God Given Faith

I don't know just exactly where we'll go or what we'll say; but I wanta say something anyway. Now I, I want to talk about faith for just a little bit, and ah, if there is anything that we need it's faith. If there is anything that we need it's faith. You know people don't realize what a great opportunity they' ve got. My heart is burning with the fire of God and the enthusiasm of the Lord. For over twenty years Betty and I have blazed the trail for Christ across the nation. Today, I am just as eager as I ever was and even more to do something for the Lord Jesus, and I look at some of you and I think of the age that you are and the opportunity that you have, and are not putting it, your money to the exchangers. And I cry in my heart, "Oh God, how can it be? How can it possible be that you can't see the beauty of the Kingdom of God and the greatness of doing something for the Lord Jesus Christ." The fields are wide open. Just cut that one off Bro. Hollis and it will stop. The fields are wide open for you to do something for Jesus. On the home-front, there is always an army on the home-front. And there is an army out yonder on the field. A lot of people say, "Well, I want to be on the field." A lot of soldiers, you know, young soldiers especially, they get a lot of zeal and they say, " want to be on the field on the end of a gun." And then after they get there for the first round they say, "I've decided I would rather be back at the home-front and let somebody else be back on the end of a gun." So a lot of times all we can think of you know is the glamour and the glitter of what's on the field, but the mosquitoes biting and doing without and sleeping in the back of the car and wherever. You know, well you just don't count on that part of it. You don't count on that part. Now, I know that Brother Delmar Baldwin rides around in a big fine Lincoln because you gave him one, but so many times that boy is with-out food for many days and, and sleeping in a car, many times, I've known it to happen. A lot of times when people out there at their very best has it rough; but there is a home-front also that is very needful. The Bible says "Endure hardness like a good soldier." I want to read from the book of Hebrews the eleventh chapter the 1st. verse and I want you to consider some of these people of whom I speak concerning faith. I want you to consider tonight. Take time to be holy. Take time to listen to the Word and consider what I am trying to say to you tonight. Now, I am hoarse from preaching so hard this morning, but you can bear with me and I'll try to get some thoughts over to you. The 11th chapter of the 1st verse. (Brother Pike reads the Scripture; Hebrews 11:1 -40; 12:1-2.) That's reading a good little bit. Paul preached a great sermon. That's covering a lot of territory in one message on faith. But Paul preached to the Hebrew people a lot of faith, right here in this message, didn't he? To think that there were the people that were suppose to know faith. They were the seed of Abraham and the followers of Moses, but here Paul sees fit to preach to them a sermon on faith. That's why it's necessary today to preach to the church a sermon on faith. All of us are suppose to understand faith and to know faith, but like the Jews, a lot of times through complacent what we do we lay aside the Word of God. Make it void and make it non-profitable to us by not mixing faith with the Word of God. Paul upbraided the Jews and he said to them. He said, "Even though the Word is among you, even though God has been with you, yet he said the Word not being mixed with faith did not profit them that heard it." Did you know the preacher can preach all he wants to and he can say whatever he wants to say concerning the Word, but unless there is faith mixed with the Word, you won't draw any benefit out of it. A lot of people say, "I go to church." "I listen to the preacher, but I don't under-stand. I am still sick. I don't understand. I don't reap the benefit of it." But my Brother, it is because of one thing. It is because of the lack of faith. Somebody would say, Well Brother Pike, I feel that I just don't live like I ought to and that's why that I don't get the benefits. I am sure that that has to do with your faith. But according to the Bible, the Jews sacrific-ed continually. They fasted continually. They prayed continually, but accord-ing to the Bible their faith wasn't there. They had all of the ritualistics: they had all, everything that would go along with churchanity. They had it. They was a good church attender. They knew everything about Moses. They had learned about it, but one thing that they did not do and that was to use Faith. I use Faith in my life. I practice faith in my life. I try to utililize the faith that God has placed in my heart. Of course I have to, some of you get into the position I'm in and you'll learn to use faith. You might not never have used it before but I'll tell you if you start carrying the load that I have to carry, I'll guarantee you, you'll start using faith because there's no other place to go. And I use faith in my life. I believe in God and my ministry is built on faith. Betty and I started out years ago. We went by faith. We travelled across the nation by faith. We had no support. We had a family, We had an old broken down car. We had to go strictly by faith in God. And today I still go by faith. I haven't wavered from that. I haven't turned away from that. I still trust in the living God. Though