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Chapter 6 - THE
STONY PLACE...[ Part 2 ]
Let us turn to Daniel, the 2nd chapter. I would like to
drop this thought: that little stone which was cut out of the
mountain, which was Christ, was to become a mountain, a church which
became a mountain on the Day of Pentecost, and it fills the whole
earth. It crowded everything else out. There won't be room for
anything else. That's what he is talking about. But that little
stone was to smite the image.
Millennialists will agree about that image very well. But
let us look and reason together. That image is past. All those
kingdoms and powers, which were covered in that Image, are past, yet
they tell about the coming kingdom. Let me show you by God's eternal
Word that the stone was to smite the Image. It is claimed by some to
have struck the feet. When you consider those ten toes, which
represent the ten kingdoms, and they draw those toes out for many
hundreds of years, and they say the Millennium is yet to come, and
it Is going to strike in the toes. But let us study that image and
the smiting of the stone. It smote the Image and it fell and was
ground together. All of them were there when the stone hit it. It
brings us up to the day Christ was born.
When the Roman Empire was reaching out and killed the
Word of God, a decree went out from Caesar concerning the taxation
of all the then known world. It was then the rock was cut out
without hands, teaching us of Christ's Immaculate conception. Man
had nothing to do with it. It smote the image and it fell. I pray
God will help us to see these things are spiritual mysteries and one
must have the Spirit of God to comprehend them.
Now, turn to the 13th chapter of Matthew. "The same day
went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the seaside. And great
multitudes were gathered unto Him, so that He went into a ship, and
sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many
things unto them In parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to
sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the
fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where
they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they
had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were
scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some
fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But
other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an
hundredfold, some sixty fold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to
hear, let him hear. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why
speakest thou unto them In parables? He answered and said unto them,
Because It Is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to them it is not given."
The understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom is not
attained by study of the subject a certain length of time, but is
given as a gift. "It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the
kingdom." We studied the wayside earth (we've proven by the Word,
the wayside earth never gets an experience with God)…those are
Individuals,whose lives are taken with other things. The Word is
sown on their hearts, but it never takes root because it has no
place to take root. Some of the fowls of the air, (false prophets)
the Revelation tells us, come and pick up the seed and carry it
away.
Let us discuss the stony places by the Word of God. The
sixth verse says some fell upon stony places, where they had not
much earth and forthwith they sprang up because they had no depth of
earth. When the sun was up they were scorched because they had no
root, they withered away.
We are living in an age where we see people withering and
being scorched. That is why we must deal with this teaching of
Christ, so men and women may be led to a deep experience with God.
Jesus Christ came to bring everlasting life. He came to give men and
women an experience they could live with on earth and die with peace
in their souls and be ready to live with Him through the ceaseless
ages of eternity.
Gaining the experience is far deeper than the average man
realizes. Jesus said in the seventh chapter of Matthew: "Strait is
the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there
be that find it. Broad is the way that leadeth unto destruction."
Some err in comprehension. They say, "Straight is the gate and
narrow the way that leadeth unto life and few there be that find the
way. This idea is incorrect. The antecedent of the word "it," is
"Life." "Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leadeth unto
life and few there be that find it." Find what? Find life -- Because
they won't take the narrow way that leads to it. You will never
convince me that we will never find the narrow way. He puts it
before every man and woman. That 'thing' has been taught too long.
People say they can't find the way. I'm not serving that kind of
God, who has hidden the light. He said if it's hidden, it is hidden
to those who are lost -- They know they are lost -- They refuse it.
Few there be that find it. He means "life." Because there is a broad
way 'here' that is so much easier to travel, people will choose
'that' way. I am speaking at this time about the light that lighteth
every man that comes into the world. Don't tell me people cannot
find this way. I mention also, a stumbling block. Everyone is going
to stumble over this somewhere along his pathway, We receive wrong
conceptions of the scriptures and become confused. The real meaning
of this scripture is: that there be few that find "life." That is
not the way to life, but life itself. I daresay that there is not a
man or woman in the building, but knows the way to life.
We are living in a day and age when it is not a situation
of people not knowing what to do. If I were to question people 'on a
street corner,' I would find that ninety-five per cent know how a
Christian should live. It is not that they don't know…only that they
don't do.
