Wonderful Words Of Life

Well, it's good to be here. As David said it's real good to come to the house of the Lord and feel His presence and know that He is with us and know that He is helping us. There's nothing more beautiful than to gather in the house of the Lord and especially on Sunday morning when minds are mostly fresh. The Brethren are — I don't know. It seems like that the Brothers and the Sisters are binding themselves together, perhaps stronger than they've ever been, even in the history of Little Bethlehem. And they have been strong. They've been — Twenty years and more they've been strong. They've stayed together in spite of all of the problems and in spite of all the conflict. No matter what people say and no matter what people do they still somehow manage to stay together to love one another and to keep their little church going and to keep the campground going and to keep the gospel going out to the world. So, they are strong in the Lord. The Bible said to be strong in the Lord and they're strong in the Lord and it looks like they're growing stronger everyday. Rather than getting weaker it looks like that they've grown stronger and stronger in spite of all the trials. And, of course, this makes me happy because they're my labor in the Lord and seeing them grow strong it makes me feel a lot better. So then, they're not babies anymore. They're growing up and there are quite a number of them that have really come into the things of God because I talked with them at different times. I communicate with them and they tell me things that I can tell that it's really God talking with them. And I think they're becoming more God conscious. Even though they do, as David said, have their responsibilities in life and they have to take care of those things. God wants a person to do that for the Bible said a man that will not provide for his own has denied the faith and he is worse than an infidel in God's sight. So then, God, He wants them to take care of their responsibilities of life but at the same time He wants to be first in their life. The mistake we make is that we don't put God first in our life and God wants to be first in our life. To seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then all the other things will be added unto you. There won't be anything lacking. Have you ever lacked any good thing since you've been serving God? Since I've been serving God I can truthfully say from the bottom of my heart that I have never lacked good thing. God has always taken care of me and provided, not just the basics of life but He hath given me the desires of my heart. I do not know of anything that I have wanted that God has not given unto me. So, He's blessed me. He's given me all the good things of life and I've been able to share a little bit. I haven't shared very much but I've been able to share a little bit with people and He has blessed me so bountifully that I hope that as the future goes on I'll still be able to share. My wife's delight and my delight is in trying to share with somebody. It seems like to me, I find more joy in giving and sharing than I do in having. Having things is nice. You know, you have a nice car. You have a nice home. And all these things God gives you because you love Him. But having those things, really, to me is not the thrill of giving something. Giving something. You know, I have a nice car because God has given me a nice car, but we've given a number of nice cars away and the thrill of giving those nice cars to people was more thrill to me than having a nice car. And there's just something about it that when you give to God, or God's people, you lay up treasures in heaven and you have that from now on. And it's such a thrill to know that you've done that until things that you have don't seem to be so thrilling, as compared to being able to give to somebody that's in need. And especially those that are in desperation. There are people that are in total desperation that really don't have anything. And we try to share with them as much as we can. My wife and different ones here they keep something going out into the foreign fields with a regularity, trying to share with them. Not only do they try to share with them, as to the clothing and food, a little money here and there but they try to share with them with the gospel. And I have some sisters here that work regularly trying to take the sermons off of tape and put it into the printed page while Brother Colin and others work to get this gospel out to the world. So then, I thank God for these people that are diligently given to the things of God. It's wonderful to come together, have you come here this morning and know that you're hearts are open to hear something about the gospel. What is there more beautiful than the words of God? You know, this song so often comes to me when we're up here behind the Sacred Desk, sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life and let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life. Wonderful words, beautiful words, beautiful words of life. You know, when I say that, I don't how it effects you but it effects me. When I say those things and I think of what the song writer wrote, beautiful words, beautiful words. I think, Oh, my God! Beautiful words. How beautiful they are. Is there any way to describe these wonderful, beautiful words? They're so lovely, so wonderful, just His precious wonderful words of life. They find such a place in my heart that is so deeply embedded in my soul until I think, My Lord! They are so beautiful and so wonderful, this Word that is eternal, this Word that is