Untying God’s Hands

Cover
Title Page
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Do You Limit God
Chapter 2: The Power in the Word
Chapter 3: The Tongue
Chapter 4: Master Self through the Holy Spirit
Chapter 5: The Cost of Untying God’s Hands
Chapter 6: Be a Soul Winner
Chapter 7: Know the Reality of Jesus
Chapter 8: God Reveals Himself
Chapter 9: Discouragements and Disappointments
Chapter 10: The Ministry of Angels
Chapter 11: Program of Lucifer
Chapter 12: Sex And The Bible
Chapter 13: Soar, Eagle, Soar
About the Author
More Books by Ernest Angley
 Chapter 1: Do You Limit God

God’s Divine Will or Permissible Will—Which

Will You Choose?
Psalm 78:41, Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the
Holy One of Israel.

Think about it; the Children of Israel limited God! Do you limit God?
Many times Christians limit Him unconsciously because they are not
completely open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Walking any path other
than the one of God’s divine will limits Him for your life. God also has a
permissible will which born-again Christians can take, doing as little for the
Lord as possible while still hanging on to enough salvation to get them into
heaven. The Bible says, Salvation is not of works, lest any man should
boast (Ephesians 2:9).

This path of the permissible will, however, is filled with missed

blessings, lacking in God’s divine favor, and watched over by a God who is
limited because His hands are tied. Why should He speak to or move for
you, why should He be so very careful to answer each question if you may
not abide by it? God wants to answer—He gave Israel the answer to every
problem so long as they would accept it and walk in His divine will. No
enemy could stand before them then; they had nothing to fear and nothing
to worry about.

Is There a Lack in Your Life?

Psalm 106:13,15, They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his
counsel: . . . he . . . sent leanness into their soul. When Israel yielded to
God He demonstrated what He would do for a chosen people. Those who
are adopted into the family of God are a chosen people; He wants them to
live a spiritually abundant life. A lack of the things you need in your life
does not necessarily mean that you have lived unrighteously before God,
but that you have limited God in some kind of wrong believing. Feast on
the goodness of God and be fat in your soul.

Judges 7:21, And they stood every man in his place. If there were ever
a time that man needs to stand in the place God has for him, it is now. God
has a special place for you; He is seeking to bring you into the ever
increasing knowledge of His truth. Jesus came saying that He was the truth.
Seek to know the truth—know Jesus—and the truth will set you free. And
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32).
The Word frees people; you are not meant to be bound in spirit by
frustration, fear and distress. As a Child of God you are entitled to
liberation. Bondage limits God, causing you to live beneath your privilege.

God Made Man a Free, Moral Agent

One of the most drastic things God ever did was to make man a free
moral agent. Much was lost in the fall of man, but not free choice; you have
just as much freedom of choice today as had Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden: a choice between good and evil, heaven or hell, God or the devil—
it’s entirely up to you. Adam and Eve sinned against God, tied His hands
and He could not keep them in the Garden of Eden. They kept His hands
tied, and the devil brought sickness into their lives. Only when God’s hands
were untied for Adam and Eve was there no sickness.

The Latter Rain Is Now

In our day, the nine gifts of the Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit are being
restored to the Church; God is seeking to give His Spirit in perfection as He
did on the Day of Pentecost. The early rain of the Spirit fell at Pentecost
and for a few years it was glorious; but finally after two thousand years, we
have arrived at the hour of the latter rain, for the Lord said in Joel 2:25,28, I
will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the
cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm . . . And it shall
come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.
Many of you are not receiving the full benefits of this great pouring-out
time; even some of you with the Holy Ghost baptism are still not untying
God’s hands. Every day of your life you must make sure that His hands are
untied.

Prove Your Love

The people God allows into His heaven must be a tried people, people
who have proven their love to the extent that God will have no further
desire to discover whether they serve Him because He is God or because
there is no other choice. God wants man to love Him above not only evil,
but above everything else. When you love God with all of your heart and
prove this kind of love daily, He will do anything for you. Most Christians
are on part-time duty for God, and this ties His hands. We are very careful
to show God our love at times; but at other times we fail, hindered by the
obligations we feel toward friends, family and loved ones. God is
displeased when we put loved ones ahead of Him; we cannot afford to love
anyone or anything more than Him, but this is so very hard to understand
for a person who is not on a deep spiritual walk. You must be Spirit-filled to
be able to place Him above all else—not just saved, but baptized with the
Holy Ghost and filled with the power and the Spirit of the living God,
walking hand in hand with Him daily. Only then will you realize that your
love for Him is automatically greater than any other love could possibly be,
for the Holy Ghost sheds abroad the love of God in your heart: The love of
God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto
us (Romans 5:5). No one but the Holy Ghost can shed abroad the love of
God in your heart, keeping it constant. Live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit
as the apostle Paul taught and practiced. If we live in the Spirit, let us also
walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
Tithing Unties God’s Hands
Not tithing ties God’s hands. If you have untithed money anywhere, none
of it is protected. Some people have no fear of God, they think nothing
about Him until they want something from Him—if they can sneak by
without tithing, they will. It matters not how little you earn: tithe it! We
think we are worth a lot, but what does God think about us? Let these words
from I Samuel 15:22 become a part of you, Behold, to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. In this hour of the latter
rain, this time of the Gentile visitation, we must obey and hearken as the
Holy Spirit teaches us how to remove the limitations we have placed on
God.

God will show His power, He will reveal Himself if He is not limited.
Take on the mind of Christ and use the ability to think, the ability to make
decisions when God wants you to do so. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). Lean on the Lord, not for trifles
—He gave you a mind to figure out on your own what to eat for lunch—but
for the problems you really need His help on.

Lost Faith
Many people have limited God by shrinking Him down to the size of a
man, assuming that God can perform only the things that man can. They
have placed their faith in man rather than God.

Psalm 106 tells us that Israel wavered between belief and doubt. Our
fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the
multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red
sea. Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might
make his mighty power to be known. He rebuked the Red sea also, and
it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the
wilderness. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them,
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters
covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed
they his words; they sang his praise. They soon forgat his works; they
waited not for his counsel (Psalm 106:7–13). How many times has the
Holy Spirit reported to the Father that you first believed and then did not
believe? You said God could do anything, but you didn’t believe Him for
the things that needed to be done. Faith is lost when He is limited, and the
fault is yours because you tied His hands. How futile to pray endlessly for
something that cannot be answered because the Lord’s hands are tied! You
do not believe He will move, and you would not accept it if He did. God
wants to help, but He cannot.

Unbelief Limits God

Israel tied God’s hands through unbelief. When things failed to happen as
the Israelites thought they should, they doubted God. Why should it be
necessary for God to perform all sorts of fantastic miracles in order to
generate belief? He tried that on Israel; He healed them all. He brought
them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble
person among their tribes (Psalm 105:37). The Red Sea is twelve miles
across, and eighty-some feet deep where it is believed the Israelites crossed;
but God separated those waters, held them back long enough for three
million people to pass through on dry ground, held them back long enough
for Pharaoh’s army to march into the middle before He closed the waters
over them. The Israelites witnessed these great miracles and still doubted
God!

All kinds of marvelous miracles were performed by Christ; He even

raised the dead, and yet very few believed Him. God does not force people
to believe in Him, but if they want to believe, He does help. It takes more
than a miracle to free the lovers of darkness. God has already used the
miracles of goodness, the miracles of disaster and judgment only to find that
when they are over, people quickly forget Him. Forgetting God is a grave
sin, one that is very easy to commit. You are the only one who can liberate
God in your life. He will permit Himself to be bound until He comes to the
end of His long-suffering and rains judgment.
Separated from the World
The more you mingle with others, the greater your battle against their
doubt, frustration and unbelief. If you want real closeness to God, more
time must be spent with Him than with people. Elijah and Elisha had to get
away from people before the Lord could move for them. Jesus needed to go
off by Himself at various times, away from the disciples; in fact, He once
spent forty days and nights in the wilderness fasting and preparing for His
ministry. And he was there in the wilderness forty days (Mark 1:13).
When you are among people, you battle against all their spirits and your
own as well; and if you do not have the Spirit of God with you, you begin
to feel depressed and empty.

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall
we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these
things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and
his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew
6:31–33). Jesus taught the disciples to seek first the kingdom, and He would
take care of their earthly needs. Seek His righteousness; seek Him and He
will add the material things to your life. After I learned this lesson, the Lord
blessed me greatly. I stopped contending for the material things day after
day. I thought I had to pray, pray, pray almost standing on my head and
then, just maybe, the Lord would answer as I begged. But that was the
wrong way. God taught me to stay in His presence as He dealt with my
soul, to seek the kingdom and let Him take care of the material things. Put
top value on the spiritual things, the things that concern God, the things that
are eternal, and you will begin to untie His hands.

The Sin of Rebellion

First Samuel 15:23, For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the
word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
 Rebellion is a dreadful sin in the eyes of God, it is as the sin of
witchcraft. Witchcraft is strictly of the devil, and rebellion and
stubbornness against God tie His hands. God moved for Israel but Israel did
not rejoice in the hour of visitation; she let it slip through her fingers.

Put God’s work first, ridding yourself of rebellion and stubbornness.

Rejecting the Word of God places you in grave trouble. Because thou hast
rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being
king, Samuel told Saul.

Fear Ties God’s Hands

There was nothing Satan could use to bind Jesus with; Satan was no
match for Christ. Jesus came, not only as the Son of God but also as the Son
of man, and let us know that there was power available for us to do
anything that He could do.

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking
on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they
were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But
straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be
not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid
me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter
was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to
sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched
forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt (Matthew 14:25–31)? Simon began
sinking after he took a few steps out on the water; but before he did, he
walked it just like Jesus. He could have walked a thousand steps had he not
tied God’s hands by fear.

Satan keeps people bound by that old demon of fear. The Bible predicts
there will be great fear in the latter days; men’s hearts will fail through fear.
Man is fearful of being destroyed through pollution, over-population,
famine; and, if you do not walk close to God in the Spirit, that same fear
will take you over. You will find yourself reading the newspaper, your eyes
almost dancing with fear and your heart pounding within. People become
engulfed in feelings of dread if they are not looking to God.

Lot’s wife looked back and God could not save her from destruction.
And it came to pass, when they [the angels] had brought them forth
abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, . . . lest
thou be consumed. But his [Lot’s] wife looked back from behind him,
and she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:17,26).

Wrong Thinking Ties God’s Hands

Many, many times I’ve heard the statement, “The Lord can heal me IF it
is His will.” If it is His will! Why would anyone consider medical treatment
at all if he felt healing were against God’s will? People do everything within
their power to be rid of their affliction, but when they come to God, they
say, “Lord, IF it be thy will.” There is doubt in their heart, they do not know
the Word. God’s will is for you to be healed. And, behold, there came a
leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make
me clean (Matthew 8:2). The leper felt he would be cleansed if it were
Jesus’ will. Jesus said immediately, I will; be thou clean. And
immediately his leprosy was cleansed (Matthew 8:3).

God gets no glory out of your sickness. Disease comes from the devil,
but deliverance comes from God. If you think illness comes from God why
would you want to go to heaven? Wouldn’t He be likely to give you some
disease up there if He afflicts you here on earth? But we believe everyone
will be happy and have good health there. God has told us very little about
heaven and we believe it all. Why not accept what He has said about this
life when He has told us much more about it?

We have great faith in the fact that we possess a soul, but how many of us
have ever seen one? Tell the doctor to find your soul—offer him several
thousand dollars to make him interested in the case and see if he can
identify it on your X-rays. We do not know what it looks like; there is no
description of it in the Bible, yet we believe we have one. We even believe
it is eternal, that Christians who died hundreds of years ago will come forth
in the Resurrection. Why? Because the Bible tells us. It is fantastic what we
believe—fantastic faith—and yet we fail to use it.

When your eyes are on people rather than on God, you forget the Word.
Do not allow the opinions of others to bury the promises of God in doubt;
their unbelief can make you feel beaten down, reluctant to stand and tell the
world about Him. Christ said that if man would not glorify Him, the rocks
would cry out. If these should hold their peace, the stones would
immediately cry out (Luke 19:40). He is deity, He is God come down; and
it is time for us to glorify God—untie His hands and see the plan of
redemption as it really is for soul, mind and body.
Chapter 2: The Power in the Word

Acting Faith Versus Talking Faith

Romans 4:20,21, He staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully
persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Abraham believed God’s promise that he would become the father of many
nations. Even when he and Sarah were almost one hundred years old, he
staggered not.

To stagger at God’s promises ties His hands. Limiting Him entirely or in

part means that His power is held back and cannot work in lives. The devil
is not able to prevent God from moving—God has all power—but by not
acting on this available power it will not be put into motion.

Most of us have good “talking” faith; if we could bring our “acting” faith
up to the same level, we would have it made! We speak the great and
various things God is doing, believing them; but we will not receive the
blessings of God unless we act our words out. “Talking” faith does not untie
God’s hands for you; not just any kind of faith will do—it must be faith in
action, faith in the Word and on the Word of God.

The Word is the only real source and foundation for faith; it must be
rooted in the Bible, not in the experiences or beliefs of people. Faith placed
in people can be shattered. What happens to faith based on another’s
miracle if that person were to lose his miracle? Healings, like salvation, can
be lost through disobedience and sin. Jesus healed and said, Sin no more,
lest a worse thing come unto thee (John 5:14). Be careful to be obedient
and to stay free from sin.

Staggering is not falling down altogether; it is just stumbling a little.

Many Christians, because they did not go all the way down, fail to realize
that they have tied the Lord’s hands by staggering.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is
like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that
man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord (James 1:6,7). The
Bible tells us that if faith wavers you need not think you will receive
anything from God; it does not say if you lose your faith, but if it wavers—
staggers a bit. Walk straight with the Word; it is the necessary balance.
When an obstacle is thrown onto your pathway, the Word will help you step
over it and continue; the Word will crush it underfoot.

Spoken Word Has Same Power as Word Made

Flesh
The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14). The
disciples walked with the Word made flesh, saw the greatness of the Word.
They had heard about the Word; they knew some of it, but now they were
walking with it. Everywhere they went, Jesus, the Word, was with them.
The Word was alive; the Word opened blinded eyes and made the crippled
to walk; the disciples witnessed the Word made flesh doing mighty,
wonderful things. Then, in the Acts of the Apostles, the spoken Word was
used. The disciples experienced the living Word made flesh as He dwelt
among them, but now the apostles had the spoken Word. They discovered it
to be the same power as it had been in the flesh, to have the same effect.

Jesus gave the disciples a little sample of the power of the Word when
they were sent forth to use the spoken Word, saying to the demons, “In the
name of Jesus I command you to come out!” The Lord appointed other
seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city
and place, whither he himself would come. And the seventy returned
again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us
through thy name (Luke 10:1,17). The disciples came back to Jesus,
rejoicing because even the demons were subject to His name. It was
marvelous: all they had to do was repeat the name, “Jesus,” and the devils
bowed to them!
 Look to God, trust God; find Him, the great and mighty one. He can be
found, revealed to you through the Holy Spirit.

Talk Faith and Claim the Whole Promise

Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20).
Giving God the glory is easy when you are strong in faith, even though you
may be surrounded by those who talk darkness, frustration and fear. Talk
faith, give God the glory! And being fully persuaded that, what he [God]
had promised, he was able also to perform (Romans 4:21). You must be
completely convinced in your own heart and mind before you can eliminate
all doubt, and thus untie God’s hands for your problems. Be fully persuaded
that what He has promised He will perform!

And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou
shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for
an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him (Genesis 17:19).
Abraham wholly believed when God promised him and Sarah a child. He
had fathered a son by Sarah’s handmaid, a fact that would have satisfied
many; but he had been promised an heir by Sarah, and Abraham knew that
God’s Word was exact.

Do not settle for less than the entire promise of God. You have the
promise of health; claim the entire amount, not just part of it. Satan wants
you to be satisfied with less than your privilege; and if you are, God will
allow it; He allows you to choose the way you take because He made you a
free moral agent. He can only stand by with an eye of pity as He watches
the devil make people believe that halfway healed is enough. But God said
He would get you well: They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover (Mark 16:18). I am the LORD that healeth thee (Exodus 15:26),
not “I am the Lord that makes you feel a little better.”

You Cannot Receive What You Do Not Accept

 People come to my services to have the foul spirits of cancer cast out;
and if they accept what the man of God tells them, they get well. I am a
believer; I am God’s servant; the Bible says that if a believer lays hands on
you, you will get well—but you must accept it! And these signs shall
follow them that believe . . . they shall lay hands on the sick, and they
shall recover (Mark 16:17,18). If, after having the hands of a believer
placed on you for healing, you are still planning to die, be prepared to face
the fact that you have not accepted healing. Even though you may be weak
and in pain, you must accept a well body. Through faith it belongs to you.
Trade the sick body for the healthy one that is yours by God’s promise. Be
fully persuaded: that which God has promised He will perform.

The Lord told Abraham: Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars,
if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed
be (Genesis 15:5). Abraham’s promise was not a promise of healing; it was
a promise of an heir; and he waited for it five, ten, twenty, twenty-five
years. Abraham against hope believed in hope, that he might become the
father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall
thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own
body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet
the deadness of Sarah’s womb (Romans 4:18,19). God had not told him
that he would have to wait twenty-five years, or that his faith would be
sorely tried before the fulfillment, and that he would watch as Sarah’s body
aged beyond child-bearing years.

From man’s point of view conception for Sarah would have been an
impossibility. In spite of this, Abraham did not stagger; he had the faith to
believe God through all those years. Now Abraham and Sarah were old
and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the
manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying,
After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also
(Genesis 18:11,12)? Sarah doubted; she laughed when the angel gave her
the news, but after the baby arrived she was convinced. Would you women
have told many people you were pregnant if you were ninety years old?
Think of it—it actually happened!
Yield to the Living Word
Doubting God is easy when you do not use the Word in your heart, when
you use the words of people and let the devil play on your imagination.
Yield yourself to the living Word and see it work. We are told in Acts 6:7,
that the word of God increased; and as it did, great things happened in the
lives of the apostles. The Word increased because they depended entirely
upon the Word of God, not man’s word.

The Word is so marvelous, so wonderful that even when a hypocrite

speaks the pure Word it will accomplish good. Backslidden preachers have
spoken the pure Word and souls were saved, not because of the preacher,
but because of the Word. Think how much could have been accomplished
had these people been right with God! Being called Christian is no
guarantee of heaven—you may be a sinning Christian—it takes living for
God and a born-again experience. Numbers of people growing up today
mistakenly believe they will get into heaven just because they experienced
infant baptism! People are in darkness about the Word and they need light.
The Word increases, bringing life, gladness of heart and deliverance.

Put Your Life in God’s Perspective

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ (II Corinthians 10:5). The mind must
be disciplined, thoughts under control when coming to the Word of God.
Just as self has to be put under subjection if students expect to learn in
school, self must come under subjection if you are to live in the Word, your
roadmap. The devil will try to take over through fear, but keep your mind
clear in God’s presence; the Word of God must penetrate your mind and
heart daily, flowing freely. The Word has power!

The Early Church learned about Jesus and the Spirit of God through the
Word; the Word was paramount. Paul writes in I Corinthians 2:2,5, For I
determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and
him crucified. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men,
but in the power of God. The Word is what we need, but in this age man’s
theories prevail. Children are measured by their intelligence not by their
knowledge or love of God. They have been taught “what thus thinketh
man,” not “what thus saith the Word of God.” Live according to the laws
and the commandments of God; put Him first in all that you do.

God Cannot Be Separated from His Word

The Early Church was so filled with the Word that when they were
scattered they went every where preaching the word (Acts 8:4). They
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony (Revelation 12:11). They overcame by the blood of the Lamb
and the Word of God in their testimony.

Use the Word of God as your strength, for you cannot separate God from
His Word. It is precious, and we are taught in the Old Testament that God
looks after His Word. He values it; My word . . . shall not return unto me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in
the thing whereto I sent it (Isaiah 55:11). For I am the LORD: I will
speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass (Ezekiel
12:25). The Word of God is the most precious gift we have, completely
dependable year after year. It is just as fresh today as when it was written.

Man is as good as his word; if his word is weak, he is weak; if others

have no confidence in his word they have none in him. Truth makes your
word strong, and you must be full of the truth to dwell in heaven; God said
that all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire
and brimstone (Revelation 21:8). If someone asks you a question you do
not want to answer, it would be better not to answer at all than to invent a
little white lie. Never lie to shield yourself or anyone else. You want God to
be on your side, but He will only be there if your side is truth. God’s Word
will not return to Him void; however, you must place complete faith in this
promise, and then send forth the Word of God.
You Cannot Live Like Christ without the Power of
the Holy Ghost
Receive the Word of God first so you can untie His hands; follow His
Word instead of personal preconceived notions. Know the Word, carry it
with you.

The power of the Word is described in Psalm 107:20, He sent his word,
and healed them. Act out the Word; it is of no benefit when not put into
action. The disciples witnessed the Word in action and something
marvelous happened to them; but, remember, the Word cannot be acted out
unless the Spirit of God is moving greatly within. The disciples tried to be
like Christ, they wanted to live according to the Word and walk in the steps
of Jesus, but they could not do it without the power of the Holy Spirit in
their lives.

Simon Peter volunteered to build three tabernacles on the Mount of

Transfiguration; however, that was not what the Lord had in mind. Peter
said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make
three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias:
not knowing what he said (Luke 9:33). The Word called Simon not to the
mountaintop, but down into the valley of human needs and despair where
the Word could set people free and give them health.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Use the Word; it is sharper than a
two-edged sword, but even a sword is useless in its sheath; it must be used
to be effective. The Word divides the spirit; it divides the flesh from the
soul; every part of man is divided by it.

Understand yourself through the Word of God. Jesus understands

everyone, every personality with twisted mind or straight. He has known
you for a long time; your life is open to Him. Follow His instructions; He
will move for you.
 Twisted minds can come to normal through the Word by the anointing of
the Holy Spirit; the Word has power and force. Why will people not use it?
The Word spoke our universe into existence: the moon, the stars and the sun
were hung in place by it. And God said, Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them
be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years (Genesis 1:14).
Because of the Word the earth was formed, grass and trees grew and fish
swam.

Just Repeat What God Has Said

The power of the Word has not been recognized by great numbers of
people. Elijah and Elisha had insight into the Word; they learned much
about speaking the Word and about the great and marvelous experience of
having God speak through them. What God spoke happened!

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said
unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand,
there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word (I
Kings 17:1). God directed Elijah to stand before King Ahab and tell him
that it would not rain the next three years except according to his word. The
power of the Word was unknown to Ahab, but when Elijah simply repeated
what God had said, the Word went into action. Repeating the Word in all
faith is all we have to do.

After Pentecost, the disciples repeated God’s Word. They spake the
word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31). They quoted Jesus with boldness,
speaking those same words that had earlier caused them to marvel. Many
times Jesus had explained His words to His disciples; they were in direct
contact with Him, and they had asked for understanding.

Jesus is alive today and through the power of the Holy Ghost, we, too,
are in direct contact with Him—in contact with the living Word! The Holy
Ghost is here to teach us what we do not understand; Jesus said that He
would bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said
unto you (John 14:26). He will teach us, guide us, be our Comforter; He
will be everything we need. Do not look to other people for help, look to the
Lord; depend upon Him, and trust Him more than you trust anyone else.
Talk to the one whom you trust the most—Jesus.

Advice is easy to give but hard to follow; however, when the Lord gives
you advice He anoints you to be able to follow it. Spend enough time with
God to understand yourself, place value on His truth. Open your life to Him
and ask to know why you think, act and feel as you do. If you are sincere
about receiving His help, you must be prepared to pray, fast and feast in the
Lord. Jesus is the only one who walked this earth and was able to keep the
hands of God untied every moment of His life; He came showing us how
we can do the same thing. Study the life of Christ again and again; know
His every move, His every word and action, and let them penetrate deeply
into your heart.

Know How to Put God’s Word into Action

One of the difficulties encountered in studying the Word is knowing the
correct way to put it into action. The Word is vitally exciting, and this
excitement is meant to be felt in the reading of it. Let the love and the faith
that Christ put into each word become real, become a part of you. Study
especially the method Christ used in contacting the Father; He not only
showed us how to reach heaven, but He also gave His name for us to use.
Never did the Father reject Christ any time of the day or night. He was right
there when Jesus wanted Him, healing those who were oppressed and
afflicted by the devil.

John the Baptist saw the Holy Ghost descending upon Jesus in the form
of a dove: And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending
from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him (John 1:32), and today
we have that same Holy Ghost, and that same anointed Christ—the same
one!

The words of Jesus to the disciples are recorded in John 14:12,16,17, He

that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall he do; . . . I will pray the Father, and he shall
give you another Comforter, . . . Even the Spirit of truth. The Holy
Ghost is that Comforter, the miracle worker who teaches and guides now as
He did in the Early Church.

After Jesus ascended to the Father, the disciples went to the Upper Room
where they received power, wonderful power! They said, as Jesus did, Lo, I
come to do thy will, O God (Hebrews 10:9). When a choice arose between
obeying God or man, they obeyed God. And they called them, and
commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right
in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. And
now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that
with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine
hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of
thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken
where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:18–
20; 29–31).

We are facing the same choice, obeying God or man. Do not let husband,
wife, parents or children hinder you in doing God’s will. Attend church
even though your companion not only does not attend but does not want
you to. Fast, regardless of who disapproves; for no one has the right to tell
others, even their own children, whether to fast or not. Fasting is something
that is between man and his God; man’s soul belongs to God and no one
else has the right to control it. God does not force you to fast or to serve
Him, He just blesses and helps when you do. Fasting is not a requirement
for heaven but it is a necessity if you are to become the overcomer that God
intends, if you are to have power with God. Jesus did not tell the disciples
that in order to enter heaven they would have to fast, He told them, This
kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).

The Word, the Name and the Holy Ghost

 They spake the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31). The WORD of
God, the HOLY SPIRIT and the NAME of Jesus were foremost in the lives
of the apostles. These three things they greatly stressed. Recognizing the
authority and power in the name of Jesus, the apostles allowed nothing to
stop them from using it. The book of Acts demonstrates that man can
become like Jesus; and, by studying the beginning of the church age, you
will discover how Peter, James, John, Paul and others were able to do this.
The route of the Acts of the Apostles, or rather the acts of the Holy Spirit
through the lives of the apostles, is the same road we must take; for in order
to be Christ-like we need to be filled with His power and His Spirit.

As the Son of man, Jesus was baptized in the Holy Ghost; He is our
example, showing us the things we need to receive from the Father. Jesus,
as the Son of God, did not need the Holy Ghost to descend upon Him; He
was already one of the personalities of the Godhead. Neither did He need
water baptism. He came to show us how to be servants of God. Christ had
the form of flesh; and you have the form of flesh, but the baptism of the
Spirit can affect your nature so strongly that you become a different person.
The control of the Holy Spirit changes human nature.

Draw On the Power in the Word

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee
(Psalm 119:11). The greatest weapon you have is the Word, properly and
strongly wielded; but the devil tries to make the Word a burden to study,
memorize and hide in your heart so that you will not sin, or have good
health brought to your body by it. There is power in the living Word of
God! Be aware of what you are receiving when you read the Word, and feel
the strength of God flow into you. As you read the Word you should be able
to become stronger, to feel your faith mounting up. Sometimes I am so
affected by reading it that I seem to feel my heart growing bigger and
bigger within me. The anointing of God to preach is upon me and, as I take
in the Word, the anointing turns it around and about until it is larger than
life. What a valuable weapon to have!
 Many have missed the benefits that God offered them because they
decided miracles were only for the Early Church. They were for the Early
Church, and they are for us today. I am walking the same road of the
apostles and receiving the same benefits: the deaf hear, the blind see, the
crippled walk, people are healed of all manner of sickness and disease,
signs and wonders are taking place. Jesus appears to me again and again
when I am praying for the sick. I used to be able only to feel the Spirit and
the anointing; now I see them as they appear—signs and wonders showing
the glory of God!

God Confirms His Word

After preaching the Word, the apostles expected it to be confirmed with
signs and wonders. You must do more than give people the Word of God;
you must be close enough to God for Him to be able to confirm that Word
after it is taught. People are amazed when they see the Word confirmed in
my services; God performs miracles here as He did in the Bible. I tell you
that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever
(Hebrews 13:8), but you are not quite sure until you see Him doing the
same works. Paul, Peter, John and those boys died; but Christ is alive now
and forevermore. His power is alive, the Holy Ghost is still here. You need
the anointing of the power of God.

Live in the Word of God where He can use you and move for you. Then
the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is
not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables (Acts
6:2). The ministry today has left the Word and is serving tables instead of
serving the Word. To have the anointing of God, much time must be spent
in prayer and fasting. You cannot mix and mingle with others very much
and still keep God working in your life, and neither could the disciples.
They said, It is not reason that we should leave the word.

My ministry is the ministry of the Word. Study the Word; you must know
it, for the Word is alive, and the Holy Ghost is full of power.
We Must Have the Living Word
Acts 5:12,14, And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and
wonders wrought among the people; . . . And believers were the more
added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.

Acts 11:19, Now they which were scattered abroad upon the
persecution that arose about Stephen travelled . . . preaching the word.

The apostles spoke the Word, and as a result multitudes were brought to
the Lord. What a wonderful hour; what a great deliverance! And in Acts
4:20 they said, For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen
and heard. What part does the Lord play in your conversation? Are you
more afraid of being a bore than of being disobedient to God? When you
are under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, He brings scriptures to your
mind. People have two forces desiring to use them; one is the Holy Spirit
who will give you a good report: Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these
things (Philippians 4:8).

Not allowing the Holy Spirit to edify and serve what thus saith the Lord
enables that other force, the devil, to take over. His messengers, his angels
bring things of horror and darkness to the mind, tearing down the faith of
the spiritual inner man and causing him to become crippled and deformed.
Satan knows that by controlling the mind he can afflict the body, for the
mind plays a mighty part in keeping the body healthy. People having
physical afflictions are also tormented in their mind by Lucifer; he tells
them that Jesus doesn’t love them, that they will never be well. They are
besieged with a great variety of lies. We must have the living Word!

The disciples left everything behind to follow the Word, but the
Pharisees, the Sadducees, the elders, the priests could not forget the Law;
others weren’t able to put the traditions of man out of their minds. Jesus, the
Word made flesh, came bringing a wonderful doctrine. It was said of Him
that never man spake like this man (John 7:46). The people asked, What
manner of man is this (Matthew 8:27)? We have never heard it on this
fashion; we have never seen it on this fashion. They were all amazed, and
glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion (Mark 2:12). In
spite of His miracles, many would not accept His teaching, and so they
rejected Him. The people were dead under a dead law; it was the Word that
had power; the Word became alive and was made flesh.

The Word did things on a larger scale than were done under the Law; the
sick were healed, multitudes delivered, marvelous miracles took place. The
disciples recognized the power of the Word; they wanted this power to
continue after Christ was gone, but it was too much to reach out for all at
once.

One Step at a Time

In walking with God, take but one step at a time; taking more will only
encourage you to fall on your face. Trying to understand things before you
get to them makes them appear insurmountable. Physically speaking, a
person is able to see only a limited distance ahead, and the same is true of
spiritual vision. Receiving salvation does not give your spiritual eyes the
ability to see from earth all the way to Glory; that vision must grow as you
become stronger in the Lord. The disciples had to learn this, too. They got
ahead of themselves when they asked Jesus what He meant by saying He
would go away. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou?
Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but
thou shalt follow me afterwards (John 13:36).

Where was He going? They did not understand that His body would be
destroyed, then raised up three days later—they thought He was referring to
the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews,
Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up
in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body (John 2:19–21).

The Word speaks of the fantastic and brings it within your reach of
reality, puts it into your hands that you may use it. No one but Christ had
ever come from the Father with such a message for the human race. There
was much the disciples were unable to understand; but when they went one
step at a time, their understanding fell into a beautiful pattern.

I have found it to be the same way, one step at a time. Instead of dwelling
on what God will do way out in the future, talk about the works God is
performing now and take that one step.

If you are unsaved, your need for the hour is salvation. Do not try to
understand it before you have it; after being made a new person in Christ
you can study, analyze, compare the old with the new and find out what
salvation really means. Your tongue will become cleansed and sanctified,
words of hate replaced with praises to the Lord. You will take on the mind
of Christ and glorify the greatness and the power of God; your thoughts and
actions will be changed.

Do not tell the sinner the ways he will be changed after he receives
salvation, just tell him enough to get his attention.

Wait On the Lord

Salvation is easy to receive in these services because I use the Word, and
the Lord confirms it. The Word becomes alive! I have been led by the Spirit,
taught by the Spirit how and when to pray for someone; but I must wait
upon God; I must be sure what the Lord wants.

Many times the Spirit does not allow me to talk to people about their
souls but instead directs me to lay on hands for healing; to call the power of
God down. The power of God shakes them up, and they usually come back
later seeking salvation. A person must want to be found or he will remain
lost.

This ministry conforms to the leading of the Spirit. I will not talk to your
loved ones at your request unless the Lord moves on me, telling me that the
time is right for them to listen. The Spirit of God is disturbed when people
become impatient and get ahead of His work; good people can wade right
into something and make a mess out of it. Wait on God! Learn to know the
leadership of the Holy Ghost; use your faith. The Lord will bring about
your miraculous hour if you wait upon Him with faith. Talking your
problem over with another gives relief but if you want a miracle for it, wait
upon the Lord, keeping your eyes on God instead of man. I believe in the
work of doctors and hospitals but the more you lean on them the harder it
becomes to receive from God. Depending on human hands for everything
puts you at the mercy of man rather than the mercy of God.

The Word Is Personal

For the Word really to work, you must receive it as though the Lord were
here in physical form speaking to you. The Bible is sacred, holy and
personal. It tells about a Christ who is everything to you, who is closer to
you than your own heart; why should you feel more secure in the presence
of your kin? Through the Bible, the Lord is speaking directly to you; be
aware of this, or the Word will not be able to work for you in a great way.
Man had not taught me the reality of the Word; I have had to take time with
the Lord and let Him teach me. The Lord is seeking to bring the same
things to your heart, but you must take time to learn them.

The Lord calls you into the prayer closet because you must spend hours
in His presence to be used by Him. He called me one day, letting me know
that I was to be different, that I was to spend much time in His presence so
that He could teach me.

How can you expect miracles, blessings and deliverance for family,
friends and self if you rebel against the Lord’s will? If you don’t take time
with Him, some day you may call and wonder why He does not answer; it
will be because you had not answered His call.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is
near (Isaiah 55:6).
 Chapter 3: The Tongue

Your Tongue Can Be Your Enemy

James 3:5,6, Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the
tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our
members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course
of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. James 3:2, If any man offend not in
word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

James warns of a tongue unanointed by the Holy Ghost, a tongue that can
be a great enemy. When the Holy Ghost fell on the Early Church, tongues
of fire appeared; those receiving a true baptism of the Holy Ghost
underwent a change of speech. Blessings, rather than criticism and words of
destruction, flow from the anointed tongue. Cursing is more than
blaspheming God, it is degrading others. The anointed tongue ceases all
types of cursing.

When correctly used, the tongue becomes a priceless treasure. Speak the
right words—not everything you think—but uplifting words of
encouragement. Verbalizing the entire content of your mind may not only
be honest, but may also be cruel and destructive; you cannot afford to put
all you think into words.

Although the devil can bring thoughts to your mind, he does not have
power to force you to say them; the control of your tongue is your
responsibility. The Holy Ghost can assist you, He can take your tongue over
if you lend yourself to Him, and He will help you; however, without the
Holy Ghost no one can completely control the tongue at all times.

The Bible tells us if we bridle that one little member we need not worry
about the rest of the body. The tongue is not your beauty spot, but your
danger spot; multitudes have been killed because of it, and it is destroying
people today. Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but
that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man (Matthew
15:11). The mouth is defiled by that which comes out of it, not what enters.

Being close to God enables you to guard your words. Are your words
weighed before speaking of another? Are they truthful words that will edify
and bless? Hateful words come effortlessly; tongue-lashing is easy; very
quickly those deep-cutting words slip out beyond recall. Use wisdom in
your speech; good intentions are not enough; thousands of deaths have been
caused by people who meant well.

Or, Your Tongue Can Be a Blessing

The tongue can be a great blessing, and God put much honor on it by
choosing it for the Holy Ghost to use as the initial evidence of the Holy
Ghost baptism. The greatest honor God could bestow on man whom He
made from dust was to allow him to speak to God. Man can communicate
with God, and the Scriptures teach him how to praise, honor and bless God
with the tongue. Not causing offense by words is an attribute of a perfect
person.

It is hard not to offend; we do it unconsciously. Check what you are

about to say by imagining how you would feel if those words were said to
you or about you. Do not talk of others in a way that you would not want
yourself talked about.

At times it is necessary for others’ welfare to give them information that

is unpleasant; but it must be told with a great love they can feel, a love that
will lift them and help them accept what they need to know. Weigh your
words carefully; too often those willing to impart bad news are lacking in
love; also, a tongue without intelligent guidance is likely to say anything. It
is very easy for a tongue to form the wrong words, to form a lie; for,
unfortunately, there are many who have never learned how to weigh; they
have no scale. The Holy Spirit is that scale, but it is up to you to use Him.
Weigh your words through the Holy Spirit; if that scale is not used, all
manner of words, shady jokes and unclean language can fall from the lips.
 A conversation anointed by the Spirit of God is pure. The Holy Spirit
will check improper speech; but if you disregard Him when He does, saying
unkind words anyway, He will not continue to do it. Just one shady word
will affect you when you are under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and you
will check yourself. Have enough love to make your hurtful words right;
don’t joke about them or shrug them off.

A horse can be brought under control by the bit in his mouth, but not
people; the words of others are not yours to control. Children quickly learn
words that are to be used—only when their parents are not around—to
impress the other kids. Parents try to hush their children, but God will not
stand over you like that. Just because God does not respond immediately
does not mean He has failed to notice what you said or did. He notices; He
said, Let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into
condemnation (James 5:12).

You will be judged by every foolish word that you spit out. Every idle
word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of
judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words
thou shalt be condemned (Matthew 12:36,37). Idle words tie God’s hands.
God does not control your words of doubt and unbelief; you yourself have
that control over your tongue and God teaches you how to use it.

God put man out from the Garden of Eden, and for a long time God did
not interfere with his speech. And the whole earth was of one language,
and of one speech. And they said one to another, . . . let us build us a
city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us
a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one
language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained
from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and
there confound their language, that they may not understand one
another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence
upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel (Genesis 11:1,3,4,6–9). Not until
man decided absolutely to disregard God and build a tower reaching to
heaven did God call a halt; man was making a monument of disobedience
to Him, a monument of insult. God confounded their language, and the
confusion of speech came about. It took much to provoke God into such an
action; this was not in His divine plan. Great conflict and many wars have
been caused by man’s inability to understand man. Individuals can become
prejudiced against those who speak in a different language. God cares not
what language is spoken, or how skillfully or poorly it is handled; t’ain’t,
h’ain’t, tater—it makes no difference to God.

As children of God, we must always remember to guard the tongue.

Study the biggest little book in the Bible, James; it will remind you of the
consecration the tongue is to have, remind you to check whether your
speech is fresh and clear or contaminated.

Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My

brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at
the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren,
bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt
water and fresh (James 3:10–12). James tells us that a fountain can either
give good water or bad water; it will not yield both salt and fresh water at
the same time. And from one mouth cannot flow both blessings and
cursings. Cursing here is used in the sense of words spoken against people,
words that hurt, tear down and destroy.

Be careful what you say; your words are weighed by others just as you
weigh their words. The conversations and attitudes of others, especially if
their words hit hard, stay on your mind. As a Christian you must choose
your words carefully. You have no right to speak critically of others because
they have spoken about you in that way; rather, you should hold those
people up in prayer. Frankness must always be under the control of the
Holy Spirit; for only God has all wisdom and knowledge, knowing what to
say and when to say it, when to be still and when to speak up. Let your
speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how
ye ought to answer every man (Colossians 4:6).

Weigh the words you have spoken during each day, evaluate them. Were
your words profitable or worthwhile; did they edify? Was there plenty of
grace and salt in your speech? The tongue is the very last part of the body to
be yielded to the Holy Spirit, and that is one of the reasons why many
people have difficulty accepting the Holy Ghost baptism.

