In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of trusting in God and seeking His guidance rather than relying on human understanding. They encourage the audience to rest in the Lord and be faithful to His word, even when it goes against popular opinion. The speaker also discusses the role of the church in the Christian life and the need to be a true witness of God's truth. They reference Isaiah 43 as a passage that highlights the importance of being a witness for God and trusting in His redemption.

Oh Lord, you have been so good to us, so good to us, Lord. And we thank you, Lord. We thank you, we thank you. Our Lord, as we come unto you tonight, Lord, we remember the loved ones represented here. We pray you will bless each family, bring their friends and relatives into your kingdom. We pray, Lord, you will be with each family, be with each one of us, Lord, tonight. And we pray, Lord, that the course we pursue in your word will be that which God has ordained. So help us, Lord, that we may prepare all of us for the things that are coming, Lord, and those entabling us. We ask in Jesus' name, and everyone said, Amen. Alright, well, has there been any question on, we went over Revelation 7 through 13 in the last two weeks. Any question on anything of that that we covered? The church in Sardis and the church in Philadelphia? The pillar in the temple? The synagogue of Satan? Anything of that that's not clear? Okay, in this case we'll go on then. For those in Tape Land, we're in Revelation chapter 3, starting with verse 14. To the angel of the church in Laodicea, the word means literally the voice of the people, and I think we're in the church of Philadelphia now, by and large, but Laodicea is certainly an evidence, the rights of people, the voice of people, the people's republic, the people this and the people that. That's Laodicea. To the angel, we said, we mentioned why he speaks to the angel, and Taylor translates that, pastor, that's an indefensible translation. Christ writes to the messenger of the church, the angel of the church. Why is that? God speaks to the spirit of man, and the angels represent the spiritual realm. Well, each church has an angel, and it's the sum total of the personalities there, and the Lord doesn't waste time arguing with theologians. He speaks right to the spirit. He's right to the point. You're talking about a very real angel and a very, very, I mean, you mean exactly what you're saying when you're saying that the Lord speaks to the angel as opposed, you're not speaking about a principal, you're talking about a director of faith. I am talking about an angel. I believe that's true. You remember in Daniel, he says the prince of Persia and all these angels were battling in the spirit realm. Every person has an angel. Remember when Peter was released from prison, they were gathered there, and they said, it's not Peter, it's his angel. So evidently in that day, they were more acquainted with the ministry of angels and things. Each person has an angel, each church has an angel, and it's the spirit of that thing. There's a spirit that goes with evangelicalism, a spirit of assurance. Do you ever notice that? And it makes the people kind of childish at times. I think the Lord spoke to the spirit of the evangelical churches today. As I understand it, these spirits kind of go up in hierarchies. There's a spirit over each person, and they're active in the assembly, and there's a spirit over the assembly, which is over all these, and then there's a spirit over a locality, and all this kind of stuff. I don't want to get too technical about it, but he could say to the elders. I'm not sure they had pastors in those days as we know them now, because they met in homes and not in church buildings. Stan? It could easily be construed that it only meant for that time, whereas the angel represents something that is an eternal thing. It transcends the immediate and comes down to the future. I think you're right there. I think you're right there. But it's interesting that Christ addresses the angel of the church. He could have said to the congregation. He could have said to the assembly of the saints. Or to the saints. That would be logical. To the elect in Laodicea. To the saints in Laodicea. Instead he writes to the angel. Literally messenger in the Greek, anglos, almost always translated angel. There's spirit angels and there's people angels. So this is probably referring to the spirit of that church. Okay. The Amen. What does that mean to you? Why does Christ call himself... Now remember, however he appears to a church, has to do with that church. Now if that church is in the days of democracy, libertarian democracy, that is the voice of the people, why would Christ appear as the Amen? Wouldn't that have to do with democracy or libertarianism? Freedom of the people to express their opinions as Stan once told us. Yes. That's right. And Stan brought out one time, I never forgot it, that everybody has an opinion. You know, the TV, the news, they're always inviting opinions. You know opinions aren't worth a plug nickel? Opinions don't mean anything. And Stan brought that out very well. What matters is what God says. And Christ says Amen to that. He's not interested in our opinion of it. Yeah. That's good. Now Christ is called faithful, and when he returns, faithfulness is engraved on him. How does faithful differ from faith? What is the difference between faith and faithfulness? The faithful are the people who have believed and followed and have been victorious. And faith is your belief, your actual belief, a person's belief system. That's true. Yet faithfulness, faithful, when you think of that, why does that conjure up in your mind? Miriam? Faith can be a gift that's given to us. Yeah. Where faithfulness is something we choose to do. That's right. In the Gifts of the Spirit in Galatians 5, where it says faith, it's not a proper translation. The actual translation is faithfulness. One of the fruit of the Spirit. The gift is faith. The fruit is faithfulness. And that's something Christ wants to create in us so that we are dependable. Once we give our word, that's it. We're not treacherous. Our age is an age of treachery. When you get into the voice of the people, you get into a lot of politicking and treachery, double talk and that. So the Lord talks to the Laodicean church about faithfulness. And true, and that came out in Philadelphia also, true, he said it's true because our age is an age of propaganda and lies and spin and we've been in that. And now when it says he's a witness, and by the way, the beginning of the creation of God, we're not going to get into that tonight, but I wrote a book on that. It's rather profound if I say so myself. It's called Two Beginnings. I'm more deeper off the peer books. It goes back to the very beginning. But let's look at the word witness. We use that a lot in Christianity. Can you see it all right, Miriam? Can you see it for me, Miriam? I have a faithful and true witness up there and I put it in italics just to make it stand out. Okay. We use that word a great deal. You know, we're witnesses for Christ, go out and witness for Christ and so on. What does the word mean? What does Jesus mean by that, I am the true witness? What does that mean, Paul? That he is the true example and how he lived and what he said and what he did and how he acted was a witness. He's a witness of God. He's telling the truth about God. How does being a witness differ from what we mean when we say, have you borne, did you bear witness? Or I went out and witnessed to somebody. There you go. How does it differ from our expression going out and witnessing to somebody? Well, you could tell somebody about Jesus and not be a witness because you are not far enough along the line of being faithful and true and you're not God's likeness. But you could tell somebody about Jesus and be a good person. He bears within himself the testimony of what it is that they are witnessing. Does the Book of Acts talk about bearing witness for Jesus? We use that term a great deal. Right. But what does it mean? When we say I went out and witnessed to somebody what is it often? And there's nothing wrong with that. If I call and share the building of the church there's nothing wrong with that. But what, Mark? It's really evangelism, isn't it? It's really preaching. You're really preaching more than bearing witness. Now you may tell somebody about something that happened to you and that would be a witness. