In this sermon, the speaker discusses various aspects of the Christian life, including witnessing, worship, and warfare. He emphasizes the importance of fathers in the household, highlighting their role as the head of the family and the need to bring up children in a nurturing and admonishing manner. The speaker also mentions the heavenly calling of believers in Christ Jesus, discussing predestination, edification, and vocation. He notes that while there is abundant information on witnessing, there is less on worship and even less on warfare. The sermon concludes with a disturbing anecdote about a recent incident involving occult practices and murder.

Lord, we're never weary of asking thee to teach us to pray. We're aware that there's no school on earth, no school of languages that can teach us the art of intercession. We think about Lord Jesus Christ when he prayed, we're told that he sweat as it were great drops of blood. And the writers of the Hebrews reminds us of the Son of God who understood the sin of men, who understood the diabolical power of Satan more than we shall ever know until you reveal it in eternity. But we read there in Hebrews 5 that he prayed with strong crying and with tears. I don't know if there are other candidates here this afternoon, but Lord I ask you to teach me to pray like that. There may be no virtue in our mere emotion, but Lord God of hosts, unless our hearts are stoned we ought to be moved with compassion and concern that Satan has been able to lead some of your choice saints into captivity. We're aware that the history of the church of Jesus Christ is written with blood. The blood of the martyrs has always been the seed of the church. And Lord, there have been waves of revival in that country, this would seem a roadblock that Satan is using through a system to try and hinder that which possibly could spread to the very ends, north, south, east and west of Africa, where the men of white or black or yellow, whatever color they are, their hearts are black without God. We are reminded again Lord, that when prayer was made for Peter and others, you sent an angel. This it would be new to us, but we pray God in heaven that it may please you even to send a visitor from another world to them in their misery, in their darkness. Lord, maybe those men in prison are the most free men in that country. The man who put them there is in bondage, he's in chains heavier than chains of iron or chains of gold or chains of any other metal. He's in bondage to satanic power, his mind is satiated, saturated with evil desire. He's a man of cunning, he's a man of strategy. What he's forgotten is that he's a creature of the day and his breath is in his nostrils and he can't last very long. And so we pray again, arm of the Lord, awake and put on strength. We do agree as our brother has prayed, that there'll be a divine intervention, that something will happen. We would that in this nation some man might stand and dare to be counted. Some man might speak even in the legislature somewhere in Washington and startle them. Maybe fall on his knees in an outpouring of prayer that would make those men wonder what on earth happened. Lord, their vein is the help of man, your word says. We pray for this young man who may be in a solitary prison there in Cairo. Be his comfort, be his strength today. Maybe many times he's sung as we have sung, well the whole realm of nature mind, that it's not so easy when it's one who is alone going to lay his life down. That seems to be a life that has hardly been lived yet. Lord, we think of those millions we do not hear of in China and elsewhere. Your word does say that precious to the Lord is the death of his saints. We know again it doesn't matter how long we live, it's how we live. We think of the young man Stephen and the church must have been shot to its very toes. That the young man who had the anointing of God, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of power upon him. Nobody could gainsay his preaching, his face was like that of an angel. He had authority to cast out demons and yet somehow it seemed as though Satan got the upper hand and he took the captain away from that early church. And it seemed Lord the very moment he died as though you took the mantle off him and put him on that man called Saul and he didn't even know about it. It seemed you got a greater man out of the death just like a great acorn may, a great oak tree may come out of a tiny acorn. So we think of that young man laying down his life and Saul being haunted by the fact that that young man could pray like his Lord when he died, Father forgive them. That he could stand there and see into eternity and say I see Jesus standing. That must have been an exciting death. That must have been a wonderful reception because Jesus it seems as though you stood up to receive him when the word says you're sitting at the right hand of the Father. As though there was excitement in heaven that this young man wouldn't quarrel about this or compromise or seek in some way to get out of the grip of that terrible murder that was to be his own when his head was to be severed from his body. As our brother Joe prayed this afternoon we recognize again our ease, our comfort. I think here of the words of Jesus when those disciples wanted to go with him and he said there is another baptism are you able to bear it. We hear so much about the baptism of water and the baptism of the Holy Spirit we don't hear much about the baptism of suffering. We don't hear much about the baptism of identification with something that would break our hearts and maybe keep us half time from eating and half our time sleeping and half our time from other things. I pray God as a people here that we may be people with anointed eyes. If not why do we exist? We may as well get absorbed in another denomination or group. We know the birds that fly in the sky don't all have the same song and they don't have the same plumage and they don't all eat the same things. And Lord I don't know we want to be like anybody else but we do want to be like thee. We read of our Lord Jesus that when he saw the multitude he was moved with compassion. He saw them as sheep going astray. He used to sing Lord crucified give me a heart like thine. Teach me to love the dying souls of men and keep my heart in closest touch with thee and give me love pure Calvary love. Well this is what we need not a sentimental love not the love that we sing about even in some of our hymns. But that love so amazing and so divine. That love that you spoke of through your servant in John 3 16 where it says God so loved the world. A love that doesn't give the surplus it doesn't give God the leftovers of its time or the leftovers of its money or the leftovers of anything but love so amazing so divine demands my soul my life my all. Help us to get there and help us to stay there and help us to live there. Bless your word to our hearts in Jesus name. The epistle of Paul to the Ephesians chapter 6 again Ephesians chapter 6. Let's read from verse 10 again. Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wilds of the devil for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. One of the hymns that we love here sing fairly often is how firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord. And I found out this week that it was inspired after a person had been reading very carefully over and over again this sixth chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. It's true that he'd gone into the first chapters he had read it carefully through but at the end all he could say what a firm foundation God has laid for us in his word. You know it's going to be terrible to stand at the judgment seat of Christ. Again to quote Dr. Tolles and not many if any of us anywhere will look straight in the eye of God and say like Jesus did I have finished the work which thou gave us me to do. And as Dr. Tolles used to say the thing that troubles me is not what I've done but what I could have done. If only I'd been tuned in and heard his voice. If I'd only explored what Lowry calls again the possibilities of grace. I say again that one reason I can listen to the apostle Paul he hurts me, sure he does. Again because a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. I read the other day where a man had been testing some of these 1977 cars. They're not all good. And he gave his comments on various ones and then he said of course there are others but I can't comment on those I haven't tried them out. Now remember this is one of Paul's prison epistles. He's not a youngster he's an old man. My guess is he was pretty disfigured with all the stonings that he had. I think maybe his eyes slanted a bit and his cheek