In this sermon, the preacher shares a story about a doll that was buried and how it grew into the shape of the doll. He uses this story to emphasize the message that sin will eventually be exposed and have consequences. The preacher warns against living for the moment and encourages young people to consider the long-term effects of their actions. He also emphasizes the importance of living a godly life as a witness to others.

Now tonight, I want us to carefully consider a very fearful verse found in the Old Testament. I want us to consider, very carefully, a fearful verse in the Bible. And this verse is found in Numbers 32, 23, where we read, Be sure, your sin will find you out. Be sure. We have promises that we cling to, and we hold God in holy obligation. If we fulfill the conditions, He has wholly obligated Himself. That is in sacrilege. It would be sacrilege to say He hasn't. He cannot deny Himself. But there are many verses that, in their context, are promises, that are never looked upon as promises. That God cannot deny Himself. It is sacrilege to say He will deny Himself. That this won't happen. And this makes this verse very fearful. God promises, though you may never hear another preacher in your life dare to say it's a promise. It is. Be sure, your sin will find you out. God says. Or God lied. Fearful thought. When I was a child, at Sunday school, mother and father never went to church, but they did drop us at the building, the church, and made sure we went. Until daddy was saved, of course. Then things changed. Many years later. But I'll never forget, whatever church we went to, wherever we lived, the Sunday school teachers always, without exception, would use this verse. At some point you knew, whatever class you were in, or grade you were in Sunday school, the Sunday school teacher would always come to this verse. Be sure, your sin will find you out. It seemed to be especially delightful to a Sunday school teacher to preach to children. Be careful, you will be found out. Is what they kind of... I remember the one story was told to me a couple of times during my childhood in Sunday school. How this little boy, I suppose you might have heard of it, but they all seemed to love the story. And this boy was a naughty boy. He was just at the naughty age, let's put it that way. How old are you? Yes, somebody tell me if he doesn't. Six, good. Now we know what age we are, although I'm sure you're not like this, okay? But this little boy was naughty. He got angry with his sister, because she was perhaps good. And he got pretty angry with her, and didn't like her. So one day he did something very spiteful. He took her doll. This is in the old days. The dolls didn't have all the beautiful things today. But it was a bean doll, a material bean doll. That's how the poor people would live years ago. These dolls had beans under the cloth. And he took her special, beloved, precious doll. And he said, I will get her back. You know, I'm spiteful for her. And he buried it under the ground. Now, horrible, isn't it? Well, time went by, the rain fell. And of course, the norm happens, obviously what's going to happen, the beans grow. But what happens? They grow into the shape of the doll. Surely everybody knows, well, there's only one person in the world that would do that to his sister. So be sure your sin will find you out. That's basically what they were trying to teach. Now, I don't know if you heard many sermons of mine. It seems I'm getting very limited because of the Internet and the websites. Over a hundred, which have quite a few hundred of my sermons. Oh, over America, there are over a hundred websites alone in America that are downloaded across the world. But a lot of the sermons God brought me to a place where it wasn't very easy, brother. But I actually exposed myself as to my most embarrassing moments that ever happened to me. I don't know if you heard the one sermon on the Internet that most people seem to walk up and remember that of all things, instead of the wonderful things about me pouring coffee on the fern. Because, anyway, how it all poured out in front of everybody when they sat there. It just went straight through the fern. So be sure your sin will find you out, basically. But that was an embarrassing moment. And I thought, well, this is one way to get rid of this poison. And they had all poured out. Everybody saw. So that was a horrible moment. But that was just one of the embarrassing moments in my life. But now the Lord has given me the grace, I believe, to be able to share these embarrassing moments when it actually was needful. Horrific moments, putting it mildly. And when I was a little boy of six, believe it or not, your age, my daddy said to me and my brother, you will do this every day until you die, if possible, on the day you die. But he said, from now I'm going to teach you what you need to know. You do exercises every day or things will go wrong. You die young or you get sick. Exercise is one of the main things, if not the main thing, of how you don't get sick and become sickly. So he taught us to do things, you know? Push-ups, that means you get down and you push yourself up. And squats, okay? You young people, do you do exercises? Young man, good, you know what I'm talking about. All right, squats and then kick-ups, like a Zulu man, you know, boom, boom. You people wouldn't believe it, I'm 65, but I still do to this day. Okay, don't lose trust in me, but I stayed alive and I've never been sick, by God's grace and mercy. And what else? Oh my, sit-ups. Well, I do that from that time. Of course, you develop, you only start with about one push-up, you know? And you eventually get 100 and sometimes 200, when you really reach your peak. And a young man's glory is his strength, you know. Whoa, and God knew what he was saying when he said that, that's the truth. But I would do this through the years. Oh, through the years and the years. I go for walks. I love these brisk, long walks. I find I can pray without my mind wandering. I can be clear in my mind. And if I do runs and if I exercise, I can memorize scriptures ten times more and ten times faster. They'll never get lost. All the oxygen, boom, is in my mind. And of course, all the stress is taken out of a young man. If he doesn't, if he just sits in front of his computer, you'll find it an angry explosion. Boom, boom. You've got to get rid of all his stress, you know, all the energy. So, exercise was something Daddy taught me. And every day, including this morning, young man, at 65. Who's 65? I know that you are 93, sir. And you preached to us this morning. My mom is 91. But who is 65 here? Only me. Oh, I'm all alone. At 65, I still do the exercises. I haven't slowed down, but it's kept me alive. And I tell you what, you have a real quiet time if you have exercises first. You have an amazingly clear quiet time. You're alive. You're awake. You're throbbing with it all. You're not falling asleep on your knees, you know, which is a poor excuse of an exercise, of a quiet time. But nonetheless, I've done it now. I was invited to America. You know, I've been there 28 times and toured many, many parts of America to many hundreds of thousands of people. God has been very good to me to give me the pulpits of the deeply conservative churches. Not one liberal or compromising pulpit ever allowed me near them. They would have crucified me. But the dear Lord is good. Those who wanted the uncompromising word, and because of the mercy of God that I have memorized so much of it, and just brought quoting and quoting the books of the Bible, the godly want the Bible. They want the word of God back in the pulpit. As it stands, no apologies, just as it stands many times, stand up and don't... So, I have been to America many times, but now I was asked as I saw little fellows like this, and it seems came to the Lord when I was, when they were very young, when I was preaching years ago in America, and they grew up. So, on one occasion, two men said to me, my son wants you to fly over the world and preach at their wedding. They're getting married now, these little things grew up, you see, you little six-year-old. One day, boom, you'll be getting married, be careful. You better watch everything now and listen carefully to what you've been preached to. So, I thought, no ways, I can't go to America. It's on the other side of the world. I can go for ten-week tours, but not for two weddings. Anyway, they made something worthwhile going through other things. But they said, you can't say no to him. He's lived with this one thing. Uncle Keith will one day preach at my wedding. So, they're both out in the mission field now. They went out to be missionaries in South America. But I went across the world to preach at these weddings. In one of the weddings, something very strange happened. They housed us all. Oh, not all, but a great amount of us were housed in this very magnificent building, which belonged to a very rich man. A very strange man, tragically. But he was rich, and I don't think they had his convictions altogether, of what he believed was Christianity. But he had professed to be a Christian, he was a friend of the family, and he said he would house... So I was housed there, and other people, and other preachers were housed there, and many Christians from all over America came along, and we were housed there, you see. So something terrible happened. The owner of the house, being strange, when he saw me, he said, Come with me! So I just went