In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of Jesus being the central focus in our meetings and gatherings. He encourages believers to come to meetings not for performance or entertainment, but to truly encounter and serve Jesus. The speaker also addresses the question of how to conduct meetings in a way that honors Christ, stating that there is no specific recipe or pattern, but rather windows in scripture that reveal what the church should be like. He emphasizes the need for the power of the Holy Spirit, brokenness, and reliance on God rather than relying on our own efforts.

Discover the sins of his people, not to gloat over it, but in humility to ask God to cleanse his house that God might have this holy temple he's looking for. Jesus was that expression of God in the earth that reproved the world of his darkness, of his sin, of his disobedience. One man, God wanted a race of people like him. I don't know how many thousands, millions, hundreds, I don't know, but God wanted a race of people like him. And so God's decree was that he would not leave that man in the earth as one man, but he would ascend into the heavens and become a high priest on the throne of glory who would intercede before the Father for his many other brethren in the earth upon whom he would place the same spirit that he had and walked in. That he might duplicate all over the earth the life that was in the sun, that same life that was in the sun. And yet, decreeing that they would only have this in union with him, lest God would have a thousand or a million lesser gods in the earth. Oh no, we only come to this in abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ and we partake of all that he is. If so be we suffer with him, then shall we also reign with him. You don't know if you're going to reign on the throne of glory with him or not. You can sing it, it sounds nice. Paul says if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him. Of course this was totally contrary to the thought of the disciples as well as the Jewish nation. But it devastated the disciples when Jesus told them he was going away. Little by little he would show them that his plan, the Father's plan, was better than their idea. What good would it do after all? If he drove Pilate and Herod out of Galilee and Jerusalem and took their thrones. Maybe put some of his disciples on lesser thrones. If the Nero, whoever it was of that day, the Caesar that was reigning in that day was still on the throne of Rome. What good would that do? Or what good would it do if he was able to go to Rome and dethrone the Caesar and take his place? Then he'd have dominion over the whole empire. But what good would that do if there are still principalities and powers in heavenly places? So can't we see that God's plan was much better? To elevate him far above all principality and power and might and dominion in every name that is named. Not only in this world but in that which is to come. Making him the king of all kings and lord of all lords. And rule and reign from that throne. That's where he is. But the dispensationalists, they so twist the scriptures that the throne is supposed to be in earthly Jerusalem. Israel is supposed to be the holy kingdom and all this. That this matter of Jesus reigning on the throne of glory as king of all kings and lord of all lords is not part of the theology. But when he comes back he'll be that king. Let me tell you. Oh there's many scriptures in the New Testament that confirm it. That when Jesus ascended into the heaven. God placed him on the highest realm of power and authority there is in this universe. In this life or in the life to come. In this generation or in this era or in the eras to come. There's no higher throne ever will be any higher throne than the one Jesus has. He's not coming back to reign. He went away to reign. He's been reigning these 2000 years. You say there's so much trouble. God says do it that way. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Why don't we subdue all enemies under his feet? Because God said you will do my will on the throne as faithfully as you have done it in the earth. And it was not God's plan to subdue all enemies under his feet. The first year, the second, the third or the thirtieth or the first thousand years. God says rule in the midst of your enemies. But I promised you the time will come when all evil will be placed under your feet. So we're encouraged to believe perhaps we're coming close to that hour. I believe we are. The spirit of God is in his people. The same spirit that was in Jesus. To carry on the work that Jesus started. To do the same things that he did. Jesus said to be greater but don't get proud about that. It's only because he's gone to a greater throne. It's not because we're greater. And Jesus said it's good for you that I go away. It's expedient for you that I go away. It's better for you that I go away. They couldn't conceive of that. Couldn't be better Lord. Here you are. You can go and take the kingdom. God said it's better for you to come to the highest throne in the universe. But what about my people? I will send forth the same spirit that's in you upon my people. So that not only you but tens of thousands, tens of millions of my people all over the earth will have the same spirit that's in you. We say that makes for division. Because I've got the spirit. You've got the spirit. You've got the spirit. So we all let of the spirit and so we do different things. We don't walk in harmony unless there's one that's in control. Let me tell you the Lord Jesus on the throne of glory is that one. And those who are going to move with him in this corporate body in the earth are going to be a people who are so one with him that as members of your body, of a healthy body, every member, every organ functions according to the intricate workings of God in that mind, that brain that God has given you. Jesus has the mind of Christ. We only have the mind of Christ as we come into union with the head. And we have his mind. Oh, we're so far short of appropriating the fullness of it. I say it again and again. But if this is God's intention, it will happen. It will be fulfilled. And it doesn't have to take a long time. Though it's taken us two thousand years to come as far as we have and we're inclined to think it'll take another thousand or so. I don't know. But God can do it very quickly. He will do it very quickly. For God declared in Psalm 110, the kingly psalm, the psalm that's quoted several times in the New Testament as pertaining to the kingdom of Christ here and now. