotten sins and say look I'm the father of every one of these sins that the Spirit of God is accusing me of. And I bring them all to God and I say just as I am and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot. That to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot. O Lamb of God I come. And as soon as you get a broken heart over it. You see we've got a silly sickly philosophy around. It's I think they call it a creed. But you better forget creeds that men made because the men made them. And maybe you'll stand up on Sunday and say we sin every day in thought word and deed. Do we? Do you really mean that? Because if you do you could be awful helpful to a lot of the kids. If we have to sin every day in thought word and deed will you write a list of the sins out that we can commit and then a list of the sins we can't commit. You'll help these kids who are very confused right now if you do that. Oh it's easy and glib to stand up and sing it and say it isn't it? All we like sheep have gone astray. And we sin every day in thought and word and deed. Well I've got news for you the devil couldn't do better than that could he if he tried. Why doesn't somebody get a trumpet voice or Billy Graham or somebody that got all the radio and money. Why don't they get up and say in big capital letters that Christianity is N.O.T. Christianity is not a sinning religion. It's not a sinning religion. What did Jesus say to the woman that was committed an adultery? You are an adulteress. Oh I admit I'm an adulteress. He said well go and sin less. Did he? What did he say? What? Sin no more. Oh you're putting an impossible standard before her. Oh I didn't. Jesus did. Go and sin no more. You never heard an evangelist yet at least I never did and I just entered my 50th year preaching and getting antique. And I've been around the world in all kinds of and I've been around the world in all kinds of conveyance. I never heard a preacher an evangelist preach through the one two three first three chapters in the first epistle of John. You don't preach that boy that that that that that's the bible salvation. And we've got something that just ain't bible salvation. As I said the other night until the turn of the century Wesley says I offered men Christ. We don't offer men Christ. We offer them heaven if they'll just say I'm sorry for a few dirty sins. We offer them heaven. We offer them peace with God. Don't we? You know the Lord wants you to be happy. We offer them happiness. Jesus didn't die to make you happy. He died to make you holy. Well Mr. Raymond you're not suggesting there's a place in this life where where you can really be born again and and uh and then not commit sin. No I didn't write the bible that's what John says. He that is born of God doth not commit sin. Well admittedly there's a little difficulty there but you see actually what it says he does not habitually commit sin. If he commits sin it's by accident and if he does it by accident he's repentant and broken and sorrowful and contrite and he doesn't esteem it lightly. He says I've grieved God have mercy forgive and cleanse me. People seem to be proud to stand up and say you know I'm just a saved sinner. Well that's a new one. Are you a married brother? Good. Well I take his word. He says he's a married man. I believe him. Take a good look at him. Do you know he's a rather strange man. I kept looking at him this week. He's a strange man. He's a married bachelor. He's what? He's a married bachelor. Ask his wife but don't ask her when I'm there. A married bachelor. He was a bachelor till he got married and when he got married he isn't a bachelor anymore. And I I met some of these prostitutes very beautiful prostitutes in uh teen challenge you know. And if I were to say to you one of them was a lovely girl a very rather unique character she was a pure harlot. And one of these boys over here he's rather not bald too he's a truthful lawyer. And that fellow there is an honest thief. Hey you say come on don't murder the king's English. A man can't be a uh a married man and a bachelor. No he can't he's either married or a bachelor. He can't be an honest thief. No he's either a thief or dishonest or honest. And uh this this fellow here isn't a truthful liar. He's either a liar or true. Right. Well if you can't be a truthful liar and you can't be a sober drunkard and you can't be an honest thief, how can you be a Christian sinner? You see holiness and sinfulness mutually exclude each other. But one cancels the other out. I crossed the Atlantic many times. I'm a man to ride across it now have a peaceful trip. And you know every time you get on the boat you get on the boat and you pull out uh say you've paddled the boat's paddle across doesn't go too fast over to France and you pull out of Cherbourg and Le Havre and then a voice comes over the speakers and says ladies and gentlemen this is the commodore of the vessel speaking the next voice will be that of the captain telling you where to lift your life jacket. It's behind the door and the locker in your stateroom and on that door there's a red arrow with number nine. Now you put on your life jacket not till you get on the upper deck and uh you you follow that red arrow up the staircase a red arrow with a nine and when you get to the deck you follow the arrow red arrow with a nine and you see a lifeboat red arrow with a nine. Now that's your lifeboat and you go stand in front of it and you carry this baggage up you know and when you get there the