In receiving the baptism, your tongue must be completely controlled by

Him even though no one else has ever used it before but you. People fail to
receive the baptism because they do not understand the way to give their
tongue over to the Holy Spirit. When you understand how to yield your
tongue, it is a simple thing for Him to come in. The Holy Ghost’s speaking
through you signifies that God has taken you over; He has your tongue, He
has you. The Holy Ghost anoints your tongue, seasoning it through the
Spirit. Pray for this anointing daily.

Do you pray for your tongue only if it gets sore? The tongue should be
the part of your body that is prayed for most, it can do more damage than
the rest of you put together. Many good Christians would never dream of
laying an angry hand on another, but they can tongue-lash people almost to
death, claiming it was deserved.

The Bible says, Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete,
it shall be measured to you again (Matthew 7:1,2). When you pass your
opinion on another Child of God, you endanger yourself and all your
possessions. You will be judged by the way you judge others. Condemning
others condemns self.

David committed adultery with another man’s wife, then killed her
husband when he became an inconvenience. God let David use his own
tongue to pronounce judgment upon himself. Nathan, the prophet, told
David the story of a great wealthy man with many herds, who took from a
poor man the only lamb he had and then killed the man. “What judgment
will you give this man, David?” And David’s anger was greatly kindled
against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man
that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb
fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man (II Samuel 12:5–7).
David must have felt cold chills run down his spine! How easy it is to bring
judgment on others and still expect God to forgive you for the same or
worse thing. Be careful in your opinions of people who serve the Lord; the
Bible says that you have no right to judge another man’s servant. Who art
thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he
standeth or falleth (Romans 14:4). Children of God are God’s property;
they stand and fall, not before man, but before God. Do not be jealous of
the blessings others receive; God is the judge of whom He will bless.

The Lord not only knows your heart, He knows your tongue. Is your
tongue seasoned with the salt of God’s goodness, or does it have a lot of
pepper in it?

Words Spoken Cannot Be Erased

The first chapter of Romans lists hideous sins and unnatural sex acts that
will make those committing them worthy of death. Listed with these are the
sins of whispering and backbiting. God considers whisperers and backbiters
to be in the same class as vile sinners. Many who are expecting to make it
through to heaven will instead be found by God to be worthy of death; for
the tongue cannot be used to sow discord, stir up strife, and the person still
be clean enough to enter heaven.

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may
know how ye ought to answer every man (Colossians 4:6). Depend on
God to help you answer others. Regrettable words are spoken through haste,
words that can never be recaptured. Stand on a hill and shout a few
sentences, then see if you can find those words again, look for them in the
valley and through the trees. You will not find them—they will be gone. It’s
dangerous to say the wrong thing; you cannot erase it.

God does not speak in haste; His words are wonderful, filled with
wisdom and knowledge. Nothing is beyond His understanding. Your
understanding, however, is limited. Because you can become swayed by
words it is unwise to “take sides” with people after hearing only what they
tell you.
 As a man of God, I cannot always tell people what they want to hear; I
must repeat what God gives, or He will lift His anointing and I would be
unable to preach. I would just be saying meaningless words, bringing forth
no fruit.

God does not speak idle words, but we become so accustomed to saying
them that it is easy for us to believe God may not mean what He says either.
God said, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that
forget God (Psalm 9:17), but many do not believe this will happen. The
Lord describes hell as a place where their worm [their soul] dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:44,46,48), yet people refuse to accept the
reality of such a place or that a God of love would ever send anyone there.

Be of few words in disciplining your children and follow through on the

words you do say. The child loses confidence in you if he can expect actions
other than what you claim. Jesus is our example; He did what He said, and
God does what He says He will do. You are just as good as your word.

Romans 10:9, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved. The tongue can be a great instrument, used to
confess Jesus for salvation. You need your tongue, but it is either controlled
and influenced by God or it is controlled by Satan. Staying under the
anointing of God enables Him to use your tongue, but if you fail in that,
Satan will use it; you cannot serve both God and Satan at the same time.
Satan can reach over and influence careless Christians to say the wrong
thing. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his
tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain (James
1:26). In other words, you cannot have God’s salvation unless you bridle
your tongue. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your
own selves (II Corinthians 13:5).

Be Angry and Sin Not

The Bible tells you plainly that Christ is your example. Study His life
often; hold on to each word, each action. Is anger a sin? Christ got angry
but He did not sin. God does not take away your temper; rather it comes
under subjection to the Holy Spirit. Anger, in this way, can be controlled. In
the past it was preached that Christians did not get angry, they had righteous
indignation instead; but I have found that righteous indignation is nothing
more than just plain getting mad. The Bible warns, Be ye angry, and sin
not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Ephesians 4:26); staying
angry is like a poison in the system. Face yourself. Do not deceive yourself
about your weaknesses; recognize them; be objective about them.

Learn What The Sanctified Tongue Can Do

Psalm 1:1, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful. Although the tongue has spewed out words that have tied God’s
hands more than any other single thing, words can also untie His hands.
Learn what the sanctified tongue can do and how it is used by the Holy
Spirit; depend upon His giving you the words to say. Have faith in His
guidance; know that He will give the answer, and wait upon the Lord. Wait
for the word of wisdom; wait for the answer and it will work out. Trust in
the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct
thy paths (Proverbs 3:5,6). Let your path and your life be directed by the
Lord. Trust Him and He will make the way for you in business, in your
home and in your everyday living.

When God led the Israelites out of bondage and into a land flowing with
milk and honey, all He asked in return was for them to walk after Him,
praise Him and give Him honor and glory. He asks the same of you. The
land of milk and honey will be yours if you keep praising Him, if you
scrape all contempt off your tongue and avoid sitting in the seat of the
scornful. Many Christians are in that seat today, envying fellow Christians
who are being blessed more than they, and by doing this, tying God’s hands
for their case.
 Rejoice and glorify God for the blessings of the children of God; let their
blessings help your faith. He is blessing them and surely He will bless you
if you are one of His.

My faith is strengthened when I see the hand of the Lord moving for
others. Just as you hunt for materials to build your house, hunt for things
that will help build your faith.

How were Moses, Noah, Elijah, Elisha and others able to follow the path
they walked? They, after all, were just as human as we are. Why were they
different? What was there about Elijah’s prayer—only sixty-three words—
that enabled God to rain fire down from heaven and consume the sacrifice?
I had to know the answer. I had seen Elijah under the juniper tree saying, It
is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life (I Kings 19:4). I was
disappointed, but then I looked at myself and others around me. I knew
Elijah had the same feelings that we have. The New Testament described
Elijah as a man subject to like passions as we are (James 5:17). He was
not a deity, he was human and the words we read about him in the Bible
prove it; he proved it under that tree.

Moses proved there was no deity about him, but the God that dwells in us
dwelt in him. He cried, “Lord it’s enough!” And Moses said unto the
LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have
I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this
people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten
them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a
nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou
swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all
this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may
eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy
for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand,
if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness
(Numbers 11:11–15).

The crowd Moses was leading must have been the “grumblingest” bunch
he ever had seen. The Israelites were using their tongues in the wrong way.
Instead of bouncing out of Egypt, praising God all the way, they were
complaining like too many of us.
 God will never be able to please a grumbling heart; but if you serve Him,
He will take out that stony heart and give you a heart of flesh. A new heart
also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart
of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in
my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them (Ezekiel
36:26,27).

God wants you to have a soft heart, a heart like His that He can deal with
and talk to. Take this marvelous heart He offers you and learn to walk in the
way of God, praising Him. Instead of complaining about the rain, praise
God for making you water-resistant. Learn to enjoy the little things in life
and to discount your troubles. Do not keep suffering over things for which
Christ has already paid; what He has paid for we are free to use.

How Do You Talk to Yourself?

Ephesians 5:19, Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
Speaking to yourselves—people are not in condition to speak to God until
they have talked to self. Many are falling short in their prayer life, feeling
out of place and uncertain of what to say; they are not uplifted in the prayer
chamber because they have not been speaking to themselves as Ephesians
5:19 instructs. But how marvelous it is to enter the prayer chamber after
speaking to yourself in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and to be filled
with melody and praises to the Lord!

Everyone talks to himself; if the words are not of faith they are of doubt.
Words can be filled with happiness and encouragement or unhappiness and
discouragement.

How do you talk to yourself? Your conversation, the ideas that pass
between the “faith you” and the “feeling you” are important. Which one
out-talks the other? Do you turn your troubles over and over in your mind,
dragging up all the slights both large and small that have ever come your
way? If so, you are sinking your own boat. Many Christians practice this
kind of boat sinking, and if unsuccessful, it is only through the mercy of
God.

Rid yourself of weights that sink, cast down and cause depression; do not
keep them on your mind nor open the door to them. “But you don’t know
what a hard time I have,” you say. That statement is the biggest stone of all;
it will take you right to muddy bottom. No one has it easy in these days,
even the devil works overtime because so much of the power of God is
falling. We are doing much damage to Satan’s kingdom, giving him many
battles, making him unhappy. So long as there is a devil to fight we will not
have it easy—we are at war!

Take Advantage of the Changes Possible through

Christ
Do you look at things to be accomplished with a negative attitude,
defeating yourself before you begin? “I’m too old to leap over that fence,”
you complain. If you just would try, you might accidentally make it—and
feel ten years younger. “But I’m likely to break my neck!” You’re likely to
make it over, too; do not think of the bad, think of the good.

Is the story of your life “I can’t?” It needn’t continue to be. Put forth that
great effort and refuse defeat, especially the defeat that comes before you
even start. The Bible says that as he thinketh in his heart, so is he
(Proverbs 23:7).

Thinking defeat makes you a loser; thinking sickness opens the door for
it; allow your mind to dwell on unhappiness, and you have it. You can make
your own heaven or your own hell. Much that is within you is created by
yourself.

A variety of things about yourself the Lord has given you the power,
strength and courage to change; why not take advantage of that
opportunity? You can become like an airplane off course, flying into the
storm that could have been avoided. Do you fly off course, get into trouble
and danger then blame God for it? Do you think aimless wanderings are
what the Lord intended? How can you be sure you are going the right way
when you talk to yourself the wrong way? You are going to heaven but how
many hundreds of thousands of miles out of the way will you travel before
you arrive?

If you look for misfortune behind every rock, you will not be
disappointed. If you feel that every storm that comes along is the story of
your life, stop talking about it; you have told it so much people are
beginning to believe you enjoy trouble. Just as some people are cruel,
others seem to have a need to be treated cruelly, and they do not know what
to do with themselves when their source of torment is removed. How can
God bless people who would rather be unhappy? It is amazing what God
has to work against! There are people who do not want to be delivered from
sickness. One woman enjoyed so much being catered to when she was ill
that she did not want prayer for her recovery, just prayer that the pain would
leave. She has God’s hands tied for her case.

Claim God’s Promises

Use faith; reach up and claim God’s promises. What you listen to on the
radio, on television, is a type of speaking to self because you can control
what you hear. I do not want to hear someone else’s dirty, filthy old doubt;
mine was so bad that I had to struggle to be rid of it. Why would I want to
replace it with someone else’s? We do not have to listen to every Garbage
Hour broadcast that comes on the air. Glorify God instead of talking doubt
and fear.

The devil had me in his grip at one time, I thought my only way out was
death; but since the Lord healed me and put His marvelous faith into my
heart, my life has been different. I do not intend ever to allow the devil to
bind me like that again. It was a horrible condition to be in: all hope of life
gone, and nothing left to do but to set my house in order.

Hezekiah was told by God through Isaiah that he would die; but
Hezekiah refused to accept it. He used his faith, and turning his face to the
wall, said, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked
before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which
is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore (II Kings 20:3).

Hezekiah talked to himself in the right way; people who walk before God
with a perfect heart must tell themselves again and again, “I can overcome,
I cannot be defeated because God dwells and walks within me. There is no
need to fear even death itself.”

The Lord agreed with Hezekiah and said to Isaiah, Turn again, and tell
Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of
David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold,
I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the
LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years (II Kings 20:5,6).
Hezekiah was in the house of the Lord on the third day, giving praises unto
Him.

Some people forget to praise the Lord for their miracle; they do not
return to give their testimony until they want something else from the Lord.

Fix Your Eyes on God’s Promises

Work for Jesus; keep your eyes on Him, not other people. It is easy to
slack up on your work for the Lord if you do not have a real spirit of
gratitude. This is an ungrateful age, and we must make sure that we give
God all the honor, praise and glory due Him. He said through a Holy Ghost
message that His eyes are running to and fro looking for those on whom He
can perform a miracle, those who will give Him the honor and glory for it.

Keep God’s prophecies in your heart; keep them before you; know what
the Lord is saying and what you can expect from your God. Do you doubt
that His prophecies are really from God, or that the Holy Spirit is actually
saying those things? Is that the way you talk to yourself? If so, you are
destroying the blessings of God; you are doubting Him, not holding on to
His promises.
 Talk to yourself about the things God says to you; remind yourself of His
promises, for they will make you strong. Do not look at those who are
failing to receive; do not look to man, but rather anchor yourself to God and
His promises. Be done with talk of doubt, fear and frustration. Do not sink
yourself by talking of sickness and troubles. Why gather souvenirs from all
the hard days and times of tragedy? Kiss them goodbye. Remember your
blessings, and praise the Lord for them. Many events we should ask the
Lord to erase from our memory. Tell people things that will bless and edify
them.

Resist Satan by Praising God

Failure to receive God’s blessings causes some to be scornful of the
blessings of others and to resent their joy. Using their tongue in the wrong
way becomes easy for them; the gossiping tongue never seems to tire. The
untiring tongue when used in praise, however, is an invaluable tool. Psalm
9:1, I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart. Praising God with
the whole heart means that the tongue is so filled with His praise there is
room for nothing else.

Glorify God when you are in a close place; complaining your way out
does not work. Paul and Silas were put into jail, and at midnight Paul and
Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of
the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened,
and every one’s bands were loosed (Acts 16:25,26).

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16),
not with a basket full of pleas; but entering into His presence with praise.
Anyone who can praise God knows how to pray. Satan does not stay around
long when he hears the praises of God. Sing the praises of Jesus. Thank
God for Him; Jesus can do all things—heal the sick and raise the dead.

The Bible says to resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
Resist the devil by praising the Lord; resist him with the Word of God. Hold
God before you; glorify Him. Satan was unable to keep Paul and Silas in
jail because they were filled with the Lord’s praises. At midnight their
prayer was a prayer of praise.

Anyone who is saved can praise the Lord. Go in before the Lord without
thought of what you will say to Him—God does not grade according to
literary content—do not be formal with Him; rather, enter into His presence
with confidence, love and praise. He is your friend. If you are without sin,
your heart is pure and the tongue filled with praise, there is no
condemnation upon you. God has blessed you in so many ways; overlook
none of them. Someone once said, “I grumbled about my shoes until I saw a
man with no feet.” Fill your heart with thankfulness; have a grateful heart.

Of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, only one turned back to thank Him.
And as he [Jesus] entered into a certain village, there met him ten men
that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices,
and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he
said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to
pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he
saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified
God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he
was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten
cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to
give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go
thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole (Luke 17:12–19). I personally
believe the one who came back was not only healed, but that the parts of his
body destroyed by leprosy were re-created. The tongue of praise will bring
that extra blessing from God.

Gossip accomplishes nothing constructive. You need the anointing of the

Holy Ghost to place the proper value on God’s blessings; for when you are
under the anointing of the Holy Ghost there is no thought of gossip, but
only of the desire to praise God. As the Holy Ghost speaks through people
in another language, He is usually praising the Lord. Even around the altar
when He is speaking without interpretation He speaks in praises.

The Early Church continually praised and glorified the Lord in word and
in action. God took a chance on us when He created us with a tongue that
could be used in praise or in scornful words to Him. “Why, why, O Lord, do
you not answer my prayer?” we have asked again and again, not realizing
that He could not answer because we had His hands tied. Our faith had not
been released, and we had not praised Him. Our prayers had not yet
graduated from the begging stage to the receiving stage.

I find that I must shed off the beggar’s robe and put on the robe of the
receiver before God will move. Begging ties God’s hands because there is
still doubt whether God will move when people feel it necessary to beg. We
plead with God because of unbelief. It need not be that way.

God wants us to be delivered, to be happy, liberated from sin and

sickness with a praise in our life, declaring the wonderful works of God.
Talk of the things of God. Psalm 9:11, Sing praises to the LORD, which
dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings. Tell of His
works. What do you talk about? If your conversation and prayers were
recorded for an entire week, how much praise would be in them? Do you
witness to others about Jesus and the greatness of God?

God opens the door again and again for us to speak of Him. There are
many wonderful, marvelous things to tell about Jesus and about how great
and mighty He is. Talk about the greatness and wonder of Him.

Praising God Brings the Blessing

Psalm 107:2, Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath
redeemed from the hand of the enemy. This Psalm is believed to have
been written during the building of the temple. A chapter of wonderful
praise, it glorifies the Lord who brought the Israelites out of captivity. Oh
that men would praise the LORD (Psalm 107:8,15,21,31)! the Psalmist is
saying over and over. Only a person filled with praise could have written
such praises.

Psalm 1:1, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful. Blessed is the man who praises God and counts his blessings.
Blessed is the man who rises in the morning with the praise of God on his
lips. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk,
O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice
all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted (Psalm
89:15,16).

Sunny people, happy people who are delighted in life are an inspiration
to be around. Why use up time relating your troubles when it could be used
to count your blessings? Stack your blessings up until you are closed in
with something good. If you have to grow a hedge, grow a nice one!
Surround self with the beautiful, with things of good fragrance. Troubles
have an unpleasant odor; why close yourself in with them?

Take Time to Be Grateful

Praising God brings strength. Be grateful to God and to others who
perform a courtesy for you. God shows His love for the things we do for
Him by blessing us. Take time to praise God. Teach your children to be
grateful; do not allow them to take things for granted. Decide how you want
your child to act when he is grown, and train him in that way.

Be ye thankful (Colossians 3:15). Be gracious and thank others when

they do things for you; be polite to and considerate of those you come in
contact with. God does not give you as much if you are ungrateful; why not
handle your children the same way? People have missed out on many
blessings because they have neglected to thank God.

God has given us life, but many times we go through the day without
saying, “Thank you, Lord, for life!” Instead we complain: “Lord, why was I
born!” He probably wonders why sometimes Himself. The wonder is not
why God does not bless us more, but that He blesses us as much as He
does. I am amazed at His blessings!

Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat
of the loaves, and were filled (John 6:26). Jesus said that people would
follow Him for the loaves and the fishes. For the miracle food they were
ready to swarm; but when the going was hard, those people were nowhere
to be found. Where were they when Jesus was being crucified? Jesus is
being crucified now. When the way is rough, the battle fierce, where are
you? God needs people on front line duty, praising Him and telling of His
power and greatness. Man has much to praise God for, much to tell about
His greatness.

We will have to go through the valley to see the deliverance of the Lord;
the Israelites walked through the Red Sea; Daniel was thrown into the den
of lions that God might be glorified. We have a rugged road to travel—
through the fiery furnace, through the lions’ den—God is not going to make
it too easy.

God made it easy for Israel, and they failed although He carried them on
eagle’s wings. Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I
bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself (Exodus 19:4).
One day the Children of Israel were paupers, fingers worn down to nubs
(according to Josephus) working in the slime pits of Pharaoh making bricks
—and then one morning they awoke to find their bodies made whole, their
limbs restored. The Bible tells us that God brought them forth also with
silver and gold: and there was not one feeble [weak] person among
their tribes (Psalm 105:37). The slaves came out of Egypt loaded down
with blessings. They spoiled the Egyptians, took their best clothing and
jewelry. God gave them favor. One day they wore rags, and the next day
they were richly dressed. In spite of all these marvelous blessings, they
failed God, murmuring and complaining in the wilderness forty years.

Praised Up
Psalm 100:1–5, Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not
we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into
his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful
unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is
everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. What a great
psalm of thanksgiving to help you praise the Lord! Do not just be “prayed
up,” be “praised up” too! Make a list of the things which tie God’s hands in
your life, be introspective. A person who believes he has no shortcomings is
like an old Fido dog that has had fleas so long he isn’t conscious of them
anymore.

Psalm 47:1, O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the
voice of triumph. Hand clapping is just one small way to praise the Lord.
Let every member of your body praise Him! Become alive in church, alive
in your spirit through the Spirit of God who gives mighty anointings. Do
not clap just to make a noise, clap making a joyful noise.

Study the Psalms and the amazing amount of praises that fill that book.
They will feed your soul. By not reading God’s Word, you come up lacking;
your soul grows lean within you. Feeding your spiritual self everything but
what it wants, needs and thrives on will cause your soul to cry out in
dissatisfaction. The soul needs the Word; the soul needs to praise God and
to make the tongue praise God. It is easy to praise God when you are happy
and blessed, but you must praise Him in the valley, too. How can you find
fault with and complain about a God you’re in love with? Let praise for
Him fill your being.

Job served God when the going was rough. Everything of importance to
him had been swept away—his family, his herds. It was a sorrowful time,
but he blessed God. That kind of praise will see you through; you will never
sink if you can praise God when the going is hard. Praise God and find no
fault in Him.

The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the
name of the LORD (Job 1:21), cried Job. Do you bless God like that? Do
you love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy might (Deuteronomy 6:5)? Love God with your whole
being, and when you do, all of you praises God. That which you love, you
praise and glorify. The people you love, you lift up. Your love will cover a
multitude of sins in others and two multitudes of faults. Are you really in
love with God, or do you find fault in Him even though He does all things
well (Mark 7:37)?
 Job’s wife did not love him or even like his looks. Allowing Satan to use
her, she urged Job to give up his integrity. Curse God, and die (Job 2:9)
she advised. However, Job praised God and lived. You can choose to come
out of the valley by praising God or to stay in it by grumbling and
complaining.

Praise Is Your Safety in the Storm

I praise God. I praise Him when things are going badly and I praise Him
when they go well; I praise the Lord! Just as I keep my right hand with me,
I keep my praise with me. I wake up in the night and praise Him until I fall
back to sleep.

If you do not know the way out of your problems, then have faith in God;
He does know. Only through God do I find my way out; I do not worry. I
praise Him, and when He knows I am depending upon Him, He will not let
me down. I trust Him; I proclaim His greatness to others, telling of His
kindness, His wonder and how He can always be relied upon. Praising
others, telling them sincerely how great you think they are makes them
eager to please. God made man in His image, and when He is praised, He
blesses more greatly.

Vinegar does not work on God. If you think God has been unfair and tell
Him so, He will not answer but will let you sputter until you have all the
resentment out of your system. He will watch as you work to get
“sweetened up” enough to say, “Lord, I’m sorry; I didn’t really mean all
those things I said against you.” Isn’t that a lot of wasted time? He will
forgive, but you will never receive all that the Lord wants to bestow if you
continue to waver between praise and complaints. The Lord always forgives
when a person honestly asks forgiveness. Peter asked, Lord, how oft shall
my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus
saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy
times seven (Matthew 18:21,22). Seventy times seven is a lot of times, and
the Lord will forgive even more than that.
 The Psalmist said to praise God. Let every thing that hath breath
praise the LORD (Psalm 150:6). Job found strength in praising the Lord;
praise was all he had left, his safety in the storm. Do you encourage
members in your family when trouble comes or do you help to destroy them
like Job’s wife tried to destroy him? Who are you not to be compassionate
regarding others’ mistakes? You have made plenty of your own. Erasers are
put on pencils because people make mistakes; if your life were put on
paper, there would be many eraser marks.

Most of us were ashamed of areas in our life, and so we ran to Calvary,

asking the Lord to wash our sins all away, to cast them into the sea of
forgetfulness and never let them come to the top.

Faults are not sins; they are a hindrance, and some of our faults—like
snoring—we cannot help. Some couples have divorced because of the
snoring fault, but if you love your partner, praise the Lord that that loved
one is present, healthy and able to snore. Count your blessings! Man has
faults, but all the Lord’s ways are perfect.
Chapter 4: Master Self through the
Holy Spirit

Tying and Untying God’s Hands

Psalm 137:2,4, We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst
thereof. How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? The
Israelites lost their song when they came under bondage to the enemy and
were taken as slaves. Songs are never more beautiful than those sung under
the anointing of the Holy Ghost, and the enemy wanted to hear those songs
—not live according to the Lord—just listen to the music. But the Israelites
hung their harps on the willows; they had no anointing, no zeal, no desire to
sing the Lord’s song in a strange land. They tied God’s hands.

Look again to the Garden of Eden and see man walking and talking with
his God. Man had good health then—no disease eating at his lungs, no
cancer draining life from him. He was sound of soul, mind and body. His
thoughts were clear and free of fear, worry and pressure. He had the peace
of God as the Lord came down in the cool of day to walk and talk with him.
Satan was there, but man at that time had God’s hands untied and Satan was
powerless to interfere in man’s life.

Then Adam and Eve sinned against God. To them their sin seemed a
small thing; Satan had them deceived. Today he has deceived people into
believing they can go against the Word of God and still end up in heaven.
There are those who commit open sin and justify themselves by saying,
“Jesus never taught against it. Paul was the one who mentioned it, but we’re
just going to follow Jesus.” Their reasoning is under the influence of a
deceiving spirit. If you are not going to believe all the Bible, why bother
with any of it? If you believe that Paul’s writings are not true, how can you
believe what you read about Jesus? Just as deceiving spirits took over in the
Garden of Eden and tied God’s hands, so they today are deceiving man.
Adam and Eve did not do much—only ate a little fruit—but their actions
tied God’s hands, and they felt pain and sorrow for the first time. Sin and
sickness are the two darts Satan shoots into the heart and body of man. God
did not permit them when His hands were untied. His intention was to keep
man free of disease, sin and unhappiness. Man was to have heaven on earth,
but Adam and Eve sold out and tied the hands of God.

The Plain Path

Noah lived in a wicked age. Although every imagination of man’s heart
was evil, Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8). He
and his family were the only ones to be saved from the destruction God
brought upon the earth. God is longsuffering; He waited one hundred
twenty years for the ark to be built because Noah had untied His hands.

Do not look to relatives, friends or neighbors to untie God’s hands for

you; look only to yourself. Serve God with no reservations or excuses, and
He will move for you as the Spirit of the Lord comes upon you because His
hands are free. The Lord will give you instructions, enabling you to walk as
children of the light with no darkness to stumble in. The Psalmist asked
over and over again, Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain
path (Psalm 27:11). Do you ask the Lord to make your path a plain path, or
do you feel your own vision is adequate? Are there some decisions you
would rather make yourself? The Lord will let you make them, even though
that attitude ties His hands.

Samson failed by not choosing the wife God had planned for him.
Samson suffered for his mistake, and like Samson, you will suffer for yours.
The more mistakes you make, the higher price you must pay. Make certain
you are in the divine will of God; you cannot afford to walk any other path.

Noah found grace, untied the Lord’s hands; and he and his household
were saved from the flood. Are you tying God’s hands in any way,
disobeying Him in anything? Are you the kind who is forever disregarding
God’s wishes, then asking Him to forgive your shortcomings? That is a
good way to miss many blessings and fail to perform the work of God; for
even though He forgives, you keep His hands tied and He cannot move.

Abraham Believed God

Abraham, father of the faithful, untied God’s hands in a beautiful way
through obedience and faith. Abraham believed God (Romans 4:3).
Nothing is greater than believing God; no heights higher, it’s the
mountaintop of faith. His belief was a fantastic thing; it took faith to leave
all his kin when the Lord told him to, and God blessed him and made him a
blessing.

Abraham lived even before the Law was given. He had neither the Holy
Ghost nor a born-again experience—what an amazing man he was, what
faith he had! God told Abraham to give his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering
and Abraham was ready to obey. Even as Isaac lay bound on the altar,
Abraham knew God could not lie. God had promised him a seed; if Isaac
were slain Abraham knew he would be resurrected. And Abraham
stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the
angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham,
Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand
upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that
thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son
from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold
behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went
and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead
of his son (Genesis 22:10–13).

God has made promises to us: I am the LORD that healeth thee
(Exodus 15:26) and they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover (Mark 16:18); claim those promises just as Abraham claimed his.

Fruits of the Spirit

 Today, God has given man the fruits of the Spirit as additional helps to
untie His hands. The fruits, named in Galatians 5:22,23, are love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness,
temperance. Ephesians 5:9, For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness
and righteousness and truth. The fruits of the Spirit can be manifested in
your life through the Holy Ghost. All believers should have the Holy Ghost
because they need the fruits of the Spirit. The individual does not bear the
fruit; rather it is the Holy Spirit who bears it. The nine fruits are not
produced by the Christian but by the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit is
not enough. You must be yielded to the Spirit so that the Spirit can produce
His fruits.

When you are yielded to the Holy Spirit, He not only produces love, but
He also sheds abroad that love of God in your heart. The Holy Spirit
produces a joy in the Lord that is incredibly marvelous and lasting.

Like money, joy is something that can be used to bless you or can be kept
in reserve for security. Use the joy in your life; draw on it by counting your
blessings. Use that peace God produces, the divine peace of God that He
brings to you through the Holy Spirit in your life. Frustrations and troubles
can be your constant companions unless you use God’s divine peace in your
life. Let the Holy Spirit work; draw on His peace and stop rehashing old
problems.

Looking at the world, seeing the chaos that grips it, gives you little room
for peace; only through the Holy Spirit in your heart can you find the true
and lasting peace that edifies and gives spiritual strength to do the will of
God in this final hour. It is vital to be able to separate the things in your life
that you can handle yourself from those things that are for the Lord to work
out; then you begin to learn how to yield to Him.

Yield to the Holy Spirit by yielding to the fruits of the Spirit. A basket of
apples does you no good if you only look at them; and the fruits of the
Spirit are of no benefit when they go unused. You could starve to death by
just staring at a beautiful picture. In desperation you look at the love of
God, the joy of the Lord, yearning for it to be in your life—but if the Holy
Ghost is in you, you have it; the Holy Ghost came with the nine fruits.
 Are you short of patience? Then stop yielding to your own spirit and
begin yielding to the Holy Spirit. Use His fruit instead of the fruits of your
own spirit. Your spirit can produce good, bad, fair, scrubby or sour fruit. Do
you like crab apples? Some of you are living on crab apples when the Holy
Spirit has produced large, juicy, delicious apples that could just melt in your
mouth. You see others enjoying those good apples and wish you could have
them, too; you long for the joy that you see in others, not realizing that you
already have it but have not used it. You have the same Jesus, the same
Holy Ghost who brought joy into the lives of others, but if you will not
allow them to work for you, you are eating sour fruit. Satan serves crab
apples three meals a day and lemons for snacks; he tells you that you are
unworthy of better fruit, making you believe you need to look sorrowful to
get compassion from others and that calamity will fall if you become too
happy. The devil tells you anything to short-change you; he gives you the
change so fast you think you received more than you deserved instead of
less, and his cheating goes undetected.

The Human Spirit Needs Control

Unless the spirit of self is under control, God’s hands will never be able
to move freely in your life. It is not necessary to have the Spirit of God
before you react to the beauty of a flower. The human spirit, as a rule,
enjoys lovely things. My spirit reacts to ice cream; I do not depend on the
Spirit of God to move upon me to enjoy it, my own human spirit does that
all by itself. My spirit yields to ice cream. There are things to which your
spirit yields, but there are vital things your spirit will not yield to without
the Spirit of God.

A “hurt” spirit is carried by a person whose feelings are easily hurt.

Outwardly he tends not to respond; but inwardly he draws into a shell,
feeling sorry for himself and seeking sympathy from others. In many ways,
we are children in our reactions, not only failing to outgrow childhood
emotions, but also refusing to admit that our feelings are anything less than
mature. A small word hurts us, and as a consequence everyone gets in on
the suffering. We want the one who hurts us to feel the crisis and repent—
that is our spirit.

The Spirit of God forgives us as we forgive others. For if ye forgive men

their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye
forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses (Matthew 6:14,15). I am not about to cut my own throat to spite
my tongue; I will forgive others that I might be forgiven. The Lord shows
little mercy to those who show none to others.

Christ responded to many things; He was under the control of the Holy
Spirit to the extent that His human spirit was mastered. Have you mastered
self? The spirit of Lucifer will never be overcome until the spirit of self is
mastered. Control your temper—Jesus furnishes the power to do it; control
your speech; know what God wants you to say. Let God deliver His
message in the way He wants; if He wants to use you in place of e-mail He
will clearly let you know.

Simon had to be trained; he was not to carry the power of the Holy Ghost
and win multitudes until he controlled his own spirit, and it took the power
of the Holy Ghost for him to do this. Jesus had great power because He was
full of the Holy Ghost; we are all weak without this power.

Anger needs to be controlled and directed at the devil. Praying and

reading the Word are done when you are under the control of the Holy
Spirit. Eating is done because you yield to your own spirit—and if you’re
not careful, you can eat more than you need. God realized this, and He gave
the fruit of self-control. Fasting is made possible through this fruit; but
some refuse to use it, and then wonder why they cannot fast. Your spirit,
your desires call for food; they want to be catered to but greater is he that
is in you (I John 4:4) than the spirit of the flesh.

The Holy Spirit is not only greater than the spirit of Lucifer, He is greater
than our human spirit. Harness your spirit. No man can master his own
spirit at all times alone for no man is good unless God be in him. Many
have God but do not use Him; they have become part of a great do-it-
yourself kit. Take some of that energy you spend on using your temper the
wrong way, and use it to draw on the Holy Spirit to help you control
yourself. Then you will have peace, the calm in the eye of the hurricane.
Your behavior runs in patterns. Study it; know yourself; know what are the
things that upset you, and be on guard against them.

One Mind, One Accord

Christians today are binding together, seeking the one mind and one
accord that was present in the Early Church when the Holy Spirit fell,
seeking even more power because the Lord told us it would be greater now.
Discarding gossip, dissension and all that would hinder, we must be one in
Christ. There is a work to finish, and Satan is doing everything within his
power to get minds off God, to bring doubt and unbelief into hearts, to
break Christian fellowship and to add confusion.

Acts 12:5, Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made
without ceasing of the church unto God for him. There are many kinds of
prisons; here in America Satan is not able to imprison us as he did the
apostles, so he uses the prison house of mental oppression, diseases and
sickness; we are bound just as surely as was Simon, and it will take God to
set us free.

Simon pleased God, having full assurance in his heart that all would be
well whether he lived or died—but he would rather have lived. The same is
true when you are sick unto death; you have prepared to die but would
rather live.

The Lord showed me a beautiful picture of how chains can be broken by

God’s people coming together in one mind, one accord, one aim, one goal
with everything else forgotten and laid aside. Simon could not leave the
prison on his own; it took the prayers of God’s people to release him.

The angel of the Lord will go in and bring about your deliverance, but
you must prepare for him. Bind together with believers to help break the
chains of bondage for those in the prison house. Being sick does not mean
people are sinners—Simon was no sinner. He had not failed nor disobeyed
God when he was arrested—a true Child of God may be in prison. Man can
decide what he wants God to do and make preparations for it, or he can
block God’s answer by standing in the path of disobedience, and God will
not move him out of the way. He gives man the privilege of free choice.

Use Angel Faith

The angel of the Lord went into the prison and freed Simon because the
Church bound together with enough faith, love, and determination to pull
that angel right out of the sky. God helps men pull angels from the skies
with their prayers of pure faith—what a glorious feeling when that angel
brings deliverance! The things you are unable to do yourself, God will send
an angel to perform—if you have angel faith. Let your heart dwell on angel
faith; we must have it in this miracle hour for Him to work, saith the Lord.
Realize that all things are possible with God if man will untie His hands and
use angel faith. Those having angel faith will see great and mighty things
take place. We are seeking more than occasionally answered prayer; we are
seeking to see God’s power in the gift of miracles flow like honey out of a
rock, flow in plenty so that all who need or desire miracles will receive
them—will taste and be made whole.

True Faith Stands the Test

God healed the Israelites completely before He took them out of Egypt,
and He is ready to heal His people today. We are on the verge of something
great and wonderful in this last hour; that is the reason Satan is fighting
God’s people so hard. The battles of the mind are fierce; you are battling in
many ways. You may think you are losing your faith, but it is becoming
stronger if you are spending much time with the Lord daily. The new faith
you are acquiring in the prayer closet is being tried. How will you know
whether it is any good without the test? If you are spending the time with
the Lord that He requires, you are getting a new measure of faith—faith for
miracles and miracle power.
 Man was sure that no one could enter the prison and free Simon, but man
had no provision to make the jail angel-proof. The advantage was Simon’s;
the jailers did not know the ways of God. Neither does Satan know all the
ways of God or what He will do; he does not know when God is going to
send an angel for deliverance or what lies in the future. Satan brings to
mind many dire and horrible things that could happen to you, things meant
to instill fear into your heart—things that never take place. He tells people
they are going to die at a certain time, but he is a liar. The Lord does not
send him a copy of His homecoming schedule.

Why allow Lucifer to frighten you? He is working overtime because you

are entering into the greatness of God. The more power man has with God,
the more demons there will be for him to fight. Cheer up; become immune
to the deceit of Lucifer, and decide to go through to heaven even if you
have to crawl all the way there on your hands and knees. The journey is not
far, and anything to earn the Lord’s “well done” will be worthwhile.

God Needs You to Untie His Hands

Ezekiel 22:30, And I sought for a man among them, that should make
up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should
not destroy it: but I found none. It is not the land that God is seeking to
save today; He wants us to stand in the gap for lost humanity. Hope for the
land is gone until the Perfect Age when the curse is lifted from the earth.
The various crises our nation faces will not be eased, and our only concern
now must be doing the whole will of God. God is seeking those who will
stand in the gap and make up the hedge. Do not look for something big to
do, just stand!

The hour is almost midnight. How easy it would be to fall asleep, forget
about demons, Satan and the battles of this life; but the Lord said if you
would look to Him, you would run in His power. God will give you the
strength to finish His work. That lack of strength is felt many times, but the
Lord is your source of supply; draw on Him. Decide that nothing will stop
you in untying His hands, and determine to go through no matter the cost.
 In battles for God so many times the Holy Spirit will sing through me in
English and in another tongue:

I’m going through,

I’ll pay the price,

No matter what others do;

I’ll take the way

With the Lord’s despised few,

I’ve started for heaven,

And I’m going through.

My aim, my determination is to go through regardless of what others do

or how hard the battles may be. I will go through! Is that your decision, too?
If so, then you are not looking back to Egypt as the Israelites did, not
looking back to the things of this world; but you are pressing onward with
ever increasing faith. Valuable time is lost by looking back. There will be
discouraging moments; the devil will fight you all the way, but your
decision must be to go through. Satan battles with every means possible,
and God’s saints will be those who have come out of great tribulation in this
final hour.

We cannot afford to be “softies” who are easily discouraged and turned

away from the Lord’s will. Softies wilt and fall by the wayside, landing in
the corner of depression and the pit of despair. When the Rapture takes
place, their ears will be so dull of hearing that they will not hear the first
cries of the Son of God as He calls for the righteous dead to come forth, and
then as He cries for His saints to be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of
an eye.

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 (I Corinthians 15:51,52). It will take keen
listening to hear that first call for the dead in Christ to come forth, and then
in a split second the cry will be for the living Bride of Christ. Nothing
matters but your staying ready for His coming. Too many people place
more value on money, material possessions, and education than on being
ready to meet Jesus. When it appears that all is going downstream, be
persuaded along with Paul that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans
8:38,39).

The more trials and persecutions I have, the deeper I go with God.
Persecutions do not make me bitter, for God is my source of strength and
power. In Him is the answer to all my problems; in Him is everything I
need; He is my deliverer. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of
our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Look unto Him, see the author and finisher of
your faith—Jesus; see the footprints of the Lord.