was screwed up where somebody had lacerated him with a stone. I think he limped a little. After all they did cast him out of liftless like a bag of bones saying that's the end of him. He well he's not going to get up and walk. Well he happens to know a thing or two. You know in Romans 8 he talks about the power of his resurrection quickening the mortal body. And he found it there and he rose and he went on and did a job. But again like the man who has tested the car this man has tested the whole armor of God. He's explored the potter villages of grace like no other man. He's drunk of the bitter waters of adversity and hardship. He's given his back to the smiters. He's embraced things that men would run a million miles away from. Sometimes he says he's in weariness and in fasting. And when he's not in weariness in fasting he's in prison where he can't get food anyhow. And the devil did an awful lot to him but he never got a squeal out of him. He never got a groan out of him. He never got a question out of him asking well Lord why did this come to me when I've done so much and others have done so little. He never did that. So again I say that the man here is a mature soldier. He's had on the whole armor of God and he recognizes again and again again that the Christian life is a warfare. We're not both he says. We don't wrestle with flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. Writing to the Corinthians you remember he says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual and they're mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. If everybody builds a right to book on how to build yourself up in the faith nobody talks too much about pulling down strongholds. Well the only reason you get built up is that you can pull down. We're not these nice boys showing the muscles you know it's an exhibition. Paul says in this in this epistle he tells us to put on the whole armor of God. Now look you can put on armor without going to fight. You can parade. You can strut up and down and be a showman. But he not only talks about putting on the whole armor of God he says take unto you the armor of God. And there he implies you're taking it for a given situation and the situation of course is combat. Now in the first part of this book Paul has described what I would say is our heavenly calling and in the second section he's talking about walking worthy. That you and I have to live every day worthy of the name that we bear. That we don't foul it up. That doesn't somebody doesn't say hey if that's Christianity I'm through with it. If that's your idea of a man of God you remember what that famous Indian said Gandhi. Somebody asked him if he liked Christians he said no no no I don't I like Christ but I don't like Christians. In other words he says the model doesn't quite work now like the master. Something went wrong the potter didn't produce what we thought would be produced or there's something hindering. Now in the first part of the book therefore he's talking about that the heavenly calling of these people in Christ Jesus. He's very clear about it. He talks about their predestination. He talks about their edification. He talks about their vocation not vacation. In the second half he talks about walking worthy of our high calling in Christ Jesus. You see really there are three great manifestations of the Christian life. Maybe there are more but there are three main ones. One is witnessing. The second is worship. The third is warfare. Now we know an awful lot about witnessing. You can get all kinds of books on how to witness. There's not so much information around on how to worship and there's very little on warfare. There is an old volume it's about this size written by Gurnall somewhere in the 1600s. It's very ponderous and I don't get much out of it. But it reputedly is a classic. You'll have to wade up to your ears in old terminology and theology but he's managed to write about 700 pages on warfare. As I say I'm saying I don't like it too much. The areas I've I've dipped into it I haven't found too inspiring. But again here are the three divisions. Number one we're to witness. Number two we're to worship. And number three there's warfare. Witnessing is declaration. Worship is adoration. Warfare is opposition. Witnessing is manward. Worship is godward. Fighting is devilward. Against principalities and powers. Witnessing is to tell others what God has done. Worshipping is because we know who and to some degree what God is. And warfare is to realize some of the greatness of the power of Satan. Notice again that the apostle urges us to put on the whole armor of God. Now I reminded you last week that this chapter, the sixth chapter, begins in the nursery and it ends in the armory. If you go in the previous chapter there's an exhortation to servants to be in submission to their masters. Masters be kind to their servants. Wives to be in subjection to their husbands. In the sixth chapter children be in subjection to your parents. Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right, says verse one. Then it changes to honor your father and mother. Why? Because there comes a time when you don't have to obey your parents. There's a time when legally your parents have no authority over you. But you don't stop honoring them just because legally you're not bound to do everything that they say. One proof of grace and the way we bring up our children is that they honor us. Now have you noticed this? I didn't notice this till yesterday. I was it today. In verse four the ladies get off the hook here. Because it says ye fathers provoke not, notice the mothers are not mentioned. Ye fathers provoke not your children unto wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition. You see it's recognizing again the father is the head of the house. In a godly home the father should be the king, he should be the priest, he should be the advisor, he's the shepherd. And there comes a time when he can't drive every opinion into those children. But he doesn't lose the heart of the father. He doesn't lose his compassion. He's careful in his admonition. You know when I was a boy, I was a boy. I was as mischievous as a monkey. I gathered everything I could. I filled my pocket. My father would say come here Len. My pockets were like this. What have you got in? Oh well I got a lot of things. Empty them out. I don't, I didn't ask you if you wanted to. Empty your pocket. Good night. I got marbles this size and this size. I had a pocket knife, a piece of string, something I swapped with another boy for something else. And it looked like a pawn shop by the time I got everything out on the table. And you know my father knew I didn't like that. And then sometimes he'd say to me something like this. Len do you have your knife on you? Yes God I have my knife somewhere here, somewhere. You know he got everything out of my pocket without telling me like a you know. Empty your pockets here. You know one day I was smart enough to fall for that. I thought you're crafty. You want to know everything in my pocket. That's what you want to know. And instead of me backing off and say well daddy it doesn't matter. Because sometimes you know I might have a candy I used half and stuck it in my pocket and it would go a lot of whiskers on or something. All right something else. But he found out what was there. Now the apostle here says bring your children up in the nurture. I like that word. Oh good daddy takes care of his children. I'll tell you what my children don't buy the clothes down the road. There they get the best of everything. My children get the best bicycles. My children get the best food. My children get, you could say that in millions of homes. But tell me this, do they get the best spiritual nourishment? Somebody said very smartly, if we started dealing with children in the high chair we could get rid of the electric chair. We've got rid of that unfortunately I think. But anyhow that's it. And the responsibility of the father. Yes the mother, the mother has responsibility sure enough. But the emphasis here again is on the father. Ye fathers provoke not your children unto wrath but bring them up in the nurture and in the admonition of the Lord. Now in verse 10 again he says finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on. We don't stress human responsibility enough. You can pray till you're blue in the face and there's some things God won't do for you, do it yourself. You tell the Lord you're going to spend the next six Saturday afternoons praying instead of doing your garden and see if anything grows. Not only that in the spiritual realm. He says keep yourself from idols. He says keep yourself in the love of God. He says you lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset you. He says flee from youthful lust. Don't start problems with lust. What were you doing lounging around the bathing pool the other day with half nude girls there? You were feeding it. Well why pray about it? Flee, run away from it he says. Flee from youthful lust. Now will you notice what he says? Put on the whole armor of God. Why? Why? Why do I need the whole armor? It goes right from my head to my feet. Why? Because human personality is corrupted and weakened and I need the whole covering that God can give me. Notice again he doesn't say uh I want to make some suggestions to you. I say this is pretty devastating to me at least. He only says this is God's armor. It is not Paul's armor. It isn't the basic theology of somebody else's. He says this is the armor that God Almighty has provided because you see now you've come into the kingdom of God that Satan has every right to turn every part of hell upon you if he wants to. That's why he says put on the whole armor of God and stand and withstand when you don't understand. Put on the whole armor of God. He doesn't say take a course in psychology and beef your mind up a bit. He doesn't say change your diet and build your body up a bit. He doesn't say you need the latest book on how to influence somebody and win somebody else that the Greeks have just put out. He says come into the armory. If you go to England or some other countries there are one or two places in this country you know Canada you can go into an old castle. I didn't get too lost in the china and the priceless ornaments but I'll tell you two things I liked in those castles when we toured them. One was the library. I like to see those ancient manuscripts. I like to see those illuminated decorations in the front where a book has been dedicated to a king or somewhere else. It took months and months to do that page. Was done so delicately by by a man who spent his life until his eyes were almost boggly. Oh those beautiful illuminated addresses in the front are wonderful. But you know I also like to go in the armory and when we got into the armory it was something to see. Oh there were guns going so far back. Why I remember seeing a gun longer than myself. I wonder how the man wielded it. I remember the countless swords that were there. I remember a thing called a halberd. It's something like an axe with a long handle. And I could have stayed for hours in that one room looking at all those weapons. Say wouldn't they be pretty ridiculous today. What's the good of having a big helmet? You've got two little holes in it and clanking down the road as though you're going on to land on the moon. And a fellow's gun over like that and he drops an atom bomb and you wouldn't even know anything was around. The tactics have changed. I noticed a man said quite recently well how is it that five six hundred years ago there wasn't much said about the occult and spiritism for the simple reason they weren't living in the days we're living in now. This is a bombardment from hell. This is satan's last visitation to the earth trying to sweep multitudes, millions of people to destruction. And the best way to do it is to get through this little thing here on the top of our shoulders. That's why again the apostle says here wherefore take unto pardon me put on the whole armor of god that you may be able to stand against the wild the trickery of the devil. You know in all the epistles Paul wrote 14 if you take Hebrews he only mentions the devil four times. I get a little irritated. I don't often get irritated. My irritation is sanctified though. I don't get irritated about things concerning myself. I get irritated about things of the kingdom. When somebody says you know what the devil said to me today? He said to you I don't even know you're living. A demon maybe. I've said more than one once and I got a letter from a young man this week who was in a meeting we had a while ago and he turned my phrases around but that's all right I knew it the thing had gone home. If satan has a danger list and he says look there are 10 men on earth that I hate more than anybody. I wouldn't mind being the last one on the list never mind the first. I would like to be a thorn in the side of the devil. I would like to embarrass the devil. I would like the devil to say oh Raymuel just woke up again. I wish he'd have slept longer. Or Raymuel didn't go to bed. Oh I wish he'd have gone to bed earlier. I would like to take all the power that god can give me and stand against the wiles of the devil. He's making his last day. That's why there's such a glut of books on the occult. Did you notice what happened just recently where a boy went to a place in New Jersey three boys together and one of them said listen you murder me and cut out my inside and and cook it and I'll be reincarnated as a devil. Please do it. And the teenagers did it 14 years of age. They murdered him. They took his innards out. They made an altar up of his blood and his intestines and things. When the police came they said well he asked us to do it sir. He's going to rise from it. Be careful what you do. He's going to rise from the dead. How is it Anton can get so many intellectuals following him. How is it a bookstore in Michigan on the edge of a university can sell 10 demon bibles to every one bible it sells of the christian faith. All right the apostle says that as I say again he mentions only four times. He never says satan spoke to him. Have you ever noticed that? I said almost facetiously I think satan said come on demons gather around I've got good news for you. What is it? They chopped Paul's head off. He didn't all have a half day off. The apostle Paul's dead. We can relax a bit. You see the other man was going to be like him. I got rid of him that young fellow Stephen 17 years of age. Boy I cut him out. But you know what I think somehow this man has never forgotten it. He could see that boy's blood spilling. He could see the eyes of that boy. He's never seen those eyes. They'd be like the headlights of a car as we would say. He sees the eyes of that boy. He hears that boy saying Lord forgive them. They don't know what they do. This man thinks he's exterminating christianity. He's not. He's watering the trees. He's not cutting off a branch. He's going to bear more fruit. Isn't that true of the church of Jesus? Men of flog. Gilmore went to Mongolia. How long did he stay? About seven years before he had one convert. I preached there in the almost the black hall of Calcutta once in that church of Keres. And felt unworthy even to put my hands where that godly man had been. I remember one day looking at feet he stood the last time he came to England. Because of course he was a Babe Ruth of English cricket. And I thought he'd give us some tips on cricket. He never knew the rubber cricket field apparently. Never mentioned it. All he did was glorify the Lord and say your backsliders why don't you get to Africa and save the lot. If we'd have listened to him then it would have been a different Africa. But you see this is what God asks. Again he doesn't want your lousy sins. What do you think God does with sins? He doesn't launder them and put them back in the earth. He asks for your heart. He asks for your life. He asks for your spirit. He asks for your body. Put on the whole armor of God. Why? Because you're going to need defense in every area. Physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally. There is no part that is not vulnerable to the devil unless I have me on the whole armor of God. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and against powers and against the rulers of the darkness. Take unto thee the whole counsel of God. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Verse 14. Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth. And then a breastplate of faith. Some of you read about an ancient country called Sparta. Do you remember a country called Sparta? Where the mothers, you know they bathed their babies. Boy you couldn't do it down here. You know they bathed their babies every morning. When they, when the mother fed the baby do you know what she did? She went and rolled it in the snow. Oh goodness me give it pneumonia. Oh you'll have the health authorities after you. She didn't happen to know about that. She rolled the baby in the snow because he said that babe when it's been rolled in the snow and I rub it with a towel. I'm doing something to build it up. The king of Sparta said every baby boy that's born in this country is born a soldier. I wish to God we told everybody that comes blubbering to an altar sometimes not because they want to get saved but they want to get rid of a bit of guilt. I wish we'd said to them listen you're born again of the Spirit of God. You're a soldier. You've got no rights. I noticed a bunch of soldiers this week are going to sue the government because they say you tricked us into being a soldier. You're not telling us, you told us some things we should get and we're not getting them. And I'll tell you something Jesus never tricked anybody. Once when he needed recruits more than anything do you know what he said? He said listen don't sign on the dotted line a minute. Oh no don't get swept away on emotion. Don't think I'm going to have a revival like this every meeting and feed 5,000 everybody excited. Don't think your ears are going to tingle because you see somebody raised from the dead. I want to tell you something. If you're going to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ sit down and count the cost. I don't want your sins. I want your life. I want your spirit, your soul, your body, your mind, your will, your emotions, everything. Most young men say we were tricked into it. Jesus never tricked anybody into it. We're always saying to people you need to be saved. You know the Lord can give you peace. Yes he can. Do you know why he gives you peace? Because you'll think you're going through hell sometimes and the only thing he'll keep you sane is the peace he gave you to go through that situation. That's all. He guaranteed peace. No he didn't. He guaranteed my peace I give you. But he also guaranteed me that peace. He says listen in the world you shall have tribulation. Don't you make any mistake about it. The world isn't going to love you because you're righteous. It's an unrighteous world. It won't love you because you're holy. It's an unholy world. It won't love you because you're pure. It's an impure world. It won't love you because you're truthful. It's a lying world. It won't love you because you're honest. It's a deceitful world. I remember going down the street in the city of Bath in England. The Romans were there in 55 BC. Oh there was such a commotion and then people say look, look, look. And a lady apparently had been cleaning in her room upstairs. There were these two-story houses and she had the windows open and she must have let the canary out for some reason. They were having a flying round and it had come out of the window and it was perched on a windowsill. She had a window here, one here and one that didn't open and she was reaching, almost falling out trying to get a net over that bird and it flew away. And as soon as it moved sparrows came, dozens of them. And they pecked and they pecked and they squealed and they howled until finally they got that little thing. They just murdered it. It happened to be the wrong color. It happened to be yellow instead of being the color of a sparrow and it was easy to see and they destroyed it. And you know immediately we're born again with the Spirit of God. We come out of the kingdom of darkness into light. We're targets for Satan. Make no mistake about it. But again the word is here. What does he say? He says, stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth. Now I don't doubt that that's what he meant and I don't doubt that the loins are these things here what I understand is to be very strong if you're going to wrestle and he's talking about wrestling. But I do remember that there's another word isn't it in Peter? Where Peter says in 1st Peter 1 verse 15. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind. Gird up the loins of your mind. And I said and we get to it here. The thing I'm concerned about this afternoon in this suit of armor that we're wearing there is a breastplate. Now the breastplate for instance again with the Spartans. When a young man went to fight for Sparta his mother always stood at the door they said. He'd received his uniform. His shield would cover him from his head to his feet. And his mother would say now Jack remember you come home with that shield or on it. He came home with his shield all bloody or he came home on it. It was the deal on which they carried his body home but he hadn't let go of the shield. The shield covered him. He could peek over it but it was a protection against the whole of his body. And therefore the apostle here talks about the shield of faith and girding up the loins of your mind and putting on the helmet of salvation. Isn't it interesting here that in this warfare and I'm quite serious in this and kind but there is no mention of gifts of the spirit. Have you noticed there? And have you noticed in the gifts of the spirit there is no gift of exorcising demons. Now in these days there's an awful lot of emphasis on this. I get magazines from different parts of the world and I find some of them so-and-so deliverance tabernacles. There are no deliverance tabernacles in the new testament either. There are gifts of evangelists. There are gifts of prophets. There are gifts and again it's it's multiple isn't it. There are gifts of healing but there is no gift as such to tell us to as an individual a personal ministry of casting out demons. Now it is true that Jesus said to his disciples go into all the world preach this but heal the sick cleanse the leper cast out devils but he didn't say Peter that's your particular ministry. You know again and I like this you may not but I do. I like this because you see it says that when God gave gifts unto men he gave to one this and to another that and to another but he never said that about the fruits of the spirit. You could get by with one gift of the spirit or no gift you can't get by without one fruit of the spirit. Now the one will balance the other as I've used the figure so often that a that a dove has nine main feathers on this wing and nine on that. It doesn't try and get off the ground with one or off the ground with the other. It uses both nine gifts nine fruits. A three seven branch candlestick. Here it is at the center three branches on either side three imitation almond bugs on each of those three things which means there are nine. Nine on one side nine on the other side nine gifts nine fruits nine feathers nine feathers. So this is not a particular gift in that sense of exorcising demons. Now let me step back a minute. Jesus here says you to put on the whole panoply of God. There's a scripture that Herb often talks about you ask him to explain it to you after. But in Luke chapter 10 and verse 20 it says this. If I were the finger of God cast out devils no doubt the kingdom of God is come. There's a greater power here than satanic power. I think about a friend of Wesley's that Wesley said was the holiest man that had ever lived after the apostle Paul John Fletcher. And you know what John Fletcher said and I hope you understand this. He says to me it is comparatively a small thing that I can be cleansed from all sin. I can understand that to some degree the power of the blood cleanses from all sin. I had no problems with the cleansing but he said the thing that staggers me is this. That I can be filled with all the fullness of God. I'm going to suggest to you it may insult you but I you know you know how gentle I am anyhow I don't often insult you not more than six times a meeting. But I'll tell you what most of us are satisfied with about that much blessing. We've got in waters that just about cover the soles of our feet. Not to the ankles, not to the knees, not to the loins. Now I'm going to suggest to you that some of those precious people and I've prayed for them in the day and I've prayed for them in the night. Particularly when I heard that brother Kevenger is there. Not that he's more precious than any other saint to God. You know I'm praying that God will give some super manifestation in that nation. Now it deserves it. It's a prison house. It's one of the most diabolical systems on earth. It's not worse than Russia. It's not worse than China. But we've got used to them. Doesn't stir our blood. There's some precious young ladies like these whether you're blondes or redheads or what. Today are in captivity in Russia. That's why I keep teasing these guys about football. Why play a baby's game when you can play a man. You don't need a big helmet and look as though you've come from another planet and chase up and down. Good night. Any kid can do that. But you get into warfare with Satan. You learn some of the secrets of God. Being armed with all the panoply of God. Because that's what it says here. When a verse, this is a verse I've heard so much. Verse 21 of the 10th of Luke. When a strong man keepeth his palace his goods are in peace. He's a stronger man than you are. What are you going to do? Try and see what he has. Some of the most precious well-guarded things in the world are the crown jewels. Some of you have seen