Following After Jesus

And they're so sure that they have the answer to man's problem. Because of that, they don't give way to the Scriptures, or the teachings of the Scriptures, to allow Jesus to take His place. But I'm glad that you and I are looking at things a whole lot differently. Here at Bethlehem, He's the chief cornerstone. Something was said about them laying a stone in Israel. I never did get that clear. Perhaps Brother Atlee Beachy had read something about it. What kind of stone were they laying in Israel, Atlee? (Brother Atlee answers Brother George.) Okay. They were making plans to lay the cornerstone to the temple. All right. That would really be in line for us going there the seventh time. (Someone says something to Brother George.) I heard that they did. I said that we were to be there on a certain day, and explained to Sister Betty what it had to do with, and the place where we were to say and whatever, and it worked out that way. And even when we — as we left, the last day we left, I told her the place where I understood that we were suppose to stay and it worked out that way. So it would be perfect for them to be moving toward the cornerstone of the temple, because our trip there had to do with the walls falling, and the end of the days of the Gentiles, indicating that the Jordan has been crossed. And it was at that time that God cast stones, hail stones out of heaven to fight the battle for Joshua that they might win the battle. And it was at that time that the sun did not go down for a whole day, and the moon stood still in the valley of Ajalon. The sun over Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, and such a day it was. And even until our time, when they checked the computers as to time, history, they find that that day is missing, and they have to go back to that day of Joshua to fill it in. And as Hezekiah, they have to go back to that time to fill in the missing time. They cannot account for it any other way.

So it's amazing what God is doing. And the end of the world is here. There are the earthquakes. Jesus said upon the Mount of Olives, where we stood a few days ago, and in Matthew 24, He told them of the terrible calamities that was going to befall the world, how that there would be earthquakes in divers places, wars, rumors of wars, pestilence. He said that they would hate you. You would be hated of all nations for the namesake of Jesus, and they'd deliver you up for a testimony against them, and they would kill you and feel that they had done God a service. And then it spoke of the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place. And He says that when this happens, there will be tribulation such as never has been from the beginning of the world until now, nor shall ever be. And He said, at that time, let him that is in Judea flee into the mountains. He that is on the house top not to go down to try to recover any of his stuff. He that's in the field not to turn back, because great wrath is determined upon that people. Such tribulation and suffering to come upon Israel such as no one has ever known. And the tribulation period fleeing out of Judah — you know, Jerusalem is in the land of Judah. God promised a certain portion of land to Judah. A certain portion to Dan and different ones. And in Jerusalem, that is the land of Judah, and He says, they that are in the land of Judah let them flee because Jerusalem is going to be the ultimate mark as to what they are going to try to take when they gather in around the cities of Israel. And I notice, even at this time, that Jerusalem has got lots of problems. There have been some killings right there in the old city, and then in Bethlehem, it was terrible in Bethlehem. They've got Bethlehem shut up just as tight as it can be, and even though we went over a time or two, we had to go early in the morning to even be able to buy anything, or visit with some of our friends, because they had it shut up so tight that after about twelve o'clock, the place actually becomes desolate. The Arabs are so afraid, and the young Hebrew soldiers are standing around with their guns, and along about twelve o'clock, or about that time you can see them go out with their little red bonnets with their machine guns in hand, and they fall out in a line to go down the streets to let the Arab people know that they mean business, to shut all those doors and close down the town, which is real bad because they are tourists coming in from all over the world trying to get there to see the birth place of Jesus. And of course, the Hebrews do not esteem the birthplace of Jesus because they do not believe there was a Messiah that has come. The do not esteem the place of Lazarus' tomb in that they don't believe in Jesus enough to cater to the resurrection of Lazarus. And there are many things there that people from all over the world come to see and take part in, the Hebrews don't believe in it at all so it's not sacred to them.

Jerusalem is sacred to them because of their king. That's the old city, and their king was there. They have not come to the light to realize that their great and mighty king is not even equal to the least of the sons of God, not even the least. None greater among men or women than John, and even the least, as to sonship, is greater than those of the Old Testament. So they don't understand and they are still abiding in death. To be carnally minded is death, and they are still abiding in death, but I'm glad that my eyes are open. I'm glad that I've been able to see. And being there in the Holy Land, I'm able to see that that is a desolate place and then I come back to Little Bethlehem over here, and I see the Spirit of God, and things thriving with the Spirit of God. And like I told some of them, I said going to the Holy Land can actually discourage you. I said you go there and see everything so dead, and rather than getting inspired, you want to get back to where there is life. But after God puts them through the fire, that land will come to life, and it will be a great mighty thing.

So I enjoy going because I see many things there that really stir me. We have, it looks like we have, a chance to, at this point unless something should happen, we have a chance to buy the property there at Lazarus' tomb. Not the tomb itself, but the little road, you've been up the little road, and you've been into the little rock house that was hewn out there in the rock. And there's a dispute as to Mary and Martha, this being their house, or across the little road which is, oh, about as far as from here to Brother Richard, the Jew. The cathedral that's on the other side of the little road, some say that that's where it was so they built a cathedral. And then some say it was the little rock house. We talked to some of them about some properties there, and the man that has the little rock house, his dad is on the verge of dying, and his son is in charge of it, of course, and his son said that at this point his dad would sell it, and that he was going to get us a price on it if we were interested in buying it. I talked to him about buying the place right there at the tomb and the resurrection. We also had a chance to talk to a chaplain which we didn't do. We didn't talk with him, but we had a chance to talk with a London chaplain. The garden tomb has fallen into the hands of the English people, and they're doing a terrific job with it. Because the Hebrews don't esteem it, then the English were able to move in and buy it, there at the hill of Golgotha and the tomb, they pretty well got control of it. And we had a chance there to make some film if we had wanted to, and could have talked with the chaplain, but somehow I just didn't feel to do it. Even though they do want us to come into London, to Liverpool, England, that is; to have a meeting, which we might do. I don't know. We met some good people there. They were very courteous to us. And Betty and I have been there a number of times.

All right. Let's turn over to the book of First Corinthians, and let's read a little bit. As I say, we've been journeying pretty steady now, and just a little bit tired, but not too tired to minister. First Corinthians in the fifteenth chapter. I want you to listen real good as I read quite a bit of Scripture here. 

I Corinthians 15:1-58 "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

In the fifteenth chapter and the fifty-fifth verse it is said here, "O death, where is thy sting, and O grave, where is thy victory." It is for sure, as we have said in the past, that if sin doesn't have any strength, then death doesn't have any strength. It's for sure that death is because of sin. And this is a hard thing to fathom, I know, but when we consider it, the things that happened to Adam and Eve in the garden, we find immediately that every sin is because of Eve. Every death is because of Eve. Every sorrow is because of Eve. The whole world is in a state of chaos because of Eve. The bridges fell out in California because of Eve. The earthquake in Russia, and the earthquake in China, all because of Eve. All of these things happened because of Eve. One woman brought all of the chaos into existence, and today the whole, entire world is in a state of chaos, all because of one woman and her lusting, dishonoring God, or disobeying what God has said. All because of this. You can go back and search it out, and the Bible says that sin is in the world because of lust. And when you go back to find lust in its origin, you find out that the Bible says Eve looked, and the Bible speaks of the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and because of the lust, the desire of her eyes, she let sin come into the world. And because of sin, death. The Bible says that death reigned over the people. Though they had not sinned after the similitude of Adam; yet it reigned over the people even on down to Moses, until the law came and revealed what was wrong. But think about that. One woman. If she had not done those things, there would be no sin in the world. There would be no death in the world. There would be no suffering in the world. There would be no heartaches. There would be no poverty. Nothing in the world unlike God. But because of one woman's sin, the weaker vessel, as referring to the woman, one woman sinned and God, Himself, had to create a human body and come down into this world, be spit upon and mocked, suffering like no man had ever suffered until He took the blood out of His veins to undo what Eve had done, to make right again the wrong that Eve had committed.