like a lamb. We went up and up and up the third floor of all these beautiful arc-winding staircases. It was a magnificent home. It must have been very wealthy. And up at the top he says the strangest thing. He puts his hands out, gets a weird look in his eyes, says some strange words, and says, Let me lay hands on you. And starts coming to me, you know, this strange language, and comes towards me. And I just began to run, you know. This guy looked fearful. I would lay hands on you! I says, No, you will not get away from me! How you will never lay hands on me! He says, What are you talking about? I must lay hands on you. I says, Not you, don't you dare lay hands on me! Get away from me, man! That doesn't sound very godly, does it? But that's why I spoke. I was scared. And God warns you, be careful. He lays hands. So I said, No! Now you leave me alone! This is the owner of the house. So of course he got very angry and said, You're not very Christ-like, you're not very loving, are you? I said, You're not very holy, otherwise I would consider you coming. But you're chaotic in what you believe in. Get away from me! So war broke out. Isn't that lovely? Me, there was a very horrible, sort of hostile atmosphere came into the house. And I went into this beautiful room that they put me in and hibernated like an old bear, scared that if I put my nose out of the door, this fellow would come with his hands again, you know? I was fearful of him. So, anyway, there I was in my room now and everybody in the house seemed to have heard what was going on up there because they knew this man was a bit extreme in certain convictions. And so they knew I was now very, very angry, or should I say indignated, at the horror of a man thinking he must come now and lay hands on me, that I don't know anything about him. So I'm there, and what happens? Young man at six years of age, you must remember. In the morning I decided I've got to do my exercises, even if it's in a hostile home. On the day of the marriage, well, so I, of course I wasn't dressed, but I was doing my exercises, after I shaved and all that, and I come to the one place of doing handstands. I don't simply hand on my hands and walk around, you know? I did that when I was young. But this time, well, old times, I actually just put my stand up against the wall, boom, there you are, and I stand. A long time breathing heavily in between all the other exercises. So, I do my handstands, you see, but I couldn't find a place, and there was a door that I thought was secure. And so, of course, I, in the privacy of my room, safe from all this that's going on, everybody fearful of what's going on, there's war between me and this man, before the wedding even, so up on my hands, boom, against this wonderful door that I thought, but it just went straight open, and I went backwards onto my back, right up into this gloss, enclosed, magnificent, in front of all these people. Now, let me tell you something, I wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion. Don't worry, brother, I won't go on too long. It was horrific how they, they could hardly look at me, and all the guests, after this incredible exposed moment, when I thought, well, I'm all alone, nobody's going to see me, I can do my thing, and pow, the whole world sees me, in this horrible moment. Nonetheless, they all seemed to forgive me after I had preached the sermon, and a lot of them could look me in the eyes again, after this horrific, horrific thing that had happened to me. Now, that's a terrible thing to say, but there must be a reason that a man would share such a thing. The fearful part of this verse, tonight, is when you think that you are doing what you're doing in secret, is safe from the eyes of others. Brace yourself, brace yourself, I warn you from my heart, in one horrific moment, be sure your sin will find you out, be sure you will be exposed. Be sure. It's fearful. Of course, on the Day of Judgment, God says, there's nothing covered or hidden that shall not be revealed. That's the Day of Judgment. Neither hid that shall not be known. Luke 12, verse 2, God warns. 1 Corinthians 4, 5, Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness. Everything you've done, it might seem that life is all you've got, but in one moment, that's all you've got, this moment called life. God says everything hidden, everyone will know of it. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness. Another staggering verse concerning sin is found in 1 Timothy 5, 24. Some men's sins are open, beforehand, revealed, exposed, judged, going before to judgment. Some men, they follow after. It's a fearful thing. Psalm 90, verse 8 speaks of secret sin. That's a fearful thing. Many preachers have expounded an opening verse tonight by warning of the horrific moment when our secret sins are exposed. That God says our secret sins will be exposed. But in the true and immediate context of Numbers 32, 23, Be sure your sin will find you out. In the true and immediate context of this verse, it is actually a grave warning to God's people. Not to the godless, not to the unsaved, in its true and immediate context. One of the most accurate interpretations of this verse will read, Be sure your sin will have tragic consequences upon you and others. Be sure your sin will cause you great shame and sorrow. I think that was Wesley, no, Luther, who said this is the most accurate interpretation. Now, my son, Roy, you might have heard me preach of him. He's now a missionary. And full of fire, not much wisdom. That's what most young preachers are, by the way. A lot of fire, not much wisdom. But you forgive them, so long as they've got fire. If there's no fire, you just wish they'd stop from the moment they opened their mouths. Nonetheless, fire, you can't have not much wisdom for long. You bang your head too long, people will say, we don't want to hear the fire anymore. It's just a lot of nonsense. But so long as you've got fire at the beginning. So, there old Roy, with another young missionary in South Africa, decided to go another African country. So they crossed the border. Why? To go view the land. To see where they can go in as a mission and a team and hold outreaches in this other country. Not South Africa, but further into Africa. So they go across the border, the big thing, a lot of preparation, all sorts of visas, etc. So, they go. But, a tragic thing happened. No one heard of them. No one heard any news. Day upon day upon... So, this other young man, Taylor Ridgo, is a very godly young man who preaches with the fire of the Lord burning in his heart. His mother begins to panic and start making all inquiries on the phone all the time. Why is there no news of our sons? So many people were on their faces beginning to pray to God. Days and days, not one word. Now, when your children, even if they are young missionaries, have gone to another country in Africa and you don't hear anything from them, you begin to worry. You begin to be concerned. You just don't say, Oh, God will take care of them. There is no such a thing as that. You begin to worry, Oh, God, what's happened to our children? Our mission began to panic, began to be fearful for their lives. When day after day went... This is not Roy. Roy always makes sure, puts us at peace. Wherever he is, I'm safe. I got... Why didn't he contact us? So, of course, they eventually find a friend of ours, a farmer, who had heard me preaching, a very influential man who had been up into this African country. He phones the president of this country, who he knew personally, who gets hold of the police commissioner of the whole country, who puts out a widespread search, intense search, suddenly, everywhere, to find what happened to these young men. They said they definitely went over the border. At this time, there and there, they've contacted the border. And the customs... Now, where? What happened? No one knows what happened after that. Nothing. No word. Nobody knows. And the police are now making all this intense search everywhere. And I'm on my face. I was fasting. I fasted and fasted. I wouldn't eat. At one stage I said, God, I wouldn't even drink. You keep my son safe. Oh, I can't express to you the words of what happens in a father's heart, let alone my darling wife's heart, when we thought our son was dead. And then the telephone rang. And they put it through to me. And I stood alone. And this farmer said, Mr. Daniel, I have bad news for you. And it was a science. Are you sitting down? Perhaps you should sit up. And something in me died. I can't ever put into words about my whole emotional, mental being just collapsed. I said, wait. I just threw the phone down. And I walked as far away from it into the room and fell on my face and I sobbed uncontrollably like I don't believe I've ever sobbed in my life. I can't even express to you what I felt when I... I've lost my son. I can't ever put that into words, what happened in my heart. And eventually, I stopped and I went back, got the phone and I heard the screaming. This man suddenly realized I was sobbing. And he was shouting frantically. And he says to me, Brother Keith, Brother Daniel, I'm so sorry, forgive me, I was just playing the fool. I was joking. I didn't get through to the last moment. I can't believe I did that to you. I'm so begging you for forgiveness. So I just put the phone down. Of course the man is a good man, full of jokes. God knows how to take the jokes out of you. Not joy, not even a sense of humor, but oh... But anyway, that