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand till all enemies are subdued under your feet. Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Thou shalt send forth the rod of thy strength in the day of my power. My people shall be willing in the day of my power. Are you willing? Well, we hope we've got some willingness there. God says in the day of my power, I'm going to have a people that are willing to go my way. So, I don't get bothered about that. I don't get troubled about that. God the Almighty says in the day of my power, I'm going to have a willing people. But let me make it clear. He's bringing about this willingness in His people by a living word from His heart. I'm not here just to give you another teaching of sonship or something. The time is here when God wants a willing people. And I'm praying, have been for the last year or so. God, I don't want to go out ministering until there's an impartation of what we've been talking about. Because the New Covenant is not all these doctrines. That's the letter of it. And we rejoice in the doctrines and we have to have them. Just as you have to have the blueprints before you build a building. Those blueprints aren't the building. It shows you what the building's to be like. This is not the building. This is not the ultimate. This tells us what God's going to have in the earth. When God, the architect and builder, reveals it to us, we'll discover that these blueprints portray a people in the earth in union with the sun and the image of God transcendent with beauty and glory. A holy bride coming down from God out of heaven adorned as a bride for her husband. The city of God that has foundations whose builder and maker is God. The hope of all ages. The hope of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He saw it in faith. We're told that's why he dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the same promise because he caught sight of a better city than Hebron. That's the city. Come to the city where the Lamb is the light. There's no other temple in that city for the Lord God Almighty is the temple of it and the Lamb is the temple of that city. Where do we come in only if we're in union with the Lamb? Only if we're joined unto Him. As truly as your fingers join to your hand, your hand to your arm, your arm to the rest of your body. So God is having a body that will live in the simplicity of a body of life controlled by the mind of Christ. Let's not lose that vision. That's the only reason He gives us these doctrines so that we'll realize where we are, where God wants to bring us and show us the way to get there through much repentance and heart searching. Not just by ourselves, but by God the Holy Spirit penetrating our hearts so deeply that even the soul and spirit is divided. We don't get discouraged or troubled when we see soulish things and spirit things because there hasn't been that sword sharp enough to cut us under. But He's raising up a people who so learn the discipline of the Holy Spirit that when they speak, it'll be a sharp sword out of their mouth that will cut asunder the soul from the spirit, the joints from the marrow and discern the thoughts and intents of your heart. Oh, are you saying we should have discernment? We need more discernment to know what's right, what's wrong. I know it bothers me. God wants to give us more, but He wants that discernment to spring forth as a quality of fruit out of love. For He said to the Philippians, when I found that, when I start praying for more discernment, God reminds me of that, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that you might approve the things that are excellent, that you might bring forth fruit for His glory, that your love might abound unto the place where you know what God loves and you know what He hates in knowledge and in all discernment. Well, for this time, I think we'll leave it at that. Before you get up and go anywhere, I want to say a few things. Heavenly Father, I just pray that You will... We thank You for gathering Your people together, Lord, in this hour. We believe it's because You want to speak to their hearts. You said, Lord, that You would bring them into the wilderness and speak to their hearts. Because when we come into wilderness ways and the springs dry up and the foliage turns brown and there's no fruit or no water, we're able to hear more clearly what You're saying. And over and over again You say to the churches, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says. To the churches, because we're still dull at hearing, because we're doing pretty well, because we've got great ministries and great gifts and wonderful blessings from Your hand, and so we're blinded by the blessings instead of being humbled by them as You intended when You gave them. We pray, Lord, Your Spirit will continue to hover over us and leave us not to our own selves, that even in the time that's left in this two days and three days of gathering, Lord, that You will penetrate the hearts of Your people, divide soul and spirit asunder till we see as You want us to see. And be willing to let the old go for the new, not to fear about the dissolution of the old wineskins, but to know that You want to give us a new heart, a new mind, put a new spirit within us by Your creative power. Let us not think it's some hard thing because we think in thinking about it, we think we have to do it, but cause us to know, rather, it's the beautiful work of the Spirit of God within us who by His precious Spirit forms the mind of Christ within us as we're prepared to forsake the old. And gather together this evening again, we pray, be our will to hear words from Your heart. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Just reflect upon these things before we rise up. Ask the Lord, dear Lord, to penetrate our hearts with these things. Let it not be another good teaching, but may it be as the songwriter said, begin a revolution within us. That in the end of the revolution we'll find the old torn to pieces and the new wine skin of the Spirit coming forth. That Jesus might be glorified in all things in His name highly exalted, not only in the church, but amongst the heathen who are now blaspheming Your holy name because they look at the church and say, if that's God, I don't want it. Hasten the day, Lord, when they'll say the Lord is doing great things in the midst of those people. God's holy name might be magnified in the earth. Heaven's more than a dream. And I trust that that is our desire to reach heaven. But there's something more than heaven. There's hell too. And we need to let that sink in our hearts that there's a hell and heaven. But Jesus died for us. And we all know, I'm sure everybody here knows the plan of salvation, but there's something more than that. And I really appreciate how Brother George brought that out this morning. There's something more than being saved. And what is that? It is more than just having the manifestations of the Spirit. It is to worship God. He wanted fellowship. He formed us. He created us in His own image. But I believe that the Lord wants in this last day, there's one thing that He wants to see more than anything else, and I believe that is to see a people filled with such a burning desire and such a love for Him, a love that lays its life down for the brother, that esteems the brother, the brother that we work every day with, to esteem Him above our own self. And that is a real test. Our group there in Libby, we experienced many things in the last couple of years. The Lord was so gracious to us. But the Lord is wanting to bring forth a people very shortly that is filled with His Spirit. And we are filled with His Spirit. A lot of us are. I have a small measure. And there's a lot here that have been walking in the Spirit for years. I just stand here trembling in front of you because I love you and I need you. I need every one of you brothers and sisters. I really do. We need you. As Amish brothers, we need you. We came out of some very religious settings, but we don't want to lose what we gained. We don't want to throw out the good with the bad. The Holy Spirit needs to come into our lives to convict us of sin. Whenever a revival breaks forth, a resurrection takes place, it always comes from repentance first. So that is my plea that we would just seek the Lord in repentance and come before Him in humbleness. It's bringing us together. We have fallen so far. We have fallen very far. And we need to realize that. Lord, I need power. I need Your Spirit. Not just the power, but I'm talking about power to lead a holy life. A holy life that is pleasing in the sight of the Lord. The hidden things are revealed, exposed. The hidden evil intentions of my heart, because they are very evil. I am a very evil person, but the Lord is so gracious to me. So we need to let the Lord deal with that. But I know we can talk to people. I don't think the Bible says that most of them are going to hell, which is a very sad thing. So there might be people that we meet that aren't going to turn their heart to the Lord. But I just want to share what the Lord put on my heart about this. The power we still need, the Spirit we need, the brokenness we need, because the Lord, He doesn't move through doing a lot of things. He moves through brokenness. But that's all I have. God bless you. We love you. And we need your prayers. Pray for us. We'll do likewise for you. I need to speak a word. What I have seen tonight is one of the greatest miracles that I have witnessed in my whole lifetime. These are my people. This is my history. This is my background. This is my heritage. I have sat in meetings in a large barn where the meeting went on and on in a religious way. I looked around at the young people. And I had to weep because they had no interest. But they were bound and they were trapped. I said, Oh Spirit of God, when are you going to visit these people? They would have a forum, but they don't have you. Anyway, my dad had a visitation like this. And they put him in the mental hospital and they gave him shock treatments. He suffered his whole life because of it. But God is faithful. And he hears the prayers of those who pray for their own people. I don't know if this isn't right, but I just feel I'd like to leave a little word with my Amish brothers and sisters, if I may. I just know the pressure, the confusion, the condemnation all around. It's a whole culture. It's super enclosed. The way we think, what we do, our sense of worth, who we are, is totally part of it. Anyway, I know one of the things that you're considering is how do we go on as far as meeting? What do we do in our meeting? We don't want to do the old way, but we don't want to throw it all away. Like the brother said, what's the good and what's the bad? From my experience, I have to say there's no recipe and no pattern. Only Christ himself is the recipe and the pattern. People always get in trouble when they think they've finally found the way to have the church. And then they go after that, and they lose Christ. But one day it came to