Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Rom 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
Rom 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Rom 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Rom 12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Rom 12:8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Rom 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Rom 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Rom 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rom 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Rom 12:13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
Rom 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Rom 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Rom 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Rom 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Rom 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Rom 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Act 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Act 1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
Act 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Act 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Act 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Act 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
186 What? Church, that's the reason I can't take the
baptism of the Holy Ghost of crying, shaking, or speaking in tongues, or any
sensation. They're
all right now. See? Them--them things are all right,
but the devil can impersonate that so real.
But the Holy Ghost is Deity, God tabernacled in men. It's more than a sensation. It's more than speaking in tongues. It's more than shouting in the Spirit. It's more than weeping. It's more than joining church. It's God living in men, Deity, God Himself tabernacled into that person, when he can speak and it's just the same as God speaking; that's the Church of Jesus Christ. That's the way that first apostolic church went forth.
* CHRIST IS NOT MANUFACTURED.
188 How different, churches of
today, how different, that we've got away from It, since our denominational
organization started about second century after Christ, in the early Catholic
church, making organization, and teaching philosophy of men.
Today there's many people; we are do-good people. We join church. Listen to me. Here's what Brother Higginbotham was speaking about this morning; not Higginbotham, but the Holy Spirit spoke through him. We are a do-good people. We join church, and we want to be so loving and so sweet. See? We just don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, of course not. We want to be such a sweet Christian. We want--we want to manufacture Christ. Christ is not manufactured. Hallelujah. Oh, if I could only get some Words that God would give me, so you'd see what I mean.
*THEY HAD A LOVE OF GOD BURNING IN THEIR
HEARTS, THAT SENT THEM TO DEATH.
191 A sheep's not asked to bear
wool. He's not asked to manufacture some wool this year. If he's a sheep, he'll
have wool, because he's a sheep. He don't have to say, "Well, now I--I'm--I'm...
I believe I'm a sheep, so I better get--hurry up around here, I got to get some
wool for the master." He don't have to worry about that. As long as he's a
sheep, he'll bear wool. He don't have to manufacture it.
You don't have to manufacture no self-made piety, and,
"I, I've got... I... Now I shouldn't do this; I
know I'm a Christian." Oh, brother, trying to save itself by itself, by
its own human efforts, yet, sincere.
What's the matter is weak pulpits, weak schools, weak
seminaries. That's what's the matter: teaching man's theology. They give... You
say today, the strength of a Christian, they just...
"Are you a Christian?"
"Oh, I'm Methodist."
"Are you a Christian?"
"Oh, I--I--I'm Baptist."
Now, that's the strength of Christianity. How different. Hallelujah. How different from that first Church. They had none of these things to say. But they had been filled with an energy, a power of the Holy Ghost, that had set them free from sin and death. They wasn't nominal. They had a love of God burning in their hearts, that sent them to death.
*AND THE HOLY GHOST IS OUR WITNESS.
202 Them were men, who meant death
to confess Christ. What had they been? They had
received the Witness. They was filled with the Holy Ghost. Them first
Christians wasn't afraid of death. After that, the Roman Empire saw that there
was something about them. What did they do? They nominated it, went along and
made a denomination out of it, and just bring them in by profession, without
receiving this Witness.
There's where they are today, Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, and too many Pentecostals, so-called; we're going down this journey without receiving God's Witness. And the Holy Ghost is our Witness. Yes, sir. How different, them churches of that day.
*BUT WHEN HE'S FILLED WITH THE WITNESS,
THEY PUT A NEW MAN IN THE COAT.
204 The church of today is,
"Just join the church." As the old saying is, "When a man joins
the church, he puts on a new coat." That's right. But
when he's filled with the Witness, they put a new man in the coat. It
isn't a new coat on the man; it's a new man in the
coat. What we need today is more new men in the coat; that's the clergy
coat, I'm talking about. Yes, we need it different. The early...
This church today is trying to save itself, with its own
good works. "Oh, I'm a Christian, I must be real sweet. I must do
this." But that first church, what was they doing? Waiting. Not trying to change themselves, but was waiting for God
Himself to come and change them from Pharisees to witnesses.
And what we need today is another waiting on the Holy Ghost, the Witness of God to come change us from a bunch of Pharisees, cold and starched, to witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah.
*WE NEED A DAY OF WEEPING, AND MOURNING,
AND WAITING UNTIL GOD SENDS THE HOLY GHOST, HIS WITNESS, NOT AN EMPTY SHELL,
NOT AN EMPTY DENOMINATION, BUT DEITY TABERNACLED IN MEN.
218 Brother, there's no way in this
day at all to escape this damnation that waits people, outside
of an old fashion, Holy-Ghost-sent repentance.