was a terrible moment. A terrible moment that I could never put into words in truth. Now I share this with you tonight to tell you of the horror and the grief and the shock of the moment when I thought I had lost my son. I could never ever express to you as a father what that did to me. My age that night, that day. I've expressed to you the horror, the grief, the shock of the moment I thought I had lost my son. But let me tell you, every one of you, this very carefully. Young people, the same horror, the same grief, the same shock will be experienced by any truly godly parent when they realize that they've lost you to the devil and sin. I want to repeat that. Don't ever forget this. Don't ever doubt this. The same horror, the same grief, the same shock will be experienced by any truly godly parent when they realize that they have lost you to the devil and sin. Don't ever doubt that now. I know a very godly woman. Oh, she is godly. Jenny and I do love her dearly. And her good husband. Very wealthy people, but very godly people. And they have a son. Their youngest son. And something terrifying happened. One night, this boy who loved the Lord, this boy who professed to be saved, he'd read through this book. But this boy who had witnessed for God standing up against evolution, standing up as a child against these teachers with such conviction when they denied Genesis and creation and taught evolution. And this man would stand up as a boy and defend God's Word. Bravely. He made a stand for God. He wasn't just someone who said I'm saved in the right situation. He made a stand for God, this boy. But one night, this boy went to school to a function at the school. And he was gone a little while. The night was going. And his mother said, suddenly fear gripped her heart. It was so uncanny she couldn't believe it. She began to shake and tremble in fear. And a deep, deep grief came on that woman so badly she fell down on her knees, eventually on her face, and sobbed in grief and sorrow for her son. Something was happening. Now you might say that's emotionalism. No, she isn't like that. And when that boy knocked on the door, his mother opened the door and he told me this. She looked at him, this short tears pouring down her face. He said, What happened to you? My son, tonight, what happened to you? He said, Mr. Daniel, I realized for the first time in my life just how godly my mother was. God had told her, God's grief in her by the Holy Spirit. It made her sob and grieve. She knew. She was so close to God. She knew. That night, and I don't want to go into the details to betray the vote of that family's privacy, began sin, that enslaved that boy that brought that family to such shame, that brought such dishonor on that home, as he was enslaved and went down to the depth of depravities that he couldn't get rid of for years and years. The horror, the horror of a parent. You think it's you that's going to have consequences? Have you ever considered your parent when they find out? You think the devil isn't going to let them? You think he isn't going to hurt them, crush them, age them? If you give him something, do you think he's going to stand back and say, I'll spare them? No! It isn't just you that sin affects and brings shame and sorrow upon, sir. Well, life's defining moments, every one of you that gets enslaved to depravity or wrong that can bring such shame on you and others, there's a defining moment. That just didn't happen at birth through the sinful nature, sir. Life's defining moments when a mother, a father, look at a child and see something tragic, innocence lost. Brother, you don't want to look forward to that. The tragic moment when a godly parent realize they've lost their son to sin and shame. Now today, the world foolishly and fearlessly seem to be crying out brazenly to everyone who would serve sin and Satan, live for the moment. But I want to warn every one of you here tonight, live for the moment and you will eventually weep for the rest of your life. I want to repeat that, young man, young lady. I want to repeat that, that you will never forget it. You do what the world cries out to the media, to the films, to the everything just cries out, live for the moment. They don't tell you the consequences. But 99.999% who obey them and who do this policy will experience. You will eventually weep for the rest of your life as Esau had to. Do you think that's just historical? The Bible isn't history, you know. Only liberal academics will look upon two-thirds of the Bible's history. There's not a word in the Bible that isn't God's heart to you. That's why what Esau went through is in the Bible. It's historical, but it is divinely inspired as much as the heart of God is essential for you to survive and to know God's will and to keep from sin is the Old Testament, two-thirds of the whole Bible. It's not there just for history. It's God's heart to you. Live for the moment and you will eventually weep for the rest of your life. Ecclesiastes has all these verses and Proverbs. The devil is referred to in the Bible as a serpent right from Genesis 2 and 3 right through to Revelation. These words, the serpent, that old serpent, the devil. Now, a very fearful thing in this world is that a child senses no danger concerning a serpent because of ignorance. No child will ever sense any danger concerning a serpent. That's a fearful thing. If he's left alone, he doesn't see the danger of the serpent. My son, Noel, not Roy, but his elder brother, married and living in London now. My son, Noel, was a little boy. Now, he was probably a little bit taller than you. No, he wouldn't be because Roy was born, so he's about smaller than this boy. My son, Noel, when Jenny and I were living in a place called Pennington, a beautiful twelve acre, beautiful lawn, trees, but in the heat of subtropical Africa, we were placed there for a while. I preached all along these coastal regions as a young fellow and internally later on until we took the whole district. But, in this beautiful place, we had a vegetable garden and it was a long stretch of cabbages, all sorts of things, beetroots. We had everything planted and we would gather. But, there were snakes. This little boy, my son, one day, comes out holding a black mamba. Now, a black mamba, you are stoned dead within twenty seconds. There's no hope. You have to be so... It is the most critical thing in this particular area. Black mambas, you lift up rocks and the amount of dead they are. The most terrifying things. Even a small one. You're in terrible danger. My son picked up, with both hands, this thing, I don't know how long, and he's holding it now. And he's laughing with joy. Coming out looking excitedly from the vegetable garden. Somehow, this snake... Well, now, this black man. The black man is a Zula man. The Zula is a very noble tribe, generally. And amazing. Millions are saved. Truly born again. And they pay the price of ostracization and persecution. That's why we know they're saved. In truth. But, I've preached to many of these massive meetings where all these masses of these godly Jews... He's a Zula man. The man who worked in our garden. Younger fellow. Just married. But, I was young. I was about his age, actually. But he worked in the gardens to help us all these gardens to maintain them. And, he wasn't saved. But he saw my son with his black mamba. And he just shouted, like you can't believe, screaming. He so loved little Noel. He adored little Noel. And he protected... Here comes Noel. And I saw, and he saw... Well, Tulani. That's his name. He came. And with a spade. And he didn't take it out of Noel's hands. He just swiped. Wow. Pow. Hit the thing right. Of course, Noel screams because he got to fight the Tulani with a spade. But, there you are. Now, Tulani looks at me after a while. And he looks at the snake. He says, Sir, your God must love you. In a very, very wonderful way. Sir, I know the snakes. I know the snakes. No one can tell me about these snakes. Sir, this snake was dead only just before your son picked him up, or as he picked him up. And these snakes, they cannot be killed unless you cut their heads or cross their heads. While that snake still has a head, even if its body is there, it can kill you. Everything that stays in these reflexes. Sir, something struck this snake dead because it wasn't flat. It wasn't crushed. The head wasn't open. Nothing. It was just stone dead. But it was dead right then because it was still writhing. Your God must love you that he spared your son, sir. And he wept. That was one of the three reasons. After about a month, Tulani, the Zulu man, got on his knees and gave his life to Jesus. Uncontrollably. Unreservedly. And, of course, they killed him because he wouldn't rise. So they just took a gun and shot him. Politics. Oh, God have mercy. But, that was an amazing thing. In the same place, Pennington, this great convention center we lived on, another little boy, Farley Harumsa, he was about ten, he saw a snake. So, of course, they played. This little thing was a small snake. You think you have to get a big snake to be hurt. Whoa. So he's just playing the fool and suddenly, he just bit him. A little nip. You can't believe what happened to that boy. They felt they had to amputate his arm. They didn't think he'd live. This small snake. He just played the fool in ignorance. No fear. Total unawareness of the danger when you play the fool with something that is deadly, even if you think it's not. Eventually, they salvaged his arm, but you can't believe how they had to amputate this boy. It was horrifying what that little snake did. One little nip. And it happened in ignorance because there's no fear, no sense of danger to a child when it comes to the serpent. Now, be careful. Don't take a chance with the devil. I'm warning you now. Don't take a chance to go against the God-given conscience you've been given that puts responsibility in your hands. For God wouldn't have given you a conscience or common sense. You have total responsibility. Sorry. Even we're kept by the power of God through faith. Faith comes by hearing, by the word of God. There's all conditions to being kept by the power of God from the evils. We have to... Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Matthew 4, 7. It's a very staggering thing. Moses cried out fearfully to the erring people of Israel. Why? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord? Exodus 17, verse 2. 1 Corinthians 10, 5, refers to this whole incident. He says, with many of them, that most of them, the Hebrews, the Greeks, God was not well pleased, speaking of His people, for they were overthrown, that is, destroyed in the wilderness. Verse 6. Now these things were our examples, became our examples, as an example of warning to us, literally, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. God speaking now to us, concerning the Old Testament, what He allowed us to see would happen. Neither let us commit fornication, that sexual immorality, as some of them committed, and fell dead in one day. 3 in 20,000. Neither let us tempt Christ, the next verse says. Be careful here. Don't think God minces words or wastes words. You take heed to every word in this book or you suffer the consequences, and don't blame God if you don't take heed and take it seriously. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them, also tempted and were destroyed of serpents. Now all these things happened to them for our example, as an example and warning, literally. And they are written for our admonition, our instruction, upon whom the ends of the world come. Don't play the fool with God, sir. Don't play the fool with God, young man. Don't play the fool. Beware. You dare not believe that you can place yourself in circumstances where you know you are in danger spiritually. I want to repeat it to every one of you, not just the young people. You dare not believe that you can place yourself in circumstances where you know you are in danger spiritually, for you will fall. You will fall. And your credibility, your testimony, will be destroyed. The credibility of your testimony will be destroyed forever. Many, many preachers, forever, no matter what they did. Forgiven by God, yes, but men, don't forget. You will fall. But you cannot say that God failed you, if you went against your God-given common sense and conscience, and allowed yourself to be placed in circumstances where you know you are playing the fool with God and your testimony, and your work with God, and your integrity before man. You betrayed yourself, sir. Don't hold God responsible. Don't ever place yourself in dangerous circumstances morally, with dangerous people morally, for you will fall, and it was not God's fault. Don't dare blame God. Don't dare blame God. Proverbs 13, verse 20 says, that he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. I want to go through this again. He that walketh with wise men is a companion, makes a companion of wise men. Now, in the light of the rest of Proverbs, we understand what wise means. It's not just here, not just some sort of academic thing. There is something of a godliness here, of a fear of the Lord is the beginning of the wisdom. There is something of the fear of the Lord departeth from evil. There is something of wisdom that is not just academic wisdom. This is speaking he that walks with godly, godly through wisdom seeking the Lord, they shall become the same. They shall be influenced to be the same, but a companion of fools, those who associate, who deliberately associate with fools. Now that word fools, in the light of the rest of the book of Proverbs, always speaks without of men who really fall into sin, who are so sinful, so wrong. There is nothing, nothing there that doesn't detract from sin. They shall be destroyed. Who? A companion of fools shall be destroyed. Be not deceived. 1 Corinthians 15.33 Evil communications corrupt good manners. What does that mean? Evil company. Be not deceived, God says. Evil company corrupt good manners. What does that mean? Good morals and character and integrity. They will wipe it out. They will take away your morals. They will destroy your character to become evil. You choose, your friends, you choose what you are going to do with Christianity. And you will suffer the consequences or God lied here. Or God's word doesn't matter, sir. It's playing the fool with you. It's not going to happen. You make up your mind whether God lied saying these things or whether you are lying to yourself saying you can get away with it. No! No! Be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good manners, good morals, destroy, wipe away, undermine good morals and character and integrity, God says. Oh! Life-defining moments it seems. Most people's lives are destroyed it seems morally when they chose the wrong friends. I want to repeat that. I have been preaching for 44 years. Most days of those 44 years I preach. Many times, six, seven times a day. I have been in many, many circumstances where I am dragged into homes where lives are destroyed. Let me tell you something that might wake you up. Most point to the wrong friends that they knew, their conscience knew but they went with them. They associated with them. Say you can get close to a person to tell them about Jesus. Depending on what they are you can even try and help them in life somehow to win them but when you know you are in temptation, when you know you run, you flee, you lust, you flee from people. You don't associate and identify. These evil people will corrupt you, will defile you. Don't deceive yourself that God is playing to fool you. You will be. You will be stunned what you stoop to while you profess to know Jesus. If you choose the wrong friends before salvation but especially after salvation be careful. You will get to heaven by grace. Be careful. I am not fighting on that issue. But while you are on earth you will send people to hell if they know you have a testimony. Be careful. A prudent man God says in Proverbs 22.3 that is a man of integrity an honest man a prudent man foresees the evil and hides himself. I want you to listen carefully to what God says here. For survival if you want to survive as a Christian listen carefully now. A prudent man a man of integrity an honest man foresees the evil and hides himself he flees but the simple that is an amazing word that is the unwise who lack integrity that is what it means the simple they pass on they just go right into it and they are punished. Listen. God says oh God lied they are punished. Be careful here. A prudent person foresees what danger zones confront him. If you have any honesty any integrity in your Christian walk you foresee the danger zones that confront you and avoids what he foresees could happen. The repercussions the consequences the aftermath of sins but the unwise the foolish man goes blindly on and he suffers the consequences God says. He suffers the consequences. Oh God what was I thinking of when I didn't consider the consequences. I took my eyes off you. Oh how many priests said those words to me. One whose wife took a gun when she found out what he was in. An evangelical holiness preacher who thought he could go against what God warns and not suffer the consequences. What was I thinking of when I didn't consider the consequences when I took my eyes off God. Samson Esau even David. Ecclesiastes 10 verse 8 warns us that he that diggeth a pit shall fall into it. Whoso breaketh a hedge a serpent shall bite him. Now of course you can take everything well that's his wisdom. No it's not. It's not wrong to say that this must be applied in every aspect of life for the wisdom that God is giving us here. The caution. The understanding. The broader sense in the light of all scriptures is that's how you must look at every single verse and not say well that isn't appropriate. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it. There's a warning here. Whoso breaketh a hedge a serpent shall bite him. Don't consciously go into circumstances. Don't do anything that could hurt you. That common sense says look there's danger here. There's something of danger I'm doing here. There's something foolish. Something unwise here. Don't consciously go into circumstances places or company that your conscience and common sense tell you is wrong. Don't go where you know there's danger spiritually. Besore your sin will eventually bring sorrow and shame on you. Will eventually affect you adversely, tragically. One great reformer said Proverbs 19 verse 3 The foolishness of man perverteth his way. Do you know what that means? I took a long time here and I studied every single aspect every document and it comes down to this The foolishness of man perverteth his way ruins his life destroys his life. Do you think God says that just as a matter of statements? No. That's going to happen. Now in 1 Corinthians 4.10 we read that Jabez called Oh, there's something lovely there about that on the God of Israel Oh, that thou wouldest keep me from evil. Now, you might have heard many sermons but listen carefully to this statement That it may not grieve me ends his prayer. Now, if you go into that word literally cause me sorrow and shame Oh, that you would keep me, God, from evil that it may not grieve me cause me sorrow and pain and shame Don't believe it will only harm you Don't believe that your sin will only tragically affect you it will affect others Sir, your sin will never only affect you adversely will never ever only bring shame on you Have you ever considered your wife, pastor your children, what they're going to do? Have you ever considered, sir the same Eli of your godless children what you would do to your daddy though he was the chosen he might not have been a perfect daddy Now, be careful before you blame Eli of not disciplining some men simply give up because of the hopelessness of those kids Listen, it wasn't the ark, sir being taken out of Israel that made Eli fall back and die it was his children full stop, pow, they destroyed him If you don't see death, you see nothing There's something buried in the sand there of not seeing the broader picture of what God's saying Don't believe you can only harm or destroy or bring sorrow and shame on yourself Oh God, keep me from the evil that it may not grieve me that it may not cause pain I saw this recently on a plock in a very amazing academic place is the literal meaning They say, well, I would say it brings pretty close to what God is saying so I didn't argue with the men that I had to speak to all these theological students that it may not cause pain that my sin may not eventually cause pain and shame not only to me, but to others in the light of all scriptures You see, Psalm 69, verse 5 Oh God, thou knowest my foolishness my sins are not hid from thee But then he says, let not them that wait on thee, Lord God of hosts be ashamed for my sake Let not those that seek thee be confounded, disgraced literally for my sake You see, he's considering others not just his own shame and hurt and sorrow Why are you so self-centered you don't care about the others I know a woman, one of the godliest women Jenny and I have ever met in our lives She was responsible as a matron in a theological seminar to influence literally thousands of the godliest missionaries Africa has ever produced who look upon her as the example of what a woman of God should be a missionary woman and many men quote what she sat at the tables and taught them the answers of the theological problems This woman married a man who was so anointed that people said they've never ever heard more anointed preaching people just trembled hardly able to breathe as God, as man fell into sin You know, he said these words I prayed to God to take me before my sin caused shame to come on my wife and he died She didn't have to bear the consequences of living with a man and everybody just somehow blotted him out I'm the only preacher I know that ever brought us up in the history of our mission and that woman had sorrow 40 years later Oh, don't you care that you could do that to her Preachers, you may reason tonight why Why does God allow temptation? Now that's something every one of you will eventually reason It's quite a logical question and it's a fearful question Why does God allow temptation to come on those who seek him? That's a staggering thing to reason Jeremiah 16 verse 9 tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked but who can know it? I the Lord search the heart I try the reins I test the mind The word reins is the mind of a man I try, I test I put to the test Man To give every man according to his ways according to the fruit of his doing Oh, search me, O God Know my heart Try me Know my thoughts See if there be some wicked way in me We sing it Have you ever prayed it? He who tryeth the heart Who puts us to the test literally God which proveth the heart These references go on and on all these verses Here's a staggering passage Have you ever wondered these words? Jeremiah 35 It concerns the Rechabites who were forbidden to drink wine by their father But now a staggering thing happens Jeremiah is told by God in this chapter The prophet Jeremiah, a very godly man very, very human Thank God So we preachers can also take courage in our weaknesses But this Jeremiah was told by God, the Lord said Take them, that's the Rechabites into the house of the Lord into one of the chambers Give them wine to drink That's not right Oh, there were great many little chambers built near the temple Jeremiah brought the Rechabites into the chambers upstairs He set jugs of wine jugs and cups of wine before them and he said Drink the wine That doesn't make sense No, beloved God had not commanded them to drink wine though he told Jeremiah to set wine before them to see whether they would obey their father when it's set before them placed in front of them And a great lesson here Of course in this context the Lord sent Jeremiah to the people of Jerusalem and said Look at the Rechabites how obedient they are to their father's commandment but you you disobey your heavenly father God the father They obey their father the descendants of that man but you won't obey me as God Of course it was the message God had in mind so he uses his illustration But you see temptation is testing Don't ever believe God loses control God's gone The devil's taken over God doesn't care Satan has his way Don't believe that That is not true The world in many ways is the testing ground In the book of Revelation we read that Satan was let out of the bottomless pit after a thousand years OK There's a lot of controversy about the different views there But the point is Why? What purpose? One theologian said to me Would God now bind the devil and let him out again? Why? What point? Logically Well I said to him for the sole purpose that the devil was allowed in the first place Do you think God lost control and the devil took over? God hated it so much that we'll never understand fully or comprehend But I know this from the whole heart of the scriptures He allowed Satan out to put to test those who'd never been tested who had to be tested to see what really is in the heart of man God doesn't want to press buttons I believe that theology is of the devil Boom! You will love me No ways There's a choice God wants you to choose to love him Don't doubt this now So he puts us to the test Even when we're saved There's a testing ground Temptation is the sifting ground The sifting of the hearts of men Don't doubt this Don't dare think God's lost control Don't dare think that God just doesn't care to those who He wants to show you something Now beloved He sifts out the hearts of men He allows temptation for three reasons Firstly that he may see what is in thine heart The Bible clearly teaches Secondly to show you what is in your heart Don't doubt this now God Firstly for God to see what's in your heart Secondly for you to see what's in your heart But thirdly, and this is fearful for the world to see what truly you are what's really in your heart even if you're a preacher If you're upright Sir, there's no greater witness on earth no greater message that God can have in this world than a life Believe me there's nothing the devil can do if God can put a life in front of people that is real It's the greatest message ever preached is a life lived out when we are epistles written not with ink but by the spirit of God to reach the consciences of heart to stagger the powers of hell through our lives living out what the word is they don't need a pulpit they just need a life living out what the pulpit would here and they're more under conviction than a preacher Preaching it Sir a life lived out in front of people it's righteous it's the greatest sermon ever preached But you see He that loveth me keepeth my commandments But if you harbor and reserve evil in your heart it will be seen it will come out That's why in my 44 years of preaching I won't say those words I won't say how many what percentage I've gauged Those who I saw preaching were kept from the pulpit and thrown out of denominations My son, Noah went to a school a very affluent school not because we were rich but because godly people said because you're missionaries doesn't mean your children have to go to the poorest schools So we went to the traditional one of the greatest schools recognized on earth But this son of mine came home weeping one day and he said to me Daddy, you don't know how wicked things are that I've got to face a school, Daddy It seems everywhere I turn every boy I turn to even the Christians there's sin There's things you would never believe I could ever stoop to, Daddy I even sat next to a boy in the class and I prayed, Daddy God, don't let me sit next to someone that's going to hold out evil to me And then this boy sits there and holds out drugs and other things I don't want to think about that he showed my son And my boy wept How am I going to stay clean? How am I going to stay pure in this world, Daddy? I want to I said, boy when you're saved you have to come to a place of absolute surrender There is something about that Romans 12, 1, 2, 3 and many other passages upon passages in the light of all scriptures the whole Bible cries out to the Godhead to come to a place of absolute surrender You have to come to a place where you know you mean business with God Now listen carefully, my boy Once that happens don't make that the issue Salvation is the issue Soak yourself in the Bible Don't ever neglect it