In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of believers taking action and doing good works for God. He highlights that while those with families seem to be able to do more, young ladies often feel overwhelmed and exhausted from work. The preacher encourages everyone to step out of their comfort zones and start by helping acquaintances, gradually expanding their reach. He shares a story of a young lady who visited a lonely old lady and brought her joy, emphasizing the impact of simple acts of kindness. The preacher also references the Bible, specifically Jesus' words in Revelation 2:5, urging listeners to remember their initial love for God, repent, and obey quickly.

Let's come together, shall we, to that which God has for us tonight, in addition to what He's already given us. And I want you to turn with me to the book of the Revelation. And in chapters 1 and 2, we're on familiar ground. And I suppose, really, this is where we need to stay. I expect that you're rather like me, that you've discovered that if we keep right, right on these great foundational things, that everything else comes right, it all takes its place. In vain we struggle to accomplish things for God if we haven't got our priorities right. This is a very simple thing for us to learn, and I only want to point out to you simple things tonight. It's concerning the revelation that was given to the Lord Jesus Christ, which, when He wanted to make known unto us, He communicated to John on the Isle of Patmos the great vision of Himself in the midst of the candlesticks. The seven lampstands, candlesticks as it's translated, whichever word we use, and He's standing in the midst. You see, when John turned in verse 12 of chapter 1, the first thing he saw, and this was by the will of God concerning it, the first thing he saw was the lampstands. You would have thought he would have seen Christ first, wouldn't you? But Jesus was presenting to him the revelation that he had. And Jesus' revelation, whatever else you want to say, is this. The seven churches, or the perfection of the church in its ministry. And then when he saw the sevenfold, the candlesticks, then he saw in the midst of the candlesticks this one like unto the Son of Man. He was standing in the midst of the candlesticks and the Lord wanted us to enter into a glorious picture of truth which He takes from the Old Testament. You and I will turn to it now in Leviticus chapter 24. I suppose that you have been acquainted at some time or another that the 23rd chapter of the book of Leviticus contains the great revelation of the feasts of the dawn. And that the feasts of the Lord cover the whole of earth's period as well as covering that which should be the experience of every individual. It is an amazing thing that God always works on the same pattern, whether He is working in the universe, in nature, or whether He is working in an individual in redemption. The principle of action never changes. And this is a great thing, this great invariableness, why you can always rely on God. Why? Though you can never counsel Him or comprehend Him within your mind, you can always be sure of Him. And though you may not watch Him carefully enough to know His movings in details, you can be sure He will never depart from principles. And so, at the end of chapter 23 we come into chapter 24. And the Lord speaks unto Moses saying, Command the children of Israel that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light to cause the lamps to burn continually without the veil of the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the Lord continually. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually. Now, the lampstand stood without the veil. And if you go through the book of the Revelation carefully, you will find the tabernacle or temple there. You will have to read carefully. You will find the temple, the ark. You will find the sea, the equivalent to the sea in Solomon's temple. You will find the altar. You will find the incense. You will find everything there. You will even find the lamb. And you will find everything in the book of the Revelation. That would be a wonderful study, if we should take it up together. But meanwhile, before we come together again, because we won't do it this time, I expect, you read it yourself and hunt it all out. You be a mighty hunter before the Lord. Neither be an Esau or a Nimrod, but be a hunter. And hunt out the truth. And, all right, the great picture of the temple and the tabernacle can be used in many, many different ways. And what the Lord is showing us in the book of the Revelation, you will find it that there in heaven, we are told in one place that the temple of the tabernacle was opened and the ark of the covenant was seen. You will find it there. But the lampstand is on earth. The lampstand is without the veil. It is standing on the earth. Inside the veil, they didn't need any light. You will find that in New Jerusalem, which is the holy of holies. The holy of holies was four square. And New Jerusalem is four square, the perfect cube. In there, they never need any light of the sun. They don't need the light of the candlesticks. That is lighted by the Lord. And you will find the light on the earth, the candlesticks. In the holy of holies, the light. And we are told that New Jerusalem does not need the light because the lamp is the lamp. That's your word. The lamp is the lamp. We find the lamp in New Jerusalem. We find the lampstands on the earth. In New Jerusalem, it's broad glorious daylight. They have the