In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of staying grounded in reality and trusting in God's provision. He acknowledges that life can sometimes feel like a foretaste of the pit, but assures the listeners that God is present and will test them. The preacher also highlights the existence of a lie spread by the devil that covers the nations, causing desolation and chaos. He urges the audience to turn away from worldly distractions and fully repent of their sins in order to find satisfaction in Jesus Christ. The sermon references Isaiah and the concept of beholding the glory of the Lord and being transformed by the Spirit.

Let's turn this morning, shall we, to the second book of Corinthians again. If I may be allowed for a moment to refresh your mind, if you were here, and to inform you, if you were not, that we were considering the great truth of repentance, and that we, last night, and that we came into this glorious seventh chapter. Let's read it again. It is the finest statement in the whole Scripture on what repentance really is, and how it may be achieved. Here it is, in 2 Corinthians 7. Verse 10. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation. God supplies the salvation. God works sorrow in your heart. If it's an artificial one, if it's tears because of remorse, or regret, or you've been found out, or something like that, you must not mistake that for true repentance. It's godly sorrow. You're as sorry for sin as God is, that's what it means. You know how sorry God was about sin, don't you? Well, do you? That is the only thing that will work repentance in you. Repentance is to be worked in you. It's God's workmanship. Now you understand what I mean, or what I meant. What a tremendous truth it is, beloved, that God will do this great work in us. Amen. And it says that the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold, this selfsame thing, this very thing. I'm going to show you what I mean now. It says, here it is, you did sorrow after a godly sort. What carefulness it wrought in you. You're not careless anymore when you come to repentance. About sin, that is. What clearing of yourselves it wrought in you. What indignation against yourself that you should ever have sinned. Don't take your spite out on someone else. You've never repented if you have, if you do. What fear. What zeal it wrought in you. And what revenge. Say, revenge. Yeah, against the devil. That's right. What's revenge? Glory be to God. Get your own back on the devil. What do you mean by that? Well, he's knocked you about enough, hasn't he? Now get up and knock him about. You say, really? Are you being humorous? I'm not. Romans 6 tells us this quite clearly. That we have to yield our members as fighting weapons of righteousness under God. That's not to hit your neighbor with, or your friend, or any man or woman. But the devil prays the name of the Lord. Get up into the fight. What revenge. Glory be to the name of the Lord. Yea, in all things you've approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Now that's it. When you truly repent, you get clear of the matter altogether. Whatever it is. You get clear of it. For instance, you don't give up tobacco and go back to it in a week. And you don't give up drugs and you're in them again as soon as you get near to them. And you don't stop swearing and then swear again when your wife upsets you or the children annoy you. Something like that. Nothing of that. If you're delivered from alcohol, you're delivered from alcohol. This is God. It's nothing to do with your temperament or your circumstances. Say, oh, oh, if you lived in the midst of drunkards, well, the whole point of God saving you is to make you an example that you don't do it. That's what it's all about. It's not a weak-kneed God we have. It's God. God. It's simply because all the emphasis is on man these days. It's how you feel, your emotional difficulties, your terrible background. As I said last night, bookstores, Christian shops are stacked with this kind of literature. Stacked with it. Focus on man. No focus on God. Well, very little. You should read people like Hugo. If you've never read him. To me, I prefer him to watch me. We'll agree to differ. Okay, don't come at me. Or anything like that. It's a matter of preference, I suppose. Here, then, is the great and tremendous thing. To see what God does. Hmm. And this is a true repentance, beloved, that brings you to a true experience of the Lord. Now, God demands this experience, and provides this experience, simply because there's so much more for you after that. Repentance will deal with everything that was before that. Everything. Doesn't matter who or what. Praise the name of the Lord. Everything. Pay no attention to these people who are preaching another gospel, which isn't another. But pervert the gospel. You won't find any of this modern stuff that we read in the New Testament. You won't find it anywhere. You'll look in vain. You must have heard me say this before. You will not read anywhere in the New Testament, where anybody who was baptized in the Holy Ghost needed to get deliverance afterwards. Read it. See. You read it. The Bible is an open book. Hallelujah. That was deliberate. That wonderful Word. I know Paul had to write to this same Corinthian church, but then they'd gone back into sin. That's another matter. But some people are preaching progressive deliverances for the next 50 years. After you're baptized in the Holy Ghost. They didn't get the baptism that I got. That's all I have to say. Blessed be the name of the Lord. When God brings us into the body of Christ, and brings Christ into our bodies, for that's what it's all about. Oh, glory be to God. Amen. This is the glorious secret of it. I know we've got lots and lots to learn. And I know that God has to deal with all sorts of things in us, and we're very glad He does. Well, I want to then, this morning, for the time we have together left, to move into this second epistle, just to point you to some of the reasons why we've got to really get delivered. We've got to get this great truth of repentance, and the work that's consequent upon it, really moving in our lives. For instance, let's have a look at this one. I think we can start in chapter one. I promise you not to go into every chapter. That would take us too long. But you take this. Hallelujah. I love this one. It's real good ground to start off with. And I must confess, I get started here over and over again. As God is true. Verse 18 of chapter one. Our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea. Now Jesus Christ is not a yes and no person. That's what He's saying. He's not a yes and no person. Because in Him, God was positive. God was saying, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And what you'll find as you go through, just observe Christ as He's displayed in the Gospels. Yes, yes, yes. Lord, can I get rid of this temper of mine? Yes. Oh no, sorry, I didn't mean that. No, He didn't talk like that. He didn't say, well no, it's according to whether your father was a bruiser and your mother was a drunkard, or something like that. It's got nothing to do with it. Nothing to do with it whatsoever. If you have a true repentance, a thorough going work of God, Amen. Hallelujah. I think I shall never forget. I suppose I mustn't get too reminiscent at the beginning of the conference. But I shall never forget reading a book of a man that was greatly used in America. I know I'm wont to refer to Phineas at this stage, but it's not him I'm talking about now. He was greatly used of God in the realm of miracles. And he tells a story of how he was asked to deal with a man, a drunken husband of some dear woman. She herself had come to the Lord and he was giving her a real bad time. Well, he went to this house and they shut the door on him, went inside, and he sat and talked to this man and told him straight what his need was and he was full of devils. So he dealt with them and he cast the devils out of this man. They all went out and this man said, Oh, thank you God. Thank you God for saving me. He said, No, they're not saved. He said, You're just delivered. Get down there and get saved. Went and locked the door. You stay there till you're saved. And he stayed within 12 hours. See, there are people, they get delivered of some devil, they think they're saved. Of course, it's a wonderful experience when something goes out of you. But don't you think that's salvation? Glory be to God. Salvation is the elevation of a man into the states of God. That's what it is, inwardly, to turn his days on earth into days of heaven on earth and he's already then in the kingdom of heaven. He's begun. That's a tremendous thing. And it's a glorious place to be when you're moving in the reality of God. Now listen, when you come to Jesus Christ, He is yes to you. Now listen, don't hesitate about it. Say, Lord, you know I've got a foul temper. Oh, you know, I'm always doing this, doing that. Come to Him and tell Him the truth. Whatever you do, don't make excuses about it because your father used to throw the kettle at your mother or something like that. That's got nothing to do with it. Nothing at all. Only in the psychology of human heredity. But when Christ comes in, there's a new psychology. That is God's psychology. There's a new heredity when Jesus Christ comes in. That's right. And that's what you've got to see. And unless your life takes a mighty change on from that moment, you're not