them I guess in the tower in London. Last year one of the big up big shops in England, I don't know who he was, he pressed the buttons. He pressed the trigger that somebody was stealing the crown jewels. And it rang in Scotland Yard. I forget what the reprimand was. It took them 17 minutes to get there or something. And when they got there the man said, well you got here. I can't do it. It's taking you 17 minutes. Well there was a lot of traffic and other things in the way. And you know we kind of thought it was a rehearsal. Man did he whip them. You think somebody's going to send you a note, tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock we're going to steal the crown jewels. Would you kindly be out of the way and turn the electric lights and everything off so we can get them easily. Here is a strong man. He's got a precious thing. I wish God would initiate me into the value of one soul. I'm not sure I could take it. What if he showed me the spiritual value of Russia or some other country. We deal with them as other commodities. Jesus says, when a strong man arm keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he shall come and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor. Do you know the word there is? It's the same word as here, put on the whole armor of God. Do you know the word there is? It's panoply. He's covered from head to feet. He's defended. You can't get through to him. But when a stronger man comes, he overcomes him and he takes from him his armor. Wherein he trusteth. And then he takes his spoils. Man I'd like a, I'd like a bunch of young guys to go with me like they used to in England years ago. We spent more time praying than we did blazing our hearts out at midnight to folk in in parks and coming from movie houses and whatnot. I'd like to see a bunch of young men so armed with God that we could rent them out, if I'll use the phrase, or there'll be no money to it. You know I see buses going down the road, the blue bell gospel singing party. I wouldn't waste my time doing it. First because it's not a gift of the Spirit. Secondly because there's too many anyhow. And thirdly because it doesn't demand much. I'd like to see some teams of young men where somebody uh, somebody phones in and says, hey I understand you've got four young men in your church that know how to lay hold of God. Could we borrow them for four days or five days? I think that'd be the greatest honor on earth. A lady who knew praying hides said when the conference was over in India, just before they did, somebody said put a hide. Yes very quiet. You will be back next year won't you? Well uh, oh please, please these are the dates of the conference next year. Would you put it in your diary? Would you please be sure you're here? Oh boy we think it's something when we get uh, I've been invited to a conference. Who do you think's preaching with me? Not who I'm preaching with. They have the privilege of preaching with me. Do you know who they are? Huh? Do you know I'm going to sing at so-and-so? Oh come on. I don't despise singing. I like singing. But I'm saying again it's easy and so is preaching comparatively. But when you start waging war against principalities and against powers, oh that's another story. Duncan Campbell went in a meeting one night. He'd come from Scotland to the Outer Hebrides. A girl that was one of the best dancers and singers in Scotland was dragged to the meeting. She'd been once before and she said I don't want to go. Signed too. Why not? Well he's a bit of a hellfire preacher isn't he? Yeah but he's a nice preacher you know. You know what she said? She said I guess as soon as we go there won't be room. We'll have to sit on the front pew and when we get there he'll say friends tonight somehow the Lord won't let me preach the message he's given me. And she said you see you point right at us. We always get that kind of guidance. Dear old Duncan stood up and he said friends the word of the Lord that I've had so long. I can't preach what I've prepared. The Lord has given me another word. Five were wise and five were foolish. There were five girls and he said I'm going to speak on the five foolish virgins. That rather narrows it down doesn't it? So she wasn't going to go back anymore. They dragged her to another meeting another night and she says I'll tell you this is the last time I'll go. She got in a clouded church and he says friends tonight I can't preach. Oh boy here it comes again. What's he going to do this time? Her name was Mary Morrison and he says the word of the Lord to me tonight is Mary the Lord has come and he calleth for thee. Well he couldn't have got much clearer unless she got amplified that said Mary Morrison or something but it does happen to say Mary. You know that girl got saved that night. Oswald Smith in Canada says she's the greatest woman preacher since Mrs. Booth be that as it may but I'll tell you what she did for a season for some years. She had a fantastic ministry of prayer and they had a conference on one of the outer islands and everybody came to hear Duncan Campbell. He preached about four nights and the last night he was going to preach he said Mary get up and preach. Ah she says brother they've come to hate doesn't matter who they've come to hear. Get up and preach. Now that would have lost the congregation in some churches but Mary got up and preached. Did not she preach? She preached on David and Lazarus. She hadn't got halfway through that place before the whole place broke up and began to speak again. She caught the spirit of the man that she was born under. Like you catch to some degree what your parents are like. Very often people take on the climate in which they're born again. They become little branches of a bigger tree. This is why it's so important to be careful where we where we go and what we listen to. You see we're living in a day of journeymen preachers. I have to go away tomorrow. I'd honestly prefer to stay here but I'm going because the Lord will plan it that way. But with so many fly-by-night fellows come in for two or three nights I wouldn't give them breathing space. Particularly these men that say listen I want to tell you they are the Lord sent me along and I'm going to clear the devil out of here. I was in a meeting like that not too long ago. Fellow got up and said well praise the Lord I'm glad to be bow your head I'm going to clap and he prayed. Satan get out of here don't come within a hundred yards of this building and all he carried on amen. Now he said the atmosphere there was a girl sitting under his nose that lives at 200 miles from here and she'd been demon possessed for months and she sat five nights in that meeting and then the last night it took them about six hours. A bunch of my friends stayed with her in the back room before the demons in her began to cry out. But he dismissed them all. You don't do that by just terminology. How do you know you don't read the 19th of Acts. Somebody says look if you meet anybody demon possessed all you have to do is stand up and say this in the name of the Lord. Well try it you may get beaten up. You remember the sons of Stephen the high priest and they said oh he's right oh is that the only problem oh well we can knock the devil out it is very easy. And they tried it and the demon got up and punched the poor guys around knocked them up and he says I'll tell you what Jesus I know I'm Paul I know but who are you never heard of you your name wasn't in the danger list this morning that satan laid out you scum. And they beat him up. Oh satan don't go just because you whistle he doesn't go because you call the name of Jesus. There's an authority that has to be given. You see when Paul talked about this whole armor and talked about wrestling this mature man he's pulled down strongholds. He went to the intellectual capital of the world Athens in Acts 17 and reasoned with the poets and Stoics and Epicureans and all the rest and from there where they worshipped the brain he went down into that Sodom of the day called Corinth where they worshipped the body. There they were concentrated on learning here where they concentrate on lust and he founded the kingdom of Jesus Christ in the loudest country city in the world the capital of impurity. And yet despite the fact he could raise the dead and he couldn't cast out demons and he couldn't pull down strongholds. In the last part of this chapter again in the first part of it well it doesn't matter what's in the first part I don't have time for that anyhow but in the last chapter when he comes to his conclusion now he says I want you to remember that I'm giving you advice because you see I've done all the things I'm talking to you about. I hold the world's