And my boy the devil can't touch you He can tempt you But to the degree you're soaked in the word of God God will keep you, my boy God will keep you I believe that with my heart I want us all to realize that the Bible speaks of two categories of men who sin The one delights in sin The other despairs because of any sin The wicked They do evil with both hands earnestly No restraint Oh, let me Any evil book No hesitation Any evil films No hesitation Anything on the internet No hesitation No restraint Nothing They do evil with both hands earnestly There's an earnestness Don't hesitate Don't lose a moment No fear of the repercussions Micah 7 verse 3 They do evil with both hands They pursue evil They seek evil With no restraint With no fear of God No thought of the tragic consequences of their sin But to say, beloved They've heard the voice of God crying through the Scriptures through the Holy Book Depart from evil and do good Psalm 34 verse 13 Hate the evil Love the good Amos 5 verse 1 Abhor that which is evil Cleave to that which is good Romans 12 verse 9 And many, many other verses that we haven't got the time to They strive to cry out at the end of each day I have refrained my feet from every evil way that I might keep thy word Psalm 119 verse 101 Oh, the fear of the Lord is to depart from evil Proverbs 16 verse 6 But tragically, Proverbs 13 verse 9 tells us that it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil I want to repeat it In a way, you'll never forget it Because God said this, not me If I say it, what difference does it make? But if God says it Woe to you that don't take heed The fear of the Lord is to depart from evil Proverbs 16 verse 6 By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil Proverbs 13 verse 9 But tragically God tells us it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil Is that you? Now I'm going to ask you a question no one in your life will ever ask you again I have no doubt of this Concerning that, what God says It's an abomination to fools to depart from evil Is that you God is speaking about? Don't go easily over that thought You may never ever be confronted again by the word of God with it Is that you? There's no fear of God before their eyes Romans 3 verse 8 The fear of the Lord Oh fear the Lord depart from evil Proverbs 3 verse 7 Be careful here or suffer the consequences and everyone will suffer with you not just you but your children with your wife if you're married or your children your mother and father they will all suffer the consequences That's the wicked but the saved whom God has set free from enslavement to sin Be careful Sinless perfection Be careful of that statement When we are taken in one moment to heaven then sir you are totally perfected Wow Before that there's a lot more to go while you're dying God has a reason there's still more to do Don't doubt that now But the saved whom God has freed from enslavement to sin otherwise you've never been saved They grieve at the smallest failure in thought and word and deed They despair over the smallest failures given to them by the light of the holy booklet that now is living to them and they aspire to They grieve at the smallest word or look or reaction or thought more than a man whose unsaved will grieve at adultery at betraying his wife betraying his children That man will not grieve That woman will not grieve An adulterous woman goes into sin and walks out, God says in the book of Proverbs and says I've done nothing wrong There is no fear of God There is no conscience See it with the hot eyes Be careful But when you're saved the smallest failures that you would never have worried about never thought of sin will suddenly become a grief to you more grief than a man out there unsaved grieves at wickedness Because the Holy Ghost is in you, you see And it's his grief It's his grief That is quite a staggering staggering thought Well, let's leave all this because we've gone on now Unite my heart to fear thy name Have you ever read that? Give me, literally a single heart a singleness of heart That's a staggering A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways As James says in 1 verse 8 He cries in chapter 4 verse 8 Purify your hearts, ye double-minded You that have a double mind You're unstable, you have two minds That's quite a statement, isn't it? To have two minds. Listen to this I don't really read newspapers very much I do buy them because I'm always preaching always travelling, I don't have a television I think it's the most boring thing on earth Sorry if I'm offending you I think, what on earth of our ways I couldn't possibly, and I say, please forgive me They say, there's no sin, what's the difference There's sins that's keeping me from God's word I'm bored Leave me alone, you waste your life I want to redeem the time Oh well, people judge me, let them But listen to this About this double-minded man, OK A man who has two minds He's unstable in all his ways This was in the newspaper Hungry, two-faced snake Bites the other self A snake in Kiev With two heads Each able to think And eat separately And even steal food from each other Has become a popular attraction At the Ukrainian zoo In Kiev The small Albino California king snake Now on show in the Black Sea resort of Yalta Is quite a handful for the zoo The snake's two heads are fiercely independent Not always in agreement And they like to steal food from each other Sometimes one head Wants to crawl in one direction And the other head in another direction This must be terrifying OK He tries to feed the snakes two heads separately Because they fight They have one body, it's the same snake But he's got two heads, two bodies Double-minded man, whoa, it's a terrifying thing If it's really hungry Its heads steal food from each other He says He has to separate the food By putting a barrier The second head gets angry But then both feel full Because they only have one stomach A private zoo said The king snakes hunt other reptiles Meaning one snake's head could instinctively Attack the other one And eat the other one And that must be a horrifying thing It's only one of the two-headed snakes known Now this is amazing Psalm 86 Unite my heart To fear thy name Give me, the Hebrew says, a single heart A single mind, a singleness of mind Not a double-minded man Who's unstable I grieve at the thought of Living a double-minded A double-minded man is unstable In all his ways, that's a staggering thought James 1 verse 8 Purify your heart, ye double-minded James 4 verse 8 You have two minds Two minds Like the two-headed snake Two brains Forcing itself to live Two conflicting lives, a double life Psalm 119 I hate vain thoughts But thy law do I love The Hebrew says I hate double-mindedness Vain thought is double-mindedness I hate double-minded Being double-minded I grieve at the thought and concept Of being a double-minded person Of living a double life One commentary says God give me singleness of heart Give me a single mind Now beloved I could go into all this But I think you all Will be like Paul's congregation Close at midnight To falling backwards and dying That's never happened to me Yet but happened to Paul Don't you get angry with me If I preach till midnight Otherwise you'd have to get angry with Paul But look Paul didn't do this I'm leaving all this Isn't it terrible? Ammonia The word iniquity Is the meditation of evil Look all this is doctrine But it's wonderful Bring me back brother I might just be able to preach this Never, not tonight But I might one day be able to give Isn't this amazing? How long it took Why did I do this? Theology, it would have been an explosion Tonight about all sorts of things in the Bible But it doesn't matter The point is here I want to end Give me 10 to 15 minutes Who is against that? Put your hands up And then we make you stand in the chair And tell us why No one You're all wanting me to go and thank you That is a bit terrifying but what else can I do? Alright Genesis 32 verse 24 Listen carefully because there's nothing history Nothing is recorded history Of course it's history But if you look upon it as recorded history Two thirds of the Bible is a historical account of God's dealing with individuals and with his people It is not Two thirds of the Bible is as divinely inspired as the New Testament And we are in total poverty and misunderstanding Lack of understanding Lack of true broad aspect of the heart of God In the New Testament You won't understand two thirds of the New Testament And the true concept of what God is saying Unless you know and devour and master The Old Testament So it's not just history So listen to the Old Testament sir from your heart Because this is as vital for you to understand the New Testament As the New Testament is to understand the Old Testament Genesis 32 verse 24 And Jacob Was left alone That's a place he should have got to long ago This isn't just I'm alone for a moment He stopped life He was so desperate With himself And the repercussions The consequences Of all the inconsistencies in his life That grieved God And man and him And all had repercussions Jacob in his desperation now Was left alone Good place to get to And there Wrestled a man with him Until the breaking of the day Until the breaking of the day And when he saw That he prevailed not Against him He touched the hollow of his thigh And the hollow of Jacob's thigh Was out of joint as he wrestled with him And he said He said let me go Let me go Let me go For the day breaketh And he said I will not let thee go