officer says well lovely morning nice to see you of course this is just formality. Now now this life jacket you have has been tested by the American government the British government and it's uh it's guaranteed to uh to function perfectly. Now you take it like this you throw it over your head and you get the uh tapes this way they thread it through it you bring them this way and you tie them just gently like that and some of them you inflate you know and others are the enormous things you inflate the ones on the plane but the others are enormous things. You can't see over the top you just get this thing up to your chin you can't see and some little lady at the back says what's this for? Say we're gonna have tea what do you think it is? Gonna have crab so you won't drop anything on your pretty dress. Now you've got this enormous bulky life jacket up and then the officer says now ladies and gentlemen as I said this has been tested by the American government the British government it's the most perfect kind of thing there is in the world right now and you know we give you this in your stateroom and this lovely thing is for when the ship goes down. Would you say that again? I say this jacket that you have is for when the ship goes. I say hey just a minute when the ship goes down. You know if this ship goes down a thousand miles from America it's two thousand miles doing it. Do you know I wouldn't even like to try to swim with this thing on for the next two thousand miles. And listen if the ship's going down do you mind backing it up and let me get off because I don't want to try this. Oh he doesn't say that does he? After all the Queen Mary did cross the Atlantic more than 500 times and never had any trouble even with the submarines and the Queen Elizabeth too. What am I saying it wasn't impossible for those ships to sink it's not impossible but it's possible for them not to. Now the life jacket is not given for when the ship goes down. The lady said you know my favorite scripture is in one John, when we sin we have an advocate. Doesn't say that it says if we sin. The life jacket isn't for when the ship goes up if the ship goes down. The blood isn't there for you to run every night and say Lord I've sinned all day but you may as well be a Romanist or a Buddhist or any if that's the only victory of God you just don't have Christianity that's all there is to it. He that is born of God does not habitually commit sin he hates it he despises it he loathes it he shuns it and he walks in victory because Christ died that he might have victory. There isn't a sin in your life tonight that Jesus Christ can't forgive. There's no area in your spirit that God cannot cleanse. What did he say to Israel in what about chapter 36 of Ezekiel there? I'll sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean from all all your filthiness will I cleanse you and from all your idols will I deliver you and I will put a new heart within you and give you a heart of flesh and my spirit within you. I can't for the life of me understand how some people talk so much about God being sovereign and omnipotent and then saying he can't cleanse the heart from sin. It's a total contradiction and in other words you're denying the cross of Jesus because the word of God tells me that Jesus Christ died and when he died what did he do? He destroyed the works of the devil and in dying he said it is finished he finished the plan of redemption. What makes you think if you die with some sin a carnality in your heart that there's some magic in the grave? If the sepulchre can sanctify then Jesus didn't need to die for us. Ah he not only prays the prayer of a sinner there are three prayers in this I've got to really hurry. What's the other prayer he prayed? He prayed the prayer of a backslider restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Oh there's nothing ever makes up for the joy of the Lord. You can pack it with all kinds of things you can run to the arena run to the arena go see the ice follies go watch a ball match go but you'll never never satisfy the human heart with that. Give me back the joy of thy salvation. He knew it had gone and if you've lost it you know where it's gone and you know when it went and you know why it went. I was preaching in a large church one of the alliance churches and there was great blessing in the meetings and one night the altar was lined from one end to the other and about 11 o'clock I was going home and somebody said could you help us with this girl here and I said well I'll try. She's a lovely girl about 17 a big golden plaits of hair down her shoulder and she wept and wept. I said my dear girl the scripture says there's a time to weep and a time to refrain. Now you've been weeping an hour will you turn the tears off and let's talk and she said you know I've enjoyed every meeting until tonight. Oh it's been such a good week but tonight right in the middle of the meeting your voice died away and a voice started saying swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit. I never heard another word you said. Now I never mentioned swimsuits. Who did? Hmm? The Holy Spirit. Oh what happened? Well I like to swim and I was in a shop down the street it's very expensive and they had a model there with a mannequin with a swimsuit on and I thought oh that would look good on me and I went another day and looked and thought it would look better on me and I went another day and they changed it and it was on the edge of the counter and there was nobody