saved. Get it absolutely right. You may spend long years, I trust you won't have to do this, believing. Hmm. What a glorious thing. It isn't God's will that you spend long years believing before you come into the reality of the experience. That's not God's will. But you may do that. It may be because you've never been taught right, been brought up under some superficial kind of gospel preaching or something like that. A never-faced reality. Here then is the glorious truth. Everything in Jesus Christ is positive. May I put it this way? I know it's bad grammar, but I'm not carrying tuppence about that. It's positive saviour. Positive saviour. And that means positive salvation. Real and glorious and hallelujah. Oh. Yes, it's marvelous. Let's go on. The Son of God. He did not just preach the blood of the Son of God. Now notice it. He did preach the blood of the Son of God. He did not just preach the grace of the Son of God. No, He preached grace if ever a man did. You see. He preached God the Son. That's it. He preached Jesus. Hallelujah. If you consult Galatians, you'll find that this is quite in keeping with this. Please God to call me by His grace to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him. Did you ever read it? Him. Him. Him. Hallelujah. Oh. And all the promises of God in Him are yea and amen in Him unto the glory of God by us. So God is determined that to keep. Now listen. Get this clear. All the promises of God in Him He's intending to keep in Him and not in you. You've got to get into Him. In Him and in Him and in Him. Here's the penetration. In Him. And in Him. Yes. In Him. Go again son. Amen. They're all in Him. You try to get one out of Him and you're wrong. Hallelujah. You got this true? Now you see why you've got to repent? Because you just can't take sin into Jesus Christ. You understand that? You can't take any poison into Him. He's utterly resistant. You can prove that. When God put all sin on Him on the cross He resisted the lot. Nothing could make any inroads into or headway with Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. He came into the world perfect righteousness and utter holiness. He came into the world glory of God veiled for a short time in fresh. But it was all there. Everything in Him. The scripture says so. In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Blessed be the name of the Lord. To get into this blessed Christ. Oh. Glory be to God. Goodbye sin. Goodbye devil. Goodbye the world. Goodbye everything. Anybody who won't come in here. Glory to God. This is the great selection that you're allowed to make. God is wanting to pull you in. Right in. Hallelujah. That's one glorious thing. That's in chapter one. Let's take another one. You can understand why you have to repent on the first count. The second one is perhaps not quite a very popular one. I'm moving about. We'll come back to and fro. In chapter six. Here's a tremendous one. And in verse eleven. This man. He says. Oh you Corinthians. Our mouth is open unto you. Glory. You've got to get your mouth wide open if you're really going to present Jesus Christ. You've got to get it wide. And I want you to understand that Paul didn't go to any tutorial college. In order to learn what to say. He opened his mouth and Jesus came out. That was the glory of it. Because he was filled with him. The man was living in this glorious realm. He says. All I've got to do to you people is to open my mouth. Glory. Open your mouth. And let it all come out. And he said to you Corinthians. I really did open my mouth. Mind you. As we were seeing last night and we could have read it this morning. In that seventh chapter. When he wrote to these Corinthians. It broke his heart. He said. I was sorry I wrote to you. And he said. No I wasn't sorry. And this sort of inward conflict. That he had to say tremendous things to them. As you may read. Oh. But he wasn't afraid. He wrote in the fifteenth chapter. For instance. In the first letter. He said. We fought with beasts. At Ephesus. Glory be to the name of the Lord. After the manner of men. We fought with beasts. At Ephesus. Frightened of nobody. Hallelujah. Got a heart like a lion. I mean the lion of the tribe of Judah. And he was moving. In this tremendous truth. Because as you know. As it says in this blessed scripture. It says. The righteous were as bold as a lion. That's what it says. And it's glorious to be there. Hallelujah. Alright. Now are you ready to receive. What's coming right out of his mouth now. Alright. Verse seventeen. Come out from among them and be separate. Come out from among them and be separate. Hallelujah. You ought to come out from among people. That want to have agreement with idols. Verse sixteen. We'll read nothing more into it. Than what Paul says. You ought to come out. From having part. With infidels. You ought to come out and be separate from. People of Belial. You ought to come out. And you're not to be yoked together with unbelievers. Now you ought to be a friend of publicans and sinners. As Jesus was. He was never yoked with them. And you ought to not have fellowship with unrighteousness. In anything. And you're not to have communion or try to have communion. With anything that's dark. You ought to be separate unto him. But if you don't repent of it all. You'll never come to this separation. You see. That's why you've got to repent. It's a tremendous thing. I'll let you into a secret shall I. I came out of business into the ministry. Our own business. Years had gone up. Many years ago. And that business was founded. Between my father-in-law. Who's now gone to be the Lord. And myself. All right. It was many years ago. And that's what it was. It was he and I. And then. My brothers-in-law. I never had any sons. And I never had any brothers. I seem to be a bit of a loner. On the male side. Some people tell me they know the reason for that. But there it is. But the whole glorious truth. That the truth is this beloved. That my brothers-in-law. They came out of the services. Out of the army. Out of the navy. Into the business. And I resigned. Oh they're nice people. I wouldn't be yoked with them in business. That's why lots of people never get very far in the Lord's business. You've got to be free of all the yokes. You do understand that. You've got to be free. We shout about it. We enjoyed it. Yesterday morning. When dear brother Edgar. Likening this great truth. To tabernacle type. Told us from the third chapter. That we all. Verse 18. With unveiled face. 18 of chapter 3. Beholding as in a glass. The glory of the Lord in house. Weekly he linked this with the cherubim. Facing inward to the mercy seat. With the glory reflecting off the golden vase. Hallelujah. It was so wonderful. Even the glory there was veiled. By the stain of the blood. But he said we all. With unveiled face. We changed. Into the same image. From glory to glory. Even as by the spirit of the Lord. And preceding that verse it says. Now the Lord is that spirit. And where the spirit. Where the spirit of the Lord is. Or where the Lord. The spirit is Lord. Whichever way you want to interpret it. There is liberty. But how can you have liberty. If you are clinging to these yokes. Hallelujah. You got to get un-yoked. Now this doesn't say. That you shouldn't go and work side by side. With a blaspheming unbeliever. In your office or wherever it is. That's not what we are talking about. You are not yoked to them. Hallelujah. You got to be friends with publicans and sinners. That's what Jesus did. Hallelujah. That's tremendous. If we look at Jesus. Everything is explained. We needn't get into peculiar interpretations. Jesus does really set us free. Oh but if you are going to be yoked with an unbeliever. How many women. I know. Just because they wanted to get married. Married an unbeliever. They wanted to have a husband. And have babies. And a home. Or vice versa. Men doing it with women. Oh beloved. You got to get free of the yokes. Now I am not saying you got to go out and divorce them. Just because you are a man. That's not the point. You should never have done it. If you were a Christian. And having done it. You got to reap the result of it. You got to stay with it. Of course if they are murderers. You are not bound to live with a murderer. But you got to stay with it. Amen. And God will work your salvation out for you. But the whole tremendous thing. Beloved is that you should not contract these yokes. You got to be separate. Separated from them. Now you know perfectly well. Let's look at Jesus again. We needn't get in any tension or trauma about it. If he was on this earth. You would give your right arm to be one of his disciples. You would follow him anywhere. So you say. Don't you? That's it then. That's it. That's the explanation of it. Here I would give up going with these card players. Or disco jockey fellows. I would give up anything. I would give up television gawping. To follow Jesus. Just what you would. Yes you would. Now then. That's right. Well if you don't come down to basic simple sanity. Facing Jesus Christ. You'll damn your soul. Understand. Glory be to God. If Jesus Christ doesn't provide enough to satisfy you fully and wholly. It's because inside you've never truly repented of your sin. So you've got to have something else. To pour into that great gaping maw of hell. Amen. Jesus sets us free. Oh. He breaks the yokes. Glory. You've got to be prepared to follow the Lord Jesus right up to the nth degree. Whether people like it or whether they