24-0115P_THE ABSOLUTE IN LIFE PT-3

Act 26:15  And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 

Act 26:16  But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 

Act 26:17  Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 

Act 26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. 

Act 26:19  Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: 

Act 23:1  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 

*IF THE WHEAT DOESN'T HAVE THAT ABSOLUTE IN IT, IT'LL NEVER RISE.

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  25-3    Now, you take a grain of wheat, a pretty grain of wheat, but it can no--do nothing; it's dead until the germ comes into it, then it produces many grains of wheat. And Christ is that Life, that Absolute. If the wheat doesn't have that absolute in it, it'll never rise. If that wheat don't have that absolute, may be ever so pretty on the outside, but it cannot live, because there's nothing in it to live by. But when it gets that absolute, it can look in the face of all critics and say, "I'll rise again." Why? Because it's got the absolute; It's in it; it's got to rise again.
 
*IF YE ABIDE IN ME, AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, THEN ASK WHAT YE WILL." THAT'S THAT ABSOLUTE.

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  25-4    And when it... "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, then ask what ye will." That's that absolute. But if you got creeds and everything else tied up into it... You can't mix oil and water. You can just take and break it any way you want to; it'll never mix, because it's two different chemicals. And you can't make creed and the Bible, contrary to the Bible, mix. You can't make denomination and free-born religion--or free-born salvation mix together, 'cause as sure, God only deals... I'm going to say it anyhow.

God never breaks His program. He cannot break, because He's infinite. And I realize, you know, I--I--it goes before lots of people. See? But God cannot break His program. He cannot do something one day, and change it over and do something, and say He's wrong that day.

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  26-1    God doesn't deal with groups of men; God deals with an individual, because man has different ideas; he's built up different in nature. And God has to take that man, and mess him around, and pull him around out of his own self, till He gets him in His nature; and then God deals with that person.

Look all down through the ages, Noah, and Moses, the prophets, never two of them at the same time: one, constantly all the way down through the ages. Therefore, if you say, "In the multitude of counsel there's safety." Look at.
 
*MICAIAH STOOD THERE JUST AS STERN AS STEPHEN DID (AMEN.), JUST AS WILLING AS MY LORD WALKED TO THE CROSS

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  27-4    How did Micaiah know he was right? He waited; he had a vision. They had a vision too, but the vision didn't compare with the Word. And today the same thing... Micaiah compared his vision with the Word, and then he seen he and the Word was together. Today if your vision's contrary to the Word, leave it alone, 'cause it's a wrong absolute. Micaiah's absolute was exactly with the Word, so he could stand and say, "He..." what he said, and--and believe it. When they smacked him in the mouth and said, "Which way did the Spirit of God go?" he said, "You'll find out when you set in the inner chamber." Right.

He said, "When I return in peace... You put this man in inner prison, and when I return in peace," said Ahab, "I'll deal with this fellow."
"Oh now, Micaiah, what about it? Your head will be chopped off when he comes back."

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  27-6    Micaiah stood there just as stern as Stephen did (Amen.), just as willing as my Lord walked to the cross; just as easy as Daniel went into the lions' den; or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went to the furnace. Absolutely. He stood there and said, "If you return at all..." Why? He was absolute. "If you return at all, God never spoke to me. Chop my head off then."

He had an absolute. He knowed that his Compass, that had guided him to this vision, was exactly with the North Star. Yes, sir. His anchor held. Yes, the Word and It only...
If your absolute... If you have an absolute in your life...
 
*AND CHRIST IS THE WORD, NOT YOUR CHURCH, YOUR WORD--THE WORD. SEE? "UPON THIS ABSOLUTE I'LL BUILD MY CHURCH," UPON CHRIST, THE WORD.

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  28-8    And if your absolute is in some organization, or some sensation, or something else besides the Person of Jesus Christ, you'll come to the same portion of shame, only worse. See? If your absolute is not Christ, that's the only Center-post of the human life; and Christ is the Word, not your church, your word--the Word. See? "Upon this absolute I'll build My Church," upon Christ, the Word.
 
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN MUSSOLINI WAS THE ABSOLUTE OF ROME.

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  29-1    There was a time when Mussolini was the absolute of Rome. I don't know, I might've read an article, or it could've been that I read it in a book, or somebody told me; but when someone was being interviewed by Mussolini he was--he was--wanted to bring Rome into athlete--athletics. And there's a big statue used to stand there of him about athletics. That's all right. Greece had that idea many years ago. Rome's always tried to have it. Athletes is all right, but--but--athletics, but--but remember, that won't take the place of Christ. No matter how strong you are, that has nothing to do with it. He's the all power.

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  29-2    And you see what he tried to build Rome upon? And he tried to build Rome upon the thing of an absolute; that he was that absolute. And they said that one day that his--his cab--his driver was one minute early, and he shot him. Said, "I didn't say be here at one minute before nine; I said be here by nine." Plowy, and shot him. See? "I don't want you here one minute before; I want you here at nine." See? Look what an absolute he tried to make hisself. But you see what happened?