Don't blame the Holy Spirit. He is doing the will of God.
He said He would reprove the world of sin and He did it. Because
servants of God have been faithless in their ministry -- if they
fail, God is able to take any means at hand and get the truth to the
people. Don't be deceived by thinking that if it is not preached, it
won't be done. God will find a way.
The Bible message is a light which lights every man who
cometh into the world. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth," and
God is going to get that truth to you. The reason many people never
find life is because of the way it's presented to them. But it is
too narrow, too straight, too hard, and it costs too much. Because
of that, they never find life. That is what Christ was dealing with
in these parables. He dealt with the wayside here, the stony ground,
the thorny and good ground. He took the whole world and divided it
into four groups. They all heard the Word, but the first three
groups rejected it. They preferred continuing their lives of folly
to following the way of God. I thank God that this salvation is not
hidden as some wish it were. All are going to hear it. It depends
upon whether you are ready to resign to the will of God, as to
whether you will find this life through Jesus Christ. You can't sow
something besides God's Word to produce anything but the Kingdom of
God. The Word of God is the Word of the Kingdom.
Leaving our cities, one sees plastered on bill boards:
"Go to the church of your choice." One has said, "Why all these
hundreds of different churches until man is so terribly deceived?"
But that is just what people are doing. Perhaps down on the corner
there is a big church building. The people that go there do so
because it is the church of their choice. When they are ready for
baptism, they will ask you, which you choose, sprinkled, poured, or
immersed? Someone has said, "If your religion is spotted, you ought
to be sprinkled, If it is striped you ought to be poured, and If you
are, or have died out to sin and are ready to be buried, then you
should be immersed."
The Gospel is very simple. Paul, in the book of
Corinthians, says that just as Satan beguiled Eve he would lead us
away from the simplicity that is in Christ. Jesus came down here and
yielded up His own life on Calvary, that we might have life. In the
10th chapter of the book of John, He teaches us that He is the door
to the sheepfold or to the church, saying that the good shepherd
lays down His life for the sheep and that is just what He did. If we
will choose the Christ life, we can live just like He did and all be
one people.
In the sixth verse of the chapter we see where some of
the precious seed fell on stony places where they had not much
earth. People get a little nervous about the symbols in the
Revelation and some are actually afraid of It. And then again, there
are some who are not afraid of the Revelation that ought to be. If
you possess the Spirit of God, or rather, if He possesses you, and
you are resigned to God's will, and your heart and mind are
unbiased, You are in good shape to understand the Revelation. There
is no need to be afraid of it. It is God's will to reveal it unto
you.
Symbols are used all through the Word of God. The
prophets used them in olden time, yet when we begin to preaoh In
Revelation, people begin to get a bit hysterical if we mention
symbols. The parables under consideration are somewhat symbolical.
He speaks of stony places and on doing so takes the natural things
to reveal the spiritual. There were five prophets that He called
'wolves In sheep's clothing.' All you have to do is watch those
fellows a bit. Just start them out and they will make a wolf track
or a sheep track. People can be fooled on their clothing, but they
will not on their tracks. God does not want us to be deceived.
The Scripture says that Some of this seed fell on stony
places where they had not much earth, taking again, the natural
things to explain the spiritual, Remember that this kingdom is that
which we receive into our heart and life through a born again
experience.
Paul said, speaking of the kingdom, "We have this
treasure in earthen vessels." Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom
come" (not, on earth), in earth, Thy will be done in earth. So what
is the kingdom? God's will being done in our--hearts and lives. That
is the kingdom 'from one end to the other.' Thy kingdom come, Thy
will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Whenever we find people
who will do God's will here on earth, even as the angels do in
heaven, we have a heavenly Jerusalem right here on the earth. It is
not hard to see the church. It is not hard to see the kingdom. It is
made up of people who do God's will here, and when we do God's will
here on earth even as it Is done in heaven, we have a heavenly
atmosphere right here, It is no wonder the Revelation calls us
angels. It is no wonder Paul said in the 12th chapter of Hebrews,
"You come unto the general assembly and church of the first born,
and to an innumerable company of angels". What is he talking about?
God's will done here, just like the angels are doing it in heaven.