I decided long ago that I would stand in the gap regardless of what others
did. The Lord called on me and I accepted; He had called on others who
refused Him, who criticized the healing ministry and ridiculed the gifts of
the Spirit, mocking the people who were hid away with God, who were
spending hours, days, weeks and months in the presence of the Almighty
and were getting answers from heaven. The Lord was moving, but that old
devil of jealousy was moving, too. Many ministers, instead of seeking God,
criticized those who were. God wanted to know if I would be swayed by
them, if I would walk with Him or walk in the tradition of man. God needed
someone to go all the way with Him, who would stand in the gap and make
up the hedge. It looked as though no one but Angel would stand with me—I
would have stood alone if necessary—but Angel stood until the Lord took
her home. Even her death did not destroy this ministry; nothing will destroy
it so long as there is breath in my body! The Lord has called me on a divine
mission, and there are not enough demons in hell to stop me from fulfilling
that mission. I am out to get the devil. God sent His mighty angel to go
before me and no devil can destroy this work; all kinds have tried—lying
spirits, doubting devils and various demons have come against this work to
destroy it—but we were victorious; nothing held us down. People stood in
amazement at times, wondering how this work could survive, but we have
always come to the top.

Yea, I am with my servant, I walk with him. I have made him a promise; I
will fulfill the promises, saith the Lord, and none of the powers of darkness
shall overcome him nor destroy him. I walk with him, and I walk with my
people; and I will do things that I promised, thus saith the Lord.

And the Lord walks in the midst of His people today; nothing can hold
His work down. I fasted, prayed and sought God for His divine will
concerning this work. False prophets claimed God showed them that Grace
Cathedral would be destroyed, that one stone would not stand upon another;
but that revelation did not come from God. This work is growing greater
and greater and greater!

I despise the devil! The Lord was talking with me during Angel’s final
hours, reconfirming things He had told me long ago, and I served notice to
the devil that he would never destroy this ministry. I will never turn back;
he cannot hinder my faith! My faith is the faith of God, for it comes from
Him—a gift of God—and I have come to destroy the works of Satan in the
name of Jesus. I mean to preach as never before and to seek God as never
before! Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty; Jesus is soon coming! Choose
any side you want; take sides with preachers who rise up against the power
of God, but you will miss the blessings of God. Decide where God is and go
with Him.

Our God is real; the presence of the Lord is falling and God is in the
midst of His people, His grace abounding. The Holy Ghost is taking people
over in this last and final hour. The power of God is moving, shaking souls
and it is time to give all to God. Get off the bench with your “I don’t
knows,” and serve God; go all the way with God. Winning souls for the
Lord is my life; I must win souls or I will die! God has sent me on a divine
mission to win the lost for Jesus and nothing can stop me! Whether you
stand for God or not, this ministry will go on. Whether you fool your time
away or not, I will use mine for God. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty;
the coming of the Lord is soon upon us! Children, parents, brothers and
sisters are lost and undone without God, and it is time for you to move and
do the will of God with a “go ye” in your soul. Instead of bowing down to
doubt and discouragement, arise, pray, and seek the face of God.

I receive strength from God when the battle gets hard because I seek Him
rather than people. God is the source of my strength; I lean solely upon
Him; I am consecrated to Him. So long as I remain consecrated, His help
will flow. Nothing will stop this work, for I have been with Jesus and heard
what He had to say; He was not a bit discouraged so why should I be? God
is not weak; why should I be weak? He is not unhappy; why should I be? I
know no fear; I am cleansed of it; I have been with Jesus! Anything Satan
may throw at me I am ready for in the name of Jesus. I am ready to win the
lost, to pay the price whatever the cost. I told God I would pay any price
and I will stand by that, I am not paid out. God has led me by a mighty
hand; He has been with me when people mocked and scorned the power of
God, but the power of God moved on. They laughed when people were
being healed, but God healed anyway.

God prepared me for the hard places; I grew up fast in a big family, in a
poor home where I had to dig, work and fight for everything I got. I learned
not to accept defeat, not to be overcome by discouragement. I learned that if
I hadn’t a thing in this world, I still had God to trust in; God was my source.
Even as a child I was taught to fear God, to trust Him. He was with me
when, as a small boy, I had but one hand-me-down sweater to wear as I
walked, shaking and chilled to the bone, over a mile to school in the winter.
I had forgotten about that sweater until the Lord took me back to my
boyhood, showing how He had gotten me ready for His work. He was
getting me ready for a ministry on which I would never turn back, never say
no to God or find a task too hard. I grew up accustomed to battles, hardships
and being in want; the deprivations toughened me.

There is no lack in the Lord’s power; the Lord is my refuge, everything I

need. Do not sigh about the hard places, praise God for them!

I have a mission to serve God, to please Him and follow Him all the way.
I know in whom I believe; I do not have time to right the social ills of this
world, for I must get souls ready for the coming of the Lord.
 Be a soul winner; show how His love and understanding can lift people
up regardless of their social position, nationality or race, win them all for
Jesus! Heaven is a place of love and understanding, a place that will have
no prejudice because the Spirit of God is there; and the Spirit of God in
your heart will cause you to treat everyone alike.

We are going to leave this world one way or another; there is no time to
re-make it, no time to lose. Jesus is soon coming, and much is yet to be
done. Do God’s will whatever it is; make up the hedge against Lucifer; fill
the gap that God called you to fill, and then stand so that souls can be
brought into the kingdom. I have seen the souls, the multitudes that are to
be won. We are going on into the miracle power where the Holy Ghost will
deliver the people as I watch wonderful and mighty miracles taking place.

What will you allow to stop you? What is on the inside eating at you,
discouraging you and keeping you from prayer? What has kept you from
the prayer closet even after the Lord called you there? Ye did run well;
who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth (Galatians 5:7)?
You used to run well, but what hinders that you do not obey the truth? Why
would you sit and wait while someone else prays the power down? The
Lord needs you to stand in the gap and make up the hedge. Allow nothing
to stop you in this end-time hour.
 Chapter 5: The Cost of Untying
God’s Hands

The Supreme Price

My life had to be set apart to be used by God. I disciplined myself to stay
away from people and linger in God’s presence. He gave me such
marvelous, sweet companionship with my wife, Angel, such close tender
love for her that I really did not desire to be with other people when we
were together. Our talk was about God and the work we were doing; we
lived for Him and His ministry. Then I came to that place in my life where
the cost of untying God’s hands would be almost more than I could bear: I
had to give up Angel. God had prepared me as well as He could, but even
God Himself was not completely able to do this. We are made in such a way
that some things He cannot do for us, some things rest in our own hands.

Always when all else fails, I have been able to reach God with a forty-
day fast. I come into His holy presence, become a part of Him, a person in a
different world. Forty days I fasted for Angel, dying out entirely to self, and
then I closed her case. It was a divine fast, ordered by God. I did not
understand why God had not completely answered; but I just knew God
would deliver her—she did receive deliverance, but not in the way that I
had thought. Angel talked much about going to heaven, she had such a
longing, a great desire for it that I found myself saying to her, not realizing
that I would later be forced to face my words, “Honey, if the Lord decides
to take you on before me, it will be hard; but I must finish the mission God
has for me. If God in His mercy will spare you from all that there is yet to
go through, knowing how tired and weary you are, I will not stand in your
way.” I did not really think the Lord would take her home; I thought surely
she was to go all the way with me. When you make a promise, be sure in
your heart that you will stand on it.
Would I Contend with God?
The Lord anointed me so that I was able to care for Angel in her illness
through the night and much of the day—my strength held up—it was a joy
to tend her. God let me know that it was His divine plan to take her; I could
have tied His hands when the doctors were working over her in the hospital;
I could have prayed that God would stay the clutch of death; but then God
would not have been able to bless this ministry in the way He intended.
There will be souls in heaven who never would have gone had I tied His
hands.

Moses was human; Moses contended with God, telling Him that he did
not have the ability to speak to people. God gave Aaron to Moses to be his
mouthpiece, and that became a curse because with Aaron came Miriam.
Moses would have been better off without either one. Our God is great, but
we cannot afford to tie His hands.

As I was walking in that hospital room I had to face this: Would I

contend with the Almighty? I had made Angel a promise, and I had told the
Lord I would do anything, and so I did not stand in the gap to fill up the
hedge. I knew the gap was there but God somehow gave me strength not to
fill it—I did not contend with God to spare Angel. I’m glad she made it
through; she will never suffer again never be hurt again. It would be
impossible for me to give her what the Lord is giving her today. I could
never make her that happy. We must journey on with the Lord, knowing
that one day heaven will be ours, too.

More Courage to Live Than to Die

The Early Church had to pay the supreme price for the all-out miracle
power of God. Paul paid a great price; his sacrifice was such that he said it
would be better for him to depart and be with the Lord. For I am in a strait
betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is
far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with
you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may
be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again
(Philippians 1:23–26). I know how Paul felt, I feel the same way, but I have
an obligation to complete my mission. Sometimes it takes more courage to
live than it does to die; I must stay to help people find God, to teach them
how to use their faith and prepare them to be ready when Jesus comes. The
Lord could have taken me just as easily as He took Angel; He could have
taken any one of us. Christ died at a tender age; many of the apostles did
not live out their years. Lives, so dedicated and given to God as theirs, are
in His hands to take home at the time He sees best; those lives are on the
altar. Angel’s life was so completely on the altar that it was easy for God to
take her home. There was no fight or resistance in her; she just sang and
praised God.

Be Ready to Pay the Price

Doing the will of God is my life, just as it must be yours. Go forth with
courage—more courage than the Early Church. We are fighting spiritual
darkness, something we cannot quite put our hands on. Satan used people to
rise up against the Church, and the demons are gathering to fight against the
Children of God today.

Use the Word of God, the power of the Holy Ghost against the enemy.
There is no place to stop, for the powers of darkness are coming against us.
Be afraid of nothing, neither life nor death nor suffering; be ready to pay the
price to win the lost at any cost, to spend and be spent for Him. The Lord
can give you that love, determination and desire. You must have the faith of
God as never before, and you shall have it as you hide away and spend time
in His presence. As God moves on you to give more time to Him, you must
yield to Him. Nothing in the material world counts; that world is fleeting.

God showed many things in His taking Angel; study them closely. The
Spirit is bidding me tell you that there are many lessons in it. She sang and
rejoiced in the Lord, longed for His coming; and then suddenly she was
gone. People do not know when they, too, will be gone; yet they worry
about tomorrow; and by stretching their faith into the next day, it is
weakened. We do not have the kind of faith to handle too much at a time;
glance at tomorrow knowing it will be taken care of and then let it go. If I
had tried to use my faith for the future, I would have faltered when I lost
Angel; I lived each second as it came, each minute. It took all my faith just
to get out of one hour and into the next; I used it all for the very moment I
was in. I had enough faith to go step by step, live moment by moment;
when you have that much faith, you can keep going.

Declare War on Lucifer

The love of God is reaching out to you; His power is offered you. You
must have the faith and the love that Jesus brought to this world. The world
is dying for lack of love; show that love. People must feel the love of Jesus
through you as you are under the mighty anointing of the Holy Spirit of
God. Go forth in the power of that Spirit and tell the world about Jesus.
Receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost; do not wait. The Holy Ghost
baptism is a must if you are to be taken in the Rapture; it is a must in order
for you to do the holy work of God in this final hour. Those of you who
have the Holy Ghost must keep Him stirred in your lives daily; do not fail.
We have declared war on Lucifer—the Holy Spirit did that.

Paul writing to Timothy told him to endure hardness, as a good soldier

(II Timothy 2:3). The Bible tells you to put on the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians
6:11). Is there any armor lacking? Ask the Lord; tell Him you want it all.

Lose Sight of Yourself

Some people cannot lose sight of family; they allow their family to stand
between them and their service for God. God is not pleased. Your first
responsibility is to God, saith the Spirit of the Lord. If you put other things
ahead of God and think you are excused, the devil is deceiving you. God
calls people into the prayer closet, but when they look for duties elsewhere
and do not meet Him there, they are not excused, thus saith the Spirit of the
Lord. He has looked for some of you and you were not there, not getting the
armor from God that you need and you will not be able to stand.

The Antichrist is taking over more and more; the minds of the people are
confused. The Bible tells us to be no more children, tossed to and fro,
and carried about with every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). We
must know our way in the Lord.

Paul said, I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is

able to keep that which I have committed unto him (II Timothy 1:12).
God will take care of you if you will look to Him.

Galatians 5:1, Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ

hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of
bondage. The yoke of bondage, the cares of this world are a prison from
which we must be liberated by the Holy Spirit in order to do the whole will
of God.

We sing, “Take the Whole World But Give Me Jesus.” Do you really
mean those words you sing? Take everything—husband, wife, brothers,
sisters, children—but give me Jesus. Take not just the world of sin, but the
whole world. I must have Jesus. I can live without loved ones, no matter
how difficult that may be, but I cannot live without Jesus. It’s hard to live
without Angel but it would be harder to live without my Christ—I must
have Him! My soul is hungry for Him, athirst for Him. I must have the
greatness of His power, the greatness of His love. Darkness is covering the
face of the earth; people need to be awakened.

God took Angel; He had it planned. Lucifer did not destroy her; that
power was not his. God allowed it to be; it was in God’s divine plan, and
she was ready. She could not understand why any Christian would fight
death. Let your life, like hers, be set apart to be used in whatever way God
chooses.

God can use those of you who believe strongly in Jesus, who love and
adore Him with your whole heart and look upon Him as the greatest thing
in your life. Paul endured many persecutions, but because he yielded wholly
to God, God was able to use him. Paul wrote that he was serving the Lord
with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which
befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews (Acts 20:19). The same spirit
that had been in Paul before his conversion continued to work through
others, trying to destroy him and his ministry for Christ. Former friends
would gladly have killed him, thinking they were doing God a service. Paul
could have wasted much time in self-pity over lost friendships but he did
not. He was taught great and wonderful things by the Holy Ghost; he had a
full knowledge of God and the power of His Spirit.

Salt and Pepper

Some people are guilty of trying too hard to bring self under subjection.
This is not a do-it-yourself job; it is the kind of task where you first yield to
the Holy Spirit and then you are able to let Him do the things you are
unable to. If temper is your problem, pray that the Lord will channel it in
the proper direction, not that He will take it away. You need that temper to
wield as a great weapon against Lucifer. Put it into the hands of the Holy
Spirit, and He will use it; for there are many things we need to be stirred
about. Yield that temper to the Holy Spirit; don’t use it against family and
friends.

Perhaps, however, you need more temper; you have plenty of salt but
lack the pepper, and so Satan pushes you around in all directions. Instead of
getting angry at him, you sit down and cry. It’s perfectly acceptable to get
mad at Lucifer—go after him; make him move! He has no business
bothering you. “Come on, Holy Ghost, let’s go get him!” should be your
response.

The Price in the Catalogue

 The Holy Ghost will not use you unless you decide to yield to Him.
Desire Him; yearn for Him. It is wishful thinking to expect the Holy Ghost
to use you if you are not willing to pay the price. You have looked through
the catalogue, selecting what you want; but when it comes time to fill out
the order blank and pay, you refuse to send in the money. The Word of God
is your shopping book; it lists the things available and the price is prayer,
fasting and living in the Word.

When God calls on you for a fast, He will help you. Some of my fasts
have been terrific, even some of the forty-day ones; for on them the Spirit of
God has fed me, enraptured me with His glory and power. On the platform,
I would be under the anointing, strong as a lion—then I would hurry home
before the anointing lifted. Not until then would I realize how much
strength was being used as I ministered to the people.

Many times I have asked God to furnish strength, and then would feel
strength flow into me as the Holy Spirit fed me. What a marvelous
experience! But not all the fasting hours are like that. Sometimes you must
fight every inch of the way; there seem to be so many demons around, you
think you cannot stand it.

Don’t say you will fast all day; fast one meal at a time. I have never said I
was going on a forty-day fast unless I felt God would really be with me and
that it was necessary. When the Lord tells me to fast for forty days, I know
that it is a necessity. Not always at the start of the fast have I known how
long it would be. The only forty-day fast I told Angel about was the one I
went on for her; the Lord had a divine purpose in that fast. When the Lord
came and talked to me after He took Angel, one of the things He said was
that nothing I could have done would have kept her here; it was His divine
will to take her home at that time. I will never rebel against God’s divine
plan; I would give my life for Him.

How to Come into His Presence

When there is something God wants of you, He will give you the strength
and the help to do it. He will walk with you; your work will not be done by
self, but through the Lord. Yield to Him.

You need God’s anointing so you can pray for hours. Go into the prayer
chamber and yield to the Holy Spirit. Don’t plan to spend your time
wrestling with the devil, but enter the prayer closet saying, “Father, in the
name of Jesus I come.” It will clear the air. Turn Lucifer over to the Holy
Spirit; lift your mind above the cares of this world and let the Holy Spirit
anoint your mind. Think upon the Lord.

I used to feel I had to pray loud so the Lord could really hear, but He
knew that my voice and body could not hold up like that for the hours He
called me to be with Him. He taught me how to come into His presence,
how to clear the air of demon power, how to center my thoughts upon Him.
He taught me not to battle and battle against the devil, for that is the job of
the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, remember, to resist the devil and he will
flee; use the Word to resist him. The Word has plenty of power; the Word
does the work, not your own strength. There is no need to get all excited
about it, just rebuke the devil with the Word. Don’t argue with him; let the
Holy Spirit take care of it.

Some people are easily frustrated; their faith is shaky, and when Satan
lets them think he is not going to move, they believe him and battle and
battle. We are people of many words and little action, and we carry this into
the prayer chamber, saying much we do not mean. God has heard us say
words over and over again until we sound like cracked records to Him.

The Blood Line

How can you use the power of Jesus; how can you get it out of the Bible?
The Lord showed me how to put His power into practice. Be full of the
Holy Spirit, and wait on God. Say what you mean, mean what you say.
When you plead the blood of Jesus, you draw a blood line that Satan cannot
step over. Why plead and plead with all the effectiveness of a warm glass of
water? When you actually plead the blood against the devil with all the faith
in God that you have through faith in the Word, it will work. Lucifer is
defeated by the blood line, by the power in the blood. Speak the name Jesus
with faith and power; never use it lightly. When the Holy Spirit uses the
name of Jesus, demons flee. The power that God the Father placed in the
name of Jesus is used by the Holy Spirit; all the power we need is in that
name.

Put yourself in the hand of God; trust Him to take care of you, for when
all the doctors in the world have failed, the Lord can still deliver you. Too
often divine healing has been presented in the wrong way, putting people
into bondage trying to live up to it. God has never told man to do anything
impossible for him. If He tells you to walk on the water, you can—but make
sure the Lord said it, or you might drown.

Why endure a headache when you could take an aspirin and be rid of it?
Have you ever tried to pray with a terrible headache? It isn’t easy. The Lord
believes in medicine; He said, A merry heart doeth good like a medicine
(Proverbs 17:22). Nowhere does the Bible say, “Thou shalt not take
medicine.” I am not against doctors and hospitals; when it is necessary to
use them, you are foolish not to. Face reality; know what it is to yield to the
Holy Spirit; know the theory of man and know what God requires of you.

Die to Self
God healed me of an ulcerated stomach, and the same night told me to go
on a long fast. What doctor would do that? I had been on a diet; the week
before I received healing, I felt sure I was dying. But now God told me I
was healed, told me to fast and then I would have His gifts of healing and
be able to carry His power to the people. God does not work as a man. Six
weeks later I began a long fast. I had to die to self, and fasting is the best
way to do that, the best way to yield to the Holy Spirit completely. Fasting
will give you the power to use that temper for the glory of God. Put self
under subjection in your own personal Gethsemane; die completely to self,
and then drag self to Calvary and nail it to the cross, crucified with Jesus.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live (Galatians 2:20). Paul

speaks of being crucified with Jesus and being resurrected with Him; before
the resurrection came the crucifixion. It is hard for self to be crucified; but
once it is, let it be resurrected through the Holy Ghost’s miracle power.
After much distress, fasting and tears, self will then be ready for service.

Paul said that he was in fastings often (II Corinthians 11:27). He tells
how he served the Lord with all humility of mind, with many tears and
temptations. He was always ready for service.

Paul stood before King Agrippa, heard him say, Almost thou persuadest
me to be a Christian (Acts 26:28). Paul was so yielded to the Holy Ghost
that it was as though the Holy Ghost were standing in front of the king.
When the Holy Spirit controls you to the extent that He has complete
liberty, then He is the one doing the work, and great things are
accomplished. But the Holy Spirit can only work for you as you yield to
Him. By your yielding completely, He can use your entire life. If just part of
your life is yielded He works with that. Many people fail to have God’s
whole will done in their life because they are not wholly yielded to Him.

I want the complete, divine will of God in my life regardless of what it is

or how much is required of me. Angel and I sought His entire divine will; it
was the greatest goal in our lives. Angel was yielded completely to His
divine will; she wanted to do exactly as He said, nothing less or more. His
will took priority over anything else she might have desired. We must all be
yielded to the Spirit and the power of the Holy Ghost the way she was, so
that God can use us.

Paul declared to the people that he had told them the whole will of God,
holding back nothing; he gave it all. At times we, however, hold part of the
truth back for fear it will not be accepted. God can only work with the
amount of yourself that you give to Him completely; what is held back He
cannot control. He gave you the right to choose.

“Why didn’t God stop me?” people cry when they get into trouble; but
the only way God has of stopping some, is to take their life—and they
might feel that somewhat extreme. They think almost anything could have
saved them, but not so. Their minds were made up, and God had to let them
alone. The Spirit will not follow you day and night if you deliberately walk
the wrong path.
 Sometimes people take the Holy Ghost’s speaking through them in
another tongue as a sign of what to do. However, any time someone is
glorifying God, the Holy Spirit is there and may speak: it does not mean He
is putting His stamp of approval on what you have in your mind. He could
be saying, “Don’t do it; don’t do it!” Get the Lord’s will in all that you do.

This is a receiving time: the Lord is ready to baptize you with His Holy
Spirit, but He waits until you are ready to give your tongue over to Him. It
is a necessity in order for the Holy Ghost to speak through you. You will
not be baptized in the Holy Ghost until He has your tongue and can speak
with it. When the Holy Ghost has your tongue, He has all of you. Many
children of God have not received this gift of the Holy Ghost that they need.
The Lord wants you to have it; let nothing hinder you from receiving Him.

The Holy Ghost speaks in every language and dialect under the sun and
in many that have never been heard of on earth. He probably often uses that
heavenly language we will all speak when we get to heaven. Yield your
tongue completely to Him. He is ready to baptize His children the minute
they allow Him to.

It is so easy to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost that people stumble over
it, making it difficult. They are afraid they will not get the real thing. Satan
will hem you in by every means he can; he will build any kind of hedge
possible to hinder you. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and
forever; and as people were baptized with His Spirit years ago, so are they
being baptized today. The Lord promises not to withhold any good thing
from those who love and serve Him. After I became saved, all I could say
was “Lord, give me the Holy Ghost! Lord, give me the Holy Ghost!” I was
determined to have Him, and I held on until He spoke through me. Seek the
Holy Ghost with determination and singleness of purpose because without
Him, you can never completely untie God’s hands.

Spiritual Exercises
Romans 12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Let the Lord transform that
old self and spiritually make you anew. If any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature (II Corinthians 5:17). Born again, you are not conformed to
the world, but transformed, a different person possessing new character and
personality. If you feel your personality is not the soul-winning type, Jesus
can change it into one that is; but first turn yourself over to the Spirit, let
Him have you long enough to bring about that change. Being and staying
transformed are things that take constant work. You must live in and use the
Word of God in order to stay changed; you must fast and pray: these things
are spiritual exercises. When self is crucified through the sanctifying power
and blood of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit buries self. However, by not
staying yielded to the Holy Spirit, self will resurrect itself. Self bobs up
every now and then, but the Holy Spirit will take care of it if you allow Him
to.

We do not always give the Holy Spirit this freedom; old ways of thinking
and acting start to come back. The Holy Ghost in our midst is a wonderfully
transforming power changing people into the giants God is seeking and
must have. Be giants for the Lord in this final hour. Shed off the negative
attitudes, all those “I can’ts” and visions of the defeated self. Break the
bands that have kept you in bondage, and let the Lord make you anew.

Hold On to God Until the Blessing Comes

Jacob was going to be transformed, and it would not be easy. He wrestled
with the angel all night long, refusing to turn him loose. God gives power to
hold on to Him until the blessing comes. He has put Himself into the hands
of man and gives the choice of holding on or letting go. Many blessings are
within our grasp that we do not even know about; if we did, we would
rejoice and reach out for them.

Jacob received his blessing; he was transformed, a different person; even

his name was changed. We can become different people through the Spirit
of God, but we have the choice of being what we want or becoming the
person God wants. Turn yourself completely over to God, “Lord, do with
me what you will; make me anything you desire me to be. Forget about my
ambitions; give me your divine will.” It means everything to have the
Lord’s divine will. Angel and I sought continually for it; she wrote in a
Testament she gave me, “May God’s divine will ever be done in your life.”

How marvelous to know that you are in His divine will, and that every
step taken is ordered by the Lord! The Holy Spirit, that transforming power,
can triumph over all circumstances, can ease every pressure Satan may
bring against you. This power gives you strength to stand for right and to
say no to sin, man and the world so you might say yes to God: “Lord, I shall
do your will!”

The Disciples Were Ready to Die

Some people have not been transformed enough to be willing to die, but I
am persuaded that in giving all for God in this final hour we shall be
transformed until we are willing to give our very lives. The disciples sang
and praised God; they had been transformed and they considered it a
privilege to give their lives for Christ. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs tells how the
Christians glorified God as they were fed to the lions and burned at the
stake; but we let little things depress us today. We will have to be
transformed more and more.

Simon at one time was weak; he talked much but was unable to stand. He
was a man of action, walking the waters but lacking the power to stay on
top. After the Resurrection, however, he performed greater deeds than
walking the water: he walked the waters of life through the power of the
Holy Spirit. Danger surrounded him: see Simon walking the waters at
Pentecost, standing before the mob that condemned Jesus and crying to
them, Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man
approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him,
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God,
ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain (Acts
2:22,23). Simon knew it could very well cost his life to stand before that
crowd, but he was ready to die. He had been transformed, filled and running
over with the Holy Spirit. Nothing mattered but yielding to God and
untying His hands. Simon, in untying God’s hands, also freed his own; and
three thousand people came to the Lord. Simon not only withstood
persecutions, he rejoiced because of them; he rejoiced that he was able to
take them for Christ’s sake; he rejoiced that they were no longer able
physically to harm his Lord. And when they had called the apostles, and
beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name
of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the
council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his
name (Acts 5:40,41).

A World Fast Moving toward Judgment

These last years have been easy for Christians sitting on the sidelines, not
knowing what it is like to be a real Bible Child of God or to deny self. The
hour is here that you must place your life on the altar of sacrifice for your
Lord. Hear the cry of the lost coming up before you, beginning to ring in
your ears. The hour is late, and your lost loved ones must be brought in.
Obey God the rest of the way and do not allow this world, moving so fast
toward judgment, to carry you away. Instead of seeking to make a life in
this world, seek to lose your life for Jesus that you might find it. For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life
for my sake shall find it (Matthew 16:25).

When your life is transformed, your desire is to be where the power of

God is moving. God is more important than anything else. The plans of this
world are a poison to your system. Be transformed; it is vital to do so if you
are to be translated when Jesus comes. Do not be left, be ready; that time of
the Rapture, that anointing, is moving in closer and closer, and we have a
quick work to do through the power of the Holy Ghost.
 Chapter 6: Be a Soul Winner

Lower the Net as the Lord Speaks

Luke 5:4,5, He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let
down your nets . . . And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we
have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy
word I will let down the net. The Lord is calling on us to let down our
nets; we have toiled the night long trying to get our loved ones to God. It is
almost break of day; Jesus is about to come. Using faith for our own family
is sometimes hard; we have tried for years, expecting God to move; and as
yet He has not. Believing is difficult when you do not see God move; it is
discouraging to send the same prayer up over and over again and find it still
unanswered. To have faith that it will ever take place becomes increasingly
remote.

Those of you who have never seen any of your loved ones come to God:
picture yourself fishing, toiling, catching nothing. Making a catch seems
almost an impossibility. Simon felt that way, but listen again to what he
said, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing:
nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. Simon did not really
believe there was anything to be caught; hope had fled, he was ready to
quit. The methods of fishing were known to him—we know how to win
souls; we have won other souls, but those loved ones seem to be out of the
reach of the silvery nets of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit. It seems the
Holy Spirit cannot reach them or deal with them; but there you stand, ready
to cast those silver nets forth one more time. Simon had thrown out the nets
again and again throughout the long night and drawn them in empty.
Nothing, nothing, nothing was in the nets as you drew them in many times;
the night had been long and discouraging, but now morning approaches.
The Lord is speaking; the anointing of the Lord is becoming greater and
greater as daybreak nears. We are in the hour in which the Lord is moving
throughout the earth as never before. People are finding God in their homes,
on the highways and in all sorts of places because the Holy Spirit is dealing
so forcefully to get people ready for the Lord’s coming. As we pray
anointed prayers, they are going up before the throne of grace and the Holy
Spirit is moving all over the world right now through them, saith the Lord.
People are already coming to God because of them, yea, saith the Spirit. It
is marvelous to know this.

Now is the time that by faith we must see loved ones who can be reached
coming to God, another time of letting down the net through the divine
Spirit of the Lord. But the net must be lowered as the Lord speaks. Simon
began to tell Jesus about his discouragement and then said, Nevertheless at
thy word I will let down the net. The Lord said the truth would make us
free, but it cannot free us if we do not believe it.

The Lord explained to me about Angel’s death, He told me all about it

and how He had planned to take her. I am only human, and the enemy had
whispered, “Why couldn’t it have been planned another way; why did it
have to be that way?” But I said to God, “If I ever am to believe you about
anything, I will have to believe what you are telling me about this. I will
accept exactly what you have told me because if I do not, there is no need
for me ever to try to walk with you again, no need for me ever to accept
anything you say. Lord, you either tell the truth or you don’t; and I must
stand upon what you have said.”

Accept what the Lord says. When He tells you the hour is late, let it
become a part of you; for you either believe in the gift of prophecy or you
don’t. You believe in the gift of tongues and the interpretation or you don’t.
You believe in the gift of miracles or you don’t, and you believe in the gifts
of healing or you do not believe. If you want to be liberated through this
ministry, accept it completely as the Word of God, or else cast it aside.

I have held to God’s promise, and He has moved and raised up a mighty
army of spiritually healthy people. I am willing to give to see that God’s
miracle power and the fullness of the gift of miracles are poured out on an
unbelieving generation. People must have something that will shake them
completely. If there is any honesty in them at all it will be brought to the
surface during the outpouring of the all-out miracle power. Nothing less
will do than that power, and God has promised that it would happen. He
gave us a sample of it when He gave His Son, Jesus. Never before has God
offered His Spirit without measure to so many people. We are end-time
people in the final hour, saith the Lord, and the Spirit of the Lord and the
power of God are moving upon the face of the earth. The signs of the
enemy are becoming apparent everywhere as Satan prepares to bring forth
his man of the hour, the Antichrist. But just as we see the signs of the
Antichrist, we see the signs of the coming of Christ throughout the world.

Look toward the harvest fields; rise above discouragement and say,
“Lord, let nothing hinder me. I must, according to your Word, let down the
nets another time. No matter how tired I am or how much strength it takes, I
will lower them again.” As we close in on the multitudes of souls to be
won, we see among them aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, sons,
daughters, parents: all those we love. We will rejoice in the greatness of
God as the angels in heaven rejoice over every soul on earth who repents.

I carry with me the vision of winning the lost; it has been my hope, my
encouragement and my strength, a mental image burned upon my mind day
and night. I rejoice in it, it gives new hope and courage to be able to pour
out my whole life to Him in the brief time left.

Go in the Power of His Spirit

What do you expect to do with the short time you have? Will you listen
to God or man, be carried away with the terror of the age or transformed
into the person God wants you to be? Decide to please God in this final
hour. Satan creates many enticing opportunities to lure you away from
God’s work, to lure you away from the anointing of God. God is raising up
those who will give all for Him. Remember how the Israelites were so
anointed with God’s power that they were able to march around the walls of
Jericho seven days until the power of God pulled those walls down. The
hour is here that we must come together, saith the Lord, and receive the
greatness of God to go forth in the power of the Spirit and be used by the
Lord.
 God has set up a station at Grace Cathedral where He can use the gifts of
the Spirit to open eyes to His greatness and lead people into His power. You
must have the Spirit, the anointing and the power of God to go forth and be
used by Him. Don’t make elaborate preparations for a life on this earth; get
ready to leave this place. God will stand by you and prosper you. Look up;
please Him and the blessings will come. He will make the way to supply
your need. He has promised to spread a table for you in the presence of
your enemies, not to make those enemies disappear, but to bless you right in
front of them. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
enemies (Psalm 23:5).

The Lord performed many miracles to get His disciples ready for their
ministry, and He is performing miracles for you who are yielded to Him so
that you will come to the place He wants; you must accept what He says.
The written word of the New Testament is yours; as you study it you find
living proof of God keeping His Word today.

Vision to Reach around the World

Delight in God’s power, for it is He that speaks to us and not man. Turn
away from past failures. The anointing of God is greater now; live in the
present and close the book on last year. Paul said, This one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13,14). Our prize is not
just heaven, it is taking the all-out miracle power of God all over the earth.
My life, my desire is to help others to reach that power. You must find joy
in winning others for the Lord, or the sacrifice will be too great. Delight in
it. As you see souls coming to Jesus through your efforts, you will be filled
with praises for the Lord. The Lord told us through the Holy Ghost, that our
prayers are being answered throughout the world.

Lift up your head and have clear vision; people can perish for lack of it.
Your vision must reach around the world; God is looking at the whole face
of the earth. Jesus’ coming will affect everyone. Jesus said that this gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come (Matthew 24:14).

Through our prayers, people we do not even know will be moved to

come to the Lord and to bring others to Him. The hour is late, and it is
essential for people to have help with their souls in order that they may be
changed in a moment to be caught up with the Lord. What a shock it will be
to those who are left when loved ones disappear, when bodies of saints
vanish from funeral homes and graves! God will shake people as they seek
to move away from their problems, but there is no refuge other than God.
The Bible teaches that fear would enter and be so great that men’s hearts
would fail, when they saw the things that are coming upon the face of the
earth. Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be
shaken (Luke 21:26). Never in all history have so many been stricken with
heart attacks and heart disease as now. People are living in great prosperity
and great fear; refusing to believe the truth, they are damned. But he that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall
be damned (Mark 16:16).

Holy Boldness
The hour is here, saith the Lord, that you must yield to the Spirit of God
and to the anointing of God. You must yield your mind as well as your
heart; you must yield your all to the Lord so that He can anoint you, so that
He can take the fear out of your heart. You have struggled and tried to get
rid of fear; but now, saith the Lord, I will remove the fear. And I will anoint
you, and you will rise up with my greatness and my power. Fear will not be
in your heart; my faith and my love and my strength will be there, saith the
Spirit of the Lord.

In the Lord you have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. You will
rise up in His power and greatness. The Early Church prayed for boldness
to speak. Lord . . . grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they
may speak thy word (Acts 4:29). You may feel there are many things you
cannot do—the Early Church felt the same way—but Jesus said to follow
me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). Jesus will do it.

The Early Church did not learn everything at once; they realized their
need to ask for holy boldness, and the Lord gave that boldness in such a
great way that they faced death with praises and rejoicing. Stephen, full of
the Holy Ghost, faith and power, delivered a mighty message and sealed it
with his own blood. The Early Church preached Jesus, Jesus. The disciples
went forth to hold up Jesus to the people because, although the people
believed in God, the Holy Ghost and the Son, they did not think Jesus was
that Son. To convince multitudes that Jesus was the very Christ, the
disciples gave their all. Jesus will identify Himself to you if you give Him
the chance.

Excitement Is Contagious
Christ stood before kings and great men of the earth and did not tell them
that He was the Christ. When He met the lowly woman at the well He
identified Himself. She was open, honest-hearted, and upon learning that He
was the Christ, she left all behind to run and tell the news. The woman
saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ:
when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that
speak unto thee am he. The woman then left her waterpot, and went
her way into the city (John 4:25,26,28).

You must become excited in order to help others; it is difficult to get

people into church when the thought of going does not interest you. Strive
for the anointing; believe in Him. Come, see a man, which told me all
things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? (John 4:29) cried the woman
to those in the city. Her excitement was contagious; they came to hear
Jesus, and He stayed there about two days. And [the people] said unto the
woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard
him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of
the world (John 4:42). She was not given credit for bringing those people
to Christ, and many times we will not be given credit for the Lord’s work
we do. It matters not. The glory and honor belong to the Lord. God is the
great and mighty one.

Know the mind of Christ, know where He wants you to go. God moved
on Philip to go into the desert. God knew whom Philip would meet. Then
the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot
(Acts 8:29). God did not tell Philip what would happen in the desert; Philip
just obeyed God and a man was brought to the Lord. The anointed life will
win souls in this final hour. God calls on people to do seemingly odd things
but there is no need to fear; the Holy Spirit organizes and prepares every
detail. When God says someone is ready, he is ready!

No Time to Rub Bruises

Let the anointing, the power of God reach out to you. Seek Him
continually. Be prayerful as you go about your work, and the anointing will
soothe the storms that are raging within, prevent worry from entering.
When you sit down to rub your bruises, the devil will keep them coming so
that you can spend all your time rubbing. Rise up and ask the Lord to heal
those bruises; He loves you, cares about you and He longs for you to be
home with Him. Reach out with that passion to know God and to win souls.
Stephen faced death a soul winner; Philip ran out into the desert for one
soul.

That great missionary, Sister Kinsley, was traveling through the African
jungle. Suddenly she told her bearers to stop. “Go this way,” she pointed to
thick bamboo. “You can’t go through there,” she was told. “It will take
hours just to cut a short path.” But God had instructed her to go that way,
and so they did. After chopping through the growth for about an hour, they
came unexpectedly to a small clearing. In it was a man dying of leprosy. He
was almost gone, but she was able to tell him about Jesus; and he accepted
salvation before he died.

Just beyond the bamboo was a lost soul, and just beyond the bamboo of
life’s care there is a soul crying out for help. The Holy Spirit is able to hear
that cry, and to direct you to it; listen to the Spirit. Let Him lead you. Walk
in Him so that He can teach you and tell you what He wants of you. Only
the Holy Spirit of the Lord can take you on the path across this mountain of
the greatness and the mighty anointing of the Lord. Let His anointing soak
into your innermost being, and use it to go into the highways and hedges to
bring them in. The Lord is doing a special work; He wants you to bring
others into this anointing to be taught by Him. He has promised to move;
He has anointed the lost to hear His words, but they cannot hear if no one
speaks. Write letters; the Lord told us that souls could be saved in this way.
Let the Holy Spirit use you; He will use you in the way God wishes; there
are souls with your mark on them. Know the Spirit; know when God is
moving. Know why He wakes you in the night, what He wants; it may be
the time to pray, to write that letter. Be on call twenty-four hours around the
clock, ready to be used by the Holy Spirit.

A Series of Fillings and Leakings

To be a soul winner, you must first have Jesus before you can pass Him
on to others. Be so full of Him that you are bubbling and running over.
Jesus is your story, your conversation and your song; offer Jesus to people.
Jesus was the theme of the Early Church; they took Him to the people. He
was great and mighty to them. Many of them had seen Him in the flesh,
touched Him and sat at His feet. They had seen His crucifixion, witnessed
the empty tomb, seen Him after He rose from the grave. All this must
become real to you if you are to untie God’s hands and be a soul winner.
Learn who Jesus really is; know Him. Let someone teach you who knows
all about Him—the Holy Ghost. The apostles gave themselves over to the
Holy Ghost; they didn’t visit the Upper Room to have something to speak
through them and then stop growing in the Lord because they thought they
had all God could offer—a trap many Pentecostal churches have fallen into
—but they yielded to His Spirit daily, and let Him teach them and work in
their lives with power.

People have kept God bound in their lives because of their attitude about
receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit: They have looked upon the
experience as an end rather than the means to a much greater end. They
stopped with the baptism, let it leak out and the Holy Ghost was unable to
use them. Their life in the Lord was a series of fillings and leakings; but the
Lord taught me what the Holy Ghost would do and why He had been given
to us.

The Holy Ghost is a worker; He does not like to dwell in a lazy temple
because it will quench Him, hurt His Spirit. He wants you to move, wants
you to accomplish His work, to respond when He calls. Decide that there is
no such word as “can’t” in your conversation with the Holy Spirit. Yield
completely to the Holy Ghost; give yourself entirely over to Him. Let Him
use you; let Him select your work. He knows the souls that are ready and
the words that need to be said. Choose your words carefully; do not talk
conviction on to a person and then hang around and talk it off. Deliver the
message of the Holy Spirit and nothing else; know when the Holy Spirit has
finished talking.

