I Shall Be Perfected

(Sister Dale and Sister Cindy sing "Israel". Also another family sings a song. The Heavenly Echoes sing several songs.)

... a little bit from over in Saint Luke, over in the thirteenth chapter. Now I want to talk with you just a few minutes concerning faith. You know, what God says to us folks all depends on what kind of reception He gets when He comes to the pulpit. How many of you know that's true? See, what God says to us it all depends on the kind of reception that He gets when He steps up here in the pulpit. Now somebody would say, "Ah-ha! You being a man make yourself God." No. I'm going to tell you again, I didn't have anything to do with it. He was the one that said I was a God. He said, "Moses, I made you God to the people." I just said that to drown the ones that couldn't swim. But, you know it isn't that I am making myself God, but being the temple of the Holy Ghost, when I step up here or any other minister steps up here, that means that the eternal God has stepped up here. And then it's not him, not you as a man that speaks, but it is God Himself speaking from within you. Folks, if I didn't believe that it was God speaking to you tonight from this vessel, I wouldn't come up here tonight. I'd stay home. I wouldn't even come to church. Wouldn't be any need to. But I believe in the Word of God and I believe that it's Him. I know that it's Him, because I have been in my life-time acquainted with me. And having been acquainted with me and then getting with Him, I know the difference. I can differentiate between the two. And if you had met me about the time that my wife met me, you could tell the difference between me and Him. If you don't believe it, talk with her. And so then, Paul said, "It's not me that's living." My wife was glad when they had my funeral. She wasn't satisfied with who she married, but I think she's pretty happy now. So if we're dead to the old man, we're free to be married to another, even the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. I want to mention that again, what we get from God depends on the way we receive God when He comes in our midst. Israel didn't receive God therefore they didn't get anything from God. The Bible said, "Though they had the Word not being mixed with faith, it did not profit them that heard it." And even though you hear it, it really doesn't profit you because there's no faith mixed with it. You don't really believe it's God, but the Word is God. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. And Paul said, "Preach God." How many of you know that? Preach the Word. The thirteenth chapter of the book of Saint Luke (St. Luke 13:22-35). Now, he says here, they came and told him, said, "You'll have to get out of Jerusalem," said, "Because Herod is going to kill you." Jesus said, "Go tell that Fox, that I'm casting out devils and healing the sick, doing cures." And said, "I'm going to continue to do it for a day or two and after this I'm going to be perfected." Now you know, when we think of Jesus, we don't think of somebody that had to be perfected, do we? We think of Jesus as somebody that was perfect, that came into the world. He was perfect when he came into the world. He didn't have to worry about anything. He was already God's Son. And he was perfect, had nothing to do, but just wait until God called Him. But it say here, line upon line and precept upon precept. Said, "And then I shall be perfected." And the Bible tells us that Jesus, though He was a Son already, yet learned He obedience, now can you imagine that, the Son of God learning obedience? Yet learned He obedience by the things that He suffered and therefore being made perfect, and I shall be perfected. Therefore being made perfect He became the author and the finisher of our salvation and of our faith. You follow me? The reason that Jesus did this was that He might be an example unto you and I, that He might know every way that you are tempted, with every infirmity that you have to deal with. He wanted to know every hurt, every evil that you're confronted with that He might be able to judge you in the day of judgment with a righteous judgment. He knows every thought that goes through your mind because the Bible said, "There is no one taken with any temptation except that which is common unto man." And that which was common unto man, Jesus experienced it while He was here in this world, then He knows just exactly what kind of thoughts go through your mind. He knows just how much that you can endure and even though we have a tendency to go to God so often and say, "Lord, I'm not able to endure this thing and it's too hard for me," yet it is a true fact the Bible said that God will not suffer us to be tempted above that that we're able to bear but will with the temptation make a way of escape that we might be able to bear it. Any time that you are overcome by temptation, it is because you have allowed Satan to overcome you. It is because you have had a hidden desire to go back into the things of the world and have not forsaken, thoroughly forsaken everything for Christ. God does not at any time suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear. I'm thankful tonight that even though I have been through many great trials and many great battles, and for over twenty years have been able to stand the crushing blows and impacts of Satan, and though the Satanic forces have come against me like a flood, I can truthfully say, that in every instance of life God has lifted up a standard against Satan. (Tape turned over)... the Bible said, "Hold fast to your faith. Don't cast away thy faith, for it hath great recompense of reward. Your faith tonight is rewarding. When we cast away our faith so easily, when we fall so easily, when we give up so easily, and turn away so easily just because we're pressed, and just because we felt a little pressure, it's disgusting to God. God is wanting to manifest the Sons of God. He is wanting to bring forth a royal priesthood. Bring forth a might army, bring forth a man and bring forth a woman that can stand up and face the evils of life and still give a report of victory. I remember when they came back from Canaan land, some of them came back and discouraged the hearts of the people and they said the land was filled with giants. And the Bible said, "It discouraged the hearts of the people and it caused God to frown on them and God Said because you've discouraged the hearts of my people, by speaking of the opposition and magnifying it above my strength and my ability, He said, you will not go into Canaan. But He said, you don't have a spirit like Caleb and Joshua. Said, Joshua went into Canaan and Caleb went into Canaan and they came back and they were singing, Oh how the grapes of Eschol doth shine. And they kept saying, We're well able to take the land. Let's rise up and take the kingdom. Joshua and Caleb gave the report. Our God is well able to do it. And it pleased God." It pleased God because of the attitude of Caleb. It doesn't please God when we take an attitude of defeat. I say this again tonight, as I said a few nights ago in my message, God has subjected us to vanity. The Bible said that the creature is subjected to vanity. We are subject to the things of this world. God has not subjected me to poverty, that poverty may overcome me. Nor has He subjected me to poverty that I might be a prisoner of poverty. He has not subjected me to sickness that I might become a slave to sickness or a prisoner of sickness. I am not enslaved in this world, but He has subjected me to these things that He might reveal His strength and His superceding power that is abundantly and above all that we're able to ask or even think that He might raise us up as a super race and all the world might admire us and everybody might see that we're super men and super women, that we're not natural men, that we're not natural women. I know that some of the preachers would dispute that and I know some of the church members, that's repulsive to them. The reason is because they don't feel too super. But I feel pretty super tonight. Hallelujah! Feeling more super all the time. When you don't feel too super, you can't boast of being a super man. When you don't feel to super, you can't boast of being a super woman. But I'll tell you right now, when you take what Christ said about it and you look, instead of looking at the opposition, you do like Caleb and Joshua, and you remember that God said, "Let the weak say that I'm strong in His strength." And you say, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me, and you take the outlook, God, there's nothing that can stand before me in Jesus name. There is nothing that I can't do as long as I take the name of Jesus. We sang the song this morning, "Take the name of Jesus with you. Child of sorrow and of woe. Joy and comfort it will give you.. Take it then wherever you go." Brother Taylor sings with the little folks, when we come in the name of Jesus, tell me who can stand before. Nobody can stand before us when we come in the name of Jesus. So then I'm not subjected that I may become imprisoned by the