Many times God sends thousands of dollars in to me, yet I never place my confidence at any time in that money. I never place my confidence at anytime in trusting in the arm of flesh or the ability of my congregation. I remember David of old how that he displeased God. God had picked him up from the sheepcoat. A little old boy setting out on the hillside. Placed faith within his heart and he took a little sling in his hand, ran down through a valley and overthrew the opposit-ion of Israel. All by Faith. When the odds was against him and God raised him up; and then when God raised him up he gave him a great army; and that great army Brother Jimmy, become a snare to him. It became a downfall to him; that great army that God gave him. David began to sweep across the nations and nothing could stand before him; and after a while he began to think that it was because of the great strength that he had. He began to trust in the arm of the flesh; and he told Joab, he said, "Go number the army, Joab. See how much is in the power of arms and what kind of strength we have." But Joab knew that God had raised David up when the armies of Israel had been withstood; and he he recalled the time when God raised David up, when the armies of Israel could do nothing with their great might and power; when Saul was in power; and he remembered how God had raised David up, and how David as a little shepherd boy had completely overthrew the alien powers by Faith in God as it's recorded here in Hebrews; but David had got careless trusting in the power of arms and in the arm of the strength of menkind; leaning on the arm of flesh; and he said, "Joab, go number my strength" and Joab refused to do it. Finally David made him do it; but Joab knowing the wrath of God he got down there and part of that army he still wouldn't number. Now, he knew better than to disobey David. Because God would kill Joab for it because David was a man of God, but, but Joab knew that David was not moving in the Spirit of God; and so it was that Joab refused to do it and God stood on his part; but he numbered his strength. When he did, he took his faith out of God and all of a sudden the wrath of God began to come down upon the armies of Israel, and God began to slay people because David had took his faith out of God. Now, I know that God was in it. Israel had sinned against God and God had prepared David's heart to do it so that he could get back at Israel because of their sin and evil. The Bible says so, but God began to smite Israel; and then David began to recog-nize his sins. You know the trouble with the world today, God has raised up great powers, Brother Lyman, and he has raised up great denominations; he has given great strength; he has given great victories and he has given great revivals, but there's one thing that's missing today and that's faith in God! They don't have faith in God anymore. They forgot that God picked them up on the hillside somewhere over across the tracks and gave them their great beau-tiful cathedrals; and today they've left faith in God and they are trusting in the banker and they are trusting in the doctor and they are trusting in the lawyer and they are trusting in the things that are out there in the world, and they forgot all about the faith in God. And they have compromised with sin, and they begin to do the things of the world and now they are finding that God's spirit as in the days of old is being taken away from them and it's being lifted; and the great denominations are not able to withstand the evil powers of Satan. Years ago they didn't have the prestige that they have now. They didn't have the banker, a lot of times coming out to fill the congregat-ion, but one thing about it, they had power over the devil. I said they had power over the devil, God said, "Behold, I give unto you power over all the powers of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you." They had power over the powers of the devil. They were able to stand against the evil forces of sickness, and all of the things that Satan hurled at'em because they had faith in God. Faith in the Word of God. But today they don't have that faith. They've got money; they've got prestige; they've got great congregations; they've got big elaborate buildings; but they don't have faith in God. When God speaks of them, He said, "They have a name that they live but they're dead, twice dead and plucked up by the roots." They're dead. They have a name that they live and the Bible said that, "They need to anoint their eyes with eyesalve that they might be able to see; for they are wretched, blind and naked." Jesus said, "That they don't have the spiritual garment. They don't have the spiritual covering. They are in a state of hypocrisy." Why? Because justification is by faith in God and they don't have any faith anymore. Today or tonight, if I took stock among my own congregation tonight, I would prob-ably be shocked tonight to find so many people in the midst of us that really don't have genuine faith in God. Somebody would say, How do you know that I don't have faith?" I'll tell you a good way to find out. Take your job away from you; Take your car away from you; Take your house away from you; get your wife upset with you, and get your children upset with you, and set you out in the middle of the road somewhere and give you an opportunity to see if you got faith. Cut off all your income; then you'll find out if you got any faith. As long as you can lean on a dollar, you've got no way to prove