He writes to the angel of the church at Ephesus. Who was he talking
about? He was talking about a faithful man who was doing God's will
down here in the earth, just like the angels do it in heaven.
This seed fell on stony places--and It had not much
earth. Right away we begin to know there is a type of individual
that does not give the Word any root. Remember, we receive it in
earthen vessels. When He speaks of having not much earth, He speaks
of the person not giving it much room. For they had not much earth
and forthwith, or because of It, they sprung up, because they had no
depth of earth. When the sun was up they were scorched and they had
no roots and because they had not roots they withered away. In the
20th verse He gives us this explanation: "He that receives the seed
in stony places is the same that heareth the word and with joy
receiveth it, yet hath he not rooted himself. He endureth for
awhile." He did not say beareth. He just said endures it. And when
tribulations arise he is offended because of the Word. There is a
symbol that many people cannot understand, the symbol of the woman
clothed in the sun. Jesus said, (In the parable) "When the sun was
up they were scorched." What did Jesus mean when He gave the
explanation, "when the Word comes?" This type of individual never
gets a real experience with God. Those that really are saved, bear
fruit. But the one spoken of, was an enduring fellow and that only
for a while. Then, when tribulation and persecution arise, (not
because of the devil, but because of the Word) he is offended.
Ministers serving in the time of the sixth seal period,
thought that one had to have a great deal of historical knowledge to
be able to preach Revelation, also that it was necessary to have
some understanding of certain Individuals to understand the symbols.
Let me say, that the answer to every symbol is in the book. The Sun
is a symbol of the Word. Jesus said so. "When the sun is up it
scorches them."
"When He, the Spirit of truth is come He will" do the
whole work. People say, 'If we could just get an educated ministry.'
But this is fallacy. A man who had been preaching for 25 years
claimed to see real unity for the first time. If that was true, then
something was certainly wrong with his education. I was in a certain
state holding a camp meeting where the college dominates the
ministers, runs the state, runs the camp meetings, and all the works
there run just like oiled machinery. But I can't find scripture that
tells me that all must be sent to the same school to have true
unity. But, all must have the same Holy Spirit to have unity. "When
He the Spirit of truth is come" He will show you all things. If we
have the same Holy Teacher we will have the same lessons and see eye
to eye.
Now, notice that the Individual received the seed, "and
the same heareth the Word with joy and receiveth it." He just 'took
it down' quickly and failed to swallow It. God does not ask us just
to 'get' the Word and say, "that is it". God says, "Let us reason."
We are told that the sport of fishing is to wrestle with the fish
for a long time and finally bring him In. Just so, we need to take
time with the Word of God. It will make room for itself and we must
make sure that we are truly born again.
It is dangerous to claim salvation in a life that has
never been regenerated. Jesus himself said it was dangerous. "Don't
put new wine in old bottles." Why? Because there will be an
explosion. Now you know why we have so many blow-ups or explosions
in the church. Another mystery of the kingdom is that some people
think the Word sounds good and they try to take some of it, putting
new wine in old bottles. But the Word begins to grow. If any room is
given for the Word It will grow. If you have not been rejuvenated by
the new birth and have a new flexible soul that will expand with the
Word, there will surely be a bursting open -- an explosion sooner or
later.
Now what is meant by all this? Simply that to accept the
Word without a real change of heart and a real experience of old
fashioned bed rook salvation and try to go on living as a Christian
will only last so long. For the Word will find out the lack, as it
from day to day works in the heart and if you are not able to grow
thereby, it is not long until a day of reckoning comes and you must
either get down to bed rook, or be sure, you will fall by the
wayside.
Such an Individual will move at the time, but have no
depth of experience and Jesus told us why. There are too many stones
in the soil and it sprang up before it reached down and took root.
No plant will ever bear fruit until it first takes root. One sees a
lot of things in the fields that have just sprung up. Many plants
spring up after a warm rain. What is meant (in the spiritual life)
by a warm rain?
The warmth and refreshment of the Holy Spirit and old
time powerful preaching of the Gospel, will sometimes warm the
hearts of people and they are actually warmed by it to the extent
that they think they have an experience with God. But it was
something that just sprung up, if they did not really repent and go
to the bed rock and have a change of heart. And if it didn't take
root, there will be no fruit in that life. It will only be a 'matter
of time' until it withers away. What a great need there is for the
Church to get back to some 'old solid truths' and lead the people,
in their search for eternal life -- to 'more solid ground.'
