24-0122P_THE ABSOLUTE IN LIFE PT-4

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 23:11  And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

*CHRIST'S DEATH SETTLED THE QUESTION.

ABSOLUTE_  JEFF.IN  V-3 N-18  SUNDAY_  62-1230M

  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.
 

ABSOLUTE_  JEFF.IN  V-3 N-18  SUNDAY_  62-1230M

  50-1    A little story one time said Mary Magdalene run out and said, "What has He done? Healed your sick, raised the dead, and brought deliverance to those that would--in captive. What has He done?"

And a priest smacked her in the mouth till the blood flew out, and said, "Would you listen to her or your high priest?" Oh, that denominational world, it's a curse of all of it. That's it. There it is.

ABSOLUTE_  JEFF.IN  V-3 N-18  SUNDAY_  62-1230M

  50-3    And they took Him on. But as He went up the hill dragging... The devil had always doubted it, Him being what He was. Said, "If thou be the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. You claim you can do miracles. If you are the Son of God, command these stones to be turned to bread."

ABSOLUTE_  JEFF.IN  V-3 N-18  SUNDAY_  62-1230M

  53-2    Here went the Son of God; that bee of death begin to buzz around Him. "Aw, how could He be a prophet. How could He stand there and let--spit in his face? How could he stand there and let them make fun of him and not do something about it. That isn't Emmanuel. That's just an ordinary man. Look at the drunken slobbers from them drunken soldiers. Look at his face bleeding."

The devil said, "I'll get him. I'll get him." Here he come like a bee, the sting of death, buzzing around Him. But, brother, when that bee ever anchored its stinger in that Emmanuel, when he come out, he lost his stinger.

Even death itself... No wonder Paul later could look in the face of it and say, "Oh, death, where is your stinger; grave, where is your victory? Thanks be to God, Who giveth us the victory." Christ's death was the absolute to every man that feared it.

My heart says "amen" to every word in His Book. I'm closing, sure enough now. I just got to cut this off. See?
 
*BUT CHRIST IS THE ABSOLUTE. HE'S THE ONE YOU CAN PUT CONFIDENCE IN.

ABSOLUTE_  JEFF.IN  V-3 N-18  SUNDAY_  62-1230M

  53-6    That's why I know the Holy Spirit is my Compass that guides me. He is the One that makes me know this Word is true; He is my Absolute; He is my Sunshine; He's my Life; He's my Anchor. When troubles are on, He's my North Star. When I'm lost, the Holy Spirit is my Compass that guides me back to the place.

Denominations are like other stars; they shift with the world. Other stars shift as the world shifts, but not the North Star. The world can shift where it wants to, but it stays put. Oh, brother. The North Star is anchored. The others shift around; you can see them here and there, and everywhere else. That's the way with the denominational churches. But Christ is the absolute. He's the One you can put confidence in. When the denominations got you all twisted up, just look at the North Star. The Holy Spirit is your Compass.
 
 
*BUT A MAN WHO HAS ANCHORED HIS SOUL INTO CHRIST JESUS, HIS TRUST THERE, KNOWING THAT WHEN HE ASKS THE FATHER ANYTHING IN HIS NAME, "JESUS SAID, 'I'LL DO IT.'" THAT SETTLES IT.

A.ABSOLUTE_  HOUSTON.TX  MONDAY_  63-0304

42      And long as there is an Eternity, Christ will ever be the Saviour, and the way out of every problem, every difference, every trial, everything. And therefore we--we, when we are tied to Him, we don't get flusterated and all worked up like the world does, "And, oh, what will we do about this? What will we do about that?" We seem as if we're not even anchored. But a man who has anchored his soul into Christ Jesus, his trust there, knowing that when he asks the Father anything in His Name, "Jesus said, 'I'll do it.'" That settles it.

43    That, that settles it. It's the amen. It's the absolute. It's the ultimate. When Jesus said, "Ask the Father anything in My Name, I'll grant it." Now, that's an ultimate. That's it. "Whatever you have need of, when you pray, believe that you receive it, you shall have it." That settles it. That's all of it, see, if we're really anchored and believe It, and we've made Him our Absolute. Cause, He does. He is the Absolute that takes us from all fear. There's no fear when you're really tied to the Rock of Ages.
 