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you. 1 John 1. That which they had seen and heard they declared. And by law, that's a witness. Jenna? Speaking of law, it's got to be a witness in the courtroom and somebody who has seen and can testify and say this is what happened. I saw it happen to my own two eyes. And that's why Christ is called a true witness. He knows the Father. He can testify. And when you bear, when you bear true witness it's like you're saying, you share something. God healed me. I know He healed me. The medical doctor said it was hopeless. This happened and that happened. Why is the word, the adjective faithful, the adjective faithful and true there? Well, you wouldn't know because most of you are not in ministry. But do you know what the pressure on... Yes? Well, I thought you were asking that question. I am, but I'm asking in a certain framework. Do you know what pressure there is on a preacher? What is the pressure on a preacher? Huh? Compromise. Yeah, you look at other people and you know what they're going to take and you know what they're not going to take. And, you know, a big church in America is a sign of success. It's tied into income and a lot of things. If you haven't been there you can only guess what that is like. And God tells you to do a certain thing and the issue then is one of faithfulness and truth. And I wonder sometimes I think people... In fact, I think it was Earl told me about someone in a school where he went I believe it was Earl that said that they believed the things that Earl and Paul were bringing up in a class but he said I don't dare preach that. I believe that but I don't dare preach that. And you see if Christ had been not as faithful as he was and not as true as he was he could have saved his hide with the power that he had and accepted becoming king. I mean he told people things to their face that were not calculated to sell the gospel or win friends. You're a generation of vipers. That's a true witness. Now how many preachers in America do you think are true witnesses? Because we don't know. Probably a scads of them. But it's a real issue in the ministry. So let's get separate in our mind now as I say not that there's anything wrong with the terminology but to be more accurate let's use the term witness in the sense of bearing a true record of what God is like what his will is what his attitude is. See if you say to people oh God loves you if you say he's saying to a congregation oh God loves you and preachers do this. I told you before about the preacher in New York where we were he wouldn't even let the kids testify that they had been to the Youth in Christ meeting and accepted Christ because he was afraid it would offend the newcomers. And there's an awful lot of this that goes on in churches. The pastor is not being a true and faithful witness he is spinning he is saying what will keep people in. And this was a dear pastor he was a lovable fellow and as gentle and kind of person as you'd ever want to meet he was a retired school teacher he used to come to our house but his theory was you can't help people if they're not there. This is the rationale and it's a common rationale. You can't minister to people if they're not present. So if you say things that are going to offend them and they're not there then you can't minister to them at all. That was his rationale. Here was a man who had waited until he was retired so that he could go in a small church and not be a burden to it have his own income and be a man of that kind of integrity and desire to help people. But he... Audrey and I went there for a while the cutest little typical New England church set up on a hill and with the snow all around this white church at the steeple it was really picturesque. And it was... He had a pretty good congregation and I was active with young people and helped with the music and things like that. But after a while there were people in the church that we got to know and we would talk about the Lord and come to find out there was a tremendous hunger in that church for the Lord. We did nothing to undercut or sabotage in any way. We did take the kids to the Youth for Christ thinking that he would be elated. He was a firm Bible believer but he wouldn't let them and we went a Saturday night Sunday morning he wouldn't let them testify in church because he had his youth it would offend the new ones because we can't minister to them if they're not here. It's redefining what it means to minister. It has to do with what ministering is doesn't it? Exactly. Was he bearing a true witness of God? No. What do you think happened to that church? Huh? It died. It died. We eventually left and went to the church where Mary Louise's dad was pastor Mary Louise that came and ministered to us, Mary Louise Edlund and that was much more to our liking we were more familiar her dad had a tremendous gift of healing. So we left on good terms with everyone but we came to know a family there quite well and we used to talk to the lady on the phone we never run down the church that was just social purely social and we finally heard from her that the church was divided the group that wanted God just pulled out so the guy was left with people that couldn't stand anything so that's doesn't that remind you of the parable of the unjust steward? He was not faithful so he ran around saying you don't know that much God isn't making that much of a demand on you take your bill and write down I'm okay and make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness with worldly people so that when you die you'll have friends in the other worlds that's what that's talking about otherwise you don't have anybody you don't have anybody that was the unfaithful steward and when we don't minister the things of God faithfully and tell the people how much they owe then Jesus said you better make friends with them so that they'll receive you in the everlasting tents I believe Rothman translates that it's ironic that the things that they try to avoid is what always ends up happening like they lose an old people exactly you lose God and you lose people that's why Jesus said you're smart if you make friends with them so you'll have somebody to receive you because you're not gonna God has rejected you from your stewardship yes you mentioned about saying what God once said rather than what people want to hear yes I have found in personal relations they think the people that should have terminated friendship had nothing to fight I had an experience I had a man out in the foyer I hated to tell him oh man what God had said but I said honestly I have to tell you this is what God is saying and I thought he would just steam instead he said that's true how do you think God makes a witness is there any passage of the bible that tells us how God makes a witness lo and behold I just happen to have a read under my tongue it's Isaiah 43 tells you how God makes a witness remember that in a court of law I think it was brought out you're not allowed to give an opinion you know you can say they say what did you see I saw this man, he was driving drunk, how do you know he was drunk? Well, his car was weaving down the street, maybe he was having a diabetes, diabetic attack or a heart attack, so you don't know, that goes on all the time, doesn't it? You can't, that's a, what do they call that, an opinion or something? What did you see? I didn't know, I didn't see him drunk, you remember that. I saw the car weaving, okay, that'll stand. So, if we're going to be a true witness of God, we have to tell, like 1 John, the first chapter, that which we have seen and heard and our hands have handled, boy, that is standing court of the word of life. So Isaiah 43 is my favorite passage on what being a witness is all about. Lynn, we're in Isaiah 43, we're going to make a special exception for you tonight, Lynn, and you can sit in the middle tonight, you don't have to sit, you've been a good girl and you don't have to sit over there. Well, alright, Lynn, but if I can't pick on Lynn, then that spoils my whole evening. But now, thus says the Lord, your creator, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel, now what he's talking about in here is the serving of the Lord as a witness. Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. Now, Israel is the servant of the Lord, Israel is the body of Messiah, every true Christian is Israel, Israel is God's elect that he has called out to show himself to the world to be his witness. And the first thing he says, I have called you by name, you are mine, and I want you to know that you belong to God in a way that unsaved people do not belong to God. Now, that's very hard for us in a democratic society to accept, and many times, now it's clearly stated in the New Testament that our name was called from the foundation of the world, our names were written, the elect, you'll find that in Timothy, I think it's first or second Timothy, well, the preachers, the ones that I've heard, say everybody's name. See, there's such a democratic, humanistic emphasis in our culture that that simple truth that some people are called out of the world to belong to God is really not a popular democratic idea, but it is true. It is true, the way God dealt with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he did not deal that way with any of their contemporaries, they were special, and yet, if you look at Jacob and some of the things he did, and some of the things his sons did, the things that Judah, I mean Judah, from whom Jesus came, do you know that Jesus was descended through Perez? Do you know who Perez's mother was? Peggy, do you know who Perez's mother was? Judah's daughter-in-law, Tamar. Not through his son, Shelah, two of them died, somebody in Onan died because they were evil, he had a third son, Shelah, and so Jacob, Judah did his number, and Tamar did her number, and the end result was she gave birth to children by two, I think, two sons, by Jacob, Tamar did, by her father-in-law, and one of them was Perez, and Christ came through Perez. I mean, when you go back in the lineage of Jesus, it's very interesting, you know, through Rahab, who was a harlot, it's just amazing the way God works, so you cannot say these people were more godly than everybody else, when I think of a godly person, I think of Ezra the scribe, there's a man that represented the best of orthodoxy, but Judah, his best friend was Hiram the Hittite, you know, his daughter-in-law goes out and pretends to be a shrine prostitute by the side of the road, and he's on his way somewhere, and his wife had died, so he was in a mood to mess around with the shrine prostitute, it was his daughter-in-law who was trying to get his attention, because he hadn't given her to Shelah, and of course Reuben, it's a very sordid story, and the Scythians sold their brother, sold Joseph, and I mean, this is Israel. So in no way are they the great righteous people on the earth, and what did God say? I have not chosen you because you are righteous, I have not chosen you for that reason, because you're stiffening. Who could ever accuse a Jewish person of being stiffening? You're stiffening! Obstinate! People! Right? No. That's why he wears a yarmulke to defend himself. But God is the potter, and if we don't accept that, then we're just thinking democratically, we're not thinking Bible. To think Bible, you have to think in terms of election, foreknowledge, predestination. We say, well God is unjust, he didn't give everybody the same chance. No, he didn't give everybody the same chance. We can see that some children are born with multiple sclerosis, you know, they have the same chance as everybody. Life is not fair in that sense, and to try to make it fair only produces all kinds of propaganda, not truth. No, people are not created equal. But we know God is just, and God is fair, and Calvary puts an end to that argument, that God is unjust. So all that God asks of any of us is to realize, that's one of the three commissions of the Messiah, is to say unto Zion, you are my people. Because God's people don't accept that. You know, the Jewish people, they're trying to be like everybody else. That's their whole problem. If the whole nation would turn to God and say we're all royal priests and we're going to serve God and forget the United States, I think God would deliver them and give them all the money they need and everything else. But they're trying to lean on America, of all the things to lean on with our cities and anarchy, and to just not do it. And Christians are the same, they don't want to be different from everybody else. They want to be like everybody else. If you're going to be a witness of God, you've got to take that full board. You are mine. You're not the world. Miriam? Humanism has gotten such a horrendous hold, and we see it more all the time. And a lot of Jewish people are very, they want to do, you know, like they do good things, they give to the poor, and they really, you know, they really feel like they do really good things. And it's very, very hard for them to understand that. Like, you know, that it's not democratic, it's not fair. I say God can do what he likes, and it's like, you know, you almost get stoned when you say that. Because God should be democratic, shouldn't he? It's a very, it's a horrendous stronghold, humanism. But they, you know, they do do good things. Now they try and help, and they keep in mind, you know, they do lots of things, and they can't comprehend that. It's not fair. They don't want to be different from other people, because there's a reproach on them. There's a shame, they're embarrassed. They don't want to be different. Paula? Well, this is a little bit off the subject, but did you know that there's an atheist group that's getting the Easter service to not be said at the Mount Soledad cross, and the head of it is a Jewish rabbi? Would a Jewish rabbi be sticking his nose in that? Well, a lawyer that went down and got the certificate sings in choir in a Christian church. I have called you by name, you are mine. Now notice verse two. When you pass through the waters, now we're talking about the creation of a witness. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. Now notice that God does not say if, but when. So that's one way you become a witness, is by passing through the waters and not drowning. See, then you can begin to say this to people, God is faithful. See, it's not a head thing. You're not preaching. You're not selling. You're talking out of what you are. He's faithful. God is faithful. You don't even have to say, I know it because he kept me from drowning. People feel that. There's an authority there. You can say, my God shall supply all your needs. Well, you know, that's easy to say. It's a sentence. But when you've been, and you're facing fiscal disaster, and God comes out of left field, then when you say that, there's a witness to it. That's how a witness is made. Through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is an eternal witness. They're long dead, but they witness to every generation of people. Every witness of God is eternal. If you become a true witness of God, you will be eternal. He that does the will of God abides forever. Noah still testifies. Abraham still testifies. Elijah still testifies. If you become a true witness of God, you will bear an eternal testimony. Isn't that interesting? Look at that. All right, now. Nor will a flame burn you, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Now, here's one that could give people bad problems. I have given Egypt as your ransom. How do you think that makes the Egyptians feel? There are lots of Egyptian Christians, the Coptics and Evangelicals and others. How do you think they feel about that? The Bible says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. He said to Pharaoh, this is the reason I raised you up, that I might show my glory in you. You ought to see the waltzing that goes on. Rotherham is a Bible scholar. He can't handle that. He's got a big, long explanation of what that means. What it means is that God raised him up and hardened his heart. How can he then judge him? That's what Paul says. Who has resisted his will? What was Paul's response to that? He said, well, kind of the idea was, don't get sassy. You have a thing made. Say to the thing that made it, why have you made me thus? If we've been made a vessel unto honor and know the Lord and have the grace to serve him and the grace to want righteousness, then that's a gift of God. The best thing we can do is to do the best we can and reward God and hopefully bring others with us. The Bible does say this, it says, if a man shall purge himself from these, speaking of vessels of dishonor. It shows you that the things God does are not set in concrete. You can go from being a vessel of dishonor to being a vessel of honor according to Timothy. So it isn't frozen. The thing is set, but it's like