glory of God. It was like that in the holy of holies. They didn't need any natural light in the holy of holies. No windows. They didn't need any artificial light. No lampstand. The glory of God lighted the holy of holies. And that's where God lived. But if you took the lampstand out of the holy place without the veil, it would have been dark. The first tabernacle, as it's called, or the holy place, was lighted by the lamps on the lampstand. And Aaron had to go in and order, that is the high priest had to go in and order the lamps on the lampstand. He had to see that the golden oil representing the Holy Ghost was flowing down into every one of the lamps on the lampstand. Seven in all. He had to order them. I like this great word order. You'll find that everything was in order. And everything was under the ordination or ordering of the high priest. Now this is exactly what John was shown. He looks round and he sees the lampstands and in the midst the high priest. Now of course we know that he's the high priest after the order of Melchizedek. We're told about him in the book of Hebrews. But let's have a look at this high priest here, shall we? Our Lord Jesus. For I trust that you know that the high priest he had to do his great work and he could only do it day by day continually because annually the great atonement was made and the annual atonement kept the glorious light shining in the Holy of Holies. The Lord stayed there because of the blood and because the great light was shining in the Holy of Holies that is God himself then the light could be kept going in the Holy place. It's very very simple. And the Lord then, this great Melchizedek in resurrection he's in the midst of the candlesticks. And we're going to see him. Verse 13 of chapter 1 In the midst of the seven candlesticks there was one like unto the Son of Man clothed with a garment down to the foot and girt about the peps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire and his feet like unto fine brass as if they burned in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters and he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. Now that's the high priest as he stood in the midst of the candlesticks to order the lamps. I want you to see that John saw seven candlesticks but only one light. He never saw seven lights. He saw one light. The Lamb, the Lord was the lamp. He was in the midst of the candlesticks, the lampstands. And here then is the testimony that the church for you know seven is the number of perfection. Seven. And the church has to show forth just one light. It doesn't matter where it is. It could be Aurora, Exeter, Newton Abbott, Edinburgh. It doesn't matter where they are. The churches may only show forth the light and the light is Jesus. Now that's the light that has to be shown. And the blessed Lord Jesus in his great high priestly capacity as you will see is giving daily attendance to his job. There he is. It's wonderful. And I'd like you to see in verse 10 that this man John was in the spirit and it was the Lord's day. Amen. Now the churches always and only exist in the Lord's day. They do not exist in man's day. They don't exist in the devil's day. They exist in the Lord's day. Are you in the Lord's day? You see, if you come from a certain background you say, it's the Lord's day. Listen, it's the Lord's day. That's what I want you to see. The Lord had a night. You know when it was. He went into such blackness and darkness for man's sin. And everything went out. And even the sun stopped his shining in the heavens. And he went down into death. Bless the name of the Lord. It was all so wonderful. But now it's the Lord's day. Are you in the Lord's day? Glory. Listen, in the Holy of Holies, no night there. In the churches, no night there. The Lamb is the lamp. No night in the churches. No darkness in the churches. The greater, fuller day, the most marvellous light is yet ahead for us. Praise God. But we are not living in darkness. We are not travelling in the night. The world's in the night. The devil's men are in the darkness. God's people are in the day. They're in the light. This is what we're told. That when God begets His children, according to James in chapter 1, that He is the Father of lights. When He brings forth a child, it's a light. It's a light because it's a light. That's right. Amen. And it's a wonderful thing. What a glorious and precious truth it is. No church, doesn't matter who you are, what name you call yourself, has a light of its own. They share the common light. The blessed Lord Jesus Christ. And what a light. Amen. When we get to New Jerusalem, we don't have any need of the sun. Whilst we're on the earth, we do. But it's His countenance. We don't need the sun in that day. It's His face in our day, in the churches really. It's His face that's shining as the sun. He's taken the place of the sun for us. Amen. He's our sun. He's our day. He's our glory. And you know, beloved, He comes right down into the midst of the churches. And the whole purpose of it is that He should take the precious olive oil that was beaten from Him, the olive, on the tree. And He takes the glorious oil. And He orders the oil, the blessed Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. Isn't this the marvellous thing about the great blessed Lord? That the Holy Spirit supplies the means of light for the churches. And you know, on that seven-branched candlestick of old, there was, if we like to think of it in this way, there was the great baptismal fullness at the front, at the top. And