that you've got faith. Like an evangelist said one time, As long as you got a dime, he said, "You can't prove faith." You can't prove faith. It's when you completely get without any source of help, anybody to lean on. It's like Abraham when the Bible said, "He sojourned in a land as a stranger." He didn't have any help. All he know'd was the Word of God. He said, "Abraham, get thee out of the land of thy kindred and I'll make a great nation out of you "and according to the Bible he got out of the land of his kindred and he went by faith. He didn't have anything, but the Bible says " that he sojourned in the land of promises trusting God. God didn't give him one foot of it for an inheritance, but the Bible said, "He wandered through the land and God said, "Abraham, I'll give it to you." And the Bible said, "He staggered not at the promises of God, but he was strong in faith, giving praise unto God, believing that God was able to perform everything that he had promised that he would perform." Hallelujah! God, tonight, the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus Christ the same to-night, the same yesterday, today and forever. The Bible said, "that they received their dead raised again." Some of them dwelled in caves and dens and different places trusting in God. Going out looking for a city whose builder and Maker is God, a city that has foundations that will never perish or pass away. Faith in God. I love faith. I love to talk about faith because I believe in faith. I've had to lean upon faith to keep from dying. I've had to lean upon faith that I might be able to feed my family. I've had to lean upon faith to be able to erect this building. And lean upon faith to be able to carry the load. I've had to lean upon Christ and upon Faith in God that I might be able to continue on in the hard times. I noticed through the crisis when even the brethren that had good jobs began to fall behind. God by faith kept me going, and looked after me and helped me, when you couldn't help me. Amen! And I want you to know it's written, "Smite the Shepherd and the sheep will be scatter-ed." It was at that crisis when you couldn't help me that every evil power, every devilish trick was used on me. It was right at that time when Olivetti they had helded back the checks up there, and all of a sudden thinking every-thing was alright, there was hundreds and hundreds of dollars hurled at me, and then I found out that IBN had pulled some clever little deals over there, and all of a sudden that was throwed at me, and from every perspective of life, it looked like the devil had held back something, that during the time of the crisis when the brethren couldn't do anything that he had it held back so that he could close in on me. My wife said, "What in the world are we going to do?" I said, "We're gonna believe God! Trust God!" I said,"Betty, we start-ed by faith and God is the author and the finisher of our faith!" I said, "The same yesterday, today and forever and God's going to do it!" And God did do it! Hallelujah! Faith in God! You've got something tonight in your heart that the world doesn't have. The world may have money. The church world may have prestige as well as the world. But I want you to know tonight folks, you've got something they haven't got, and that's Faith in God. It doesn't say that the elders of old obtained a good report because they had money. It doesn't say that they obtained favor in the sight of God because their children went to college. It doesn't say that God favored them because they had a little prestige in the world, but the Bible said, "That by Faith they obtained a good report from God." By Faith they did it. Hallelujah! Justification by Faith. What does faith mean? The Bible said, "He that cometh to God must believe that God is." In other words there is no way to please an invisible power, an in-visible spirit unless you can believe in it. God is a Spirit. God is invisible but God is ever present, through the name Jesus. If you gonna do anything for God, you know what you gonna have to do. You're gonna have to have faith. To make God come present there's got to be faith. It takes faith. The world doesn't see God except through the act of Faith. If you do something by faith, the world sees God. Now this is gonna kinda go home here kinda hard tonight. You'll have to forgive me for sniffing; my wife didn't give me a handkerchief tonight. Let me tell you something, now. This is going to hit kinda hard. A lot of people that have to run and get foodstamps continually, thank you Bro-ther Toby, continually going and getting foodstamps. Always leaning on the arm of flesh. Always looking to the welfare. You know why the devil is causing people to do that? You know why? I come here by faith in God. Wouldn't receive any help. Wouldn't lean on the arm of flesh. Wouldn't go to nobody, but trust-ed God to establish this place and to erect this place as a monument unto God that the world might see the hand of God, and that the world might see the act of faith that they could glorify God, and the devil was so upset about it, that he had to cause a bunch of people to come in here and lean on the arm of flesh, when they didn't need to do it, to kill the testimony of what's been done out here, to make it look like that they themselves were going without, that this might be able to be build here; and I want you to know that there's not a man here that's went that far. I said, "there's not a man nor woman that's went that far." I challenge