life, this Word that is my freedom, it is the course of my life. So, I think about it a lot of times how beautiful they are to me and I'm sure they must be just as beautiful to you. If they're not then you need to get acquainted with God and get acquainted with this beautiful Word. To learn this Word, to rehearse this Word, to put it into your heart. I see people going after the educational systems of the world and I enjoy learning, you know. I can see why they do that, because there is a lot of exciting things to be taught in school and things that amplify, you know, your thoughts to the extent that you just reach out and you learn more and more and you find something that's satisfies through life to the extent that life is just not dreary. And it's wonderful but that's not as exciting as the Words with the depths that these words have. These words have depths that are immeasurable. Nobody has ever been able to measure these wonderful words. The depths of these words are so great that you can go over them today and find a wonderful thing within these so deep. And then tomorrow you can go back over them and find a depth that you didn't fathom the day before. And so then it is so wonderful to find words that are so wonderful and deep as these beautiful Words of life. So, sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life, beautiful words of life. And let me more of their beautiful see, these wonderful words of life, these beautiful words of life. Jesus said, My words are spirit and they are life. And have you ever just stopped to think that God is the Word? that He is the Word and He's always been the Word? And He's the Word to a thousand generations, that He is the Word. In the beginning was the Word and God was the Word, and God is the Word, even today. And, you know, a lot of times when I say that that's kind of baffling because like Brother Billy Kirk, he came to me yesterday and he said, You know, I love to hear you talk bout before the beginning. Before the beginning. And when you talk about the Word, in the beginning was the Word, that is something that fascinates us. It fascinates us because we say, In the beginning. In the beginning. The Word in the beginning. So then, we say, Well, God has a beginning. In the beginning. God had a beginning. He is in the beginning. So this is the way that we sum it up because in our little finite mind this is all that we can do. See? If we go anywhere beyond these things, as to a beginning then we get lost. If we go beyond the beginning then we're not there. We don't have any mind. We don't have any world. We don't have any comprehension. We can't get beyond the beginning. And so then, in the beginning. In the beginning. I say this a lot of times, in the beginning. When we say in the beginning we're saying, not in the beginning of God. I try to emphasize this to you, that in the beginning it is not in the beginning of God for God hath no beginning. God was, He is and forever shall be. So then, before the beginning God was and it is very evident that that is true because Jesus said, Father, restore unto me the joy that I had with Thee before the world ever was. So, before the beginning God was already there and there had to be a God there so there would be a beginning. Had there not been a God there would be no beginning. I would say concerning something that you've done, I'd say, Well, what did you do in the beginning? And you would say, Well, I did such and such and such in the beginning. I would say, Well, this is beautiful. You know, I could look right back to the origin of this thing and I can tell that in the beginning you've done something here, but the thing is you were there before the beginning. Had you not been there before the beginning there would be no beginning. So then, God was there before the beginning and God is still there. He's the everlasting God and He was there before the beginning so there would be a beginning. And so then, when we use the terms, in the beginning we're saying in the beginning of the act of creation, or in the beginning of the act of created man. God in the beginning created man out of the dust. God in the beginning came forth and the Bible said when God came forth there was darkness upon the face of the deep and God said let there be light and there was light. And the Bible said God divided the light and He put a light to rule the day and a light to rule the night. And He made two great lights. These two great light He made because He found darkness upon the face of the deep. But then, on the other hand when we stop to think, then when God came forth was that the way it was back in the eternities? or back in what we call space or time? Really there wasn't any time because there was no beginning and time comes with beginning. So then, we have to look beyond the era of time and realize that beyond the era of time it was God and there was no such thing as time. And then we say, Well, Brother Pike, was it just one great big mass of darkness back there in that when God came forth it was dark. And darkness upon the face of the deep, and what does God mean about the deep anyway? So then, when we look back we begin to wonder about a lot of things and we begin to wonder what is meant by the deep, or what is meant by the darkness. Why is it that when God came forth there was nothing but darkness. Well, see? That's where we have to stop and remember what the Scripture says. It is true that when God came forth there was nothing but darkness. But why was there darkness when God came forth because God had created the darkness. The Bible said God creates the darkness. He