a window of opportunity. By the same token, you can lose, you can be called to the highest throne and end up in outer darkness. I mean, it's just not frozen. So I think there's been a lot of people in history, you know, it reminds you of the Syrophoenician woman. And Jesus said to her, it's not mean for me to take the children's bread and give it to dogs. I mean, wow, that'll get you in jail today. They'd call it a hate crime or something. Huh? Who are you calling a dog, man? Well, this woman I'm calling a dog and I'm calling the Israelites all children, but this woman was a dog. And what did she say? Head of the posse and under the table in the crown. But this woman, go in faith, your daughter is delivered. It's passing from being a dog to being, it's like a Rahab thing. So there is that element working. God has every right to set up a kingdom any way he wants to. And the New Testament and the Old Testament are both very clear on that. In Ezekiel, there's a principle. It says, if a person is wicked, wicked, wicked, and they turn and do righteously, they'll inherit life and their wickedness will not be mentioned to them. It says, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does wickedness, his righteousness shall not be mentioned to him. That's a principle. That's not part of the Mosaic law. That's one of the part of the eternal moral law of God. And it's clear in the New Testament, if you abide not in me, you'll be cut out of the line. Hebrews, that which bears thorns is nigh unto cursing. Oh yeah, you can blow the program. Conversely, in Timothy, it says, if a man shall purge himself of these, he shall be a vessel unto us. So, in both Testaments, you have this thing. Who was it that said, if you want to be one of God's elect, act like it. Don't worry. People who came up under old-time Presbyterian preaching, used to have an awful time with that predestination, because they'd sit in church and they wouldn't feel anything, and they'd figure, well, I'm not predestined. Now we're way over in the other thing. I want you to say the four steps. You can't be lost. We're way over an extreme. There's a middle road. Predestination is true. Whosoever will is true. It's foe too. And you can gain it. You can lose it. I press toward the mark. That means the mark for each of us is unique, that I may apprehend that for which I also have been apprehended. Each one of us has a unique mark. But according to the way Paul worded that, if by any means I may apprehend, means that it's possible not to apprehend that for which you've been apprehended. And that's the perfect justice of God. And when we stand before God, the question will be, what did you do with what I gave you? What did you do with the talent? This is what I gave you. What did you do with it? Simple as that. And any man can turn from righteousness. The Bible says turn from wickedness. The Bible says God is willing that all should repent. So God is willing. All right, now, it's a difficult question. I have given Egypt as your ransom. Can God do that with a nation? Yes. But how about the Egyptian? How is he being treated? The eternal moral law of God will bind that Egyptian. If he does righteousness, he will be rewarded. It says in every nation, he that does righteousness is accepted of God. That's a verse in Acts. In every nation, he that does righteousness is accepted of God. Well, Pharaoh did not do righteousness. He was treacherous. Several times he promised Moses they could go to plague wrath. No way. Changed his mind. He was treacherous. But I'm sure there were many fine Egyptian people. God commanded the Jews on the night of the Passover to go in and ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of gold, articles of silver, jewelry, and so on. And all those people, the Old Testament says that Moses was held in high regard by the court and the people of Egypt. And they gave of their material. That's what the Jews used to build the tabernacle of the congregation. So the problem was Pharaoh. There's a lot of decent, as there always are, good, righteous, honorable people. And the laws in Romans chapter 2. If you persevere in good, you will inherit eternal life. If you persevere in evil, you will inherit tribulation and destruction. And it says to every man, that's Romans 2, every man, where does grace and Christ come in? It comes in in the priesthood. It comes in in the priesthood. Not in the general judgment of mankind, but in the priesthood, which is a minority of Earth's population. And if we're called to be a priest, whether we're Jewish or Gentile, Jews in the Old Testament, Gentiles and Jews today, Jews in the future, if that's our calling, we're not judged like mankind. We're judged on what we did with Jesus. Which is a different thing. We come under his umbrella, and then he deals with us in judgment, through the Holy Spirit and his body and blood. But the mass of mankind out there that have never had that, they're just judged on their conduct, by their conscience and nature. In every nation, he who works righteousness is accepted of him. So God is fair in all that he does. He's fair. But he doesn't call everybody to the priesthood. That is his business, to have a witness to the rest of mankind. Israel's role is to be a witness of God, with the Torah, with their behavior, with their holiness, with their diet and all these things that the nations did not have. They had rules of hygiene, that we observe today, even circumcision, which was strictly a covenant. Every baby is circumcised. The hospital advocates circumcision, because it's hygienically sound. The dietary rules are hygienically sound. Incessant washing of pots and pans, and that kind of thing. Why antisepsis didn't become popular in the Gentile community until around the 1800s, as I remember, before hospitals began to realize a lot of people were dying because they weren't washing their hands. As simple as that. Antisepsis. Wash the pot. Do this. If it's clay and it gets defiled, break it. If it's metal, burn it in the fire. Well, what happens when you burn a metal pan in the fire? You sanitize it. You sanitize it. So the rules of hygiene, diet, modesty and dress, the avoidance of incest, it's common among Gentiles. All these things were given to the priesthood. The testimony of God, the Holy One. No nation has ever had anything like the Ten Commandments. Never, never, never. No nation has been led through like the Red Sea. No nation has ever eaten manna, ever experienced these things. By the same token, God says, Jerusalem has suffered double for all her sins. Isaiah 40. Cry unto Jerusalem that her warfare is accomplished. She has suffered double, double. And that's the way it is. If you are called to be a part of Israel, you are called to be a part of God's witness, and things the Gentiles can do, you can't do. Every Christian is a witness of God, a Holy One. Alright, now. I have given Egypt as your ransom. Can God do that? Yes. Yes, He can do it. He made the whole earth, and He can do anything He wants to, and nobody can vote Him in or out. Cush and Seba in your place. Now, Cush and Seba, some of these came from Ishmael. Ishmael never should have been born in the first place. Never should have been born in the first place. They jumped the gun on God's word to Abraham himself. And so they brought forth a wild man. And a lot of those mystical oriental tribes came, are direct descendants of Ishmael. Well, why blame God for that? That wasn't God's doing. Since you are precious in my sight. Since you are honored, and I love you. Now, that's important. Where do we find that in the New Testament? John 17. What? Yeah, we're talking about witness. John 17. John 17.23. And has loved them as thou hast loved me. And that's the big issue. No, we're not tracking down that chapter. We're just labeling the word witness. Okay? I will give other men in your place, and other peoples in exchange for your life. Now, the Jews may reject that. The church may reject that. And in so doing, they lose the strength of the witness. They don't draw near to God. Say unto Zion, you are my people. That's Isaiah 53, the third commission of Messiah. Say unto Zion. You have to keep saying to them, you belong to God. You belong to God. You belong to God. You belong to God. And then, by next Sunday, they've forgotten all about it. They feel like everybody else. Huh. Right? Okay. Alright. Do not fear. How many times did Jesus say that? Fear not. Fear not. You know, the Lord's been dealing