you tonight to show me one of them. If you've got a backbone, stand up! There ain't a one, but we had a testimony of faith and the devil wasn't satisfied till he caused, wanted to take a bunch of lazy people and bring a reproach on God! Too lazy to get out there and work, to exercise faith that they might do something for God. Some people making $150 - $200 dollars a week and still going after those things of the world. After God had met every bit of your need. I tell you what. I hope we don't have nobody like that here, but if we have, the first thing you do tomorrow morning, call that lady up there or whoever she is, and tell them that you're not a bum; you can work for living. They don't want to give you what they got anyway. That belongs to Esau, out there. That belongs to the world. Let him have it. What are you going out there for anyway? That, that belongs to them. Let them have it out there. They don't want to share it with you. All they're gonna do is mumble and grumble and reproach everything that you stand for by you doing it. Get rid of it! I can understand if you got people that are really in need. I can understand if you got widows. I can understand people that are really in need, but I'll tell you what, it's not showing very much faith for people just to lean on the Welfare and the government. I've heard the little song called "Welfare Cadillacs." Have you ever heard that? I don't know where that fellow got that idea? But it must have been floating around somewhere for him to picked it up. I think maybe the Lord might have let him find it. God knew he was worldly anyway. God might ah- the Bible said "That he creates the good and the evil. Has his will in both." Maybe God just did that to reprove some of them. That's the reason we got trouble now. They support every evil, devilish lazy cause and cause it to continue on. If they'd take God's method, it wouldn't be like that. God said, "If a man don't work, neit-her shall he eat." That's God's method! You don't need to set up no welfare to take care of a bunch of lazy people. That's exactly why that we've got a world full of bastard children;, everybody that has an illegitimate child, illegiti-mate child, runs up to the Welfare and the Welfare takes care of it and some-body else says. "That's the way to make it easy. And you support the devils cause and that's what it is out there. That's what it's set up for and that's what he's gonna do. He's gonna support his cause. If you want to get support, just start having illegitimate children and the Welfare will stand behind you and won't grumble a bit. We're trying to do something for God and watch the devils begin to howl and moan because you're getting a little bit of what they got. I think you ought to do like Jesus said, "Come out from among the world. Be ye a separate people." Leave them along. Let them have what they got; let us get together. We're not a bunch of fools. We're not a bunch of ignoramuses. The Bible said, "All people that's borned of God are of a good understanding." Can't we get together? Can't we set up something, stopped ourselves? Come on folks! I feel good, don't you? Brother Walker said, "I feel good, good, good! Let's go on talking about this good ole way. It is a good old way, isn't it? Hallelujah! Somebody say, "Well, it don't sound so good to me." Well, that's because you're not in the way of the Lord. You're just in the way. But I'll tell you what, this is a good old way! And what God wants is some faith. Now, if you don't have enough faith to believe that God will give you a job, then get down somewhere and pray. Some people don't believe God's gonna give them a job because they're afraid. That's right! That's why they don't pray. They're afraid that he might hear them and give them a job. And that's the last thing that they want is a job. They got ten thousand excuses. I wrote a song one time out in Tulsa, Oklahoma, "Excuses, Excuses". For the Bible said, "Thou are inexcusable." Then if you don't have faith. Look! It don't make sense to me. With everything as bright and brilliant as it is and the industries just bulg-ing and everything just popping out there. And you don't even have enough faith to believe that you could feed your family. You don't even have enough faith to believe that you could take care of your family. I don't see how you ever gonna do anything for God. Why, the little widow, didn't have but just just a a cake or two, and yet she was willing to share it with God. She had more faith than you got. That's right! So then what you need is faith. It's no wonder you don't have the victory. Because the Bible said, "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith. If you don't have faith, it don't matter how much you come to church; you got to have faith in God to have the victory; and some of you don't even have enough faith to feed your own family. Come on. This is gonna spring back like a spring-board. Some of you poor people that have to feed your folks on a dollar and a quarter a week. You must really think I am some kind of ignoramus. You come to me telling me about you don't have but a dollar, a dollar and a quarter, telling you, that's all you, why you, how in the world could you ever expect a sane, sober person to believe a thing like that? Why they could take one look at me and tell that I eat more than a dollar and a quarter's worth; and I can take a look at you and tell the same thing. Cause this ain't no dollar and a quarter day. I'll tell you. But what we