So then, we see that sin is so bad. One or two things and you can cause a great problem. The Bible says, "What a great fire a little matter kindleth." And it speaks of the tongue as being an unruly member of the body, full of deadly poison. No man has ever tamed it. And the Bible says, "He that can bridle the tongue the same is a perfect man." But it says no man has ever tamed it. And the Bible says that it's set on fire by the course of hell. You know, we say words, we hear things. Someone would say a word, and Brother Pike will hear it. Brother Pike will say a word, and you will hear it. Someone will speak a word, and we will hear it. Words were spoken. There were words that were spoken that went into the ears of Eve. And Satan spoke those words, and those few words that she listened to brought us all into this condition that we're in today. We lost our inheritance all together. Now then, we have a chance to regain it. Someone would say, "Brother Pike, I think it's horrible what Eve done, and if it had been me I would not have done that." But did you know, I've thought of it a lot of times like this; here we are. We're in Eve's place. We're here, this is your opportunity. This is your chance. And you're just like Eve. Isn't that right? You're just like Eve. You have the opportunity to either deny Christ or to accept Christ. You have the opportunity to gossip or not gossip. You have the opportunity to lust after the things of the world or not lust after the things of the world. There is no difference between you and Eve or Adam. You have the same opportunity. Today, you have the opportunity to pray, to fast. You have the opportunity to walk with God. And if you don't do it, you're just like Eve. If you reject it, you're just like Eve. There's no difference, because you have the same opportunity. And even a better opportunity to the extent that you have God's Spirit here. You have the atoning of the blood. You have a chance to do it by the wooing of the great loving Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God. See? You have great opportunity. You have great strength. You could overcome a lot better than Eve. Eve did not have that as an overcoming power, and that was why she did the thing that she did in the time of her weakness. Another thing is that Eve did not know. Eve was altogether ignorant of it. She had never been processed the way that you have. She had never known anything about sin or corruption. She didn't know there was such a thing. So then, when exposed to it, she didn't understand altogether. That's why God was able to give her mercy, and God was able to give her children mercy.

So then, we have mercy. We have an opportunity that Eve never had, but still in the day that we're living in, you go into corruption. People that are listening to me, people that hear these words as I speak as a minister, you go out and do far worse than Eve. You do worse than Judas. You know, you have the Spirit. See? Judas did not have the infilling of the Spirit. Though Christ was with him; yet he didn't have the infilling of the Spirit. And the thing that he did, he repented over it. You've got to remember that he repented over that. He came back and repented over the thing, but it was too late. There was no place of repentance. Like Esau. Esau repented, but he didn't find any place of repentance. That is, God didn't grant any repentance to him. And though Judas repented, and he threw down the thirty pieces of silver, he tried to return it, but the Lord said concerning Judas, "It would have been better if this man had never been born into the world." And He spoke of those that would receive the greater damnation. They that will receive the greater damnation. So we realize that we have a greater opportunity than Eve. We have a greater opportunity than Judas. We have a greater opportunity than those that were back under the law like Abraham, Elijah, Moses, all of these. We have a far greater opportunity, but still we continue to do the things that's displeasing to God. We know that we have the opportunity. We have the infilling of the Spirit, and we have a chance to really do something for God, to really work for God. I have a chance to work for God like Judas never had. I have a chance to work for God like Abraham never did have. I have a chance to work for God like Elijah never did have, though Elijah experienced some great mighty things, and he was powerful; but yet the opportunity that he had, I have a greater opportunity.

You know, when you stop and think that back under the old covenant, there were several million people coming out of Egypt. God gave these people a promise, and said, "I'll move sickness out of the midst of you if you'll keep My commandments, and you'll do the things I told you to do." I'll move sickness out of the midst of you. And the Bible says there was not one sick person among them. Not one person that their feet swelled. I say a lot of times that's better than we do today. But not one person, His promise was so great that not one - the Bible says that not one of His good promises have failed. Every promise that God has ever made, He has fulfilled. And His promises are to a thousand generations the same. They never change. The promise that Abraham had, the promise that Elijah had, it is the same to you and I today. We're here today. God hasn't changed it. He hasn't altered it, and today, rather than having the Word with us — as we say, Emmanuel, Jesus, God with us — we have God on the inside of us. I have God as the Word. My Words are Spirit and they are life, and that Word of life and Spirit is dwelling on the inside of me. I can go into Africa, I can go into the foreign places of the world, and I can stand boldly and I can preach the Word of God and say, "I am the Lord that healeth thee." And I can preach, "God has sent His Word to heal you," and I can take this Word and I can speak this Word to the listening ears of those that haven't been religiously indoctrinated to the extent of being just a religious parasite, or a proselyte. I can preach this Word to those people, and I can tell them that the Word is here to heal them. I can say this is the Word. And the Bible says that it's not me speaking but the heavenly Father that's speaking from within me, and I can say, "Now the Word is here to heal you." And as this Word comes forth, and as I speak this Word to them that will listen to the Word, those that give the more earnest heed to the things they've heard, not letting those things slip, taking heed how that they hear what the Word is saying, and this Word I can speak to them and when this Word comes to their listening ear, if they mix faith from their heart with that Word, it automatically turns into Spirit and life. This Word that I speak as a vocal utterance, I look here and I conceive of this in that I look at a natural page, and I see this Word, and my brain record this, and then there comes a vocal utterance as a stimulation of God speaking to His people because I'm called to the ministry. And so then, I am told to go into all the world and preach the Word. And he that God sendeth will speak God's Word. So I come and I speak the Word. And to them that will listen at the Word, when the Word comes to them, if they believe from the heart that Word, then that Word turns into Spirit and life. It goes into them and it is a living power. It is a living unction. It is a living inspiration. And it goes into their heart and into their blood stream. It goes into their minds, into their bodies, and it begins to give off life, and begins to change them into a whole healthy individual.

You know when Jesus healed the leper, the Bible says, when the leper came to Jesus, Jesus said, "Do you believe I'm able to do this?" He said, "I believe." And Jesus said unto the leper, on one occasion when he came to Him, He said to the leper, "Do you believe that I can do this?" The man said, "I believe that You can do it." He said, "Lord, if You will". He said, "I will." I will that you be whole. I will. He said, "You can if You will." I believe that You can if You will. He said, "I will that ye be made whole." And the Bible says immediately the leprosy left him. Immediately. Think about that now. The Word of God turned into Spirit, and turned into power, and a phenomenal thing took place. It was a magnificent thing. It was a supernatural thing, and it took place that (snaps fingers) quick. His leprosy was gone. When the man held out his hand, and the critics stood around to see if He would heal, Jesus said, "Stretch forth thy hand," and the hand being withered, and the Bible says supernaturally, immediately the hand was healed.

Someone would say, Well now, "Brother Pike, that's what we need. Now if we could see that we would believe." But strangely enough, they couldn't believe. Their hearts were still hardened. And here was a man stretching forth a withered hand, and the thing supernaturally, before their very eyes, came to be made whole, and when God had worked this great miracle through Jesus, rather than praising God, the Bible says they immediately took counsel and went away to try to get together to figure out how that they could destroy Jesus. And it was the same when Jesus went into the land of the Gadarenes, and met those that were in the tombs, so fierce, cutting themselves with stones, crying all through the night, being bound with chains, and plucked them asunder, breaking the chains. Nobody could tame them. And when these people ran to Jesus and cried out, "What have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazarus? Has Thou come to torment us before our time?" And Jesus spoke to them and told them to come out of the man. When He cast out the unclean spirits and they went away into this great herd of swine that ran violently down a steep place and choked in the sea, people came out to see this great phenomena. The came out to see this great miracle, but rather than be thankful, and saying, "We welcome You to our land. We're so glad to have You here," they said, "Depart out of our coast." You know, here they'd lost two thousand pigs, even though this man, or these two men that had come out of the tombs, though God had healed, and God had restored, and the Bible says here sat Legion, he was in his right mind. He was clothed. He was like a person ought to be, with sanity, but instead of thanking God, they were so blind all they could think about was that He had killed their pigs. And they said, "Would You please depart out of our coast." Which Jesus did. 