Chapter 7 - A HEART OF FLESH GIVEN
Let's take a look at 'these stones.' It would be foolish for a
farmer to try to work the areas, which were very stony. A farmer
knows better than to sow in a 'stone patch,' so he picks up the
stones and clears them off before he begins anything else. The
stones are impediments, which would hinder the growth of the plant.
They would take the moisture, which belonged to the plant. Because
of this, Christ said, these individuals never get an experience.
These stones lay on the surface of the ground as a sign the earth is
thin and that solid rook Is underneath and there is not much earth
to work with.
In this way, Christ pictures a hard-hearted individual.
He is utterly selfish and has no capacity for self-denial. Let us
mentally picture this type of individual. He has a quickness of
perception. He quickly takes hold of the Word. This type of
individual is often heard 'shouting' in the service on Sunday, but
we seldom see him in prayer meeting. Why? He has no depth, true
root, or love of God in his heart. His is just a light, 'emotional
case.' Beneath the surface the heart is still hard and 'cold as a
rock.'
In the 11th chapter of Ezekial and the 19th verse, God
says, of the people in the time of Christ's coming, that He will
give them one heart and a new spirit. "I'll take, the stony heart
out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh." Proverbs, the
4th chapter, 23rd verse: "Out of the heart are the Issues of life."
The heart, is the 'core of the whole.' If we have people with a new
heart, we won't have so many old issues…(smile). When we have a new
heart, we will receive a 'new issue.' Paul says this, when he
explained that, "if any man be in Christ Jesus he Is a new
creature." Old things are passed away and behold all have become
new. When He gives us 'one heart,' we will 'act alike' -- we'll be
'one.' "…I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give
them a heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes…" This new
heart will help them to walk in His statutes and keep his ordinances
and to do them. People who have a new heart will walk in His
statutes and keep His ordinances. He will be their God.
There are some other stones. In the 63rd chapter of
Isaiah, God gave a commission to the ministry. It takes the love of
God in man to pour out the wrath of God on a false spirit and a
false system and yet have enough love of God so that the man you are
preaching to will know you love him as you are preaching to him.
One of the dangers of today Is that the enemy will strive
to get people to compromise, apostacize, and turn from truth, and
then, he'll get other people to dislike them and look down on them.
You must love them. If a brother errs in the truth, God orders us to
work to convert him, not to brush him off and say we are no longer a
brother of his. This 'groupitis' is the worst affliction that ever
hit God's people. They sometimes come up and say, "what group are
you with?' I am a member of that group in the 14th and 15th chapters
of Revelation; it is the one that follows the Lamb withersoever He
goeth. It is the one standing on the sea of glass mingled with fire
with victory over the beast and his image and his mark, and the
number of his name. That takes care of any of the devils work that
he has come up with or that he can come up with.
The devil works today (if we're not careful), in a way
that will do a destructive and terrible thing to the Body of Christ.
We do not need to put any feeling in this. God put enough in it. If
you pour this Word on a man, if he is guilty, he is hurt badly
enough, without us giving him a cold shoulder. Some people are
withering. And it is clear what kind of an experience they have.
The divine ploughman, or the ministry, has a big job. In
Isaiah the 62nd chapter, the 10th verse, he said to the ministers,
Here is your commission - "…go through the gates, prepare ye the way
of the people;…" Now, why can't the people get along without the
ministry preparing the way? Why do we get all of these sects and
divisions? False ministers prepared a way. The prophet said, "Woe be
unto the pastors who have scattered my flock. Christ said, "There Is
one way," and prepared a ministry to tell of that one way. Any man
who is saved is in the palm of God's hand and is put in Christ's
fold, and unless a false preacher lets the fence down some place,
the people will never get out. "Prepare a way for the people." Cast
up the highway. If you ever get on 'the highway of holiness,' you
are as sure of Zion as if you were there already because that is
where it ends. The highway of Holiness goes to Zion. If you get on
Route 40 and go west, you will end up in San Francisco.