record for casting out demons raising the dead doing this I did even more than Jesus did and I want you to appreciate that because you know I'm going to die please remember it. Do you know what he says? He says when you put on the whole armor when you recognize your position in Jesus Christ will you do this? Will you pray for me that utterance may be given me? Paul wasn't the orator of the early church. He didn't shoot out theological fireworks. He didn't put the cart before the horse. Why didn't he go to Corinth and put on a healing crusade? He could do more than all modern healers put together but he didn't do it. He said I'm determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Now I say it's amazing to me no gifts are mentioned. It's amazing to me the blood is not mentioned in this chapter either. You see very often we say thank God we have the protection of the blood but wait a minute the blood is used in the scriptures for what? It's used for sacrifice. It's used for pardon. It's used for atonement. We need something more than the blood here. We need the power that the blood is delegated to us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Put on the hot gird of your mind. Why? Because that's about the first area that Satan attacks. We're suffering from an overloaded intellectual ministry these days. I preached the other day when brother Herb was there to about 1500 people with rows and rows of PhDs and doctors and everything. I said the same there. I say everywhere I like scholarship when it's on fire but when scholarships on ice you can keep it. Paul was no mental sluggard. Neither was Matthew Henry. Hudson Taylor was a doctor. C.D. Studd was an outstanding man. God has used some of the greatest brains in the world but it doesn't necessarily mean you have to have them in that distinction. There is an illumination no school on earth can give. There is a wisdom which is from above. It's priceless. Pursue it. As a young preacher I know used to say sell your shirt to get it. Gird up the loins of your mind. Why? Why do I need a helmet? Because I'm up against what the ammunition that Satan has and remember again he's a pretty crafty being. He studied six thousand years of human nature. He's brought empires down. He's polluted governments. He's dragged presidents from their throne. He's destroyed whole empires. You think you're giving him a headache? Sometimes we kind of think you know what I've gone through today? I've got news for you. I make a guess that that thing that got you down yesterday got a hundred million people down across the world because Satan's only so much ammunition. He's no super genius. He's more than man but he's less than God. The order is not that God is there and then the Satan is here and the church is here. That's the way we think about it. It's diabolical. The superpower of all powers is a holy trinity and after that not Satan. After the mighty power of Jesus Christ risen from the dead. The father, son and holy ghost. The next great part I refuse to say is Satan. It's the church of Jesus when she's where she ought to be. He blew Satan under our feet. But we're satisfied with numbers and a few buses and a bit of money. I wouldn't care if God keeps me here 10 years. If he fires me in 10 days that's all right too. If God will produce half a dozen apostles out of our fellowship. I think it worthwhile sweating and bleeding and praying every day of my life and fasting to see God raise up six men out of this place that'll pull down the strongholds of Satan. And write new chapters in the history of the church of Jesus. You see it's this thing. It comes in the mind in how many ways? Put on the whole armor of God. Because he's trying to the breastplate he'll try and get through to my emotions. The body he'll try and somehow injure that. Let's stay with this in the few minutes we have. Putting on the whole armor. Taking the helmet of salvation. Oh all those names that are for Satan. But one of them is he's a liar. He's a liar. Remember in the beginning how the Lord came to that wonderful couple there in the garden. And my word what a chance they had. Perfect people in a perfect environment. And the woman was walking in the garden and a serpent came. And he said to the woman half God said. That's just like Satan to start saying God doesn't mean all that he's said isn't it? I mean you don't you don't suggest people are going to burn in hell forever. Explain. I can't explain it. The older I get the more I realize Paul taught my lesson 17 times about mystery. And there's a mystery in godliness. I don't know. Do you know what God tells me to do? He tells me to love his enemies. Do you know what he's going to do with his? Burn them. Why? Because he's a holy God. He's a right to do as he likes and I don't question what he does. Half God said. You mean to say that the God. Oh I mean Eve look at those fruits. Do you smell them? I mean the fruit. You're not going to suggest that if you if you take that that fruit. Well nobody knows what it was. We say an apple just because there's a Hebrew word that looks very much like but there's a kind of a diphthong over it which changes it anyhow but that doesn't matter. Are you going to suggest that if you eat that that fruit there's poison in it it will give you cramps and die and pollute the whole human race? I don't believe that. Neither do I. I don't believe that now. There is no poison in the fruit. God meant that the poison was in the disobedience. It was a disobedience of spirit. Oh what has God said? The woman said to the serpent in Genesis 3 and verse 2. The woman said to the serpent we may eat of the fruit of the tree of the garden. We may eat of the fruit in the trees of the garden but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden. God has said ye shall not eat it neither shall ye touch it. He did not say neither shall he touch it. She wouldn't have died if she touched it. She ate it and God didn't say. You may eat of the fruit of the tree and then at the end of verse 3 but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden. God has said ye shall not eat. Ye shall neither shall ye touch it lest ye die. He did not say lest ye die. He said you will die. So you see he's a liar and he wanted to make her a liar and she lies. You see God who shed blood the first? Hey isn't it strange that after a man had committed sin and suddenly darkness came over his spirit and terror and fear for the first time in his life he reacted with terror. Wouldn't you have thought he'd have run and said my God where are you have mercy have mercy I've broken your laws I I I disobeyed you I'd defile myself have mercy. Instead of that he ran like mad and the human race has been running away from God ever since. What a difference if he'd run toward God. Oh I like that hymn that says foul light of that fountain fly wash me savior or I die nothing in my hands I bring but simply to thy cross I cling. But he ran away tormented with guilt clouded with darkness conscious. Oh come on I wonder that Satan didn't come back and say didn't I tell you you said as soon as you ate of the tree you'd die are you dead no you're living. Do you see nothing in it as a matter of fact he lived 300 years after that. So he didn't die the moment he ate yes he did he died in his relationship to God. Suddenly God is a terror not one to be worshipped in spirit not one that lifts him in ecstasy and adoration. Dear Lord what must it have been like to walk with God and we we sing it sometimes one of our favorite verses he walks with me and he talks with me you know every time I see I don't know what you do maybe you're a bit slow but but when we sing it I I figure I'm in the garden of walks with me and he talks with me. Oh how wonderful to talk with God. Well of course it's staggering to think that a human being could talk with God. Hey but but what's more wonderful than kneeling down and talking with him every day. I don't know how you get your lift but it's sometimes I need sometimes it comes more often than not thank God but sometimes I kneel by myself too. One of these one I'm going to call him at two o'clock that is say hello I say I'm not talking to you get the herb out here quick I've got a burden come on get out if you walk out come on come on. You know sometimes I say Lord I'm glad that just as you hear the cry of Elijah on Mount Carmel just as you heard the first man in a submarine Jonah and you remember what he says he says from the belly of hell I cry. Isn't that great? Not the belly of hell that satan's going to be cast but the belly of hell of circumstances. He's wrapped in blubber. Hmm that's the first rubber bag that was ever invented. He was he was wrapped in blubber and he had a water