In this sermon, the preacher starts by sharing a personal anecdote about doodling an eagle and giving it away to someone who admired it. He then discusses the importance of being examples of God's workmanship and adorning the Gospel in our lives. The preacher emphasizes the need for power not just for success in ministry, but also for being holy parents and handling everyday challenges. He mentions a famous sermon by Robert G. Lee on receiving power from the Holy Ghost and shares a story about a young man inviting Lee to speak to his Saturday night group. Throughout the sermon, the preacher encourages listeners to reflect on their lives and strive to be positive examples of virtue and praise.

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