creates the darkness to project the light. He creates the darkness to make manifest light. Because God is light then there had to be darkness as a forerunner, or God could not have come to be. That is, there would have been no existence. There would have been no created existence had God not made darkness first because darkness has to project light. God creates the darkness that He might project the light or manifest the light. So then, He had to create the darkness and I've used this little term a lot of times so that it makes it simple to where you can understand what we're saying. If I come to take a picture of you and I come and I've got a bright light that is going to flash on your image, when I flash this light then this light is so bright that it's going to strike your image and when the light strikes your image all around you is going to be darkness. Though it might appear to be light to you, but yet this light is so much brighter than the light that's around you that it will actually show up that the darkness that you are standing in when you think you're standing in the light. And so this bright light it flashes on the image and the image is captured but the darkness is shown up. And sure enough, when I start to process this I find out I've got a negative of nothing but darkness. I have nothing but darkness and the only thing I have in the midst of that darkness is just a hole within the darkness, or that is I can see through the film because there is a place that is clear that is in the midst of the darkness which is an image that this light has struck and preserved this image through just plan light. So then, I look through there and I don't see anything, but yet if I look at is as to the shape and the form of it I can tell by the shape and the form of it that there is some kind of image that has been struck and this darkness has formed this image. So, the Bible says that God created darkness to form light. And we see then that God has given us a symbol, or a type and a shadow in this that God has actually created darkness to form light. So then, when it came forth it had to be darkness. And when darkness was there He created a light. He created a light called the Daystar. And He created another light that's called the lesser light. And He put the lesser light to rule the night and He took the greater light to rule the day. And we call the greater light the Daystar. So then, this greater light being the Daystar, it actually dispels the night and there is no night where the Daystar is. But then there is night where the lesser light is and the lesser light is formed by the darkness. And when this great daylight comes it is made manifest because of darkness, because it's the contrast of darkness that makes us to recognize light. Scientists say that you cannot see light and that's true. You cannot see light and especially real light. And when we think about light, of course, we think about the molecular side of light and the electrical that we have round about us. This is the way that we think of light, but that's only a symbol of light. Light means understanding. When your understanding has been enlightened that you comprehend the heights, the depth and the width, the length of this wonderful thing of God. And this is why the Bible said if your eye be single then your whole body is full of light. If your eye be single. And then you stop and think, Lord, what do you mean, if my eye be single. You know, I know that when you say single I'm thinking single, double, triple. You know, what do you mean if my eye be single? And what kind of eye are you talking about? I need more than one eye. You've made me two eyes. You know, you read these little old weird things about people coming from planets that just have one eye and you think, Well, that's not very becoming, as to appearance. But, nevertheless, the Bible said if your eye be single then your body is full of light. And then you ask the question, what then does He mean? But He is speaking of the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. The eyes of your understanding, the inner eyes. He said, You have eyes but you see not, speaking to those people that they had eyes to be able to see, as to their little conductive nerves from the eye to the brain, but they did not have inner sight, as to be able to comprehend this wonderful thing of God. So He said your eye on the inside cannot be double. That is, you cannot be double minded for a double minded man is unstable in all of his ways. He must not be double minded, therefore, his eye is a mind and his mind is, of course, that which records for even with the twenty-two conductive nerves from the eye to the brian there is still a mind a records these things. And so then, there is a mind, and this mind is on the inside of you, a God mind, which is the mind of Christ and if that eye be single, if it's just one mind, it's not double mind, it's just one mind. It's a Christian mind, a mind of Christ. The Bible said to stir up the pure mind within you. And if this one mind on the inside of you, this pure mind, is there then you're not double minded and you're not always going to and fro. That is, you don't listen to what somebody else says to you. Or you don't listen to other thoughts that come to you, but you take the mind of God, you take the Word of God, and you take the things of God and you follow one trend of thought, one mind. And when somebody else says something contrary to this one mind you don't pay any attention to it. You stay right with the Word of God. Right with the mind of God and you don't deviate from that