powers and evils of this world, but I'm subjected that I might rise above it by faith and show my super strength in God and that God may reveal to me my own ability in Christ, and that God my see me in admiration and like the angel that looked at Gideon and said, "Oh thou mighty man of God. On thou beloved man of God," the angel said to Daniel, "That he might look on you as He did Mary and Elizabeth and Anna and many of the great prophetess and women of old" and speak of these as Paul did saying, "These are great women." And God is looking for us to take our stand and overcome these things and have faith, whatever you want to do, you can do it. It doesn't make any difference what you want to do. If you want to do something, decree it in you heart. And whatever it is it doesn't matter about the cost. Don't consider the cost. Don't consider anything. Somebody would say, "But Brother Pike. The Bible said,'Set down and count the cost.'" I've already done that. Jesus is the cost. How many of you know that? Amen. I counted the cost to start with. Every christian does that to start with. Jesus paid the price at Calvary. He's the cost of it. Amen. I'm will able to make the trip because he paid the price. So then, don't look at the cost, don't look at the expense. Don't look at the trouble. Do like Jonah did. Jonah said, "Everything around me is a lying vanity. Everything that I see," Jonah said, "Is a lying vanity. It hath no power over me." When Jonah became imprisoned by the walls of that great fish and he couldn't get out of it and he didn't know what to do, he just kept looking at the wall of it and he kept saying, lying vanities, lying vanities, lying vanities, everything will pass away. Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my Word shall not pass away. Lying vanities shall cease to be. Lying vanities shall pass away. And Solomon said, "All is vanity. All is vanity. All is vanity." Jesus, when He got ready to walk through the wall, he just looked at the vanities and they just passed away. And He walked right on through the wall. All lying vanities, nothing is an obstacle in Christ. The calling that we have, the thing that God has got in store for them that love Him, eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, Brother Branham never did see it. Brother Roberts never did see it. Brother Cole never did see it. Brother Graham never did see it. Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard the thing that God has in store for them that love him. But he hath made it a revelation unto us by his spirit. We have the opportunity to enter into the very holies of holies. I can walk right into the very presence of the eternal God. I can walk right into the holies of holies. I don't have to stay in the outer courts. I'm not cut out from the inner circle of the body of Jesus Christ and the membership of the church. I'm not without the gates. The Bible said that we're the everlasting gates; to lift up your head ye everlasting gates for the gates of hell shall not prevail against us. And these people being the gateway to Hell out there, and us being the gateway to Heaven, they can't prevail against us. They have no power of perseverance to prevail against us, because we are the gates to Heaven. We open our bowels of compassion and people go through us to God. We have power but without these gates, without these gates are harlots and whoremongers and liars and cheats, adulterers and fornicators, swindlers, and such like in the world. Brute beasts made to be taken and burned, but they're without the gates of this lovely city that is descending down out of the spirit. These jewels that are placed one upon another to make up this great jeweled city, coming down, the stones of fire that Satan walks in the midst of. Coming down, descending out of Heaven, the beautiful bride of Christ, every stone coming down, sitting down upon the apostolic foundation of "Ye must be baptized in Jesus' name." Sitting down upon the foundation of the teachings of the twelve apostles and this great city descending out of the spirit and everything that's within it's gates, that's within it's membership being the great beautiful jewels of God, but without the city, those that are without the city, those that are outside of the city, are brute beasts made to be taken and burned, for their bodies are burned without the gates. But we are in this city and God is the light of this city. The Lamb is the light. In this city there is no darkness. There is no night here. The gates to this great city are never closed by day and there's no night to this city. And the city of the Lamb is the light. The Word, the Revelation, the Lamb is the light. Like the pictures that were taken at the baptizing, the Lamb is the light, the Great Light that no man can approach unto. The Lamb is the light, in this city is a throne and the throne's in my heart. And the God of Heaven and of Earth sits upon that throne. And the Bible said, "In that city it hath no need for a temple." Why? Because I'm the temple of that city. Hallelujah! The Bible said, "There will be no need for a temple of that city," for the Bible said, "That ye are the temples of the Holy Ghost." Jesus is the temple and we're the body of Jesus. The temple of that great city. For within that temple, the great eternal God dwells and the light of that city is that great eternal light that no man can approach unto except he come into the presence of us and kneel before us. No man can approach unto this light. And Jesus alone swells in this light. No one can come unto it. Like my mother said one time in having a vision and she saw us and she wanted to come over close where we were. But at that time she was told she couldn't come over close where we were. Why? Because God was trying to tell her something in spiritual means and measures by dream or by revelation there is something that's happening on the inside of the saints of God. And if you are the body of the Lord Jesus Christ there is a divine radiation that's coming out from you and the only way that man can get to God is through you. Somebody would say, "Well, Brother Pike, what do you mean? Everybody is a Christian." Everybody in the millenium is not going to be a Christian. The Bible said, "The nations of the world shall come and bow down at your feet." The nations of the world, all of the people of the world, Germany, America, England, France, all of them will come and bow down at your feet. I want to say this again, a lot of people say, "Well, I'm just waiting to go the Heaven." I'm not waiting to go to Heaven. You say, "What are you trying to do?" I'm trying to set up a kingdom of God down here on the Earth. The Earth is waiting for the manifestation of the Sons of God. The eternal Spirit has perfected my spirit on the inside and sealed it forever. And then that me on the inside has a job to do and that job is to perfect this man on the outside and this man on the outside has a job to do and that is to perfect the Earth and the world and set up a kingdom and a government that shall be throughout eternity. For Adam was to dress the garden. And God is doing something great. And He said. "Tell that Fox that I'll be perfected. I'll be perfected." I'm glad that on the day He was perfected, it took care of me too. The Bible said, "I have perfected forever them that are sanctified." I love to say it like this. I have perfected Brother George Pike forever. Amen. I've sanctified Brother Pike once and for all by the offering up of the body of Jesus Christ on the tree. And then He said. "And you can't lay anything to the charge of Brother George Pike." So, why don't you quit trying? Hallelujah! I like it that way, don't you? You ever tried it like that? It works good! Hallelujah! That's why so many times I make the statement. What God is trying to do is to manifest the Sons of God. He's trying to manifest the Sons of God. Somebody will say, "Well, I think God is trying to manifest Himself." God doesn't have to manifest Himself. The Bible said, "The heavens declare His handiwork. All the world declares the handiwork of God." He doesn't have to manifest Himself. God is trying to manifest you. God wants you to believe that you can cast out devils. God wants you to believe that you can heal the sick. God only asks of one thing out of this and that is that you acknowledge that this thing that you did is by calvary, by saying, "In the name of Jesus." God wants one thing out of it and that is He said, "I've not chosen you because you're a great people, not because you're a holy people, but I've chosen you that you might become a membership of the body of Jesus Christ and lose your identity and that people might see that it's not you that's living, but it's Christ that's living on the inside of you. When we walk as Christ, Paul said, "I do this in the person of Christ. If I cast out a devil, I do it in the person of Christ. If I heal the sick, I do it in the person of Christ. If I preach a sermon, I do it in the person of Christ. If I have an act of faith in my life I do it in the person of Christ," because the Lord wants us to cast out devils in His