need to do is to have faith in God. I want faith in God. I want to be a man! I want to stand for something! I don't want to be a bunch of welfare babies. I want to stand for God. I want to plow the field for God. Put out my chest like a man, Jim, and live for God and do something for God. Not whine all the time and say, "I just can't make it because my neighbor over here always said something mean about me." And just cry, you know. Just brew. Somebody said, "It's a hard world to live in." Said, "Well, why come it's so hard?" Say, "I don't see where it's so hard." Well, that's because you ain't married to my wife." Same way with the wife, you know. "You just ain't never lived with my husband or you'd know how hard it is." Let me tell you. The Bible said, "You that get a wife get a good thing." Somebody said, "Well mine ain't so good." Well, you don't have a wife. That's what the Bible said. You must ah married a devil or something. The Bible said, A wife's a good thing." I'm glad for my wife. I thank the Lord for my wife. She's wonderful to me. Now, somebody say, "Well, you'll get along good." Well, we do, when we do. Do you? We have differences. But I'll tell you one thing. She's got Faith in God, and she can hear the voice of God. This very day, I felt like we was to do a certain thing. I wouldn't say a thing about. I said, "Now, Lord, we're suppose to do it, according to what I understand. That's the way I felt. Now Lord, if that's true, then you speak to Betty. Speak to her heart or whatever it takes, that was my feeling toward it, and sure enough, Betty, just out of the clear blue sky, she up and said, "Well, so and so and so." Just exactly what the Lord had placed within my heart. Now, I believe that we can work together. I believe that we can. Now me and Atlee, we don't see eye to eye a lot of times. Sometime I feel like I ought to have a track in fifteen minutes, maybe; I know he can't get it out that quick, but I'd love to have it that quick. And Atlee let's me know right quick, it's going to take more than fifteen minutes. some-time it takes fifteen hours to get a track out. But I'm thankful to God. If it takes fifteen hours, as long as he's working, that's alright with me. Now If I come back after this trip and I find out that Brother Atlee Beachy has not run those German tracks and those French tracks and he just starts giving me excuses, It'll break my heart, and I'll feel like that's lethary. And I come back, and say "Well, I couldn't do it. The presses broke down, or I couldn't do it. I didn't have the money to get the paper with." I say "Atlee, why didn't you fix the presses? Why didn't you sent Charlie to Atlanta and buy some paper?" That's the way I feel. I come back, like my wife she said to me, she said, she looked across the street and she saw this old gentleman out here. He works hard over there. Got such abeautiful place. The grass all mowed and everything looks so nice, and we come up in the church yard and it looks so bad. And she said, "You know," said" it's hard to understand how one old fellow can keep that great big place looking so nice, when it was in such bad shape and all of our people together here can't keep this looking nice." That is kinda hard to understand, isn't it? You know what the trouble is? "No man careth for the things of God." But Brother, I tell you what, if you get a vision, and you get faith in God, there'll be something that'll spark up in your heart and in your life and a little wheel' al start to turn and you'll want to do something for God; and the premises will begin to look better. But you got to get stirred up. You gotta get moving. You gotta do something. I believe that the way to prove affection and love is to do something. I don't care how much that my wife tells me that she loves me, if she never does nothing for me, I don't believe a word she's say'n. We've got to love God in deed. He said, "You, you say that you care for me, but in your deeds you deny me. Your hearts' not right with me," Jesus said. Why? Because it's not a heart of faith. Not a heart of faith. How many of you know that David made mistakes? How many of you know that David of old made great mistakes? Mistakes that you wouldn't have forgiven him for. That's right. He done things that you would not have forgiven him for. But God said that "He had a heart after His." You know why? It was a repentive, loving heart. He was willing to get down and ask God forgiveness and he was willing to stay away from the corruption of the world. He didn't mean to do those things. But he stumbled into them and when he got ahold of himself, he got away from it, he never stayed there and pract-iced evil. But he got away from the things, but some of you repent today over something, tomorrow you go back and do the same thing. That's not serving God. But Brother, like I preached this morning, a Lamb without spot, wrinkle or blemish. I want to have faith in God. I'm gonna have faith in God, if He'll help me and I believe He will. Somebody'll say, "Well, Brother Pike, I'd love to have some faith in God too." I made the statement in Men's meeting out there, if every month every week every day, you set down with a pen and pencil and you figure up now, I've got $42 coming. I owe $41 and a half dollars and I can pay this and this and this and this and have fifty cents left, so I'm going to give fifty cent in the offering. Of course some of you wouldn't do it If you had fifty cent left, it would never get in the offering. How many of you