thing. You stay right with that for the Bible said, Casting down imagination and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ every thought to the mind of Christ. And so then, this wonderful mind of Christ, when you get this mind of Christ in you and keep your mind stayed upon the mind of Christ, then the Bible said you'll have perfect peace. And you can always tell when the devil intervenes because just as quick as the devil intervenes, or another thought comes, or another mind comes, you'll be in tears. You'll be all broken up. You'll be in sorrow. You'll be in heartaches. You'll be in derision. You'll be all torn up in your spirit and you lose you're path of peace. All of the paths of God are peace. He that keepeth his mind stayed upon Christ Jesus shall have perfect peace. And the Bible said, And the children of God are peace makers. And just as quick as you get out of the path of peace, or you get away from the things of God, then you won't have peace. You know, I tell people a lot of times, I say, Don't make decisions unless you're peaceful. I remember talking to Brother David Allen, which is a real successful business man over in the Carolinas. Years ago I said, David, let me tell you, I said, don't ever make decisions unless you are in a peaceful mind. And years later he told me, he said, You know, I've always remember that one thing, Brother Pike, and when I go to make my decisions, business, whatever, he said, I wait until I get in a peaceful mind. And you know, when you go to correct your child you should wait until you get in a peaceful mind. You shouldn't do it when you're all torn up and you're in a mind to where you're in a temper. You shouldn't do that. You should wait until you settle down and get in a peaceful mind. And when you go to make your decisions, wherever you go, whatever you're going to do, wait until you get in a peaceful mind, you know. Go read your Bible, go pray, go talk to God, do something. And when people come along that trouble you don't have anything to do with those people. You don't gather figs from bushes of thistles. And every time you go to get something good from somebody you're pricked in your heart and you're torn up and you're troubled every time you get a round them, don't go to feed from that bush. Stay away from that because that's not God. And that's not God's way. Somebody says, But, Brother Pike, these people are very dear to me and they're very close to me and I like these people. They're my friends. We're buddies, as we say. It doesn't make any difference, stay away from them because they are of the devil and the devil has a hold of them, and the devil has got a hold of their mind. And because of that it causes a derision in your life and just causes you to be like troubled waters all the time. And you don't want to mess with them. Stay away from them. You know, if you allow for any of them they'll be pricks in your side. Now, if you want to lead somebody to the right thing, then you be stable and you stand up for God and you stand up for righteousness and you keep the right mind, a sober mind, a peaceful mind, and then after awhile these people that are so troubled and having problems they'll get away from those demon spirits and they'll break loose from those things and they'll see strength in you. And they'll follow you and they'll conform to your mind. And then after awhile you can have a real fellowship and these people will be delivered from the evils of the world. The Bible said hating the garment that's spotted with iniquity, pulling them out of the fire. That's what you're suppose to do. Their bodies are literally spotted with iniquity and the things of the world. And you're suppose to go in there and actually pulled them out of the fire because they're going right into the wrath of God. So, it means that this wonderful Word of God is the thing that we want. The wonderful mind of God is the thing that we want. He said, Let there be light and there was light. And I thought a lot of times, God came to me when I was dark. I was in darkness, in ignorance, in conceit. I was in worldliness and everything was void and without form. That is, I wasn't in His image. I was the fallen image. And I was in total darkness but He spoke to my heart and He said let there be light and the Daystar began to dawn within my heart and come over the horizon of my soul and I began to see the light. And He said, Let there be light and there was light, or understanding, that began to flood my soul and today the wonderful light of God has come up and there is a new day within my heart and I'm able to find my way now, because the clouds have gotten out of the way and this wonderful sunshine is there, and the storm is over and all of the problems of life have moved away and it's a beautiful springtime within my life. And my soul is singing because God said let there be light and there was light. So, He made light to shine out of darkness and He created the darkness to form the light. And I say again, had God not allowed this darkness there would be no act of creation. Creation has to be a derivative from darkness to the extent to be made manifest because there is no light except the spirit. There is no light, as to what you understand to be light except this molecular light. But God has a light which is life. It's a spiritual quickening. And that is an invisible force that you cannot see. You cannot touch, you cannot make any contact with it at all except through the blood of Jesus Christ. It is a new life. You have one life, as to a breath of life within your blood, but that's not life. That is only