Depend upon the Holy Spirit to give you words that will win your crusty-
hearted relatives; it will take the softening that comes with the Holy Spirit
to break through to them. The Holy Spirit works with people according to
their personality. Become conscious of the strangeness of the presence of
the Holy Spirit. He will not tell you the same thing or work with you in the
same way each time He deals with you. Learn to distinguish between your
own inspiration and the voice of the Spirit. Your feeling led to do something
can come through you or it can come through the power of the Holy Ghost;
know what is leading you. If you are not sure which spirit it is then go back
to the prayer closet.

The Holy Spirit Message Is Full of Jesus

How can you tell which spirit is moving in you? If you have recognized
the Holy Ghost to the extent that He has come in, taken over your vocal
cords and spoken through you in another language, then you recognize Him
more than the devil lets you think. You have observed and studied how it
feels when the Holy Ghost begins to speak, how He works and moves on
you. As you begin to be mindful of His ways, then His work will be done,
and souls won for the Lord in such a fantastic and simple way that you will
be filled with wonder at the ease with which they are saved.

Study the Holy Spirit, know Him; learn who He is. When He is in your
life, you have learned enough about Him to know when He wants to speak
through you, and you can then learn when He wants you to do something.
He becomes a stranger if you are aware of Him only when He speaks. The
main purpose He has come for is not to speak through you, but to do the
perfect, divine work of the eternal God through you. He has come that
God’s divine will might be wrought in your life, that it might reach out to
touch the lives of others and bring them into the mainstream of God’s
divine will. The Holy Spirit reaches out, and the Holy Spirit gives this
message: “Jesus, the Savior! Jesus, the Baptizer! Jesus, the soon-coming
King! Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords!” What a marvelous message
we have!

The Early Church was full of the Word, and they traveled everywhere
preaching the good news of Jesus crucified and risen. Just as they, on the
Day of Pentecost, were in one mind and one accord, so must we be
likeminded. We cannot allow a few people, no matter who they may be, to
hinder us from having God’s best. About one hundred and twenty people
were in one mind and one accord, and God did mighty things with them.
Multitudes were added to the Lord: three thousand souls in one day and five
thousand on another. The Early Church started as a small group single-
mindedly supporting and encouraging each other, and they grew and grew.

Your Inside Latch

Be in one mind and one accord with the Lord, learn to have your mind
cleansed from your daily routine as you enter into His presence. What
thoughts can you have that are more important than the Lord? Let His
anointing clear your mind and focus it on Him. As His anointing becomes
greater in your life, you will be able to carry it with you, keeping your mind
stayed on the Lord as did the Early Church. The Lord is seeking to bring
this unity to you.
 The mind is not covered with the blood as is the soul, so Satan can
trouble the mind. But Satan cannot possibly enter the soul that is covered
with the blood unless that person would invite him in; even Jesus cannot
come in until He is invited; the soul’s latch is on the inside. But your mind
has many windows and doors that the devil can take advantage of; he can
worry and burden you, crowding out your thoughts of the Lord. Failing
school tests is not nearly so bad as failing God. Train yourself to listen to
the right things.

Go into the presence of God; feel the Spirit settle down over you; feel the
anointing as the Lord moves in close. Let your soul, body, your all respond
to Him and His greatness. Listen when the Lord speaks; hear every word,
and let nothing interfere with your listening.
 Chapter 7: Know the Reality of
Jesus
Philippians 3:10, That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death. Willingness to suffer is necessary if you are
to know Jesus. To know Him, you must know not only His faith and love
but also His sufferings—which were not those of sicknesses and diseases,
but of trials and persecutions. Audacious men rose against Jesus wherever
He went, bringing conflict each day of His life. Satan tried to destroy Him
from the very beginning; many mothers lost their babies in Herod’s attempt
to murder Jesus. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the
wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the
children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two
years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently
enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by
Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard,
lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her
children, and would not be comforted, because they are not (Matthew
2:16–18).

When Jesus became a man, His persecutions increased. Who is Jesus? He

is the Christ, the Son of God: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God (Matthew 16:16), said Simon. Simon had to learn who He was; he
watched Him closely, listened to Him. Impulsively Simon went into action
only to back away; he wanted to believe Jesus, but could not fully decide if
He was the Son of God. Thousands were fed with the loaves and fishes, and
still Lucifer whispered doubt in Simon’s ear.

Doubt comes easily, even when you love the Lord. John the Baptist, after
seeing the Holy Ghost descending on Jesus and hearing the voice of God
from heaven declaring Christ to be His Son, was momentarily unsure; and
from his death cell sent his followers to ask Jesus, Art thou he that should
come, or do we look for another (Matthew 11:3)?
Overcome Doubt
Do not become alarmed if, when going through adverse circumstances,
you begin to wonder about your faith; you are just flesh. Christ
demonstrated how the flesh would act, even the flesh wrapped around very
God. Jesus, very God, after submitting to the flesh would feel the weakness
of it, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me
(Matthew 26:39).

John the Baptist, full of the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb, never
tasted sin or knew what it was, spent his life preaching, Prepare ye the way
of the Lord, make his paths straight (Matthew 3:3). I indeed baptize you
with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes
I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost
and with fire: (Luke 3:16). John the Baptist, piercing-eyed and fiery-
tongued with the flame of the Holy Spirit, declared to Jesus, I have need to
be baptized of thee (Matthew 3:14). But when in John’s dark hour he sent
disciples to inquire of Jesus who He really was, Jesus answered and said
unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and
see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have
the gospel preached to them (Matthew 11:4,5). John had known in his
heart the truth, but the enemy tormented him; he wanted to hear
confirmation about Jesus one more time before he died.

Who is Jesus? Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world (John 1:29). “How do I know He can forgive sins?” Simon must
have wondered. “I thought mine were gone—and then I cut off a man’s ear,
and I blasphemed. If He’s the Son of God, why would He be arrested?” You
will be able to find many reasons to doubt God’s Word if you want to; and
unless you submit completely to the Holy Spirit, there will be doubt in you
about some of Christ’s miracles. Lucifer works on you, doing everything
possible to make you doubt God’s Word, especially when that Word applies
directly to your life. The devil encourages you to accept only that
information which self feels comfortable with.
Know His Love
Arise and know the way of the Lord; know whom you follow; know
Jesus! All that He said came to pass; Simon understood the truth about Him
when he knew the power of His resurrection. Christ wanted a church that
would work with love, wanted the disciples to carry His love, to be able to
love their enemies. His love was to replace the law of an eye for an eye,
and a tooth for a tooth (Matthew 5:38). Jesus taught, Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44).
Loving those who despitefully use and torment you is difficult; you must
have God in you to be able to love their souls.

They spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with
the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is
he that smote thee (Matthew 26:67,68)? Men spat upon Christ, plucked
His beard, blindfolded Him and told Him that as the Son of God He ought
to know who hit Him. Simon didn’t believe any longer that Jesus was the
Son of God. Christ took it all; and Simon vowed that he did not know the
man.

Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him,
saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them
all, saying, I know not what thou sayest (Matthew 26:69,70). Simon
really did not know Him; he thought he did, but when we only think and are
not sure, the devil can shake our foundation until it shatters. When we
question whether Jesus is the very God, the miracle Christ who is alive
today, we do not fully know the power of His resurrection.

Why Are You in Trouble?

It is easy to confuse the sufferings of Jesus with the sufferings of
everyday living, but we must be able to separate the two. We know the
sufferings of Jesus only when we suffer for the glory of God, suffer because
we are walking like Him, because we act like Him and love as He loves.
People who do not know Jesus are in trouble for their own sake; God is not
responsible for them. When difficulties arise, find out if it is because you
are a Child of God or because you have blundered. Analyze why you are in
trouble. Have you jumped into the den of lions of your own free will, and if
so, why should God save you? The only excuse for entering the fiery
furnace is that you refuse to bow down to sin. More people have been
tormented by the mouths of humans than by the mouths of lions. We have
sense enough to stay away from the lions, but not enough to avoid
destructive people. Know Jesus; know His sufferings; know Him and the
fellowship of His sufferings, and recognize why the persecutions come.

Ask for Wisdom

Christians have lived for years believing they had the joy and the love of
the Lord, but not until receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost did the
depths of this joy and love begin to become a reality to them. That great
love will reach down, snatch a sinner out of the gutter and heal him. Jesus
healed a blind boy without first talking to him about his soul. Many people,
resenting and rebuffing the efforts of others to get them saved, will respond
to a display of God’s love as He moves for them. That love will shake them
to the extent they want to yield their soul to Him.

God in His wisdom knows what it takes to bring people to Him. Learn to
use the wisdom of God; since man’s is insufficient, the Bible urges us to ask
for more. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him (James
1:5). Christ had the wisdom of the Father; He did all things well, and if we
were not so prone to criticize and would be willing to leave everything in
His hands, much more could be accomplished by Him.

Do you really know the joy of the Lord, know the marvelous joy that is
in Christ? Do you know Christ in gladness of heart and in love? Is it
obvious through love displayed to others that Christ is in your life? The
greatest testimony for Him is not in words but in daily living, Christ being
acted out in the lives of people who love Him. Souls are drawn to those
acting out the Word of God in their lives rather than to those who only talk
about Him.

People become spiritually handicapped, reaching out to make a crutch of

anyone who will allow himself to be used in this way. Learn to depend upon
your own prayers rather than the prayers of others; stand on your feet.
Know Jesus and receive from the Lord; do not waste time trying to
convince yourself that anyone else can be of more help, or by running from
person to person seeking the kind of aid only the Lord can give. The
responsibility of seeking God is yours alone; let that responsibility rest on
your own shoulders where it belongs. Learn how to pray, how to reach God
for yourself, how to talk to Him and give burdens and problems to Him. If
there is a great need in your life, one that you have not been able to reach
God about, then call others to help you pray; but there is much that can be
solved just between you and God. Trust Him when you pray.

Can You Face Gethsemane?

Do you know Jesus in suffering, the suffering He bore in the Garden of
Gethsemane? Do you know what it is to have a Gethsemane in your life?
See the form of a man straining every nerve; every muscle is taut; hear the
agony in His voice as He implores the Father to help Him, to let the cup
pass from Him if it is His will. We think we have suffered until a tragedy
takes us into our own personal Gethsemane and we realize that we had not
begun to know the meaning of suffering.

Don’t listen to Lucifer when he pats you on the back and offers
sympathy; he would like you to view yourself as an object of pity because
of all the ordeals you have undergone, but never believe it! You are not
pitiful; the Lord is on your side, fighting your battles; and Jesus is preparing
to take you out of this world. You are getting ready to leave, and the power
of the Holy Ghost bears witness to it. He is the agent, the inspector of your
garments to make ready the Bride of Christ; He keeps the thought of Jesus’
coming ever before you.
 Lucifer battles your mind, telling you that you will never be ready, never
be good enough to be taken in the Rapture; but the Bible says no man is
good unless God be in him. If God is in you, you have much worth! The
devil points to the times you have failed, but when a baby is learning to
walk he does fall, only to get back up and try again. Learn to stand on your
own two feet and walk with the Lord.

Do not allow Satan to keep you down; when you become aware that you
have done wrong, repent immediately; for the Lord is always ready to hear
your cry. The eyes of the LORD are upon the right-eous, and his ears
are open unto their cry (Psalm 34:15). God is eager to encourage you to
try again.

The Lord said that He is married to the backslider. Turn, O backsliding

children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you (Jeremiah 3:14).
To illustrate that point, Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son. And the
son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said
to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a
ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf,
and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and
is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry
(Luke 15:21–24). The father welcomed him home with open arms, killed
the fatted calf and prepared a great feast.

If you want to be close to God you must love the backslider; be rid of
resentment and jealousy toward him. Hold nothing in your heart against
anyone because of the disgrace he has brought upon your Father and your
Jesus; forgive him as the great love of God forgives.

God has given this human race much love. It took great love to lift us
from the depths of sin, love that came all the way from heaven, supreme
love. We have that love today in the midst of us—Jesus. Do you know Him
in sufferings, or do you become discouraged when things go wrong?

There will be many problems; Satan will test and try you over and over
again. Be prepared for it; face it with the Lord. He makes you an
overcomer. Lucifer tries to cripple you, encouraging you to give up in
despair; but refuse to stay down; rise up with Christ and be victorious. Love
says, “Come on and try it one more time.” Jesus urges us ever onward.

Simon, walking the waters, let his mind wander away from Jesus; and
down he went. When you are walking in faith, do not think how far away
you are from the boat; the minute you begin to examine your faith, the door
is open for your feelings to enter in, and feelings are not the power that
walks the water. The Bible never stated that we could “feel” faith; if you
believe the Word of God, you have faith whether you feel it or not.

Your Escape Hatch

God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye
are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it (I Corinthians 10:13). This is God’s promise, a
stronghold in the storm. When you have taken all you can bear, look for that
escape hatch. If the way of escape is not open, then you can bear some
more. After you have learned to know Him in His sufferings, learn to know
Him in His power. Nothing can hold you down when the power of His
resurrection comes; not even death can hold you then. When that power of
the Holy Ghost moves upon the dead, even Satan will be powerless against
it. There is no need to fear when you know Him in the power of His
resurrection; but first, be conformed unto His death.

Has self really been crucified? New converts find it hard to allow self to
be crucified; when coming to the altar they feel as though a piece of heaven
has dropped into their hands for them to carry all the way to Glory; they are
so happy they could fly, but the very next week they may feel too low even
to crawl. Do you spend your time seeking God or in arguing with the devil?
Is Lucifer bigger than God in your prayer chamber? Refuse to listen to
Lucifer; tune him out. You can tune out anything if you are excited enough
over what you want to hear. Be that excited over the Lord.

Heaven Is But a Breath Away

 When you feel despondent, bring your burdens to Jesus. All of us feel
more dead than alive at times, but we must journey on. In reading about the
destiny of the devil, we know there is no choice; we must go all the way
with Christ. One more hill to climb, and then all heaven can be ours; five
minutes more and the Rapture may take place, but in that brief span of time
some Christians will fall by the wayside and be left. How terrible to fail
when heaven is but a breath away!

Lucifer will be fighting harder and harder as the coming of Jesus

approaches, as he sees all heaven preparing for the Rapture. What will you
be doing in those last few minutes; will you be standing in the sunlight of
His love? God help you to keep climbing and to know the greatness in store
for you; your troubles may be over in just a little while. We are using God’s
power to shake the multitudes; they will come to Jesus by the numbers in
this last hour. Soon on this battlefield we will have gathered in the last of
the harvest, and it will be time to go home.

Many Will Miss the Rapture because of Unbelief

The disciples needed to be convinced that Jesus being the Christ was a
reality; they had seen Him die, and they felt all was lost. Lucifer told the
disciples that Jesus was dead; it was all over; and they believed him instead
of the Word. Because of their unbelief, they missed seeing the Resurrection.
Many blessings have been unclaimed because of unbelief. Unbelief will
cause people to miss the Rapture; the fact that it will soon happen does not
penetrate their brain.

Look for Jesus’ coming; make preparations; be ready. He said He would

come after a people who were looking for Him. Blessed are those
servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching (Luke
12:37). Not all Christians are watching for Him and not all Christians will
be taken. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth (Revelation 3:16).

Are you really on fire for Jesus? The hour is too late for self-deception.
Are you absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt looking for Jesus to come?
 Paul was under the anointing of the Lord; he knew all he wanted was to
be with Christ. When the anointing to live for Christ is lacking, vision
cannot get past the world. But through the Lord’s eyes, heaven begins to
look so beautiful, so wonderful, that you start to move toward that place.
Your mind is tuned in to heaven, looking and longing for it. Devoted to the
Lord, you feel a great change coming over you, and you wake each morning
with the thought, “Maybe today is the day Jesus will come!” Anxiously,
you watch the end-time signs all around you, and the Holy Ghost bears
witness in your life that you are ready.

How Will God Feel about Those Left Behind at

the Rapture?
Learn everything you can about Jesus; become more like Him each day.
Never in my life have I felt a greater need to be as much like Him as
possible; the Spirit urges me to go deeper in Him hour after hour, urges me
to eliminate all hindrances to His Spirit. Do not merely imitate Him as a
matter of form: have His Spirit, His nature; be born of Him and Spirit-filled
daily. Please the Father in the way Jesus did. Satan comes against you with
everything he can use to break your fellowship with God’s people. Make
allowances for the mistakes of others, and do not take them personally.
Those not doing the entire will of God cannot be allowed to drag you down
or to affect your anointing. Stay with God; go deeper and deeper with Him.
Take the whole world but give us Jesus! should be your cry.

The Lord has been dealing with me, showing me how fierce His
displeasure will be with the Christians who are left for the Tribulation
Period. I had known that it would be a terrible time for them, but I had not
realized how angry His Spirit would be toward those who are left. He will
not be compassionate; He will pour out His wrath on the Christians as well
as the sinners. Why should He have mercy on those who did not go all the
way with Jesus? God looks on that beloved Son, sees Him crucified again
by audacious men, sees the spikes being driven into the flesh and the blood
flowing. He hears the cry of His Son as they beat Him beyond recognition,
but still God waits patiently for the harvest, for the latter rain. He gives
Christians many opportunities to accept Him in His fullness and to be
blessed greatly.

God will deal severely with you if you fail to take advantage of the
opportunity to be saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit and thus miss the
Rapture. In the Tribulation Period, you will pray, but it will seem there is no
God to answer. The heavens will open and the judgment of God will be
rained down; God will turn His back on you so completely that it will feel
as though He does not care at all. Why should He not frown on you if you
miss the Rapture; why should God smile on those who neglect Him? Satan
rocks you to sleep, making you think your small failings pass unnoticed and
that you will be either taken in the Rapture anyway or it will not happen for
years. Many are planning far into a future that in reality consists of the fast-
approaching Tribulation Period. I have studied God for many years and the
way He is dealing with people now has changed drastically; things are
shaping fast for the soon coming of the Lord.

Jesus Longs for the Rapture, Too

We are mortal, weak; but the Lord shows us how to be strong. Christ was
no coward; although people tried to destroy Him, He made every
appearance, every contact the Father willed. With His coming, He brought
all the glory, power, everything you must have. Never think you cannot
make it through; all the grace you need is supplied through Calvary; Satan
cannot defeat you. The Lord is in His glory raining down His greatness on
you, preparing to take you home and longing for that time. How wonderful
to know you are ready to go!

People may look upon you as the off-scouring of the world but His
children are the jewels of the Lord; and He is brightening you, making you
ready. No wonder Satan is doing all he can to turn you back! How
marvelous it will be to rise with the Lord on that day; what a shout of
praise, what a hallelujah time it will be!

The first time the Lord carried me into the vision of the Rapture I was
under the power of the Holy Spirit, and crying with all that was within me,
“Hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah!” The people around me were
so close I could see their eyelashes as they rose in the air. I believe that
when the Rapture takes place the Holy Spirit will be crying, “Hallelujah!
hallelujah!” through the people. Hallelujah is a word of praise the same in
almost every language.

Do not let Satan worry or hinder you; do not allow him to make you feel
unloved. This wonderful person, Jesus, loves you; He’s reaching out to you
with the same compassion that He had for the woman at the well. He knows
you, and in spite of your past failing, loves you and is using the Holy Spirit
to make you ready if you are yielding to Him in all ways. Go forth into the
highways and hedges, His Spirit urges, and bring in those souls with your
mark on them, those He has anointed to listen to your message of Christ.
Know what to say, how to approach them. Use the love and the Spirit of
God in the right way toward them, for they are a lost and frantic people.
You need the wisdom of the Spirit to know the right things to say.

Christ Knew No Sin

Christ never confessed to being a sinner. We, however, have all sinned,
and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Since Jesus
committed no sin, neither did He repent—but He taught us to repent. Luke
13:3, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. He is the wonderful
Christ whom you love, your Redeemer and King. He is moving upon you
today; His very glory is overshadowing you; His very Spirit is reaching out
to you, and the faith of God is yours. Christ brought the faith, love and
courage that you need; through Him you have it; study Him closely.

This man called Jesus challenged His accusers to convict Him of sin, to
prove that He was an imposter. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And
if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me (John 8:46)? He had opened
the eyes of the blind, healed deaf ears and forgiven sins; His ways were
perfect. Praise God, what a wonderful Person had come down! Jesus lived
in such a state of perfection that Pilate could find no fault in Him. He
questioned Jesus, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest
that I am (John 18:37). They had never met anyone like Jesus; no wonder
Pilate was puzzled! To this end was I born, and for this cause came I
into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth (John 18:37).
Jesus seemed to talk in riddles to them.

No human mind could have invented someone like Christ; in all the
millions of books that have been written, never has there been a person like
Him. Critics may say what they choose, but never have they met a man like
Jesus. People have sought Christ, sought to be like Him to the extent that
they seemed to be like Him, and yet they were not Christ; all had
imperfections and faults in the flesh.

Almost two thousand years have passed since Jesus was crucified, and
skeptics are still talking about Him; He is unforgettable. Man has tried in
every way to destroy Him, but He looms larger than ever. Even Judas
confessed that he had betrayed the innocent blood (Matthew 27:4). Judas
saw all the miracles of Christ, and yet little by little, the devil deceived
Judas.

The Roman centurion and others who stood by the cross said, Truly this
was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54). Just as He was so very different
from others in life, so was He different in death. Never had they seen
anyone die like Him.

Christ knew and understood all people; His spiritual insight was not of
this earth. The thoughts, feelings and attitudes of all were known to Him.
The Bible tells us that He was greater than Solomon in all his glory:
Behold, a greater than Solomon is here (Matthew 12:42). This great
personality, this great man called Jesus came changing lives and people,
influencing for good rather than wrong—no wonder Pilate could find no
fault in Him!

Are You Crucifying Jesus Anew?

The time is very near when Jesus will again reveal Himself. One church
has gone so far as to try to lift the sin from the Jewish people, declaring that
they did not crucify Jesus. I wonder who did? I hear the Jews in the Bible
crying out, Crucify him, crucify him (Luke 23:21)! Let His blood be on
us, and on our children (Matthew 27:25). And the guilt has been there
ever since. Six million Jews in World War II were slaughtered as though
they were animals, piled into ovens like cordwood and burned. “My God,”
they cry, “why?” Because their forefathers said that the blood of this
wonderful man should be on them and their children, even down to the
present age.

But now the Spirit of God is moving on the Jewish people, and after
these many years of blame for the crucifixion, guilt is settling in and no
longer do they want that blame. Not only the Jews, but all people who do
not live for Christ crucify Him daily. According to the Word of God every
time a sin is committed He is crucified anew. If they shall fall away . . .
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an
open shame (Hebrews 6:6).

Jesus Will Wrap You in Arms of Love

If there is no sin in your life, stop condemning yourself. Jesus loves you;
He loved you when you were lost in sin and wearing the filthy rags of this
world, when you stank in the nostrils of God. God would have dropped you
into hell had it not been for Jesus; nothing but the blood of Jesus could have
washed you clean enough for God’s heaven. Jesus came for you; Come, see
a man! should be your cry. Behold, Jesus (Matthew 28:9)! the Holy Spirit
is bidding you to proclaim. Do not look at man’s imperfections, but come
see this wonderful Jesus. He is perfection. Look upon the power, the love,
the courage, the greatness of Him. Doesn’t your heart nearly burst within as
the Holy Ghost sheds abroad His love in your heart? Travel on with Him,
letting nothing discourage you or cause you to sit by the wayside—you may
be left. Give all of yourself in order to make it through to heaven. Introduce
Jesus to others; He has helped more people than anyone else, and He is
ready to help you with His power to deliver. He will wrap you in arms of
love when no one else will love you. His understanding of you is complete.
Those things that make you irritable and nervous are known to Him; He
sees your stress and strain. Jesus looks on you saying, “That’s my child, and
no man shall pluck him out of my hand.” My Father, which gave them
me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my
Father’s hand (John 10:29). He is coming soon; introduce Him to
everyone you can.

Why Be Afraid?
Notice the calmness, courage and patience of Jesus. How could any
impostor ever have imitated these qualities? Although He did not court
danger, neither did He run from it. Jesus feared nothing, even Satan. Christ
spoke commandingly to demons and they obeyed instantly, crying out in
loud voices. And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying,
Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them
not to speak (Luke 4:41). Jesus ordered the devils to be silent, and they
were quieted.

What a marvelous person is Jesus, and He is your saviour today. He

promised to be with you always, even to the end. He is with you on this
journey—the one who has no fear. Why should you be afraid? You have the
one who is full of courage; why shouldn’t you have it too?

You have the one, calm in time of storm, who showed the disciples how
easily that tempest could be stilled. Much time is wasted “bailing water,”
trying to soothe your nervous system because you fail to recognize that
Jesus is aboard.

Can you sleep through the storm? That wonderful person of the Bible
did. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the
ship, so that it was now full. And he [Jesus] was in the hinder part of
the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him,
Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the
wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and
there was a great calm (Mark 4:37–39).
 “If we could just make it to land,” was the consuming thought of the
disciples. Are you the same way in distress, looking for a path to run from
danger? But Jesus is right here with you; why should you go elsewhere? Let
Him teach you to be calm where you are. He is present, with you at all
times and in every situation; Jesus is there. But like the disciples, even
though you have Him on board, do you forget what He will do? Do you not
remember His courage? Do you know Him?

Talk It Over with Jesus

Many born-again Christians approach Jesus as a stranger; they are more
careful in their words to Him than to the preacher, and they feel obligated to
make every prayer a work of art. There is no one who thoroughly loves and
understands you like the Lord. It is completely unnecessary to put on a
facade for Him or to have your words precisely phrased. Talk to Him from
your heart; tell Him how you feel; ask for His help to understand. If there is
something you are pondering over, He knows it; you might just as well
discuss it with Him. Does something bother you? Tell Him about it. If you
feel you have done all you can, and the Lord still has not moved, ask Him
why. Restate all His promises, and then be ready to listen; find what is
holding up the answer. If He is moving in a way you do not understand ask
Him to explain it to you.

Some people do not understand why God moves as He does; they lack
the knowledge of the Bible they could have by studying it. Study God’s
Word before you tell Him you do not understand; He points you to the
Word. Know the truth, Jesus said, and the truth shall make you free
(John 8:32). A lack of knowledge of the truth keeps many bound, ties God’s
hands because they are ignorant of what the Lord has said about their case.
“IF it is God’s will for me to be healed,” is a statement heard again and
again; but the Bible says He will heal all those who believe.

The waters obeyed Jesus when He said, Peace, be still (Mark 4:39);
nature will obey Him—Christ, that wonderful Person of the Bible. Christ
came to earth, not as God, but as a man having God within Him. He used
the same amount of faith, no more or less than a man can use; Christ did the
same work that can be done by man through the Spirit of God. He is not
unapproachable; the Bible said that He hath raised us up together, and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).

Search the Scriptures

Isaiah 53:7, He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep
before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Simon would
have been helped by knowing what God had said about Christ. Jesus tried
to tell him that He was to die but Simon could not accept it. Jesus began to
teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be
rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be
killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly.
And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned
about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee
behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but
the things that be of men (Mark 8:31–33). Many difficult situations can be
viewed clearly through the promises in God’s Word.

Even though Christ had demonstrated unusual power, it was hard for the
disciples to accept the fact that He would be resurrected from the dead. “If
He had so much power,” they reasoned, “why should He die in the first
place?”

Simon kept hoping something would happen to save Jesus from death; he
looked upon death as defeat and wanted no part of defeat in anything. He
denied knowing Christ only after he was rebuked for wielding his sword;
Simon was not cowardly, but confused. He did not understand the
personality of Jesus. Do you understand Him, understand why you must
bear some of the trials you have, why He wants you to keep still when you
would rather speak out?

Simon wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75). He was in the depths of despair at

Christ’s crucifixion. “Let’s go fishing,” he urged, wanting to forget the
whole business and return to the occupation he had before meeting Jesus.
Luke 24:25 says, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken.

After His resurrection Jesus met some of the disciples on a country road,
What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another,
as ye walk, and are sad? (Luke 24:17) He asked them. They thought Him
to be a stranger who had not heard of the crucifixion, and they told Him
about Jesus. Not until they invited Jesus to sup with them and He blessed
the bread did they realize it was He. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat
with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out
of their sight (Luke 24:30,31). If the disciples had believed Christ was
going to rise on the third day, they would have all been at the tomb,
watching with great eagerness for Him to come forth.

God gave man a mind to understand Him, His great love and care, and a
heart to know that He has never failed us. God has loved man beyond
comprehension, and still man doubts His love. Know that God loves you,
that all things are for your good if you love Him and are walking in His
will, freeing His hands in your life. Have faith in that Bible promise, The
just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).

Have the Reality of God within You

Luke 24:39, Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle
me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. If
you are to convince others of the reality of God and the Son of God, you
must have first the reality of God within you. The disciples needed to have
the reality of Jesus of Nazareth as the resurrected Christ. Everything done
by Christ could be accepted when they believed the Resurrection; but if
they were to doubt the Resurrection, then all His teachings would be lost.
We, today, can believe the miracles of Christ if we know Jesus was
resurrected from the dead and that He will come to earth again. Doubting
His second coming makes it easy to doubt the miracles He is doing today.
The church throughout the world is filled with doubt and unbelief, teaching
against miracles and healings, tying God’s hands. Of what value are prayers
if there is no trust in the God of miracles who is still moving in our day?

Unbelief in physical healing is rationalized by saying that the soul is the

only important thing. Compare the amount of time spent on the physical
body—feeding, clothing, sheltering and caring for it—and the amount of
time spent nourishing the spirit. Which gets the most attention? Is the body
counted important? If people would spend half as much time with their soul
as they do with their body, they could free themselves of doubt. There is no
room for doubt when prayer and the Word of God fill your being.

Christ is not real to doubters. He is afar off, just as dead to them as in the
tomb He was to the disciples.

Christians have attended church their entire lives never seeing a miracle
and probably not even recognizing any they might have seen. Why would
God perform miracles that would go unrecognized? God must have the
honor and glory for that which He does.

Jesus Offers You Grace

Christ had great impact on the disciples; never had they seen anyone like
Him. He affected them greatly, and they reached out to Him, dropping all to
follow Him. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him
(Matthew 4:20). No one has ever appeared or spoken like Jesus. His love
they had seen in no man; His faith was fantastic and marvelous to them.
They had long honored Abraham’s great faith, but in Christ they found a
faith that was greater than Abraham’s and greater than Moses.’ They
intended to follow Jesus all the way, and they did follow Him—until the
battle became difficult. People today begin serving God wholeheartedly
until persecution discourages them and they fall by the wayside. Wherever
the greatness of God is moving, there will also be persecutions; the devil
torments true Children of God.

Satan will show you how to escape persecutions; he will help you to
wrap up a package that smells worse than the one you were given. If
someone lies about you, Satan helps you lie in return. He can be your
partner, and your defense will be to give worse to others than they give to
you. But is that really a shield; did you feel good when you were finished?
Only by the grace of God can you walk out of the pit and not return; it takes
the grace of God to show love. The man of Galilee, Jesus, brought that
grace to give you so that His Spirit could be displayed through you. My
grace is sufficient for thee (II Corinthians 12:9), He told Paul, a man who
seems to have been persecuted more than the other apostles and disciples
whose lives are recorded. Why look for elaborate ways of escape when
God’s grace is sufficient to conquer all that comes against you? His grace is
slow in the using, not fast like fire or water, but a remedy that must be
applied according to His will. Take on His grace by fasting, living in the
Word and praying; the grace of God works through a life of humility. That
Spirit of grace will give you strength to fast, the appetite for the Word; it
will bring love and the fruits of the Spirit into your life. The disciples found
that grace, but when Jesus was crucified, they thought all was lost. We, too,
at times feel we have lost all, but the grace of God is never lost unless there
has been willful sin; and then, although it no longer works on the inside, it
will still work to lead you back to the Lord.

The Resurrection Is Still Real Today

The disciples were slow of heart to believe; doubts and fears oppressed
them, but through Jesus they overcame all. The resurrected Christ caused
doubts to vanish. For two thousand years skeptics have worked to throw
doubt on the validity of the Resurrection, but today it is just as real as when
it happened. Read of the great change in the disciples after the Resurrection.
Jesus walked the earth again; He ate with the disciples; they saw the nail
prints in His hands. He was no vision; He was real. He shewed them his
hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and
wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave
him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and
did eat before them (Luke 24:40–43).
 Christ stayed on earth forty days after His resurrection, appearing to
many witnesses. 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 (I Corinthians 15:4–6).

Jesus was aware of the battles and conflicts He was causing. Bribes were
paid people to claim that the disciples had stolen the body. The guards
would have not let that happen, but they could do nothing against the power
of the Resurrection. They became as dead men when the angel rolled the
stone away.

Mary Magdalene had great love and devotion, her faith was stronger than
Simon’s before Pentecost; more had been done for her: She’d been lifted
from the gutter, and seven devils had been cast out. Now when Jesus was
risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils (Mark 16:9). Now
when she came to anoint the body and found it missing, her faith urged her
on to say, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid
him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned
herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master (John
20:15,16).

The moment Jesus spoke her name, she recognized Him; no one had ever
said her name like Jesus, and she immediately left to tell the others. The
disciples did not believe her; they thought she was just excited. That has
happened to many of us today: we become excited about Jesus and run to
tell the others only to find them thinking we’ll get over it after we calm
down.

Mary had great faith, and that faith was released the moment Jesus spoke
her name; the doubt of others could not shake it; her life had been set
aflame. The Holy Ghost, the power and grace of God made Peter great only
after he had been to the Upper Room, but now Mary is reaching down to
pull him from the gully of unbelief and to establish him in what thus saith
the Lord. Jesus wants to be a reality to you, wants you to know with your
whole heart that He is the resurrected Christ.
 Chapter 8: God Reveals Himself

Jesus Wants to Be as Real to You as He Was to the

Early Church
God will not perform anything outstanding for those who waver between
hot and cold. He is ready to give signs and wonders but you must be
prepared to receive them. Jesus made God real to the disciples by
performing miracles. The disciples were sincere, and Jesus was getting
them ready to do His work. The Lord is getting each of you ready who will
yield to Him, taking great pains, trying to help you all He can. Jesus healed
the blind boy for the glory of God; it made God more real to the disciples.
You cannot do all your work for Jesus unless you have the same realities of
the Father. Heaven and hell were spoken of as real places by Jesus; dying
was real to Him and life was real.

The things Jesus did for the disciples did not become reality to them until
the Holy Ghost came to live and dwell in them. It took a personal baptism
of the Holy Spirit; it took the third person of the Trinity walking inside of
them before God could make Himself real to them day and night. He had to
be that real to them so that they could pass that reality on to other people.
And in this same way, the Lord is dealing with us now, yea saith the Spirit.
The Lord is working with you to bring you into His realities. Do not be
discouraged or give up. Battle when the devil comes against you; rise up
knowing that with the Lord nothing will stop you.

With his own strength, energy and enthusiasm, Peter decided not to fail—
but this was before Pentecost. These things are done not by might, nor by
power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts (Zechariah 4:6).

God gave you real people as examples in the Bible so that you would see
yourself in them. Simon was very human, so much like us that we can learn
many things from him. Jesus made Himself real to Simon when he saw Him
walking on the water. You need Jesus to be your personal reality walking by
your side and within you through the power of the Holy Ghost. Such reality
will change the manner in which you talk to Him.

Jesus talked to the Father quietly, simply: Father, I thank thee that thou
hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always (John 11:41,
42). “Father, you always hear me, but for the sake of these around me am I
praying this prayer.” Jesus made everything look simple; walking on the
water seemed so easy that Peter tried it. The supply of food was filled so
effortlessly that the disciples ceased to worry about it. Why be afraid to let
Jesus be real to you? Signs will follow believers, not just the twelve, not
just the seventy, but all believers! Stephen and Philip were not of the twelve
or the seventy, yet signs followed them, for the Father had become real to
them through the Holy Ghost.

Paul needed the same reality of God that you need, for there is a great
work to be done in this final hour. As you enter into the greatness of God
and His anointing, the power of the Holy Ghost begins to move upon and in
you; the scales will fall from your eyes, enabling you to realize how much
work is to be done. You will wonder why it wasn’t obvious before. Maybe
you were not in a condition that the Lord could show you what needed to be
done; your eyes were on the things of this earth. But now the journey
appears short, the future gone, and obeying God is all that matters. In this
final hour, the harvest is ripe and we must reap or it will go to waste.

First the Mind, Then the Heart

Paul had a strong determination and steadfastness which carried over into
his life for Christ. Until he was on the road to Damascus, the only
revelation of God that Paul had seen was one which he had rejected, the
revelation of Jesus when Stephen was stoned. The witnesses laid down
their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they
stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit (Acts 7:58,59). The Lord reveals Himself first to your mind and then
to your heart. He brings fasting to the mind but it must get into the heart
before that fast will actually take place. The work will remain undone when
the thought penetrates no more deeply than the mind. Some people have
had a “mind” fast going for years, thinking that any month they would
actually begin to fast, but time passed and the idea never entered their heart.
A long fast seems to be one of the impossibilities—I felt that way once—
but when the Lord called on me to fast forty days I knew I could do it
because He had said so. He will not ask you to do that which you are
unable. Forty-day fasts crucify self and allow God to have more control of
you.

Paul Thought Christ an Impostor

Paul received a revelation from God through Stephen. As he was being
stoned Stephen cried: Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of
man standing on the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). Paul did not accept
it. Paul believed in God, in the Holy Spirit and in the Son; he just did not
think this Nazarene called Jesus was that Son. Paul acted on the assumption
that Jesus was an impostor and not the Redeemer of Israel. Although Paul
expected one day the true Redeemer would come, he felt that in the
meantime he was doing God a service by persecuting all these “heretics”
who professed Jesus. It seemed to him that the plan of God was being
defeated. He thought the crucifixion should have ended things, but now the
followers of Jesus claimed there had been a resurrection, and their ideas
seemed to be contaminating people everywhere he went. As if that weren’t
enough, those people had gone to an Upper Room to receive something
called the Holy Ghost baptism, and now none of them could be stopped!
They were full and bubbling over with the name of Jesus. Mighty cures
were being claimed—blind receiving sight, cripples walking. Paul was so
disgusted he hardly knew what to do; even the priests seemed helpless
before all of this. They witnessed the healing of a crippled man; he just
wouldn’t go away but insisted on witnessing to others, a living testimony
for all to see.

These events echoed and re-echoed in the mind of Paul; he could not get
away from them. But they only stayed in his mind and did not get into his
heart. When God begins to deal with sinners, He touches their mind with a
revelation of Jesus Christ until it finally gets into the heart. And then after
salvation, He touches the mind with something He wants done, but this
revelation must sink into the heart. If people continue to yield to Him, they
reach the place where God can almost by-pass the mind because as soon as
His thought touches the mind, it goes right into the heart.

Such a direct contact with the Lord is wonderful, and it is possible for
you to come to this place. Here He will not need to deal with your mind day
after day before the matter gets into your heart; here thinking is the same as
doing. Sometimes that angel has to wrestle with you day and night the way
he did with Jacob. He wants you to fast, but you just keep getting fatter in
body and not in Spirit.

It’s Hard to Kick Against the Pricks

Paul worked hard to get Stephen out of his mind, but God was preparing
to reveal Himself to Paul’s heart. God knocked him down in the dirt on the
road to Damascus, and as he lay there, a voice came from heaven speaking
his name and going straight to his heart: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks
(Acts 9:4,5).

The whole world of Paul caved in. Paul had done everything against
Jesus he could because he believed Him not to be the Son of God. Had he
known, he would have stood with Jesus all the way, even at the foot of the
cross; he had that kind of determination. Paul was steadfast in what he
believed, and now, although he was physically blinded, his vision reached
farther than it ever had before. Paul was a man of great stature in the eyes of
his fellow Jews; think how amazed and confused they must have been to
hear a voice from heaven and to see Paul suddenly in the dust, blinded!

Look out for Fanaticism!