I have nothing against my brethren. And I'm speaking of
myself, but we are evangelists. Billy Graham's a great evangelist; Oral
Roberts, a great evangelist. Them are great men. We appreciate them. But we
don't need evangelists. What is it? Organizing politics, getting the
Methodists, and Baptists, and all the Pentecostal groups together to cooperate
and show how big we can be, and how many we can draw out. We don't need that.
We need a waiting on God till the Holy Ghost comes with power and a deliverance. We need salvationists, not evangelists. We need salvation. "We can take this mountain. "Who is that mountain before us, Zerubbabel, it will be like a plain," God said. "Remain in the land." That's right.
222 What we need today is a--not a revival, a breaking out of salvation like in the days of the Welsh revival, when the people in the shops fell under conviction, crying, the bootleg joints and pleasure places closed up, and went to weeping and praying, that's what we need today. Not gather a hundred and fifty thousand, like they did the other day, some of them saying, "Hail Mary," and the other one saying something else, a little prayer; and go out and get a sociable drink, and go back. That's not a day of prayer. We need a day of weeping, and mourning, and waiting until God sends the Holy Ghost, His Witness, not an empty shell, not an empty denomination, but Deity tabernacled in men.
*JESUS SAID THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT HE
WOULD SEND WOULD BE A WITNESS TO THE END OF THE AGE, EVERY GENERATION
AFTERWARDS.
223 Jesus said, in Mark 16, that the Holy Ghost, when He come, He would testify in every succeeding generation, to the end. He said, "These signs... Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; these signs shall follow them that believe; in My Name they shall cast out devils." How long's this Witness going to be? To the end of the world. How long? Every generation. "In My Name they shall cast out devils. They shall speak with new tongues. If they taken up serpents, or drink deadly things, it wouldn't harm them. If they lay hands on the sick, they shall recover." Jesus said that the Holy Spirit that He would send would be a Witness to the end of the age, every generation afterwards.
*WE ARE HIS WITNESSES WHO HAVE RECEIVED
OF HIS SPIRIT.
Now, being that He said that, we are His witnesses. Amen.
In closing listen close, put on your understanding now and listen as I close. We are His witnesses who have received of His Spirit.
225 His Word testifies in the last days that there will come a falling away, and there would come up a cold, formal, powerless church age." That's what we're living in. A church that had no power, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away." He give the sign that there'd be times when a man would set in the temple of God, showing himself he was God. He'd come, ruling the nations. How perfectly, they--all of these things, how God's Word has been perfect.
227 God's Word is a true
witness. And God's
Word said in the last days there would come perilous times, and men's hearts
would fail them for fear, and perplexed of times, and distress between the
nations, and there'd come a falling away from the Church. And men would rise
up, and showing themselves big dignitaries and so forth, and would--would power
away from the church, and have a form of godliness, and deny the real power of
God: church joining. He spoke of the church getting in that condition.
We are a witness that the Word of God is
fulfilled. The
church is in that, every organization is in that same state right now.
I'll--I'll challenge any man to show me any organization on fire for God,
filled with the Holy Ghost, with signs following them. Rise and tell me one,
any organization. There is no such a thing. It's not on the pages. That's
right. They're all powerless and dead. Get it.
But He also prophesied there'd be a real Church in that day, a little flock, a remnant. He said there would be, and there will be. "There will be a people who know their God," said the prophet, "will do exploits in the last days."
*GOD'S WITNESS, THE HOLY GHOST, THE HOLY
GHOST ITSELF LIVING IN US WOULD NEVER AFFILIATE ITSELF IN ORGANIZATION.
232 God's Witness, the
Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost Itself living in us would never affiliate Itself in
organization. You
can't organize God. He's God. What will it do? Go back the way it was at the
first place. It'll go back to the beginning, back to
the original, back to where it started from. It'll baptize the same way they
did. It'll teach the Holy Ghost the same way it did. They'll teach the people
the same way it did. It'll abstain from organizations like they did. It
will have a room for all like they did, who will come. They'll be clean and
holy like they did. They'll be filled with the Spirit like they were. They'll
be fearless like they were. And the same things that
happened to them will happen to these in the last days in the evening Lights
like it was back before. God, send that Voice, call out.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
*IT PERFECTLY REPRESENTS THE AGE OF
LUTHER, WESLEY, AND PENTECOST, EXACTLY, THE THREE STEPS OR DISPENSATIONS OF HIS
GRACE…
E-31 Now, on the inside of this inner court the--called the holiest of holies, there was a piece of furniture
setting there called the mercy seat. And the covenant was in the ark. And the ark had two Cherubims. And it was on the inside. That
was the furniture inside of the holy place. Next, coming
out was the golden candlesticks, then on
out to the laver.
Now, it perfectly represents the age of Luther, Wesley, and Pentecost, exactly, the three steps or dispensations of His grace that's been given to mankind. We are in the last dispensation. I believe that with all my heart. See?