with me about fear and dread in the last couple of months. And I've had a lot of fear and dread in my life. And the Lord has let me know He doesn't want that in His presence. He simply does not want it. And so, I don't have the luxury of having fear or dread. Say, well, what do you do about it? Well, every time I think of something, and I dread, I'm just simply crazy. I dread the income tax. Nonsense like that, you know. And the Lord won't have it. Anything. As soon as it comes up, I have to confess it to the Lord. And say, Lord, take that out of me. It does not belong in the Lord's presence. Any fear, any dread does not belong in the Lord's presence. And there's a whole host of things I've gotten rid of in the last two months. Just by naming them and saying, I will not allow that in my life. Because the Lord doesn't want it. It's not accepted in His presence. And that's not good. Fear not. That's a command. Fear not. How do you get rid of it? Tell the Lord about it and ask Him to take it. Lots of fears and dreads. Maybe, I hope you don't have that. Alright. I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west. Now, this power of God to move people and to gather people is something to keep in mind. Now, we were discussing in the council last night that we need more people in the church and things that we can do about it. And we came up with something that really rang true to me. And the council members were very refreshing to me last night. And they came up with a very good plan for a kind of an advanced evangelism. And I'll make mention of it probably Sunday when it's further refined. But, even though we are going to be doing an outreach like that and making some, without changing the message in any manner, shape, or form, or changing basically what we're doing, we're also going to get people that do have that kind of ministry of personal work, a more structured opportunity to behave in a way that I think will be very successful. I think the idea came from God, it did not come from me. But anyway, there's something else in the New Testament that we must never forget. And it says, the Lord added to the church daily. And that's a very powerful statement, coming as it did in the early church. They were busy having fellowship, having communion, worshipping the Lord, getting oriented. And the Lord's injunction to them was not go out and bring in other people. Now, I'm not knocking, bringing in other people, you understand. I'm trying to find God's pattern. And that pattern, and everything in the book of Acts there, I mean, what have we got? That's God's record of how the church came into being. And that statement, the Lord added to the church, it makes you think of the animals coming into the ark. You know, such a, no one couldn't go out and get two of every toad, two of every mouse, he'd still be rounding them up. But what did he tell Noah to do? Build an ark. Prepare. Just prepare. And when the time came, God did what Noah could never do. And here they came. But if God can bring a couple of toads hopping along from wherever swamp they come out of into the ark, he can certainly move a human being. So, and he's done it in time past. And I could tell you many, many marvelous examples where a church was very, very small, and God would tell the minister, get ready, I'm going to move. And all of a sudden, you know, it would double every week. I mean, it happened with the Calvary Chapel when it began. It happened with the church in Van Nuys when it began. There was a man in Africa who had a tent, and the Lord told him, you've got to get a bigger one. Well, he didn't have anybody but the one he had. He said, get a bigger one. The man went and got a bigger one. It was packed, you know. I mean, history is rife with that. You know, and preaching won't drive people away if it's God. You want to read the record of Saverinola preaching hellfire judgment and damnation to the Italians in his cathedral there. And he was one step below Cardinal Archbishop Saverinola. And I mean, he was preaching with the judgment of God all over the place. And you know, the place, the cathedral was packed with Italians. And God has done that in numerous times in history. The Cambridge revival, the New York City revival, the New York City prayer meeting got so big at noon when the men met to pray, they had to stop everything in the city because the place was packed. And God has done this. Now, that doesn't mean that we can't take simple practical things that the situation calls for, and we are going to. And I felt a tremendous presence of the Lord in the council. And the men I've talked to since have been very warm and very responsive. But in back of all that, in the last analysis, God has that power. He hasn't left it up to men to sell. We don't have to sell to the community or to anybody else. We don't have to pitch. Because once we do, we cease being what? A witness. We become just another CEO of a corporation. So, in many times, barrenness in institutions and things, Christian institutions where people have waited. I know in one case, a man in India, ministered for 50 years of missionary without one conversion. And after his death, there was a tremendous revival. So, see, God, I'm not saying we shouldn't do what is practical. We should. But we don't have to change the witness. Because God has the power. Unless we're doing something that is, you know, having our private devotions in front of people, or being needlessly rabid, or something else. Even our banners and things, it does turn some people off. I know we had a Baptist lady come Sunday. Well, she asked about two songs, and out she went. Because it's so different, so strange. So, we have to look at that, and we always have to look at that and say, is it worth it? Well, we feel that it is. We feel that it's right. And that it's part of the testimony. And we see the impact on the young people. So, we're not going to change. We don't have to change. This is God's church. And if we do the simple, pure things that are right, God has the power. He has that power. I mean, the greatest sociological move of the 20th century is the Jews going back to Israel. Well, why are they going back there? They're just like a bird, you know, flying like a homing pigeon, because God has put that in their heart to return them to Israel. He can do that. I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, give them up, and to the south, do not hold them back. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth. We're in Isaiah 43, Brian. We're talking about how God makes a witness. How God creates a witness. Everyone who is called by my name. Now, Ephesians 3 uses that reference, and it says, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named. And when you belong to the Lord, you belong to a family, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named. And you are part of that family, and you bear the name of God on you. The devils know it. Don't forget that. You bear the name of God on you, and when you don't do the Lord's will, you're like Jonah. Did you ever read Jonah carefully and see what kind of men he was sailing with? They were honorable men. Those sailors were honorable men. And they were casting lots, and the lot fell on Jonah, and they said, tell us the story. He said, it's me, oh boys. I'm the problem. And I'm a Hebrew, and I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do. And what did they do? They rowed like mad to try to save him. They didn't throw him out until finally there was no alternative, and then they asked God to forgive them, as I remember. And then they threw him out. But they really tried to save him. I mean, that's a perfect picture of the Christian and the world. There's a lot of honor out there. There's a lot. I mean, every time they run something in the paper, somebody had misfortune of some kind. I mean, they're flooded with money from all kinds of people, feel sorry for them. This dog that jumped off the bridge there, all kinds of people want to adopt that dog. American people have a very fine sense of fair play, and of a desire to help. Somebody's hurt, they'll rise up and, you know, shell out a hundred bucks, or more, or whatever they've got, and bail them out. People they don't even know, never know that they sent it. But Americans are like that. All people are like that, basically. All we see in the paper are the actions of the wicked. We don't see the average rank and file. Joe that gets up and does the job and is paying