name, but He does want us to have the power to cast them out. You know why that people evade the issue and go a different direction? There is a reason for it. It's because it's like we call passing the buck. As long as they go that way, then nobody can pin them down. But when they take the outlook that God said for me to heal the sick. God said for me to raise the dead. God said for me to cast out devils. That makes a difference. Your faith begins to react different. When you start walking up to a demon possessed man, you start walking up to him, the more you think about it, the more you think about Jesus coming and casting the devil out. You see, there's a difference in your faith. You'll never get the devil out of the man because your faith isn't right. The Bible said the devils are subject unto us. And when you go there you have to believe, really believe, because the only way to cast him out is by faith. And you have to believe that that devil, that that demon is subject to you. If you don't believe that, you better leave them along. That's right. If you don't believe he's subject to you, you better not stir him up. You better just leave him alone. I brought it out the other night, when those men went over there to cast out the devil and they said, "We cast him out by the Christ that Paul preaches," and the devil answered and said, "Paul I know. He knows how to cast out devils and I know him. I know about him. He's got a reputation. I've heard Satan talk about him. I've heard the devils and demons and Beelzebub talk about him. He's got a reputation up there. I know him. Said that Jesus I know too. He's got a reputation. But I don't know anything about you." Then they said, "The devils are subject unto us." When that man came to Jesus and he said, Lord, my servant is sick. Said, He needs healing. Jesus didn't turn and say, I'll pray to the Father and ask the Father if He'll do something for him. He didn't say that did he? He never said that. But the man said, My servant is sick. He never said, I'll go to the Father and see if the Father will do something about it. That wasn't what He said when the man said my servant is sick. Jesus said, I will come and heal him. You see the difference. In other words, somebody said, "Well he was the Lord." But the Bible said, "He was a man. He had to be perfected. He learned obedience by the things that He suffered." Somebody would say, "But Brother Pike, He was God." No more God than you are. I said, Jesus was no more God than you are. You that are born again, you that are Sons of God, Jesus was no more God than you are. You're every bit God just like He was God. And the Bible said, "Let this mind be in you." Get it in you. Take it in you. Put it in you. Let this mind be in you, that was in Christ. What kind of mind was it? I will come and heal him. That's the kind of mind it was. Let this mind be in you that was in Christ. What kind of mind? I will come and heal him. Jesus said, "What I do, you do. Whatever I am, that's what you are. I will come and heal him." When we take it and look at it like that, it makes a difference, because then you're believing really gets down on a foundation. You're believing really gets down on a foundation when you begin to think like that. When you begin to realize that you're the one that's got to do it, that you're the one that's got to face the devil, that you're the one that's got to have the goods, then you begin to think different and you begin to realize that you don't really believe. You understand? That's why, like they say, "Let's go ask Jesus if He'll do this," because you don't really believe and that's your way out of it. But brother, let me tell you when you get down to the place to where you believe, when you begin to think, "God, I, myself can cast out the devil. God, I can go heal that man." That's why witches do better than Sons of God in their offices when it comes to working their evil doings. That's why the Bible said, "They're wiser in their ways." Did you know witches believe that they can do it? How many of you know that? A witch really believes that she can put a spell on you. A witch really believes that she can bewitch you and she does it unless you have faith in God. Unless you have faith in God the evil powers can do it. But we fail to believe that. Why is it that we don't believe that we've got power over the devil? I do believe that I've got power over the devil. I do believe that I have power over sickness. I do believe that I can cast out a devil. Not only do I believe that I can cast out a devil, but through the name of Jesus, I cast out many devils. And by His help I'll cast out some more. I've cast the devil out of a lot of you that's here. A lot of them, you don't have him out yet, but I'm working on it. God is wanting us to do something. God is wanting us to believe in the Spirit that is placed within us, that the Son hath life within, that we've got power to do something, that we;ve got power to heal the sick, that we've got power to raise the dead. We've got power to do these things. God is wanting us to have power. He gave to the Son that the Son may have life within Himself. If you don't have any life in yourself tonight, you need to get some life. If you'd spend all night praying a little bit, you'd get some life in you. If you'd fast a little bit, pray a little, study the Word a little, you'd be a new creature in Christ. You'd begin to think different. You'd begin to see different. If you'd get a few callouses on your knees from talking to God, you'd begin to look at your knees, they'd look a little bit different. You understand what I'm saying? Said, James, had callouses on his knees like a camel. You know why? Because he prayed. He prayed. If we'd get a few callouses on our knees from calling on the name of Jesus, if we'd have a little relation with God, talk to God a little bit, our world would change. We'd see things different. Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. What kind of mind? He said, "I will come and heal him. I will come and heal him." Jesus said, "You go heal the sick. You go cleanse the leper." The Bible said, "He gave his apostles power to do that." He said, "I give unto you power over the powers of the enemy. All power of the enemy, I give you power over it." I said this morning, the power of the enemy, the last one of them that's to be conquered is death, and I have power over death. And you have power over death and there's going to be a generation that's going to rise up and accept the fact that they do have power over death. They're not going to be a bunch of make-believers, but they're going to really believe that they're Sons of God and that they really do have power over death. And when they do, then death is going to be defeated and the people that are bound in the grave, your loved ones and my loved ones, they're going to shake loose from the shackles of death and come out of the dungeons and out of the prisons. That's why when Jesus went down into the heart of the Earth and preached to the souls in prison, while He was down there preaching, they shook off the shackles. You know why? Because He knew that He had power over death. When He went down into that grave, He left a testimony, He said, "No man taketh my life from me. I lay down my life. I've got the power to do it." He said, "I've got a commandment of my Father, I can lay it down or I can take it up. I lay it down I'm going to go down there and tell them that I have power over death and convince him and set them free and we'll all come back and pick our lives up together." He said, what he did, I could do. He said, what He did, you could do. And God is expecting us to do it. He's not expecting us to sit around and whine and howl. You're going to have sicknesses. The Bible said, "Many are the affliction of the righteous, but God delivereth him out of all of them, every one of them. There is no reason for us to be sick. There is no reason for us to whine and be defeated and be in poverty, make excuses and be cut off from the things of life when the Bible said, God is given us all things that pertain unto life. Why should I hassle and wrestle and worry when God said, I could pray and believe? You know why some of you worry is because you don't pray, you don't believe. You don't spend any time praying and as a consequence of that, you don't spend any of your time believing. You'd rather make excuses than to pray. And as long as you don't pray, you are not going to believe. As long as you don't believe, the devil's going to keep company with you. And as long as the devil keeps company with you, you're going to be troubled like troubled waters; but the day that you begin to pray, you'll begin to believe and the day you begin to believe, the devil will get miserable and he'll move off into another house, another place. He won't stay around your place anymore, because if he can't trouble you, you'll be troubling him. That's right. The devil can trouble you if you don't pray, but if you begin to pray you get faith, and faith begins to trouble him. He begins to get troubled. That's right. That's true. The