*CHRIST CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN AND BECOME MANNA THAT WE MIGHT LIVE BY HIM.
E-32 Now, notice, then also in this great move, how God brought them in there in this great place. Moses one time was told by God when the manna begin to fall, the manna was a type of life: Christ coming down from heaven and perishing here on earth, that He might give us life. The manna came from heaven, laid on the earth, and the people eat it to sustain life. Christ came down from heaven and become manna that we might live by Him.
*THE MANNA WAS A TYPE OF THE HOLY GHOST TODAY.
And notice now, the people eating the manna, they had to get it quickly and eat it. Because
when the sun rose, it wasn't long till it was perished,
the type there of Christ, the Holy Spirit. The manna was a type of the Holy
Ghost today. As God brought the church in natural with natural manna, he's bringing the church today spiritual on spiritual manna. When
the church at first overcome,
come over the Red Sea, type of the blood, passed
over into the journey on the road to the promised land,
manna rained the first night. Amen.
And when the church was passed over from life unto death on the day of Pentecost, God rained a spiritual manna out of heaven, that sustained the church, until Jesus comes again or we pass into the Millennium, into the promised land. Amen.
*THEN HOW LONG WAS THIS MANNA TO LAST?...
UNTIL JESUS COMES.
E-35 Notice, brethren. Then how long was this manna to last? It lasted the entire journey, until they hit into another dispensation over into the promised land. How long is this to last? Until Jesus comes. Peter said, "Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost; for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to them that's far off, even as a many as the Lord our God shall call." How long was it to last? As many as the Lord our God shall call. And as long as the dispensation of grace lasts, God will still call men and women to His service. So the Holy Ghost is just as real today. Now, He never said...
…*AND NEVER YET KNOW WHAT THAT SECRET ROOM
IS, WHAT THAT BEDROOM, WHAT THAT REST PLACE IS, THEY EAT THE MANNA.
Now, when they eat this manna, remember, if they eat
it... Many people eat it and said, "This is it." They had to gather it fresh every day. That's right. They had to gather the manna, fresh every day, because along
about nine o'clock on their second step it would go to melting. It would
perish.
E-36 And many times people living in God's second room, even in communion, after they've already received the Word, and come into the second step of receiving Christ into their life, and never yet know what that secret room is, what that bedroom, what that rest place is, they eat the manna. But did you notice, if they let it lay too long, it finally melted out. There was... It--it perished away. And I think a lot of people has had a lot of campground cramps anyhow, that when they go and eat of the Lord on the campground, and before another revival can come along, they're all back and twisted up in some kinda cults or something else. What's the matter, brother, you've never walked in somewhere else.
*AND REMEMBER, THAT A BELIEVER WHEN HE
WALKED IN THERE, THAT MANNA NEVER DID RUN OUT.
E-37 God said "Moses, make you a golden pot." Hallelujah! And in there place this manna. And remember, that a believer when he walked in there, that manna never did run out. It was always fresh and new and sweet as the days went by as the years went by. And any man who comes to Christ and hides away and the veil falls behind him, he's in the Presence of Almighty God, eating the manna day and night, from one hour to the other. It's always just as sweet as it was the first day of telling to your soul. That's what we need today, is get in where the things are at, not stand off and pretend, or not stand off and act, but actually get in there. Amen. The man once...
*"HE THAT OVERCOMETH SHALL INHERIT
ALL THINGS, AND HE WILL BE MY SON; I WILL BE HIS GOD, AND (LISTEN) I WILL GIVE
HIM OF THE HIDDEN MANNA.
E-38 Now remember, only
believers, only the elect comes into that, that God has chosen you. I believe that in Revelations 2
said, "He that overcometh." So it's promised
to overcomers.
You said, "I overcome smoking." That ain't what He's talking about. There's a whole lot more goes to Christianity besides not smoking cigarettes or drinking whiskey. "He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and he will be My son; I will be His God, and (listen) I will give him of the hidden manna. (Amen.) I will hide him away, and I will give him the hidden things the world on the outside of the curtain don't know nothing about it." Hallelujah! Though they eat manna, but they don't know about this. "I will give to him the hidden manna. I will give him a stone with his name in it." You get what I mean: entering into the adoption or the hidden place with God.
…*BUT SEEK TO ENTER IN TO THE HIDDEN MANNA
WHERE THE FULL REVELATION OF GOD IS MAKE LOVE PERFECT IN YOUR HEART, AND YOU
AND GOD AND EVERYTHING ELSE IS AT REST.