the oil flowed through golden pipes from the great central reserve of the Spirit, of the oil. And it flowed down to each one of the individual churches. Amen. So right at the top, you have the glorious Lord, you have the great baptism, the fundamental, glorious, original fullness, outpouring of the Spirit. And then the supply of that oil constantly to the churches. Every church has to be under the glorious oil, the great outpouring. Nobody's in the church except they're baptised in the Holy Ghost. Nobody. And the supply of the oil is constant from the first great baptismal fullness, the constant supply. This again outdoes, this outworn, and of course it negates it, this whole theory. It used to be written in a certain Bible, I won't tell you, but if you want to know, it's called the S Bible. I'll leave it at that. And in the S Bible, I'll leave it at that, they propound the fallacy, which isn't true. And if you live by it, you've got to be very careful. They say, quoting authorities, that the story is one baptism, many fillings. That's not true. You've got it in the picture of the lamp. One baptism, constant filling. There. That's different. The lamps never went out. They had to be kept burning constantly. One baptism, always filled from the great central supply. So cross that lump out in your S Bible, will you? It isn't true. It's got that. One baptism, many fillings. It isn't to say you can't be filled again if you've lost your fullness, but God's not catering for such dismal approaches to truth. Amen. You've got to know the truth, and that'll set you free from the idea that's so deeply gone wrong. Remember what our sister Christine said earlier. Her mother told her when she was a child about leaving footprints in the soil. See what it's done to her until last night. Think of it. You believe something that's wrong. I'm not going to guess her age. I guess she's over 25. A little. Well, 25 years. That error has bound her. Be careful what you believe. Be careful about your S Bible, you see, or your N Bible, or your T Bible, TC Bible. Be careful about it. You've got to be very careful and know what God is teaching. And in the great truth, then, He's in the midst of the churches. This blessed high priest, chief priest, great priest, really, is better than high. You see, if not, we talk about high churches and low churches. Chief priest, blessed be the name of the Lord. And he's there. And he's doing his great work. And he trims his churches and he orders the light not by just doing it whether they want to or whether they don't. Remember, the combination of sovereignty and free will. God and man that I spoke of earlier. He didn't say, I'm in the churches. Zonk, zonk, zonk, zonk. All Aaron had to do of old was just tip, you know, play around in the bits of gold there because they were gold and the oil. And I suppose see that the wick was burning alright. Whatever the wick was made from. But not with God. Not with Jesus. He does it by writing a letter to the churches. He does it by saying, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. He does it by the call to obedience. That hearts respond. And do you know whether a church remains a living, bright, vital, shining witness anywhere in the world depends upon what the members of that church do when God speaks to them. Amen. Did you know that? Amen. Every individual member it depends on what you do when God speaks. What a tremendous responsibility then lies upon us all, beloved. Amen. Amen. Well, I expect too that you have read as I have read in fact I distinctly remember that at times in this room we looked at this great letter to the Ephesian church. And you will remember that one of the things that Jesus said to the Ephesian church was this. He said, if you don't repent and do your first works I will remove your lampstand. Your light will go out. That's what he said. I will put it out. He didn't say, oh those members got so weak and pale and they gradually did this and gradually Jesus said, I'll put it out. That's it. I won't have it. I won't have that kind of behaviour. That's it. I won't have it. You can come and sing your services and clap your hands and do this or that. I'll put the light out. You're just running around yourselves. But we keep coming. We've been faithful for 55 years. It doesn't make any difference if the Lord's put the light out. You see, the great tragedy is this. That if a lampstand is not a light in the dark it's a menace to everybody. People who are seeking the light fall over it. Bang into it. Can't see anything. Instead of being a blessing to people it's a curse. Look. Seven churches in Asia. What a tragedy. Only seven? Only seven churches in Asia? Minor? Terrible. Surely there must have been seven. But what has happened to all the others then? Weren't they in existence now? You do some thinking. You know both the goodness and the severity of God. Paul calls our attention to it. The goodness of God is to call us into the wonder and the glory of this marvelous relation with Him. To be filled with His glorious Spirit and shine with His wondrous light amongst men. You remember that when John who writes these great books you know that the Revelation is not the last book he wrote it's the last one in the sacred canon and he wrote it he wrote his gospel after he wrote the Revelation. So the scholars tell us we better believe them sometimes but the great thing is this this was his wonderful theme in his first chapter of his first epistle he writes this is the message God is light that's the message you