devil begins to get troubled. You can resist the devil. You can believe. You can pray. Use your faith. If you've got a sickness, believe, don't try to make believe, but really believe. Jesus said, that if I say anything and I believe it in my heart, I can have whatever I say. It doesn't make any difference what I say, He said, I could have it. He didn't say that I could have what He said, He didn't say I could have what Brother Gonzolas said or somebody else, but He said, "If thou canst believe in thine heart, that whatever you say, if you'll say it and won't doubt, but believe in your heart that what you said will come to pass, you can have whatever you say, whatever you say." Why don't we try to believe that? Why don't we make an effort to believe that? Why don't we do something about that? The opportunity of believing, I made that statement the other might, some of you boys would rather run around after some silly little old girl with your hair slap down to your waist and some of you men are just as bad. Rather do that. Some of you ladies would rather gossip and bubble in a cup of coffee, than to spend some time trying to believe and have eternal life, and have the power of God in your heart and your life and perfect your faith in Christ. It's no wonder God frowns on the world. God got so upset with the Jews, He gave them every ordinance of God, placed it before them, showed them great signs and wonders and great power and then said the Word being with them they did not put any faith with it. I preached the Word here to you. You're suppose to mix faith with the Word. You're suppose to get up and do something about it. Try to perfect your lives before God. The Bible said, Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Make some alteration, some changes in your life. Start perfecting holiness, cut off some things. Add some things. Stop making excuses for the devil. Some of you make so many excuses for him, it's no wonder he love...(Tape changes)...I can do anything I want to do. Somebody said, "Well, I can't do anything I want to. God won't let me lust after the women." Now you didn't say that with your words, did you? See you heart isn't right with God. You, you don't have any part or lot in the matter. You're in the bonds of iniquity and the gall of bitterness. But you can do anything you want to do if you have the right kind of heart and the right kind of heart isn't going to want to do anything but the right things. So then you can do anything you want to do, whatever you say, whatever you decree, whatever you declare in your heart to be, it can be. It's not a fairy tale. It's not something I'm trying to convince you of, it is an absolute fact. I can truthfully say tonight, there is nothing that I want to do, there is nothing that I have wanted to do that I have not done. There's a few more things I'm looking forward to. But God has been with me and God has helped me. Why? Because I've had faith in God's Word. The Bible said, It's a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. If I want to tell you what's in your heart, if I want to tell you the intents of your heart, if I want to tell you about your life, all I have got to do is have faith in the Word. The Word is the Mind of Christ. It knows about you. It knows the intents of your heart. When I desire to know what the heavens mean, He tells me. I desire to know what the earth means, He tells me. I desire to know where a human being is in the mind of God, He tell me. I desire to build a building, He helps me to build it. Puts it before me. Gives me the finance, stands by me. I desire to go somewhere, I go. I desire to do something, I do it. I purpose in my heart, I make a decree, God brings it to pass. Whatever I want to do, God stands with me and God does it. Hallelujah! Somebody would say, "Well Brother Pike, I'd love to have the gift of miracles and healings and just go out and heal everybody." Well, you can forget about that because that isn't going to be. Your heart isn't right to start with. The Bible said," If we ask anything according to His will." That's not according to His will. Somebody said, "Now what do you mean Brother Pike?" I mean there's some brute beast made to be taken and burned. God made them for the purpose of being taken and burned, and there was certain things that Jesus Christ could not do because of their unbelief. It wasn't that He could not do it, but He could not do it to them, so then, you can do anything you want to do, but you can't do it to those that God doesn't intend for it to be done to. You understand what I'm saying? Nothing could stop Jesus. He could do anything He wanted to, but not to people that were not suppose to get it. You see what I mean. Many things He could not do because of the unbelief. Not because He could not do it, because He went over to the next town and did it. But personality was involved and God didn't impose on anybody's rights. So then, what we need to do is to rise up, be about our Father's business, quit worrying about the devil. Quit sitting around and moping and pining and do like Brother John said this morning when the leper said, "Why sit here till we die? Rise up and resist the devil and he'll flee from you." And I'll tell you something else, when he flees from you, the sickness and the tiredness and the weariness and the problems, the heartaches and the woes and the sorrows will all vanish away into nothing. Your excuses will leave. Your problems will leave, you oppression will leave. Your heaviness will leave, your defeat will leave. And you'll find that you are a different person. There's a lot of things that I would like to say tonight. A lot of things I'd like to have said, but as I said in the last service or two, I've not felt a hunger, not felt a stirring. We've had revelation so much in the last month or so that you've got filled up and I don't feel any hunger. I believe that's why God is fixing to send me down to Orlando and begin to shift me around to give you a little time to get hungry again. Because when you're not hungry, there's no real anointing moving in to strengthen the Word in the ministry. So then, Jesus just like in that day, He just moved on to another place to where they were enthusiastic about what He was doing, to where they were hungry, to where they were anxious to get something. Had a zeal and burning desire. You know that's why God works with the youth like He does. The elders get old and they get cramped down and they get weary and they get worn out and they have no jubilance and God, He won't stay with them. God isn't and old cramped down something that's going to sit around and pine and get grey-hair and die and rock away in a rocking chair so they put Him in the grave. That isn't God. God is a young, youthful, strong, powerful thing, that's jubilant, wide awake. Somebody said, "Yeah, you can talk like that when they're young." Moses was eighty years old and he talked like that. And the Bible said, "His eyesight hadn't waxed dim. The natural sources of his body weren't abated. Went down there and led an army and defeated the whole thing and set up a commonwealth, and when he got through with all of it, he still hasn't waxed old in his body, old in age." Old Brother Caleb did the same thing. Abraham, being an old man, climbed on a camel, went out and fought a war and won it. God is strength. There is no death with God. There is not defeat with God. There is no aging with God. There is no weariness with God! You need to shake yourself. If you've got arthritis and lumbago; whatever you call it, heart trouble, whatever you call it, you know, cancer and t.b. and every thing else, you need to get up there and resist the devil. If you haven't got but enough strength to roll yourself off on the floor, roll yourself off as an act of faith and show God you're going to make an effort and God will start doing something for you. If you can't do anything, but just roll off in the middle of the floor. Hallelujah! I'd like to know something. I'd love to just know something here tonight. Where does sickness come from? Where does death come from, anywhere? Where does old age come from anyway? Where does weariness and tiredness come from anyway? What does it come from? Somebody said, "Oh, I just can't make it. I just can't make it." I'll tell you what, come over to my house and sometimes we'll go through ten times ten that; and if you use a little faith, you'll find out you'll still make it. That's right. That's right. This is the truth before God. By the time I was eighteen years old, I'd done been through so much until I told myself, I said, Boy, you're gone. Your strength is gone. Your health is gone and everything else is gone. Why I found out I hadn't even...I tell you what so many hundreds and multiplied hundreds of experiences since then showed me just how unwise I really was. When you go as far as you can and you know that you can't go any further and you're convinced that you can't go any further and the doctor tells you can't go any further, get up, walk out and go on further. When you know that you can't pay the bills, you know that they can't