don't. Whether they approve or whether they disapprove. It has nothing to do with them. And I want to tell you this my precious friend. Of any age or whatever your background. You must remember that Jesus Christ has prior claim on you. Not your mother. Not your father. Not your country. Not your church. Not anything. Jesus Christ has prior claim on you. You were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. That's right. You got that clear? Your profession. Your governor has not first claim on you. Jesus Christ. Oh. Got to get separated under him. Get it all clear. In your heart. Know what it's all about. God has never designed that you should get saved today. And go dancing away to glory. He's intended you to come down on here. And he'll say to you. Follow me. That's what he'll say to you. Follow me. Well this is tremendous isn't it? The great thing about it. Come back to chapter 2 now with me. Will you? And in chapter 2 you've got to repent and get sin dealt with. And not only that. As we were pointing out last night. This word repentance means a change of mind. Complete change of mind. And listen. It's when he speaks about this. He's not talking about the sort of things you might think a dozen times during a day. About 50 million objects. I don't know if you've got a mind like a computer. Which some people I was going to say were cursed with. But the glorious truth is this. When he's talking about the mind. Listen. Out from within. From the heart of man. Come. That's right. As a man thinketh in his heart. That's what he's talking about. When you read the word repentance. It's that. As you think in your heart. Now. What you think in your heart. You think with power. You think with desire. You think with emotion in your heart. It is an academic thing. You think with your whole personality. There. It comes from a determined attitude. A set of the life. That's what he's talking about. That's why so few people ever come to real repentance. They don't really know what it's about. It's a word. Praise God. So. Here's the third thing. In chapter 2. Listen to this one. Hallelujah. This is a great one. Now. Verse 14. Thanks be unto God. Which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. You see. God is expecting you to come into constant and unending victory. Always triumph. Now. This is not really as it seems. You will know. Perhaps you will have a marginal amendation. Which will say to you. That he leads us about in triumph. Glory. You see. He says. I told you. He says. Follow me. Right. Now. He leads us about in triumph. In other words, beloved. There's no situation into which you can go. But that he is in front of you. He's led you there. This is great. Isn't it? He's led you there. And he's going to lead you about in triumph. Now. That doesn't mean. And please get your eye off yourself. That doesn't mean your triumph. It means his triumph. But Paul had told them this in the first letter. You must read these two letters together. One of the reasons why we never come to a proper understanding of truth. Is we will go in for little bits of reading. We don't seriously take this as the word of God to us. Or if we do. We infer that you can't possibly understand it. Except you must read about five verses a day. That's your portion. Oh God. I am serious about this. This is the reason for what Brother Edgar was saying yesterday morning. You know. The great moves of the Holy Ghost in West Africa. Have all gone awry. And gone astray. Simply because they say. And again. They never had the Bible in their own language. And people went and westernized them. Instead of melting into their culture. Their culture. That's demonic. Well so is English culture. And so is American culture. Don't you get any wrong ideas about it. So is Germanic culture. And all a lot of it. And Italian culture. If there are Italians here. It's all wrong. All a lot of it. What do you think? The whole tremendous truth beloved. Is that we've got to get down. And into the scripture. And in the first letter. This is how he ends up that famous chapter 15. On the resurrection. Marvellous story. And remember. He starts that chapter by saying. I'm presenting to you the gospel. Alright. He comes right down through that chapter. And half way through. He can't stop. He says. Hallelujah. I've been born again. Well he didn't say it like that. But that's the way you ought to interpret it. And then he goes. You have read this 15th chapter. Haven't you? And so he goes right down to the end. And then he says this. He says. Thanks be to God. Glory. He giveth us the victory. Oh thank you God. You enabled me to get a victory. I fought with beasts at Ephesus. Why? Because he had the victory. Whose victory? Christ's victory. And you've got to be led about in that. That's what he's talking about. He leadeth us about in the triumph. Hallelujah. Glory be to God. Amen. Do you know this? Do you know this? I can say. Pin your ears back. This is true. Jesus Christ couldn't come back again. Unless he got that victory last time he was here. That governs his second coming. Glory be to God. So you see the victory sweeps into the future. But he hasn't come back yet. Mind you in his heart he's always coming. He loves us. Don't you want to be with the people you love? He's got a heart like this. It's wonderful. He leads us about in the triumph. Always. Now isn't this a glorious thing? And everybody pants up and says, Oh, thank you for giving me the victory, Lord. My feet had well nigh slipped. That's David. It's good Bible stuff. Leads us about in the victory. Glory. King of kings. Lord of lords. Forever. Forever. Glory to God. But you see you've got to repent of trying to get the victory yourself. How many people have said to me, I've struggled to give up smoking. That's right. Of course you've not been able to do it. Your vote. You infected your bloodstream with it. When you so many years ago. But because salvation comes from blood. You'll get down to your bloodstream too. I'd like to preach to you about that. Don't you understand he can get down to everything. The victory. Glory be to God. But you'll never know that unless you give up fighting for yourself. You see. Now I know there's a verse which says, You've not yet resisted unto the blood striving against sin. Hebrews. Which says, well we've got to resist. That's right. We have got to resist. But not resist with the idea of, I'm going to fight through for myself. There is nothing for presumptive man but death. In scripture. Nothing. But when the new man's here. And we're safe in him. Glory. And when the pressure's on. Well it's in this same glorious epistle. Let's read it. Let's read Paul's own testimony. I'm in chapter one. Oh isn't it lovely. I can preach for another hour yet. Well I'm only inviting you to enter into the sort of thing I do by myself. That's all God's doing. Inviting you to come into what he enjoys himself. Here it is in chapter one. We read this. He said, verse 88. We would not brethren have you ignorant of our trouble. Which came to us in Asia. That we were pressed out of measure. Above strength. Insomuch that we despaired even of life itself. I've put that in. But listen. Here it is. We had the sentence of death in ourselves. Isn't it lovely. That we should not trust in ourselves. But in God which raiseth the dead. Who delivered us from so great a death. And doth deliver. In whom we trust. That he will yet deliver us. Amen. That word us. The last us should be in italics if you've got a good bible. In other words it isn't there. So instead of putting that two lettered word us there. I would put another two lettered word. Between the words trust and that. And the two lettered word I put in would be so. Now listen. Who delivered us from so great a death. And doth deliver. In whom we trust. So or in order that he will yet deliver. That's right. Glory be to the name of the Lord. Now this is a tremendous thing. If we just keep trusting. He will deliver us. That's the simplicity. Now you know what trust is. Trust is not somebody clinging on with their eyebrows. In the midst of a storm. Trying not to sink. Trust is a baby asleep on it's mother's breast. That's trust. That's trust. Trust is you going to sleep tonight. You trust that you're going to keep breathing. And wake up in the morning. Now don't you. Now I'm not saying you're afraid to die in your sleep. That's not. If you are there's something radically wrong. But that's trust. You don't even think about it. You just go to sleep. Somewhere after midnight. Last night. Early this morning. Some of us went to sleep. One of them brought me a cup of tea. Bed tea. We've both been to India. Alright. He brought me a cup of tea. I said. Did you have a good night? I won't say his name. In case Malcolm gets embarrassed. Because it wasn't his. I said did you have a good night? He said yeah. I just put my head on my pillow and I went. I said out like a light. He said yeah. That's right. Trust. Trust is what you see in the storm on the lake. When everybody else is clinging on to their eyebrows. On to the rigging. And holding on the side of the boat. And Jesus is asleep on the pillow. That's trust. He's trusted. That's it. No waters could swallow him. One is an effort at faith. The other was complete trust. You'll never have rest till you have trust. Now that's a tremendous and glorious thing. It's effortless. You say well it's natural to sleep. That's right. Trust is natural. When you're a child of God. And God is wanting to