Someone would say, "Well, Brother Pike, there's one thing I wouldn't do. I wouldn't be so cheap as to put God away for those things." But I'm telling you, the same as Esau that sold his birthright for a morsel of bread, the same as Judas that sold Christ for thirty pieces of silver, the same as these people that told Christ to depart and put Him out of their lives over some swine, you people of today are doing far worse. Some of you are putting Him away for a little jewelry. Some of you are putting Him away for a ball game. Some of you are putting Him away for a career. Some of you are putting Him away for some frivolous little thing of the flesh. You are putting the Lord away. Some little thing that is so foolish. You can't realize how foolish it is until you stand in the day of judgment, and when you stand before God and you make the comparison, and you see the great treasures of heaven, the streets of gold there. You won't be able to see them, but you see the great treasures of heaven in that you will acknowledge your loss. You'll be there to acknowledge your loss and see all of these great mighty things that you could have had. And just because of your frivolous way of life, because of your minute thinking and because of the cheap way of thinking through life as toward the beggarly elements of this world, you sold God for those things. You put eternal life away for those things, and you got rid of the Lord for those things, to kind of sit around on the side and watch some non-virtuous thing on TV, or to get on the side and see some natural thing that is not even worth while in a magazine, whether it's looking at nudeness, or reading something that's non-virtuous, whatever it might be as to your carnal state of mind.

Remember, a lot of times when we think of doing wrong, we think of killing somebody, or we think of robbing somebody, and of course, a lot of times we stumble at that. We strain at a gnat and swallow a camel even at those things, because to manipulate the way that a lot of business men do, that's theft. That's theft. That's robbery. A lot of times in gossiping and the things that you do, that's killing. Jesus said that kills a person. You kill their influence. You destroy their life. See? But nevertheless, we think that to do wrong, we have to go out here and literally rob or kill somebody, you know, and that as long as we don't do this, we're all right. As long as we're not vicious and temperamental to the extent that we just get beyond control, every thing's all right and we're going to go to heaven. God understands. Well, let me tell you something. To be carnally minded is death. You don't have to go out and kill anybody. You don't have to go out and rob anybody, you just be carnally minded. You just think on the things of the world and have your mind of the things of the world and look toward the things of the world, and hunger and thirst after the things of the world, and when you do that, you are carnally minded. And the Bible says to be carnally minded is death. You're abiding in death. Paul said there's a natural body, and there is a spiritual body, and when you're carnally minded, to gossip, to backbite, to find fault, to mumble, to grumble, to complain, then you are abiding in death. Did you know the ones that complained against Moses, Moses, on one occasion, said, "If I be a man of God, let the earth open up and swallow them. Let them go down to the pit quickly." And the earth just opened up and swallowed them up. See, because they were complaining. They were murmuring against Moses. And today the world does the same thing. Always looking for fault. Jesus said the time will come when you that love the Lord, you that are not carnally minded, you that are spiritually minded, that are seeking the will of the Lord, and trying to be about the Father's business, the day is going to come when the world is going to hate you, and they're going to kill you and think they've done God a service. He said, "But he that endureth to the end the same shall be saved." 

So then, to be carnally minded is death. Why? Because faith will not work in a carnal mind, and to escape death, you have to have faith. And there is no such thing as having faith in the carnal mind. Somebody would say, "Well, Brother Pike, I do the things of the world and I still believe as much as anybody believes." Well, let me tell you. I say again, believing is not always faith. There is a believing that is faith, and that believing is when you hear the Word of God and when you believe the Word of God, then that is faith. Faith cometh by the hearing of the Word of God, and faith is something in the heart by which God purifies the heart. But just to believe and be religious that does not mean that you are saved. It does not mean that you've passed from death unto life. It does not mean that you're going to have the time when you can say, "O grave, where is thy victory, or death where is thy sting." There's never going to be a time like that in your life, because you're dead now. You're dead while you live in trespasses and sins. You're dead. While you're carnally minded, you're dead. While you're hungering and thirsting after the things of the world, you're dead. If the love of the world is in you, then you're dead.

See? But to be spiritually minded is life. To have the mind of Christ is life and that's peace. And to have the mind of Christ is to be able to say, "Death where is thy sting, and grave where is thy victory?" Or that is, to live free from sin, or that is, to have faith that overcomes sin, because if I believe in my heart then I am purified from sin, because sin today is unbelief. And if I believe in my heart, then there is no unbelief. And if there is no unbelief then, there is no sin if I believe in my heart to the purification of God's Spirit. Or that is to say, anything that you do is because of unbelief if it is sin. If it is the things of the world, it is because of unbelief. Why did Eve do the things that she did? Wasn't it because of unbelief? She disbelieved what God said. He said "The day that thou eatest thereof, thou shall surely die." The just living by faith, she broke that life line and so she died. Why did Esau loose the birthright? Wasn't it because of unbelief? It was because of unbelief. See? The Lord had given him the birthright as the first born, but because he would not do what God wanted him to do, it was unbelief. When he met Jacob, he made a joke out of the birthright, and sold it to Jacob for a mess of pottage. Sold his birthright. Unbelief. Wasn't it unbelief in every case that death came upon them in the Old Testament? When the children of Israel did not go into the land of Canaan, wasn't it because of unbelief? God had said to Moses to take them on into Canaan, but they became afraid of the giants, and they were afraid that they could not master the situation. They did not put enough confidence in the ability of God to take care of them. Isn't that the same way today with you? You that are sick, you that are having problems, that can't pay your bills, you that can't overcome problems, you that can't stay away from gossiping and backbiting and the things of the world, whether it be worldly movies, or sports or what ever it is that's alluring and drawing you as the love of the world, as to money or whatever it might be, as to the opposite sex, as to the gullible desires, the passions. Isn't that what the problem is? It is unbelief. Because if you believed in God, you would know that God is more that sufficient for your cause. And Paul said, "I thank God who always gives us the victory, always, though we're delivered as sheep to the death; yet in these things we're more than conquerors through Christ that loved us and gave Himself for us."

So then, your problem today is unbelief. Your problem today is not believing in what God said when He said, "Come out from among them, be ye a separate people, and touch not the unclean things and I'll receive you, saith the Lord." See? Unbelief in that the Lord said "If you have the love of the world in you, the love of the Father is not there." Unbelief in everything that He said unto you, to forsake those things and forsake your way of life; whereas the Bible says he that loses his life for My sake shall gain it, and that unto eternal life to the eternal riches of God, and he that saveth his life, as to his own career, his own way of life, to do his own thing, and the Bible says they that try to save their life, they lose their life. But if you give your life for Christ, then you gain your life unto the wonderful glories of God. See? So then, you can go after your career. You can go after your life. You can put the preacher down, and put the Word of God down, and you can go another way if you want to go. It's all right. But the thing is, you are going to meet God at the end, and you are going to lose life. You are going to lose life. There's no need of playing around with salvation. There's no need of playing around with religion, and indoctrinating yourself or letting somebody indoctrinate you with the idea that you don't have to forsake the world and all that's in it. You do have to forsake the world and all that's in it. Solomon said, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." It's lying vanities. The whole world is in a state of corruption. The whole world is under a curse, and if you go after the world, then you are a part of the curse, and you're under the curse. But the Lord has delivered us from the curse. If we'll follow the Lord, if we'll walk in the Spirit, then we won't fulfill the desire of the flesh, the lust of the flesh.