be paid and there isn't anyway to be paid, you don't have a job and you can't get a job go pay the bills anyway. Somebody would say, "Now Brother Pike, that's not right." That's exactly right. When you can't pay your bills, God said, "I'll supply your needs" Go pay your bills. He gave it to you. If you can't find it anywhere else, go fishing and get it out of the fishes mouth. When you get hungry and you don't have any food. Nobody won't let you have any, if you happen to be left here during the time of the mark of the beast, just pray and God will send manna down form Heaven. Just come right down from Heaven. You say,"You don't really believe that." Yes, I do too. Yes sir, I do believe that. I'm talking about something real folks, something real genuine. The Bible said, When you've done all that you can to stand, God said, stand. When you know that you can't stand, you stand anyway. When you say, "But God, I'm Lost I'm undone. I've been a wretch. I know that I've backslide, I know I've transgressed. I know I've made a mess." Get up and say, "Praise God! I'm on my way to Heaven. Somebody said, "I can't." But you can. Try it and see if you don't feel something tugging on the other end of the line. That's right. You use your faith one time, the devil kicks you around and makes you feel like you don't have anything and God's forsaken you and you feel like you can't do anything. You just get right up and say, "I'm a Son of God and God's with me and I'm going to do a work for God and you might as well get out of my way." I feel better than I ever did. That's right. You start believing. When you're sick and you feel like you can't go another step and your strength is drained on the inside, you shake yourself and get ahold of yourself and you stand up and say, "By faith, by faith in God, I can and I will." A lot of times the devil, he'll tell me, he'll say, "Boy, I'll tell you, you're one of the biggest failures that God ever had," but praise God, I'm a Son of God and I'm on my way. I say, That's why I buried you back yonder because you're the failure. Today it's not you that's living, but it's that super man, Jesus. Not me that's living, but that man that, that never was defeated, that one that's never lost a battle. It's Him. So when the devil starts accusing that old man, just say, "Amen, amen, amen." Just say, "Satan, he ain't worth his bread." Then when he gets through with all of his accusations, say, "Now, I want you to take a look at the Son of God. That's right." And just turn around and say, "Get thee hence Satan." He'll go his way and he'll leave you alone. I feel better, don't you? I'll tell you what, there's something in this, faith in the Word. I'm just going to say a few more things and I'm going to close. I'm just exhorting you a little. But, that little woman that came up to Jesus, she said, "Lord, I want you to do something for me." And Jesus just wanted to put her through the test, and He just told her. He said, "Woman," He said, "All this bread belongs to the children." And no doubt Satan jumped on her shoulder and said, "See there, you old dog." And she just looked up and said, "Lord, give the dog some crumbs." Said, "Even dogs suppose to have crumbs." You see what I'm talking about. A lot of the brethren here that have positions, I had this to happen the other day. They're on a job and they have to tell people what to do and it get's them under condemnation and they feel like God doesn't love them anymore, but the man that came to Jesus that said, "Heal my servant," he said, "I am a man under authority. I say to this one, go and he goes. I say to another come, he comes." Jesus said, "That doesn't have anything to do with it. You have got great faith, mister. The greatest that I've ever found in Israel, greater than I found in Israel." You know why? He had faith in the Word. He had simple faith. That woman that asked for those crumbs, Jesus said, "Woman, you've got great faith. I told you this belonged to the children and you wouldn't take no for an answer. You still believed I had to do something for you. That's great faith, woman. Abraham, you've got great faith. I told you to kill that son. And you still said, you were going to bring him back alive. You've got great faith Abraham." And this man, Jesus said, "I'll come over and heal him." The man said, "Why bother to do that? Why bother to do that? You're too busy to do that. You don't have to do that. All I'm asking you to do is just tell me it's all right and I'll go on my way." He said, "It's all right." Went on his way. Everything was fine. Another fellow came up, one of his little children was sick. He said, "Do something for her." Jesus said, "According to your faith." He went back home. They said, "The child is well." Said, "I want to ask you," said, said, "What time did this happen? Well, the servant said at such and such a time, said, That was it. Right when Jesus told me that's when it happened. Faith in God. It doesn't matter where you're at, what you're doing, what you want, simple child-like believing in God. Listen folks. People have mad faith so complicated until the world today feels like that they can't reach out and take hold of God in faith anymore. They've placed it in so many lengthy fasts and so much praying and so much ritualistics until today nobody hardly can believe. He said, "It would be a faithless generation." But I want to tell you something, it's just as simple as it can be. It's a simple thing. To believe is a simple thing. When I set in Brother Branham's meeting and sat up there in the balcony and I looked at William Branham when he came out on the platform and I had never looked upon him before. I'd never seen him. I looked down on him, and in faith, I said, In Jesus' name you will speak to me. He turned around just like that and he spoke to me. Somebody said, "Brother Pike, you couldn't do that." But I did. You will in Jesus' name. That's what God wants folks. Faith, simple faith in your heart. To really believe. He that cometh to God must believe there's a God. How many of you believe there's a God? And then you must believe that you're in fellowship with Him enough that He is a rewarder of you because you have diligently sought Him. How many of you have diligently sought God? Have you? Come on folks. Wait a minute now. You mean I have a congregation here and nobody sought God. How many of you have diligently sought God? That's a little better. You've never got down on your knees and shed a tear? You've never got down to business with God and Said, Lord, please help me? You've never done that? How many of you ever did that, let me see your hand? Now, see, that's better. Diligently seeking God. I just want to say a few things before I close tonight that will help your faith. I will help your faith. Folks, if there's one time you can get it in your mind that somebody in the world can help you. Paul said. "We are helpers of you faith." You may not think anybody could help you, but if you'll look at the wretched condition you're in, you'll feel like you need some help, and if you'll measure yourself by the thing that you're in and see how wretched you are, then you'll be willing to listen to somebody. You're so high and mighty in your mind that you can't see the mess and the puddle of the mud that you're in, stuck in. Somebody can help you. And I'm a helper of your faith. Listen folks, you can believe tonight. There is not one person here in this congregation that I know of that God has showed me that can't believe. There's not one person here that can't believe, unless it would be a child, would be too little to know what faith was. But tonight you can believe. I mean really, genuinely believe. Tonight you can really use faith. But the only way that faith can ever work is for you to believe or to convince yourself that God loves you and that God wants to do something for you. That's why the devil keeps you under condemnation. That's why God asks you not to dabble around in the world. Some of you just have to dabble around in the world. You just have to dabble a little here and dabble a little bit over there, just enough to keep you under condemnation. That's what disgusts God with you. Come out from among them. "Be ye a separate people. Touch not the unclean things, then I'll receive you," saith the Lord. When you get to the place to where you really believe that God loves you and you really believe that God wants to help you, your faith will just automatically begin to register. But as long as you feel like you're Job and you just have to go through this and this is for the glory of God and you feel like that you're some special person and you've done some horrible thing and God's got you in prison and you got fifteen years before you'll ever be able to believe again, you're going to be in a mess. Just as long as the devil can tell you that you've got to go on a fifteen day fast or pray thirty hours before you can ever get your faith up, that's just how long you'll be defeated. You follow me? Just as long as you try to make yourself accept the idea that God favors you, you're still going to be in trouble. But