just leave us alone in his triumph. He says it's alright. Don't worry. I'm here. Hallelujah. Who's this uncircumcised Philistine? Says David. When everybody else was trembling and shaking. Paul says here put my arm on. Put my arm on David. At least I'm going to do my utmost to save your life. If you want to go out to commit suicide. In his heart he didn't believe that David was going to do it. Take my arm he said. But David thought. No arrow. No stone. No spear will ever come near me. I won't need his armor. And Saul knew inside. That that spear which had a staff like a weaver's beam. Would have gone through his armor as though it was tin foil. This mighty Goliath. Oh David said. I come to you in the name of the Lord. Just one stone cut out with our hands. Slew Goliath. It was wonderful. Brings down any idol. Goliath was an idol. They were worshipping him. Israel feared him. An idol? But he was alive. Yes I know. He was dead. Because David trusted in the living God. Well you ought to be led about in this glorious triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. Day by day. But if you're trusting in your own prowess. If you're relying on anything like that. There's nothing doing except that God will in his sort of general providence. In grace. Well there is a providence in grace which comes to every Christian. Every child of God. He'll teach you. He'll do all these things. But there's a tremendous and glorious revelation. That we have to enter into. And you see. When that happens. And this is something. It says. In verse 15. That unto God. We're a sweet saver of Christ. A sweet saver of Christ. Hallelujah. Yeah when we let him lead us about like that. God our father. He thinks that Jesus is asleep in the boat. Sweet saver of that blessed incident. Rises up to his father. Glory. You know a sweet saver of Christ. Jesus is sitting on a mountain. Read John 6. And there's thousands of people there. And it's passed over time. And something's got to be done. They've got to keep the feast. They've got to do all sorts of things. You should read John 6. You know that John 6. John's gospel really revolves around the feasts of Israel. Now I'll give you a clue. That's what it all revolves around. The revelation of the one. For whom the feast was really held. But never mind. We'll leave that now. And there they are milling about. Jesus said now we're going to feed these people. And they say oh where are we going to get this. But there's a little verse. And it says this. It says. He knew what he would do. Where's the bread? We've got to feed 5,000. Got any bread here? They're all up there. Which end? He knew what he would do. Trust you see. Trust. Just sat there. Do you know what you're going to do? Lord if you go down I'll go down with you. If you rise I'll rise with you. Amen. Do you see this is so simple. Got to be a sweet saver of Christ. So when all the difficulties come. And thousands around you. You just sit down. And know what you're going to do. You say this is advanced teaching. No no no. It's not advanced teaching. This is just simplicity. For babes to walk in. You missed the advanced teaching. Yesterday morning. But he will say. That's not advanced stuff. That's a. Boy's food really. That's what he'd say. He spoke to it. I want to tell you this. There's very little tough meat in the Bible. You know that. Haven't you ever discovered that? It's really only. I was nearly going to say chicken feed in the Bible. It's true. It's really true. There's not much real advanced stuff in the Bible at all. What God is really going to give us. Amen. So let's all be rightly ashamed of ourselves. If we aren't really getting down to what this book is truly saying. Let's all be thoroughly ashamed of ourselves. That doesn't mean to say that everybody in the room understands everything in the Bible. They don't. But these things are simple. He wants to smell Christ. If he wasn't so polite. He'd say put your stinking ways away from you. He wasn't born in the East End of London like I was. You see. That's what he'd say. But I've got enough common sense to get the reverse of it. You're either a sweet savour of Jesus Christ or you're a stinking, odorous, I don't know what. Why don't the two? Well that's right isn't it? Or do you think there's a middle ground? I don't see any middle ground. You're either light or dark. According to this Bible. You're either you're in or you're out according to the scripture. You're either gods or satans. Ah but there's a middle ground. There's what's called carnal. Well. Did you think that that was from any other source than the devil? Carnality? Where did you think it came from? I listened very intently this morning when Brother came out with that recitation from John 15 because I've looked at it many times and thought if you don't bear fruit you're cast forth as a branch and never men gather them up and burn them. I listened to that. I mean you might have listened to the bit that spoke about luscious grapes and things like that. You needn't bother about that. That's the business of the vine to produce that. I can't produce fruit. I don't look to the fruit. The branch never looks to the fruit. We think so. It's going out, going out, going out. Wait a minute I'm going to chop some of that back in a minute. What you've got to look to is the union with the vine. That's what you've got to look to. It's the vine that produces the fruit. Don't you try. I know we've got to bear fruit but not of ourselves. And it's so glorious. I listened to that this morning. Amen. They're the sort of verses I listen to. They're tremendous. Glory be to the name of the Lord. But let's go on. Now it may amaze you. And it did me. The first time when I read this fifth chapter. And it dawned on me what Paul was saying. He says this. He says, verse 17, chapter 5. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new positionally. No, that word's not there is it? Do you know, I really think that God actually means that. So I'm going to put another word in. Excuse me, you needn't write it in your margin. You can blot it out of your mind in a moment if you want to. But I'm going to put it in. It says, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new experimentally. Or experientially. Whatever lovely word you want to put in. And then I want to put in presently, meaning now. Then I want to say continuously. Don't add to scripture. No, well I won't add to scripture. Hallelujah. Of course, Martin Luther, you know. If you've got sort of a facsimile copy of some of his annotations. Whenever he read, justified by faith, he used to put beside it, alone. Because you know, he was fighting out of all the trappings of a rotten system. And he wasn't afraid to put it in. Because he knew that that's what it all meant. Now what a glorious thing, in this tremendous thing. Let's go on. All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ. And hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. Not imputing their trespasses unto them. And hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. Now listen, will you accept this? And will you accept it here and now this morning? It's just as though God was beseeching you by me. By us. We pray you, in Christ's name, be ye reconciled to God. Now for a long time, you know, I never got this. It just shows you, you just have to keep reading the Bible. Until it comes clear. It's very simple. By the time you've done it 20 or 30 times, it'll come clear. It's impudence to think you'll get it from about two readings. Absolute impudence. This came out of men's blood, out of their experience. You didn't get that in two minutes. The whole glorious truth is this. I realised that he was talking to Christians. And he was telling Christians they weren't reconciled to God. You say, really? I thought that happened when you were saved. But it's this reconciling of the mind to God continually about everything. We will preach reconciliation through the blood. And it's true. True, true, true. But why do you think epistles are written and instructions are given to teach your mind and reconcile your understanding and grasp of things to God? Gear you to God. Constant reconciliation. We speak of it only in one realm usually. Do ourselves a disservice. He says, you know, you Christian church there at Corinth, you need to be reconciled to God. And really this is the only word we need actually. There's something in us. Brother, you've got to get reconciled to God in this circumstance. Sister, you've got to be reconciled to God. So the devil's done this. I want to tell you the devil's done nothing except lie to you. You're in God. Hallelujah. God's so big he can get down into the very pit of hell. Do you understand that? You're in God. You say, my life and my circumstances at the moment, they're like a foretaste of the pit. God's there, don't worry. Glory be to God. Don't you think that the devil's commandeered part of God's universe and it's his or part of this? Don't you believe that? One little moment. It's this lie that's spread over, this covering veil that's spread over all nations. You can read about it in Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah saw it. This lie. Because he'd heard heaven. He'd heard the seraphim, of which we were thinking yesterday morning. And they were saying, the whole earth's full of thy glory. How about that? They said, now anybody with common sense can see. Look at the desolations in Korea. Look at the poor boat people. Look at