his taxes. We see all the antics of the unusual people. But the Christian, see, you're part of a family, and that name is on you, and that can be seen in the spirit realm. I read once about, I think it was in the Dolan Children's Vision, a sinner, not sinner, died, and his spirit went in the spirit realm, and after a few days the demons came and led him away. But there was a Christian who was a hypocrite, and he died, and the demons were dragging him while he was still in his body, he was still alive, and they were throwing ropes on his spirit, because they were just like, you know, if a guy molests a little child and goes to jail, his big problem is not the court, but the prisoners beating him up. There's three or four things that jail inmates will not stand, and be sure that they find out why you're there. They have ways of finding out, and if you've hurt your wife, beat your wife, molested a child, or if you've been a snitch, not as if you've, you know, been a stool pigeon like that, there's a few things that some of them will get you killed. They have their own justice. And I'm talking about, when you molest a child, the prisoners find out about it, they don't prove that. I think that's worse than anything they ever did. And they beat you up. There was a picture of a guy in the paper the other day who was brought out of jail for his hearing. He had black eyes. Well, he shot his wife, and the prisoners found out about it and beat him up. So there's a justice there. And it's that way with a Christian when he dies, if he's a hypocrite. The demons are just waiting because he's a member of the family of God, and he's not treated like other people. So there's a, look how the Jews have suffered. The Arabs say they're going through their holocaust because they didn't get to sell candy in some stores. And the thing that people do is so perverse, you know. The Arabs haven't been through any holocaust, neither has anybody else except the Jews. And that isn't the first of their trouble. They've been suffering ever since Jerusalem fell to the Romans, and after Masada, if you read about the Jews in Italy and so on, remember they made one rabbi run in a race in his underwear, and oh, just always trying to humiliate the Jews. This is going on in Europe. They get a couple centuries of peace, and then they're back on it again. This has gone on for 2,000 years. Why? Because of this? Because God gave Egypt for their ransom? See, there's a two-edged thing there. If God has chosen you, you're not going to be treated like the world. You do good, and your reward is something of the greatest king that ever lived. Couldn't even imagine you do evil. Remember I said it'd be worse for you than for Solomon Gomorrah, because you have seen the Messiah. It means something to be a member of the family of God. Don't forget it. God loves you. You belong to him. His name is on you. He's chosen you out of all of mankind to be a witness. So some dude comes home from work and gets drunk and so on, so he does. If he does it long enough, he'll lose his wife and kids and his job and his respect and everything. But a Christian, he's in trouble. If God's hands on him to be a witness, and he's messing around, he's in for it. He predicted it, and he has the power to prevent it. But in order for God to prevent the sword of man on you, you've got to be anointed. And that's why Balaam counseled Balak to cause the warriors to sin, because as long as they were holy, Moab couldn't touch them and Balaam couldn't curse them. So that's the thing. If you're a Christian, you better be a Christian. It's all one of the, as we find later in this very passage, 14-22 of Revelation chapter 3, I would you are cold or hot. There's a lot of American Christians, I'm afraid, that are neither cold nor hot. And I think God wants to wake them up in these days. Everyone who is called by my name, whom I have created for my glory. You know, the best counterpart to this is John 17. And he goes through the whole thing. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them. Thou hast loved me, them as thou hast loved me, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. That's John 17. It just brings great peril over this. It's God's witness. It's those that God has called out. He said, glorify thou me alongside of the glory, that thou hast glorified thyself. And that's the way we're glorified. That God may be glorified. Whom I formed, even whom I have made. God knew you from the foundation of the world. God formed you in the womb. God formed you in the womb. Believe it. Remember David said, he knows all my members being as yet unformed. In the pages of my days, I think one of the modern translations says, every page of the years of my life. That's not true of the world. Remember Jesus said to his brothers, your time is always ready. You can do anything you want to, but my time hasn't come yet. I'm moving in the plan of God for my life. I have formed you. I have created you. That's how a witness is made. We don't make ourselves witnesses. God, I will make you fishers of men. All right. Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes. And the deaf, even though they have ears. All the nations have gathered together. Now, the commentators, this idea about blindness and deafness runs through, starting with Isaiah 42, and it runs through here. And in some cases, it's speaking of blindness and deafness in God's Israel that they will not see or hear the Lord. And almost in the next breath, it's not talking about that at all, but it's talking about the blindness and deafness that the Lord's servant must have in order to serve the Lord. Ed Bartz and I went around about this, and I finally convinced him. But you can find it in Isaiah 42. Let's see, it started with verse, who is blind is my servant. Yeah, Isaiah 40, 14, verse 18. Hear you deaf, and look you blind, that you may see. Well there, he's talking about Israel that does not have ears to hear, eyes to see. But then when he says, who is blind but my servant is deaf as my messenger, who is I sin, or who is so blind as he that is at peace with me, or so blind as the servant of the Lord. Well you see, if he's saying he's blind as he's at peace with me, he's not talking about someone out of God's will, but someone in God's will. And remember, Jesus said to the Pharisees, if you didn't see, you wouldn't have sin, but now you say we see, therefore your sin remains. But what does that mean? That means that in order to be a witness of God, you have to cease judging from what you see with your eyes, and what you hear with your ears. And because men have been created to be God's judges, it is very, it is one of the most difficult things that we ever do, is to learn to quit forming judgments about people before we have heard from the Lord. It is so difficult, and is the source of gossip and slander that we see somebody do something, then we decide why they did it, and then call up a friend and tell them they did it and it ain't as awful. Instead of going to the Lord and saying, Lord, what's going on here? That's the blindness and deafness that the Lord's true witness must have. And Jesus said that, you know, as I hear, I judge. And my judgment is just because I'm not seeking my own will. And he wasn't talking about hearing people's heart, he was talking about the Father, hearing the Father. So these two thoughts run close together in here, but if you look carefully at the text, you can see that he's talking about that the servant of the Lord, of God's Israel, God's witness, must become blind and deaf to their opinions in the world. For example, we take the whole abortion issue. There's a lot of dimensions to that issue. But you see, you can get, you can look at it, you think of, I think of my grandchildren, I think of, you know, Jonathan, Herdassa, Sarahan, why, what mad woman would ever abort a fetus that could bring forth something like my grandchildren? I mean, it's a mad, it's distorted, it's warped, it's crazy, you know? But that's my natural judgment. See, that's my Scotch, Irish, American, English temperament, rising up and saying, how dare you? But you see, I haven't heard from God on this. I haven't heard from God. You say, well, you don't need to hear from God. Hey, never take anything for granted. You don't know what God is doing until you've gone to God and God says, that's bad, or you should do so-and-so. But you see, that requires the death of the soulish nature. And as long as a person is