when you, from your heart, accept the Words of God, that God so loves you that He wants you to have the kingdom, that He's given you all things, that He died for you, that you're the apple of His eye, that He wants you, and in spite of the fact that you are wretched and you ought to admit that you are wretched, it'll do some of you good if you would admit to yourself and to God how wretched you really are. Some of you sit there and you know and you think, "Well, I ain't done as good as I ought to do. I know that I could do better." You wretch. What you ought to do is say, "I'm a wretched, wretched something that needs to get right with God and get out of that self-righteousness." I've got a number of you that's here in that condition. You're in a self-righteousness, hypocritical condition and if you'd look yourself square in the face and realize what a wretch you are, God would take ahold and He'd help you. Somebody said, "But don't you know I fasted?" That doesn't have anything to do with it. Somebody said, "But don't you know I prayed?" That doesn't have anything to do with it either. A lot of wretches have fasted and prayed. That doesn't have anything to do with it. God wants somebody that's obedient, somebody that will listen. Somebody that won't be resentful, somebody that won't be haughty, somebody that won't gossip. God would rather have somebody that would be obedient than all your fasting and praying and giving and sacrifice and what not that you could do. God wants somebody to hear, somebody to believe, somebody to try to obey, somebody that would be humble and submissive. He said, "Away with you that's more holy than thou." So then, if you just look yourself in the face and say, "God, the dogs eat of the crumbs and here I am." You understand what I'm saying? Paul said, "Who hath bewitched you?" Mirror, mirror on the wall, it's about time that you begin to fall. You understand what I'm, saying? So then, when you get to the place to where you know that you're nothing, and you know that you don't deserve anything, not anything and then you go to God, prostrate, and you turn your heart toward God and you say, "Lord, I know that I'm nothing. I know I don't deserve anything, but Lord, I know that you so loved the world that you gave your Son, God; that you wanted to do something for me, and you wanted me to be healthy and you wanted me to be happy and I haven't merited anything. I'm never going to merit anything and all I'm doing God is saying, please give me you grace." And then in your heart, believe that God loves you and believe that God's for you and believe that God wants you to be happy, then a little thing will begin to turn in here. A simple little thing will begin to take hold and you'll really find yourself believing what I just said, and when you do that's faith. And all of the other efforts that you make are nothing. All of the fasting you do, the praying you do, the coming to church and the giving, and the make believe that you're something. It is nothing. Nothing, we're saved by the grace of God. And faith comes by the grace of God. And the only way you're ever going to believe is to believe that you're in harmony with Him, and as long as you don't believe you're in harmony with Him, then you're never going to believe and get anything from God. I know that's true. You say, "How do you know?" Because I know what faith is. I know how to use it. I know how to get the benefits of it. You say, "How do you know?" How do I know that? I don't know that you know it. That doesn't make any difference with me whether you know it or not, that does not have anything to do with it. I'm talking about me. As long as it's settled between me and Him, it makes no difference what you believe. That's your business. What I'm interested in is whether or not I know what to get or how to get what I want and I do know how to get what I want. I've got what I want tonight. You can do it too, but you're going to have to believe. I want you to stand with me. I trust that you'll get hungry, thirsty for the things of God. I'm thrilled in my heart. I'm thrilled because Jesus is with me. Jesus is with me, the songs says, "Just when I need Him most." Jesus is with me. The angel of God appeared and put the ring on my finger, the Lord came and put the ring on my finger, and said, I'll never leave you. But I'll be with you in the time of need. He has been with me. Somebody said, "Yeah, it's easy for you to believe it. The Lord Himself came and told you something." My friend, I believed before God ever came and told me that I'd done traveled all over the nation by faith before He ever came to me with that. See, I had this before He ever gave me the ring. Believing this is what brought the ring. I believe. I'm thankful because I do believe. Brother Roberts said one time when you get to where you do believe that you believe, then you're believing. But you've never even convinced yourself that you believe yet. We get a brain-storm and we call that faith, but folks that's not faith. With the heart, Jesus said, "If thou canst believe in your heart, you'll have whatever you say." Somebody said, "Well, that's my trouble Brother Pike, I can't believe in my heart." There's only one thing that causes that. John said, "If we do the things that please Him, hereby we convince our heart." You just won't do the things that pleases Him, and that's why your hearts not convinced. You know that you're not being honest and obedient. A lot of you are suffering because you're learning obedience with the things you suffer that God can perfect your lives. But I'm going to say this again tonight, if you know tonight how close your destiny was, how near sealed your destiny is tonight, you would make a great effort to believe. You'd make a great effort to understand, you'd hunger and thirst like you never have after the things of God, and you'd forget about the world and your ambitions, the feelings of your body and the resentments and the faults and failures and all of these other things. If you knew what was happening in your midst tonight, you'd be entirely a different people. You are, I believe some of the most privileged people in all of the world. I believe more than that. I believe that you are some of the most privileged people in all of eternity past of future. I believe it. I believe that from my heart. You are some of the most privileged, but you don't know it, but you will know it. You don't know it now, but you will know it. Somebody said, "Well now, does that mean because you're here Brother Pike?" I'll let you figure that out. That way it won't bother you. Either, either way I go, or whatever I say, you're going to accuse me anyway. He said, to Jesus, he said, "Tell us. What's the need?" Said, "It doesn't make any difference what I tell you, you're going to crucify me anyway." Let's sing a little chorus together. (They sing a chorus.) You know folks, you need to be friends with me. Now you say, "Why should I be friends with you Brother Pike?" Well, Solomon said, "To have friends one must show himself friendly." And it's good to be friends with somebody if they're going to have to present you to God. I think it would be good, don't you? Paul said, "I must present you to God." If I am to present you to God as a chaste virgin, in that I've espoused you to one husband, then it's good to be on speaking terms with me or be friendly with me. You love the Lord? (They sing a chorus.) You love the Lord tonight? How many of you believe you have power tonight? Power over all the powers of the enemy. How many of you believe that you've passed from death unto life? Tonight's Sunday, I guess I got that right, and that means that probably other than the men's meeting on this coming Monday night, that I probably won't get to see you anymore for a little bit, as far as being in service with you Wednesday night, but other than that, it'll be awhile before I do because if I leave on Thursday, going down to Orlando, then come back on a Monday, we'll have to leave on Tuesday going over yonder. And it'll probably be awhile before that I get back. Some of the other people will be with us. Be awhile before they get back to be with you. But folks, I trust that while we're gone that there won't be confusion among you. There won't be resentment and wars and fighting. The Bible said, "From whence cometh all this, from the lust that's in you." But you'll do something. I appreciate the little Harvestor Herald that they printed up. I believe, I'm not sure, I don't know who all's involved in it, but I believe that last night, some of them worked all night long maybe about four o'clock this morning I think, that some of them finally went home. And I believe that Brother Stevey did this by himself if I'm not mistaken right from start ot finish in the photography work and the printing work and everything I saw a sheet of it today, he hasn't finished the paper. But I saw a sheet of it today and it was just as near perfect as it could be. The boy just couldn't hardly have done any better on it. The photography work was just perfect, the printing is just beautiful. I think