a breath of life and you're acquainted only with a breath of life, but God is life. And you cannot reach Him, with all of your study, with all of your magnificence, with all of your education, with all of your money, with all of your ability, with all of your praying, with all of your fasting you never make contact with God. There is only one way to contact God and that is through the blood of Jesus Christ. That new life is within the new blood cell, which is the blood cell of the Son of God and the only way to make contact is to be able to go through that blood cell. So then, that means that that new life that we're looking for is within the new blood and we cannot get to it other than through the blood. So this light that we're speaking of, this life, and this light that God has brought to light to where we can understand it, bringing it at Calvary, then this is what we are embracing. He said, And now is come light. Jesus in His ministry during the time of His ministry He said, Now is come light. Never before has there come light but now is come light. And the Bible said, Now immortality has been brought to light. Now immortality has been brought to understanding. Now immortality has been revealed. Never before has it been revealed that man can be immortal. It never had been revealed that man could be eternal and now we know that man can be eternal. He can have eternal life. His spirit can actually go into the spirit of Christ. And being in the spirit of Christ it becomes eternal. But now we also know that we can be immortal, that our body can actually emerge into the body of the Lord Jesus. By being baptized into Christ we put on Christ and now we can be immortal. (Begin tape one, side two.) You can be immortal and never pass away and never be put in the ground, never decay. They can pass from death unto life in the change just like our spirit can pass from death unto life in the change. So now is brought to light immortality and God is trying His very best to get us to move into this immortality because it is a transformating of mind. And you know, I was telling somebody yesterday, a lot of people are waiting for the coming of the Lord. They say, Brother Pike, I'm looking for the coming of the Lord. I'm continually looking for the coming of the Lord. But I say this a lot of times, you're not looking for the coming of the Lord. If you're looking for the coming of the Lord you're looking in the wrong direction because the coming of the Lord shall be a dreadful day. And the Bible teaches that at the end of the church ages the coming of the Lord. At the very time that He comes the stars will fall from heaven and the cry goes out, the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand. And they shall cry for the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne for the great day of His wrath has come and who shall be able to stand. So then, you're not looking for that day. But what we are doing, we are looking for Christ to the extent the Bible said He shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation to them that look for Him. And we are looking for Christ right now as He appears suddenly within this temple to be glorified within His saints as a great light of transformation of the mind that He might transformate our minds from glory to glory into the change that these bodies might change. At the coming of the Lord we will automatically be changed. The dead in Christ shall rise first and we which are alive and remain shall be changed in the moment in the twinkling of an eye that we be caught up to be with Him. So shall we ever be with the Lord. So then, we're waiting on the Lord right now. To wait upon the Lord. The Bible said they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength and we're waiting on the Lord right now for the appearing of the Lord to come into our hearts. Whereas, the Bible said, Zion, put on your beautiful garment. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. So then, we're waiting upon the Lord right now, to the extend that we are allowing Christ to come into our heart and this wonderful Christ is transformating our mind to the change of the body for this heavenly treasure that we already have in these earthen vessels are to be made manifest in our mortal genes, in our very mortal genes, that royal blood should flow through our veins and that at the same time that this flesh should be flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone, that we should be the apple of His eye and be His very body. So this is what we're waiting on. And when the coming of the Lord comes, as to the dreadful day of the Lord, we will automatically be changed at that very moment before He can ever break those skies and the stars fall from heaven. We will be changed in the moment in the twinkling of an eye at His appearing and be caught up to be with Him so that none of those things will have a chance to hurt us. So, right now is when your schooling is going on. And right now is when your blessing is taking place and right now is the time of your opportunity. If you by-pass this, or let it by-pass you, then you for sure don't want to see the coming of the Lord. All of these people that are waiting, as to the churches, for the coming of the Lord they don't know what they're doing. They are playing around with ball games and with religion and with television shows and things that are non-virtuous, magazines and all of these things they're reading that are non-virtuous. They are continually going, doing the things that are non-virtuous when the Bible said, if anything have any virtue in them think on