 God promised to pour out His Spirit in the last days. He wants to be able
to talk to you, but you need to be careful. Know every step He takes you.
Be absolutely certain whether the revelation is from God, self or the devil.
God has been able to deal with very few people down through the ages
because man so easily gets into fanaticism. God lays His hand on them and
they begin to run, leaving God far behind. Some people have been used
once to interpret a Holy Ghost message, and they try on their own to
interpret every time the Holy Ghost speaks. A healing takes place through
the prayers of someone, and he immediately thinks he has one of the gifts—
he becomes fanatical. The Lord told me this was the reason He could not
reveal Himself to more people, could not bless, because people would set
themselves up as having that which they did not possess. People have
claimed to have all nine gifts of the Spirit, yet nothing was happening in
their lives. Great and mighty things take place if the nine gifts are really
being manifested in a person.

The Hour Is Too Late to Waste Time

Paul’s heavenly vision became the highlight of his life. Through the
guidance of another vision, Ananias went to him, laid on hands, And
immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he
received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized (Acts 9:18). Paul
was baptized in the Holy Ghost. God did not work weeks and weeks to get
Ananias ready; he was close to God, ready, and eager to do His will.

The hour is late; we have come to the place that God is not able to spend
weeks, months and years preparing us. We must be ready now, or we will
tie His hands. God will speak and show things to us; He is revealing
Himself. There may be someone in the hospital whom we have never met,
whom God will in some manner, by vision or revelation, bring to us; and
right then is the time to find that person—a soul for us to rescue. In many
marvelous, great and wonderful ways, God will be moving. God knows
where the lost are; we have not the time to spend on the hard-hearts who
refuse to yield to Him; we must bring in the ones who will come. The hour
is too late for precious time to be wasted, the day is far spent; know the
mind of God!

The Lord moved upon the Early Church; He led Peter to say to the lame
man at the Gate Beautiful, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I
have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and
walk (Acts 3:6).

Paul in his experience met a man who was crippled from birth. When
God revealed that this man had the faith to be healed, Paul told him to take
his bed and walk. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his
feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and
perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand
upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked (Acts 14:8–10). The
miracle had taken place. I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision
(Acts 26:19), Paul told King Agrippa. It was an experience Paul was ready
to stand on; he gave his life for it. He told Timothy, For I am now ready to
be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (II Timothy
4:6,7).

The end of the Gentile dispensation is fast approaching; like Paul, you
must be willing to die for your testimony. Most of you who have the Holy
Ghost will probably be Raptured, but you must have that willingness to die,
to lose sight of self so that you will be obedient to all the truth. When you
die completely to self, God begins to use you, to move for you and lift you
up.

Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Matthew
17:21). Prayer, fasting and living in the Word bring the close communion
with the Lord, make it possible for Him to speak to your mind and to
implant the knowledge that it is the voice of the Lord, not your imagination.

My First Vision
 All my life I have had a fear of God. Even as a young boy my feelings
were different from those of other boys. God’s hand was upon me
throughout my life, overshadowing me from the time I was born. At the age
of seven or eight, I received my first revelation from Him. I was on my bed,
my head buried in the pillow, and the bed began to spin around and around
until I was out in space under the stars. Stars were everywhere; it was a
fantastic experience that lingered with me for years. I told no one about it,
but I tried at various times to bring the experience back. I thought I had
done it myself, not realizing it was from God. Many years later, while
praying for the Sunday morning service, I went into the same vision,
looking at the stars and knowing I had seen this sight before, but not
remembering where. The Lord spoke to me and said that He had given me
this vision when I was a child. My heart leaped, that connection was so
vivid, so real!

Visions are not imagination; the objects in them appear as they would in
life. God’s contacts are definite, living things that affect your very being,
changing you in a way that is unforgettable.

Although as a child I had tried to get back into that vision many times,
only once was I able to, and then only in part. It was not something that I
could turn on at will the way I had thought. I had looked upon it as an
exciting experience, a beautiful sight. When God brought it back to me
years later, He said that the stars represented the souls I was to win. After
Angel’s death He brought the vision to me again, but it was changed this
time.

God Cannot Talk to You If You Refuse to Listen

You must be open to God, that communication is necessary in time of
adversity. The worst thing that could possibly happen to me was losing
Angel; it was so beyond my imagination as to be unacceptable. When God
tried to reveal it to me beforehand, I rejected it; I refused to entertain the
idea. He told me I would have to surrender Angel, that she was not my
source of power. But I felt I already had placed her on the altar. This was
the only time the Lord came to talk to me that the devil was there, too. I
thought the Lord was telling me these things because of Lucifer; I knew
Angel and I would stand the test, and I heard my voice saying (later I
realized it was the Holy Ghost speaking), “Devil, you may destroy her
body, but you will never destroy this ministry. I will fight you as long as I
have breath. I will preach deliverance to the people and pray for their
deliverance. I will do everything I can for God!” It was a prophecy, but I
did not realize it at the time. The devil had not the power to take her life;
God took it because her work was finished. Shortly before she died, God
reminded me of how He had sent the angel in to deliver Simon from prison.
God was trying to let me know that He was going to send an angel after my
Angel; but I wouldn’t accept it. I called people at the church to stop work
and pray for her; it was the first time I had ever done anything like that. The
Lord said, “Say not that I don’t understand; say deliverance is at hand.”
God was telling me that He would deliver by taking her home, but I took it
to mean He would make her well here on earth. Had I not refused
completely the thought of her death, I would have known the Lord was
going to take her. God cannot tell you something if you will not allow Him.
Be open to God. The thought of Angel’s going home ahead of me was a
door I kept closed; I was counting on our being caught up together, changed
in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.

When the doctor told me that Angel was gone I could not believe it; but
as she was dying I kept my promise to her. The only thing she had wanted,
her main topic of conversation was going to heaven. Had it been possible
that by prayer I could have held her here, she probably would have been
sickly, and I would have regretted it all the days of my life. Going against
the divine will of God only brings trouble. I walked the floor in that hospital
saying, “God, I made a promise, and I won’t back down. I leave Angel in
your hands. I will not ask you to keep her here if her work is finished. If this
is your will, I will go on without her.” In just a few minutes it was all over,
Angel was in heaven. Even after what I had told God, I could not believe
she was gone; I went into a state of shock and disbelief. She couldn’t be
dead! But the doctor declared that she was. From that Monday evening until
Thursday I was like a dead man; the only life I could feel was the Spirit of
God in my heart. For the first time in my entire Christian experience, I did
not talk to God; my numbness was too deep for words. I was not angry with
Him; there was nothing to accuse Him of, and He did not bother me. He just
let me feel His Spirit around my heart. The explanations were to come later.

Know your way. In this final hour there will be many things coming
against you, and nothing must be allowed to hinder your faith. God will
reveal and make Himself real to you. Had He not been able to reveal
Himself to me, I could not have carried on my ministry as I did.

I would fall asleep at night not wanting ever to wake up—me, who had
always had such a joy in living. For the first time in my life I wanted to die.
But early that Thursday morning I was awakened; Jesus was in the room; I
felt the strangeness of His presence and immediately I went into the vision
of the starry heaven. In a vision your mind works the way it does in the
natural in many ways; it is not a dream; you are conscious.

In this vision I was disturbed because something had happened to the

sky; at different places the stars were missing. Then the Lord said that the
blank spaces were where the stars, representing the souls Angel had helped
to win, had been. The vision showed that Angel and I had won multitudes
for God; we were not aware of the numbers, only of working for the Lord.
The other souls will have to be won without her.

How wonderful to have a direct contact with God! It meant life to me.
Sometime it will mean life to you, too. To hear Him speak, warning of the
fiery trials to be withstood, will give you confidence that He will be with
you all the way through those trials. God must be as real to your mind and
heart as He was to those in the Early Church. In that reality He can come to
you, revealing things so that your faith will not be hurt. We cannot afford
damaged faith in this hour.

Angel’s cross appeared in the vision, standing upright; and in the

darkness not far from it appeared the figure of a person, bent and carrying
his cross. The Lord spoke to me and said the figure was mine, and the short
distance was how far I had to go. He compared our lives to a three-act play
in which Angel was to appear in only the first two acts.

The vision of the stars has become a part of my life; it was the beginning
of God’s great hand upon me when I was seven or eight years old. We are
living in the time of the fulfillment of that vision as we reach the stars of the
lost in our worldwide crusades.

Some months after Angel’s death, the vision came again, but this time
other stars began to appear much closer and larger, shining beautifully,
spaced to the left and right as though lined up by an artist. Then the Lord
began to reveal that these stars were the people who were helping me,
coming into His glory by fasting, praying and living in the Word. Their
lives were shining, lighting the way for the people around them, their
brightness was reaching out. But in the center of the vision were no bright
stars: this represented the territory that had no one to help them, no one to
shine out to them letting them see the glory. It was an awful sight. But we
have now come to the hour when we are at last reaching more and more of
those souls.

Spend Time with Jesus

Some time ago the Lord came to me and said that He was calling people
for two hours of consecration in the prayer closet on Wednesday; He
wanted you to read, pray and think upon Him, yield to Him. He said He
would be there to change you, anoint and bless you and make you a soul-
winner. I came to the pulpit that Sunday bubbling with the news, but before
I could announce it, the Lord told my congregation by a direct message. It
was a divine call, like the one I had received from Him years ago when He
healed and called upon me to be set apart and to spend time with Him.

The healing ministry was not one I had sought; I felt it was necessary, but
the sacrifice seemed too great. However, God has ways of molding and
making His children. I went to death’s door, dreading to eat because of the
agony it would cause. Death looked like a certainty for me; it did not seem
that God would answer. I had tried to contact Him, as did others, but no one
could reach Him. I wanted to live so badly, but I had almost given up; that
was the night He came. It was a revelation: He would reveal Himself for
this ministry. Life was given to me, and I was made whole. He tore down
the walls, and for the first time I could see all the way from earth to heaven;
I did not doubt Him for anything. Previously, I had been able to believe
Him for just so much and then I would come against a wall; in my ministry
people were not being healed in great numbers as they now are; I could take
them as far as the wall but not beyond. That night the walls came tumbling
down. The Lord revealed the forty-day fast I was to begin, and plans about
the ministry. I was frightened through and through. What the Lord had
shown me had also been revealed to Angel; she knew without my telling
her what He had said. God had called me to the healing ministry.

Vision of God’s Miracle Outpouring

In another vision the Lord told me of the miracle power that will be on
top of the mountain. Not a word of English did I speak in the vision, it was
all in another language. The Holy Ghost was doing the work; as He spoke,
fantastic miracles took place; the gift of miracles was in operation and
working in a way that was beyond the imagination. From the time that I
started into the vision where the miracle power was working until I came to
a veil, the time was numbered. The veil would not lift, and I dared not touch
it or look under it. Enough power was there to take it up—power that re-
created faces once eaten away by cancer, power that replaced eyeballs
which were missing from their sockets. With a word from the Holy Ghost,
twisted limbs became as melted wax, straightening as the breath of God
moved upon them—enough power to lift the veil, but the Lord turned me
back. The times were not numbered to the exact day, and if by the veil the
Lord was representing the Rapture, I will not know the exact time of it.
There is a gap; it is information I am not to have. God told us He would
pour out His Spirit in the last days, and that vision was of a pouring out of
the Spirit never before witnessed on this earth.

Shine out for Jesus

Angel and I were jubilant when our call came; later He called for more
time, and He is dealing with you for yet more, as you feel it. Doing some of
the things you did in the past makes you feel bad because His Spirit is
dealing with your mind to spend more time with Him. Let it get into your
heart; the hour is late. Visiting with others has lost its old joy; something is
holding you back; young and old alike are feeling this, thus saith the Lord.
The Lord is dealing with you; He reveals this to me, opening up His plan so
I know what He is doing. He is seeking you, reaching out for you. Those
who have not obeyed and yielded to Him have tied God’s hands in reaching
souls that could be won. People are anointed to be rescued, waiting for
someone to drop the lifeline to them. The floodwaters are rising high and
some of you are not shining out for Him; you have failed and made excuses.

Ministers in the past have not answered God’s call to prepare them for
the gifts of the Holy Spirit; they disobeyed, and no gifts operate in their life
today; they wonder why people will not come into their church. “Send a
revival!” they pray. How can He do that when they have failed Him and tied
His hands? Expect the Lord to hear you if you are obeying; but some of you
will be left when Jesus comes and others will come up lacking, thus saith
the Lord.

I am glad I did not fail the Lord. He sent Angel and me through much
persecution to rescue you who were once lost in sin. There was a price to
pay, agony of soul before God; but we said, “Take the whole world but give
us Jesus.”

By divine revelation the Lord told me to come to Akron to establish this

work, and I came in spite of man’s opposition. Isn’t it strange how man
rebels against what God wants? The Lord showed me that I was at a
crossroads, and if I bowed to man I would never be used of Him in a great
way. My very life for Him was at stake, but I stood and made my own
choice.

The choice is yours to make, too; God will not force you to serve Him or
spend hours in His presence. Many days and nights I sought Him, fasting
and living in His presence, so imbued with His Spirit that nothing else
mattered. I awoke one morning to the greatest day of my life when I stood
before God, anointed and ready to be used in any way He chose. I would
have gladly given my life for Him that day. It takes much to come to this
place, but you can make it. Everyone, everything I put on the altar; and they
are still there. Yield all to the Lord, not only for your life but for the life of
your loved ones. You are a rescue light that God seeks to use, a light that
must shine out to all those around. He said the multitudes were ready, and
in the vision, those multitudes were shown to me; but some of us are not
ready, and souls are perishing because we have not gone forth. Heed the
Holy Ghost in this message from Him:

Yea, saith the Lord, I am in the midst of my people today. I have

come to warn my people. I come to warn them that the hour is indeed
late, that they do not have long to work. I have come to anoint my
people that they will accept my anointing. I have called you; I have
called you for a special mission. I have called you to bring the
multitudes to me, and I will anoint you to do it. But when you fail to use
my anointing, then you have failed me; and I can no longer bless you
and lead you in the path that I want to go. You become weak; you
become weak in your faith; you become weak in my Word. I call unto
you today: be obedient unto me, and I will bless thee; the light of my
glory will shine upon thee. You will conquer fear and frustration. No
power will be able to stand before thee. You will tread serpents
underfoot because I will walk with thee. Walls will tumble down as you
march in my name, saith the Lord. Your tears will be tears of gladness;
your eyes will be anointed with eye salve from above, and you will see
the greatness of God as it is poured out upon the land. You will see my
power as you have never seen it before. You will see miracles in
abundance and you will see souls brought to me that you did not think
I could bring in. But through you, through your obedience, through
your anointing I will be able to reach them. If you fail, souls will be
lost; souls will be left behind because of you, saith the Lord. Hear my
cry; hear the call of my Spirit today. Oh my child, don’t let me speak to
your mind; let me speak to your heart. Serve me, not as Israel did with
their mind, but serve me with your heart; and joy and gladness will be
yours, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord, I see the lost in your midst, I see the backslider.
I call unto the lost in the midst of my people today; I call unto the
backslider: flee the wrath of God that is about to be poured out. Oh
Backslider, saith the Spirit, come, come today while there is yet time.
Calamity awaits you, destruction awaits you. An angry God you will
soon face, and you will be destroyed, destroyed, saith the Lord, for all
time and eternity. Come before it is too late, saith the Spirit. Yield unto
God your creator. Receive forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ the
Son of the living God. Cry unto Him today while there is yet time
because soon it will be too late. Come, come unto Him, crieth the Spirit.
Come and He will forgive; come and He will heal your backslidings;
come and He will set you free. Come! crieth the Spirit.

Almost persuaded, Sinner, Backslider, almost persuaded to come to

Jesus. Will you look back as did Lot’s wife? Will you look back to the
world and the sin therein instead of looking to God? The Holy Spirit is
trying to lead you out from the city of destruction, out of the pathway of
God’s wrath just as the angel brought Lot and his family out. Will you look
back and be destroyed forever? Oh, Backslider who once was sheltered in
God’s love and once felt His presence, will you miss heaven? If your heart
is cold to God, destruction is upon you. Come, Backslider, come to Jesus
while there is yet time!

Signs and Wonders

In much the same way that the Lord brought me in my walk with Him,
He is bringing those of you who are on this mountain. As He brought me
into His glory and the reality of Him, I believe with all my heart that He
will do the same with you. I lived for the Lord a long time before I got to
see Jesus, thinking I would never be able to see Him until I reached heaven.
I lived close to the Lord but I was just never a person to have visions. My
life was one of fasting, praying and living in the Word. The Lord was taking
me on a path I had to travel before I could see Him, teaching me to be
faithful without the visions. The visions were to come later, launching me
out into God’s space of glory that I might help others. Now the time has
come for you to be launched into this same glory because there is little time
left in which to work; Jesus is soon coming, you must hurry to get the job
done.
Why the Urgency?
The second coming of Christ has been talked about for years, and people
wonder why suddenly all the importance placed on it now. The urgency is
because of the great change on the face of the earth. Bible prophecies that
have stood still for years have been caught up like a whirlwind, put into
action and are being or have been fulfilled all around us. The Jewish people,
after thousands of years of being scattered all over the world, have been
brought back to their Promised Land, and have established the nation of
Israel. Ezekiel prophesied it: I will open your graves, and cause you to
come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel
(Ezekiel 37:12). Even the Russians are spewing the Jewish people out from
their country; they, like Egypt years ago, were determined not to let them
go, but God compelled them in a great way: Let my people go (Exodus
5:1)! God made Pharaoh willing to do this and somehow He has made
Russia willing to do the same thing.

Acts 2:17, And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will
pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh. These are the last days and, since
God told us it would be a pouring-out time, expect greater reality from Him.
Being saved, sanctified and baptized with the Holy Ghost is not enough; go
on to the fullness of the Spirit, the fruits, and much more that God has to
give and to reveal to you.

Continuing verse 17, and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy . . . The Spirit is poured upon girls and women as well as men
and boys, a point which has not always been accepted in the past. And your
young men shall see visions, not vision in their own hearts, but a divine
vision through the inspiration and power of God. And your old men shall
dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will
pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy (Acts
2:17,18). Even when the men are so old they can scarcely move, the Spirit
of God will be revealing Himself, the glory of the Lord will shine upon
them and they will dream of God’s greatness. Verse 21 continues, And it
shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord
shall be saved.
God Is Moving Now in a Way Different from the
Past
When in my teens I began preaching, it was hard to get people saved.
Some churches would have practically no one saved in a year’s time. One
minister told me that he had never won any souls at all in his ministry; only
through evangelists visiting his church were souls won. God gave me souls
then but not in the numbers that receive salvation now. When souls came to
the altar they would have to pray and tarry before God in order to be saved.
There was not so much Spirit then as there is today; it was not being poured
out at that time. However, now in the services people quickly become born
again. Many have the power of God fall on them when I touch them; many
are slain under the power. It was a number of years before I saw a sinner
fall under the power of God, but now it is a frequent occurrence. There is a
definite difference in the way the power of God is moving now; it is the
fulfillment of Bible prophecy. In the foreign crusades thousands receive
salvation at one time in a matter of moments, and thousands are baptized in
the Holy Ghost.

Do All for the Glory of God

I am bringing you some of my personal experiences with the Lord to
demonstrate how the Lord wants to make Himself a reality in your heart,
too, in your life. Keep your mind elevated to the realm of Jesus; glorify
Him and give Him all the honor and praise. He will become a reality if you
seek Him in the right way. If you are a worker for Jesus and your mind is
stayed on Him, then He is the greatness within your life. Rejoice in Him
and His greatness. The things that take place in my ministry are because of
Him. Look always to Jesus; hold up Christ; He is the only one to receive the
honor and glory.

Called to Preach
 Never has God asked me for anything that I refused to do. He took away
my load of sin and gave me the burden for the lost, and about five weeks
after I received salvation, He preached His first sermon through me. His
mantle fell on me; the glory of the Lord covered me from the waist up, and
when I had finished, He told me that I had just preached my first sermon.
The call of God was upon me, but I had to make sure. I had to know if it
were the Lord’s call or my imagination. “Lord, I can’t preach, but I will,” I
cried out to Him with tears flowing as I knelt by my bed.

We must learn much along the way. I was to learn the reality of Jesus. He
did not want me to repeat someone else’s sermons; He wanted to use me as
His mouthpiece, and there by my bed I accepted His call, settled it all.
When I first started preaching I would be caught up in the glory of the Lord
so much that the faces in the audience would seem to swim before my eyes;
it was heavenly! Who wouldn’t love to preach like that!

The Spirit of God Discerns in Different Ways

The first time I ever saw Jesus was many years later during a great
revival. Often I had pondered, “What will He be like; how will He look?”
and suddenly there He was in His glorified state, all light, dazzling. I was
thrilled beyond words! Later He would appear to me as He must have
looked when He walked this earth. He has appeared to me again and again,
becoming so very real and personal. During my services I see Him as He
reaches out to people. Often as my hand descends to touch people for
healing, I see the hand of the Lord just ahead of it; many fall as if dead
under His power, His mighty unction.

Angel rejoiced in these great visitations from the Lord; it would always
thrill her when Jesus told me of things to come. How marvelous not only
for the Lord to tell of the things to come, but also to see them happen! For a
long period of time Jesus came to me all hours of the day and night, getting
me ready to use the gift of discerning of spirits. He would talk to me for
hours at a time, explaining about His power and teaching me of the demon
spirits and how they looked, showing me how to cast them out in the way
Jesus did while here on earth. Some people thought I was losing my mind
but I knew God was a greater reality to me than He had ever been in my
life.

The Spirit of God discerns through me in so many different ways that I

do not always know the method He will use. I do not understand how at one
moment I can be in the Spirit and know all about the person I am dealing
with—even to the thoughts of the heart, and to events years in the past—
and the next moment I am back in the physical world. Many times when a
disease is mentioned in the healing line, the Spirit of God comes upon me
and instantly a connection is made to someone in the audience who has the
same disease. It feels like a string pulling my finger; I feel the tug of a direct
line to that person. At other times an angel of the Lord stands by my side,
telling me things about you; and I just repeat the information. The Spirit
also reveals to me by visions, I call them X-ray visions; one moment I am
with the congregation—the next in a vision. I see your condition the way a
doctor sees an X-ray. If I do not understand what I am seeing, a presence
standing at my side will explain it to me. Something comes over me when
cancer is discerned; it is a horrible disease. Cancer I can usually recognize
because I have seen it so much; often a forked sign appears with it; but if
the disease is unfamiliar to me, you will see me pause while the clear
explanation comes.

Many times the miracle sign appears, I see a cross; and things are told me
through it. The cross is used much in my visions. When the entire cross is
lighted from top to bottom and from side to side it means the miracle is
about to take place. The cross is used to reveal things about your life; lack
of salvation is represented by a dark cross. If there is a little bit of God in a
life, just a small amount of light shows; going halfway with God causes part
of the cross to light up.

A vision is not a dream; a person is wide-awake in it. At times I cannot

tell whether I am hearing in the natural or in the Spirit. I can feel the
vibration of the Spirit.

There are two supernatural powers; it is not enough that I reveal to the
people their diseases—psychics might do that—but God will not lie. He
confirms His Word by healing the people. God is the one who offers you
miracles of healing; Satan does not heal. Instances of healings at services
conducted by ungodly men have occurred, but these healings come about
not through Satan, but by the people’s own faith and the Word of God. God
promised that His Word would not return to Him void. The Word works! If
you meet God’s conditions for healing, He will get you well, but only those
who live pure, clean and holy before God belong to Him.

I had been fasting about three weeks the first time the angel came to me. I
was greatly frightened by him, thinking at first that it was God, Himself. He
didn’t touch me; had He laid a hand on me I might have died for sure.
Gideon thought he was marked for death because he saw the angel of the
Lord, and I knew how he felt! Had I had time to think, I would have known
that it was not God who had come down, but it happened so fast there was
no time to reason things out. Then the angel left; nothing had been said, but
a change had taken place. In my next service I could see the healing virtue
falling like liquid fire and I have seen it that way ever since.

Later the Lord came to me saying, “You will lay hands on people, and
they will receive power; and after that the Holy Ghost is come.” It was to be
the same power that Peter and John had when they went to Samaria and
called down the Holy Ghost on people. Now when the apostles which
were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God,
they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down,
prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he
was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of
the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received
the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:14–17). I had prayed for this gift for years until I
finally gave up, thinking the Lord must not want me to have it; but now it
fell on me like a bolt of lightning, and my life was changed completely.
Before a packed house, I boldly proclaimed the next night to be a Holy
Ghost rally night, that the Lord had given me power to call the Holy Ghost
down on people. I knew it was true, for He would never lie. As I began to
touch the people, they fell as though they were dead. “Did I touch them that
hard?” I thought. How would you feel if God started moving through you in
this way? I touched them gently and they still fell! I just raised my hand and
they fell!
 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they
cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues . . . they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17,18). Jesus came to
make the Father real. The teachings of many of the religious leaders of our
day have lacked that reality; to them Jesus is afar off; God is a God of the
past. The greatness of God is illustrated for them only in the lives of men
long since dead; the fact that His greatness is the same today is unknown to
them. But Jesus came, making Himself real to His followers through signs
and wonders. It is not the signs that we seek (the Lord rebuked people for
that), but rather we seek Jesus; and then signs and wonders follow.
Astrologers are an example of sign seekers that the Word teaches against. In
seeking the Lord we become believers; and the Bible said that signs and
wonders would follow believers. Seek the Lord! Study the life of Jesus, and
find the many ways in which He made Himself real. He was down-to-earth,
teaching in simplicity, talking about the Father in much the same manner
that people talk about their earthly father whom they love. Christ taught us
to pray to our Father in heaven, and through Jesus, this great God of heaven
can become our Father, too.

Will It Take the Lions’ Den to Make God Real to

You?
Jesus was born in an ox stall and laid in a manger, but great signs
accompanied His birth. It took something extraordinary to get the shepherds
to leave their flocks and seek the Lord; that same special quality caused the
woman at the well to leave her waterpot. Only very unusual circumstances
will cause men to leave the material things of this world behind and follow
God. It took a reality of God for the disciples to give all for Him, and it will
take reality for you; prepare for it. Signs and wonders brought me to my
present ministry. God made Himself real to me through Jesus Christ and by
the power of the Holy Ghost, but I had to be prepared for it.

God made Himself real to Daniel; he is remembered because of it, but

Daniel had a price to pay. Would the lions’ den make God real to you?
Some of us are so stubborn that it would take the fiery furnace to make God
real in our lives. We all have thick skin for the Lord to break through; He
has to mold us, make us and break us again and again. Just about the time
we think we are a vessel of honor in the hands of the potter, He begins to
reshape us. Then, crying, we look at the pieces, thinking we are ruined. But
God never broke anyone without improving the vessel when He put it back
together. God can only work with the materials at hand; the clay either
becomes more pliable or more unworkable, according to the vessel’s
yielding or resistance. How you react in the valley, the fiery furnace, the
lions’ den, all depends on how you react to persecutions; you and your
problems should be put into the hands of God without reservation.

Tongues and Interpretations

The gifts of the Spirit must become real to you; but unfortunately, many
are unaware that the Bible even mentions such a thing as the nine gifts. In
the past the gifts were not in operation the way they are now; when the
Holy Ghost spoke, seldom would there be an interpretation. Never did I
dream that I would get a Holy Ghost message, but the first reality of God I
ever had was the interpretation of such a message in one of the early
revivals I held as a young minister. The Holy Ghost message came forth in
tongues, and I knew what was said; but because of not wanting to get into
fanaticism, I hesitated. The Lord would rather we take precautions than be
too fast on the draw; if He gives you a message, He will make Himself real
to you. Now, many times before I come to the service I know if a message
is going to be given; I feel the anointing. Make sure that the anointing is an
unusually great one before you let a message come forth; your mouth will
fly open before you can get fixed, and the Holy Ghost will speak. And so
the first time I knew what the Holy Ghost said, I waited. God was patient
with me; He was training me, and He gave the first half of the interpretation
to a little lady standing close by; she gave half then stopped. I had that half,
and when she stopped I finished the rest of the message. God was molding
and making me; years passed by before I got another interpretation. Now
they are fluent and come easily, but I was for years in preparation of this
hour. I want to be used of the Lord in the way He wants; it is my goal, my
aim in life. It was after other gifts had come into my life that I received the
gift of interpretation.

Wait on the Lord; becoming impatient will lead you into fanaticism, into
going overboard. What a marvelous privilege it is to be filled with the Holy
Ghost, for God to trust man with His baptism and to speak through him in
another language, and for man to carry that with him wherever he goes,
night and day!

Angel had none of the nine gifts but she was by my side day and night;
the Lord made Himself real to her in many ways. She was able to see
demons; it was an experience she neither wanted nor sought, but one that
was necessary for her to have a reality of this ministry. The gifts of the
Spirit are deep water, and you must know which way the current flows.
When all hell comes against you, there is no other choice but to walk close
to God, letting Him become real so you know the voice of the Lord. His
Spirit is so very different from the spirit of man; I call it “feeling the
strangeness of Him” when it comes in contact with the human spirit. The
feeling is fantastic and marvelous. Hearing the Lord speak and
understanding what is being said, knowing the Lord is actually in the same
room with you are great realities.

Answers in Time of Crisis

In the depth of my crisis, the Lord came to me. I was like a ship without
an anchor—why would the Lord take Angel? I had to know, my work
would have been hindered by not knowing. The Lord must be real before
you can have answers in the time of crisis. Jesus is soon coming; He must
be real so that we will prepare for Him. I had to be ready; I had to be in a
place where He could talk to me. I thank God that He could make Himself
so real to me that through the darkness and the tears He could pull back that
veil to show me Angel’s cross standing straight up and tell me that it was in
His divine plan to take Angel; that nothing I could have done would have
saved her. He was able to work His divine plan in our lives because that had
been our constant cry, “Your divine will, Lord; not your permissible will but
your divine will! We are yours all the way.” That the Lord might delay His
coming troubled Angel; she was eager to go home. “I’m going away,” she
said when she was so very ill; but I would not let her speak the rest of it,
and now I will never know what God revealed to her.

I’m sure the time she has spent away from me seems but a moment to
her; she loved Jesus with such great love; it was always her joy to spend
time with Him, talking to Him, searching His words, studying every
prophecy, every word from Him, analyzing them, comparing them with the
Word of God and watching the fulfillment. The Lord became greater and
greater and greater to her. She saw the grounds on which we built our first
church when they just looked like a desolate, swampy wilderness; and then
she later saw them become fertile grounds. That church, now called Grace
Cathedral—Akron, was a monument of faith to all who passed by and the
fulfillment of the prophecy the Lord had given to Angel and me. She didn’t
live to see the time we would outgrow that facility and move into the huge
Ernest Angley’s Grace Cathedral in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Messages in Prophecy
Yea, saith the Spirit of the Lord, I am in the midst of my people
today, and I am reaching forth a hand to strengthen you. The hour is a
dark one ahead, but I will be with you, and I will walk with you, and
you will know me, and you will know my Spirit. You will know that I
am the Lord thy God that leadeth thee. You will not be in doubt and
despair. You will see with a vision like you have never seen before. I will
show you things to come, and I will reveal myself unto you. I will give
you the greatness of me that you might use it to bring the multitudes to
me. I have revealed unto my servant the multitudes that will be
brought in, but he must work through you; and my power must be in
you to bring these multitudes in. I place the responsibility upon you,
saith the Lord, the responsibility of those souls that I have marked for
you to win.
 Go forth in the power of my Spirit and do not talk about being weak
but say, “The Lord is my strength, and I shall not fear what man shall
do unto me.” Go forth in the power of my Spirit, the same power that I
sent my Son unto you in. And in His power and in my Spirit you shall
dwell; the greatness of the Lord will be with you and souls, souls, souls
will be given unto you for your hire, saith the Lord.

And the Lord is moving today. Thus saith the Lord, I called and called
unto a people. I called and called, and one by one you answered me. I
have brought you together as my army, and I will use you to do battle. I
called and I called and you came unto me; you heard my cry. I sifted
you, I sifted you as wheat, and now you are ready—many of you are
ready—saith the Lord, to go forth and win the lost. My power is upon
you and my Spirit is within you; trust in me. And now, as I called unto
you and you heard, you cry unto the lost; and as you cry unto the lost
they will hear, saith the Lord, and the multitudes will be brought to me.
 Chapter 9: Discouragements and
Disappointments

Called According to His Purpose

Discouragement is an instrument of the devil, he plans to use it on us all;
and he is using it now as never before. But the Lord our God will be with
us, giving of His strength. Romans 8:28, And we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. Many Christians have heaped
discouragement upon their own heads by misinterpreting what God has
said. The last part of this verse, to them who are the called according to
his purpose is very often omitted, and people wonder why all things are not
working together for good in their lives. Just as the Lord called me, He has
called you for a purpose. Fulfilling the purpose for which I am called is all
that matters to me; it was all that mattered to Angel. Angel had to fight
discouragement, but she did not let go until she saw Jesus.

Discouragement of every kind will come against you as we battle the

powers of Satan; but your God is mighty; your God is great; all things are
possible with Him. Look unto God, the author and finisher of your faith.

Angel and I would take courage in the Lord. We claimed His promises,
urging each other on, for we stood alone with God; there was no one else on
whom we could depend. Much that the Lord said, Angel wrote down,
keeping record of all she could. As we saw the fulfillments take place, we
gained strength.

Keep on the Path

 Many of you will see your prayers answered more and more as you
continue to keep on the path divinely ordered for you. God wants you to
walk this holy path. On it, the God of heaven will be with you, encouraging
and strengthening you. Delight yourself in Him, letting the enemy turn you
neither to the right nor to the left. You can never say all things are working
for your good if you are not called according to His purpose. Only by doing
the will of God can you be encouraged by Him. Encouragement from any
other source is fleeting, and will soon allow depression to return. Many stay
in the pit because they refuse to walk the path God has chosen for them. For
a short while they stay on that path, but then discouragement overwhelms
them, and thinking that no progress is being made, they step off.

God called me to carry this Gospel, to preach until Jesus comes or calls;
and nothing will stop this ministry, not even all the demons in hell. It is the
ministry of Christ, and never has Satan been able to stop that ministry. By
the Crucifixion, Satan thought he might; but Jesus laid down His life
willingly that He might take it up again. Christ was resurrected; we find
power and strength if we look to Him. Looking elsewhere brings frustration
and despair. Christians are nervous wrecks because of failing to recognize
who they are and what they have in Christ. They do not realize God is with
them and that His Word throbs with promises of good courage. Look unto
Jesus; He is with you and will walk with you all the way.

A High Calling to Fulfill

How wonderful to walk with the Lord and to fear nothing! Fear of
tomorrow, of life, of the past can be forgotten through God as we press on
toward the prize. We have a high calling from God to fulfill. Jesus said, If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me (Matthew 16:24). Deny self, follow Jesus and win
souls for the kingdom. That cross will be too heavy for you if self is not
denied. But when self is denied, you don’t count your own life dear. The
cross is carried at all cost with the knowledge that one day it will be
exchanged for a crown. The Word of God ringing in your ears gives you the
strength to continue. Live for Him and you will reign with Him; a crown of
life awaits those who serve Him.

Encourage yourself in Him, knowing that all things work together for
good (Romans 8:28) when you walk in the divine will of God. Do not be
troubled, distressed and frustrated; move up into His divine will. Christians
walking any path other than His divine path are living beneath their
privilege. Be happy in the Lord regardless of the adverse circumstances
surrounding you. There is a joy in Him that no one, not even Satan can take
away, a joy deep in your heart that strengthens and urges your soul on in the
Lord. Arise in the power of His might, knowing that He is God and that He
walks with you. The world does not hold that kind of strength and power; it
comes only from the divine Spirit, the divine power of the Almighty God.
The Lord is your helper; He is your refuge and your High Tower; He is your
Rock of Ages. There is nothing to fear or worry about when you walk with
the Lord!

I love Him, His divine Spirit and divine power; I love everything about
Jesus; no fault can be found in Him! No matter what might come my way,
there is one thing of which I am sure: I will hold to God; nothing will shake
me loose from Him. Many things might cause you to fall into the pits of
despair, but do not stay there; arise in the power of His Spirit. I could have
allowed Angel’s death to destroy this work; however, I realized God took
her, not because He did not love me, but because He loved us both so much
and He was able to have His way. I looked at the ministers who had not
given all to the Lord and still had their wives. The Lord reminded me that
He could have taken them, too; but what blessing would it have been? Souls
would not have been brought into the kingdom because of it. But I took
Angel, and will bring many into the Kingdom, saith the Lord.

Angel gave all of her strength, something I have yet to do. The Lord
moves in so close to me, walking with me day and night, lifting me up to
encourage me; He speaks to me again and again; He is there any time I need
Him. Since Angel has been gone, He has taken extra time with me. Any
time, day or night when I am weary all I have to do is say, “Jesus I need
more strength; the path is great and there is much work to be done,” and He
moves in close, strengthening and helping me. He must be just as real as
that to you. Learn to trust Him completely so He can carry you through
when the burdens and tragedies come.

If God Be God, Serve Him!

Elijah of old had been fighting a hard battle; he stood before King Ahab
saying that no rain would fall in the next years except according to his
word. Now Ahab was searching to destroy him. “If I could just kill him,”
Ahab was thinking, “the rains will come.” But for three-and-a-half years
Elijah could not be found; he trusted God completely for his protection. He
was shut away from everyone, even his loved ones in that time.

Then one day God told Elijah that it was time to stand before Ahab. What
was in store for him, Elijah did not know; he just knew he was going to
meet the devil. But Ahab was unable to move against him, paralyzed by
God’s mighty power that worked in Elijah’s life. And it came to pass after
many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year,
saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the
earth. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And it came to pass,
when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that
troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but
thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the
commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now
therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the
prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves
four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table. So Ahab sent unto all the
children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount
Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt
ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal,
then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said
Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD;
but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore
give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves,
and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will
dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And
call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the
LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God (I Kings
18:1,2,17–24). “Thou art the one that’s troubled Israel!” declared Elijah.
“You brought Jezebel, who hates our God! With her came her idols. You
allowed it! The heavens were shut because of your sins. Let the God that
answers by fire be God!”

God is ready to make Himself real; but are you prepared to stand before
the Ahabs of this land? Some of these devil-possessed people live in your
neighborhood or work with you. Can you face them saying, “If God be God
He will prove Himself,” and let Him answer?

The worshipers of Satan are coming into the open. Television programs
have been used to condition minds, to deceive people into thinking the
occult is innocent, fun and exciting. Demon-possessed minds pave the way
for Satan to bring his power into the open, pave the path of the Antichrist.
Participating in the black arts is becoming socially acceptable. In dealing
with witchcraft, there is no such thing as a fun-game. Seemingly harmless
television programs open many dark doors, people trying to destroy others
by spells—it is almost like the inside of hell! We live in an awful hour!

Boldness Comes through Faith in God’s Word

Let nothing discourage you from seeking God’s greatness; let nothing
take the hope of Jesus’ second coming out of your heart! He must make
Himself real so that you can fulfill His divine will in your life.

Elijah could not have performed his work without the reality of the Lord.
God had wrought wonderful signs and wonders in the sight of Elijah before
he had the faith and courage to confront Ahab and declare that it would not
rain. Boldly he spoke the things of God because he had the faith to believe
God’s work; he accepted it in his heart. God has said many things to us
through His Word, and we must accept them. He clothes us with His armor,
His power, His goodness, help and strength. Why be discouraged and afraid
to fight Lucifer?
 Elijah prayed a little prayer, and then the fire of the LORD fell, and
consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the
dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the
people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is
the God; the LORD, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the
prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and
Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there (I
Kings 18:38–40). Elijah beheaded eight hundred fifty prophets of Baal on
that day the fire fell. He was so carried away in the Spirit he had no time to
become discouraged; that was to come later. Elijah needed to be at the place
where nothing could frighten him, but when Jezebel came after him he fled.

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he
had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a
messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also,
if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this
time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to
Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there (I
Kings 19:1–3). God will not stay with you if you do not stand; when you
run, God has to run to catch up. Some of us put God in the most awful
places because He promised to walk with us all the way; our by-paths and
detours force Him to take unnecessary steps. He says, “Here’s the
mountain, let’s tunnel through!” but you choose the long winding road
instead. “Build us a boat, Lord, we can’t get over the Red Sea any other
way!” Follow God’s lead instead of depending upon Him to keep up with
you. Expect Him to tunnel through that mountain and to hold back the
waters of the Red Sea. Satan closes in and makes you believe you must
return to Egypt and eat garlic and cucumbers rather than following the Lord
into the land of milk and honey.