bed. It was all around him and then he says what he says the mountains are over me and the waves are over me and the weeds are over me. Oh my God what did I get here for? You got there for doing what the other man did in the garden. You ran away from God. He says he paid the fare. He sure did. He didn't just pay it in the coinage of the day. He paid the fare. He paid it in darkness. He paid it in sorrow. He paid it in bitterness. He paid it he paid it in terror. But he says from the belly of hell he cried. And Lord I say sometimes I'm living in a modern hell. Man the waves have come over me. Darkness has come. Truth of life fallen in the street. The church of Jesus Christ has deserted the Christ of God. We've compromised truth. And here I am in a belly of hell but I'm glad you can hear me from Seguin as well as you heard a man at the bottom of the Mediterranean. You can hear me if I cry in a mountain like Elijah did. You can hear me if I wrestle with tears in loneliness like the son of God. Oh I like that. With strong crying. Sometimes you say that's a sign of the weakness of women. I'm not sure whether it is but I'll tell you what it's a sign of strength in men. Takes a strong man to cry. And Paul with all his brilliance, his theological perfection, his understanding of God. He isn't ashamed to say. He says listen my little children for whom I travel. Travel. That's a that's a that's an awful situation. And he says I've wept over you people of Ephesus. You see that's why I write so dearly to these people of Ephesus. He'd once been their pastor and he loved them. And he's at the end of the line now. It was it was what was his name? I've forgotten his first name. Taylor Coleridge who said that the epistles of the Ephesians to him is the most profound thing that was ever written. I think it's F. F. Bruce a modern scholar who says it's the capstone of all the writings of the apostle Paul. You get a full revelation of what salvation is. You see it heavenward. You see it earthward. You see what he's done for us. What he can do in us. What he can do through us. Yes that's a lovely chapter isn't it? We quote it so often you'll find it everywhere. Everybody's talking about it. Be filled with the spirit. Very lovely. Tell you something else he says beside that. He says be ye angry and sin not. And he was as inspired to write that as he was anything else. All right let's wrap it up then. We're to have on the helmet what? Because Satan is a cheat. Satan is a liar. Oh it looks so superior to say well of course I don't believe in the virgin birth. I belong belong one of these modern cults and something and so on. But you know he's a deceiver. He not only get us to believe some false things doctrinally. He'll get us to have a false security and a false satisfaction unless we're very careful. He's so tricky. You know sometimes we rejoice in our comfort when we ought to have an inward irritation. We're calm when we ought to be troubled and we're troubled when we ought to be calm. We're angry when when a thing like that shouldn't disturb us any more than it disturbs a child. And we're not disturbed again when you get hell holes like this are mean deal and Russia and China and so forth. Do you ever wonder if you'll grow up? Do you ever wonder how long we'll have to be before we're mature enough? Because as I said the other day when Paul had finished the most sublime hymn he ever wrote right bang at the end of it there he says when I became a man I put away childish things. He wasn't dismissing gifts. No no no no he wasn't despising them in any way. I believe he's saying this I consciously entered into manhood. I consciously came and he says and I'm going to tie it up here where he says in Galatians 2 20 and I should have frankly when I hear people quote this I'm crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me. Now listen this is one of the most profound things he ever uttered and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God. I'm not asking you if you believe in Paul's faith. Have you got the faith of the son of God? Because the faith of the son of God never trembles it never shakes it never questions. Jesus says in the garden of Gethsemane I'm in the will of my father. That faith they're making a fool of him going up the road they spit on him and they put a reed in his hand and they take an old warm garment and he goes up that terrible way sweating and bleeding after being awake for maybe 36 hours and he falls under the weight of the cross and he says I'm right in the will of my father and these people are howling for my blood and inwardly I've got a pee. The faith of the son of God. Faith in the faithfulness of God. Faith in the power of God. If it said Lord father I have the faith of Abraham I would have thought that was pretty high rating. It doesn't say I have the faith of Abraham he says I have the faith of the son of God. He loved me he gave himself and it's going to work out all right. I don't know how. The faith of the son of God who loved me and who gave himself for me. It was Spurgeon if I remember right who said that we believers we have this privilege. He said it's our destiny to be assaulted as soon as we become children of God we become targets for the enemy to work on. But he said if it's our privilege or it's our destiny to be assaulted. He said it's our duty to attack. This weaponry right here is for defense. It's the helmet. I don't want to be caught out with cunning midwife's tables. I don't want to be tricked. I don't want Satan to pull a fast one on me. You see there are some things God will never do for you. I've had people come to me and say brother Amy would you would you pray the Lord will make me humble. I say no not on your life will I. Well that's my problem. I'll take it to the cross. You see there are some things God will not answer. You can't pray to be humble. The script is very clear. It says humble yourself under the hand of God. You can get rid of your pride. That's not difficult. Go to the person you like the least and tell him I think you've been failing for a few days and try that to start. Go to somebody you've had a grudge against because you see you can't be a Christian and bear a grudge. You'll be a backslider. You can't be a Christian and bear a grudge. You go to that person and say listen I've smiled at you and I've shook your hand and I've been very nice but you know in my heart I've had a grudge. Well that's why your prayer isn't answered. You sabotaged it. Don't blame the devil. He's got enough on his plate. Alexander White said he he had a woman in his church that never said anything wrong about anybody. She was a rare character and he said I went one day and oh I was dripping wet and she says uh pastor could I take your cloak. Ah he says Jenny tackled it went through and he says my breeches his trousers were wet through. Ah I've got the pot there. I've got the pot there. She knew he loved the teapot and uh he says that's about the worst day I've ever been out. This is a terrible day. Ah she says pastor it's not so bad. It's not so bad. Ah woman he said I can't you ever grumble. You never say anything's wrong. You never say anything. I believe you'd have a good word for the devil. Ah she says he's very industrious. She didn't even a good word for the devil. Isn't that rare? Ah you know I think no I don't want to know what you think because half your thinking isn't right anyhow. Oh Satan will get in. Now now don't blame Satan for what he hasn't done. Don't you say lord I want you to get me up in the morning. He won't send Gabriel at four o'clock to yank you out of bed. You say will you pray the lord will help me to stop eating so much. No. I'll tell you to read Proverbs. Put a knife to your throat if you eat too much. So the scripture says. You see there's some things you don't pray about. There's some things you don't blame the devil for. Some people need to divide the world. Everybody's under the dominion of Satan. All are under the dominion of God. I used to believe. I don't believe it anymore. You know there's a little thing called self or a big thing called self in us. And don't you blame the devil for some choices you made and some laziness that you love to embrace and some gluttony that you love to enjoy or some gossip you love. Come on now. Come on. Don't blame the devil. Blame yourself. You see he said have your mind girded with truth. This woman didn't believe what God said. She found out God was right. She told a lie. We can't touch the truth. God never said that. He said lest you die. He did not say that. He said you will die. All right. I gird my mind with truth. And then do you know what? Do just what Jesus did. Every time Satan came to him, do you remember what