around so I picked it up and put it inside my coat and I walked out and I said mother what do you think? Somebody dropped this in the street. Oh I pushed it in a bag and said somebody dropped this in the street. Mother said well I hope it fits you. Oh it fit alright. Sure it was the perfect fit. And she said while you were talking tonight all I could hear was swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit. You know I'm in the choir and I teach a class and I collect permissions and everybody thinks I'm so wonderful but you know Mr Raven I've been keeping up appearances. I haven't had the joy of the Lord. I've no joy when I read his word. I've no joy when I pray. I've no joy when I witness his soul mechanical. No joy when I teach my class. I've lost my joy. I said oh well you know where you lost it now. I don't know about the swimsuit. Uh I'll give you a dollar towards it and somebody else will but let's get it straight with the Lord and then we'll tell your mother. I'm not telling my mother. You don't know my mother. I said no I don't. She's at the back of the church now. She's got that big cartwheel hat on right by the door there. Yeah I can see the cartwheel but uh well that's alright. Let's deal with the and uh she said hey I'll deal with the Lord but you know the Lord's patient and loving of my one mother's so proud and I didn't do it. I said you'll have to. I don't want to. I said well good night. You're not going to leave me. I said why not. I'm not going to lead you into anything false. You don't mean business. I'm going home. I'm tired. It's after 11 o'clock. I'll tell my mother. Right so she stammered the story out to the Lord and then I said get a mother and the mother came down and she said oh um Margaret. I don't know what Margaret's doing here. You know she's the best girl in this church. She sings in the choir. She collected more permissions last week. She has a Sunday school class and the kids adore her and you know she's just the personality girl around the she she you know I mean she's she's a kind of an angel around here. I said yes she is and she's a thief. A what? I said she's a thief. You say that about my. No I didn't say that about your daughter. I said your daughter told me. What did you steal? Mother you know that swimsuit I told you I found in the street. That's a couple of years ago nearly. Well a year and a half yeah. I I did I I didn't uh I didn't find it. I stole it. You stole it. I said well come on now forget it. She did wrong. She's going to put it right. I'll give a dollar Mr. Brine. The church will give a dollar. You can give a couple of dollars. Let's take the money back. I'll go with her. You can go with her. We'll all go together down to the shop and say look this girl found God and this is what she's going to do put things right. My father said well that would be terrible wouldn't it. I said it would be terribly wonderful. So mother look I said get on your knees at the side of her put your arm around her give her a kiss and say well God's forgiven you I'll forgive you. I said and otherwise unless you're bigger than God. So you know the stiff lady looked around like this and then she went. You know I I was sure she'd snap before she got to the ground. She was so stiff going down I was sure she'd snap. Well that was great. The girl got up praise the Lord. She ran back to the pastor and told the pastor just just what was that happened. And I got my hand in my coat and was going out at the door and somebody said there's a lady at the altar needs you. Oh there she was the lady with the cartwheel hat. And I came back I said excuse me your daughter's very happy she's at the back of the church and she's really rejoicing. She said yeah it's me. I said what do you mean it's you. She said now she wasn't at the altar when her daughter made a confession to me. She said in the middle of the meeting tonight your voice died away and I heard a voice saying sewing machine sewing machine sewing machine sewing machine sewing machine sewing machine sewing. Now I never mentioned sewing machines. Who did? Holy Spirit. And she said you know my daughter admitted that she cheated for 15 months on me and I've been cheating on my mother for 15 years. I told her a lie 15 years ago about a sewing machine. You know a lot of people want to get right with God vertically but they don't want to get right horizontally. You know if some of you thought paid your bills you'll be respected a lot better Christians than you are. You make it a lot easier for your pastor. Your testimony would shine a lot more. Oh no you've got your eye on something else you're going to get a colored tv. Why don't you pay all the other bills up first and have a bit of honor. You know the bible says oh no man anything. I have an idea that some of you will be left behind and if the Lord came tonight because you owe that much you wouldn't dare take it to heaven anyhow. There'd be nobody here to pay your bills. Restore unto me that you know when she got the joy back when she was willing to make confession of the wrong she'd done. Then the joy of the Lord came back. And then briefly he prays a third prayer which is the greatest prayer anybody could ever pray. What does he pray? He says create in me a clean heart oh God. I don't want you Millie to deal with the sins. I want you to deal with the machinery in here that made me do wrong. Hmm? And people say well you know after all I don't know why I make so much fuss about sin because after all I mean