Elijah fled to the wilderness, and sat under a tree praying to die. The Lord
is mindful of our humanness, our weaknesses. He understood Elijah’s
ordeal, his reaction to the bloodshed, and He sent an angel to prepare food
for Elijah after he had rested. God is the one who delivers, not man.

Seek with determination to walk in the calling of His purpose. Those

people walking in that path witness all things working for good, but those
people God must chase cannot claim that promise; they have tied His hands.
Sometimes the more He chases, the faster we run. If we would allow Him
to lift us out of the mud we would find that He did not chase us to condemn
but to love.

Stop looking at the problems; look to God and receive strength, courage
and power; see His big hand as it moves for you. Sometimes He catches up
only to find you in hysteria; then He has to wait until it subsides so He can
tell you of His love.

Go after the enemy in the name of the Lord, and let God deliver him into
your hands. Some of you already feel as though you have been fed by that
angel and are walking across the mount of God; you have left the juniper
tree behind; but others can still look up and see its branches in the
wilderness, telling the Lord, “It’s enough!” But He is the one who tells you
whether it is or not. The Bible, remember, promises we will not be tried
beyond what we are able to bear; God will provide a way of escape when
we reach the limit. If Jesus loves you, there is nothing to worry about. Walk
with the Lord, give everything to be the soul winner He wants in this final
hour just before Jesus comes.

Mom Eagle
Disappointments grow into tribulations, and by developing patience
through these conditions, the Lord is able to use you, to place you where He
wants. God deals with you in much the same way the mother eagle teaches
her eaglets. As the time approaches for them to leave the nest, instead of
looking at the safety of the wing, they look to the far ground below. She
begins to remove the nest feathers that gave protection from the thorns.
When the thorns become uncomfortable, she spreads her great wings for
them to climb upon. Many of you, rather than trusting the Lord, look to the
places where you might fall. “I’m not ready Lord; wait a while!” So the
Lord pulls the feathers from your nest until you become willing to move
onto His wings. And as mom eagle takes her young for a ride, showing
them how thrilling it is and making them eager for more, the Lord gently
takes you into more of His greatness. Then one day as the eaglets are
enjoying the ride, mom flies out from underneath, letting them fall
screaming through space and not even trying to fly. Before they hit the
ground, however, she gathers them up again. The Lord deals with you in
this way until you decide to start flapping your wings, until you begin to use
the faith and strength He has given you, and to follow in the path that Jesus
leads. God is waiting for you to act like Jesus.

Parents shielding their children from responsibility and independence do

them a great disservice, robbing them of the ability to handle setbacks and
discouragements, eventually turning loose in this world great big, soft,
overgrown sponges. Everything they desired was provided for them work-
free. Suddenly one day Mom and Dad are no longer around to pick up the
pieces—and there are many of them scattered about. They can’t hold a job
(they’re too special to work); marriage becomes a maze of frustration and
selfishness; and like the eaglets they fall screaming through the air. Little
wonder many youth turn to drugs and alcohol; they cannot face life.

Children who grow up shouldering responsibility and work are better

able to deal with the hard places that come along; their view of life is more
realistic, and they are prepared to fly—if they avoid that pit called self-pity.
They can become warped over injustices of the past and all the love they
feel was missing. Be grateful for the toughness, the grit in your craw, the
resilience that was formed: for these qualities will take you intact through
the disappointments of the day. Let the Holy Spirit erase the bitterness and
self-pity; God is your strength, your helper. The Lord walks with you;
boldly proclaim His promises!

Failure to face disappointments has caused many nervous breakdowns.

Disappointments crowd against each other and are kept on the inside; the
“unloading door” remains locked. But Jesus calls you to relinquish all
burdens to Him. The great problems of this age make many unloading trips
necessary each day. Face disappointments without being dragged down. Do
you allow every little wind of misfortune to knock you over? Learn to battle
so that you will know how to operate when the real trials come.
Persecutions Should Drive You Closer to God
The Israelites had great favor with God. He brought them out of Egypt,
healed and loaded down with riches; but unaccustomed to using faith, they
were ready to turn back when they arrived at the Red Sea.

When things do not run smoothly or according to plan, we like the

Israelites can become disappointed. Life is often hard and cruel; those
people looking for heaven on earth will be discouraged. Not until the
Perfect Age will all be well in the world. The Lord warned us of the
tribulations and heartaches in store. Those who love God will be aligned
against the ones who do not; only when God separates good from evil
forevermore will we have peace, joy and happiness.

The disciples could have become discouraged, questioning why

persecutions had to happen to them; but instead they rejoiced through their
trials and praised the Lord. God allowed us to be on earth to fight it out with
the devil so that He would have a people who bow to Him because they
love Him above everything else.

Study the life of Jesus; His journey was made that we might have His
footsteps to follow; it’s the journey of every real born-again Christian. Jesus
had victorious days, but although He was a worker and became weary many
times, never was He too tired to talk to someone about his soul. Asking for
Jesus is asking for the trials of despair, frustration, suffering and
persecution. His road is one which will gain for you the love of few; they
will see Jesus in your life, and reject you because they reject Him. They are
in Satan’s camp, and Satan despises the man called Jesus.

Satan, in an effort to smother you in self-pity, whispers that the feathers

should not have been taken out of your nest. Those feathers were removed
so that you could soar to greater heights in the Lord, could move into
another place where God will use you.

My persecutors helped to put me where I am with God; my enemies did

more for me than my friends. The encouragement of friends blessed me, but
what really made me dig down and cry out to the Lord night and day were
the persecutors; they drove me closer to God. Much time in prayer was
spent to keep bitterness out of my heart and to show love for my enemies.

More Than Conquerors

The Lord is reaching out. Why let disappointments and the devil destroy
you? In Romans 8:35,37, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us. You are more than a conqueror;
there is nothing to fear. Paul was persuaded that nothing could separate him
from this love of Christ.

The devil will use disappointment and discouragement to try to separate

you from that love; he will try to convince you that you are standing still
and your prayers are unanswered. Jesus said to pray according to His will
and if His Word abides in you and you abide in the Word, it shall be done.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you (John 15:7).

When asking for something that is in His divine will, such as healing,
boldly say, “Lord, heal me!” But in matters that you are not sure whether it
is His will or not, be careful to say, “Lord, not my will but thine be done.”
Ask the Lord to look into tomorrow and answer your prayers according to
His own knowledge and wisdom; then accept His decision graciously even
though it may not have been what you had in mind. Sometimes the thing
you ask for turns out to be a problem you do not really want.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten (Revelation 3:19). Those

whom the Lord loves He chastens and rebukes; when the Lord corrects you,
He shows His love. Instead of pouting or becoming hurt or angry, just love
Him all the more in return. God has wisdom and knowledge; He does not
spoil His children by running after them and doing their work for them.
Children find security in discipline; they have respect for the parents who
insist upon it. Threatening God or telling Him you just do not care does
absolutely no good; He will not listen to that.
 Disappointments come to us all; they rested on Jesus when He came
unto his own, and his own received him not (John 1:11). Even though
Jesus held out eternal life for those who would accept Him, He was
rejected. God was disappointed when He gave man everything, only to see
man disobey Him. But yet He sent His Son into this dark world to bring
light, to show you the way to heaven. When you fail to use that light, you
tie God’s hands. It is wonderful to have the love of people, but much greater
is the wonder of having God’s love that will never change. God’s love is
infinite; feel the mighty security of it! Bow in love to God, worshiping Him
because you adore Him.

In Hardship, Put God First

When disappointments come, remember the scripture, I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me (Philippians 4:13). Job put God
first in hardship. His possessions, his family were swept away, but the love
of God was still there. People who gauge God’s love by their material
wealth have nothing to hold to if their possessions are taken from them.
Everything in the world can be lost, but if you have the love of God, you
will be all right; He will be with you, will be your strength. Lifting you up,
He will never fail you. Job said, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in
him (Job 13:15).

Do not allow Satan to make you think there is no way out of your
situation; there is always another branch above you to climb on—just look
up! When you reach the top, you can sit with Christ in the heavenly places,
for at the top He will call us home. Why would you feel the Lord does not
love you? He loved you when you were a sinner; He calls for sinners to
come to Him, filth and all, and He cleanses and patiently works with them.

It takes time and work to grow in the Lord. It might seem nice if the Lord
would carry you to glory as soon as you received salvation, but what would
you have to lay at the feet of Jesus then? No sheaves, no stars in your
crown, no bears, lions or Goliaths overcome in battle. Discouragement is
human. Noah was discouraged, but he worked on. His friends and family
must have looked upon the ark as Noah’s folly; it did not stop him.

God gave plenty of ammunition for the battles ahead; prepare for them;
put on the whole armor of God. Wherefore take unto you the whole
armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your
feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking
the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:13–17). The Bible
makes no mention of armor for the back. You must not run from the devil;
God expects you to boldly go ever forward, in His strength, might and
power as the Early Church did when the lions roared and the fires were
kindled. Did Stephen talk discouragement when He was dying? He said, “I
see Jesus!”

Complaints and self-pity keep us trapped in cells of depression; never did

God expect us to go through life in that manner. The Lord requires much of
you, and it takes discipline to walk in His will.

Face the hard places of life knowing that you have God; He walks with
you. You may shed many tears—I shed barrels of tears over Angel—but
rise over them to do the work of God. Sorrows cannot be allowed to destroy
you. Angel was my earthly life; I loved her more than anyone under the
sun; but I loved God more, and He said it was His will to take her. No
matter how much it hurts, I humbly bow to the will of God; I always have.
When He made His will known, never did I ask the cost or consider the
disappointment and what must be sacrificed; my only thought was to do the
will of God. He bought me with a price; I must not disappoint my Lord. He
has done so much for me!
Chapter 10: The Ministry of Angels
If the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where
be all his miracles which our fathers told us of (Judges 6:13)? Gideon
asked, “If the Lord be with us, where are all His miracles?” Those that have
the favor of God have a right to ask that question. The angel of the Lord
prepared Gideon for battle and fought for him. Will you let angels help
you? Those in the Bible who were victorious in untying God’s hands did.

Some Interesting Facts on Angels

In the New Testament we find that an angel would come down to trouble
the waters of a pool; the first person stepping in was healed. Now there is
at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew
tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of
impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the
water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and
troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the
water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had (John
5:2–4). Then not everybody could get in but now, through Jesus, they can;
through Him man is no longer limited; all can be healed.

Angels have fed me when I was fasting; I saw no food but I received
from them the strength I lacked. Angels are here to help you in time of
need.

Angels are used by God in all types of situations; they have even been
used as undertakers. In Jude 1:9, we find, Yet Michael the archangel,
when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses,
durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord
rebuke thee. Even the angels refuse to argue with Satan; they know his
ways; they see him.
 Angels were used as jailbreakers, working against the evil that had
imprisoned Simon Peter. Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex
certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the
sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to
take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when
he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to
four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to
bring him forth to the people. And when Herod would have brought
him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers,
bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the
prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light
shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up,
saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands (Acts
12:1–4,6,7). Guards standing on each side of Peter kept him chained, but he
had the faith that had grown through fasting, praying and living in the
Word, faith that enabled an angel to come to him. Peter, in that situation,
was calm enough to fall asleep, and needed an angel to awaken him. Angels
will not visit those who carry a heart of fear.

In the Scriptures whenever angels appeared, they were referred to as

“he.” This does not mean that there are no female angels; it just means they
are not mentioned in the Bible. In fact, it is possible that the “morning
stars” in Job 38:7 may refer to female angels, but we do not know for sure.
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted
for joy.

Acts 1:10,11 tells of the two angels, spoken of as men in this passage,
who appeared at the ascension of Jesus and prophesied of His second
coming. And while they [the apostles] looked stedfastly toward heaven
as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which
also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this
same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in
like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Some people expect angels to fly down to earth on wings; however, the

Bible does not say they are winged. Seraphim have wings; but, although
angels fly, they do not have wings when they approach people. Abraham
and Sarah surely would have recognized the angels had they been winged,
but their appearance was human: And he lift up his eyes and looked, and,
lo, three men stood by him (Genesis 18:2).

Gideon’s angel did not have wings, and Gideon was unable to identify
him as an angel at first.

At times angels go through the motions of a human and at other times

they do not; and, when they first appear, it is not always apparent that they
are not human. Angels can speak audibly, move with footsteps that can be
heard or they can move silently. Even Christ, after He was risen from the
dead, was not recognized by His disciples until He blessed the food; then
their eyes were opened and they knew Him.

We find an angel of the Lord killed King Herod. Acts 12:23, And
immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God
the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. This
disproves the theory that angels will administer no punishment or
judgments in the period of grace.

When the angels visited Lot, they struck the men of the city with
blindness who were trying to drag Lot’s guests from his house in order to
force homosexual acts upon them. But the men put forth their hand, and
pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote
the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small
and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door (Genesis
19:10, 11).

The power that God gives to angels is fantastic but that same power is
available to man; the apostle Paul used it on a sorcerer, a false prophet, who
was hindering his work. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with
the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him. And said, O full of all subtilty and
all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness,
wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now,
behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not
seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist
and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the
hand (Acts 13:9–11). Paul told the false prophet that he would not see the
sun for a certain length of time, and his friends led him away blind.

It took an angel to roll away the stone of the tomb of Jesus; men put it in
place, but it was a small thing for just one angel to roll it away. The strength
of angels is great.

Angels have names; the angel Gabriel was identified as the one who
appeared to Zacharias. I believe he will continue to work on earth until the
Bride is taken out, and will probably be one of the angels who helps to rain
judgments on the inhabitants of the earth as predicted in Revelation.

Angels move by will through the force and power of the mind of God.
When Jesus ascended to heaven, He, too, moved by will; He did not grow
wings to reach heaven.

Angels have great knowledge but they do not have all knowledge. God
made the angels and made man a little lower than the angels. What is man,
that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:6,7).

First Peter 1:12 confirms the fact that angels are not all-knowing when it
refers to things the angels desire to look into. Angels have observed
salvation in operation; they saw Jesus at Calvary, saw the cruel nails driven
into His hands and heard Him cry, It is finished (John 19:30); but they do
not understand it. Angels in heaven are sinless; their spirits are in complete
obedience to God.

Angels do not marry. In Matthew 22:30 we find these words of Jesus,

They neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of
God in heaven. Neither man or angels marry in heaven.

Jesus came to earth as very man to show man the path to travel. Angels
were there to help Jesus, and they’re here to help us.

Do children really have guardian angels? Jesus said that they do. Take
heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That
in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is
in heaven (Matthew 18:10). Angels have plenty of strength to guard your
child; your child is especially protected if you have taught him the ways of
God and disciplined him properly.

I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands (Revelation
5:11). John the Revelator said that ten thousand times ten thousand angels
were around the throne of God. Think of it, a million angels! And then John
added thousands of thousands of other angels. The throne of God must truly
be massive to have room for over a million angels!

David tells us in Psalm 68:17 that the chariots of God are twenty
thousand. Deuteronomy 33:2, relates how the Lord shone forth with ten
thousand of His saints. He shined forth . . . and he came with ten
thousands of saints.

Frightening Experiences
Moses, in talking about Mount Sinai when fire ran upon the ground and
the trumpet, blown by an angel, shook the whole earth, said that the sight
was so terrible that, I exceedingly fear and quake (Hebrews 12:21). What
a sight! Thousands of the angels of God came down with him on Sinai.
Little wonder the Israelites were frightened! God has millions and millions
of angels.

Samson’s parents did not know at first that the being they talked to was
an angel. When they found that it was, they were so frightened they thought
they were going to die. Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and
offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously;
and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the
flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the
LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife
looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of the
LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah
knew that he was an angel of the LORD. And Manoah said unto his
wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God (Judges 13:19–22).

Gideon didn’t realize he was seeing an angel until he had prepared a

sacrifice and, the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that
was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and
there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the
unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his
sight (Judges 6:21). The experience terrified Gideon so much that the Lord
said to him, Fear not: thou shalt not die (Judges 6:23).

People can be frightened by angels—Job’s friend was. Job 4:15, Then a

spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. The first time
an angel visited me I was petrified!

Angel Witnesses and Helpers

There seems to be an order of angels who are witnesses in heaven. Jesus
stated, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of
man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me
before men shall be denied before the angels of God (Luke 12:8,9).

Jesus, in Revelation 3:5, speaks of the book of life: I will not blot out his
name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my
Father, and before his angels.

The voice of the archangel will wake the dead! For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first (I
Thessalonians 4:16).

Daniel, speaking of the angel of God in the book of Daniel, said his voice
sounded like the voice of a multitude (Daniel 10:6). What a voice!

An angel prepared supper for Elijah when he was under the juniper tree,
and angels prepared manna in the wilderness for the Israelites; they lived on
angel food for forty years. He had commanded the clouds from above,
and opened the doors of heaven, And had rained down manna upon
them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat
angels’ food (Psalm 78:23–25).

Angels in the tomb of Christ were clothed in white. But Mary stood
without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down,
and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the
one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had
lain (John 20:11,12).

Angels chauffeured Elijah to heaven. Behold, there appeared a chariot

of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah
went up by a whirlwind into heaven (II Kings 2:11).

Balaam went on a mission that was contrary to the will of God, but his
mule saw an angel of the Lord and fell down in her tracks, saving Balaam’s
life. Balaam didn’t understand why the mule stopped; he struck her to get
her to move. And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said
unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me
these three times? Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he
saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way (Numbers 22:28,31). The
mule was given power to talk by the Lord. God’s ways are beyond the
reason of man; His people are to be a faith people.

Moses’ faith in God’s power separated the waters of the Red Sea; the
Spirit of God held the waters back as the Israelites crossed over on dry, not
muddy, but dry ground: twelve miles of faith. Not living close to God
causes fear to enter through doubt when His miraculous workings are seen.

Psalm 103:20, Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength,
that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Angels always give you the Word of God. Continuing in verse 21, Bless ye
the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
Angels and men are both blessed; they work together. Many today cannot
comprehend such miraculous works even though they profess to believe in
miracles. Their words are contradicted by their actions and their own
ministry. If you live right, it is marvelous to be conscious of the angels
around you.

I was not really ready for the first angel I saw; no one had taught me the
things I am teaching you, but after that visit I learned how wonderful they
are. How marvelous to awake and be in the presence of an angel! No words
can describe the strange feeling that angels bring. The angel of the Lord
stands by my side when I’m in the pulpit and when I’m praying for the sick.
He moves in my services, and people feel the atmosphere, the anointing of
it.

Have your house in order or you may not live to tell about your visitation
from the angel. In this final hour people will have visitations from angels,
yea, saith the Lord. Be ready with a clean heart, a clean life, and be
prepared for them; let their help be a reality to you in this final hour.

Angel Care
Hebrews 1:7, [God] maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a
flame of fire. Verse 14 continues, Are they not all ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Angels
sent to minister to us who are heirs of salvation . . . how amazing! The
study of their ministry has built my faith sky-high. In Psalms we find that
the angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and
delivereth them (Psalm 34:7). Angels come for a purpose; they come
against evil spirits and fight your battles.

Heirs of salvation are promised angel help; however, promises must be

reached for and claimed if they are to be fulfilled. Only by your claiming
His promises will God’s abundance be poured out. His promises are for
you.

Again and again, the Bible teaches the ministry of angels to the children
of God. Angels have delivered men in groups, multitudes and individually.
As a rule, God, rather than speaking directly to you, uses ministers, both
men and angels. Usually, angels of God have appeared only to those
persons who were highly favored by God. Never expect an angel to appear
if you have not taken much time with the Lord in prayer and meditation and
in reading the Word. As you find favor with God, as you untie His hands,
the angels will deal more and more with you.

Many years I lived as close to the Lord as I knew how, praying, fasting
and living in the Word; and still I did not see an angel. The night the Lord
came to me, making me whole and telling me of the things to come, I was
not angel-conscious; this was to come later on a long fast after I had
received the gifts of healing.

When angels are sent from God, it is the same as if God has come; they
tell you exactly the words of the Lord. “I am the Lord God that healeth
thee,” or “I am the Lord God that maketh thee whole,” are typical
statements that angels make. This is puzzling until you study the Scriptures
and learn that all His ministers are to speak the things that God says, and
then the Lord moves. When the angels of God appear, people are just as
highly favored and blessed as if God had walked into the room. The
presence of an angel’s visitation is heavy, fascinating, an experience that
will remain with you throughout your lifetime. Whenever the memory just
touches on the visitation, it brings great excitement.

The angel of the Lord goes before me, the fulfillment of a promise God
gave me after I entered into the channel where His gifts operate. Since
Angel’s death, this angel has manifested himself so forcefully that he has
become more real than Angel. Whenever I am in deep sorrow, he comes to
me, standing silently, and gently making himself known. I have only to turn
to him and receive strength and help. He does not interfere with my grief;
when I realize that my strength is insufficient and I ask for his help,
immediately he ministers to me, giving me strength.

Again and again, angels of the Lord have ministered in this way to
people in the Holy Scriptures. These are marvelous experiences that the
Lord now wants me to bring to you because, in this final hour, there will be
great manifestations of angelic power. Angels will play a great part in
preparing Christians to be ready for the second-coming of the Lord; and
they will be used to rain down the judgments of God, to destroy most of the
inhabitants of the earth. We need their strength and their help. Those of you
who would have the manifestations of angels in your life need to cleanse
your tongue and heart of gossip and everything else unlike God.

If You Don’t Believe in Miracles, You Don’t

Believe in Jesus
Will you accept the full Word of God with its miraculous power, or will
you be bound, limited by using only the knowledge the world has to offer?
It takes miracle faith to receive the greatness of God. If you do not believe
in miracles, you really do not believe in Jesus Christ, for He was born to a
virgin. Luke 1:11–20 tells of the angel Gabriel’s visitation to Zacharias to
announce the coming birth of his son, John the Baptist. Because Elisabeth,
his wife, was past the childbearing years, Zacharias doubted his words,
resulting in the angel’s taking away, for a time, his speech. God gives the
angels power just as He has power.

The birth of Christ was announced by an angel, first to Mary who the
angel said was highly favored among women. She did not doubt, she just
wondered how such a thing could take place. God picked Mary to be the
mother of Jesus because of her marvelous, outstanding faith.

In Matthew 1:20, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph saying,

Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for
that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. It took great faith for
Joseph to believe such a message, too; but he believed the angel. God knew
that Joseph needed more than hearing the story from Mary; God knows
what it takes to kindle faith in your heart and to keep it going; God is ready
to do those things. However, you must have an attitude of sincerity and of
wanting to believe God; you must be open to His words and ready to
believe Him. How can you receive from Him if you do not believe He will
give you something?

Angels Ministered to Christ

 Angels ministered to Christ in the wilderness after He had fasted forty
days and nights and had been tempted by Lucifer. Then the devil leaveth
him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him (Matthew 4:11).
The angel of the Lord will strengthen, guide and move for you if you let
him. Many times we say that the Lord spoke to us when it was, in fact, the
angel giving us God’s words. Our life after death will be a marvelous
existence; the things the angels can do we will also be able to do. Study the
angels from Genesis to Revelation in all the generations of mankind
recorded in the Bible; study how angels dealt with man and the speed with
which they moved from place to place.

All the time Christ was on earth the angels ministered to him; this was
one of the things Satan taunted Him with: He shall give his angels charge
concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any
time thou dash thy foot against a stone (Matthew 4:6). But this promise
about Jesus is our promise, too; the angels are here to help us in time of
trouble; prepare for their help.

People are careful about their language and the things they talk about
when a minister is near; how much more careful we should all be of our
speech and actions knowing an angel is with us at all times! It affects the
spirit of an angel to hear blaspheming or unclean language; it is insulting to
him; he moves away from it. Unless he gets a message from the Lord, he
will not move back close to you. He is with you at all times, however, if
you are living for the Lord.

Those who do not have a visitation from an angel sometimes say the
wrong things when God is moving. Disbelief in the angel’s message that is
passed on to others has greatly hindered their work. Believing God is the
only way to the miraculous manifestations of Him.

Changed by an Angel’s Touch

An angel came to me, remember, and made it possible for me to see the
healing virtue fall like liquid fire; and an angel can come to you and enable
you to see a sign from God that will help you. Angels change people by a
touch.

In one revival, as I was sitting on the platform before the service, I felt a
touch. “Did you touch me?” I asked the minister beside me. He looked at
me strangely, “No, I didn’t touch you.” I went to the pulpit and preached
like a person from another world. If an angel can set you aflame by his
touch once, he can do it again and again.

Shortly after Angel’s death I had to go to New York on business; no one

will ever know the terrible state I was in, but the Lord made Himself so
very real as He told me over and over, “I am the Lord that walketh with
thee.” In my hotel room around midnight an angel of the Lord came to me;
it felt like Jesus Himself. He let me ask any question I wanted and I went all
the way back into our lives. Was it a spur of the moment thing, was it really
planned? Why had the Lord decided to take Angel ahead of me? I knew I
had faith for her to be healed because I never dreamed she would die, but
the angel explained to me that the Lord had planned it from the very
beginning; even before we were married the Lord had planned our lives.

How marvelous to be in the presence of the Lord through His angel, and
be able to ask any question I wanted! It was like talking to a person with all
of the answers who knew and understood everything about my life no
matter how complicated. He explained why the Lord took Angel and told of
the souls that would be brought to the Lord. He could have healed her; in
fact, He had healed her of the same condition some years before to let me
know that the devil did not have the power to take her life. She was given
for the sake of Christ through the divine unction and will of God. Angel’s
work was finished, and she longed to go home. I did not understand at the
time, something strange was happening to us. The burden to stay and finish
the work was upon me, but Angel was ready to go. “Oh, I wish He would
come today!” she would say, “Oh, I wish Jesus would come now!” When
our time comes and our work is finished we will have the same longing.

Have Faith in God When Darkness Surrounds

 In every form, fashion and direction we have fought the devil to establish
this work for God. This is a Holy Ghost work. One Sunday afternoon as I
was crying and praying before God, He lit up the way He had brought me. I
looked back at the long valley, and it did not look so bad in the light as it
had in the dark. Your imagination can run away with you, and the things
you cannot see bring fear. The Lord had walked with me all the way. Have
faith in the Lord when darkness surrounds you; hear Him whisper, “Child,
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27),
because I am with you, I walk with you.”

Exodus 23:20, Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the
way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. This verse
tells of the angel of the Lord who was to go before the Israelite people. The
sophistication of modern knowledge makes it hard for us to accept the
reality of angelic beings. Christians have learned to accept the realities of
demon spirits because they battle against them in their everyday living, but
they are unaware of the Lord’s angelic beings and of how much they battle
for God’s children. Angels would fight much more if we would but believe
and turn our battles over to them.

In II Kings 19:35, And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the
LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred
fourscore and five thousand. One hundred and eighty-five thousand of the
forces who had lined up against God’s people were slain by one angel of the
Lord! The Lord gave King Hezekiah a message that the enemy would be
defeated without his going to battle; and the next morning, when the rest of
the Assyrians saw all the dead, they fled from that place. We read again and
again that the angel of the Lord fought for the Israelites.

God is not the peaceful God that many claim; only through Jesus Christ,
His Son, does He bring peace. When Jesus steps out of the way between
God and man, judgment will fall; God is a God of war. The host of
Assyrians who were slain by His angel were human just as we. The book of
Revelation tells of the millions who will be killed during the Tribulation
Period, and that time is almost upon us.
Open Your Eyes to the Chariots of Fire
In II Kings we find a man of God surrounded by the enemy. His servant,
terrified, was crying, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And Elisha
prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.
And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and,
behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round
about Elisha (II Kings 6:15,17). Angelic beings filled the mountain; Elisha
saw them.

Come to the place that you can see the things of God; He has brought me
to that place, and now He is seeking to bring you there for the miracle
outpouring. You who are yielded and spending time with the Lord are being
taken across the mountain step by step, just as He took Angel and me into
His greatness. He brought to our ministry the gifts of the Spirit; now He is
taking you into greater signs and wonders for this last hour. But remember,
the devil, too, will reveal himself more and more.

The Last Hope Today

After spending the night in the lion’s den, Daniel told the king, O king,
live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’
mouths (Daniel 6:21,22). Daniel’s faith protected him. If an angel came to
Daniel who lived under the Law, how much more easily should angels be
able to come to us who live under grace! Grace is the most fruitful
dispensation of time, the fullest of the fullness of God.

This all-out miracle power of God is the last hope for people today; He is
offering it to you, pouring it out upon you because the gift of miracles must
work in its perfect form in this last hour: I have seen it in the vision when I
was carried away by the Spirit. The fullness of the gift of miracles is getting
greater and greater. I am ready to pay any price to have all that God holds
for me so that I can reach the lost in this final hour. Jesus is soon coming;
we have little time in which to work. The Spirit without measure brings
miraculous signs and wonders into a person’s life and it is available to you
—reach out and take it.

Keys to Every Lock

When waking to see an angel in the room, you will find the very air
seems holy and sacred as the angel reveals himself. Faith freed Peter when
he was in prison. Angels have keys to every lock; there is no need to fear
the devil will hem you in. Become conscious of the angel with you
wherever you go; that awareness will help you to live better.

What do you see and read during the day, what do you listen to?
Remember, when you’re driving down the road at ninety miles an hour, the
angel departed when the speed became unsafe. He has good sense; the devil
is not going to report back to God that, through carelessness, you wrecked
the car in spite of the angel beside you. If that angel cannot do anything
with you, he will leave; God’s hands are tied.

Prepare for Angels

Paul’s angel followed him. On shipboard he and the others fasted
fourteen days before they were saved. Sometimes more than one person
needs to prepare for the angel’s visitation. After long abstinence Paul
stood forth in the midst of them, and said, . . . I exhort you to be of good
cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the
ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am,
and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before
Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. (Acts
27:21–24). After they had fasted, Paul told the people on board ship to take
bread and eat because the angel of the Lord, from the God whom he served
and trusted, had stood by him that night, saying that not one person would
be lost. Paul lived under grace; all that is in the New Testament belongs to
us who also live under grace.
 You as a Child of God have at least one angel with you at all times, and
often there are many more. Some of you are going to be brought into the
realm where God can reveal Himself to you through angels; but this must
be prepared for by living close to God. If you take time with Him, He will
make Himself real to you. The Bible is the most fantastic book ever written;
when your faith can accept it all then God can really move for you.

Jacob’s Ladder
Jacob wrestled all night with an angel; he refused to let go until the angel
blessed him. Imagine, physically holding an angel all night! Let me go, for
the day breaketh (Genesis 32:26), cried the angel! But Jacob held on until
the blessing came. In reading the account in Genesis 32, you can feel the
determination and excitement of Jacob as he used all of his strength to
claim his blessing. His faith held that angel, not physical strength.

Genesis 28:12 records Jacob’s first experience with angels: And he

dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it
reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and
descending on it. What a marvelous sight to behold! Never before had
Jacob seen such a revelation.

Seventeen hundred years passed by before man completely understood

the vision of Jacob’s ladder. Then, in John 1:51, we find Jesus saying these
words, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God
ascending and descending upon the Son of man. The Old Testament,
filled with types and shadows, shows Jacob, a type of Jesus, on a journey to
find his bride. Jesus said, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air
have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head (Matthew
8:20). Jacob, too, had no place to rest his head, and so he made a pillow out
of a stone. He took of the stones of that place, and put them for his
pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep (Genesis 28:11). The ladder
he saw is the way to heaven. Jesus Christ is our ladder today, our path of
escape from this world; but how can God help us if we refuse to climb?
Jacob had seen the way out in a vision, and when Jesus came, man at last
saw it, too.

Angelic beings descended with Christ to announce His birth. Jesus said
He could call for more than twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53) if
He had need.

One day I saw that ladder reaching down from heaven and I chose it as
my way out. All the help you could ever need is available on that way,
angels ascending and descending constantly. Not only do we have the
strength of the Lord and the Holy Spirit, but angels are with the children of
God to look out for and to care for them. Draw on that strength and care.

Michael, the Warrior

Throughout the whole Bible, just two angels are named: Michael and
Gabriel. Both appear in the book of Daniel. Michael, called in the Bible the
great prince of the Jewish people, will lead the armies of God against Satan
in the Tribulation Period. Michael is a warrior. And at that time shall
Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of
thy people (Daniel 12:1). When I visited Israel, I saw some of the
battlegrounds where Michael fought. Never could the Israelites have been
victorious in the Six Day War had he not been with them. Michael is
anything God wants him to be: an undertaker or a commander-in-chief. God
seems to have given more power to him than to any other of the angelic
beings. Wherever he is found, his mission is special; he will play a mighty
part in the Tribulation Period just ahead. Michael is Israel’s heavenly
defender.

Daniel 10:21, But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture
of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but
Michael your prince. Daniel was given information about the latter days
that no angels other than Michael and Gabriel knew. A battle will take place
in the heavens: Revelation 12:7,9, And there was war in heaven: Michael
and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and
his angels, And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called
the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out
into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. We do not know
how many heavens there are—Paul, for instance, was caught up into the
third heaven. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago,
(whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot
tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven (II
Corinthians 12:2). Satan can get into some of those heavens; there are
records in the Bible of his appearing before God and accusing God’s
people. But in the Tribulation Period the devil will be cast down onto the
earth by Michael and his host.

Gabriel, the Magnificent Announcer

In the ninth chapter of Daniel, Gabriel said to Daniel, I am now come
forth to give thee skill and understanding (Daniel 9:22). Later, Daniel,
fasting twenty-one days, prayed an angelic being out of heaven. He was
told that the Lord had heard him the first time he prayed, but Gabriel was
doing battle with the prince of Persia—the devil. Fear not, Daniel: for
from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to
chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come
for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me
one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to
help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia (Daniel
10:12,13).

Gabriel appeared to Zacharias to announce to him the coming of his son,

John the Baptist (Luke 1:11–20). He said, I am Gabriel, that stand in the
presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee
these glad tidings (Luke 1:19). Because Zacharias doubted the words of
Gabriel, he was struck mute until John was born and about to be named.

Gabriel came to Mary. Remember, Mary was just a young maiden; she
probably knew very little about angels. She questioned him honestly,
without doubt; and Gabriel told her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God (Luke 1:35). Christ could not have come to earth as an angel
because He was to give His precious blood for mankind, and it is an
impossibility for angels to die.

Daniel 10:5,6 gives a description of Gabriel: Clothed in linen, whose

loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the
beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps
of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass. He was
a beautiful sight! This is Gabriel in his glorified state. In another place he is
described as looking as a man. Angels appear in different ways.

The angel who rolled away the stone from the tomb of Jesus had a
countenance like lightning, . . . And for fear of him the keepers did
shake, and became as dead men (Matthew 28:3,4).

Gabriel’s eyes were lamps of fire—nothing was hidden from those eyes,
every secret revealed as those eyes burned. Angels, no doubt, have eyes
similar to the eyes of God. The polished brass that describes Gabriel’s arms
and feet represents judgment. How fantastic he is; what strength and might
he uses!

All the way through the New Testament, angels played a great part in the
lives of God’s people, and they will play a great part in our lives today. An
angel of the Lord removed the chains so gently from Peter as he slept that it
didn’t even wake him. He thought he was dreaming. Sometimes receiving a
miracle is like a gentle breeze covering a person.

Cornelius and the Angel

The Gentiles found out about the Holy Ghost through an angel. Cornelius
had favor with God; he was a man, and the angel of the Lord came to him—
read about it in the tenth chapter of Acts. He prayed an angel out of the
heavens who gave him instructions on how to contact Simon Peter. He saw
in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God
coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked
on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto
him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before
God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose
surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is
by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do (Acts 10:3–6).

The angel was visiting at the house of Cornelius, and on the morrow
another angel was giving a revelation to Peter, preparing him. Peter went
up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became
very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell
into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending
upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let
down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the
earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And
there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not
so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath
cleansed, that call not thou common (Acts 10:9-15). Peter had considered
the Gentiles an inferior race but, after the angel’s visitation, we hear him
saying, God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or
unclean (Acts 10:28). Peter preached to Cornelius and the other Gentiles
with him, and the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word
(Acts 10:44), and they spoke in tongues. This was the work of an angel!

Transported by the Spirit of the Lord

In Acts 8:26 we read, And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip,
saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down
from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. Philip went, and he saw a
eunuch riding in a chariot. The angel of the Lord had prepared the eunuch;
he was ready to hear God’s Word. Philip explained the scripture in Isaiah
that he had been reading, and then preached to him about Jesus. The eunuch
believed, asking to be baptized. And when they were come up out of the
water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw
him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:39). What a
fantastic way the Lord moves when His hands are untied!

In this final hour, God has promised to pour out His power: people will
see many astounding things; the Lord told us there would be signs in the
heaven. Great signs shall there be from heaven (Luke 21:11). The
messengers of God will be moving fast. People may see angelic chariots
and think they’re seeing something from outer space. Let the Lord
condition your mind to believe His greatness.

Cherubim and Seraphim

In the order of angelic beings are seraphim, described in Isaiah 6:2,
having six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he
covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. The seraphim do not seem to
be moving upon the face of the earth so much as other angelic beings, but
rather they are found in heaven around the throne of God. And one cried
unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the
whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the
voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke (Isaiah
6:3,4). Their voices must truly be lovely for the Lord to have them praising
Him around the throne. God loves beauty. The picture Isaiah paints of the
seraphim is fantastic to the mind! I look forward to seeing them around the
throne when I get to heaven.

Genesis 3:24 gives us our first glimpse of cherubim: So he drove out the
man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a
flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of
life.

In Ezekiel’s writings the cherubim are called living creatures.

Psalm 80:1 speaks of God dwelling between the cherubim, Thou that
dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. Cherubim guard the throne.
The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the
cherubims; let the earth be moved (Psalm 99:1).
 In the first chapter of Ezekiel we learn that the cherubim have the
likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had
four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet
was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of
burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings
(Ezekiel 1:5–8). What an amazing chapter! Read it again and again with an
open mind. We’ll soon be in heaven to see these things for ourselves. Think
of it—a hundred million angels around the throne of God, part of them
cherubim and seraphim! God is revealing Himself more now than at any
time since He came down in the cool of the day and walked and talked with
man.

Probably angels have come to you many times without your knowledge.
When in prayer, or in great need and you feel the Spirit of God moving
upon you with a mighty anointing, it is very likely an angel came to
minister to you, to strengthen you, and is standing by your side.

You Can Reject Angel Help

The Holy Spirit is reaching out to teach you about the ministry of angels.
God woke me up to the fact that angels are here to help us even more than
they have helped people in Old Testament times. Having the Holy Ghost is
not enough; we need the ministering angels God has created and sent to
earth to help us and be with us. The strength of them is demonstrated by the
fact that it will take just one angel and one chain to bind Lucifer. And I saw
an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old
serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand
years, And cast him into the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1–3). God
gives them marvelous power because He can trust them to handle it
correctly.

However, angels can only work as you allow them, and as you yield; they
cannot work in a great way when eyes are not open to them. I am conscious
of the angel that goes with me; the Lord called him His big angel. Many
times as I am moving about on the platform I have the sensation of
bumping into someone; it is the angel of the Lord. What an amazing
experience! He stands by me; I hear his words as he tells me things about
people, their diseases, what is about to happen, or that a Holy Ghost
message is about to be given. He tells me things ahead of time—it’s Bible,
it’s the Word of God!

God has not been able to work with people in the way He wanted
because His mysteries were often called fanaticism. How can an angel of
the Lord talk to you if you call him a manifestation of the devil? Christ
ministered to the common people because the educated and sophisticated
would not hear a message outside the framework of their logic. The angel
of the Lord can tell you what you need to know, give you definite
directions. When we were building our first church, now Grace Cathedral—
Akron, the angel of the Lord told me how much to pay for the different
materials; he told me the price to pay for the home the church bought Angel
and me. The words of the Lord’s angel are the same as they would be if the
Lord were speaking, I say again; for the angels of God speak exactly what
He says.