I will not let thee go Except thou bless me And he said unto him What is thy name And he said Jacob, Jacob Jacob And he said Thy name shall be called No more Jacob But Israel Israel For as a prince As a prince hast thou power with God And with men And hast prevailed And Jacob asked him and said Tell me I pray thee thy name And he said Wherefore is it that thou Dost ask after my name And he Blessed him there And Jacob Called the name of the place Pamnia For I have seen God Face to face And my life is preserved Now beloved be careful of this passage Here is a man the bible Terms wrestling with God in prayer Now you pick up E.M. Bounds on prayer You pick up the great Revival prayer books by Leonard Ravenhill You will find every single one Without exception Calling us to know how to pray till God comes Will not let God go Until he comes with revival power Whoa Be careful this was not The case Though this is always used As a reference This man was not such a caliber This man was Fighting with God Oh and it was God by the way It wasn't an angel You know when he wrestled with the angel of the Lord Every reformer From Luther to Calvin to Zwingli Down to Wesley and down to our great Anyone right down to the great Revivalists who shook the world We can trust them They all agree That this was God Not a man Not an angel It was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ Which happened Again and again in the Old Testament Abraham literally It was God it wasn't an angel That literally ate it was a pre-incarnate Appearance Even an unsaved king saw Daniel's friend standing in the furnace And recognized and became conscious in fear Appearance of the son of man This angel of the Lord Is in agreeance Even with Hebrew unsaved scholars Of orthodox Teachings Is God There is something so sacred here Because You see He didn't say to Jacob What was said to others Don't humble yourself before me Don't say that I'm just an angel God would have rebuked him I have seen God face to face This was God A pre-incarnate When Christ became God Before that moment God appeared in some human form In some physical visible form No doubt this Not just a vision And he was fighting with God This man was fighting with God Over issues in his life That had repercussions and consequences That brought such shame, such fear, such sorrow Against him Such grief to him The consequences of his inconsistencies The consequences of his compromises The consequences of going against God's given conscience And doing that which is righteous In circumstance upon circumstance This man was suffering now The consequences, now sir Be careful here, he was fighting with God over these issues And if that shocks you This is going to shock you more God wasn't winning the battle When he saw that he prevailed not Against Jacob He touched the hollow of his thigh And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint As he wrestled with him God struck this man so severely With such a severe blow that he never recovered physically Until the day he died It was not the devil Who struck him and crippled him It was God Be careful who you attribute things going wrong with A person physically It was God It was not the devil, sir Be careful When God saw That he struck this man With such a severe blow Jacob never recovered until the day he died He limped You know what that means? And halted He put his one foot forward and dragged the other Until the day he died He never recovered from what God did When God strikes a man He always does it in love There is more love behind the striking hand of God While you live No matter how cruel it may seem Than any human has ever loved you in your entire life You can multiply it by a billion When God strikes you It is out of love To try and bring you to your senses To try and bring you to give up the fight To try and bring you to absolute surrender To try and bring you to a place where you will let him have his way With all the issues of your life No matter what it costs Let me tell you This is going to shock you even more After God struck Jacob so severely He never recovered until the day he died Jacob didn't give up fighting You may say That's not true Jacob gave up the fight He didn't After God struck this man so severely As that, that he never recovered He is so agonized in pain physically God saw fit to say these words Let me go Let me go The daybreak You fight too long No matter what I do to you You fight on and on And on and on No matter what comes upon me Oh you people sitting here tonight Can I ask you a question Has God struck you? I'm not talking about physically But things come against you Oh you say it's the devil Is it? Is it not God? Are you fighting with God? I want to ask all of you Are you fighting with God? Don't tell me he wasn't saved Boy he had testimonies That in our emotional, frantic, crazy Set up today of religion Would have people in their thousands shouting Hallelujah Of visions and dreams God trying to reveal himself God trying to bless this man God trying to honor this man But in spite of all this This man This man Was a grief to God In spite of all this He was fighting with God now Over issues that God really had to deal with And he wasn't winning the battle God saw that he prevailed not He struck this man Has God struck you? What you say is the devil Is it not God? Trying to make you come to your senses in his love Trying with these things to bring you to a place Where you can't be comfortable Where you get to despair To some crisis moment Where you really have to seek God And give up the fight Let me tell you something shocking Only when Jacob Saw the tragedy Of what was happening in his life That God After all his blessings Of honoring him And blessing him and singing him out And being with him After all this Coming so close to him As few men could ever give such an account God now was withdrawing Not having his way Grieving Not having his Perfect will fulfilled Unable to get me to do What he wanted To give up the fight When he sensed the tragedy that would be written against his name For eternity After all that God had done The fear that gripped that man What was happening Made him do something remarkable He clung to God in the most amazing way He clung to God in such desperation That shook heaven Stirred the heart of God He clung to God But God couldn't let him go Couldn't withdraw I will not let thee go Except thou bless me Except thou have thy way No matter what thou cost God Unless you have your full way in my life No matter what it cost me Deal with me Deal with everything And God looks at this man Now this is unique He looks at a man who gives up the fight Whoa! Have you? Will you ever Christian? Or will you die with God's second best, sir? Because you never came to this place God Looks at this man Totally yielded Whoa! Heaven stood Don't doubt this If all the angels of heaven rejoice over one sinner that repents Don't tell me heaven didn't stand And wasn't looking and conscious From the grandstands One man, a rarity Amongst God's people Totally yielded I will not let thee go Clinging to God in desperation No matter what the consequences Allowing God desperately Wanting God to deal with everything in his life And have his full way And then God says these words to this man What is thy name? Why would God say that? Jacob knew He didn't need an explanation You see, God waits for confession He will never ever deal with sin In a Christian's life Until you confess your true state He waited for confession He wanted it What is thy name? Of course he knew his name was Jacob But Jacob knew also what God was saying Because Jacob means double dealer Usurper, deceiver, supplanter All four words In Hebrew Double dealer Oh God, that's me Jacob Double dealer Deceiver Usurper, supplanter Oh God, that's me With all the things All the dreams, all the visions All that God's done That men are conscious And I'm conscious God loves me But all I am to this moment God with all that is Jacob That's me A grief to God In truth Fighting with God even now And God looks at this man Totally yielded The fight given up, clinging, confessing And God says These remarkable words In one moment That man was taken from a pauper And don't doubt this Of what God wanted him to be And could have made him In one moment A pauper He made him a prince Spiritually, not physically Not Jacob Spiritually In one moment of yieldedness The fight given up, clinging He will not let God go And confessing In desperation what God wanted him to say What he truly was In his state Andrew Murray, who I believe was one of the greatest Preachers that ever lived Why do I believe that? He's the only man that really saw A mighty revival of Southern Africa Turned the history of South Africa It turned our nation's history It wasn't just a movement among some little groups Or masses of people Among some denomination It was a national repentance To such a degree our nation's history turned And the fear of God came upon our land That even the unshaved And I as an unshaved person Even my daddy as an alcoholic knew The fear of God was in this land And it was a hundred years after his death Eighty years after his death No He said these words I believe That if a Christian does not come to a place Of absolute surrender Where he is totally yielded to God His entire life As Romans 12 says, is laid as a sacrifice But not dead like an animal A living sacrifice Totally on the altar, given over Everything's on the altar Totally surrendered Absolute surrender I