You know, I say this again. It's so sad to look around you as you travel and see so many religions. So many religions. While we were riding over Israel David said, "My, my, there are so many religions. It's so confusing." So many religions. See? Jerusalem is the religious headquarters of the world. There are so many religions, and as I ride around the world and I see this, the sadness of my heart is this: I think, now here is somebody that's teaching about Christ, and here's somebody teaching about Christ. They are all talking about the Word of God, and Paul said whether it's for contention, or otherwise, herein I rejoice that the Word of God is going forth. Jesus said, "And when this gospel of the Kingdom has been preached in all the world for a witness then shall the end come." Now, I see that and I rejoice to the extent that I'm glad that they are telling about Jesus. I'm glad that they are telling about these things, but they are leaving the people in a proselyte condition. Jesus said, "You generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?" He said. "You oppose everything that God says, and you teach the tradition of the elders, and you go about to establish your own way of life, and forsake the commandments of God." He said, "How can you escape the damnation of hell?" He said, "You compass land and sea to make a proselyte two-fold more the child of hell than yourself," after that you've indoctrinated them. And I see all of these things, and preachers, priests, whatever; they're teaching the people that everything is well with them, and they're going to be all right. They don't have to worry because God has taken care of everything. And I come back to the Word. I come back to the Scriptures, and I think, Lord, here is thousands of people, tens of thousands of people, millions of people throughout the world, and I say all these people have an indoctrination, and the Words of life are right here to where they can read it, where they can hear it, where they can see it, and yet they change it around to their new translations and all these things, injecting into this their own carnal reasoning and the worm gets into the bread. The intellectual reasoning gets into the bread and the bread becomes death. And I see this and I think, here is the unadulterated Word of God before these generations, but they are so intellectually struck by the institutions of the world, and they've learned so much and they've studied so much they don't even have good common sense anymore. People that used to plow the fields, that worked for a living had more sense than the generation of today. Jesus said, "This generation is a sinful and an adulterous generation, always seeking after signs," and these kind of things, and following for the fishes and the loaves. You know, coming back on the plane, you'll be sitting there as you travel and they show one movie right after another, and the seats are low enough to where you see right over the top of them, and you slump down in the seat because you don't want to see the garbage. Occasionally there might be something that would come across on the news that would be worthwhile. If you go to look at it, all of a sudden here comes up some nudeness, or something flies up and you find yourself, before you realize it, looking at filth and you turn your head right quick, because you don't want to see it.

So you just try to evade the whole thing. You know, but on this, as to those things that you see unawares, you could be like this, and unawares, all of a sudden you'll raise your head, you'll forget, and there it is right before you, and you see the youth just weaving like a snake. And you see them just crazy, and screaming and hollering. Such things you can't hardly imagine. There are such things in the world. I don't mean a little bit of something like some of your bebop is around in the local area, but I mean something that's so far out it's just absolutely pathetic. It's unreal that those people have gone stark raving mad with these things. I mean all kinds of people. Young people and old people, and middle aged people, and they've gone crazy with this kind of thing. Paul said, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Did you know that everything that they do in sports, and everything that they do in the world as to make money, and these kind of things, other than that which is, of course, demanded as a necessity of life, as to substance that you might survive, all of that is of the devil. Did you know that? And their bodies, they are continually following after their bodies. They primp and pamper their bodies. They paint their faces. They build their bodies. They do everything they can with their body, projecting the devil all the time in the lust of the flesh. And more and more like dogs, and like swine. They are coming together after the things of the body, and Paul said, "Who shall deliver me from the body of that death?" That body is the image of the devil. It was born of Adam and in it is death. And all of the things that you do as to the carnal mind is death. It's contrary to God. It's not like Jesus at all; whereas, the Bible says we should follow in His steps who knew no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. So then, we're supposed to follow after Jesus, and do these things that Jesus did. And we're supposed to be sober and vigilant, because the Bible says our adversary, the devil, goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And the Bible says you should resist him steadfast in the faith, and no give place to him. No, not for a moment. See?

So to be carnally minded is to let the devil in, to give the devil place in this body, and this body is a body of death. It's a body of death. It's an image of death. It's the bastard child. God will despise it unless you kill it out. Accept the body of Jesus as to the death of this body, and bury it in the lovely name of Jesus as to rid yourself of this body, to take by faith the blessings of Christ, to be delivered from the curse, and to take by faith the new body, as to new birth, and be bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh and try to conform to His mind to the extent that you are doing away with every thought, to bring this mind into subjection, to be like the Lord Jesus Christ, to get rid of the flesh, to kill out the flesh, to put down the flesh, not to lift up the flesh.

Folks, let me tell you, the end of the world is here, and we're at the point to where God is fixing to make an end of flesh. The Bible says, as concern Noah, "Take your family and go into the ark. The end of all flesh has come up before Me." And the Bible says concerning the day that we're living in, "And in that day it will be as it was in the days of Noah, as in the days of the flood when the end all flesh had come." Why had the end of all flesh come? Because the Bible says, "And all flesh has corrupted its way before God, and there's none of them good. No, not one. All of them have gone astray, and every man has turned to his own way. And every man is looking to his own quarter for his own gain, and there's none of them good." And the Bible says that God laid upon Jesus the iniquity of us all, He being bruised for our transgressions, or the chastisement of our peace being laid upon His back. The Bible says, "By whose stripes we are healed." Having been bruised and beaten, and the Bible says, His countenance marred more than any man in my behalf. So then, the end of all flesh has come up before us. As in the days of Noah, all flesh has corrupted its way before God. I say again, traveling around the world, I don't have to guess at these things. In traveling around the world, I find out that the end of all flesh has come up before God. Even in Africa, some have moved in, such as the Sheraton people as the Sheraton Hotel, powers of riches, they've moved in, and these people have opened, somebody says, a can of worms. They have opened up a keg of drunkenness until the people are wallowing in the slop and in their vomit. And there even at the Sheraton Hotel, there in Africa, I saw the filth, the lewdness. I saw playboys coming from all over the world, and playgirls from all over the world, rich, fabulous, coming to throw away money. And I saw them mixing and mingling like a bunch of dogs. It makes no difference as to color, it makes no difference as to race, makes no difference as to anything. Whether it's the Word of God, or not the Word of God, it doesn't make any difference. They just come in there, and they just wallow around like pigs in the slop. I go over into Israel and I go into a place there, and it's the same old thing. Doesn't make any difference who they are. They come and they wallow in the slop. Priests drunk. Priests that are just wobbling about, and drunk. Young girls and boys exposed to the wine. The young women in Israel, having lost their virtue, they are put in the army, like here in the United States and the other places around the world. And the hundreds and thousands, and tens of thousands of young girls roaming the street in their uniforms and tight form fitting mens clothing, and you can tell that they have no virtue. They have gone down to the dogs, and you can tell the young men have been in this mess in such a way until all of the integrity of life is gone and they have nothing but condemnation and you can tell they've destroyed themselves.

All flesh, all flesh across the world has corrupted themselves before God. And the end of all flesh has come up before God. The end of the days of the Gentiles are here. And God is fixing to put Jacob through the fire. And God is fixing to take all of the nations, to bring them together to the battle of the great Armageddon to where the Bible says the blood will run up to the horse's bridle. When He said, "And those three unclean spirits like frogs that went out into all the earth to gather all of the kings of the earth to this great battle of God Almighty," till God can make the blood run to the horse's bridle, and slaughter flesh until it will be unreal as to the thousands and millions of people that He will do away with in this great battle. Why? Because God is tired of the foolishness. Somebody would say, "But what about those good people, Brother Pike, that those bridges fell on?" The Bible says, "And there's none good, no not one." So it didn't fall on any good folks. And you say, "Well, what about those that were trying to do right?" The Bible says, "Every man has turned to his own way." So there wasn't any of them that was trying to do right. And somebody would say, "But Brother Pike, what about those that are true Christians by the virtue of the Lord Jesus Christ?" Those that were born again, those that not just being religious, but those that was genuinely born again, whether in China, whether in California, or whether in any other place as to the Carolinas when this great hurricane hit, wherever people have genuinely been born again, that have really received Christ, then those people are good by His goodness, and those people are godly by His godliness, and those people are saved by His works, and those people, whether in the calamities or not in the calamity, God gently reached down and as it was with Lazarus took them off to Paradise to where there will be no problems for them. Little children, God gently reached down and took their spirits and took them away to Paradise to where there is no problem for them. But the others, the Bible says all nations that forget God shall be turned into hell. And God is angry, and the Bible says that God is angry with the wicked every day. There's not one day of the week but what God is angry with the wicked. And God said, "I will pursue the wicked until they perish from off of the face of the earth. If they give offering to Me, it doesn't make any difference," He said, "because their offerings are an abomination in My sight." He said that if they pray to Me as a believer, it doesn't make any difference, because their prayers are an abomination in My sight. And unless they have My Spirit, they're none of Mine. They must be born of the Spirit no matter how much they believe.