these, any thing that be lovely and pure think on these, and they are continually doing just the opposite. And they say they are waiting on the Lord because they belong to the churches, or because they are shouting, or because they have the rain that's coming down on the tare and the sunshine that's coming down on the tare. And so they say, we are ready to meet the Lord. But the great disappointment is going to be that they are going to cry for the rocks and the mountains to hide them from the face of Him who is holy and righteous and godly because they are not holy and they are not righteous and they are not godly. And somebody would say, Well, Brother Pike, just because He is they will be. But that is not true. It's not true at all. Just because He's holy, just because He's righteous, just because He is godly does not mean that you are holy. It does not mean that you are godly. It does not mean that you are righteous and you can try to believe all you want to believe but it will never make you to be so. But the only thing that can make you holy and the only thing that can make you righteous and the only thing that can make you godly, to be holy even as He is holy is to be born of His spirit and have His spirit. And if you have not His spirit you are none of His. And if you do have His spirit the proof of that is that you will have the fruits of holiness and the end thereof everlasting life. And if you don't have the fruits of holiness you don't have any life at all. So then, we need to be born again. Jesus said to Nicodemus, unless you're born again ye shall not even see the kingdom of God, for the kingdom of God is something that you see with your eyes of understanding as you comprehend it, and unless you are born again you never comprehend this wonderful spiritual thing that God is doing right now in this hour for the church. So it's a wonderful thing to be a Christian and it's a wonderful thing to understand. It's a wonderful thing to move into this glory, to glory change and this transformating of mind and to have a part in the wonderful kingdom of God. Fear not, little flock, for it is thy Father's pleasure to give unto thee the kingdom. If you do not have the kingdom then there's no need of you looking forward to the coming of the Lord. If you've never been born of God and the kingdom of God is not within you this morning, then there is no need of you looking forward to the coming of the Lord to find salvation. There is no salvation in the coming of the Lord. When the Lord comes there will be no salvation. There will be nobody saved in the coming of the Lord. But when you receive Christ under the ministry, as the preaching of this very day in the church ages then you find salvation. The minister will remit your sins. He will baptize you for the remission of sin in the name of Jesus and He will bring you into salvation for there is none other name given under heaven whereby man must be saved, that you should repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin. So, if you do not receive what the minister is saying you do not receive salvation. People have that feeling, Well, I don't have to listen to the minister. I don't have to fellowship the minister. I don't have to follow the minister. I've got my own way of life and God will save me and I don't need to do all of those things. And I don't need to be part of the church and I don't need to be part of the brotherhood, or a part of the sisters. I'm just going to do my own thing and God will save me and I believe it. Folks, let me tell you something. There is no days like that. There is no salvation like that. There is no Christians like that. No, no where in the world. There is not any. So then, what is there for you and I? Salvation by faith through the hearing of the Word. And he that God sendeth will speak God's Word. They shall all be taught of God. So, here we are this morning teaching you of God. Here we are giving God a chance to speak to you. Is it then me that speaketh to you? Or is it God that speaketh to you? Why would I speak to you? If I would speak to you why did I not speak to the people before I ever became a Christian? Why did I not go teach the people before I ever became a Christian? If it's me that's doing the teaching and me that's doing the talking, why did I not have burdens and compassion for the people before Christ ever came into my heart. See? It is not I that speaketh. I'm dead and buried in a watery grave as a man, but living it is not I that liveth but Christ that liveth within me and God struck me down and sent me to preach the gospel. So then, I preach the gospel to you because it is Christ and His compassion. It is God and His love, otherwise I wouldn't be up here. I wouldn't have the initiative to be up here. I wouldn't have the ability to be up here. I wouldn't have a message for you. I wouldn't even have the desire to be up here. I would have a desire for the world and the things of the world because when you're born into the world that's the kind of desire that you have. And so then, it is God and His love to you to want to lead you as little sheep into the wonderful eternal life and immortality that He has for you. It's so wonderful to be a Christian. It is so wonderful to talk about the things of God, the wonderful Words of life. These words are so beautiful. Sing them over again to me, these wonderful words of life and let me more of their beauty see, these beautiful, wonderful words of life. You know, the Word of God, the Bible said He sent His word and healed them. By His word He cast out the unclean spirits. By His word He spoke the