see what I'm saying? Do you believe that's faith? Somebody said, "Well, I think that's the way you ought to manage." That's the way the world ought to manage. I'll agree with you. If you're a part of the world system, that's the way you ought to manage. Now you say, "Well what do you think we ought to do?" I think you ought to have faith in God. Somebody said, "But Brother Pike, when you don't see anything coming in, I think that's stupid!" God sure did love that stupid little widow, didn't He? If that's what you want to call her. Didn't he? She didn't see nothing coming in but she took her last cake. Some-body said, "Well that's stupid, I got to pay on my car." She had to feed her son. But she took it and trusted God. That's faith. Somebody said, "That stupid Peter, wasn't no place to walk and he jumped overboard and walked on the water. But God didn't think he was stupid. He thought he was a great fellow. Made him the captain of the group. Is that right? The leader. Why? Because faith in God moved God! It stirred God! He didn't have nothing to look to, no place to hold.. I don't mean go run jump out there and somebody "Blest God I got faith in God" and you run jump out there, get right in the middle of nowhere and and you stay there about thirty minutes, an hour, two hours you know, and nothing don't happen and you get all nervous and shaken and say, "Oh my, what have I done?" I ain't got faith to go through with this. What have I done? Oh, woe is me. Woe is me." I don't mean that kind of thing. I don't mean that. But I mean to put your foot out there and say "God I'm going by faith." I'm moving in by faith and I'm gonna take the land by faith and I'm gonna do something for God by faith and the world can do whatever they want to; but I tell you I'm going to do something for God. And I mean stay out there and do it. Hallelujah! You know a lot of people feel like if you do something by faith, they feel like that God he meets all the needs, everything goes well. You don't have any problems. Nobody ever bothers you. Get along real good, you know. And say" that's by faith!" But that's not by faith. There'll be times when you don't know where it's coming from. There'll be times when you can't do anything. There'll be times when you can't figure out nothing and the world is on your back and everybody's criticizing you. Your wife is breathing down your collar. Your youngests criticizing you. But that is only a test of faith. That's where you really learn whether or not you've got faith. That's when you really get out there and do something. You stay there. You put your best foot forword and you say, "Lord, I see no source. Nobody will help me. I've got no nobody. David said, "I looked on the right hand, there was nobody. I looked on the left hand, there was nobody. All hope failed me. Everything was gone, but he turned his faith to God like Job did, and he said, "I believe in God." And he began to call on God. Brother, don't lean on the arm of flesh. Don't lean on people. Don't trust in the securities of life, but turn your faith to God and pray to God and ask God to do something for you. That's right! Ask God to do something for you. Some of you don't have enough faith in God to believe God'll do something for you. If I didn't have enough faith in God to believe that He would do something for me, I'd get down and pray until I got an exper-ience with God to where I knew that He would. That's right! I believe that you ought to get in the harness with God. Get down to business. Some of you can't believe because you're not down to business with God. But if you really put your all in God, something will begin to happen. I'm gonna let you go in just a few minutes, just hold on now. Try to have enough faith to set through the service. We'll start building your faith right now; just just say. " I believe I can do it." I..I..I'm just so miserable I can't stand it, but I believe I can do it. I'm gonna try it! And God'll help you. Now the time to start using faith. The old bald-headed preacher, I can't hardly stand it! I can't hardly stand it, but I.. I believe I can. I believe I can. I believe I can, and God'll work it out for you. You love the Lord? Hallelujah! Somebody said, "That old foolish fellow, cutting up in the Pulpit." But I got your attention, didn't I? "I said, " I didn't have it awhile ago." That must be the route that you travel. You sure got interested enough to know what I was doing. You wasn't interested a while ago. You love the Lord? God just having mercy on you. Isn't that right? Trying to help you. Paul said, "Bear with me a little in my folly." Trying to help you. Now, let's just take just a few more thoughts here, and we're gonna close. Look at Moses. Eighty years old, decreased, couldn't do nothing. Time for him to quit. Time for him to sign off. Time to say it's too late. God, you've already passed me by. You've already passed me by Lord. Too late to do anything, but old Brother Moses, when God spoke to him, he said, it's time to start your ministry." Said, "Well Lord, I ain't got nothing to start it with. Old man, just about ready to die. Ain't got nothing to start it with. Why, I couldn't do nothing like that." But God spoke to him and said "Why, you just fixing, you just getting started now. Now's the time for you to do something. And said, "Take this stick and go down there and tell them to come out of Egypt". Can't you just picture that? Say, Brother Gary come up here. I want to give you a stick. Take this stick and go