God said there would be a highway and 'a way' to get on
it. It's like the turnpike. Anyone can get on it, but not just any
place. Jesus said, "I am the way." There is only one way to get on
'the highway of holiness.' That is through Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Isaiah said there will be a highway above the ground, above the old
way you have traveled. A highway and a way to get on it. The unclean
shall not pass on it. There will be no lion, no ravenous beast.
These are symbols. The different animals are to show the different
dispositions of man. Every animal is different and has a different
disposition. Men are all made the same, but have different
dispositions. So God went back to the animals to show us the
different dispositions of men. No lion will be there. He's that old
individual that has that bold and evil spirit. The devil is like a
roaring lion. That fellow has a hateful disposition, and an old hard
heart, always growling.
We are commanded to 'cast up' the highway. People are
trying to pull It down. They would level it to where anyone can get
on. But God called a ministry to 'cast it up.' You cannot lift it
any higher than it is, but just raise it before the people. Preach
the gospel, and cast it up before the minds of men. My, what beauty
-- this 'highway of holiness!'
Get out the stones. Lift up the standard for the people.
We see people come and 'sit under the Word,' and God reveals things
in their lives that will be a hindrance to them. That is what the
stones are. The 'ministry' is putting on a sham. They are trying to
find false hiding places. Too many, even In the 'so-called' Church
of God, are hiding behind the idea -- it Is not my duty to execute
the Church of God, just to preach It. I ask them, "What do your
people pay a good salary for?" God's people love that kind of man,
because they know that kind of man, is being true to their souls.
The true saints love straight preaching, on the other hand, mere
professors will put up with anyone that preaches to please the
people.
Back to the parable, the 6th verse, "And when the sun was
up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered
away." We have already learned the sun is the Word of God. The sun
is the symbol of God's eternal Word. Let us refresh our minds with
the thought that God takes natural things to teach the spiritual.
The Psalmist meant this when he said the sinner cannot
stand in the congregation of the righteous. We need sinners to
attend the services or we'll never win any to be saints. When the
Word of God goes forth, it lets every man know where he stands. The
sinner may know, even though you love him, that the Word of God
comes so close he will be able to see himself, where he Is. A sinner
can't stand. He'll wither under the preaching of God's Word. God
doesn't want people to think they are right, when they are wrong.
The sower is the Son of Man. He sowed seeds. That is
where the harvest comes from. He said the fields are white unto
harvest, A harvest does not just come. Someone has to sow it first.
Where was His field? He walked up and down the shores of Galilee,
and over the mountains and sowed the precious seed in the hearts and
lives of mankind. And while He was sowing the poor Gentile was
pushed back and could not come into the midst, being counted only as
a dog by the Jews.
It was as though He said: "When the Holy Ghost comes He
will give you the sickle, for you must have a sickle to reap. When
He comes, He will take the things of mine and give them unto you,
and you can go out and start reaping." Multitudes followed after Him
and He fed them. Once a group of people followed Him for three days.
There's something about the Word of God that gets hold of men. They
followed Him from the city, out into the country where there were no
grocery stores for miles around. They pressed so close about Him,
that He was compelled to get in a boat and push out a little that
all might be able to hear His message. God stands ready to anoint
His followers today and send the Holy Spirit upon them and cause men
to hunger and to do the same today, when there is real consecration
and dying out to the world.
But, reading further, we find, that when the sun began to
rise and He began to lay down the facts of discipleship and what it
entailed they turned away and left Him. Then He turned to His
disciples asking them if they too were going to leave. But they only
answered, "To whom shall we go?"
Today we see many people getting offended by the Word
that they claim, was the means of their salvation. What causes men
to become offended at the Word of God? They become offended because
they don't understand it. And because they don't understand it, they
get offended. It is necessary to understand it, or some false
prophet will take it away from us. We, too, if we do not understand
it, may become offended. In the 11th chapter of Matthew, we read
that John, the forerunner of Christ, was greater than all the other
prophets. Why? John came preaching repentance; he was a good
preacher and executed the will of God and preached the Word. He
advised people to confess their sin; and when those 'old birds'
(Scribes and Pharisees) got in line, He was frank with them and the
true condition of their hearts. He called out to them, "Who hath
warned you of the wrath to come?" This He said because being filled
with the Spirit He could discern what was In their hearts. Also He
bade them to show forth fruit worthy of repentance.