E-39 Ministers of the gospel don't care about your denominations and what the world thinks, but seek to enter in to the hidden manna where the full revelation of God is make love perfect in your heart, and you and God and everything else is at rest. Let anything come, what may, you're hidden away. What a place to live. Oh, just let me abide there. As the song said, "Let me rest 'neath the tree where the wa--so freely flows, where the Lamb is the light, and the soul of the saved never die." Amen.
*I MEAN FROM THE DEPTHS OF YOUR HEART,
THAT SOMETHING'S SETTLED IN THERE, THAT SOMETHING'S TAKEN PLACE… BUT YOU'RE HID
AWAY, AND YOUR WHOLE MOTIVE IS TO SERVE JESUS CHRIST. THAT'S THE HIDDEN PLACE.
E-40 Sure they eat manna out there but they didn't know about this. They'd never been in there. Have you, my dear brother? Don't despise my ignorance, but I want to ask you something. Have you ever come to the place in life where Christ meant more to you than all the arguing you could do about your church? Has Christ meant more to you than all the world? I don't mean from an emotion or a mental work-up; I mean from the depths of your heart, that something's settled in there, that something's taken place, that you don't know how it come, but you're hid away, and your whole motive is to serve Jesus Christ. Have you entered that place, my dear brother? Have you come into that place where you don't care what anyone says, not to go out and act smart, but till the love of God is so anchored into you, that you can't see nothing else, you're whole motive is to do the will of God, love for everybody, flowing free from everywhere? What a place to live. That's the hidden place. That's the place where we got to come to, my brethren. That's the place where God reveals His secret things. That's the place where God does the placing and the calling. You get what I mean?
*AND THAT ROD THAT WAS A DEAD STICK, IN
ONE NIGHT'S TIME COME TO LIFE, BROUGHT BUDS, BROUGHT FLOWERS, AND BROUGHT
ALMONDS.
E-41 In this same place... We don't
have much time, 'cause I got to hurry, but just for another thought. In this
same place they put Aaron's rod, to make a decision who God had chosen and who
he hadn't. And that rod that was a dead stick, in one
night's time come to life, brought buds, brought flowers, and brought almonds.
It both come to life, brought blossoms, and yielded fruits, a very typical
pattern of the sinner being brought to God into the holy place.
Remember that rod passed over every one of those other elements, and it got inside the holy place still dead. But to abide... It never come to life when they first brought it in there. That's the reason the Holy Spirit's watched you since you received the Holy Ghost, see you're attitude towards His Kingdom. If it's been selfish motive, if the things that you've thought of has been in-farther a denomination, or if it's doing farther, better you, your position, if it's to make you a man looked up to in the world, if it's to build you a big church somewhere, or some popularity, or some other thing outside of increasing or in-bettering the Kingdom of God, brother, something's wrong. Amen.
…*AND HAD BE A SON OF GOD IN MY HEART,
WITH THE NEW BIRTH AND THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST DWELLING IN ME, AND HIM PROVING IT
BY THE VINDICATION OF HIS WORD AND MAKING ME LIVE.
Tell me what you could invest in this morning and
make ten million dollars, and tomorrow be a corpse? What good would it do you? What profit a man if he gained the
whole world and lose his soul? What if you're popular, and called So-and-so,
and Deacon, Presbyter Dr., Bishop, Elder, Pope, or whatever you might be
called? That's praises of men.
I'd rather be called a holy-roller by the people, and had be a son of God in my heart, with the new birth and the Spirit of Christ dwelling in me, and Him proving it by the vindication of His Word and making me live. "The life that I once lived I don't live no more," Paul said. And yet he was a teacher and a scholar. But he changed his life, when he met Christ, and made his investment in Christ. He was a different man from then on.
*YOU WANT THE PRAISES OF GOD, THE RESPECT
OF GOD ON YOU. HE WILL ONLY RESPECT YOU AS YOU KEEP HIS WORD.
E-64 Oh, increased in goods. Certainly this man did. You know what?
Jesus told him, if you notice here, He said, "Go, sell what you have, and give it to
the poor. And come follow Me. Take up your cross and follow Me, and you'll have
riches in heaven." See? What an investment to make, but he
chose not to do it.
Now, so has the Laodicea church age chose the same thing:
not to do it. And remember, when he got so awful rich (as the church has
today), the poor laid at his gate, and only got the crumbs that he swept off to
the dogs: Lazarus, the poor in spirit.
Jesus said in Matthew 5, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs
in the Kingdom of heaven." We don't want to take that place,
that rutted place, that way away place of being poor in the spirit. We don't
want that. We want somebody to praise us and be big somebody.
As some brother said awhile ago, sure sealed it good,
when he said, "How can you have faith, when you have respect one to
another, or desire the--the praises one of another?" Don't care what
anybody says. You want the praises of God, the respect
of God on you. He will only respect you as you keep His Word. All right.
26-0803P_THERE SHALL BE A PERFORMANCE Luk 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Ju...