*AND WHEN A MAN CAN PRAY THE PRAYER OF FAITH, AND ANCHOR HIS SOUL YONDER IN THE WORD OF GOD, WHERE, "ALL HEAVENS AND EARTH WILL PASS AWAY, BUT THAT WORD CANNOT," THERE IS NO FEAR.

A.ABSOLUTE_  HOUSTON.TX  MONDAY_  63-0304

44      There is no fear to the sailor, how hard the ship is being buffet by the waves, as long as that anchor is holding in the top of the mountain yonder. Why, sure. He knows the ship is going to stay up. It isn't going against some rock somewhere. It isn't going to get in some shallow water and be turned over, because it's got the absolute anchored in the top of some mountain.

45    And when a man can pray the prayer of faith, and anchor his soul yonder in the Word of God, where, "all heavens and earth will pass away, but that Word cannot," there is no fear. Let them come, say whatever they want to. Our faith is in God, God alone. We believe it.
 
 
* IF YOU LOVE GOD, WELL, WELL, WE SHOULD BE BUSY. IT SHOULD BE OUR--OUR HOPES, OUR DESIRES. IT SHOULD BE. EVERYTHING THAT'S IN US SHOULD BE IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST.

A.ABSOLUTE_  HOUSTON.TX  MONDAY_  63-0304

103      How well it was one night, when Apostle Peter was in the jail, and they were going to kill him the next morning. He was going to die under capital punishment, as this little Jew is going to do now. But what did they do? They did the same thing that we here in Houston are trying to do. They formed a prayer meeting at John Mark's house. While they were praying, the Angel of the Lord went to the prison, and opened up the prison bars, and opened the gates. And beyond that, led Peter out, and come right down to the prayer meeting.

104    I believe, tonight, that that same God lives. If He isn't the same God, then there is something wrong. Certainly.  

105    What was it done? By a prayer meeting, by faithful Christians who believed, and believed that God would deliver their brother from capital punishment. Them were Christians who stayed all night and laid upon their faces, and cried out and prayed.

106      As I heard one of the ministers, a while ago, saying he was going to cry out, all night long. The trouble of it is, today, people let down. They get tired, sleepy. They can't even set through a ten-minute service, hardly. Well, it--it's something wrong.

107    If you love God, well, well, we should be busy. It should be our--our hopes, our desires. It should be. Everything that's in us should be in the love of Christ. Amen. We set so slothful. We set so unconcerned, when the world is dying under our feet. That's right. Men's lives going out, without God, and we set so--so unconcerned about it. As long as we belong to the church, that's all we think that makes a difference.
 
 
*BUT THERE'S ONE STAR THAT NEVER CHANGE. THERE'S ONE THING THAT CAN NEVER CHANGE, THAT'S GOD. GOD CANNOT CHANGE. HIS WORD CANNOT CHANGE.

A.ABSOLUTE_  HOUSTON.TX  MONDAY_  63-0304

112      I'm wondering if we've really tied to that absolute that we claim to. Are we looking at the right morning star? If we're just trusting in our church and our denomination, our affiliation; as the world changes, it changes with that, round and around.

113    But there's one Star that never change. There's one thing that can never change, that's God. God cannot change. His Word cannot change. His Bible cannot change. And if a man is born of the Spirit of God, with Christ in him, it punctuates every promise with an "amen." That is right. Certainly.
 
 
*WHAT COULD YOU TRUST MORE IN THAN SOMETHING LIKE THAT? "IF YE ABIDE IN ME, MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, THEN ASK WHAT YOU WILL."

A.ABSOLUTE_  HOUSTON.TX  MONDAY_  63-0304

  114      Oh, sure, a prayer meeting is what we need. We must be Christians. All Christians must use this same absolute, the Word of God. God's Word is the Christian's stay.

115    Jesus said, in His Word, "If ye abide in Me, My Words abide in you, then you can ask what you will, and it'll be done for you." Think of it. What more of an absolute would you want? What could you trust more in than something like that? "If ye abide in Me, My Words abide in you, then ask what you will."

116    To ask for God to work upon the heart of that judge, or that parole board, and get that little fellow out of that death cell! If we ask it with faith, believing, in these prayer meetings, we'll get it. That, I just believe God like that.