that's wonderful, don't you? When you have a vision, you'll spend your time doing something for God. I ask them to print as many of those as they could because I want to take some of them with me out on the field that others may see that work and get those testimonies and know what's going on locally here a Little Bethlehem. They might even want to subscribe for the little paper. You can't never tell. And another thing, "The Little Glass Slipper" should be back pretty soon. I don't know how long, but "The Little Glass Slipper" has been gone a good while and it should be coming back pretty soon. And of course that marks the beginning of a new era and a great thing for God. So I'm looking forward to it coming back. Also, the pictures, they brought me some of the pictures that were taken down at the lake, whatever it is, I'll let you figure it out. Somebody asked me, said, "Brother Pike, is it natural or super natural, or what is it?" I'll just have to leave that to you. You figure it out. Whatever it is, that's what it is. It's not for me to say what it is. All I know is it's one of the strangest phenomenons I've ever seen. I've seen, I think Neal Frisby's got a whole wall, I've been out at his place and he's got a whole wall of lights of every description, but I haven't in the publication of any magazine, anywhere, papers or in my travels ever seen anything like it. Before morning there might be a dozen of them. There might be, papers might be full of them, the magazines and everything else, but I'm just saying up to this point. There might be a world full of them, but I've never seen them. It is a strange phenomenon that in one picture that it appears that it is the Spirit of God descending, coming down out of Heaven. The lady only moving, just maybe a foot or two, flashed another picture, and there's no descension of the light at all. It becomes a personification and the image is almost gone. I don't know what it is. Brother Bucky said the first time he ever saw it, according to what Brother David told me, that the first thing he thought was of the woman standing in the sun. And I, I pondered over that and then the Lord spoke to me and said, "In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, John said, It was as the Sun shineth within his strength," and obviously the picture of the Great Light, which is a personification, it looks just like what I would have thought that John meant in his expression. But there's one thing for sure, I might not understand exactly what happened and I don't say that I do, for the benefit of your thoughts. I know what the Lord let's me know and I know this; for the benefit of the skeptics or what, this will help you. I had nothing to do with it. He did it. So if you want to be critical, don't jump on me because I didn't have anything to do with the sun. I didn't have anything to do with the light. I didn't have anything to do with the camera. I didn't tell anybody to take a picture. I didn't have anything to do with it, so if you want to argue, you can argue with Him about it and whatever it is, well, He'll tell you. There's one thing I do know, I know that revelation shows that that picture positively had to do with the rapture and the translation. I know that, and I know that it has followed the step perfectly, every step of it, right to this trip to Israel. I know that for a fact. And, whatever it is, it is what it is, and I know it's a strange thing. But I want you to pray because I see something that's happening and I'm not going to drag things out and weary you tonight. I know you want to go home. But inasmuch as I, How about just sitting down for just a moment. Inasmuch as I know that I'm not going to be here maybe in the week end services, as far as I know I won't, that I would like to just take a minute or two and talk with you. I don't believe that you realize and I say this over and over because I really from my heart, I don't believe that you realize the thing that has happened here at Little Bethlehem, and the things that are happening here at Little Bethlehem. I do not from my heart, I do not believe that you know. If I did believe it, I wouldn't stand up here and keep telling you that. It was obvious that when Brother Doug Chatham came here the other night and said what he did, the preparation of man's heart being from God, publishing the group in the paper, going over concerning the Eternal Abundant Life work here, when he got up here and spoke, I could tell it was shocking to some of you. That some of you, you know, it shocked you. Some of them even came and confessed to me, said, it literally shocked them. I believe Brother Richard back here, our little brother Jew back here, he said that he just couldn't hardly take no more. He said he felt like he was about to go out of here. And Brother, little David said, it about blew his mind, that's the expression, you know the youth has got. But there was one thing for sure, understanding why that Brother Hammonds was here and why those things took place and wanting so bad to explain some of them and not being able to because there's not enough hungering and thirsting at this time to do it, but knowing that, I know that the shocking reality of God doing something dawned on some of you. And suddenly you realize that there was a reality in what was happening, in spite of all of your reasoning, that there was a reality in it. And I'm saying this, that if the reality of that incident was shocking to you, what is it going to be like when the reality of the real genuine thing that I'm trying to get across to you begins to dawn on you and when it strikes you. If that little incident that one night was so awakening, so inspiring, so outstanding, so shocking, what will happen when you really genuinely see what I'm trying to tell you. And you say, "Brother Pike, maybe we will never see it." On yes, you will see it. Say, "Well, I don't know whether we will or not." But you will. Both good and bad that's in here, you'll see it. You'll know exactly what I was speaking of and you'll realize it, but it will be to late when some of you do see it. So I'm asking you to try to see it. If we're doing something at Little Bethlehem to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then you'll be part of it. Some of you are not a part of it. Some of you that are sitting in here. You're not a part of this labor. You're not a part of this operation. You're making no effort. You're making no sacrifice. You're doing absolutely nothing in self-denial to keep resentment and gossip and so forth out of the midst of the people. You're not a part of it. But you get in here and be a part of it. If you can't be a part of this here and support it with your prayers and your finance, stand behind it with your fasting and efforts then you go somewhere and find yourself a pastor that you can confide in. And find yourself somebody that you've got confidence in and somebody that you feel that's got the message of the hour; and you go there and you get in there and work with him, because folks, as I live before God, somebody has got to present you to Christ. Somebody is going to present you to Christ. Now you mark what I'm telling you. You say, "Well, Brother Pike, ain't nobody going to have to present me because I'm a preacher." Then you better start preaching and you better get somebody to present because you're going to have to present somebody. And if you don't have anybody to present, when you get up there, you're in trouble. That's right. The Bible said if you don't put his money to the exchangers and have usury at his coming, he'll take what you have got. So if you're a preacher, you better start doing some preaching. But if you are a part of this ministry and this body and you're expecting to be presented up there on that day, then you better get in here folks and be part of this thing. I don't single out anybody. I don't mean to do that. I've said good things about so many of you here because it's been true. And I've said some things that haven't been so good about some of you because it's been true. But I appreciate from the bottom of my heart Brother Michael. I really from my heart appreciate him. I've had very few people that ever came in here that ever put their whole heart, body, soul, mind, and strength into the gospel. If I stated looking for a man among us tonight that will be equal to Mike, and I don't say this to lift him up. Satan makes a pit with flattery for you to fall in. I don't say that. Mike, Mike knows he's a human being like anybody else, subject to error and fall and that we don't merit anything in the sight of God. We're saved by grace. The Bible said, "Give honor to whom honor is due and double honor to them that labor in the gospel." If I started looking for a man tonight, I would have trouble tonight finding one man that has completely surrendered his all in the measure that Mike has done. Mike has given his everything in it, his strength, his time, labored in the mud and in the cold, worked with his hands, worked on a job, gave everything, sacrificed everything that he's got and laid it on the altar for God. Now