Once when He was baptizing, Christ appeared and John
said, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the
world. I am not that Christ but am sent before Him. He that hath the
bride, is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which
standeth and heareth Him rejoiceth greatly because of the
Bridegroom's voice. This my joy is fulfilled. He must increase, but
I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all. He that is
of the earth is earthly and speaketh of the earth; he that cometh
from heaven is above all, and what He hath seen and heard that He
testifieth and no man receiveth His testimony. He that hath received
His testimony hath set to his seal that God Is true."
There are people who want to build a church and name it
after John. A Baptist minister once said that Christ did not call
him John the Methodist, or John the Lutheran, but John, the Baptist.
But Jesus said, He that is least in the kingdom of God is greater
than John. John was just an advocate or advertiser for Christ. When
a circus comes to town, people are sent ahead to post bills and
advertise it. John was the forerunner for Christ. Now we know that
any member of the circus is more Important than the advertiser of
it. He stood and declared the truth to men.
John preached in the sunrise of the Gospel. He did not
have the light that we have today. For four hundred years there had
been darkness in Israel. Since the last prophecy of the prophet
Malachi, no one had brought a message from above. If we do not hear
from God, we go into darkness. It was not like turning on the
electric. But In that darkened sky there appeared a star over the
Judean hills that led men who were wise to the Christ.
John stood in partial darkness just as the light was
breaking. He knew it was coming and he stood in the light he had and
preached the Gospel. But the day never broke until Jesus appeared,
preaching the Gospel, coming as the Lamb of God. Then when John was
put in prison and ready to be beheaded, he began to have some
doubts. Perhaps if you or I were in his position we too would begin
to doubt. When he had his freedom, eating locust and wild honey, and
preaching the gospel freely, it seemed real and he entertained no
doubts, but down there in prison, with all hope of opportunity gone
to do the beloved work, he became uncertain and sent some of his
disciples to question the Master, yet this same man had said of Him,
"Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world."
The disciples went to Jesus and said, "Art thou He, or do
we look for another?" To this inquiry Jesus answered and said, "Go
and tell John the works ye do hear and see. The blind receive their
sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, people
are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." Tell
him also, Blessed is He that is not offended with me, I am too busy
healing the sick and preaching the gospel to visit him, Tell him to
remember his own words that he must decrease and I must increase.
And things are going along just as prophesied by him. It is his time
to decrease as I must push forward on the increase.
Why did John get confused and apparently even a bit
offended? The program was not going as he thought it should. Men and
women today get offended, because the fulfillment of scripture and
especially prophecy, does not turn out as they had it all settled in
their own biased minds. Then someone comes preaching and throwing
light on some particular part of the Word and when it does not just
exactly dovetail with their own interpretation; instead of receiving
some enlightenment on the Word, they become offended. Many are still
holding on to what little light they received long ago, and expect
to go to judgment leaning on that little bit. Their spirit is that
of the Pharisee refusing to accept any new message from Christ.
God does not want people to get saved in a 'Cloudy way.'
We are living today in the 'evening light.' Zechariah said there
would come a time when it would be neither dark nor light, but in
the evening it would be light. God wants people saved in the light
so they will know what is expected of them. If you do not lift up
the standard, the people will fall short of it and the whole churoh
will be just like that in about ten years.
We read in the 21st chapter of Revelation and the 27th
verse, "And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that
defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie,
but they which are written in the Lamb*s Book of Life." But what
happened to that young man who came to the altar? Well, the Sun came
up that Sunday morning (that is, the truth was preached as to the
true conditions that must be met to receive salvation) and that
fellow withered and has never been seen since. He was shown by the
Word just what it would cost to be a child of God, a complete turn
around and a different purpose in our lives. One of the tricks of
Satan is to get people of the world to come among the saints and try
to make saints (seemingly) of them. It can't be done. Let the Sun
shine on them at the very beginning and let them know what kind of
heat they are going to have to take If they make a decision to serve
God. Now, we are getting out the stones when we tell people what it
will cost to really be a child of God. [ End of Part 2 ]
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