out yonder and win the world with it. Gary would be eighty years old, you know. Somebody would say, "Old Brother Pike, he's slipped the cog." Something wrong with him". Yes, I saw him call an eighty year old man up on the platform and give him a stick and told him to go win the world with it." Now why could, why did God do that? Why couldn't God called Moses when he was thirty years when the women would have thought he was good looking. You know you got to have a tent ministry. Get your picture in a magazine. Get on television like the lady that we saw today on television. Somebody say, "Ah hah! Been watching televison!" Yeah! I saw it. I'm quilty. I walked through Sears Store and there it was right in front of me and Katherine, Katherine Khulman was on it and I just had to take a look. I'd never seen her, and there I saw her. Painted up like a Jezebel; trying to tell somebody how to get to Jesus. Ain't got no business saying she's preacher to start with on television trying to convince another woman, and that woman looked like she was fresh out of Hollywood, she looked like she had everything from pancake makeup to a wig on. That's right! And there she was suppose to be winning the world. You know what people are doing? Folk, they're not winning people to God. Preachers like that, folks, they're not winning people to God. Why they're trying to do is to get God to join in their program. They've come to realize that with all of their money, with all of their wealth, with all of their prestige, all of their education, all of the refineries of the world, that there's one thing that's missing and that's soul security. And they're trying to get Jesus to go along with their policy, and incorporate him in their plans. God's no fool! God's not going along with them people. That's just some philosophy they've got. God's got His own plan and as the world calls it, His own thing. God's gonna go His way. Do what He wants to and you have to join God. You can get on television, news-paper, magazines, join every church you want to, but Christ isn't gonna get in it. You can talk about Jesus from now until the time you die, God ain't gonna join your plan. Billy Graham running from coast to coast doing everything the world does and living like the world. Doing the things of the world. Going with the movie stars and everything else out there in the world. Being with them and thinking that God's gonna join his plans. God isn't going to join that mess. Somebody said "that ain't no mess." It is a mess! It's a stink in the sight of God. God said, "All the tables of the Lord are filled with vomit." That's right! Telling Jezebels that's painted up, running around in mini-skirts and men and everybody else that the Lord Jesus Christ loves them. Come on folks! That God loves you. God doesn't love you. Somebody said, "I know God loves you." No God doesn't. Some preacher lies to you. God don't love you. I said, "God don't love you. For God to love you, you gotta be loveable. But I'll tell you how God does feel about you. God, the Bible said, "God is angry with the wicked every day and you that forget God I'll tear you into pieces and I'll pursue you until you perish from off the face of the earth and every prayer you pray and every offering you give is abomination in my sight." That's what God thinks about you. And all your preachers ain't going to help your cause either. Now, you say, "Well, who does God love?" Them people that'll flow down to the altar, Fall on their face...change tapes...mercy on me and cry to God and pray to change your wicked ways, then God loves them and God helps them and God gives them strength. Do you love the Lord? There's a right way. A way that seemeth right. The end of that's death, but there is a right way my brother and sister. You know what the right way is? Jesus said, "I am the way." "I'm the way, the truth and the light. No man cometh to the Father but by Me. I'm the way!" Hallelujah! You sing that song "The way" "I'm the way the truth, and the life." My sheep hear my voice. A stranger they won't follow." You love the Lord? Jesus said, "You love, you keep my command-ments." You keeping the Lord's commandments? Boy, that last go round was a lot quieter than the first one. Hallelujah! It's alright to say you love the Lord, but when you put you to the test, that makes the difference, don't it? Alright there's a lot of things I'd like to say tonight. We could just go on and go on here. So many things I'd like to say. But there's one thing about it folks, we've come down to the end of the trail. God is going to require something. When they came out to John, he said, "It's a generation of vipers." He said, "I want some proof that you mean business with God." To bring forth some fruits, some meat for repentance. Said, "Now I'll baptize you." Isn't that right? We need some fruits, folks. We need to get right with God. I love you. I really do love you and I'll do anything I can to help you, but you're gonna have to face the situation. Face the facts. Alright let's stand together. As far as I'm concerned, I know the world feels like we've had a great revival and great men have swept the fields and millions of people have been saved and we've had a great religious age that nobody has ever equaled you know. No gen-eration's ever equaled and we've really swept the nation and we've preached the Gospel. And then the Lord looks at it and you know what He thinks of it? A sinful and adulteress generation. Is that right? A lukewarm Laodicean church