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  29-3    You remember, many of you here, the old-timers, Roy Slaughter maybe, and farther back than that remembers down yonder when I told you about prophecy? One day down there at the Odd Fellow's building, before we ever come to here, I said, "Mussolini will come to a shameful end." I said, "His first invasion, he will go to Ethiopia; and Ethiopia will fall at his step, but he'll come to his end, and nobody will help him; and disgrace will he be buried." There he is.
 
IT'S A TOOL IN GOD'S HANDS.

I said, "There's three isms has rose up: Nazism, fascism, and communism." I said, "Them isms will revolve and come around into one; it'll he communism. Watch. Communism will burn Rome." See? You watch it. Uh-huh. It's a tool in God's hands. They think they're against God; they're working right into it all the time, don't know it. He's just using them as a puppet, some tool in His hand like He did Nebuchadnezzar and many of the others.
 
LOOK AT MEN WHO TRUSTED THE EMPERORS; LOOK AT MEN WHO TRUSTED THE DICTATORS; LOOK AT MEN WHO BUILT THEIR HOPES UPON THEM KIND OF ABSOLUTES

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  29-5    Now notice. See? Now, there was a time when Pharaoh was a absolute of Egypt, but look where it's at now. See? It all fail. Oh, it's a wrong kind, so they always fail. They're a man-made absolute. You can't take a man-made absolute, I don't care if it's a--a president, if it's a dictator, if it's a king, if it's a church, if it's a organization, if it's a creed, any of those things are going to perish, just like all the absolutes of that kind through the ages.

We can look back... Look back. Look at men who trusted the emperors; look at men who trusted the dictators; look at men who built their hopes upon them kind of absolutes; and look where they are today.
 
…LOOK AT THE MEN WHO PUT THEIR HOPES UPON THE BIBLE, UPON GOD'S WORD AND HELD IT FOR AN ABSOLUTE; LOOK WHERE THEY ARE NOW.

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  30-2    Now, let's turn ourselves around and look at the men who put their hopes upon the Bible, upon God's Word and held It for an Absolute; look where they are now.

Paul gives you a little brief of them in Hebrews the 11th chapter: what they did, how they subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, and so forth; and they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, of who the world's not worthy of, waiting in glory for that grand resurrection. See? All right. For they... Some of them didn't--didn't obtain to these miracles, and they give their bodies anyhow, looking forward to that resurrection. To finish out their lives, they didn't care for it; they wanted to go on and sacrifice themselves so they could obtain that resurrection; and that's what they did.
 
YOU KNOW, OUR SUPREME COURT IS AN ABSOLUTE. IT'S A ABSOLUTE; IT'S THE--IT'S THE FINAL END OF ALL ARGUMENTS IN THIS NATION.

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  30-4    Now, absolutes... We're talking... absolute... You know, our Supreme Court is an absolute. It's a absolute; it's the--it's the final end of all arguments in this nation. That's right. Their decision is an absolute in our Supreme Court. That's right. Oh, I know sometimes we don't like it, but it's--it's an absolute anyhow. Yes, sir. What if we didn't have that, then what? But that's an absolute. Certainly is. Why? That's--our nation is tied to that.

When that Supreme Court finally makes their final decision, that's it; there's no... Where you going to after that? You're going to follow their decision; that's all; you've got to. They are the last word; they're the "amen."

You can try it in local city courts; you can try it magistrate, and then go to federal--to all kinds of courts, and to federal courts; but when we've come to the Supreme Court, that's it. That's right. Sometimes we don't like to--say, "Well, I don't like their decision," but you try to get away from it once. That's the nation's absolute. And what if we didn't have it? Yes.

We have to have an absolute. Everybody has to have one. You've got one. But what I'm trying to tell you, background there and show you what absolutes are.

Now, the nation's Supreme Court is the nation's absolute. That's the last thing in any kind of a fuss. They settle it. What they say, that's it.
 
THERE'S AN ABSOLUTE AT A BALL GAME. THAT'S THE UMPIRE. …THE UMPIRE, HIS DECISION IS THE FINAL WORD.

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  31-3    There's an absolute at a ball game. That's the umpire. Oh, yeah. Sometimes we don't like his decision either, but it's--it's--it's that anyhow. The umpire, his decision is the final word. That's right. No matter what others say; if he says it's a strike, it's a strike. That's right. Certainly. No matter what others say, that don't have nothing to do with it. And let's just think of it. If you's... (I don't go to ball games, but I just happened to jot that down.) An umpire, he's the absolute at the ball game.
 
LET ME SHOW YOU ANOTHER ABSOLUTE. IT'S A RED LIGHT, A RED LIGHT.