sin's just human and natural isn't it? No. Sin is the most unnatural thing in the world. Adam was a perfect personality and he had no sin. As soon as he sinned he became unnatural. It isn't natural to sin it's unnatural to sin. Now it's unusual not to be living on the sinning level I admit that but it's not unnatural. It's the norm of Christian life to live in victory. There may be defeats there may be disappointments. Oh well somebody comes and says you know don't listen to this you know you need a little bit of sin to make you humble. Well why not have a lot and be real humble? Hmm? As far as I remember the devil has no humility at all and he's got more sin than anybody. Why didn't make him humble? And as far as I remember the most perfect and humble man that ever lived had no sin anyhow. He didn't need sin to keep him humble. Why do I? I've only to look around and see how little I am. How how how little I do for God. The job's so big. Brother I couldn't get proud of it. How could I get proud? I do so little in one sense. What is it get proud of that? Well we've just pulled a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar wing on the church. So what do you think the they put notice up in hell? Watch out they've put two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in bricks on that new church. That doesn't scare the devil. Hmm? Well our church is going to have a bowling alley. Somebody told me a big church in this city has a bowling alley. Hmm? Could you imagine they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and went to play bowls. Doesn't kind of fit in does it? Fits in our life of course. Doesn't fit in theirs. Do you know the normal sign of health in an individual is when we when we strive and long for holiness. We want to be like him. Because he says create in me a clean heart. And as I quoted to you from Ezekiel he says I'll give you a new heart, a clean heart. I'll put my spirit within you. Are you going to suggest God will put the Holy Spirit in a filthy unclean heart? I just recently met a Pentecostal pastor deeply troubled because some people had been to a banquet and were all asked to come forward and hands were laid on them and they they spoke in tongues. But the pastor said then they were still filled with the devil. They were full of lust and uncleanness and pride. And we've had to have a series of meetings casting out devils. And we've had 42 people in our church and demons have come out of them. After, as this person said, they claimed, though this person was smart, said I don't believe because they spoke in tongues they were filled with the Holy Ghost. They got tongues but they didn't get the Holy Ghost. What did they get? Well they may have had a psychic experience. There are three kinds of tongues. Four kinds. Natural, psychic, demonic, and spiritual. And if the devil can cheat you on any level he'll cheat you. And this person said we have actually had a series of meetings in our church casting out demons and we've had 42 different people. Some of them riding on the floor, some of them with the most terrible screaming and groaning and travailing, but God has delivered them. And they claim to be filled with a spirit. Are you going to suggest that the Holy Spirit and an unclean spirit can live in a human personality? You may but you'll never convince me. As he who has called you is holy. I speak on that I think a week on Sunday afternoon. As he which have called you is holy. It's a related holiness otherwise we're fanatics. I've seen men in India lying on a bed of spikes at the side of the river. I've seen men in the river Ganges with a cancerous sore on their backs as big as my fist, standing there naked throwing water over their backs, water that's as yellow as brown as this golden colored water, filthy water, running down the back of a man whose sores were running with pus. And they throw the water over like that and the next fellow picks it up and drinks it. Why? Because it's holy water. This man lies on a bed of spikes because he's a holy man. This man hasn't washed for 10 years, he lives in a cave there and he won't come out, he puts his hand out periodically and somebody puts some fruit or some berries or something and he's a very holy man, though you can smell him two blocks away. Oh we've got such weird ideas of holiness. Well the only way to be holy is live in a monastery. Well I've got news for you, the most holiest man that ever lived mixed with the crowd and with every Tom, Dick and Harry and healed the sick and came in contact with Leather's brother and there wasn't a spot of sin on him. How can I live in a world like this and be pure? Not often but sometimes my dear wife and I go with a friend, he has a very beautiful yacht and sometimes we have gone off for a week with him when we've been extremely tired and he lives, he has another house on an island about 50 miles from where we live and so we go on this lovely yacht and he has a crew and and just the three of us, the two of us, dear Martha and I and the and the captain and the owner of the boat and and the captain and the cabin boy and so forth and you know sometimes we fish. Now I'm not, I don't know much about fish at all but but and and every time I've gone, except the last time, my wife always catches a big one. I catch one about 23 pounds and Martha pulls out one about 25 pounds. I never can win but last time I did. I think it was very early this year we went just for one day out fishing and boy I got something and I wasn't