this. Look at that. Look at Mrs Thatcher. Look at Jimmy Carter. Look at this Mao business and all that stuff. What have they got to do with it? There's a lie spread over all the earth. There's a great covering veil over all the earth. That's what God says. Amen. We are here. Glory to God. So safe. It's simply because the devil's got such a fascinating way with him. And so many people trumpeting out his lies. Willing Mao's loan to him. Instead of seeing this. This is so when Jesus came down on the earth. He went dead against it. He said, the kingdom of heavens. Here. Well, I can't see it. Look at this terrible Roman yoke. This dreadful bondage. This horrible pilot. This, all this business. And he says, kingdom of heavens, come. Here. It's a time. Reach out and get it. That's why he started off and said. Repent, your thinking's all wrong. Oh, but it says, the scripture says that. Satan is the God of this world. He's the prince of the power of the air. And that's this and that and the other. So on and so on. Well, that's true. Of course, it's true. But the earth is the Lord's. And the fullness thereof. Amen. The earth is the Lord's. Not the devil's. The earth isn't the devil's. And don't you think the devil's going to have it destroyed with atomic bombs and things. Don't you think that. Let the lunatics think that. The earth is the Lord's. Hallelujah. And he's going to do what he wants. With this present great planet earth. See. And you get that right deep into your system. And stop this scaremongering reading. And I don't know what. Hallelujah. We're in God. We're in God. Do you know what? I couldn't think of a more sublime way of going to heaven than being dissolved by an atomic bomb. Right on the spot. It would be gone. Wouldn't feel any pain. Gone. And it'd be marvellous if they dropped a bomb on us. Oh, wouldn't it? You wouldn't feel anything. Sometimes I wake up with a headache, but I wouldn't. Don't. There's nothing in it. Stop all this scary business. People tell us what to do. Build deep shelters. Stack them up with cans of food. And I don't know what because of the atomic war that's coming. Yeah. You, your gods, your belly. And you're only out to save your skin. Go out there and live for God. Stop this cowardice. Somebody said to me. Oh, I mustn't get reminiscent. Somebody said to me, you know. Because it was wrong. You're sure it's wrong. We'll see in a moment. They said, you know, in Russia. They've determined, they've planned their sort of thing. They're going to invade England. Apparently, they were telling themselves this. Yeah, I don't know. I've only passed on what I was told. You'd be surprised the things I hear. Perhaps you wouldn't. And they said, they're going to invade England in 1973. Well, of course they didn't, you see. And they said, and they got a list. I said, oh. What's that? You know what I'm going to say, don't you? They got a list of all ministers. They're the people they're going to exterminate first. And I was a preacher. Still am. And you know, momentarily, I thought, oh. And then by next Sunday, oh, I was going. I put you in a camp. I'll torture you. I'll brainwash you. I'll make you say that the gospel rot. I'll make you say that Jesus Christ was a blasphemous nothing. That's what they'll do. Horrible thought. More torturous than having your fingernails pulled out. You see. The lie that's aimed at you. Because in those days I was going right down the line. A lot more energy than I have in these days. But here then is the whole glorious truth. Beloved. You've got to come out of worshipping your belly and saving your skin. You've got to get right out there. God. Lead you about in triumph. Be a sweet saver of Jesus Christ. You've got to get your thinking reconciled to God's. How much time have you spent doing that? There's only one way I know. And it's this. Total repentance. Total repentance will bring your heart to a carte blanche experience and position. God will write in you his laws. And God's laws govern your thinking. Amen. And he will then set about reordering the whole pattern of thought in your life. That's a tremendous and glorious truth. And the more you'll shut up to yourself. Horrible, isn't it? You know, we're such agrarious beings. We want to get out for the gregarious. I tell you this is tremendous. But the more isolated you are. The more shut in you are. To the Lord. The more he'll teach you. That's right. So don't listen. You know I live such a lonely life. Do you know what I do? I long to get alone. Just long to get alone. That's right. I got my best times when I'm alone. That isn't to say I don't enjoy preaching. Don't you see? Hallelujah. Jesus used to say. Lead me higher up the mountain. He used to go up there and say. Oh Father. I'm just alone with thee. Just alone with thee. Glory. That's right. You've got to be reconciled to God. In everything. This is great. At least I think it is. There's something else you've got to see. So very clearly. Why you have to repent. In chapter 10. Listen. You have to learn. That you've been called to a warfare. Verse 3. A warfare. We walk in the flesh he said. But we don't war after the flesh. The warfare is this. You've got to cast down. The contrary imaginations that come to the mind. You've got to cast down. Every high thing that exalts itself against you knowing God. More intimately. You've got to bring every thought into captivity. To Christ's obedience. Then. Here comes this word revenge again. Ready to revenge. Glory be to God. You devil. Don't you try this on me. Go for the devil. You know. Last week. Was it last week? No. The week before. Some of us were in a conference. And. We had a little black brother there. One of Edgar's pals. From Nigeria. He only stood about as high as my shoulder. Part like this. His name was Jock. Ock somebody. I forgot his other name. The rest of it. John? Was it John O'Covey? O'Covey. Yeah that's right. O'Covey. That's right. And. He. We got to a place in the meeting. Where we were going to pray. For all the needs of the media. Into my heart. There came the thought. That I'd call little John. So. I said. Brother John will pray for us. Just put down all these English. White skinned people. That think they're superior. You know. Called up little John. They all thought that the great. Mr Norse. Was going to pray for them. See. And so. Here comes little John. We put down the mics for him. So that they could come on the level with his mouth. He started to pray. You should have heard him pray. Pop. You were there? Yeah. Oh. Several were here. I guess it's on record. Did you record it? By that record. Of John O'Covey praying. He's only a little fellow. And he. Started off. And then all of a sudden. I put my arm around him. Because I thought he was going to pitch over the front. We had a nice flower display there too. I tell you. We're really coming up a cliff. And he stood there. Prayed for them. Prayed for them. And it was just as though electricity had gone through him. I got my arm around him. He's very easy. Only a little thin sort of a fellow. I put my arm around him. And I was like holding him on the rein. He. He went. He prayed for the sick. And he shouted. And he yelled at him. Get out. Miracle. If I tried to. Couldn't possibly do it. But you know. That came to me in a flash. He saw he was in a war. That's why he got into shouting. I understood it a little more clearly. At my age. What it was all about. This little fellow. I sort of clung on and pulled him closer. I didn't just do it for that. I wanted him to know that I was with him. One with him. And boy. He went tense. And pulled. And drained. And he was going for the devil. Right, left and centre. And they came out. And lumps disappeared off bodies. And arthritis went out. And bodies. And broken bones. And were healed. Under the inspection of doctors. Who were there. We had about six there. I think. I tell you. Was he in the fight. He was in the fight. I saw then. Why some of these people get so excited. Hallelujah. Battles with noise. That's what the scripture says. If it's a battle. You don't say. Excuse me. Would you mind handing over your sword. He went for the devil. And I tell you. The devil was afraid of him. Little fellow. I tell you. We're in a warfare. We're in a warfare. There are some people who are prepared to raise the slates on the roof with praise. But when it comes to the devil. They're almost apologetic. We're in a warfare. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You've got to repent of everything. Everything. Glory be to the name of the Lord. I'll go back to little David again. Here comes this thundering giant. Balling out. Nobody dared get with any. I don't know. Spears throw of him. Spears. I guess he would have been able to thrown it further than ever. They throw javelins at the Olympic sports. He was a giant of a man. Tremendous man. Had all the devil's power in him. Why he could breed children that had five fingers. As well as a thumb. I don't know what he couldn't do. Tremendous fellow. Yearning boy. He used to make the place shout. This is what David writes about in the 23rd Psalm. You mustn't think it's physical death. When he says. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He was thinking that valley he went into. Against Goliath. He wasn't thinking about dying. It's all being misunderstood. Nobody understands the Bible. That's the trouble. He went down there. I tell you. And Goliath yelled at him. And he yelled at Goliath. That's right. Go mumbling and muttering. He opened his mouth wide and God filled it. Hallelujah. Wasn't it wonderful. That's the way battles are won. You want to repent of everything else. Let's get down to it. You've got to understand that in this great life. To which we've been called. There's nothing decent about it. Not by our standards of decency. The devil's a murderer. A liar. He's a rapist and an adulterer. He's a thief. He's a blasphemer. He's obscene and wretched and wicked. He's everything. Do you understand that? Glory be to the name of the Lord. And when Jesus was in the fight on the cross. He yelled it out then. Finished. Yelled it out. Shouted it. Glory be to God. Everything bowed and shook and trembled. Now God wants this. Now don't mistake noise for power. That's not what I'm trying to get at. But if you've got power in you. I'm just telling you that it was like that little fellow. There. Amen. You know I've been out into Africa. They sort of live in that atmosphere out there. They yell and shout and rage. You think they're the most irascible, wrath-filled people in the world. Ah, yeah, I'd rise to watch them. And all the hatred and the grim passion is on their faces. That's right, isn't it? But they get miracles that you don't. Do they get miracles? Do they get because of the noise they make? No. But every battle of the warrior, beloved, is absolutely involved with noise. The clash of arms against arms. Don't you understand this? God, raise up some warriors. Amen. Hallelujah. Well, look here. But you see, you've got to keep this mind right. That's what he's on about now. You've had this change of mind. You've got to cast down every imagination that exalts itself against you knowing God. Everything. Cast it down. Whatever you imagine it is or whatever imaginary or real shape it takes. Out with it. Glory be to the name of the Lord. Everything into captivity to the obedience of Christ. You say, what does that mean? It means this. I hope your mind is reconciled to it. I am going to obey God my Father as Jesus of Nazareth obeyed him. That's the obedience of Christ. That's what it means. So you see what you've got to keep doing. You've got to keep reading those Gospels. You've got to keep reading those Gospels. How many of you have read through the New Testament as a reading since I was here last because I believe I must have said this last time. I'm going to keep saying it every conference I come to. How many of you have done it? Look at that. Go through those Gospels until you know the pattern of the life of Jesus Christ. What do you expect? A little bird to pop out and whisper it in your ear? Room for pleasure, room for business but for Christ the crucified not a place that he can enter in the heart for which he died. You've got room for pleasure, haven't you? Now pleasure's not wrong. It's the pleasures of sin that are wrong. It's not wrong to go walking with your baby in a stroller. It's not wrong to go paddling in the sea. It's not wrong. But it's wrong if it's all you do with your spare time Don't you see? I want to tell you you'll never have time to spare. Never. Never. What a glorious thing it is. Let's go right on, shall we? I'm loving this. Here I am. I want you to come with me into chapter 11. I promise you I won't look in every chapter. In chapter 11 would God, he says that you could bear with me a little in my folly and indeed bear with me for I'm jealous over you with Godly jealousy I have espoused you to one husband. Listen, I promise Jesus Christ my Lord that I would espouse you to him. How about that? Now you've got to revise your thinking. If you think you're just saved by him which you are if you think you're just forgiven by him which you are if you think you're just sort of given an assured place in heaven by him which you are and that's all you think and you don't think that you've been espoused to Jesus Christ in a total oath of committal in the heart of Paul the apostle and I want to say in mine too if you don't think you've been espoused to Jesus Christ promised to him given to him his alone to be united with him then you've missed it. You've got to have another conversion of your mind. Total repentance you'll have to come to. You're married to Jesus Christ. This is tremendous. But listen, listen I never finished it really I've espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. Now you want to understand this my beloved brothers and sisters I hope you do understand it you've got to be presented to Christ Christ is coming for us, we're all going to be I know, I know, I know there'll be millions and millions and millions and millions but you'll see there's going to come a day when you'll see it that Paul the apostle will walk forward to Jesus and he'll say Jesus I present to you the Corinthian church Jesus I present to you the Ephesian church my Lord I present to you these Philippians and there are some of you I've got to present to Jesus Christ and it's about time some of you got into this business where you're going to present someone to Jesus Christ well I thought he was coming we're all going to be gathered together unto him I know, I know, course we are but there are ministries there are all sorts of things to be accounted for do you see this? go back with me into the fourth chapter can't sorry the fifth chapter we can't, we cannot miss this here it is it says this it says, oh let's read it we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved you see that just fits you for an atomic bomb doesn't it? dissolved that's right we have a building of God and house not made with hands therefore cannot be destroyed by anything made with hands eternal in the heavens in this we grow earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked now you mustn't appear naked just a naked spirit there are lots of people going to appear naked spirits in heaven we all know that for instance the thief on the cross was just a naked spirit when he went he lived his life in sin no clothes now I know we associate clothes with collars and tights at least I do and things like that no chance to have any clothes on now Paul was going to heaven into a house clothed upon I love you understand now clothed upon let's go on oh we that are in this tabernacle grow on being burdened not for that we would be unclothed but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life now you do understand that the beginning of this clothing is the Holy Ghost you shall be clothed with power from on high I won't develop that you should do it that's the clue for you and in this tremendous thing this is mortality has got to be swallowed up of life and he that hath wrought us for this selfsame thing is God who has also given unto us the earnest the spirit therefore we are always confident knowing that whilst we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord for we walk by faith not by sight we are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord wherefore we labour this is why we labour see this is an incentive for labour that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him for listen we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad therefore knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men but we thus we are made manifest to your conscience and so on he goes now we've all got to appear before the judgment seat Paul I gave you an apostolic calling I endued you with power from on high I gave you so many talents and I gave you the power I gave you your commission I gave you gifts yes Lord here are the Philippians Lord here's Timothy Lord here's Silas Lord here's Luke Lord oh glory glory yeah yes minister listen and he said my ambition and this is why I'm driving I want to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ that you never experimented in the area or field of sin with Satan never not since you've been saved a chaste virgin chaste now when I was a boy I really think I'm still a boy actually but when I was a boy I can remember my parents used to talk in sort of old tones on some things and say I can remember my father saying distinctly that is chaste silver oh marvelous chaste silver now it didn't just mean that it was pure he meant that it had been wrought upon finely glorious things etched in patterns and designs chaste silver work glory you've got to be presented unto the Lord not just pure that's basic boy ooh do you see her do you see her bride prepared for her husband hallelujah she's bejeweled it's marvelous pearls and precious stones and no goblet on the earth like that precious bride now this is what it's all about Paul enlarges this when he writes that letter to the Colossians he talks about presenting every man perfect in Christ listen has your mind got like this with Jesus Christ have you allowed the Holy Ghost to get right hold of you that you're deeply in love with Jesus deeply not in a cold sort of academic way go hallelujah in love with him absolutely in love with him you can't be in love with a person they want to be loved unless you're emotionally you're moved I don't believe anybody can be coldly and aloofly academic I don't believe it if they're in love with Jesus Christ oh well it's to do with their temperance it's to do with the temperament of the Holy Ghost that's come keep talking about what you've inherited from your mum and your dad you've come to be delivered from it into the norm and the norm is Jesus Christ he's the representative man if I may use a phrase hallelujah I tell you when they were following