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  32-5    Let me show you another absolute. It's a red light, a red light. When it says, "Stop," it means stop. If you run it, you're going to pay for it. But if this city didn't have any lights out here, stop lights, what kind of a city would it be? It's got to have an absolute. I don't care what the policeman said or anybody else standing there; they're secondarily.

If somebody can prove that you went through on a green light, I don't care what the policeman said, they're wrong. When the light said, "Go," that means go. That's the absolute. You can prove that; the light said, "Go." The policeman might have been standing somewhere, the mayor of the city might somewhere. That don't make a bit of difference. If you've got proof that it was "go," you go; and if somebody hits you, it's their fault. You can prove it. That's right. We can prove what we're talking about. That's right.

Now, what if there wasn't no red light? One run up to a crossing, it... Look what it would be. One say, "Hey, get out of the way; I'm in a hurry. I got to go to work; I'm late now. I'm going through now."

Other one said, "You just think you are, because I am the one that's going through, because I was here first." And I can see a woman get out and fix her hair.
What if we didn't have a red light? Wouldn't there be a traffic jam.
 
*HERE IS GOD'S LIGHT. WHEN IT SAYS, "GO," GO. WHEN IT SAYS, "STOP; THIS IS FAR ENOUGH," THEN STOP.

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  33-3    That's what's the matter with the churches. See? That's right. That's the reason they got such a denominational jam. That's exactly right. Nobody's getting anywhere. They're standing, fussing.

Here is God's Light. When It says, "Go," go. When It says, "Stop; this is far enough," then stop. That's right. That's where we are based upon: That, that Word, not what some bunch of men said or some other bunch of men said.

Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." Let's go. "Go ye into all the world, preach the Gospel to every creature."
 
*AND THE GOSPEL CAME NOT IN WORD ONLY, BUT THROUGH POWER AND MANIFESTATION OF THE WORD. PAUL SAID SO. THEN GO MANIFEST THE GOSPEL.

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  33-6    You know, as good as education is, but Jesus never required that. That's right. As good as churches are--buildings, He never required that. As good as hospitals was... We... The churches build hospitals. That's all right; we appreciate that, but He never required it.

He said to the Church, "Preach the Gospel." And the Gospel came not in Word only, but through power and manifestation of the Word. Paul said so. Then go manifest the Gospel. Oh, my. If it was that way...
 
 
*HE HAD A PURPOSE IN SAVING ME; HE HAD A PURPOSE IN SAVING YOU. AND I AM DETERMINED BY HIS WILL TO DO IT; NOT TO ADD TO IT OR TAKE AWAY FROM IT

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  48-7    Listen. I want to tell you something. He had a purpose in saving me; He had a purpose in saving you. And I am determined by His will to do it; not to add to It or take away from It (Revelations 22:19, if you want to put that down). All right. "Whosoever take away..." I'm determined... I'm fixing to leave the church, and you know that. And so, I'm determined just to remain with this Gospel as long as I live, by the help of God.

Remember. Here's grace. There were millions dying in sin when He saved me. Who was I that He should save? He had a purpose in saving me, and I'm determined to carry out that purpose. I don't care; it may be my end may be pretty soon now. But whatever it is, I'm still anchored, never changed it.

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  49-2    Mr. Isler said to me that day, going up the road; he said, "Billy, in all this trouble did you keep your religion?"

I said, "No, sir, it kept me." See, see? My Anchor held. That's right. I never kept it; it kept me. I can't keep it; there's no way for me to do it, but it keeps me. Yes, sir.
He had a purpose in saving me. There were millions in sin when I come to Him, but He saved me. He had a purpose in doing so. Christ's death was an absolute to the fear of it.
 
*CHRIST'S DEATH SETTLED THE QUESTION.

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  49-5    Christ's death settled the question. When that bee of death stung Him and anchored that stinger... You know, a bee--a insect that has a stinger, if it ever anchors that stinger into--deep enough, when it pulls away, it pulls the stinger out of it. Death always had a stinger.

Death always had a stinger. And one day when that--going up Calvary, and the bumping of them rocks, the Blood splashing upon the rocks... When it hit the dirt on Calvary, going to Golgotha, the back of that cross was dragging out the Bloody footprints of that little, frail body going, marching along there, them whipping and mashing Him as He went up the hill; but He had a absolute. He knew where He stood, because the Word of God said through David, "I'll not leave My holy One to see corruption; neither will I leave His soul in hell."
He knew corruption set in seventy-two hours. He said, "Destroy this temple, and I'll raise it up again in three days." He had an absolute.

There He went up the hill with gobs of mockery spit of drunken soldiers, that put a rag around His face, and hit Him on the head, and said, "If you're a prophet, tell us who hit you." There He was going up the hill in shame and disgrace to be--His clothes stripped from Him, despising the shame, hanging on the cross before the people naked; dying in Roman disgrace under government capital punishment, a Man that had done nothing.

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 

2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.  

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.