So then, He said, "I will pursue them." Whether it will be as a ship that sinks at sea, whether it will be as a great airliner that crashes and kills people, whether it will be, as the film that we saw momentarily, as this great bus collided into this horrible thing there where thousands of people were killed, it's still God pursuing the wicked, and whether it be an airline crash, whether it be an earthquake, or whether it be tidal waves, diseases, or whatever it might be, it is still God pursuing the wicked until the wicked perish from off of the face of earth. God said, "I am angry with the wicked every day. I don't want the wicked to perish if they will repent of their sins, and it's not My will that any should perish, not even the wicked. If they will come to repentance, I will give them everlasting life, but if they continue to do wickedly and they won't listen to Me," He said, "if they walk contrary to Me, I will walk contrary to them. If you will draw nigh to Me," God said, "I will draw nigh to you. If you'll confess your sins, I'm just to forgive you of your sins if you'll forsake those sins after you have confessed those sins. And whatever you do shall prosper if you confess your sins, and forsake your sins, but the wicked shall not prosper. I will pursue the wicked until they perish from off of the face of the earth," and I say again, the Lord said all nations. It doesn't matter if it's China, or America, or whether it is Israelites, all nations that forget God will be turn into hell.

So then, a lot of times we say, "Well, the Israelites, God wouldn't turn them into hell." But He said that all nations that forget God shall be turned into hell. All right. So then, we see that God is pursuing the wicked. It's a terrible day. God is pursuing the wicked everywhere. And God is going to pursue the wicked until they perish. He isn't going to stop, though they may give thousands of dollars to a religious source, He is still going to destroy them. Though they may pray, and they may count their beads, and their ritualistics, and do whatever, but no matter what they do, God is going to pursue them until they perish. "If you gossip, if you backbite, if you do those things," He said, "I will not allow you to be part of My kingdom, and you'll not stand in the holy hill of God. If you backbite with your tongue," He said, "I won't allow you to come into this wonderful kingdom of God. If you lie and if you cheat, if you go after the things of the world, if you project the body, if you follow the body of that death, for the end of it is death," then He said, "You can't be part of My kingdom. And unless you hate your life for My sake," He said, "you cannot be My disciple." You are going to have to look back on your natural life from your birth, and you're going to have to hate that life and all that it stands for, and you're going to have to look at the things of this world, whether it be careers, or sports, or whatever it might be, if it's that pertaining to Babylon, and pertaining to this life you're going to have to look at it, and you're going to have to hate it. You're going to have to hate this image that is of your first birth and put it down and put it out and quit primping and pampering and lifting it up and magnifying it and catering to the flesh, and you're going to have to turn away from that thing and put it down and crucify it.

Let me tell you, the thing that God did when He sent the bodily image of sin as Jesus, as in the image of sin, He was showing you, the bastard child. That's why they called Jesus a bastard child, because He was typical of the bastard child. And God was showing you what He thinks of the very best of the flesh. That was the very best of the flesh. The man that lived holy and pure, and yet He could not be justified, for the Bible says no flesh shall be justified in My sight. And so He put Him down, and He smote Him, and Jesus said, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" So, He put Him down and He smote Him to let you know what He thinks about you as a bodily image as to that first image. I'm going to say this and try to close. Paul said that there is a natural body, that body must be destroyed. That body must be put down. That body must be put out of the presence of God. It must die by the body of Jesus and you must forsake it, and turn away from it until it thinks not even one thought, until it does not one deed. And you've got to come to a mind of Christ that meditates in the laws of God day and night, to the full reward, to the full measure, to the full stature of the perfect man Christ Jesus, and you've got to magnify that body of the Lord, as bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh, and you've got to move into the Spirit to get out of the flesh so that you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh, to be as those that dwell in heaven. And you've got to walk in the Spirit. You've got to meditate in His laws day and night. You've got to pray without ceasing. You've got to give your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And you've got to go on with the Lord to get the love of the world out of you and kill out the natural side of life to where you'll never be carnal minded as to the lying vanities of this world, and have your treasures in heaven, and have your conversation in heaven, to never speak of those things that are done in secret, as that which is unbecoming to the saints of God. The Bible says don't let it be named among you, not one time.

So, there is a natural body, there is a spiritual body, and as we have born the image of the earthy, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly, for of the earth so are they that are earthy. They do earthy things. They are conformed to the earth, and they are under the beggarly elements of this world, and they belong to this world. They are tares. Satan sowed them, and the good wheat, the good seed is what the Lord Jesus sowed. And those that are tares He is going to burn them with the fire in the end of the world. Here we are in the end of the world. We are the good seed, and God is going to gather us into the garners which He is already doing. I wish we had time to really elaborate on it as to detail, as to the way that He is doing it. But at any rate, God is gathering the wheat into the garners, and He is going to cut down the chaff and cast it into the fire. So, if you are a good seed, then you belong to God. If you are a tare, then you were sown by the devil. God didn't put you in this world. Somebody said, "You know, they come into this world as a tare, and we convert over and we become a good seed." No. There is no such thing as that. Someone would say, "Well, all those tares out there, who knows but what they might convert over and become good seed." You know that's impossible. Since when could you convert a tare to a grain of wheat? Since when can you do that? When can you take a briar and change it into wheat, or that which is bread? There is no such. The Bible says and they were sown of the devil. And Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil, and his will you will do." So then, we're preaching the gospel, that which is good seed, and those that are of the wheat can come out as to the harvest, for the tares will not come out. The Bible says they will not hear when good cometh, or see when good cometh. The god of this world, even Satan, has blinded their eyes, even their eyes of understanding that they should never see these good things. And the Bible says, "If this gospel be hid, it be hid to them that are lost," those who Satan blinded their eyes so they cannot see. So then, we see that if you are of the Lord, then you'll follow the Lord, and you'll believe on the Lord. You'll live like He lived. You'll talk like He talked, you'll follow in His steps, and you'll go your very best to come into the full measure of the full stature to be about your Father's business.

All right, let's stand together. I appreciate you being here. Thank you for coming out this morning, and I trust that some of these things that we're saying is finding good ground. The Bible says the sower went forth and sowed and some fell on stony ground, some fell into good ground. We're sowing this morning. The Bible says, "Every plant that My heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up." Some falls on stony hearts where it can't get any root, so when the sun comes up, that is to say the blistering desires of life as to lust, then they're taken away. The fowls will come and pick them up either by the wayside or off of the rocks. But the good seed falls into good ground, and brings forth fruit, some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred. And He said there are some that fall into ground that could be good ground, but the Bible says that the tares, they intertwine themselves about the wheat and the vines choke them, and they don't bring forth any fruit. They die. The life is choked out of them, or that is to say, when the seed is sown and it falls among the tares, as to that that could be light it is choked out. It is choked out and nothing comes out of it at all, not anything. So then, the good seed that is sown that takes root is sown of our Lord. Anything aside from that, dies, or doesn't take root, or never gets a hold, and then the tares are sown to choke the life out of the church, to try to choke the life out of you and I. But the thing is, it's so close it would deceive the very elect if possible, but I'm glad it's not possible. But that which could have brought forth something, the tares choke it and it brings forth no fruit. And the Bible says the tares are the cares of this life: you've got to have a little business, and you've got to have a little prestige, and you've got to have a little something on the side, got to have a little monetary power, you've got to have a little gossip, you've got to have a little back-biting, you've got to have a little bit of cheating as to what you look at and what you read. You've got to have just a little bit of doing your own thing so it can warm things up a little bit for the flesh and you become unfruitful, and really don't amount to anything. You're just religious but you die.

All right. Let's sing a chorus together. Very sad. It's very sad. Let's sing "I Love Him". Can we sing this song "I Love Him"? (Sings.) Sing it again, now. (Sings.) The altars are open. (Sings.) Can you sing it with me, now? (Sings.) Sing it one more time. (Sings.) One more time. (Sings.)