world into existence. By His word He formed the light. Therefore, this wonderful word of God has actually brought life to you, real genuine life to you to where you can live eternally and be immortal. And you are the generation that's coming into these wonderful things that are bringing it right down to the end time and it is your ability in God to transformate and come to the fullness of this that will actually open the grave and bring people out of the graves. Remember when Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, how did He do that? It was because He was the Word. And when Peter called Dorcus up from the dead, how did he do that? Because he was the Word. He was the Word. So then, it was the Word that loosed the bonds of death. The bonds of death. Let me say this right hurriedly, not to hold you but just to say these few little things. In the garden the sentence of death came and the Lord said, Adam and Eve, the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And from the time that they ate of that tree they died because iniquity separated between that great God light and that human body. Or that spirit within that body. And God could not look upon them. He could not fellowship them and so light was gone because He is the only form of light. Thine iniquities have separated between thee and thy God and held thee back from good things. My arm is not short that it cannot reach thee and my ear is not dull that it cannot hear thee, but thine iniquities have kept thee back from these good things. God has given us all good things. God is love and He works no ill to His neighbor. And God has said peace on earth and good will toward man. That's forever. So then, this sentence of death in the body has separated you from God and you find yourself separated from God and the blessings of God because of the body of death. Or because of the sentence of death. It's not that there is anything wrong with the body except that it is infiltrated with the filth of the flesh, which is Satan. Or it has the sentence of death within it, which is iniquity or Satan. And God has killed that body, nailed it to the tree and ask you to believe on the Son of God and conform to the ways of God that you might escape the death, that you're going to die in your body unless you accept the death of His body in your behalf. And so then, old things have passed away and all things have become new and you've been baptized into Christ. Because you died with Him by Calvary you have put on Christ and today it's not you living but Christ living within you and you are now a new creature and a new body yielding your members as them that are alive from the dead, not letting Satan reign within your body, no not for a moment to have the rule in your body. So then, the sentence of death is there and that sentence of death in your body is what's causing the problem and you're going to have to get rid of the sentence of death. The only way to get rid of the sentence of death is to accept the death of that body that's been nailed to Calvary and if you cannot accept the death of the body of Calvary by real genuine faith that comes from the heart then you cannot have salvation. And you cannot accept that by merely believing through your human senses. You can believe all you want to, you can join the churches, you can fast and you can pray, and you can study and you can be part of the church but that still won't do it. There has got to be a conviction of the heart, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and confession unto salvation is made with the lips and salvation has to do with deliverance. So then, that means that the only way that you can have that is that you've got to have a conviction of heart where you truthfully down deep in your soul believe that Christ has forgiven you of your sins and that you really genuinely are free from sin and from death. And if you do not believe that deep down in your soul you don't have it. You don't have it. No matter how hard you try to believe you still don't have it. That's where your new birth comes in is the conception of the seed of Christ within your soul and within your heart. Well, anyway, there are a few little things there I wanted to say but I kind of feel like you kind of turned me off a little bit. But, nevertheless, it doesn't matter. I kind of didn't get to say my thoughts there that I had I wanted to bring out about the sentence of death. But, nevertheless, I appreciate your kind attention this morning. Let's stand together. I appreciate you being here with us. And these few little things that we've said to you, some are so ready to get out of here that they — Really it would have been better if they hadn't come in. But there are some that really doesn't like that because they are waiting for those words of life and they are just longing to hear the words of life that are coming from God so that they can put everything together and make sure that they do get in on this wonderful thing that God is doing. Others are so anxious to get out so that they can go and eat and drink and buy and sell and go on with their life and spend the whole day doing the things they want to do in the natural, as to the lust and lasciviousness of the flesh. All right. So, little flock, fear not. If you have the kingdom everything is all right with you. And you will grow in the grace and knowledge. Maybe not in the church, but maybe when we're talking off by ourself you will drop around and we'll be able to complete these thoughts, or get into the depths of these things, as to the mysteries of these things that are given to you and