living in the soul, they're not going to practice any blindness and deafness for the Lord. Because they know what's right, and boy, you better get out of the way because they're going to do it. But the servant of the Lord, the meek of heart, who die in the Lord, get before God, and they ask the Lord. One thing that occurred to my mind, and I've asked God if I should do anything about abortion, and so far I haven't felt that the Lord direct me in any way, but one thing came to my mind, think about the type of woman that will abort a child. What would he have been like if that same woman raised him? If she's as wicked and messed up as all of that, what kind of a child would she have brought forth? See, we don't think about these things because we're quick to jump, quick to judge, quick to make a decision, and all that is the soul. We haven't gotten, I wonder if some of these people that get dragged off to jail and all these other things, that they have to really ask God if they were supposed to do that, or if they just said, yeah, that's the right thing to do, or they were scorned. And there's a lot of scorn by the abortion leaders. They come and say, you're just so fat sitting in the church, and you won't lift yourself, and the rest of your brethren are down there trying to stop the second holocaust, and here you're sitting here, you're scorned. That's no movement, that's no way to move people is with scorn. And so the person, you know, I better get down, and when they get down, they get thrown in jail, and they sit in jail, what am I doing here? But if you hear from God, and God tells you, this is what you're supposed to do, you can go to the stake, in the happy knowledge, or in prison or anything else, you know that God is with you, and the waters will not overflow you, and the fire will not scorch you, how do you know? Because you're the servant of the Lord. But if you see with the natural eye, hear with the natural ear, form a judgment with the natural brain, that's not the servant of the Lord. You're a person walking in the soul. And you don't know what God's judgment is on the matter. That's important in our day, because people by this scorning and this thing have gone, unbalanced people have gone out and murdered abortion doctors, and that's not Jesus. I mean, Jesus does not shoot people. So that wasn't the Holy Ghost, well why did they do that? Because the leaders who may be led of God, I don't know, they may be apostles to the unborn for all I know, I don't know, I haven't heard from God on it. All I know is that this principle is one of the most important principles, as regards God's witnesses. You can't bear a true witness of God if you are going by your natural sight and your natural ears because you don't know what God is thinking. You have to wait and learn, and boy does it take self-discipline, and you have to learn not to take anything for granted. Yes, it's obviously wrong. No, I don't want anyone murdering my grandchildren before they're born. I can see this is a wrong and incredibly evil thing to do. I see that, my brain tells me I see that. But what does God say? That's another issue. And you don't know. As I was telling somebody at the council meeting or somewhere in church, I said, when I go to pray and ask God's opinion on something, 80% of the time, I'm accurate, I know what the Lord is going to say. But there's about 20% of the time I get surprised. I expect to hear, yeah! And I hear, no. And boy, after a while you get to every decision that you make. You know, we had this grand plan come out of the council meeting and I was all enthused about it. But I've learned. And boy, the first thing I did when I got home was, is this you, Lord? Is this coming from you? Or is this just some flat? Because a lot of times in things like that, I'm so sure of God, and the Lord didn't know it. But last night when I got home, I heard, yeah, that's a good plan. That's a great plan. I prayed again this morning. Yeah, that's a good plan. That's a great plan. Go with it. See, that's when you quit the human brain, the human eyes, the human ears. And that's what he's talking about when he says, who is blind is my servant, and he that is at rest at peace with me. But then in the same chapter, it talks about blindness in a bad sense. And so the commentators to a person put this all in the same category, that this is a wicked, unbelieving Israel. Well, they're not reading the text closely enough. Yes? I'm not sure that when the Lord is giving you the answer, it's focused to you and not faith. It takes really a lifetime of experience. And even after that, you have to be very cautious. There's three rules that you can use in finding the will of God. One, it should make your heart sing. When you think about it, it shouldn't give you a feeling like you've got a cannonball in your stomach. It should say, oh, wow, that feels good to me. Secondly, I must not be contrary to the word. And thirdly, the natural circumstances must correspond. When you get in a place where God told me this, but my wife doesn't believe it, and the dog's in the way, and the mailman's in the way, I've got to knock people around. That's almost always not God. But of course, the person in the soul runs through things. Oh, that's the devil fighting me. To know the will of God, it should give you peace and joy when you think of it. I don't say there won't be battles, but deep inside you, it makes you glad. Secondly, it's not contrary to the scripture. And thirdly, as you pray, God will bring your environment around to where your wife will agree, the mailman will agree. If money is needed, it will come in. You don't have to write a check on an account you don't have. People do these things, but they're going to step out in faith. Well, there's no example in the Bible of stepping out in aggressive faith apart from God's voice. Okay, then how do you know after that? You've got peace about it. Well, you present your body, a living sight. You have to be a person that meets with the saints. If you're not doing the things that God has said, hearing the voice of God is a very dangerous business. Okay, you should be living as a Christian. You should be devoting some time each day to prayer. You should be serving the Lord. You should be a servant of God. Your life should be what the Bible says, if you expect to hear accurately from God. Then sometimes if it's a major decision, it's good to bring it to older Christians, elders of the church, or some older experienced Christian, and bounce it off them. Many times you can avoid a trap by telling someone else, because the moment you get it out of your mouth, you can hear what you're saying, that it's flaky. Just by saying, if something's out, you say, don't tell anybody, they won't understand. Watch that one. That's the way the devil works. The three things that I said, and then you're really living the Christian life, you're really, your body a living sacrifice, and then look for, if God has said something will happen, for example, then look for it. Expect it. Don't get over anxious and try to make it happen by faith. Wait. Flow with the flowings of God, and you should have peace about it. And if you're supposed to take a step, like maybe God tells you to move, tells you to do something, then as you go to make preparations for it, watch. Be open to things around you, because God will speak to you through people, and through circumstances. And that's why if we get enthusiastic, and we get in a rush, and we get an idea, and we do something, we're not willing to do that. See, we run through all those stop signs. And so it's never good to get all inflamed and hot about, passionate about doing something, because invariably you'll live long enough to regret it. Old Sister Gillies said one time about the 10 camels, you know, about Rebecca watered the 10 camels. She said, if all the camels get watered except one, wait for that 10th camel. See, all our cues come in, it looks like it, the money came in, this happened, you know, it was on a fifth Sunday, and everything seems to be coming out right. But there's one thing that God tells you that hasn't come up yet, wait 40 years for it. It's that one that will save you from making a bad move. You say, well that way you'll never do anything. Not so. If you take that path that I just told you, and you're flowing along, God won't let you down. He'll make sure, He'll put that motivation in you, and there'll be a sweetness and a presence of God in what you're doing, and people will recognize it. They'll have a good feeling of God's peace upon it. But when you have to wrench circumstances, or especially if you have some passionate, flaming, exotic desire of some kind, that almost never is the Lord. If there's a sense of impatience and rush. The King's business requires haste. Ministers yell as they go out and try to build a church 10 times bigger than they need. The King's business requires haste. No, that was something that David said way off when he was fleeing from Saul. It's not applicable. The wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without hypocrisy. Another thing, you can always test the spirit. You can always go back to the Lord and say, is this really you? And if it's Satan, you'll get the feeling, how dare you? God will be insulted. He'll withdraw if you challenge his voice. God said to me one time, I'll never rebuke you for testing the spirit, because I commanded you for testing the spirit. So you can test the spirit. Is it really you? No, that doesn't mean that God has told you something to be careless and sluggish and, you know, if God drops a piano on my head, I'll do something. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the vibrant Christian that is serving God begins to feel that the Lord is talking along some lines. And you watch that you have peace. Watch that the environment, watch that it doesn't contradict the scripture. And if there's an aura of haste or impatience or urgency about it, 99 times out of 100, that's not the Lord, because he prepares. He's a God of preparation. And he doesn't suddenly yank you into some new and strange thing. Almost never, not at all. He's very gentle and takes his time, because what's the rush? What's the rush? What you meant, if you were talking about abortion, you said, you know, you need to know God's mind. There's certain things that we would know what God's words are. It couldn't be contrary to that. Let's take, for example, what God did to Pharaoh. Suppose that you saw Pharaoh doing these wrong things and began to pray. Or you actually tried to do something. Suppose that you got your righteous indignation and went up before Moses and said, you can't do that. You're bringing harm, especially in killing all the firstborn. I think that's your interpretation. There's certain things that I just, it's like that fact. But you're talking about your grandchildren. Isn't there any way you could say, well, I don't understand that that could be right or wrong as far as abortion is known, that that's wrong. How about this? One rabbi wrote that Noah was a bad man because he didn't open up the ark for everyone. How about that? Shouldn't we try to help our neighbor? We see him on the ground and we got a boat? Not if God has not told him. I don't want Miriam to see this. That's an interpretation. That's not God's word. But isn't God's word that we should do unto others as they would do to us? Isn't that what I'm talking about? That's what I'm talking about. I don't think there's a passage of the Bible that we can approach properly apart from the spirit of God. For example, it says if a man sue you with the law and take away your coat, give him your sweater also, okay? If a man hit you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek, okay? All right, now, if you just say, but that's what the Bible says, and you don't go to God and say, does that apply here? Let me give you another example. When they were smuggling Bibles into Russia, this issue came up in Europe, and Einar Giselausen, a friend of mine from Iceland, was invited to this meeting of pastors in Germany. They argued, is it right to lie and smuggle Bibles into Russia and other communist bloc nations? Some of the pastors were saying, it's never right to lie. It's never right to bear false witness. It's against the law of God. We must never, never lie. Einar listened to all of this and finally stood up and he said, tell me, were the midwives correct when they lied to Pharaoh? And I guess that ended the conference. So even though the Bible forbids lying when you come to an issue, or let's say you're a Christian and you feel called of God to go to Israel and they ask you if you're a Christian and you have to lie, and people do. Is this right or wrong? There's so much of that. And the only way you can obey any Bible verse properly, as far as I can see, Old Testament or New, is to go to Jesus and say, Lord, what would you have me get? Would God have this church get active in the abortion movement? Would God have this church get active concerning AIDS, for example? How do we know? We can't do everything. We can't feed the world. There's so much we can't do. There's only very little we can do. So the only way that we can survive is by going to God and saying, what do you want us to do here? And this has been a real thing for me because people have tried to persuade me to do different things than what I feel God would have me do, and what they're saying is just and right and entirely defensible. You know, it's rational, it's practical, and it is biblical. But you see, I have to do what the Lord tells me to do. And so, but I have to be cautious. And many a time I'll go to the Lord, you know, like tonight, well, there's, you know, the Bible says we're two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst. And I know the tape from tonight will go, well, we don't know where these tapes are, they go all over the place. So I, many a time though, I've gone home on a Tuesday night and said, Lord, am I really doing what you want? Is this really what you want? Because the Lord sometime might say to me, no, I want that stopped. I want this or that. I want you to quit the church and apply to the fourth square to go see. How do I know? I don't know what God wants. How can I know what God wants? I can't use my eyes and my ears. I might look at a group and say, this is a waste of time. You wouldn't want me to say that, would you? See? But do you see what happens if you use your eyes and your ears and measure it against people's opinions and my age and my degrees and everything else? You need to rest in the Lord and be assured because if there's two people here, one person here, we're going to go until God says it's wrong. So everything, I treat everything that way. I believe that is the way God wants us to do. It's a part of faithfulness and it's a part of truth. We don't try to sell. We don't try to persuade people, put spin on things, convince, inflame, exhort, you know, but then sometimes the Lord may come and say, yes, but now's the time to do this. Okay. You know, it's, should I go or not? No, don't go. Yes, go. You know, like Jesus, I'm not going up. He turns right around and goes up. See? So the wind blows where it will. So, and then I have to watch the fruit of it. Is it bearing fruit? Well, almost every day we get a letter from somebody somewhere that's saying they're living on the tapes and that's all they have. And God bless you. I thank you for your faithfulness. And we're part of your church family. Almost every day we get a letter and Eddie has read many of them. Plus what's going out into many countries in Africa, India, Philippines, Israel. So if we're faithful and true and do what God says, that's all we can do. Then we have rest and peace. But boy, once you get into that other mode where you begin to use your eyes, use your brains, use your ears and think, no, wait a minute. I could be using my time. Just think what I could do. I could be used. Let me think. I think I'll do this. I'll drop the church and go on the radio or television or something. So you've got a choice basically how you live your life. You either live it before the Lord and wait on him with meekness and fear and joy, or you charge around in your own sparks. Who is blind is my servant deaf to see that is at rest with me. We don't hear. They don't see with the eye. They don't hear with the ear. We hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. It's a very important principle of the Christian life and a basic decision in moving from Pentecost to Technical. But it takes faith. Fr. Fullerton, who was the first man I ever saw living in the rest of God, said if this Bible is wrong, I'm nowhere. Because that's what happens when you begin to trust in the rest of God. All you've got between you and disaster is that God said this is the way to go because everybody around you is saying come down off the cross. Praise the Lord. Oh, glory.