turn to his gospel which was the last book that he wrote Hallelujah I'm so glad about this it seems that old John said Jesus the last word I'm ever going to write is about thee he loved Jesus it's funny you know well it isn't funny really it's wonderful how that if you get in love with God and you move with God He will give you the desires of your heart you know He will He's promised it if people don't get the desires of their heart you know they haven't been walking with Jesus right because God promised of course the thing is once you go with God your desires are reduced to such a minimum that you never know what disappointment is anymore Hallelujah nothing can go wrong your desires are reduced to a minimum what's your desire? I can ask old John John what's your desire? Oh I just want to put my head on his breath Hallelujah He'll give you your heart's desire that's right the further you go with God the more you go on in his love the simpler you become your desires are reduced to just Him Glory be to the name of the Lord and it's so wonderful but you see if you turn to his gospel this is the thing he shows you in him was life he started out in the first chapter the life was the light of men and he said while I'm in the world I'm the light of the world men love darkness they don't come to me so God put him on the cross and put the light out when in the darkness that he might rise in a new world in a new day they'd had their chance for three years they didn't come when they had the chance what a tragedy and so he rose he lived he was light the darkness came praise the name of the Lord and then he rose again and now he shines he's in the midst of his churches that's where he is what had happened though to all these others whilst Paul was at Ephesus for two years listen the whole of Asia heard the word of God the whole of Asia Minor that's what the book says Amen you know I sometimes think about these things for instance I read in 1 Corinthians 15 that above 500 brethren at once saw the Lord Jesus when he was risen from the dead above 500 of them all at once and yet on the day of Pentecost there were only 120 present where were the rest? where were the rest? would you have been as oh I don't believe in this baptism of the Holy Ghost that's right you're one of the rest where were they? 380 brethren wouldn't come wouldn't wait wouldn't tarry wouldn't do as Jesus said except God had been merciful to them what would have happened? only 7 churches in Asia Minor Jesus comes into the midst and listen he says and it must have broken his heart I've got to take away one of these of course God removes churches if they aren't alight with the light of Jesus Christ the fact that a candlestick is made of gold doesn't make it any less treacherous than if it had been made of lead if there's no light there does it? people groping in the dark fall over and stumble and isn't this the tragedy? people are stumbling because of the churches because the Holy Ghost isn't there that's the tragedy got their Bibles just the same got their hymn books believers and unbelievers they've got them they have their preaching the Lord's put out the light the lights are there there's no light except by the Holy Ghost none hallelujah none so beloved we've got to be full of the Holy Ghost every one of us to make the light shine alright you got that clear now he says to the Ephesian church I think we ought to have a look at this a little more closely when he had examined that church and this is what you must say this is what you must see when you read these churches that every time the Lord started off by saying I know thy works now my friend listen you are known by your works oh every tree is known by its fruit that's right every church is known by its works that's what Jesus said to every church he said now I know thy works that's the thing I know the works amen and you are going to be tested by your works Rora Belmont Road wherever you gather you may go to a church in Newton Abbott you may go somewhere in Bobby Tracy you may go to Exeter you may go to Plympton Plymouth your church is tested by its works when the high priest comes and it is your works that are the test of your light your light goes out into the world as much by your works if not more by your works than what you preach he didn't say now I listen to all the sermons you preach or I listen to all the messages you give he said I know your works so I'm going to ask you a question I'm starting and I'm pointing at each one of you individually you may not like me to do it you better have your works tested now haven't you what works are you doing now there is a great fallacy fallen upon what we'll call the evangelical bible believing churches the fallacious notion is I was brought up on it I know it we used to use the phrase oh so and so, so and so they belong to the good works brigade you know oh they do good works we don't do good works we believe we got faith in Jesus Christ what a nonsense but I faithfully believed it because grown up people said it before me it's the same as I was saying about our sister Christine her grown up mother said it before her she believed it oh beloved you keep careful check on who stands up and preaches in this church or any other church because somebody says he's got a word you want to be very careful always have liberty only for the truth nothing for nothing else put it down put him down put her down if they don't say the truth you'll mark someone's soul by your words and here beloved it's the great thing for you and I to