that says, "They're rich and have everything and don't have nothing." And said,"I'll burn them with fire." Sure is a difference in the way we look at things, ain't it? And all these evangelists letting people just go on and watch filth on television, like today, my brother called my Uncle Son. He was talking to Uncle Son, you know the Pete Pike, the cousin that's got all these nurseries here in Atlanta. I was so, his dad works with him there and he called Uncle Sonny. Aunt Velma came to the telephone, you know she come down here to visit with us one time. She was here in the services. She came to the telephone and she ask Junior what he wanted and started talking to him you know, and wanted to know about us and how we was doing and all and and ah, Junior said, "Well, I'd like to speak to Uncle Son." Said, "What is he doing? You know, dad's brother. Said, "Well, he is over there smoking his cigar." Junior said, "Cigar." You know, Uncle Son, he says he's right and ready to go. He'll tell you in a minute that he's right and ready to go. Me and him, we we really went round and around. But anyway, he said, he said, "He's smoking his cigar." Said, "His cigar" Said, "Yes, he smokes his cigar in the morning, his pipe at night." Junior said, "Well, let me speak to him." Uncle Son got on the phone. He said, "Uncle Son," said, "What are you doing?" "I'm smoking my cigar." Junior said, "Well do you want me to come up there and pray for you?" Junior said, "He lost all of his fellowship." Said, "Uncle Son lost all of his interest and all he'd say is, "Yes and no" you know to whatever he asked him. Said, "So he said within his heart," Now Uncle Son, I'll just let you go back to your tv and back to your puffing on your cigar." But you know what, God's gonna call Uncle Son's number one day. He's gonna call his number, Jimmy, I had a vision the other night that I believe showed his death. And God's gonna call his number and he's gonna remember everything I ever said to him, and everything Junior ever said to him, and everything Dad ever said to him, and one day God's gonna call Pete's number and Pete's gonna remember everything that was ever said to him concerning Christ. "How hardly shall they that have riches inherit the Kingdom of God." "It's easier for camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich man to inherit the Kingdom of God." I under-stand he's building another great big old house. Done built a hundred thousand dollar home. That ain't enough. Gotta build another one. Got to spend his money. Now, a lot of people say, "Well, I know they'll go to hell, "but I'm talking about some of you. The Bible didn't just say, "The rich man, how hard-ly shall they that have riches." When you take things and you lay them aside, my brother, that's yours and not Gods." This building doesn't belong to Brot-her Pike, it belongs to God and God's people. The parsonage doesn't belong to Brother Pike, it belongs to God and God's people. The campground and all that I've tried to do. Whatever we've given, that belongs to God. Not Brother Pike. It belongs to God, but let me tell you something, when you got money or goods or whatever you got, talents and you're holding them back on God, that belongs to you. That belongs to you. Now if you were out in the world, it wouldn't matter, because you didn't promise it to God anyway. But when you joined up with the Saints, you promised God, to give your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. You promised to share and share alike, but some of you lied against God. Peter said, "You've lied, Ananias and Sapphira." You lied against God. you say, "That you're giving God your all and that you're walking with the brethren just like the rest of them, but you're holding back a part of the price." Are you praying? Are you fasting? Are you working? Are you giving? Are you trying to help? Are you doing anything at all outside of murmuring and complaining and grumbling and back-biting and finding fault and being a busybody? Are you? I'm afraid that some of you are not. The Lord help us. God have mercy on us. I think about Mac, coming all the way from Memphis, Tennessee to be with us. Come down here, get down in that hole down there and work. The other day, Mac got down there and worked there in that hole. Come all the way from Memphis, Tennessee. And some of you around here that live right here won't even get down there and do nothing. You love the Lord? Alright let's sing a little chorus. I ain't gonna preach to you all night. Don't get afraid. I guess I'm not sure, but I guess Betty and I will probably leave in the morning, as far as I know. I want you to pray for us and ask the Lord to help us. The Bible said, Go ye into all the world." You leave the ninty-nine and to go look for the stray. You pray for us and ask the Lord to help me because I need his help. I can't do any-thing, Eddie, unless he helps me. There ain't no way. Now you might can do it. You might have a talent. You might be brilliant. You might have all these abilities, but I don't have them. I'm just a little country body that God picked up out in the sticks somewhere and I don't have any abilities. And I just have to trust in him. So, I want you to pray for me. I'm dependent on Him. Let's sing a little chorus together. (Brother Pike and congregation sing "Don't turn Him Away.")

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

Founder and first President of Jesus Christ’s Eternal Kingdom of Abundant Life, Inc.

Holiness Unto The Lord