I saw the garden where Jesus prayed until the sweat became as great drops of blood, saw the tomb where the stone is rolled back. Some of you have been there and have seen it. The tomb is empty. He's gone. A real holy land. As I say so often, people here in this great United States and around the world have, as a rule until just the last number of years, accepted God by faith because they didn't really know where there was a God or not. They didn't even know whether there was a holy land or not. It's just been as latter years that this generation has been able to have pictures of the holy land shown all over TV, and they've had the privilege of going there and visiting the holy land. But they didn't know there was a holy land. They just had some history or somebody's word for it. Like we hear about George Washington, and Abe Lincoln, and great men of old, we only have somebody's word or we read it in a book. We can't really go back, you know, into history to see those things. But occasionally you'll find a place, as to the old Washington home place, like Mount Vernon, or something that will make you to believe that there really was a Lincoln or a Washington. See? And here we go to the holy land, there along the road to Ephratah is Rachel's tomb. You find it, and the Bible says, "On the way to Bethlehem," (the road to Ephratah is really the road to Bethlehem), and Rachel died, and sure enough you find her tomb there. Then you do down to Hebron where Father Abraham was, and his wife Sarah, typical of New Jerusalem, the mother of us all; Abraham, the father of the faithful. A man and a woman that found so much favor with God until they become some of the most outstanding figures in the mind of God that there is, or shall ever be, and there their bodies are planted down in Hebron where there is a lot of problems right now. Lot of fighting, lot of problems, deaths, sorrow, heartaches, misery. You go down there and you find this. Bethlehem, you find the birthplace of Jesus, even the covering where Constantine's mother during the time of the crusaders had the covering built over the birthplace. And of course, there the place is. They hallow it. People from all around the world. The Armenians, the Catholics, the Christian. All around the world people take this as a hallowed spot. You can find the garden tomb, you can find the old city, you can travel to the Sea of Galilee, you can travel up to Mount Hermon that the Bible speaks of, the dew of Mount Hermon. We've been up on it. You can find Nebo, the Mount Nebo. As you go down through Canaan you can look across the Jordan and see Mount Nebo where God took Moses up on Mount Nebo and let him look across to see the promised land. You can find Mount Moriah there at the Mosque of Omar where Abraham offered up his son. You can find Mount Zion where david is buried in the tomb there on Mount Zion, right there in the city of Old Jerusalem. See? It's real. It really happened. You can drive down by the Dead Sea, and find Sodom and Gomorrah, or that is the place where fire and brimstone actually came down out of heaven and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. You can see Tyre and Sidon and Capernaum, when Jesus said to Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee, "Capernaum, thou art exalted to the heavens, but thou shalt be brought down to hell, for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah that's been done in thee they would have remained until today." And He said, "It shall be more tolerable in the day of the judgment for Sodom and Gomorrah than for thee." And there is Tyre and Sidon. You can see these places that Jesus cursed because He did so many great mighty works and they still failed to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The great Sea of Galilee where He walked on the water where He actually went out and met them in the boat, the place where Peter, as a man, actually walked upon the water. You see it. It's all there.

You know, it really moves you when you go down there and you see these things and you realize that these are the places where Jesus actually walked and did mighty miracles, that God did phenomenal things. Sister Betty and I, privileged to go down to where Samson actually picked up the gates of a city as a man, and walked off with them. And there to the place where the lion came running out at him, and when he reached out and grabbed the lion, and the Bible says, rent him as though he had been a kid, with the supernatural strength of Almighty God. And the place where Mary, the virgin Mary, being so pure and holy actually made contact with the angel of God, and the divine thing happened as to bring forth a Savior, and the place of Sarah. And you see all of these wonderful places where Gabriel appeared, Michael appeared, and the different things took place as angelic visitations as in the days when the angel came to announce the birth of Samuel. See these great things, the places where Saul pursued David as down along the Dead Sea, and the Qumran Mountains where the Essenes lived, and the Dead Sea scrolls were found, or the Essene Scrolls were found. You see all of these things. What can you say? And many, many other things. You see these things. What can you say? It's real. It's real. There was a Jesus. And you can find out that there was a Jesus. There is a record of Jesus just like there's a record of Abraham Lincoln, and a record of George Washington. There is a record in that nation of their leaders just like you have them here of your leaders. I go into London, into England, or into Great Britain, and they have the records. I was reading some things on the wall of some of their great people, of the great things that they've done. They have the records of them. America had the records of their great things and they tutor their children here. The Hebrews have the record of their great things, and even though they do not accept Jesus as the Messiah, yet as a prophet, so there is a record of Him. So it's real. Though most of the people of the world has to take it by faith, now the Bible speaks of this as in the end time it shall speak and not lie. And now it's speaking to where you can tell. You can go there. I've been there seven times in my lifetime already. So it makes me to know that something is taking place. And it makes me to know, though I believe with all of my heart. I've had the experience of revelation. I've had the experience of being filled with His Spirit, the experience of seeing the great phenomenal things of God take place so I believed anyway, not like Thomas. I didn't have to see to believe. I believed to see.

[And so then, now here you know, and I know. Some of you have been there. You're more accountable even that others because you've been there, and you know. So we sing the stone is rolled back. Sister Betty says here that there are some sisters that are to be commended, or Sister Susie or somebody, says that they are here. And I was wondering if she wanted to come up here and say something about this. Whoever wrote me the note said they checked the computers, and they that was on it, and they are deserving of some praise, she says here. So, I think it has to do with foreign mail, and I don't know just what all it has to do with, but maybe she can explain it to you.

(Susie speaks) I didn't mean to get up here. I just wanted, as the Bible says, to give praise where praise is due, and before I left a couple of months back I got with a few sisters that were interested in doing something for God, and I showed them what I know on the computer, which is very little. And they don't know this. They're all going to be shocked, but I have the computer code to where I can check up on them, and I'm going to name the ones that I have found out has been using it very diligently. There is Sister Elizabeth Douglas and Sister Anne Lundebo has got most of the foreign mail in computer. Sister Marcia Cartrette, Sister Kelly Berretta and Sister Pearl Harper have also been transcribing sermons, and I understand Sister Marcia is just flying on there. And Sister Lindy Taylor and Sister Beverly Holt, and Sister Tonya Beachy have been putting the bank books on there and they have got quite a bit done on it. I'm having to catch up myself now that I'm back down here. If I've missed your name it's because you got on there after it was coded. So I'll be checking up on you too. (Congregation applauds, and Brother Pike returns.)

I think that's wonderful. You know that — Brother Taylor sings that's what gets the job done. Brother Jimmy Kirk, he likes that song, getting the job done. So I think that's marvelous when I come back and find out that people, whether it is the ladies, or the men, or both, working together has done the job. That's the thing that pleases God. Excuses, that's not too good. But when you get the job done that's nothing less than wonderful. Let's give them another hand. I think that's wonderful. So we appreciate you, and the Bible says, In a good thing that we praise you. And I trust that this will encourage others among the ladies to really make a diligent effort to win souls.]

Folks, I'm telling you something. You are going to be sorry if you let your life go by. You're going to be sorry when you look back, and you think about what you could have had, what you could have had for God and the reward you could have had eternally if you'd been willing to give your time to God. You're going to be sorry when you look back and think about the frivolous way that you let parasites and devils and demons talk you out of it, and take your time until you lost your strength and your youth, when you could have invested it in God. You're going to be sorry. So take my advice. Don't do that. It doesn't matter what anybody says. If anybody mocks you, somebody — you know, you go to do something and somebody will mock you. It's like David when he was going to kill the giant, they mocked him. The brothers mocked him and said, "Who do you think you are?" But it doesn't matter who they think we are. It doesn't have anything to do with it. Jesus said, "Who do men think that I am?" But it didn't matter with Jesus. Jesus went right on and did His Father's will. They mocked Him to scorn. When He walked in and He said, "The little maiden is not dead. She's asleep," the Bible says they laughed Him to scorn. But it didn't make any difference. He just went on and did what He had to do for God. And that's what you have to do. You sisters that are doing that, you brothers that are doing that, go on and do what God wants you to do. Let this bunch of critics, this bunch of fault finding people, whether they're at Bethlehem, or wherever they are at, let that bunch of gossipers, let them die and go into the lake of fire, but you go on and work for God, and you go on and do something for God no matter what they say, and we'll praise you in it. We'll praise you in it. And God will praise you in it. And you'll get the job done and you will have the reward. Whether we praise you or not, you will still have the reward.