watching you know I nearly went out of the boat and boy I pulled my thing back and got it in the chair and I struggled and I that was nearly as hard as preaching but anyhow I really sweat and struggled and and then the fish decided to take a trip in the air for once and up he went why he was a beauty 52 inches long great big oh he did fight he was a lovely fish and somebody said now that's a good fish to eat that's a king fish you'll enjoy it and we did oh we really enjoyed that fish and you know when I was eating it I just tasted a piece of that fish why it was good and I said you know you know what Martha said you need some salt oh now come on I mean that fish has lived in the sea for the last 15 years in salt but it has no salt in it isn't that amazing a fish can live in the sea for 20 years and fish without salt is the most tasteless thing there is isn't it and when you get that fish on the table whether you cook it or not you've got to put salt on it to give it some appetite so God can keep a fish in the sea for five years or a hundred years if it's a whale and when you eat it the seed doesn't penetrate that fish he can keep us fish in the sea and the salt never enters into it but he can't keep you in the world and sin not enter into you huh you mean the blood of Jesus Christ isn't as as powerful that sin can come out every side and yet while you're obedient to God you can live in perfect victory over sin and the Holy Spirit plus the blood of Jesus Christ two agencies and then a third agency a threefold code is not easily broken three agencies to keep you in victory one the blood two the Holy Spirit three the word of God and if you want a fourth one to wrap it up prayer isn't that something you see there isn't another religion in the world that offers victory that first of all offers true forgiveness that secondly offers cleansing and thirdly offers victory there isn't one so again I say Christianity is not a comparative religion it's a superlative religion there isn't a religion that comes anywhere near to it whether you say brother Avonlea you know I've been out once or twice in meetings I've been to this meeting I went to a holiness meeting went to a penny and I just don't feel right now that the Holy Ghost really is resident I get blessed and help but I would like to say I'm filled with the Holy Spirit let me give you a simple illustration and quit let's go back to Noah's ark he had one and everything has to enter by the one door all right after the flood Noah opened the window and he let out a bird didn't he what kind of a bird a raven boy I wish it hadn't have been but anyhow it was but it was a raven and he let it out and it stayed out why because a raven is a carnivorous bird it won't eat your crops won't eat bread all it does is eat flesh man alive when that bird got out of that window he thought it was the millennium everywhere he went there were carcasses bodies animals floating whoa I got it made I'm the only one out here it's gonna take me forever and ever to eat all these carcasses and he swooped down and had a good meal there and he flew off for a while not a good meal here and he found something a little more dainty over there and went over there he ate everywhere and everything that was bloody and dead and then a day or two after Noah opened the window and he let a dove out of the window and the dove went out and he got a bit tired and he said I'd better settle down oh no I'm not settling I'm not putting my feet that's a corpse but there's a big rock I'll go oh that's the body of an elephant I'll fly over there death now a raven will only eat flesh and blood and a dove will not eat flesh and blood it will die before it will eat flesh and blood it will only eat grain and pure things the raven stayed out he never came back the dove went round till he got tired and he says I can't settle on anything here this is all death and corruption and if I if I don't get back I'm gonna be in trouble and so what did he do he flapped back to the window and Noah said you're back and he said he flapped and Noah said come in why because there was nowhere for him to settle except corruption the holy spirit comes and he says well I'd like to settle in that hut no I'm sorry I can't no corruption there pride this heart jealousy this one anger this one lust this one uncleanness this one covetousness you know sometimes we call it success God calls it covetousness well I'm not much wrong with me I'm pretty stubborn not the bible says about stubbornness there's what as the sin of witchcraft hmm what's the other thing it says in that same verse stubbornness is as the sin of witchcraft doesn't it pardon idolatry which is the sin of witchcraft isn't that it and stubbornness which is I've forgotten it myself but look it up it's a terrible comparison now we excuse it but God doesn't so the dove is going to settle and and he says no I came to this meeting down here at christian center tonight and I was trying to get through to that man and he's excusing his carnality and this woman's saying well you know I after all this is a false kind of standard and and the dear holy spirit just says well I'm sorry I wanted to settle in your heart tonight but if you're going to keep an unclean thing there I'm not staying where there's uncleanness I'm going back to heaven the last thing one minute a friend of mine living in Manchester I was visiting him and in those big old houses there the chimneys you know the houses are in rows and they have chimney pots and