that blessed Jesus Father can't you see him can't you see him don't you don't you come alive don't your imaginations fire up Father glorify thy name can't you hear it of course you read it flat dead it's horrible the way people read the Bible they've got nothing in them nothing in them at all they've never been moved by the most majestic prose in the world never by that never glory Father he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said Father glorify thy name and all that it's a tragedy and these men are supposed to be filled with the Holy Ghost ministering in the power of God they've never even let the power of the word come into them Father glorify thy name same thing as I told you about little John when he came against the devil the devil knew that all the thunders of heaven were loosed against him I tell you we heard it screaming went on all sorts of things went on hallelujah shouts went on all sorts of things people came up waving their arms look look God's done this for me and it lasted praise the name of the Lord not that they were the greatest miracles brought there they were only the sort of superficial things on the body, that surface isn't it deeper things than that greater things than that but hallelujah Lord you're a chaste virgin virgin say how can a man or a woman be a virgin when they've lived their life for 20, 30, 40 years in sin this is the miracle if God allows me I'll preach to you on spiritual virginity before this conference is through I can only preach it if God allows me to is he a chaste virgin hmm you know just to go back to my chaste silver illustration that means it's been in the hands of the craftsmen a long time you know they just make spoons it's very simple I couldn't make a spoon but I know how to do it, I've seen the machinery seen the functions of course we've substituted silver for old bits of tin well you know steel or something and so what they do they just sort of have a die they cut out a bit like that and a handle then they stuff it in they go like that the thing comes over a well like that and they put a handle and there's the spoon and they just take it out and just buff it up here and there there it is and it's never in the hands of the man for longer than about two minutes I guess but when the thing is this perfect chaste silver that's laid in the hands of a lover who takes a delight in his craft it's been held it's been looked at it's been punished with infinite care the tracery of Jesus the blessed Holy Ghost you're espoused to Jesus Christ now now don't go giving your love to anybody else not that kind of love don't flirt around I want to tell you that as a virgin could conceive when Jesus came into the world so in your virginity you'll conceive this very seed of sin we're in a realm where spirits are operating you keep clear unto him this is the whole secret where people go back from it the dreadful secret they get delivered they get set their impurity and virginity unto Jesus and then the devil comes and sows a seed read it in James chapter 1 it's very clearly there James tells you hmm you've got to keep clear unto Jesus all the time oh quarter to one I wanted to talk to you about the change in your opinion about your money would you like me to talk about that really well I'm going to talk about the God of the church money that's right people still love money they love it it's their security they've got it stashed away some way or another that's their hope of living on a certain level money because the best I can say is before I go any further we are not going to take up a collection this morning laughing and I don't want your money you understand um money has become a great big God Paul deals with it these are the chapters in the bible that deal with it now you may think I really ought to give up one whole sermon to this I really I ought don't get dinner ready for one Christine if you're listening laughing is that alright with your permission brother listen beloved convey the message won't you don't say I was going to be late I just said that we've been now you may think it's a marvellous idea to tie do you do you think it's a good idea to tie it yes it's in the bible but not in the new testament um everybody wants to live in the old testament they all want to live he says well God said so yeah that's right it's good God said it yeah listen have you ever understood something that there's a progression of revelation in degrees of truth listen he starts off God saw that it was good then he got to very good there's something better than good and then you get the word excellent it's marvellous then you get the word perfect see this dear and then beyond excellent you get the more excellent that's what I'm talking about people think that if they tithe that's marvellous in case you didn't understand and Paul deals with old testament situations in the eighth and the ninth chapters of this book I want you to see that God's idea was never a tense um it was man's didn't you know that man started it old Jacob he said no if you do this do that do this for me I'll give you a tense God accepted it as high as his heart could rise it was very good and God incorporated it into the old testament system it was voluntary from a man's heart but I'd like to ask you this question if you give a tense you've given a tense haven't you but let me give you one simple little illustration when God starts to give he gives a third you say what do you mean oh he so loved the world he gave his son that's a third of the persons of the trinity one out of three that's a start that's a start hallelujah when did you last put a third of your earnings in the plate who's accord to that we've got the mortgage to pay the HP on the television um we've got to live ah God knows that he says we've got to walk and um and to give yeah but you know you've misinterpreted you didn't finish reading it says that let him that stole steal no more but rather let him labour with his hands so that he may give to him that need him that's why you've got to work give to him that need him I've quoted Ephesians 5 I've not got a bible of my own do you understand yeah and then when you want to really see God's way you haven't got to think of poor old wrestling Jacob who having wrestled through a terrible situation pants out I'll give you the 10th floor what you've got to look at is a nation they've been brought out of Egypt and they're travelling through the wilderness and how are we going to feed this lot and God lays a table cloth of dew on the bed and then on the table cloth he puts manna and he says now every one of you get up in the morning go out and collect an oma that was a measure some went out they collected two omas there was dad, bill, jimmy, jack, levi, matthew they were all out there they got about four omas there was another poor old lady went out she went out there she couldn't get around very fast she picked up half an oma when they got back inside she had as much as an oma and those that had four omas just had an oma what's God's method? equality that's what Paul's talking about in the 9th chapter equality you read it equality ooh you say this is real communism no it's not the difference between communism and God is this the communism levels everybody down God levels everybody up yeah that's the glorious truth and it's a marvelous truth the level he levels us up to is Jesus glory now nevertheless when it touches giving now I'd like to read these two chapters through and point out to you the operative words there God intends equality that's what he intends now I'm not talking about the third world or the fourth world that's the business of the world that's not the church's business the church's business is to go and give them bread from heaven that's the church's business not to ignore their social conditions of course not we've got to have social concern but we're not here to supply what government should be supplying because they keep taking our money off us that's what they do or the government should be supplying that isn't to say there shouldn't be voluntary organizations I know after this you'll sort of put me down in your estimation but I want to tell you what I believe to be the truth and I'm responsible to God for that it's our business to go out with the gospel and give them the bread from heaven that's our business that isn't to say we shouldn't give them some pullovers and shoes and all that as well that's not what I'm talking about but let's get our sides clear shall we since these states want to play God and Big Brother let them get on with it we're here to present the gospel to them Amen that isn't to say we can't give them social aid as well that's not our concern our concern is to go right out there and give them the truth of God but among ourselves because Israel was God's own nation as it were the children of God he intends equality that's what he intends did you know that now there are lots of sort of things in the world today which I believe God loathes and abhors from the depths of his being where money is concerned I believe it with all my heart you'll have to pardon me if you disagree with me please and come and give me a big kiss let me know you forgive me but this is what I this is the sort of thing I hear see if you've heard it now God intends that we should have this, that and the other and if you invest ten pounds, ten dollars in the gospel you give us your money God will give you a hundred dollars or a hundred pounds and