understand you see we used to sort of mock really we thought we were so well taught biblically I'm sorry to have to say this but it's true and it wasn't just the fault of the place where I went it was common in all the areas where we used to go off with big black bibles to conferences under our arms so it was common oh they belong to good works brigade and so you know it's utterly wrong to do good works you mustn't do them you've got to believe now when you're in that area that's wrong there's another area that's wrong too and let's have a look at that it's in this great second chapter Jesus says in verse 5 remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first words or else I will come unto thee quickly I'm not going to allow you much time to repent now what you've got to do you've got to hear me now and obey quickly instant obedience I'll come quickly and I will remove thy lampstand out of its place except thou repent oh they've got some fine things about them in this church but they've failed at the first works now what are the first works it seems to me that people are as devoid of knowledge of the first works as they are of the knowledge of first love if I was to ask you to define first love how would you define it if I asked you to define first works how would you define them would you know what's the use of reading the bible what's the use of having a bible if we haven't got a clue what it means what are the first works now if we belong to the Pentecostal branches we'll call it Pentecostal you know what I mean people that believe in the baptism in the spirit and believe in miracles and signs and carries martyr and we believe in having freedom and so on and so on we, if we're not careful we go as far wrong as the others for we think that the first works and I must confess at one time I used to think this that the first works were doing the miracles healing the sick not being bothered about this that and the other getting on and doing this doing that and doing the other well if they be the first works let me ask you a question how many people in the church where you attend now think carefully how many do these miracles how many of them heal the sick how many of them how many well perhaps we ought to close the churches down then they're not the first works they're the second works everybody's aiming at the second works thinking they're the first works the first works what are they I want to tell you that Jesus Christ had been doing the first works for thirty years before he started to do the second works everybody's trying to run before they can walk why is it that Paul when he wrote to these great churches as he did you'll find over and over again let me take this one he wrote to the Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8, 9 and 10 if you want to check them out by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it's the gift of God for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works what's wrong with them we've been created unto good works and created in Christ Jesus unto good works not miracles healings especially good works why did he write and tell people to be careful to maintain good works for necessary uses why when Mary anointed his feet did he say let her alone she hath wrought a good work on me she never healed him she never performed a miracle she never gave a message in tongues nor interpreted it nor prophesied nor gave a word of wisdom but there seemed to be more love and wisdom in what she did than in anything else leave her alone he said praise the name of the Lord now what are these best works then they are the simple works that flow from first love they are works that you can do my dear they are not works that must be reserved for the prophet or the preacher don't say oh he's a mighty preacher that's only one of the second works it's not one of the first you must understand this and get it clear have you ever thought why it is that of all the great martyrs of the early church only one was raised from the dead and put in scripture for us have you ever thought why I hadn't thought why until God showed it to me the first great martyr of the church as we know was Stephen that man full of faith and so on the Holy Ghost I don't know what he did miracles all sorts of things mighty fighter for the church he died God left him dead James had his head cut off in Herod's prison and God left him dead Antipas you can read about him in one of these letters to the churches died a martyr slain where Satan's seat is he was slain for the faith marvellous got a marvellous a martyr's crown three great men now listen here's the fourth she was a little old lady her name was Dorcas all she did was to make clothes for the orphans all she did was make nice little garments she was she just did the first works and God said well we'll leave these three great mighty pillars dead we'll raise up this one this is the example this is what we want more of in the church in the churches yeah little Dorcas well she might have been big Dorcas why wasn't she left to wear her crown she she hadn't died as a martyr she just died this is what we want see you know God's like this all these great brethren oh my God and he says see this little old lady here come he puts up this little lady there that's what I want all you big brethren with your expositions that's right he says come on Dorcas we'll show them something you read it you read your bible let God teach you something he always takes a woman to take the pride out of a man and puts something real into the