Visions Are Not Dreams

The angel of the Lord leads people into visions when they are wide
awake; visions are not dreams. Notice every detail of the vision and keep
your reasoning power; mark every detail so that the devil cannot fool you
when he tries to counterfeit it. Many times the angel of the Lord has led
people into a real vision of God and then Satan led them into a similar
vision; but some of the details would be changed, causing that person to get
ahead of God. If furniture is in the vision, notice its location, style and
color; if pictures are on the wall, note their position and content. Take your
time; you are in the vision for a purpose; the angel of the Lord, through
God’s power and Spirit, has taken you there in much the same way a person
would take you by the hand and lead you into another room. Memorize
where you are in the vision because in real life you will come back to that
place, and you must recognize it; Satan will try to confuse you by every
means possible. People get into fanaticism because they are unable to
distinguish between the supernatural powers of God and the supernatural
powers of Lucifer. Although we do not know all about them, we are
affected by them. If these things seem beyond you, go to the Word and find
out what the Lord has said. Test the spirits with the Word of God; the Word
is your safety.

The Angels in Revelation

The book of Revelation is filled more with the work of angels than with
the work of man; in it we find angels bringing about the judgments and the
divine will of God. There is also a special angel for each of the seven
churches. These churches actually existed; they were used to bring out
spiritual truths; and, it seems to me, that every church true to the name of
the Lord has at least one special angel working for it, to oversee and bring
about the will of God if he can.

No Limitation to Angel Power

Revelation 7:1 finds four angels standing on the four corners of the
earth, holding back the winds. Angels receive power from God which
seems to make them, on many occasions, as strong as God Himself. The
power He gives has no limitation because He directs them to use it
correctly; man cannot be trusted in this way. Elijah got so close to God that
God gave him the power to hold back the rains for three-and-a-half years.
The more God can depend upon a person, the more of His Spirit He will
give.

Never boast about the things you receive from God. He told me He could
not bestow more of His power upon men because their spirit would become
lifted up. There is a great price to pay for the healing ministry: the fasts and
persecutions I have had to go through emphasize the fact that miracles
come about solely through God’s power and greatness, and not through me.
I am just an observer, and it thrills my soul to watch the Lord move! The
way a person has to crawl to have the power of God use him keeps him
humble. In this final hour we must bow completely to the Spirit and the will
of God so that He can use us.

Revelation 7:2, And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the living God. This angel is going to put a seal on the
foreheads of one hundred and forty-four thousand servants of God who are
to be caught up; they are the man-child mentioned in the twelfth chapter of
Revelation. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and
to his throne (Revelation 12:5).

Chapter eight tells of the seven angels and the seven trumpets. And I saw
the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven
trumpets (Revelation 8:2). As each angel sounds his trumpet, judgment
will be poured out on the earth. God could bring His judgments without
using the angels, but it is not His system to do so. He works with us as He
chooses to provide us with overcoming power as we battle against Satan’s
angels.

Chapter eight, verse three, tells of another angel who came and stood at
the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much
incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the
golden altar which was before the throne. The angels of the Lord gather
our tears and our prayers to bottle up and hold before God. Put thou my
tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book (Psalm 56:8)? It thrills me
to know that angels keep our tears before the Lord!

The angel fills his censor with fire from the altar of God and casts it to
the earth. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the
altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings,
and lightnings, and an earthquake (Revelation 8:5). God has angels
doing things beyond our wildest imaginations!

Glorified Bodies
 Revelation 10:1, And I saw another mighty angel come down from
heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his
face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. Here is another
example of an angel appearing in his glorified state. Compare this angel to
the angels who entertained people unaware. Had it been obvious, for
example, to Abraham and Gideon that they were entertaining angels, they
would not have prepared food for them.

God must have loved the form and shape of the angels, for although we
are made a little lower than they, we are patterned after them and after God.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:27).

In Revelation 10:3 we find an angel who cried with a loud voice, as

when a lion roareth. Angels have voices; let them become real to you.
Humans will never become angels; mankind is a separate, special creation.
The Bible at no place states that men will become angels when they die;
however, men will have the same type of glorified bodies that angels have,
the kind of form that is able to move through doors. Christ, after His
resurrection, moved about in this manner. These things are all found in the
Word of God, so simple are they that man has stumbled over them.

Beginning with the eighth verse of Revelation 10, we read of an angel

holding a little book and taking it to John the Revelator. The angel speaks in
a voice like that of a human, telling John to eat the book, that it would be
sweet in his mouth but bitter in his belly. And I took the little book out of
the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey:
and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me,
Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and
tongues, and kings (Revelation 10:10,11). Angels were real to John; he
wrote about them in a straightforward manner, making no excuses or
apologies for what he had seen.

In Revelation 11:1, the angel told John to rise, and measure the temple
of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Angels as Preachers and Reapers
The angel with the everlasting Gospel to preach to those on earth is
mentioned in Revelation 14:6,7, And I saw another angel fly in the midst
of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell
on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour
of his judgment is come. Angels have helped to preach the Gospel ever
since it came to earth. These things must be accepted if you expect to share
in the greatness of the Lord. Angels will be used again and again in this
final hour. The time is close for the fulfillment of the Book of Revelation,
and the Spirit is moving in to cover the face of the earth. Angels appear
easily to men who surrender themselves to the Lord when the Holy Ghost is
poured out.

Revelation 14:9,10, tells of the mark of the beast. Anyone receiving it is

doomed. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If
any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath
of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his
indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the
presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.
Remember, the angel of the Lord came and sealed with the seal of God one
hundred and forty-four thousand Jews, and now he is warning of the mark
of Satan.

An angel again cries with a loud voice, as recorded in verse fifteen,

Thrust in thy sickle, and reap! The angel of the Lord plays a part in the
harvest of God; angels will be greatly used in the television outreach as we
reach the multitudes. We are going forth to conquer in the name of Jesus,
placing our dependence upon the Holy Spirit and the angels of God to
perform that which we cannot.

In the seventeenth verse another angel having a sharp sickle appears.

The angels know exactly the right time for reaping. Verses eighteen and
nineteen tell of an angel who has power over fire; and cried with a loud
cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle,
and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully
ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the
vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of
God. He gathers those people who are not right with God and casts them
into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Believe that God will reveal Himself; living close to Him allows you to
do this. Believe for His greatness and wonders. It is thrilling to be aware of
a visitation from the Lord!

The Lord despises the devil, calling him a serpent and a dragon. One
angel without the Lord does not have the strength to bind Lucifer; they dare
not even rebuke the devil, but rather say, The Lord rebuke thee (Jude 1:9).

Just as some human ministers of God have more power than other
ministers, some angels have more power and authority than others. As you
begin to have experiences with them, they will become as real to you as
people are. Do not be afraid to study about them; do not fear the deep
waters of the Scripture.

More of Things to Come

Revelation 21:9, And there came unto me one of the seven angels . . .
saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. This
angel carries John away to a high mountain. In the seventeenth chapter the
angel shows John things to come: I will shew unto thee the judgment of
the great whore (Revelation 17:1). Catholic and Protestant alike will make
up the world church, or the whore, referred to in Revelation. People
associated with churches that are members of the National Council of
Churches are sadly deceived. Satan is leading them into darkness instead of
the strength they hope to find in unity. The world church will be of the devil
and not God, a whore because God’s purpose for His Church is to be the
Bride of Christ. The world church will be promiscuous in its loves,
committing whoredom against Christ.
 In chapter eighteen, an angel proclaims in a strong voice, Babylon the
great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the
hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird
(Revelation 18:2). The world church will fall at last. When the Antichrist
makes his appearance, the world church will form a great power, ruling
with authority beside the Antichrist for a period of time. Study the types
and shadows of the Old Testament; they are a great help in understanding
the New; without the Old Testament, the New Testament can never be fully
understood.

Strength in Numbers
Believe the promises of God; He said His children would have power
over Lucifer, that believers would trample devils underfoot. Behold, I give
unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the
power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you (Luke
10:19). The Bible says one person could put a thousand of the enemy to
flight and two could put ten thousand to flight. Think of the strength of
hundreds of faith-believing people! We are jarring the whole earth; people
across the seas are feeling the effects of our prayers. Faith-people have an
important part in this spiritual outpouring. Through our yielding and
anointing, the angels of the Lord are going forth. God needs a people who
will yield to Him and carry out His work; He needed a Paul, a Simon, a
Stephen who would yield. Angels could not be martyrs or die on the block;
God needed men. It had to be a Simon who was imprisoned, but it was the
angel who went in to free him. If you do what God wants, the angels will do
the rest; but unless you truly believe, the Lord will not work for you in a
great way. Do not ask man if these things are real; find them in the Bible.
Why ask church members who have never seen a miracle if miracles are
possible? God is stirring people! Be careful what you do or say; if God is in
your life, an angel is there. An angel would have slain Balaam for
disobedience had his mule not stopped. The angels are displeased when we
turn away from God, but God’s mercy intervenes for us.
God’s Angels and Satan’s Angels
Not only is it necessary to know the help available to you through angels,
but you must also know the safety in the blood of Jesus which helps you
distinguish between the angels of Lucifer and the angels of God.

Psalm 35:5 says this about your enemies: Let them be as chaff before
the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them. Through the
Scriptures I have learned how God works; I turn my enemies over to the
angel of the Lord. Why should I worry when the angel of the Lord will
handle them for me? It is a promise of the Word; use the protector that God
provides for you. God told us to love our enemies, chasing them is the task
of angels.

Remember, angels often appear as a light in the distance, and they can be
seen with either open or closed eyes. The nearer the light comes, the larger
it will grow until it turns into a full-sized individual. Ministers of Satan
move in a similar manner; however, there is a difference in the light. Not
every light that comes toward you is from God; wait until you are sure. The
difference in the lights is like the difference between a real flower and an
artificial one; sometimes you must be very close before you can tell them
apart. Satan’s light sparkles in a way unlike the smooth, beautiful, soft light
of the Lord. Never try to use your imagination if you see a light; just watch
it. Out of that light can come either the angel of God or an angel of Satan.
Be very careful. Fanaticism hinders God’s work and instills fear into
people; be sure that what you accept is of God.

An Astounding Story
Before God destroyed the world with a flood, the sins of man were
raging; and the angels, never before witnessing anything like it, wanted
some of the experiences for themselves. I believe the angels at one time had
a choice, but they came to the place where a choice was theirs no longer.
 The sixth chapter of Genesis, beginning with the first verse, relates the
most astounding story about angels that I have ever found in the Scriptures.
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the
earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God [or
angels] saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took
them wives of all which they chose. There were giants in the earth in
those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the
daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became
mighty men which were of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:1,2,4). The
sons of God and the daughters of men gave birth to unusual children. If the
Holy Ghost could overshadow Mary, why could not an angel take a wife?
The Bible says they did! There is no record, however, of anything like this
happening after the flood. God saw what the angels would do and He
changed their actions. And in the oldest book of the Bible, Job, we find in
the eighteenth verse of the fourth chapter, And his angels he charged with
folly. Since there is no further record of these happenings, God no doubt
either destroyed the angels or else just rebuked them in their folly. It would
not have been fair to punish man for these deeds and not the angels. Perhaps
the Lord had never told the angels it was wrong to take a human for a wife,
but He let them know it was never to happen again. Man is able to repent
and perhaps the angels were granted repentance also; however, the Bible
holds no record of this. Many things were changed by the flood, and had
God not put a stop to the angels’ folly, instances of it would have been
recorded throughout the Bible. Thousands of years ago God corrected the
situation with His angels and there is no need for us to be troubled about it
now.

Fallen Angels
At the fall of Satan, one-third of the angels went with him and became
his ministers, working to possess people, to take them over. The remaining
two-thirds of the angels work with the Lord against Satan and his demons.
When a person dies, angels are there to carry his soul to heaven; or if he is
unsaved, Satan’s angels await to carry it to hell. Many scream when they
are dying; we are told they are delirious as they curse and blaspheme God,
but the demons are there, waiting for their souls.

Lazarus died and the angels carried his soul to paradise, to the bosom of
Abraham. There was a certain beggar named Lazarus, . . . And it came
to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:20,22). Angels wait for a soul who dies in the
Lord, but there is nothing so hideous as the demons of the soul. Through the
gift of discerning I have looked into their eyes, seen them in the souls of
people. Their eyes are the eyes of Satan; no hair covers their head, and the
sneer of hell is on their face. Never pray for the gift of discerning unless
you are a minister who is willing to almost give your life for it.

Angels of Satan
The angels of the Lord take on human form, and in an effort to imitate
them, the angels of Satan disguise themselves in human form, also. By
being unable to distinguish the difference, many people have accepted the
wrong information from the wrong angel. Paul said, though an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8). Paul was warning
of the deceits the devil would attempt; and that all information, no matter
whom it is from, must be under subjection to the Bible.

Again and again, I have seen the angels of Satan as the Holy Ghost was
teaching me the operation of the gift of discerning. Satan’s angels are
horrible and ugly; but the angels of God are beautiful and possess a lovely
manner full of the love of God, for the Spirit of the Lord is upon them.
Many times when an angel comes toward a person, he first appears as a
beautiful light, a small star in the distance growing larger. Other times the
angel may appear with no light at all. But, I repeat, Lucifer, in trying to
counterfeit all that God does, has lights too; always be aware of these
things. After having an experience of seeing the gorgeous light of what I
thought was an angel, and watching with great shock as the Lord stripped
his disguise, I am very cautious about what I accept. I had seen a light
coming toward me, growing larger and larger. With great anticipation I
watched, expecting a beautiful angel from the Lord. To my complete
amazement, however, as the light came before me, suddenly it was as
though the Lord had snatched away a covering and I realized that instead of
seeing an angel of God I was seeing Satan disguised as an angel of light.
Dumbfounded, I looked into a face repulsive beyond belief, into piercing
eyes filled with evil and destruction. How shocking to discover that horrible
creature concealed behind such a beautiful, dazzling light! If an experience
like that fails to shake a person, there is not much shake in them! It gave me
a jolt that I have never gotten over. And no marvel; for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14).

Safety in the Blood

You must come to the place in the Lord that you will not fear Lucifer.
The blood of the Son of God stands between you and him; His blood covers
you, and instead of looking to Satan and trembling, look to the power in the
blood and rejoice in the blood of the Son of God. There is nothing to fear
from Lucifer or his demons when you are covered with the blood, for they
cannot stand under that power.

Just as the angels chase your enemies, so Lucifer sends his angels to
chase you. Let the Lord’s angels help you. Psalm 35:6, Let their way be
dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them. Did
you know the Lord would persecute your enemies? Vengeance is mine; I
will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19). Through our unbelief and
ignorance of the Scriptures, many times we stand in the pathway of God.
Have faith in Him, know how He works and allow Him to do so. God does
not work much when man has not the knowledge of His ways. Few receive
the baptism of the Holy Spirit without knowledge of it from the Word, and
few are saved that know nothing of the plan of salvation. It is the same with
angels. People have stumbled over their reality because of lack of
knowledge, and the angels have been unable to work as they were meant to.
Simon could have imagined the angel in jail was an impostor and refused to
follow him out, but he was obedient to the angel.
Useless Debates
Use tact in dealing with others, being careful not to give them
information which would neither edify nor bless them. Why would anyone
want to become involved in an argument over where Cain got his wife?
Satan can worry people to death about things that do not really matter. Let
this information about angels stimulate your interest in searching the
Scriptures, and use wisdom in your speech to others.

Why should something so simple as the plan of salvation be so hard for

man to accept? Very God came down, put on the form of flesh, gave His
blood on a cruel cross to redeem man from all sin. To you who believe, the
“foolishness” of the cross is power and deliverance, but to the unbelievers it
makes no sense. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (I
Corinthians 1:18). Know the truth that sets man free.

Let your life be a flame of fire, lit by the Holy Spirit. Have the fiery
tongue of the Holy Spirit as the Lord, through you, reaches forth with
power and greatness. People are won by the Cross of Jesus; hold Jesus up.
Jesus said, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
me (John 12:32).

Know that angels are as real as your breathing. If you love and serve
God, they are with you at all times to strengthen, guide and protect you.
God uses them to do His will and to minister to you. The Scriptures clearly
show how marvelously they worked with men of old, and that same help is
yours today if you believe and reach out for it. Jacob, remember, held on to
the angel by faith until the blessing came, and through your faith God can
use angels to bless you. Depending on the help available to you from angels
is a very important key to keeping God’s hands untied in your life.
 Chapter 11: Program of Lucifer

False Prophets
First John 4:1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out
into the world. In this hour the enemy, the arch deceiver, is seeking to
deceive in every possible way. His program is geared against God’s Spirit-
filled people; every demon available is sent against them. However, many
people are so willing to give themselves completely to Lucifer that just one
demon is able to possess them, helping them seek his face and his way.
Others, not purposely yielding to Satan, are consumed by every lust of the
flesh. The greatest army of demon power that has ever come against the
children of God is in force now in this final hour. The demons raged and
worked, doing all possible to defeat Christ; every power of hell came
against Him. At His crucifixion, no doubt all the demons upon the face of
the earth were gathered for that great day, striving to defeat Him and His
purpose. But Christ overcame them all; He was victorious, as we shall be.

Paul and Silas had the Word with them, and for a period of time, they
were followed by a woman who was demon possessed—a woman like
psychics and astrologers we have today—crying, These men are the
servants of the most high God (Acts 16:17). Paul finally had had enough;
he turned around and used the power in the Word through Jesus,
commanding the devil to come out. And he came out the same hour (Acts
16:18). If someone did that to psychics today, they would not be able to
prophesy any more; their accuracy is no higher than eighty percent at best
in any case. A prophet of God is one hundred percent right in what he says.
God said, “What I speak and what I say shall come to pass because I am the
Lord!” For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall
speak shall come to pass (Ezekiel 12:25).
 When the Israelites were preparing to leave Egypt, the sorcerers flocked
around; but they were powerless to hold open the Red Sea. It was a sign
then, and it is a sign now that the time of departure is drawing near.
Everything possible is being done to make people doubt the real power of
God and to destroy the true gifts of the Spirit. Satan has the power to
prophesy but he does not have the power to make it come true every time.
He knows that prayers can change the order of things. If God can prevent
Satan’s plans, what fear need we have of Satan? God is the one we should
fear.

The Word of God has not increased in many of the churches, and people
are reaching out for the wrong kind of supernatural manifestations
presented by the psychics, astrologers and fortunetellers. They do not know
the Word; they do not know that the occult is of the devil. When the wrong
things are mixed with God’s Word, it becomes impossible to use it
effectively. The Spirit cannot work through a mind cluttered with junk.
People check the astrology columns in the newspapers to see if the stars are
in the right position for their various activities. Be a fool for the sake of
Christ, not an idiot for the devil! Do not play around in the devil’s territory.
God named the astrologers for what they are in the Bible.

Satan cannot stand for God to speak directly to a person; he loathes the
Holy Ghost messages that warn of Jesus’ soon coming. Lucifer’s disciples,
psychics, mediums, fortunetellers, give the public the information he wants
them to have. Jeanne Dixon, for instance, prophesied that our earth has
another five thousand years. The Bible teaches that a prophet who fails to
speak the entire truth is not from God; if Mrs. Dixon had been of God,
everything, not just an estimated eighty percent, but, according to the Bible,
everything she said would have come to pass. The devil spoke through her
and gave her visions; her supernatural power came from him, saith the
Lord.

Are You Jittery about Your Salvation?

 Satan lulls people into thinking they are all right when they are not; he
tries to convince people who are upright in God’s eyes that they are on the
wrong path. Try the spirits to see whether they are from God. Would the
Lord make a Christian doubt his salvation? If you are doing all you know to
do for the Lord and still feel jittery about your salvation, drag out the old
self and compare it with the new self that is saved. No man is good unless
God be in him; if you are living beyond reproach, then God must be in you.
Those who are saved and yet doubt their salvation are listening to the
demons who are battling, deceiving and talking to them. “Yes, I am God’s
child!” they should boldly state. Settling your doubt will prevent Satan from
shaking you. Never allow the devil to use the truths of God against you.

Satan can bring such fear upon Christians that they cannot bear to hear of
the judgments of God. The Bible tells you that God hath not given us the
spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (II
Timothy 1:7). God does not give you fear, but faith. Fear comes from Satan.
Those who are truly saved do not have to travel to glory as though walking
on eggs. There is no need to fear the devil, hell nor judgments of God if you
are really born again and not committing even one small willful sin. You
who are walking with Jesus are shielded from the judgments of God. Jesus
is your protector and refuge, not your destroyer; He was sent to rescue, not
to condemn.

Yield Yourself to the Security of God’s Love

The Lord is patient and loving, even when you are disobedient. He works
with you to reach you, drawing you to Him with all His great, mighty love
that He can. Satan wants Christians to be in a constant state of fear and
terror, unaware of this miraculous love of the Lord. Those who are rooted
and grounded in the security of God’s love are a hindrance to Satan’s work;
they have freed God’s hands in their lives. God will not abandon or divorce
you; be secure in His love. He is very real and full of love for you. Yield
yourself to His way and His love. That Christ may dwell in your hearts
by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to
comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth,
and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge
(Ephesians 3:17–19).

Most Christians have yielded themselves to God’s way but not to His
love. Knowingly they would hurt no one, but would help anyone, even
enemies, to get right with God. Christians have no love for ways that are
unrighteous, but they have great love for souls. Although the ways of the
wicked God despises, He loves the soul that can never die, the soul that was
made in the image of God. The Lord said you would be forgiven as you
forgive others, and you must forgive others whether they ask it or not. Be
emptied of self and of the bitterness that spoils your spirit and ties God’s
hands. Become so close to God that He can baptize you with the Holy
Spirit. That tongue nobody could tame or use but you yourself, the Holy
Ghost will take and use to speak in a heavenly language if you yield to
Him. Even then the devil will try to make you believe it is just your
speaking, or at least some of it is you and not all the Holy Spirit.

Tongues Should Always Edify

Some people teach speaking in tongues at will; but speaking in tongues
must be solely under the control of the Holy Ghost and not the will of an
individual. The door is opened for deceiving spirits to enter when anything
other than the Holy Spirit is in control of your tongue. The Spirit of
discerning reveals the speech of those who think they can speak in tongues
at will to be nothing more than gibberish. The Holy Ghost speaks in a clear,
definite language. Wait for an unction of the Holy Spirit before speaking in
tongues. What possible benefit is tongues if the only spirit you can feel is
your own? The Bible says, He that speaketh in an unknown tongue
edifieth himself (I Corinthians 14:4); it builds him up. If you feel no closer
to God, or feel no better after you speak in tongues than you did before,
then you are not being edified and should not have been speaking in
tongues. Know the Word that sets men free! People who do not know the
truth fear it.
 Man’s spirit is overbearing and powerful when it is out of order; some,
upon seeing it in operation, think it is the spirit of Lucifer. Unfortunately
not all Christians are able to control their own spirit; there are those who sin
against God and still claim to have the victory. But one of these days God
will pull all the skeletons out of the closet; nothing is hidden from Him.

The Joy of the Lord Is Your Strength

The true Christians, those in whom God dwells, are the ones who are
really being battled by Lucifer. Satan is trying to deceive them. Many have
allowed the Lord to apply the blood to their heart but not His joy. If Satan
cannot take your salvation, he will try to rob you of your joy. The joy of
the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Christians are weak because
they lack joy in the Lord. The first moment they became saved joy was
theirs, but then Satan robbed them. So long as you truly believe you are
born again, fear about your salvation cannot take you over. Often Christians
live on the inside where fear and worry abound; Satan keeps them so busy
with fears that they have little time left over to work for the Lord.

Trust in the Word; try the spirits. Would the Spirit of God be in your life
to tear you down or to rob you of His joy? Would the Spirit of God instill
fear, doubt and frustration into you? God’s Spirit is sweet, gentle, lovely
and meek. If you follow after the way of the world, that world is what you
are a part of; but if you act in the Spirit of Christ He keeps you separate
from the world.

The Doorkeeper to the Holy Ghost Is You

What is it that keeps the guile from your lips? The guile in sinners spills
out from them easily: from the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh (Matthew 12:34). If we had to earn salvation and the Holy Spirit
baptism by our own merit, none would receive. People have told me they
would seek salvation as soon as they cleaned up some things in their lives;
but Satan is fooling them, enticing them to stall, to hold back from God.
When you come to Jesus to make a clean start, all the righteousness brought
with you is counted as filthy rags; only Jesus can truly cleanse you. But we
are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags
(Isaiah 64:6). The Lord loves to hear the sinner admit his sins; it means he
is not deceived. God wants you to be deceived in nothing; in Him there is
no deceit. Open your eyes to His salvation, His love and the things He has
made available to you.

Some people try to become “good” enough to receive the Holy Ghost;
but sanctification through the blood of Christ has already made that life a
precious place for the Holy Spirit to dwell, and He is waiting to come in.
Satan fools people in every way to keep the Holy Spirit shut out. You are
the doorkeeper to the temple of the Holy Spirit; but by believing Satan
when he whispers that you have failed to pray or fast enough to be worthy
to let the Holy Ghost in, you shut the Holy Ghost out. Receive the Holy
Ghost baptism and He will help you to fast. The disciples, on the Day of
Pentecost, did not receive the Holy Ghost because they had fasted for it;
they fasted after receiving Him. It is Satan who helps you decide you are
not good enough for the Holy Spirit.

Battles of the Mind

Lucifer does all in his power to stir up conflict and to rob you of the joy
the Lord wants you to have. Our greatest battle will be in the mind; the
Lord, through the Holy Spirit, has warned us in advance. The conflicts of
the Early Church were persecutions of the flesh, but now battles of doubt
and torture are brought to the mind by Lucifer and his demons. Doubt of all
kinds is planted in minds to make Christ appear less real, and the Holy
Ghost said these conflicts are becoming greater and greater. Only by getting
more of God and His power, more of His reality, will you be able to stand
regardless of what happens. Come to the place that you can give your
physical life for Christ, and then you can stand. Be unmovable,
unchangeable in your faith in God; let Him work for you and become a
reality. As you perform God’s will, Satan will try to disturb you in every
way possible. Lending a helping hand to someone in trouble, telling about
the reality of the Lord, automatically makes the devil your arch enemy; he
will come against you trying to break you down and rob you of the Spirit
and the power of God in your life. Jesus knew this when He took the form
of flesh and limited Himself through the mind and body of a man to show
us how we were to live in the presence of the Lord. “My Father always
hears me,” He said. Have you come to that place, or do you spend time
wondering whether your prayer got through? Most people have more faith
in the Lord’s hearing them than they think; for instance, they would never
doubt that God hears a lie or a curse word. If God hears curse words, He
certainly hears the good words you say.

The Mind and Nervous System Are Vulnerable to

Satan
Satan enters in different ways. He can enter through a weakness in the
body or through a bad spirit. Try the spirits! Many people have claimed to
have several or all of the nine gifts of the Spirit when in reality they had
none. It is vital to have a clear mind before God. Often good Christian
people have been used by Satan to destroy the works of God. Sometimes he
works on their nervous system—the menopause of life is a particularly
vulnerable period—and these workings on the nervous system affect the
mind and cause the victims to hold on to distortions. People claim others
are against them, that through the gift of discerning they have found it out;
but it is all a lie of the devil. At no time does the Spirit of discerning of the
Lord tell anything but the entire truth; He does not deal in half-truths.
People have come to me with information they claimed was given to them
by the Lord, but it was given by demons of deceit. I have seen people so
oppressed by demons of the mind that their eyes were glassy. Demons talk
to people who have mental conditions, and sometimes these people think
the voice belongs to an angel or to God, and they do as the voice directs. Be
certain from where your guidance is coming, for Satan will use his demons
to destroy the children of God, to unbalance their emotions and to afflict
them mentally. Sincere people can turn against a ministry where the truth is
preached. My responsibility is to preach the truth no matter who becomes
offended; if something is not of God, I will make it known. People have
turned against me because they could not bear to hear the truth of God.
They sought knowledge about their diseases and afflictions; they wanted the
miracles, but when the same God who revealed those things began to reveal
deceiving spirits, they closed their ears and turned their backs. How could
God move for them in that state? The enemy puffed them up in their own
spirit. Again and again I have seen Lucifer take people over through their
minds, telling them things that pulled them away from God’s ministry,
making it impossible for God to use them in the way He wanted.

Down through the ages Satan has used deceit to destroy the work of God.
People have said they were not being fed, but when the whole loaf was
placed before them they refused to eat. I give forth the pure Word of God
without fear or favor. Try the Spirits; is the work of God being done or not?
Satan deceived people when Christ was here on earth; one moment they
were for Him and the next against Him. God was greatly limited in their
lives.

Hold on to the Real Thing

Ask the Lord where your weaknesses are, what is wrong with your life;
but make sure you are ready to hear the answer; God will give you nothing
but the truth. Do not let emotionally unbalanced people who turn against the
power of God alarm you. Hold on to God, the real thing. Dig the sand out of
your foundation and be not easily shaken. Serve God, live for Him and
know the truth. Study the seventh chapter of Matthew’s gospel which
begins, Judge not, that ye be not judged (Matthew 7:1). If you judge a
true Child of God, remember, God will use that judgment on you. Jesus
goes on to say in verse fifteen, Beware of false prophets, which come to
you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Another way Satan deceives is by having people say nothing about

anyone, even the devil. This is not according to the teaching of God; He
wants the unrighteous uncovered, especially false prophets and misguided
ministers. Read Galatians. Paul marvels in Galatians that the Christians are
so easily shaken into false doctrines.

In this final hour when there is such an outpouring of the Holy Ghost,
something is wrong in the beliefs of those who downgrade the Holy Ghost
baptism, something wrong other than the fact that they do not have it. Those
people can affect others by pumping their own doubt into hearts. If you
were given a sack of groceries mixed with garbage, would you take time to
separate it or would you dump the whole sack out? If you separate it, don’t
you know that some of that garbage will be in contact with the good food,
contaminating it? Wouldn’t you rather have pure groceries? Get the truth
straight from the Bible with the Holy Spirit as your teacher. Paul said that
he did not get his Gospel from man, but from the Holy Ghost.

God sent me to preach the Gospel without compromise; He bought me

with something more precious than anything in this world. Never allow
yourself to be in the position of compromising with God. Place Him ahead
of children, parents, family, work, pleasure, ahead of everything in your
life. Stand for the whole Word of God. Why would you want to listen to
someone who believes the Holy Spirit you have in your life is of the devil!
They may have part of the truth in some areas, but so does the devil; half-
truths are his specialty. He told Eve that she could eat of the fruit and not
die; but she died spiritually, and later died a physical death. “The fruit will
make you wise, able to tell good from evil,” he told her. For God doth
know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and
ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5). That was the
truth, but she would have been infinitely better off not knowing evil. Do not
depend upon the explanations of others; find the truth in the Bible for
yourself. Beware of those in sheep’s clothing.

If you are hungry, eat the Book. John was handed a book, told to eat it
and he did. Stay before God, let Him teach you the Word and then you will
know what you are talking about. The Bible is your authority. Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15). Everyone
is supposed to be able to divide the Word of truth, to be a mature Christian.
Are you saved; is the promise of eternal life yours to claim? Have you
confessed your sins, believing upon Jesus Christ as the Son of God and let
Him into your life? If so, do not tremble when the devil is testing you.

Jesus Is Coming for People of Faith

Some Christians have a great fear of the coming of the Lord in spite of
the fact they are walking as close to God as they can, living for Him,
committing no willful sin and have the Holy Ghost baptism. Satan is
deceiving them. We are not expected to change ourselves in a moment, in a
twinkling of an eye to be caught up with God, but the power of God that
worketh in us (Ephesians 3:20) will do the changing. Why act as though it
will be a do-it-yourself job? The Lord wants to shake the sinner, to get him
ready, but many Christians with the Holy Ghost let themselves be shaken
instead. God is coming after a faith people, not people who go by their
feelings. He is coming after people who are washed in the blood and filled
with the Holy Ghost, a people fair as the moon, clear as the sun (Song of
Solomon 6:10). Why try to convince Satan that you are saved, why waste
time arguing with him? Be secure; know the way you take, and be
untroubled in spirit. Do not allow trouble spirits to cause you to look for
misfortune. Some people wait for trouble like one would wait for the
sunrise; they hunt for it like a hunter after rabbits; they expect it. When faith
in God is sure, blessings, not trouble and misfortune, are expected.

Be Sensitive to the Spirit

Act with faith, knowing who you are, where you stand with God, and the
power that is available to you. God has given you a gauge that will register
whether a spirit is from God or Lucifer; that gauge is the Word of God.
Every vision, revelation or theory must be tested with the Word, I say again;
the Word is your safety. The powers of Lucifer that God revealed to me
were forces I had not known existed. Until I saw Satan, I did not realize he
was so real. Satan is unreal to some because they are unable to see him.
Christ had the power to see Satan and his demons, but the Lord does not
want all of His people to see them: the experience is terrible, indescribable,
one that most people could not bear; but it is part of the gift of discerning.
One must be sensitive to the spirit of man in order to separate that spirit
from the Spirit of God and the spirit of Lucifer. You, as a Holy Spirit-filled
individual, can learn, by using the Word, to recognize the spirit of Satan;
but without the gift of discerning, you cannot recognize the spirit of the
devil at all times.

It is essential in Pentecostal assemblies that the ministers have the gift of

discerning of spirits; their failure in this area has permitted Lucifer to enter
the services and caused people to rattle on when it was not the Holy Ghost
speaking. The minister, being unable to distinguish between the spirits,
could not keep the services under the control of the Lord. The Lord expects
me to uncover anything concerning my services that is unlike God; if I do
not act when He moves upon me, I would be failing Him and the anointing
would lift, the gift of discerning cease to operate.

Questions that cause uncertainty can be answered by the Word. Paul,

remember, said if there were anything contrary to the Word, even though an
angel from heaven preached it, let him be accursed. Deceiving spirits take
over people, talk to them. If a voice speaks, and you discover that not
everything it said was true or compares favorably to the Word, it is of the
devil.

Why Be Gullible?
Satan loves to deceive Christians who are beginning to win souls and to
be a blessing, giving them delusions about themselves and their abilities.
Not all fasts are to the glory of God. A man, who wrote much about fasting,
deceived many people. He taught that you need not wash because an aroma
would come over you which made bathing unnecessary. Can you find that
teaching in the Bible? He just smelled rotten so long that he became
immune to his own smell! His followers were deceived about many things:
people claimed they were growing teeth when they weren’t, and claimed
they had received sight even though they were blind as bats. I know of a
minister who claimed he went to the mountains for a forty-day fast, but the
only kind of fast he indulged in was fast living with a showgirl.

Satan mixes people up about fasting, telling them to go away to do it; but
when I fast I stay right in the thick of the fight. Fasting is biblical; it will do
you good, but under no circumstances let the devil mix you up when you
are on one. Be on guard against lying spirits that can come in.

Remember Who You Are

Salvation is something that even though it may not always be felt, day
after day it keeps people from sinning. At times you may walk in the valley
for miles without feeling your salvation; the Bible did not promise we
would always feel saved; the Bible said, we would live and walk by faith,
not by feelings. For we walk by faith, not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7).
Without faith you cannot please God, for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him (Hebrews 11:6).

Are you living free of sin? Take your situation to the Word of God. The
Holy Spirit does not hold unknowing sin against you, but the Holy Spirit
will move upon you to let you know when your actions are wrong. Fear not;
let not your heart be troubled or afraid; do not allow the enemy to fool you
or puff you up. He tried to deceive Christ; you know he will try to deceive
you. He gives people delusions of grandeur; he tries to make them believe
they have one of the gifts of the Spirit when none is present in their lives.

Leave others alone; do not try to discern things about them or tell them
after tragedy occurs, “I knew that was going to happen!” Meddling in the
lives of others comes from the deceit of the devil. Gifts of God edify and
build up, to help, not destroy, people.

Satan can fool those who are strong in the Lord into believing they are
worth nothing and getting nowhere in their prayer life. Remember, each
sincere prayer is asking, not for your will, but for the will of the Father to
be done. The Lord did hear your prayer, but He is working it out according
to His own will because that is your desire. God has record of my asking
Him never to answer a prayer against His will no matter how desperate I
am. Leave it in His hands! Jesus asked not His will but the Father’s will be
done. He said, “Father you always hear me.” Come to the place where you
believe God always hears you. Satan tries to make you believe you are
nothing, but when you are saved, you are a Child of the King, born of the
Spirit of God. Remember who you are.

Jesus was taunted by Satan: If thou be the Son of God (Matthew 4:3),
prove it! That, however, is something that is to be lived, not proved to Satan
or any of his followers. Only the honest-hearted will believe you are a
Christian, and honest-hearted people will see the light because they are
ready for it.

The Holy Spirit Convicts with Few Words

People can become very nervous about soul winning, thinking they
cannot possibly talk to others. One of the greatest men in the Bible, Moses,
told the Lord that he was too slow of speech to be able to talk to people.
And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? . . . have
not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and
teach thee what thou shalt say (Exodus 4:11,12). Moses could have had a
great miracle by accepting God’s offer, but instead he excused himself
because of his inabilities. God gave him Aaron to be a mouthpiece for Him.

Soul winning does not involve a lot of words. God provides many ways
to win souls in this final hour. People supporting the television ministry can
win more souls than could be won by talking day and night.

There is a group in another state that obligates its members to talk to all
they come in contact with about their souls. This obsesses people, puts them
under great pressure; it is not the way to win souls. Speak to people about
their souls only when the Spirit comes upon you. Maybe the Lord just
wants you to live righteously in front of them, preaching through your clean
conversation and clean living. Talking too much is easy, but some souls
need deliverance and a healthy mind before they can be saved. The Holy
Spirit places conviction on souls by very few words. Pray for wisdom and
tact in your speech; without them it would be better to have no tongue at all.
Those having fluent speech must be careful not to destroy and tear down by
their words. Wait on God for your words, wait for His wisdom.

Use What Jesus Gives You

The Lord is not pleased when your talents are buried; use the talents you
have—you are responsible. Those not having the talent of speech can
support the ones who do. If you cannot sing, make a joyful noise and
encourage those who have talent to sing. Many avenues of soul winning are
open. If God wants you to talk to others, He will anoint you for it. Never
condemn yourself or put yourself down unfairly. Find who you are and be
that person; let God use the real you. Many cannot enjoy life because of
fretting about things they do not have. Enjoy what you have and be happy
in Jesus; don’t overestimate your abilities and fall on your nose, nor
underachieve because of failure to work up to your potential. Do not be
fooled about yourself; work up to your own ability; examine your talents. If
someone is able to do more than you, rejoice instead of letting it depress
you. More is required from those who have greater gifts and talents than
you. And more is required of you than from people with lesser talents.
Work at your own level, I say again, and not someone else’s; gauge your
life by your own abilities, knowing that gifts and talents vary. Using
effectively the talents you do have puts you in line to receive new ones from
the Lord.

The man in the Bible who felt justified in burying his talent was strongly
rebuked. Many will face the Lord with their unused talent, expecting His
smile but receiving a frown: Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30).

Keep your eyes upon Jesus and use all that He gives you to use. I must
not let the Lord waste one gift on me. I must stay humble and meek before
Him, prayed-up, fasted-up, read-up, dedicated and consecrated to Him so
that each gift can operate. Failure to put your gifts and talents to work is
your responsibility. If speech is not your talent, maybe writing is; letters can
be written to those the Lord wants contacted. What you do not have, you
cannot use. Why be depressed about what you have not? Be relaxed; be
yourself. The pressure of over-conscientiousness can take the joy of the
Lord right out of you; with that joy will go your strength, and God will be
limited in your life.

This Is No Hour to Be Deceived

Wait on the Lord; serve Him and let your life be an example of the living
Christ. Let your words build up, not destroy. Turn gossip aside by using
words that edify. Greet all with the love of Jesus and the Spirit of God.
Going out of your way to avoid speaking to someone seems a small thing,
but it is large enough to keep you out of the Rapture. Don’t let Satan
deceive; know who and what you are: a born-again Child of God.
Belonging to the Lord should mean everything to the Christian; it should
give him, not false pride, but a true pride in himself. Remember, however,
that in this life we will never reach perfection or glorification; those are
goals we are working toward. Be not discouraged as you reach for them, but
know that you can do anything the Lord wants you to. Perform by faith the
things that God wants done. Look to the Lord and be happy. He does not
hold you responsible for what you have not. Salvation and the baptism of
the Holy Ghost are two experiences that God wants for everybody, and you
can have them without meriting them. Lean on the promises of the Lord.
Jesus said, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter (John 14:16).