between the houses they often build a row of little houses where they keep pigeons and doves and birds this man had some doves and a friend came along and he said you still got your doves he said not only got them I've got one of the most beautiful ones I've ever had I've trained it you want to see it yeah well watch that's a handful of grain he says you see this grain now watch I'm going to bring that bird down and you just watch so he whistles and the dove came down swooped on his wrist and was going to peck in his hand and he closed it quickly and the dove cooed you know and he went back on the roof oh the man said he shouldn't have done that well it doesn't matter what I'll do it again so then the dove came and he opened his hand and just as the dove was going to peck he had it quickly and again the dove went back on the roof oh he said you know that's not right to tease a lovely dove like that why don't you leave it alone it doesn't make any difference done it before you just watch the dove came gonna peck closed his hand and the dove for the third time went on the roof no it didn't this is a true story it went over the roof and you know he's never seen that dove from that day to this why because the dove can be offended more easily than any other bird what does the bible say you should do with the holy spirit grieve not the holy spirit of god you can grieve him you can resist him you can quench him or you can obey him well I didn't get an experience where I could say god is indwelling me by his holy spirit and therefore because as I said the other night when Saul had an evil spirit he did evil things when a man had an unclean spirit he did unclean things when a man has a holy spirit he does holy things well if not will you go home and do a bit of heart searching again see I'm not married to all to cause I think some of the dealings we have with god should be in private they're so holy you'd have to rush somebody's waiting for me you go through a form say lord I'm very sorry about this no go home and let the lord search if it takes an hour two hours three hours four hours you don't but you know once it really happens and you get all this dross cleansed and the holy ghost really comes to abide my old friend Tom Herbert traveled with me for many years went to the Keswick conference in England when F.B. Meyer was there and Dr. Meyer would give his marvelous bible readings and then he would say in his sweet way my dear friends will you go home tonight and don't talk go to your bedroom ponder what I've said to you ask god to search your heart ask him to cleanse you ask him to fill you with his holy spirit if it takes an hour or two hours or go up the hills it's a lovely night get up behind a big rock and Tom Hare because he wanted to pray didn't stay in the hotels at night often he said Len I used to go up on the mountain side to pray on the hillside and I'd look back at one o'clock in the morning and all over town you'd see and hotels and bedrooms and boarding houses the lights were on I knew what people were doing two things searching their hearts and searching the bible when it came to Saturday night they used to have a testimony meeting now other fellows had altar calls and crowds came and so forth but Tom Hare said I noticed this on a Saturday night in the testimony meeting more people testified to getting deliverance through Dr. Meyer who never touched them let them go to bed to the bedroom or on the hill more people got delivered that way than all the show and all the other stuff that came up at the front now I'm not trying to devalue anybody's experience or dechristianize them but you know we're coming into some very troubled times and if you don't really have what you talk about brother you're going to be in real trouble and god is wanting to prepare a people a reviving before the revival preparing some mothers in Israel some fathers in Israel so that when the flood tide does come in we won't be caught like old mother Hubbard with a cupboard bear we'll be stocked up we'll be ready we'll be able to handle there aren't many people that plan and get a baby and don't buy anything for it until the day after it's born they usually prepare a room and a crib and some clothes and all the rest boy they're excited about it coming I'm getting a bit excited because our evangelism is bankrupt we've had 20 years of mass evangelism and the country is no nearer God in fact it's further away not because of it in spite of it but you know this book never fails he a sovereign God jealous for the glory of his son he's going to pour out in spirit on all flesh your sons and your daughters prophesy young men see vision old men dream dreams and on my servants and handmaids not necessarily on my bishops and preachers on my it's going to be that's just what Jesus did when he started he didn't go to the pharisees he didn't go to the Sanhedrin he didn't go to the bible school in Jerusalem went to some fellows with stunk of fish another fellow cheating there filling income tax out but he got them and saved them and trained them he's going to do the same again I hope you'll be numbered with them there we pray we thank you tonight our father for this meeting with thee we know lord that you'll get out of this meeting what you want for the glory of your son to the praise of his name keep your good hand upon us as we go from this house may we do justly and love mercy and walk humbly with our god we ask in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit amen