church apparently you see beloved those first works those good works that you do for people oh course not the brigade that's trying to earn a front seat in heaven by their works not that but you see what we do is to use the common phrase throw out the baby with the bath water that's what we do how many of you engage in good works how many of you do it how many of you would miss going to a meeting in order to go and dig somebody some poor old widow's garden for her well I can't do it it's the meeting tonight I have observed in fact I've been through the process I know I know I'm talking from experience as well as observation I have observed that there are people they wouldn't miss a meeting you see but you say there's somebody just down the road needing their back garden dug so oh oh God expects me to be at the meeting humbug I have observed that there are people perhaps who will gather on street corners shouting out texts preaching to no one in particular and nobody ever listens to them and nobody ever gets converted yet they do it regularly this is what I have observed I've been through it I used to be the leader of such bands and I know and there's a little old lady down that street you see and she's in vast need her garden's overgrown she can't dig her garden and a couple of fellas that go down the pub and play darts one day say let's go and dig her garden for her and she says God bless you they've done the good work you've wasted your time so never say that never waste the time to preach the gospel what do you think you've been created in Jesus Christ to do good works and they are the rays of light that have got to shine out from the church if you don't do the good works he said if you don't do the first works I'll remove you from the church he said if you don't go out holding open air meetings and giving tracts away and all that now I know they have their place please don't anybody misquote me these are the things when did you last go and do a good work for someone and I don't mean just your pal in the church I mean some old sinner out there and I'm not using the term in a derogatory fashion I mean somebody out there Jesus did all his good works on sinners there wasn't one born again person on the earth while he was on it not one do good to them that despitefully use you pray for them go and do some work if you get out and start doing the first things that he's commanded listen to me all you young people it doesn't matter what your elders tell you in your churches if they don't tell you this these are the first things that you have to do you are to go and do good works for people listen you do good works for someone and you got your mission field immediately this is why people aren't getting saved that despite the multiplication of tapes and you say well people do get saved I hear somebody listen to such and such a tape yes I could repeat that story but how about all these people around here take an area of one mile from Rora five miles the people that live in this area I tell you there are hearts crying out for somebody to come and do a good turn for them they might call it a good turn just crying out you young people will you listen to me I may be the oldest man in the room I've lived longest I've seen you got a mission field if you go and do good works there's a missionary ex missionary in the room I don't know if he wants to be called that he will bear witness with me I who have moved amongst them that missionaries do more good works than preaching to get to the people that's right whether they succeed or not I don't know and you when did you do a good work turn for your neighbour when did you you see we save it up for the saints well specially for the household saints yes but specially you better do some works that aren't special you see what I mean that's only the special work that you do for the saints it tells you Galatians I'm quoting the ordinary works you do for the complete outsider they say well what's made you come and do this the Lord you've got a mission field straight away the church is thrown away it's opportunities well I go and work in the Christian community most stupid thing you ever thought of go and work in the Christian community go and work in the unsaved community Amen let me tell you a true story not so long ago I was speaking this way and a young lady was there and she heard and I had happened to say something like this your neighbour across the street have you ever done a good turn for the person that lives across the street for you I mean it's nice to smile at them and say good morning terrible drought and all that business and bring more gloom than ever when did you go across the street and do something for your neighbour across there unsaved well this young lady heard across the street yes and she remembered a little old lady that she'd seen walk down the street so don't know whether she was brave enough to go alone but she got someone to go with her and they went across knocked at the door and the little old lady inside said good morning I didn't know it was all about this we've come to visit you what for why have you come to see me the Lord sent us oh she said isn't it good I've been so lonely wanted someone to visit me they went in had a mission for you when did you do something like I can't do anything yes you can you won't you're disobedient you are to do good works you can drop the meeting there you are I ask you to drop your meetings for a week and all go out and do something good for someone they say well that'd be revolutionary