not given unto the others to know. So, let's just keep working together with what we can do to win souls. Let's see if can do that. Let's sing a little chorus together. (Singing) Don't turn Him away. One of these days the death angel is going to come your way. I got a letter the other day from the Carolinas and somebody said, Brother Pike, tell me is the death angel good or bad? I won't to know whether he is for the good or for the bad. Well, it's not very hard for us to tell. Though the man was a minister, sometimes we kind of get of beat a little bit but it's not hard for us to tell as to whether he's for the good or for the bad because the Bible says that death is the enemy of God. So if death is the enemy of God we know that he's for the bad. He isn't for the good. And if death did not come by God but death came by man because man let death in, then we know that God doesn't like death and death is God's enemy and He's trying to eradicate it and He is trying to get man's attention to where man will listen to Him that He might be able to eradicate death. But because we're so ambitious in the things of the world and the things of the flesh that means that death reigns within our life and continues to do the things that it does in devastating the world with wars and with diseases and with all the problems of life. But man is to blame because he will not listen. He's ever going after his ideas and his ambitions so death continues to reign. But Jesus came with the abundance of life that we might have life and that we might have it filled up and overflowing. Isn't that a wonderful thought? Have you ever let that really sink into your heart, to think that the Lord Jesus actually came like one with a vessel of life saying, Would you take a minute with me? I have a vessel of life and I'd like to empty this vessel into you that you can just be filled up and overflowing with this abundance of living to where you will never be sick again, never be in poverty again, never have problems again. Just fill you up with life. Do you have any time for me? But you don't have any time for God. You say, But, I'm busy today. Maybe tomorrow, but I'm busy today. As quick as I can finish my plans in life and make the money that I'd like to make in life and make the marks in life I would like to make, and do the things that satisfies me, I'm going to talk to You about this abundant life. But it's going to be too late. It's going to be too late. It's going to be too late. When you do all of that it's going to be too late. He said remember thy creator in the days of thy youth when the evil days draw not nigh, when you'll look and say I have no pleasure in those things. And those things that you've sown when you start to reap them you'll have no pleasure and you'll say, Oh, God! I've been a fool. I thought that was what I wanted but I realize now that those things were temporal and I missed the things that were eternal. And though the preacher told me over and over I still missed the things that was eternal. Though I thought I was wise and I thought that I could work it all out and I could put it all together and it would all work out together and in spite of all that I did, heavenly Father, I missed it. I missed it. And that's what's going to happen to you. But you that are just simple minded, simple people that are just looking for a simple life, that just wants life and the abundance of life and wants to please the heavenly Father, you don't have anything to worry about. You don't have anything to worry about. It seems like that sometimes you're running short and that you get the short end of things, but don't worry. It's not like that at all. When you see the others prosper and supposing that worldly prosperity is godliness, the Bible said from such turn away. For you didn't bring anything into the world and it's for sure that you are going to take nothing out of the world. So don't worry about it, just go right on with your daily way of life being contented with the daily needs. Having food and raiment be therewith content and God will take care of you and he'll supply your every need. In the wilderness he did not want them to store up things. He did not want them to treasure up things. He did not want them to have a lot of money, as we would say today. He did not want them to have a lot of goods and store it all up. That wasn't what His plans were. He wanted them to trust Him every day and He would give them food and raiment every day. And this was to develop faith and cause them to lean upon Him and to trust in Him. That's the way it should be. And in doing that God would take care of them and lead them to fountains of water and to green pastures and this is what God is wanting. And when you want to do it your way all you're doing is just getting in His way. And the zeal of thine house, Jesus said, hath eaten thee up. So then, this is what we're trying to get over to you. If you can receive it, receive it. No one can receive anything save it be given him of God. And if these things are given you of God you'll receive them and if not then you'll go through the land of Esau and after the things of Esau. And you'll fasten yourself hard to the world and to the ways of the world and the things of the world and the admiration of the world. And you'll find out in the end that you lost everything. While we sing another little chorus or two let's just lift our hands up and close our eyes and worship the Lord. Can we do that? (Singing)

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

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

Holiness Unto The Lord