he said? It is written, it is written, it is written, it is written. Hey that's great. That's ammunition Satan can't put up with. You keep it up he'll retreat. Well I want to tell you. Do you know what? No, no, no. Wait a minute Satan. Or whether it's Satan or it's a demon or what or somebody else. Say just a minute. I was reading my bible this morning. Do you know the Lord just gave me that scripture strangely enough. And this is my answer and it's all right. See you again. See you again. You know. Here's all the armor that can take me to heaven. God has never said I won't have any sorrow or I'll have sorrow. He hasn't said there won't be disappointment. You pray Lord keep me from disappointment. Forget it. He won't do that. The nearer you live to God the closer some of the harder some of the things are to bear. The deeper the disappointment the bigger the wounds become. But you know before you squeal you could read the life of the apostle and then you could read the life of Jesus. And you know what? There's a phrase of a hymn I love so much. It is the way the master went. Should not the servant tread it still. I want to put on the whole armor. Paul says I fight the good fight of faith. And when it finished with a record of victories unsurpassed from that day to this. I like his humility. Do you know what he says writing to Timothy? I have fought because I'm the biggest fighter the world ever had. No no no. He says I fought a good fight. Not I'm a good fighter. The Christian life is what? It's a fight. Right. I fought a good fight. I finished my course. So the Christian life is a race. I've kept the faith. So the Christian life is a stewardship. And he says I finished my course rejoiced. Sure. Oh I don't walk as well as I used to. I got a thorn in the flesh and I boy I prayed about that. And I had a few of my friends prayed but I still got it. And it goes sweeter as the days go by. What? The thorn? No it's presence that overrides the thorn. You know I don't get visions. Well that's the Lord to send you to jail. Hmm? I don't get great revelations. Tell God you want to go to the Isle of Padmas. After all nobody had revelations like like John on the Isle of Padmas. That's why I tremble sometimes when when people sing hymns like when I surveyed a wondrous cross. My richest gain I count but lost. Where the whole realm of nature mine. And he takes something and he says I wonder what the Lord's doing. He's answering the prayer you sang. Oh I thought you said you pray. No you sing them. You sang some this afternoon terrible thing. You prayed them even though they were to music. You mean the Lord yeah yeah he he recorded. He's gonna he's gonna play the tape recording back when you get up there and tell me what he said. What you said. Well I'm praying hard, working hard by the grace of God that God's gonna raise some soldiers out of our cellars. Men that can put on the whole armor of God. Men that can get ahead of the strong man and steal his treasure. Men that after a while will be able to stand. Now you can pull push scriptures to the place where they become heresy. Again I believe in sanctification. I don't believe in sinless perfection. I believe faith is mighty. I don't believe it can do anything. I'll tell you what you can pray all you like. I guess you won't be here 200 years from now. Drink all the vitamins you like and go to the health bars and eat brown bread instead of white and all the other good things they tell you to do. But have an idea the worms will have got a lot of us if the Lord hasn't been. Prayer won't keep you alive another 200 years. Prayer faith won't kill the devil. Faith won't tie Satan up over all the world. It's never been if it could have been done this man would have done it. But in situations wherein if we stood together as children of God by faith in Jesus Christ we'd see a thousand percent more of deliverance and victory than we're seeing now. And what we have to know is to get those secrets. And you know what? The secret of the Lord doesn't come from the desk of a teacher in a bible school or a church. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. And he doesn't shout his secrets from the housetop. He whispers his secrets. And if he whispers we've got to live very close to him. And that's the secret of the apostle Paul's life. He heard the voice. Because you see he was a sheep and he was a shepherd. He was a soldier and he says he's the captain of my salvation. I'm under order. He doesn't say the fight won't be tough. He doesn't say you won't get wounded. He doesn't say there'll be times when you don't know which way to turn. They'll all be there. But he says listen will you remember in the midst of it all if the walls go out and the roof comes in will you remember what I said to my disciple you claim. Other things I said to the disciples. It was the disciples I said you shall receive power. But well if you claim that claim this. Law. Oh this is so beautiful. He says law I am with you. Not the fellowship with you. In your law office tomorrow Pat. Buzzing around selling tooth stuff tomorrow. You whatever you're doing he says I'm with you. Isn't that wonderful? There's no shrine where you can say that's where God is. No, no, no, no, no. Madame Guillaume said could I be cast where thou art not. That would indeed a dreadful spot. But with thee my God to guide the way to the equal joy to go astray. I've got news for you. You think it's tough? See how tough it is a year from now if Jesus carries. We'll have run into experiences individually and as a nation that we never dreamed were coming up and internationally. There's danger right now brother that might be an atomic war. I would not be surprised if there's a limited atomic war to make the rest of the world sit up. The wheat fields are not producing. The crops are not producing on the west coast. Could be the most expensive year we've ever lived. The most greater shortage of food than ever. And maybe the Lord is going to start us into surrender. Somebody said there's a reservation up in. I'm right through on the dot here. Right up in where? Alaska. A million acres have been reserved for those who are retarded. You know what that means? That you won't sign on the dotted line to serve the government. So they'll sign you off as being retarded. And they're going to put a million of us up there maybe. Boy that'll be a prayer meeting. They wish to God they'd shut us off. It may take that. Maybe we're going to suffer in concentration camps of one kind or another. They may not be communistic. They may be argumentative. Either we're going to suffer in concentration camps or we're going to concentrate in prayer. Pray in concentration camps or concentrate in prayer. I don't care which way it comes. I don't enjoy suffering. I've done my share of it. I'm in real pain now. Great pain. I've been in pain since 1951 except for three weeks. Because you know I've got my back and my in three places. My left leg's in three places. My feet and it doesn't worry me. I've learned to live with a thorn in the flesh. He doesn't, he doesn't take it away but I'll tell you what he's made it a messenger of grace in my life. I'm not saying that boastfully. I'm just saying this. There are tough days coming so cheer up. Because he says I'll never leave you and I'll not forsake you. Oh the revelations he's going to give us. Pray for us as we go to Dave Wilkerson's ranch tomorrow and then to Agape at the weekend and then up to Oylton and God willing I'll just be away one Sunday. Pray for me and surely it will pray for you. Lord we thank you for your word. We confess the height, the length, the depth, the breadth of it passes our knowledge. We feel again, at least I do, that I'm hardly in water to the ankles. Have mercy on us. God don't let us live retarded spiritually. Make it as keen about success in the spiritual life as we are in business or in scholarship or in sport or any other thing. Forbid that we should give you the leftovers in anything. Help us our God as we go out to a world that will try and shoot us down maybe an hour after we leave here. May we have on the whole armor of God. You offer it to us. You don't put it on us. You tell us you put on the whole armor of God and so we put it on. We thank you for this helmet of salvation. We thank you for the precious blood that covers us. We thank you for the word of God that we can hurl back at the enemy. We thank you for the one at your right hand who lives to make intercession. He knows my name. He knows Jake's name. He knows John's name. He knows the other fellow's name. He knows our names. We're precious to him. Lord may we live worthy of our high calling in Christ Jesus and we will give you praise in his holy name. Amen.