praise God I tell you what don't drop your meetings for a week go and hold an open air meeting in Bovey Tracy nobody take any notes of it you deny it if I'm not telling the truth preaching to no one in particular and nobody ever takes any notice of you go and do something Jesus was famous at it he'd done it for 30 years and after that he was allowed to do the second works which were miracles there's a graduation in this school do the first works instead of craving to be a mighty this and a mighty that you never will be Jesus learned at the bench and he did good works how do I know don't ask me I know he did I'll check up when I see him when did you think of going scrubbing that sinner's floor for him when did it ever cross your mind it's all gone you see it had all gone by the time before John left the earth it had fled the Ephesians minds they got taken up with the visions and the revelations and the epistle they'd had and I don't know what Jesus said here write them another epistle will you John they've gone wrong come on now I'd like to take you all one by one come and see me in my room tomorrow we'll stop the meetings and we'll check up when you last did good works simply I'm not a bad person that's not what I'm talking about you see you reserve it for your cronies oh yeah of course I'll come and help you put up your shelf brother you see that's what you do oh yes sister I'll come and we'll do this and I'll bake a cake for her do it for someone out there that doesn't know and I say well what on earth made you come to do something for me what on earth made you you've got a gospel audience don't you see God give us sight you do see and now because you say we see your sin remains if you don't get on with it I'm quoting Jesus John 9 you ought to get on with it once you see oh no wonder we're not getting the second works we haven't even got the first yes has it been an eye opener to you I pray God it has we're all wanting to get drug addicts delivered well marvellous perhaps there wouldn't have been any if the church had gone on and done its first works you need second works for that right you see we're all wanting to get all the drug addicts do what not you know they do you know what I mean beloved don't you of course they need I spend my life on these things but if you all every one of you would say Lord we're not going to do that if all the churches for one month would stop preaching and getting together and having a good old dance and all this business and get out there and start doing some works just the first simple works if everybody stopped practicing their tongues and started to use their muscles if they went out there and worked as Jesus worked we'd get pure tongues we'd get right interpretations we'd get it all right you see isn't God good she said because someone was obedient now I could multiply this kind of thing I don't think I need to because I think you see Amen how many of you now can think of something that you can do another woman comes to mind it would be a woman I think it's because the women are practical and the men are half the time living with their heads above the clouds or think they are probably they got them down in the sand like ostriches but I can think of another woman she was a delightful young lady she died she contracted cancer and she died she was gone it went through her like that as soon as she got it it was through her and she was dead it was a tremendous type of cancer that she had before we could sort of turn around she was dead they buried her in her wedding gown she was going to be she was engaged to be married to a delightful young man I knew her Ron knows her it just dawned on me he'll corroborate then what I've got to say used to live in the same place where she lived now I knew her as a delightful girl I knew her as she had a wonderful voice for singing I only knew her as a great preacher of life she came into the revelation of the true new birth and what it was I can remember her standing up on a little platform oh life she was here she was one of these vivacious oh she really was a precious precious and she died they buried her in her wedding gown I happened to be one of the preachers at the service but the thing that she was remembered for where she lived was that she was a fine young woman who would deliberately go and stand across the other side of the road and wait for elderly ladies to come along with heavy shopping bags and carry them for her not because she was a wonderful preacher or could sing to a well strummed guitar but that that's how she's remembered where she lived that's right isn't it that's right you see beloved you youngsters you can all do it you women that are frustrated and I don't know what go up I know some of you have got families it's amazing the people that have got families seem to be able to do most the young ladies don't they go to work and they're dead by the time they come home at five they're introverted they're played out oh it's right this is my finding I'm sorry but it's true if they were to get up and obey God and go out and say there's something I can do for you start with someone that's an acquaintance move up I want to know what in the world's happened to you I want to know what's happened you are to belong to the good works brigade you are to go out and do something you are go and offer keep knocking at the door till you find someone go and do something for them then now listen to what you've got to say go and do something for them don't slip of track in the letterbox because you heard