that's that and you'll be blessed they never say God increases we'll give you ten pounds so that we get a hundred pounds they don't say that now you think that up, that's true I'll write to you from all these places they don't say no, God of plenty we enter into a pact to give you a hundred pounds we know we'll get a thousand they never say that in other words they're inferring that they're doing the work of God and you aren't now please don't think that I mean you shouldn't give to gospel outrage see I mean that but it's a pernicious lie I've been lying it all and again it's all based on Old Testament it's all based on Old Testament people have never got into the New Testament not really let's have a look at this man Paul again we needn't go out of this epistle it's in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 that we read you know we started at verse 11 did you? O ye Corinthians, our mouth open unto you now listen this is why he could open his mouth verse 10 sorrowful, always rejoicing poor, making many rich having nothing and yet possessing all things now I feel free to open my mouth wide to you that's right now you've got faith like I have you know I've got a yacht I've got a camel train that stretches across the desert from Jerusalem to Shanghai I've got nothing and I'm going to present you a chaste virgin too you've got to be virginal about money do you understand that? we are they and trust in the living God I commented on Saturday night a little bit along this line if you were here the whole glorious truth beloved is that you have entered into a pact with God to ask Him alone depend on Him that's it isn't it a glorious thing and this I will tell you in what little measure I've been allowed to prove His faithfulness He supplies abundantly but what you will have to do is go through a testing period first you'll have to do that but have no fear, be of good cheer if you're working will God remember this is what He says we are fellow workers with the Lord it's in this same glorious epistle if you're working with God then everything's okay I'm still dealing with repentance repentance perhaps about prosperity deals and pacts subtle selfishness underlying your giving giving in order to get more it's nothing more than striking a bargain almost a business deal with God and far beyond tidy absolutely beyond tidy now I'm not saying it isn't a bad idea it really is a good idea to teach your children to give systematically that's good but that's for babies we taught our kids that when they were about the size of that table and they used to cry if they hadn't got any money and sometimes they didn't have any I tell you you've got to go through testing sometimes they didn't because daddy had it inside of his pockets hanging out pretty well with nothing in it I can tell you some marvellous stories about that let me tell you one that's our real favourite daddy used to get up and walk around the church early on Sunday mornings he wasn't one of these last minute people he had a family, children as well just like you brother yeah he did and he had an old mother dependent on him see and he used to get up and walk I preferred to walk anyway it wasn't just that I hadn't got the money and I used to get down there mummy used to come at the last minute get on the bus and come see and they all got on the bus one Sunday morning this is my favourite story about it and there were all the three little girlies all ever so sad they'd been told they couldn't have any money for the offering that Sunday morning you see so they were sitting there thinking of course they'd love to give to the Lord and still do you see and surprise surprise on the bus that early on Sunday morning gets a drunken man a drunken man he staggers and he sits down in his seat and he starts to talk to my three little girlies you see and when he gets up he says here you are and he gives them what they would have received as their Sunday morning offering to God they said on the bus we've got our collection mummy they said all the bus knew we've got our collection God is faithful you bleat out this that and you say ah but it's the children I'm thinking of you aren't you aren't you can't trust your children to God might damage their little souls blah that's all it is there's a place where your thoughts come right with God you move out in the greatness of God he'll test you of course he'll test you he's not insane he tests everybody neither is he a blind father Christmas he'll put you on the ground of reality and he supplies your need and lastly I promise you I don't want to but I will do chapter six no it's not sorry this time it's chapter four I made you say it before chapter four all right here it is glory catching up with where we finished in three we all with unveiled face beholding as in a glass of mirror the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord therefore seeing we have this ministry as we have received mercy we fade not but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God but if our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds you see it's on the mind again blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ or perhaps better translated the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God should shine under them for we preach not ourselves but Jesus Christ the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake for God this is the reason of it commanded the light to shine out of darkness he shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ but we have this treasure in earth and vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God not of us we've got this treasure this is why you've got to have a complete change of mind we have treasure in earth and vessels hallelujah is Jesus your treasure is the unclouded face of Jesus shining in your heart your treasure is he day and night be all my care says Wesley to God the sacred treasure there hallelujah my treasure you've got that shining in your heart has light come the unfaded face of Jesus Christ this is the ministry it's a marvelous thing beloved when you realize you've got everything we've got the treasure blessed Lord you steal nothing count nothing so dear as this here is your whole life got the treasure got the treasure in this earth and vessel I've got the treasure people are searching for the treasure they sought the treasure oh glory be to God the unfaded face of Jesus Christ you know don't you if I may go back to yesterday morning and even the great Aaron the high priest divested of all his princely robes that made him the chief among ten thousand went into the holiest place and Edgar made clear that the censer that is the golden altar was closely associated with the veil and he lifted up the veil and before he went in the censer went in it veiled the glory veiled the glory I've been down in the church of South India you know down in Kerala boy they swing the censer it veils everything for about five minutes whilst they're going hard at it strangely enough though they're ritualistic they're evangelical but there, this is one you couldn't see anything much that's what Aaron did put it in veiled it veiled it as he wouldn't dare have gone in but blessed God the glory was veiled by the sweetness of Jesus it was so wonderful there was an offering of incense then an offering of blood his self and all his way with it unto the Lord and it was wonderful there was the treasure but it was veiled now listen to have the glory of the Lord shining in your heart Amen that's treasure what do you think don't you think that you're prepared to give up anything for that wouldn't you let him go her go this go that go work go works go for that Hallelujah Oh Lord to shine undimmed in me this is why I've got to repent of everything and be constantly reconciled to God in everything about everything with everybody everywhere all my life the change the change the change we love to sing about being changed from glory to glory it entails this it's not merely because I go and have a look at the golden mercy and glory gets reflected on me for a moment it's this it's in me all the time is it this is what you want how can you try to satisfy and feed yourself on images on a screen how can you do that how can you I know what's missing do you know what's missing the blessed saving grace of the Holy Ghost's operations in my heart it's making my blessed Jesus appear in all his glory within me that's right now let's go right on with this beloved shall we shall we I promise you I've finished I've not exhausted the epistle I've appealed to you I've only been in a few chapters but it's all here and it would be a great thing if this morning even those of us who say we're baptized in the Spirit if we sorrow with godly sorrow under repentance until the image shines forth perfect I won't turn you to it I'll do it from memory you can cheat if you keep reading the bible because you don't have to open it here it is in the last chapter he talks about us being perfect are you ready perfect Lord thank you for having such a wonderful plan for me thank you that's right isn't it wonderful listen it isn't just that you need to see the reflected glory of the Christ listen father wants to see his reflected glory in you in you for the reflected glory of the father is none other than the son read Hebrews 1 opening verses he's the reflected glory of the father I've got to stop because it's all boiling up in here the same now let's stop father let's pray let's pray