me, there isn't a pattern, but there are windows. It's like a big building, and every once in a while, a scripture passage is a window to look into what the church should be like. It's not all of it, but it gives us a ceiling whether or not we've got it. And one of the windows I'd like to share with you is in John chapter 12. This is a wonderful story. In John chapter 12, here is a window. And it starts out, and Jesus, six days after the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany where Lazarus lived whom Jesus had raised from the dead. And here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor, Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Dear ones, when you come to a meeting, the first, the central, the focal person must be Jesus. That's why we come in the first place. We need to stop coming to a meeting for anything else. We need to stop coming for a performance. We need to stop coming there to sing. We need to stop coming there to preach. We need to come there to be with Jesus. And Jesus, first and foremost, who else is there? Lazarus. Who is Lazarus? He that was dead and was made alive. Once you have people who were dead and were made alive and Jesus is there, you've got the church. That's it. Isn't that amazing, wonderful? We once were dead and now we're made alive. Well, of course, there's some things go on. And the main thing that goes on is a dinner. A feast. An enjoyment. A bringing together of what the Lord has given us that we serve Him as He serves us. And we have a feast of celebration. Bringing in that which the Lord has given us in our daily life and experience. And if we're so filled with the Lord in our walk and in our coming to the Word, the meeting will overflow. I don't know if we'll need a preacher or not, but we just all will have something to offer the Lord. Don't come just to receive. Come to bring something. And, of course, it tells us that Martha was there and she served. I guess there needs to be some arrangements made, although that's the lesser part. But listen to this. Then Mary took a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume, and she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped His feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of perfume when we pour out our love to Jesus. This morning or afternoon or whenever it was, when the sister came up here and professed her love to Jesus, this room was filled with sweet perfume. To me, that was worth more than a two-hour sermon. Pour out our love to Jesus, and it fills the place with fragrance. But something else happens. One of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, was there, and he said, What's going on here? What a waste. That could have done a lot of good. But he said this because he had the purse. But you know what? His motives got exposed. If we gather together, and Jesus is the center, and people are there who were made alive, and the love for Christ is poured out, the Judas in all of us will get exposed. And anyone else who doesn't know this Jesus, something will be exposed. But Jesus took charge. Notice, not one of the disciples. Jesus took charge, and he said, Leave her alone. Well, I don't want to take too much time, but finish looking at this passage, and you'll see that people began to come to see Lazarus who had been made alive. People are going to come to your meeting to see what on earth is going on here. How come these people I've made have been made alive? But if you read a few verses down later, it says, even though they came to see Lazarus, it says many of them, of the Jews, were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him. I think when they came in and said, Where's Lazarus? Where's Lazarus? What's going on here? And they looked to find Lazarus. You know what they saw Lazarus, and you know what he was doing? He was pointing over to Jesus. Don't look here. Look to Jesus. Folks, don't look at us. It's Jesus. It's Jesus. Even though they came just to see what was going on, they ended up believing in Jesus. Anyway, may we all have such gatherings when Jesus is the center, the focus. The love is poured out. Anything against God is exposed. And even though people come just to find out what the world's going on, they end up meeting Jesus. And they end up believing in Him. We trust that the Lord would grant us this experience more and more as we gather in His wonderful name. God is miraculous. Loped in here. And I think as a native people often we have so many friends amongst them. I don't know if there's any of them here. But how God is raising up powerful native ministers and seeing these truths and cherishing them and pressing on toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, which is nothing more than... Well, Paul said, he declared it, that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His death if by any means one might attain unto the resurrection out from among the dead. The focus is Jesus. The focus is the Lamb on the throne. All through the book of Revelation, the focus is the Lamb on the throne. All through the book. People say, oh, what about the Lion of the tribe of Judah? Nobody saw a lion. The angel said, weep not, John. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed, and He will open the book and loose the seals thereof. And John looked, and it was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. King of all kings and Lord of all lords. And what God is emphasizing all through the book, 28 times He's seen as the Lamb reigning on the throne reminding you and I, especially those who are power-minded, that the power is in the Lamb. The power is in the cross. The power is in the blood. It's in the death of Jesus. What's that song about? Blessed be the fountain of blood for a world of lost sinners. Blessed be the dear Son of God. We felt to bring out some of these old hymns, and I noticed this morning so few people know them. The last two or three generations. I suspect the enemy wanted to be clouded the issue of the blood of Christ and the cross because he knows he was defeated on the cross. Oh, dear Lord, I just pray for Your people, Lord. Gather here tonight. I pray, Lord, for some who might have been hurt, Lord, because of what happened. Lord Jesus, as I said this morning, they might receive it as the precious ointment on their head which will not hurt them. Whether I was right or wrong, Lord, it won't hurt them if they receive it as the precious ointment. God, You know my love for You and for Your house. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that one thing will I seek after that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, to inquire in His temple. Purge us, O Lord, purge our desires from all evil desire. Purge our beings, Lord, from all selfish interests and agendas. Purge us, Lord, with hyssop, and we shall be clean. Wash us, and we shall be whiter than snow. You said I desire truth in the inward parts. In the hidden man will I discover wisdom. Dear Lord Jesus, I know Your people have come here from many hundreds of miles, some of them. And I don't think it was to have just a convention going over all the different doctrines. I believe it was to discover You in a new dimension. And I pray again, Lord, that they will not go home disappointed, but that they will go home having seen Christ in a greater dimension of His love and truth and grace and mercy. That Christ shall have been magnified in their hearts and lives. That You will have wrought within them a new work of cleansing and purifying. Because this is the day, we believe, when You are purifying unto Yourself a holy people, a glorious church. That You might present it unto Yourself holy and without blemish, You said, by the washing of water by the Word. We pray that Word, O God, that living Word, that Word from Your heart will continue to wash and cleanse Your people from all defilement of flesh and spirit. We think, Lord, of Joshua the high priest standing there in vision. Zechariah saw him clothed with his dirty garments and in vision he heard the accuser saying, burn him, destroy him, he's fit for burning. But God stepped forth and said, is not this a bran plucked out of the fire? Take away the filthy garments from him and clothe him with change of raiment. God, we desire that there be such a quickening Word going forth even this today and tomorrow, Lord. That somehow there be that Word coming from the courts of heaven saying, take away the filthy garments of My people and clothe them with change of raiment. Put a fair mitre upon their head that they might be priests unto God in My house. That God's house might be glorified and sanctified and made pure and holy. That God the Lord of glory might come and dwell in it with all His fullness. We believe this is Your intention to so cleanse and purge Your house that You might find a habitation fit for Yourself where You would feel comfortable and at home. Therefore, the prophet said, for Zion's sake I will not hold my peace and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest. God, You said You would not rest until the righteousness of Zion went forth as brightness and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. We thank You, Lord, that You're not going to rest until this happens with Your people who are longing for that rest. You are longing for that rest. And so, You're finding a habitation in them even now because Your heart is compatible with them. And so, You declare You set watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem who will cry unto thee day and night saying, give him no rest till he establish until he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Thank You, Lord, that You've put the burden of Your heart on ours. We thank You that in some small measure, Lord, we've found something compatible with You. You're longing for a holy people. You're longing for a righteous people. You're longing for a people in whom will radiate the light of God that the nations might see that light. Lord, we thank You for showing us Your heart and Your desire that we might pursue that desire. And we pray You will give us grace, much grace to pursue the desire not of our hearts, but of Yours. But then, the desire of Your heart, let it be ours. Let there be no distinction, but let Your will, Lord, be our will. Your desire, our desire. Your work, our work. Your words, our words. Your life, our life. For only then is the world going to see Jesus revealed. Hasten that day, Lord. We feel the stirrings of it in the winds of God. We feel that stirring, Lord, that You're saying the time has come when God is arising in His church and therefore He says to His people, Arise and shine for Thy light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen upon Thee. Even as darkness covers the earth and grows darkness to people, the light is arising upon His people and His glory is beginning to shine upon them. God, we pray that You will be very present in the remainder of this service, Lord, tonight and tomorrow in such a very real and vivid way that there will be an impartation from Your heart that the Spirit of truth will be given full authority in our midst that He might take from You and impart it unto us. For therefore, You left Him in our hearts and lives that He might reach out to Your heart and reveal the living Christ and all His glorious virtues, excellencies, that Your people might be appraised in the earth. We ask it in Your name, Lord Jesus. Let all the people say, Amen. Lord, You remind me that we've just uttered Your name. You said, I am the Amen. Your people have said, Amen. They agree with You, Lord. For Thou art the Amen. And, O God, as we have said, So, Lord, let it be. So, You're the Amen who says it's going to be. For that's my name, it shall be, even as I have said.