that there was somebody slipped of track in the letterbox once and somebody got saved through it more people get saved if you go and do something I'll guarantee this to you in the name of Jesus start it and if we meet together at another conference you can come and tell me whether it works or not or I'll leave you my address you can write to me don't guarantee to answer I've got lots of letters now with me that I haven't even opened to look at not because I don't want to but pressure that's it go and work you people that work at Rora go and do something for your farmer neighbour I told them all in 23 to get out and do it I said all you people on the staff here go out there and do it go and work out there for the unsaved what somebody doing something for nothing where did it come from Jesus and I begin to believe isn't that lovely do you believe that oh well we can't we got the bees to keep the garden to dig the water to pump the food to cook that's right so you have God bless you but you can you can if you will have a raid on surrounding districts see you where you live I'm bound to say to my Rora friends if they weren't so nice toward me they'd never ask me to come again I'm always saying shocking things you try it where you live don't keep looking at people at Rora don't keep looking at people on the staff here look at yourself that's right listen let me tell you a story this is true in the day that God chose or in the time when God chose to baptise some of us in the Holy Ghost some of us were already baptised but came on us in that blessed out pouring in Bradford the mark of it all was we start they all started we went out papering people's houses doing this went out all sorts of things works works works works and they wanted to do it we never had to ask for tea they were there works but you see people get baptised they want the gift of prophecy they want to be a great teacher they want to be a star in the sky so Jesus wrote to the star he said to the angel or the star of Ephesus you write so and so I know your works get on with the first works that's what he said and you will be judged by your works is that clear to you I want to be very clear you must report me to the Lord I want to be very clear to you you will be judged by your works not by your beliefs not by your doctrines not by your gifts you will be judged by your works that's rather solemn isn't it of course it's true the bible says so but you say oh we don't belong to this good works business why not you ought to say it with shame and fall on your knees God help us we turn the thing upside down God help us we've made black white and white black God help us we put the cart before the horse if you want to get into second works go via the first ones and let the Lord show us afresh the ways of the spirit of God glory be to the name of the Lord so wonderful it is the trouble with the church a lot of the trouble with the church it's allowed the state the welfare state to take over what the churches should be doing do you know what we do we pay someone else to do it we are too wealthy are sick we pay the nurses to nurse you see I could go right down the scale we keep paying someone else to do it we've got right out of touch with reality and need we don't teach our children we pay teachers to do it we don't look after our old people we pay nursing homes to do it away we go say well that's our society Lord save us from it Lord Lord do the first works or else I will come and remove your lamp stand that's what Jesus said repent you've left your first love repent he doesn't say repent and come back to your first love he says repent and do the first works have you read it properly first works flow from first love see first love what's this love hallelujah well it's the clear love of God shed abroad in your heart can you see God's head what can we do for those people down there what can we do for those people out there go and work for them that's God first love will result in first works always you'll know they might say I'm singing my Jesus I love thee I know thou art mine very tunefully or tis love tis love or which tune you want to sing but do you do the works that go with it yes go do you make clothes sister make them for the person next door not for yourself do you dig gardens dig your neighbours do you scrub floors scrub someone else do you run errands do you run errands for yourself run someone else's say well I never expected to hear that thank you Lord for giving me grace to say it now get on with it get on with it you say you've got nothing to do for Jesus that's not true you do that for Jesus but you see nobody sees you and nobody says that was a fine word brother you see but in heaven the Lord says that was a good work father wasn't it Amen the first works that God did you'd be surprised in the Bible I don't know whether you are surprised God didn't do his finest work first he started by saying let there be light let there be a firmament so he started all these works these lower works then he finished up with the higher one now let's make man he started by bringing dirt out of the slimy depths didn't he we walk on it now and call it earth but that's how he started according to Genesis and so the Lord shows us the way and you can do it instead of wrestling with this problem and that problem go and do some work and work for Jesus and when someone says well why what's made you do this what's made you do that say the Lord I could tell you story after story but I think I better stop you have enough now now let's pray