Some of you are nothing but critics. You're sent here for no other purpose than to criticize Little Bethlehem, and to criticize the brothers and sisters. Some of you sisters are nothing but critics. You're tares. You're children of the devil, like Jesus told them concerning the Hebrews. Some of you sisters that come here, false sisters, and you're children of the devil, and some of you brothers are false brethren, and you're children of the devil, and your eyes are filled with lust, and desiring the things of this world, and in rebellion and contrariness, as to submission of spirit and conformity. You are altogether contrary. See? And we know who you are, and Jesus knows who you are, but the thing is we're not going to let you stop us. Paul said, "I was in peril of false brethren, and I would have come unto you but Satan hindered me." And every time you do something good, you are going to be mocked. But when you do the right thing, God is going to deliver you out of all of your adversity. So then, some of you are tares and children of the devil, and the lust of your father you are going to do, no matter what, because you've got his mind, and some of you are precious children, brothers and sisters in the Lord. True brothers and sisters that are born of God, and you can't help but do good things. You can't help but think good thoughts, for the Bible says that out of the heart comes forth good thoughts. Out of the heart comes forth good thoughts. And you can't help but think good thoughts because you've got God's Spirit there. But out of the heart don't come forth good and bad thoughts. For out of the fountain comes forth one kind of water, and that's why Jesus said concerning the fruit, "Make the tree good, or bad, for the tree is known by its fruits." And Jesus said that you are of your father the devil. He said he could can tell. The child can be told, or understood, by the things that he does. You can tell him by the things that he does. And if you do good things then are ye good. If you do evil things then are you evil. And if you are always the kind of person that's making an excuse of why you didn't do good things, then are you evil and wretched and corrupt. See? But when Susie tells me things like this, or whoever, that the sisters are doing real good things while we're gone, and Tony comes and tells me that the brethren are doing real good things while we're gone, then they are children of God. They're not tares. That's the children of God. So then, the child is known by his doings. If you are doing something for God, then are ye the blessings of God, as to children of God, and you're going to get the blessings of eternal life. But if you are not going good and you are just making excuses while everybody else carries the load, and you are always in error, God has not given us the spirit of error, and if you are always in error, always making excuses, always doing something wrong, or giving an excuse why you can't do right, than are you children of the devil. But you that do right, that's the way to do it. The song we wrote, "Excuses, Excuses". I remember in Oklahoma when we wrote the song "Excuse, Excuses". And that's the way a lot of people are.

All right. Let's get back to what we were doing. If you love the Lord, then you want to do something for God. If you've not made a commitment to God to do something for God, make a commitment. You know why a lot of people are never healed? Because they never confess healing. They never have enough confidence in their heart in God's Word to stand out and be mocked and scorned a little bit for making a confession of healing. And since the Lord is the high priest of our confession, then with the heart man believeth unto these benefits, and confession is made unto salvation with the lips. It's when you believe the Word of God with your heart and you just outright confess it, no matter what anybody thinks, and you keep rehearsing this thing in your heart, and into your mind until it becomes a conviction, and then when it becomes a conviction then you find out that it becomes something in your body as to a reality. Let's sing another chorus. Let's sing that little chorus, "Sweep Over My Soul". We're going to let you go in just a few minutes. Just coming back we'll worship the Lord for a few minutes. (Sings.) Can you sing that with me? (Sings.) Can you sing that with me? (Sings.) Can you sing that with me? Can you lift your hands up? (Sings.) Sing it with me. (Sings.)

Can you lift your hands up and close your eyes? I will praise Him. I will praise Him. I will praise the Lord for sinner slain, to give Him glory, all ye people, for His blood has washed away every stain. Jesus prayed in the garden until the sweat turned into blood. He went to His disciples, and said, "Couldest thou not watch with Me one hour?" And He went back and prayed and He said, "Father, if it be Thy will let this cup pass for Me. But nevertheless, Father, what You will. Thy will be done." And then He went back again the third time. He went back praying the same prayer again, "Father, if You will let this cup pass from Me." He wasn't praying the cross away. He wasn't praying His sufferings away. He was praying that dreary hour of the dread, knowing that within a few minutes Judas would show up, and he had come to betray Him. Knowing this, the hour of the dread, let this hour pass away, but nevertheless, not My will but Thy will be done. Whatever Your will, that's what I want. You know, wouldn't it be so wonderful if all of us had the same outlook. So many times I pray, and I'm sure you go through some dreary hours. I do. Some miserable, miserable times. And I find myself praying, "Father, let this hour pass." God let this thing go from me, but then I think about Jesus; the sufferings of Jesus, and I find myself, I hear the voice saying, "Equip yourselves with a mind to suffer." And I hear Paul say, "I seek to know Him in the fellowship of His suffering." And then I find myself saying, "Nevertheless, Father, not my will but Thy will be done. Give me grace, O God. Give me grace. Lord, give me grace." The sing that song "Grace To Stand". Grace for every need.

So while we're standing here, fixing to close, let's just lift our hands up to heaven, close our eyes, and praise God for the brothers and sisters, for the diligence and concern of them that are really concerned that are trying to do something, that's not just being religious, or being at Bethlehem but are really trying diligently to find something to do for Christ every day. Let's praise them, and let's work with them, and lift them up, and let's pray for them, because this is what we need at Bethlehem. This is what we need. While you've got your heads bowed, I look around and I see the different ones, and I'm so thankful, so thankful. [I wonder some of them are that are suppose to be here.] And I'm so thankful. You wanted to say something, Sister Betty? Yeah. That's wonderful. Let's give the Lord a hand, can we? God is the healer. I am the Lord God that healeth thee. God wants everyone of you healed. You really need to diligently consider that, that God wants everyone of you healed. It doesn't matter what's wrong with you, He wants you healed. Do you know that it's a little hard for you to understand, and we are going to close, but I want you to think on this. God wants you to be healed. Have you every considered the fact that wherever Jesus went, He healed all of them? Not all of them in the sense that some of them were believers, but all that would believe. He went about going good, healing all of them. See? So, He wants you healed. He wants you well. He wants everybody saved, everybody healed. Everybody isn't going to be saved, everybody isn't going to be healed, but it's because of unbelief. He's no respecter of persons. He wants you healed. And He said, "What I say to one I say to all. I am the Lord that healeth thee." And if you just stop and think just for a minute, stop and think. See, He bore your iniquities and He took your sicknesses in His body on the tree, and by His stripes you are healed. And when the Word of God says be healed, you would say, "If Jesus was here, if He personally came and told me that then I would believe it. I could be healed. If He would just walk up to me and say, 'Be healed'." But see? Jesus is here, the same yesterday, today and forever. It's not us speaking but Jesus. And we're bone of His bone and we're flesh of His flesh. It's not us living but Him. And the Word that He sends to you, He's saying, "Be healed. I will that you be whole. I've already paid the price." Someone would say, "But will He give it to me, Brother Pike?" He already has given it to you. He can do no more than He has already done. He's freely give you all things that pertain unto life, the Bible says. He's freely given you healing. It's yours. All you've got to do is thank God for it. Be strong in faith as Abraham was, giving praise and glory and honor to the name of Jesus, being fully persuaded like Abraham was, that what He promised you and told you, He is also able to perform it. And someone would say, "Well, how can I know for sure that Jesus is saying it to me?" [Did you want to say something, brother? You're just praising the Lord with your hand lifted up? All right.] How can I know? Because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word is unchanged, unaltered. The Word came and healed them. If the Word is God, then God has said, "I want you healthy. I want you, above all things, to be in health, and to prosper even as your soul prospers, and I made it all possible. I've given it all into your hands. I've already done it." See? God is saying — Someone would say, "I wonder if God wants me to be healed. If He wanted me to be healed, He could heal me. But He must not want me to be healed, because He hasn't healed me, and I've tried to believe." Folks, that has nothing to do with it. That's just your unbelief. It's not a matter of whether He wants you to be healed, and if He did He would heal you. It's not a matter of that. It's a matter that He's already healed you because He wanted you to be healed. There is nothing else to say about it. He has already, as God Almighty, as the Word, said, "I am your healer. I'm here to heal you, save you. I am God." This is what I think. This is what I want. I am not, as you picture Me in the mind sitting on a throne away off up yonder somewhere and you can't get near me, and you're wondering if My mind is toward you, and if I'll heal you, and if I wanted you healed that I would have done it. That has nothing to do with it. That's your wild imagination. That's hallucinations. That's the devil. God is a present help in the time of need. God is a Spirit. God is in you. God is in the church. Where two or three gathered in His name, there God, the Spirit, is. God is the Word of Spirit and life. God has already said, "I've healed you." I gave this to you in Calvary. It's in the atonement. I've done all that I can do. It's your unbelief that's keeping you from having it.