117      And my faith that I have in God, that's why I'm here tonight. That's why I canceled out something else, and got in here. I got to drive hundreds of miles tonight, back to Tucson, Arizona, because I come to put my faith with yours. That's a man. It's a soul laying yonder. It's someone in need. And we Christians have got to wake up to a reality, to real genuine faith. Tie it to the Word of God, and plead that promise. Yes, sir. Oh, my! "If ye abide in Me, and My Word in you, ask what you want."
 
 
*AND, IT MAKES YOU SAY THINGS YOU WOULDN'T ORDINARILY SAY, A MAN THAT'S GOT A CHRIST-CENTERED LIFE.

AN.ABSOLUTE_  PHOENIX.AZ  SUNDAY_  63-0127

83      Now, Paul had a Christ-centered life. He... That was, Christ, was Paul's absolute.

84    He had--he had been a great teacher, Paul had. He was taught under Gamaliel. And a great teacher he was, of his, under the denomination of his Pharisee background. And he was taught, schooled, and he had a great background.

85    I think, when he received the Holy Ghost, and went down into Egypt for three years, I think that must have been where he got to taking the Scripture and comparing It with the revelation that he had had, to see if It was right. And you know the great, famous book, of Hebrews, none other could have wrote it but Paul, because he knowed how, those types and antitypes. What a beautiful lesson!

86    And now, Paul had met Jesus one day. Met the... Met Him, face to face, on the Damascus road when he was going down to persecute the Christians.

87    A--a great brawler giving out great threats, and doing things against the Church of God, making havoc of It, even persecuting It unto death. And one day on the road down...

88      The reason he had this Christ-centered life is because he, personally, now laying aside his teaching, he personally met Christ.

89    And that's the only way that you're ever going to know Him, is to meet Him. See? Now, "To know Him is Life," not even know His Word, as good as It may be. Yet, you've got to know Him. "To know Him is Life."

90    And Paul had not had this experience yet. And he said, one place here, "The life that I now live..." Showed that he had lived a different life, one time. His life had been changed.

91    And when your life is changed, it makes you do things you ordinarily would not do. And, it makes you say things you wouldn't ordinarily say, a man that's got a Christ-centered life.

92    Why, Paul stood right in the midst of the people, those Jews, and so forth. He was... one speck of fear about him. He knowed Who he had believed. And he--he had a--a life that he would by no means have did it, if he hadn't have found something that was genuinely and had anchored him.
 
 
*AND A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN IS TIED TO CHRIST, AND THE BIBLE IS THE ANCHOR.

AN.ABSOLUTE_  SHREVEPORT.LA  V-17 N-10  SUNDAY_  63-1201M

65    And the real borned-again people of this age, that's filled with the Holy Ghost, is the tie post of this Scripture that's got to be fulfilled in these last days. They are the ultimate. It's God's ultimate, because it's His Word; and the Word is Christ, the tie post. There is no way to get away from it. Something that holds you.

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 
Pro 14:13  Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness. 
Pro 14:14  The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself. 
Pro 14:15  The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going. 
Pro 14:16  A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident. 
Pro 14:17  He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated. 
Pro 14:18  The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. 
Pro 14:19  The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. 
Pro 14:20  The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends. 
Pro 14:21  He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. 
Pro 14:22  Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good. 

Pro 3:1  My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 
Pro 3:2  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 
Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 
Pro 3:4  So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 
Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 
Pro 3:8  It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 
Pro 3:9  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 
Pro 3:10  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 
Pro 3:11  My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 
Pro 3:12  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 
Pro 3:13  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 
Pro 3:14  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 
Pro 3:15  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. 
Pro 3:16  Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. 
Pro 3:17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 
Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. 
Pro 3:19  The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 
Pro 3:20  By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. 
Pro 3:21  My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: 
Pro 3:22  So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 
Pro 3:23  Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 
Pro 3:24  When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. 
Pro 3:25  Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 
Pro 3:26  For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. 
Pro 3:27  Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 
Pro 3:28  Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. 
Pro 3:29  Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 
Pro 3:30  Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. 
Pro 3:31  Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. 
Pro 3:32  For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. 
Pro 3:33  The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. 
Pro 3:34  Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. 
Pro 3:35  The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.