if I ask you tonight to raise your hand, everyone that has done that, don't you think you'd have trouble doing that, being honest with God? Don't you think you would? But I appreciate his efforts in God from the bottom of my soul. To me he's a real man from his feet all the way up to his head. And what I mean a man of God at that. And I trust that he'll always go on with God and do the things that God's got for him, to grow greater and greater in Christ. I've got some other men here that are doing some wonderful things and some ladies. I'm not forgetful of these women folk. I got some women folk here that are real jewels when it comes to doing something for God. They labor, the labor fervently. And I appreciate them from the bottom of my heart. But I've got some lady folks that don't, just like I have some men. I've got some men folk that just cause division. I've got some lady folks that just cause division. But folks, remember this, and I'm going to let you go, I'm not going to get into a long thing, so don't get worried. Remember this one thing, God said, "I will pluck out of my kingdom and this is the kingdom of God, everything that is offensive, everything that resents, everything that is haughty, everything that is high-minded, everything that is self-confident, everything that has a more holy than thou, everything that creates a division, I will pluck it out." And He said, "When I get through, the trees in my forest shall be so few that even a child will be able to count them." Said, "But they that are left in Zion shall be called holy, holy." When He gets through plucking them all out, there isn't going to be but a few left, few there be that find it, but they're going to be holy folks. So folks, you better start perfecting holiness in the fear of God and get down to business. And what you say that you can't do and what you feel you can't do, you better do it. Some of you have to run out of the room when you're with me. I can say something and you feel such resentment coming up in you until you have to run out of the room to get away from me, because you feel it coming and you just can't stop it, and you get so nervous, you dart out of the room, because you know I'm going to catch it. But there's no need to dart out of the room. I done caught it before it ever came. So there isn't any need to hurry out. The thing to do is just face the issue and say, "Oh my, Brother Pike. There it is again. God help me." Get down on your knees there and start asking forgiveness and start praying. Somebody said, "You don't really mean that." I mean every word of it. You say, "But Brother Pike, I'd be doing that so often." Not near as often as you think, because after you've done it a few times, you'd quit the other. That's right. It's like a great minister one time, Dwight L. Moody, he said that he had a temper, fly off the handle at everybody. And said, God said, "You go back and apologize every time you fly off the handle.' He said, it wasn't long before he stayed on the handle. He said, he didn't have a lot of trouble after that. You understand what I'm saying folks. So when I leave, I'm asking you not to create a lot of confusion. Stay in you place. Abide in your calling. Help one another and love one another and everything will work out for you. All right, let's stand together. I want you to bow you heads with me now. If you're sick in body tonight, if you're beat down by the devil and by oppressions. You may mot be possessed. Some people are possessed. That means they're routinest. They do the same thing over and over and over and over. That's possession. Some people are oppressed. They're just greatly oppressed. They're under a great weight. They just feel a heaviness that they can't get out from under and the joy of their salvation is gone from them because they've not really dug in and been steadfast in God and really got a vision. Because serving God is a joy folks, when you're really serving, it's a real joy. You get like Brother John was when he was running over this morning. And if you're sick in body, I want to join my faith with you. And folks, when I say I want to join my faith with you, I mean it. I'm not, I'm not just kidding about that thing. I'm not playing. This is a world of reality to me. At Little Bethlehem here, this is not some religious thing that we have going. This is a way of life with us, a government, a way of life, a discipline. This is a way of life to me, not a religious formality. When I say I want to join my faith with you, I want to join my faith with you. And when I say that, I mean that I go home at night when you're asleep in you bed and I get down on my knees and I pray and I believe while I'm praying that God is healing your body and God is doing something for you and God is strengthening you. Now you might not believe this, but tonight, if I and the ones that are really praying for you quit, you'd be surprised what kind of awful condition you'd be in because you're not praying enough folks to keep the devil off of you and somebody better pray for you until you wake up. So I want to join my faith with you. If you've got a problem submitting yourself, a problem of resentment, a problem of haughtiness, high mindedness, love of the world, covetousness, lust after another man's wife or another woman's husband, demon and devils of blasphemy and evil and cursing and ugliness speaking to your mind and accusing God and the brethren and everybody else, I want to pray for you that you can get rid of that thing. If you've got a fault-finding devil that you find fault with everybody, including you husband, including you wife, including your children, including your pastor, I want to pray for you. If you've got a temper that you can't get rid of I want to pray for you tonight. But when I pray for you, I'm going to pray, I'm going to say, Lord, help that person get rid of it and He's going to help you. Now, you might fall off of a ladder and feel like you've broke your neck, but He's going to help you get rid of it. You might fall down a flight of steps and you might pop a bone and you might go through six months of suffering, but He's going to help you get rid of it. I want to tell you that before I pray for you because I'm going to pray that God will do the job. It's like I believe it was my mother-in-law one time, you ought not pray for us like that. I'd say, God save them at any cost. You ought not do that. But that's the way I pray. If you want that kind of prayer, I want you to join with me tonight as I pray for you. And I pray I mean business, so you mean business because God's going to mean business and He's going to help you get rid of it. Praise God, something just came across my mind about one or two brethren I've been praying for. They've had bump after bump on their head, trouble and everything else. All right, let's pray, Hallelujah! Father of Heaven tonight, I know that it's not your will Lord that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have everlasting life. And I know that it's not your will that any should fall from a ladder or fall down the steps or any should be hurt anyway, in a wreck or anything else. It's not your will Father. But I know that we learn obedience by the things that we suffer Jesus. And you being an example of that, I know that if we give place to Satan, Lord, that there's going to be trouble. And tonight, Father, there's many people here in this audience that has problems and some of them God are making a special effort to eliminate those problems and some of them Father are not making an effort; and I'm asking you tonight Heavenly Father with all sincerity, knowing that you are God and that you are hearing me tonight because I feel the mighty touch of your Spirit. I feel the might Holy Ghost going through my body right now. And I know that you're listening to me Father, and I know as Jesus said, You hear me always. And Father, tonight, I'm praying for these people. I want you to help them. I want you to keep them. I want you to heal them. I want you to lift the oppression from them. God, I want every yoke broken from off of these people. I feel something happening right now God. I want the heaviness taken off the congregation. I want faith to rise in these hearts as I join faith with them. Dear God, tonight, let your faith be in their hearts. And, oh God, let them believe for everything that they need and let them make a special effort to believe, to trust in you. God, not to lean to their own thoughts, their own feelings, their own reflex, their own impulses, their own understanding. Not to notice environment and conditions Father, or circumstances. But just to believe what you said about it God, that you'll meet all their needs, whatever it is, physically, spiritually, financially according to your riches in glory. I want you to let their faith be anchored in that tonight. Help them Jesus to overcome. I ask it in Jesus name and for His glory. Amen. Shake hands with somebody. Tell them that you love them.

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

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

Holiness Unto The Lord