So somebody said, "Well, what do I have to do to get healed?" Believe what He said about it. Somebody said, "Well, you could have money in the bank." I could say, "Go write a check and get it." If you didn't believe that, you could never get that money, but that doesn't mean the money isn't there. It doesn't mean the money isn't yours. You could die and never draw it out. So then, He healed you. He gave it to you at Calvary. God is standing saying, "Look, see these nail prints?" This is how much I want you healthy. This is how much I want you to prosper. This is how much I want to bless you, children. This is how much I want you have salvation and eternal life. This is how much. But if you go and let the devil misconstrue your thinking and cause you to go out on a tangent somewhere, to think all like of other thoughts, he'll keep you in a wilderness the rest of your life, and you'll never get the benefits of Calvary, and you'll never get the benefits of the Word. To observe lying vanities is to forsake your own mercies. Your mercy is in that atonement. And your mind is lying vanities. You need to get rid of every thought. And if you want to know how God feels about it, He's given it to you through His Son Jesus, through the name. It's all available. Say what you will, think what you will, decree it in your heart, it'll come to pass. Say it, don't doubt, and you can have it. You can have the desires of your heart, ride upon the high places of the earth, all these wonderful things. Instead, you try to figure and study and figure and study and go into a wilderness so that you will lose your life in and never come to faith. God, God the Heavenly Father, the Holy Ghost, God is saying, "Here's what I think. I'm the Lord that healeth thee." I'm doing everything I can to get you healed. I'm doing everything to the extent of giving the blood out of My veins to get to you, to get that crazy thinking out of your mind that Satan has put there, to get that foolishness out of your mind, that gossiping, that backbiting, all these things that bring condemnation, that builds up iniquity between you and God. I'm trying to wash it away. I did it by My blood. I'm just asking you to believe so I can wash your heart, clean it up, that you might believe in what I've said so you can go your way rejoicing and thanking God, not looking forward to a healing, but go on your way saying, "My God, my God, I've had my healing all this time. All of this has been mine all the time." And saying, "Lord, I love You," rejoicing in the Lord. And the Bible says, "Because you serve not the Lord, thy God with joyfulness of heart, you've got all these diseases," instead of praying and saying, "I thank You, Lord." Like Abraham, saying, "Glory to God, Sarah, did you hear what He said?" And you say – something turns over in your heart, and you say, O my, glory to God, what joy! Healed, to never be sick no more, and never have problems no more. My God, my God, my God! What a God! See? Instead of all of that wilderness.

Let's just slip our hands up while we pray. Let's thank God for our healing. Don't go out on some wilderness journey and never go into Canaan. Jesus did it all. He did it all. All to Him I owe. He, by that crimson stream has made me white as snow. Jesus paid it all. All to Thee I surrender. To Thee, Lord, I surrender all. So then, let's rejoice in our eternal life, not that we going to get it or find it, but because we are eternal and we do have eternal life, and let's rejoice in our healing. Not as we're going to find it, but because we're going to get our unbelief, as the middle wall of partition, out of the way, move that dam that keeps that water from rushing into our soul, and we're just going to praise Him. The song said, "I will praise Him. I will praise Him." Let's sing that one more time. (Sings.) Praise Him for what? Because He healed you. I will that thou be whole. (Sings.) Let's praise Him again, now. We praise Him for salvation. Now, because you are healthy and well, we're going to praise Him. (Sings.) Praise Him for what? Because you are healthy and well. Somebody said, "I'm going to be healed." Not so. Because we are healthy and well. That's already ours. It's already put in the bank. That's already ours. I'm rich in Him. Rich in Him. Don't you feel that healing flowing through your veins? Sure. That's what healing is, it's Spirit. And virtue went out from His body and healed His body and healed the people. Why? Because she said, "I'm whole." She felt in her body she was whole. She said, "If I can but touch Him." Reach out and touch your brother and sister. That's all you've got to do to touch Him. That's bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. (Sings.) Any time you do that, there goes the virtue from His body, and you are made whole. Be healed, be filled with the Spirit. (Sings.) Glory for what? Because you are healthy, you are whole. Everything's faded away when you begin to think like that, and the leprosy immediately left. I want you to praise Him again now. We're going to love Him, and we're going to dismiss now. Let's praise Him. (Sings.) Don't you feel whole now? Don't you feel whole? Somebody says, "If I believe it then it will happen." No. It happened, so now you can believe it. I said, "It happened, so now you can believe it." And the Bible says, "It came to pass before you ever called, He answered." Let's give Him a hand. So it happened. Now, you can rejoice. (Sings.) We're going to praise Him again, now. Praise Him because it happened. Gave it to us in Christ before the world ever was. (Sings.) Lord, I praise You for my healing, health, happiness. I'm riding upon the high places of the earth. You feed me with the heritage of Jacob. All of my diseases are gone. (Sings.) For we are healthy and well. And we'll give Him glory. For what? Because we're healthy and well. We're His people, and there wasn't a sick one among the tribes of Israel. God moved it away. And God will move sickness out of our midst. So He moved it out of our midst, before we called He answered. One more time now. (Sings.)

Lift your hands now. (Sings.) Hands pierced by the nails. Holy hands. His hands. Bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh. Royal blood flowing through your veins. Even the bite of the serpent, the poison couldn't hurt Paul. One more time, now. Poison all gone. We will praise Him. Death is gone. Sickness is gone. Sorrow is gone. Heartache is gone, because we're His. He has made us perfect forever, give us all things that pertain unto life. All of it's yours. You thank Him for it. You rejoice in it. You go and enjoy it. He's your Heavenly Father. You're His son. (Sings.) Can you just one more time together? Lift your hands up now, and let's enjoy His Spirit. Let His Spirit freely flow through you. You've already got it now. (Sings.) Pouring out His Spirit upon all, just and unjust. The tare and the wheat gets the rain. (Sings.) All our sickness, washed it away. Can you just one more time? (Sings.) Remember now, He washed all the stains away. He's the God that forgiveth all of our iniquities, healeth all of thy diseases. He forgives all of your iniquities, and He heals all of your diseases. And when they looked upon the brazen serpent, the bites of the serpent were all healed up. Just look back there at Calvary because it's all in Calvary. All of it's in Calvary. Just give Him glory, because He did it for you before you were ever born into the world. Before you ever called, He heard. We're just going to have to sing it one more time. Okay.

If you believe with me now, sickness is gone now. (Sings.) Don't you feel healthy and strong now? No more sickness. No more sickness. No more sickness, all gone. Now we're healthy and strong. Can you just one more time and I will let you go. (Sings.) Strong in the power of His might. (Sings.) Lift your hands and close your eyes. I'm going to ask Brother John Jameson to come to pray. While Brother Jameson comes to pray, now aren't you glad that you're healthy and well? Don't doubt. Don't doubt. Don't doubt it. How can you doubt His Word? He's God. He said He did it. He did it. He didn't lie. His Word can't be altered. It can't be changed. It's forever settled in heaven. The same to a thousand generations. You are a healthy people. You are a strong people. You are a powerful people. You are a righteous, holy, godly people. Can you praise Him for that, because you know that is the truth? While your hands are lifted up, your eyes are close, and Brother John is coming let's praise the Lord, let's love the Lord. Brother John.

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

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

Holiness Unto The Lord