believe that if a child of God Does not come to a place of absolute surrender Whereby God at that moment Fills him with the Spirit That means the Spirit is in him Otherwise he's none of Christ But he doesn't control him And he wants control I believe if that doesn't happen in a Christian's life That person Will become a grief to God and man Beginning in the home Though he's saved, though she's saved To be filled with the Spirit Is not a half empty glass Now suddenly you fill the other half The Spirit is a person He can't be half in you, he's in you If you're saved But he's not controlling you All it means to be filled with the Spirit in the light of all Scriptures Ephesians 5, Romans 12 Many other places, Romans 8 There's staggering Staggering truth All it means is He is now in control It doesn't perfect you totally It places you in a position Where you can be taken on to perfection That only happens at death Total perfection Until then God has to take you But until then you're ups and downs If you're honest, Andrew Murray said More downs than ups Not with immoral sins Involved God sets you free from that But with the danger always lurking there Listen From that time it just places you positionally Where God can take you on And growth, consistent growth You see the path of the just Those who are rightly rated to God Is as a shining light That shines more and more unto the perfect day It doesn't perfect you You have to get more light And you're continually yielding But that moment has to come That you yield to all the light you've been given To a place where God takes control That is the presence of the Holy Spirit But you need the blood You see the Old Testament Every single sacrifice points to the cross of Christ Every single sacrifice was for a vital reason For us to understand why Christ died One of the sacrifices were for sins Committed in ignorance Now the priest would come for this And a sacrifice was made And it was pointing to something that had to attribute to One aspect, one facet of Christ's death That was vital for his people For sins committed in ignorance Let me tell you We can walk in the light Otherwise what can we preach? There's no victory That we've been given But as we walk in that light The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses us from all sins As a Christian, from sins committed For all that God still needs to do in us It is to Him that knoweth to do good But doeth not to Him it is sin We might not know but we can never come to God No matter what victories in our life without the blood Don't ever believe A man is holy Who claims he doesn't need the blood Sure the holier you are the more you'll come to God each day With the blood As you die no matter what you've done Even if you were David Levinson or Paul You'll come with nothing and nothing but the blood As you have any hope and daily As you approach God through the blood Because you're not perfect But You are positioned I believe what Andrew Murray said was truth It's the closest I've ever come to hearing What God requires of Christians And I will preach it from the highest hill I don't care who says to me It's not such a thing I say sir let me tell you something I want you to be honest This is one of the greatest preachers in the world by the way If you honestly can look me in the eyes And say that you live in victory Fight me but if you live in defeat For God's sake Why don't you try Instead of dying in defeat So I'm going to ask you something tonight And maybe it's against the grain But this May never be asked to you again You Every one of you That's saved That's struggling with sins That has faith and inconsistencies That brings grief to God and man And fear I want every one of you No matter how conscious you are you're saved Who need to come to absolute surrender A moment Not some struggles and fasting for ten days Before you believe God could even look at you No but by faith I beseech you I beg you literally Christians by the mercy of God that you present That you dedicate There's one moment One moment One moment of dedication That you dedicate God consecrates That you may prove That you can prove That's the reason God wants it of Christians What is that perfect and acceptable of God I beg you Christians I beg you So I'm begging you tonight and if you want to judge me Judge Paul he's the one who said it Don't of you Young or old I desperately need to give up the fight To confess to God tonight This is me That's me God I've been fighting but I give up I confess and I'm totally yielded No more fight and I want to come to a place Of absolute surrender Or become a grief to God and man Beginning in my heart I want those of you who desperately need to say this to God Tonight to stand right now please And those that stand I will pray for Who need to say to God I beg you I absolutely surrender here tonight as a Christian I come to a place of absolute surrender And I give up the fight and I'm confessing And I need the God to fill That is to take control That I can prove What is that perfect and acceptable will of God Those that are standing I want to pray a prayer for you I want you to say amen No matter who judges my prayer that doesn't matter I'm trying And God has honored this prayer In multitudes of people Even preachers who have written to me Consecrate me saying that before that there was no victory I lived in fear of the consequences Who said from that moment There was the victory I've longed for Now those standing Listen carefully to this prayer Oh God Take my life And let it be consecrated to thee Take me God What's left of my life but have everything I'm saved I have no doubt of that But tonight I absolutely surrender Tonight I give up the fight Like Jacob Tonight I cling to thee and will not let thee go Except thou has thy way With me God I dedicate My body To be a living sacrifice Totally yielded On the altar For God to prove But I give everything Lord Come now cleanse me with the blood True and true Create in me a clean heart oh God And renew a right spirit within me A consistent ability and grace To live in the light I'm given And not to disobey And live in failure Then will I teach transgressors thy ways Sinners shall be converted unto thee When I Lord am real And my heart doesn't condemn me And hope people don't find out my failures And I'm witnessing to them So God fill me now with thy Holy Spirit Take complete control Of this life And by thy grace God I know I'm not absolutely perfect There's the possibility of isolated failures And my little children these things write unto thee That ye sin not If we don't preach that we've got nothing to give man But if While we live that While we live in victory In the light we're given We consciously fail To all the powers of hell against us On our road to the celestial city It's not the end we don't give up We give up We confess that isolated sin And we go on Lord help us Help me that from tonight Absolutely surrendered Cleansed filled with the Holy Spirit Controlled by my Clinging to God Longing for God to have His way Giving up the fight Confessing and crying to me to do it That I will live In victory Amazing victory That I long to live in Now Lord give me the grace Never to neglect soaking myself in the word of God Because no experience Can substitute the daily devouring Of the word of God To be soaked in the word of God Is my greatest safety deity For from it I am daily renewed And maintained Help me never to neglect it again Ever before, ever again That I will put it my greatest priority in life And live what God Asks of me And doesn't mock me By asking such a standard of me That my life May not grieve others And bring shame on myself But have the right to witness To every soul on earth Because it is reality And that is what I long for Lord Give that to me In Jesus the Christ's name For His sake His namesake And in utter unswerving faith I ask this of thee From my heart Amen Can we all stand please One other stabbing question and then we close If you're unsaved And going to hell Hell bound and served Sin unreservedly with both hands earnestly No restraint You love the evil You hate the good You don't hate the evil and love the good You literally love the evil As God says wicked people Well, I'm asking you As an unconverted person To turn to God now Or destroy your life Because every friend that mocked me Without exception When I turned from a life of evil And left them Is dead And they died in such shame And such sin That I'm scared to think of it Let alone tell you And oh by the way one met me Before he died I couldn't even recognize him What sin had done to him Ten years after I'd lost him No one's laughing anymore brother Keith No, no one's laughing anymore Keith We're all weeping To be laughed at you But you were right And we were wrong Look at what left of me Because I didn't follow you to God Then he died days later in sin Oh yes You say no tonight One moment Watch what the devil's done to you If you pursue sin So get saved for God's sake And then get on the altar For God's sake as fast as you can And pray what Jacob prayed Or suffer the consequences And everyone that loves you Will suffer with you Or they don't love you So now God bless you Brother Alan Can I please just close this meeting Please help us God Oh we deserve what's coming And coming swiftly If we don't want it In Christ's name, Amen Tomorrow morning Ten o'clock Tomorrow afternoon Tomorrow night That's Friday Then one further service on Saturday All you've got is one prayer