Simon failed the Lord; maybe some of you have failed Him, too, but stop
looking back; Satan will use that failure to sink you, to make you believe
that you are no good. Jesus said He would forgive you when you repented
of your errors. Look to Jesus. In this hour, you cannot afford to be deceived
about yourself, the gifts of God, salvation or the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Anchor your mind on God; stand before Him with a sincere heart and ask
Him to keep you from being deceived in any way. Tell Him you want to
know yourself and be rid of depression. Ask Him to make you sure of your
salvation and baptism in the Holy Ghost; ask Him to give you a reality of
the soon-coming of Jesus. God knows who you are and where you are; He
wants to move for you; yield to Him and let His Spirit work with freedom
in all that you do.
 Chapter 12: Sex and the Bible
Sex should be taught in church or in the home, never in school. I teach
sex to the young people in my congregation in the way I feel God wants it
taught, a part of life that was created and planned by God; sex was meant to
be holy. Only through man’s eyes and man’s actions has it become
degraded, an object of laughter and amusement. How disgusting when
parents evade with nervous embarrassment the perfectly frank, honest
questions about sex their children ask. Those questions deserve equally
frank answers, and when they are not forthcoming, the child becomes
confused.

Jesus said to know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John
8:32). Many boys and girls have gotten into trouble because they did not
know the truth. Only by knowing the truth are people able to recognize the
falsehoods. Teach the child that sex is something to be discussed in the
privacy of the family, not information to be broadcast to everyone within
earshot. Children need to know the truth about venereal diseases and
masturbation. I will tell the truth in all things, and that is the reason many
young people come to me for the answers their parents have neglected to
supply; they are uncomfortable around their own parents. Anything God
ordained as holy can be talked about; explain to the child how the seed was
planted. A young boy knows that he was born with hands, feet and a little
sex organ. When he asks what his hands are for you explain the answer, and
when he wants to know the purpose of the sex organ, explain its duties in
words he will understand. The wonderful miracle of conception is God’s
work, God’s miracle of life, something precious and holy. Tell the child that
God made that organ holy to be kept clean and undefiled by sexual relations
outside of wedlock. One day he will marry, and then sex will be all right
because God has ordained it to be. Keep God in the picture because in the
beginning was God; when God is left out of sex, the door is open for Satan
to come in. Decide whether it will be God or the devil in sex, and which
one you want to put into sex for your children. Side-stepping your
children’s questions will cause them to look elsewhere for the answers,
most of which will make sex look so terrible that when he finds out that his
parents have sexual relations, they will appear degraded in his eyes. You
failed to teach him the difference, and when he asked, you embarrassed
him.

Evasiveness Can Be Harmful

Birth is a marvelous thing; although my mother discussed sex frankly
with us, she did not begin soon enough. When I was about three years old I
was told that the doctor brought babies; and when I was four or five my
brother told me where they really came from. He got his information in the
gutter and he had it colored up pretty well by the time I heard it. Every bit
of information he could gather, he brought to me. In my eyes he was the
wisdom and knowledge of this world. When my baby sister was born, they
rushed us out by the barn while my older sister explained that the doctor
was going to take in a baby. “There he goes now!” she exclaimed. How
easy it would have been for our parents, as they were teaching us about
God, to tell how He made our bodies! Some girls come to the age of
menstruation and think they are bleeding to death or dying; again and again
girls have been frightened to death over this perfectly normal bodily
function.

In these modern times I know of a girl who got married and did not even
know she was supposed to have sexual relations. Her mother had warned
her that men tried to “pull” things on girls, and she thought her husband was
doing something he was not supposed to. It was humiliating for both of
them.

Foreign Flesh
There is no need to tell children not to handle themselves; it is a part of
life. The child has to discover what he is. Children can become mixed up in
homosexuality because they have not been taught correctly. They need to be
taught about homosexuals just as they are taught about the natural sex acts
between men and women. The Bible condemns homosexual acts; many
people are tormented in their minds about this foul thing. A young man
came to me, asking if a person could have a desire for homosexual acts and
still go to heaven. That desire does not have to be put into action, and so
long as it is not, there is no sin involved. Before something becomes a sin it
must be acted out. Read again in Romans 1 of the sins which send people to
hell. Homosexuality, like fornication and adultery, is committing sex acts
with “foreign flesh,” they are all sins. Sex in marriage, where the two are as
one flesh, and masturbation involve no foreign flesh.

Masturbation
There is a scripture, Genesis 38:9,10, that is generally used in regard to
masturbation in spite of the fact it has nothing whatsoever to do with it.
And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass,
when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the
ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing
which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. God
had slain Onan’s brother because he was so wicked God could not stand
him. It was God’s law in those days that if a man died leaving no heir, then
his brother was to marry his wife and raise up seed. Poor Onan—he
probably did not like her nor his brother in the first place, and he considered
that any child would really be his brother’s child; so when he came to the
climax of the intercourse he spilled the seed on the ground. As you can see,
this scripture is used incorrectly when it is quoted in connection with
masturbation. God was displeased, not because the seed went on the
ground, but because Onan disobeyed the law of God. Man’s seed is not that
precious. God did say to go forth and replenish the earth, but I’ve got news
for you, it’s already been done; you will have to find another mission to
fulfill. Birth control is necessary from many points of view; surely God
planned for man to use it.

A widely known chimney-corner scripture (a chimney-corner scripture is

one that is quoted as scripture but is not found in the Bible) goes: “It is
better for a man to put his seed in the belly of a whore than on the ground.”
This is a lie of the devil invented by someone wanting an excuse for the
whoredoms they were involved in. It is not in the Bible. Under the Law,
God measured out justice, often on the spot; today is a day of mercy and
people may get by with their disobediences for a while although the Lord is
displeased.

God will not hold anything against you unless the Bible teaches it is sin.
You are to be judged according to the Book; that is the reason there is no
need to be uneasy about whether you are going to heaven or not. You can
check your life by the Book and know for sure. It is not a matter of how you
feel—many things that are offensive to people are not wrong—it is a matter
of what the Bible says. Some people use the fifteenth chapter of Leviticus to
prove that masturbation is wrong. This chapter again has nothing to do with
masturbation, but is dealing with ceremonial uncleanness of men with an
issue of blood. Yet people will refer to this chapter in their desperation to
prove that the Bible teaches against masturbation.

The human race would be idiots if there were any truth to the old
teaching that masturbation causes people to lose their minds; masturbation
is not harmful unless overly indulged in. Man’s conviction has made many
people carry great burdens of guilt. Children have talked to me who were
under great strain thinking they were going to hell because they had
masturbated. They feel bad not because the Bible condemns them, but
because man does. Nature has provided a way of cleansing in the bodies of
young people who have no relief from the pressure that torments them. God
did not intend for young people to go through their unmarried years with a
ferocious desire which has no release. He showed us the path plainly: that
child would even be relieved in his sleep; and yet some parents rebuke the
child who has climaxed in his sleep because the bed needs changing—how
ridiculous! Guilt from society, guilt from parents has placed a yoke on their
children. The child has been instructed never to masturbate, but
masturbation is no more than a cleansing, no more sinful than taking a bath;
it is an emptying of the ducts, a ridding of desire which is said to be mostly
mental anyway. Nowhere does the Bible teach against it. Parents should
praise the Lord that their child is normal. They cannot prevent the child
from masturbating; they just torment him about it and fill him with guilt,
pushing him down the road to fornication and adultery by their stupidity.
The world goes from one extreme to the other; only through the Word of
God can stability be found.

There is a danger of masturbating so much that you can make yourself

weak. When this happens, use wisdom and abstain from it so that your body
does not become run down. Some parents feel their children have turned
into some kind of a sexual demon because they are masturbating, but most
of them did the same thing when they were young. Why make the child feel
guilty when the urge will be so great that he will give in to it anyway and
live under that condemnation because he is tortured so much? He can
reason that since masturbation is a sin he might as well commit fornication
and adultery. It is not the same thing. A person cannot commit adultery with
his own body anymore than he can with his own wife. In concluding the
subject of masturbation, pay particular attention to another scripture often
erroneously presented as being against masturbation. First Corinthians 6:9,
abusers of themselves with mankind. The phrase abusers of themselves
with mankind does not deal with masturbation but with homosexuality. To
abuse self with mankind means to abuse one’s self with members of the
same sex.

Is Homosexuality Caused by a Demon Spirit?

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:21). When you know God but
refuse to glorify Him, God is subject to turn out the light for you
completely. Recognizing Him as God and yet refusing to serve Him will
bring an end to His patience. God, however, is extremely patient with those
who have never been taught about Him, who do not even know He is alive.

The question has been asked: Is there a demon which makes a person a
homosexual? People find it easy to label unclean things as being demon
oriented—that is if those unclean things are not their particular hang-up. To
dismiss the homosexual as a demon-possessed individual requires no effort
at all. Since God has called me into His ministry, I have had an opportunity
to counsel and help many such persons. Those who have delved deeply into
the problem will tell you there is no medical or psychological cure for a real
homosexual. Notice, I qualified my statement by saying a REAL
homosexual; in other words, a person who, due to a quirk of nature, was
born that way. I’m sure many eyebrows are rising over that statement, for
the accepted opinion of psychiatrists and psychologists is that
homosexuality comes about because of the way the child grew up. There
are those who indulge in homosexual practices, yet are not true
homosexuals; but I want to discuss the true homosexual. An abnormality
took place at the time of their conception and they were born with the
sexual organs of one sex but the desires of the other. A person can be born
with a deformity of any kind. Why? Because sin entered humanity at the
fall of man.

Dating from the fall of man up to the time that God placed this particular
curse on man, homosexuality was not something inherited. It was practiced
(remember Sodom and Gomorrah, for example) and the sins of the fathers
were visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation. I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me (Exodus 20:5). God let the curse come upon the deliberately
disobedient, and a change took place in their bodies and their appetites.
These were men and women who up to this time had had a natural desire
for sex. However, in their ungodly state of rejecting God and choosing
instead to worship animals, God not only allowed them their choice; but
God also made them lower than the animals they worshipped—very rarely
can homosexual animals be found. God looked at them, thinking, “If
degrading yourself is what you want, I’ll help. If you want to be like an
animal, I’ll make you lower than the animals. I’ll take away your natural
desire and let men desire men, women desire women to dishonor your
bodies. Only in this way will you be satisfied; that lust will burn within
you.”

Just as diseases like sugar diabetes, heart trouble, mental disorders can be
inherited and the weakness in the genes can be passed from one generation
to another not always showing up consecutively, homosexuality can be
passed down. Sickness is a curse, not caused by the child who is born sick,
but by distant ancestors. Regardless of what the medical books say, I repeat,
all real homosexuals are born that way. Many of them hate the condition
they are in, a condition over which they have no control, and they seek help
knowing they are despised by the straight society and are outcasts from
their own families. A normal life is what they desire, and many try to be
something they are not—like a cripple trying to walk.

Can Homosexuals Enter Heaven?

Homosexuals can enter heaven if they do not put their desires into
practice, and if they are born again. If homosexuality automatically meant
demon possession, a homosexual could not enter heaven; but devil
possession is not the cause of true homosexuality. Any practicing
homosexual, however, will go to hell. In California there is a homosexual
church run by a homosexual, formerly a minister. He may have been saved
at one time, but he is in darkness now. Openly he has deceived many
homosexuals into thinking they are all right in putting their desires into
practice, deceived them into believing that they are justified in the eyes of
God. He claims that the apostle Paul and not Jesus was the one who taught
against homosexuality; therefore, it is not God’s divine way. How
convenient to be able to rationalize away Scripture when it doesn’t suit your
purpose! Unfortunately for their theory, Jesus does teach against sin, and He
tells the penalty for sin. The Bible clearly states that homosexuality is a sin,
and those who practice it will go to hell. The spirit of Lucifer in this age in
which we live wants people to believe that anything they do is all right.
Permissiveness and the lack of moral structure in our society are causing
many to be destroyed. Satisfy every lust of the flesh and scorn anyone or
anything that makes you feel guilty is the theme of the day.

Is There Deliverance for Homosexuals?

Very few true homosexuals have ever received help for unnatural desires
because it is inherent in them, a cross-up in their nature. Can they be
delivered? I have counseled homosexuals who wanted deliverance badly,
studied their cases, prayed and sought God about them. In this miraculous
hour every homosexual who wants deliverance can be delivered by the
power of God that operates in the gift of miracles. Just like people with
deformities, a few homosexuals have been delivered in the past, but not in
great numbers. Now we are entering into the outpouring of miracle power
promised by God, and God will give those who are born with unnatural
desires a chance to become normal so they will not have to battle constantly
against their own nature. You have no compassion for the homosexual? I
have compassion for anyone born deformed, for anything people cannot
help. I do not endorse what they do, but I have compassion for the bondage
they are in. Boys have come to my office and just cried because they were
unable to be different; homosexuality was not something they had sought
out, but a circumstance beyond their control. Using the Spirit of God to go
back into their lives, I have found that they did not cultivate it. Of course,
there are those who deliberately seek unnatural relationships, but real
homosexuals were born that way and for a long time in their growing up
never realized they were different from anyone else. Playing with children
of their own sex when they were small did not cause it, neither did a
domineering parent.

If your children are born healthy, it is unnecessary to guard them every

minute of the day; they will not become a homosexual; however, if they
were born that way, you have a problem. Counting them as the scum of the
earth is no answer; those children are not at fault. Had that child been born
without ears or legs, would you have blamed him? That is a soul you are
rejecting. Many of them would give anything to be different. Some have
accepted their situation because they could see no other solution; they have
sold out to the devil and become practicing homosexuals. Many others do
not practice it; they are persecuted and miserable, Satan torments them
almost to death. Imagine how you would feel going through life never to
have an outlet for your sexual urges. Homosexuals are a people without
hope apart from God, a people in need of deliverance. I prayed that God
would give me the power to deliver every homosexual who wants
deliverance; I want each one who comes before me to be set free by God’s
power. I believe God wants those people to have a chance to be normal. In
this final hour, God will give many deformed people that chance. Sin,
deformities and curses upon the face of the earth cannot be blamed on God;
they stem from the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.

In the first chapter of Romans it becomes easy to look exclusively at the

homosexuals and ignore the other sins mentioned. This chapter covers a list
of acts that make many worthy of death; they are all lumped in the same
bag. Gossipers are included in this chapter to the same degree as are
murderers and homosexuals. Sin is sin, and any sin against God will
prevent your getting into heaven. God frowns on fornication just as He does
on homosexuality; there is no difference between the two in the eyes of
God.

In our society, greater penalty is placed on some sins than on others; in

fact, some have been glorified to the extent they often are no longer
considered sin. More and more, man is trying to justify homosexuality, but
anything the Bible condemns cannot be justified or glorified. We must stand
for what is right. I can have compassion for someone who is born sexually
abnormal as long as that abnormality is not put into practice. To those who
do, I must give them what thus saith the Lord: practicing homosexuality is a
sin, and for it people will go to hell if unrepentant.

It’s becoming socially acceptable throughout America today for

unmarried couples to live together, and more and more, homosexuality is
being accepted as a person’s individual right. The accepting spirit of the age
makes people feel that being broadminded about such things is the
intellectual outlook. But regardless of opinions to the contrary, sexual
relations between people of the same sex or people who are unmarried is a
rotten, damnable sin in the eyes of God. You don’t look at it that way? It
makes no difference—what counts is how God regards it. Many people are
in for a rude awakening at the end of the journey because they have refused
to accept the truth as it is stated in the Word. God loves all sinners,
including those who are guilty of homosexual acts, and has made a
provision for their forgiveness and deliverance through Jesus Christ our
Lord.

Following are some scriptures that tell you what God says about those
who practice homosexuality:
 Leviticus 18:22,24,25:

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is

abomination. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all
these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land
is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land
itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

Leviticus 20:13,22,23:

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of

them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to
death; their blood shall be upon them. Ye shall therefore keep all my
statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I
bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out. And ye shall not walk in
the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they
committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

Romans 1:26,27:

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their
women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman,
burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that
which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of
their error which was meet.

Romans 1:32:

Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in
them that do them.

First Corinthians 6:9–11:

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of
God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of
you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

First Timothy 1:8–11:

But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing
this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless
and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and
profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for
manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with
mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there
be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the
glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

Hands Off!
Some young people feel they are not truly on a date unless they are all
“hugged up” together. Even in church, sometimes boys and girls sit so close
that his arm rubs against her breast. God sees all things, no matter where
you are; when girls allow boys to play with their bodies they are on the
wrong path. Too many marriages based on infatuation fail. It is not possible
to discover whether you are in love by kissing, holding hands or playing
with one another’s sex organs. It is wrong in the eyes of God to allow
yourself to be handled outside of marriage. Read the Song of Solomon and
find what the Lord has to say about the breast of a woman; beautifully and
marvelously it is described.

Girls, make the boys keep their hands to themselves, for they know if you
permit them to fondle your breasts that your reasoning power will be so
wrapped up in desire that after a while it ceases to function clearly. If he
gets you pregnant, so what? He does not have to marry you, and you will be
left to your sorrow, displeasing God because of your sin. If we were still
under the Law, God would strike you dead.
 The age we live in has become permissive and liberal, like the days of
Sodom, evil days that the Lord predicted would come. Why should you go
the way of the world? Your mate will be selected from the kind of people
you date; if you marry a rat, that is what you will live with.

Do not think you can have intercourse through your clothes and it will be
all right with God. Some people will not go to bed together but they will lie
down and do everything but the actual sex act and try to ease their
conscience over it. Foreign flesh is out of place; it keeps you from being the
holy person God ordained you to be. How much respect can you have for
each other when you wonder how many others have lain with your mate
like that? Too many marriages are not built on trust.

Angel and I trusted each other completely. I knew she was pure and
clean, a virgin when I married her; and I knew she would never be with
another man. The world does not put a premium on virgins today; but girls,
if you will be one, you will have a satisfaction, a joy, a happiness that other
girls cannot possibly have, for they have given the most precious thing they
had away before marriage and cannot take it to the marriage bed as God
intended. The same goes for boys. Oh, I know how it is with boys, I know
how they feel and how the fellows talk, making a boy feel like a greenhorn
or a dummy if he has never been with a girl. But it matters not what the
gang says; if you want to please God, you will need to be different.

Keep yourself clean; let no one, either boy or girl play with your body.
Parents, talk to your children, take them into your confidence, make them
feel free to come to you without rebuke. Many children come to me for
help; they know I am not here to destroy them but to help them. Some have
already sinned and they regret it. They can find forgiveness from the Lord,
but if they ever sin again after coming to the knowledge of the truth, how
God will frown on them! Parents are horrified to catch that little boy and
girl playing doctor, but they should have talked to them long before that.
Children can be warped by suddenly being made to feel like outcasts who
have committed the unforgivable sin. Teach them about their bodies.

Sex in Marriage
 Everything we need can be found in the Word of God; face yourself
completely through the Word. It is sufficient, having all power, instruction,
deliverance, joy, understanding and everything you need. Know it,
understand it and it will set you free.

Hebrews 13:4, Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled:

but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. In marriage two come
together as one; it is like your two hands, the left cannot commit adultery
with the right. The right and the left hands are free to touch any part of the
body, they are as one. In marriage the body is holy, but there are some
things God would not count as sin that would be repulsive or unclean to
your mate.

Some women become extremely upset because they feel that their
husband lusts after them. There is no such thing as an evil lust of a husband
for his wife. A power exists in a woman’s life to keep her marriage together,
and she must use it through love and not through obligation. Never cheapen
yourself by using sex as a bargaining agent to get something you want; a
prostitute does that. Sex should not be considered a duty. When two people
love each other it is natural for them to have sex; God planned it that way; it
brings a closeness in marriage that nothing else can, a holy union
completely lacking in guilt. Sex, if used the way God planned, creates a
tenderness in the heart of the husband that can be found in no other way.
The holiness of God brings about such a tenderness that it is almost
unbelievable.

First Corinthians 7:2,5, To avoid fornication, let every man have his
own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Defraud ye not
one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give
yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan
tempt you not for your incontinency. The Word of God emphasizes the
role of sex before and after marriage; however, some women, because they
are afraid of enticing their husbands, hide in closets to dress. It makes no
more sense than the right hand hiding from the left. How can two people be
comfortable when they feel they must hide from each other: “Oops, here
comes my husband. I’ve got to hide!” God did not intend for barriers to be
placed between couples; it robs them of any true closeness. Angel and I
became as one body, we were one. There was no strangeness between us;
God joined us together. He wanted us to walk together as one; it was our
happiness. We were so very close! Angel delighted in the fact that I desired
her; she knew she had that power and she used it in a beautiful way. If a
woman wants attention and pretty things, she must act pretty, have joy and
confidence in her femininity. Angel dressed for me; when I came home she
would be all dolled up, smelling better than a dime store. When a man
smells something like that, it’s just like a bee going for honey.

I know what a wonderful marriage is. When Angel could not go with me
on a business trip she would meet me at the airport, dressed up like she was
my sweetheart instead of my wife; I looked forward to coming home to her.
Oh, how I miss that; it almost kills me when I come in on the plane and she
isn’t there! When Angel died, I died. She used to love to sleep with her
head on my shoulder; as hard as it was, it felt better than a pillow. Or we
would sleep holding hands. Again and again, I wake and my hand is
outstretched—but her hand is no longer there. Angel and I looked upon sex
as something holy; we became truly one, thinking so much alike and
working together so beautifully. Sex was not something she used as a
weapon against me; she used it as love, love, love. Making me happy was a
delight to her. Why should two people live together, fussing, quarreling
when they could be thrilled by the touch of a hand, thrilled just to lie with
one’s head on the other’s shoulder. How pleased God must be when man
and wife are so close!

Angel used to say, “I don’t want a mansion by myself in heaven, I want

us to have one together.” All I could answer was, “Everyone will be happy
in heaven; if that is what you want, you will have it.” The Bible does not
specifically state who will live in what mansion, so that was all I could tell
her. She wanted us to go to heaven together; when I was away she would
sleep in my pajamas because she felt closer to me that way. It takes a real,
holy, Bible marriage to understand the way she felt. Many people have a
community marriage; after the honeymoon, she goes off with her friends
and he with his. Angel and I were together most of the time; we needed no
one else around to have a good time. A simple thing like going out for a
hamburger was a joy for us; we held hands across the table, we talked with
our eyes as though we were courting. People saw us, knew we were close;
but they did not know how close we really were. We had a holy biblical
marriage.

As Christ Loved the Church

Ephesians 5:25, Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved
the church, and gave himself for it. Some men want to be the master of
their home, but only if they love their wife as Christ loved the Church can
they be the biblical head.

Sometimes husbands try to prevent their wives from going to church or

working for the Lord. “I’m the husband,” they reason, “and the wife is
supposed to obey the husband.” But how wonderful it could be for a wife to
obey her husband when he loves her the way he loves his own flesh as the
Bible directs! Ephesians 5:28, So ought men to love their wives as their
own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. When a man loves his
wife in this way, things will be done through love, not force. Verse 31, For
this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined
unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. What the Bible says is true,
and must be accepted. A biblical marriage brings two people together
through love. Couples who are joined for no other reason than sexual
attraction soon find the thrill of the relationship wearing off.

The Honeymoon Should Mark the Beginning, Not

the End
Physical attraction alone is a poor foundation for marriage. One morning
that pretty little girl is going to climb out of bed looking like a wreck, and
the foundation will start to crumble. Many marriages have been destroyed
because women stopped making themselves attractive to their husbands the
way they did before the wedding. Women have a great act; they come on
stage smelling so good and looking so pretty that anyone would think they
would be that way the rest of their life. Women having the inclination to be
jealous should check themselves to see if that jealousy is well founded.
Would their husbands have wanted them had they seen how they would
look after marriage? When the honeymoon is over the real marriage should
begin; the couple, coming together as one flesh, holy in the eyes of God and
serving Him, can have a wonderful life. Keep that respect for each other in
your appearance. Angel was mindful of me; she dressed for me, she wore
clothes I liked and she did not want me to see her unless she were looking
her best; she wanted to be enticing to me. Coming home at night I would
forget about my tiredness when I saw her looking so very pretty, and I
would sweep her into my arms—it was marvelous! There are no stops in
marriage, no brakes to put on and that is the reason it can be so beautiful.

Fear of Pregnancy
Fear of pregnancy hinders many marriages where birth control is not
practiced. Sex in marriage was not given for reproduction only; if it were,
the female would desire sex only at certain times like the female animals.
God did not make sex for humans in the same way He made it for animals;
He made it as a holy union which keeps man and woman as one. A man
who commits adultery despises the woman and himself after the climax if
he has any decency in him at all. Whoredom is detestable in the eyes of
God. But in marriage sex is different; when you come to the climax it is not
over. Marvelous, wonderful emotions are there that no tongue can explain;
two people kept as one is the greatest miracle of intercourse. When people
do not get along sexually, many other things arise to bring more disunity:
bitterness, nagging, fussing, resentment. A real woman wants affection,
wants love play and wants to be loved for herself and not just as an object
to satisfy her husband. She knows her husband could find sex in any alley;
she needs to feel loved along with the sexual relations. She wants to feel
adored; she wants her husband to enjoy just touching her. A woman resents
a man who makes no attempt to satisfy her needs, who wants only
intercourse, and when he has climaxed, immediately falls asleep. He comes
to bed fussing and complaining and all of a sudden expects the woman to be
ready. God never did plan a union like that; carry on life the way He
intended.
Sexual Desire Is Healthy
Angel and I were sweethearts; I courted her all the days of her life and if
she had lived another thousand years I would have courted her during every
one of them. I loved to see her eyes light up when I told her I loved her; no
matter how often I said it, they would light up. Angel could be cooking and
I would walk up behind her, kiss her, and she would set the pots aside; it
was time to shut the kitchen down. That thrills a man! But if the man walks
up behind his wife and she snaps, “I know what you want!” it puts distance
in that marriage instead of closeness. If Angel had said that one time I
would have thought she was losing her mind. Angel was a lady. Some
women are ashamed because they desire their husband; women should be
ashamed if they do not; it is not unladylike to desire sex; it is natural if you
are healthy.

When sickness afflicts the body, it is essential that your love is strong
enough to hold up without sex; true love will brave the storms; it does not
die when one of the mates becomes sick and cannot perform the sex act. If
the person did what was right when they were healthy then that love will
remain as a memorial; only because of illness is sex no longer desired, not
because of lack of love. Love is lasting.

The Bible condemns sexual relations outside of marriage; you will get
burned if you play with fire. The one you marry will remember how you
behaved before marriage. All the days of my marriage I could not forget
what a lady Angel was when I was dating her; she remained that lady all of
her life. A man delights in having his girl on a pedestal, but she must be
something special to stay there. Girls, keep yourself pure, clean and holy;
grow up with the Word of the living God in your heart.

Those Knock-Down, Drag-Out Fights

We tie God’s hands by our attitude and actions; we disturb the Spirit of
God in our lives and grieve the Holy Spirit by mistreating the person we
live with. Marriage does not give license to fight and smack each other
around. A couple in love will not degrade each other by physical violence;
people born of the Spirit of God don’t behave that way. If those have been
your actions, repent at once because that spirit will send your soul to hell.
The left hand’s slapping and beating the right would make you think
something was drastically wrong with that person, and something is very
wrong when married couples hit each other.

The right hand loves the left and looks out for it; they love each other
equally and this is the way man and wife should love. No matter what your
marriage has been in the past, strive for that biblical marriage which has the
smile of God. Happily married couples will recommend marriage, not say
unpleasant things about it or advise against it. Young people are
disillusioned when they see the stress and disturbance in marriages around
them; they desire the right mate, but many have decided it would be safer to
live together without marriage. This, of course, solves nothing, but rather
degrades them in sin and condemns them to hell. Many young people were
reared in homes that were nothing but a drink, a cuss and a fuss; partying
parents were constantly tearing each other down. Little wonder the children
grow up with no respect for marriage! The parents are to blame but the
children still go to hell. Be an example of the believer going forth to show
people a different way of life, to show them what it means to be joined
together in the Lord.

Young people looking for a mate must never pick a sinner. God forbids it,
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness? (II Corinthians 6:14); the smile of
God will not be on such a union. Ministers should really refuse to marry a
couple if both are not saved.

If the marriage in the home you were reared in was not a good one, do
not look at it. Feuding and fighting is not a symbol of love in a marriage
even though the popular belief is that underneath it all, the fighting couples
are really in love. It’s a lie of the devil! Love is kind, gentle, wonderful,
great and sweet; it does not criticize and destroy. People who criticize their
partners to other people do not truly love them. Problems should be
discussed together. Unless you have an emotional problem, you will not tear
yourself apart to other people; just as much love should be shown when you
talk about your mate. Someone you love with all of your heart you will not
humiliate in front of others; and if you really love your mate, at no time will
you criticize that one in front of the children. Children’s little ears are not
made to hear big problems, not made to hear one parent malign the other.
Christ does not slander the Church; He does all to edify it; and we are to
love our companions as He loves the Church. Marriage is holy before God.
Things in the past cannot be undone, but you can make a fresh start in your
marriage. Do not drag relatives into your family problems.

Adultery in the Heart

Matthew 5:27,28, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her
already in his heart. Jesus is talking about the kind of lust that, if given an
opportunity, would result in sexual relations. The only thing that has
prevented culmination of the desire has been lack of the opportunity. This is
committing adultery in the heart; there is no God in the heart to prevent it.
Many do not understand this scripture; they are afraid of what comes to
their mind. Mental pictures of sex can be controlled no more than mental
pictures of food when you are hungry. Why feel guilt over reacting in the
way the Lord made you to react? Satan has used this scripture to rob
Children of God of their peace of mind; many have felt backslidden
because of the mental pictures that came to their mind. If Satan can worry
you about those pictures, he will hang up a gallery full, trying to make you
feel dirty and unclean by bringing things to your mind that you really do not
want. He will try to use natural desires to disturb and worry you.

Jesus never meant it was a sin for man to desire woman; man would
never marry had he not this desire. Paul said, It is better to marry than to
burn (I Corinthians 7:9). In other words, if you cannot control your burning
desires, then marry.
 Do not worry about the mental pictures that come to your mind; Satan is
not your master, he is not able to force you to act out those pictures.
Regardless of how much of God you have, you cannot control your mind
completely, it is not within man’s power. The mind wanders; again and
again it must be chased and brought back. Remember how it daydreamed in
your school days? Sorrow, distress and trouble come to your mind, too,
pulling it away from things it would rather dwell on. Prayer helps to bring
peace of mind; the more your mind is stayed on the Lord the more peace
you have. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
thee: because he trusteth in thee (Isaiah 26:3). Bring your mind to the
Lord; think upon Him and it will help to erase mental pictures that can
trouble.

Why let Satan be your accuser and tormenter? Ignore him; you are God’s
child; keep in the power of the Lord! Since you are not about to put into
action the things Satan brings to your mind, why worry about them? Don’t
be shaken when the devil brings unpleasantness to your mind; be strong
enough to withstand all the devil may drag in. He brings curse words to the
minds of Christians and then whispers, “You might just as well say them
since you are thinking them.” It’s a lie of the devil! When you fail to be
disturbed about the things Satan brings to mind, then less will come. By the
lack of your reaction, Satan has lost his weapon. Satan will use against you
that which worries you most. He is seeking to take the peace of mind from
the children of God.

Temper Troubles
The right hand is very unhappy if the left hurts; and in the union of
marriage, one mate must be happy in order for the other to be happy. Both
hands need to be protected. I use my right hand more than the left, but that
does not make it the most important; I would cry just as much for the left to
be cut off as I would the right. Protect and care for your mate. There can be
so many sputters in a marriage that every day is rain instead of sunshine.
Don’t keep telling your mate the faults he or she needs to correct; examine
yourself and be cleansed of your own faults; It takes two to make a fuss,
discipline yourselves not to lose your tempers at the same time. Temper is a
wonderful thing when used against evil and not people. Keep the mouth
shut and the hands in the pockets. Don’t worry about being “hen-pecked” or
“rooster-pecked”; no one will peck you much unless you really want it. Let
your mate express the anger that builds up. On the other hand, if you are the
one losing your temper, be careful; you will say things you regret, suffering
over those words for days, weeks, or even years. Saying things you do not
mean in the heat of anger can cut whether the words are true or not. “I hate
you,” or “I wish I had married someone else instead of you,” are thoughts
your mate will feel must have been in your heart or they would not have
come out. They probably weren’t in your heart at all, but your mind was so
angry it reached for anything that could hurt.

Some couples, however, never feel condemned by what they say because
each one pours it on the other. If one gets the rolling pin, the other gets the
skillet and it’s blow for blow, each feeling justified in his own heart. But
feeling justified does not keep love growing. Love must be cultivated or the
weeds will take it over; when harvest time arrives you will find nothing of
value to reap.

Marriage Is Meant to Last

Too many couples enter marriage with the thought of getting someone
else if their mate doesn’t work out. But Jesus said except for the cause of
fornication or adultery, it is wrong to remarry. Whosoever shall put away
his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
adultery (Matthew 5:32). God does not expect His children to live with
pigs; He divorced Israel because of their whoredoms. He was married to
Israel just as Christ is married to the Church today. The marriage vows are
broken when one of the partners gives his body to someone else; the
contract is dissolved in the eyes of God. He frowns so on adultery and
fornication that everyone who commits those sins will go straight to hell
unless they repent.
 The Bible said men would be without natural affection (Romans 1:31)
in the last days and we see the evidence of that prophecy all about us; wife-
swapping is done by men who are not fit to be called human; they’re like
animals. Never make the mistake of thinking God will let you by just
because society is not offended by the things you do. Our society has
become so degraded that too often only the filth rises to the top. Be glad
society has passed you by, overlooked you, because of your clean life and
service to God.

Be sure, when choosing a mate, that what you feel is love and not just
physical attraction. Would you love your partner enough to stand by
through years of illness? I have seen couples whose love was so deep that,
although one was an invalid for years and unable to perform sexually, they
still kept the closeness they had in the early years of marriage.

Can You Take the Worse with the Better?

If you are dating a person who fights with you, the fights will become
greater after you are married. Somewhere in the world is a person you can
get along with, and if you want happiness, you had better find that one. If
you love someone enough to take all the garbage they dish out to you, then
go ahead. Just remember, God cannot direct your choosing a mate when
you refuse to listen; put the decision in the hands of God. Angel and I had a
wonderful relationship because it was in the hands of God; we were sweet
to each other. What good does fussing do? Making up may be great, but
look at all the wasted time; it’s like eating rotten food just to make the
dessert taste extra good.

Marriage goes on through sickness, health, better and worse. All that the
unmarried couples can envision is health and better, but the married ones
know the sickness and worse. The bad times, the storms come; they are a
part of life.

Forget about changing the habits of your mate; it won’t work and he or
she will be miserable. Husband, if your wife insists on leaving the dirty
dishes, you will not be able to change that; either wash them yourself or
else let her do them when she gets ready—that is her way. When living with
someone else you will have to put up with some things you cannot change.
Remember when you were a child and you said to yourself, “So help me, if
I ever live to grow up I’ll never listen to anybody again! Never, never,
never!” But now you are married and feeling trapped; your mate took over
just where your parents left off. Living like that is no good; adjustments
must be made, and some people are not flexible enough to stand the
adjustment period. A life that is wonderful from the very beginning must be
cultivated every day; plan and pattern it in the way you both want.

Money is a touchy subject to many people. Wouldn’t it look ridiculous

for a person to carry two wallets, one for the right hand and one for the left
so that the left hand would not discover what the right hand was spending,
and the right hand would not let the left into its billfold! A married couple
cannot be one unless they are one all the way. Angel and I became one in
everything, including the pocketbook. If I had a nickel, Angel did not have
half a nickel, she had a whole nickel; we did not divide our money. I would
have given her the last bite of food in the house, and she would have done
the same for me. Common sense must be used in spending, but a wife
should not have to ask her husband for money when she needs it as though
she were a little girl. If Angel wanted some money she would get my
billfold and take what she needed; we were as one; we did not want
separate money.

I could stand anyone’s tears but Angel’s, and I did my best to make her
happy. It takes a lot to stop by the florist and get your wife a blossom, but
seeing her eyes light up when I gave it to her made it worthwhile. I always
was rewarded when I took Angel something; no matter what she was doing
she would take time for love. We had a lot of love in our home; and God’s
love made it perfect.

One rose, one act of kindness, and then another and another. Birthdays
and anniversaries were special to us, but the Lord’s work came first and we
postponed our celebration of special days whenever they interfered with the
Lord’s work. We always yielded to the call of God. Learn to give and yield
to God.
In-Laws
Treat your in-laws with the same respect you treat your own relatives,
and in this way much tension between man and wife is avoided. Many of
them you can help find God through your patience and kindness. Never,
however, allow in-laws to interfere in your marriage. After you have left the
nest, Dad or Mom is apt to come around with all kinds of advice; be polite
but travel your own path and make your own mistakes. Stick together; if
you want to buy a three-legged mule, don’t let relatives talk you into a four-
legged one; it may die the next day. Parents: stay out of your grown
children’s business; let them make their own decisions. Do a good job of
cutting those apron strings. If you take sides in a family fight, that family
will hate you for it when they make up again. The Bible says, Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his
wife: and they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Parents: let them go!
When the children come to you with problems just tell them you will pray
about it, the Lord will work it out. Many marriages have been hindered,
hampered and destroyed by in-laws. Cling together when you marry. Don’t
run home to your parents; solve your problems with the help of the Lord. If
you are old enough to wed, you are an adult: act like it. Take time for each
other; take time for love; take time for sex; take time to court. If one has a
handicap in their sex life, don’t resent that one for it; if the doctor cannot
help, then leave it in the hands of the Lord; you can still have happiness
because of that great love between you.

Questions and Answers

Sex is a plan of God; it is good, but when Satan distorts and destroys that
plan it becomes evil. I would like to close this discussion on sex by
answering a few questions which are representative of the problems that
people bring to my attention.

QUESTION: If the decision to marry is postponed for an indefinite

period, what is the Lord’s position on dating others?
 ANSWER: If a boy dates other girls during a postponed engagement, he
stands a good chance of losing the girl he is engaged to; and if he really
wants her then he had better be careful how he acts.

QUESTION: Is it all right for engaged couples to have sexual relations?

ANSWER: The Bible tells one thing about this in I Corinthians 7:9, But
if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to
burn. Sin is committed between those who fail to control themselves.
Engaged couples, feeling they will marry sooner or later, see no harm in
sexual relations; but they are wrong. Love does not cover all; it is not all
right to have sex because you are in love; it’s a lie of the devil. The Bible
definitely teaches that sex outside of marriage will damn your soul in hell.
If a boy really loves a girl he will not have intercourse with her before
marriage, and if she really loves him she will not give herself to him. Love
protects; lust destroys. Giving your body in an unholy way is not love but
sin—and also a reflection on your intelligence. Satan has deceived you if
you have done such a thing.

QUESTION: What are the limits in petting that a boy and a girl can go
without danger?

ANSWER: There is much danger in petting between two healthy young

people. When the touch of the hand sends a tingle it should be warning
enough that you cannot go very far. Just a look can charge the whole system
with desire, and that look should be a warning to be very, very careful. A
girl who is pure and clean will be adamant about a boy’s keeping his hands
to himself. Most boys are just testing the girl anyway, and are eager to carry
details of their exploits back to other boys, laughing and talking about the
girl behind her back. Boys like to know who the “easy” ones are and how
far they will go. Girls become back street talk; do not be deceived about it
just because the boy says he loves you and wants to marry.

People are not strong enough to be in an embrace for half an hour and not
do things displeasing to God. Satan is very cunning; he keeps people going
an inch at a time, making them think nothing is wrong with what they are
doing but always leading into another more dangerous step. Lingering
kisses will set you on fire, a fire extinguished only by consummation of the
sex act—and there you are, worked up until you have become a helpless
victim of desire. Fire and water are dangerous, and so people are careful
with them. Sex, also, is dangerous; why not be careful with it as you are
with fire and water? Sucking lips and tongues leads to trouble.

Never lounge around on a bed together; a bedroom is no place to court.

Lounging around like that has turned many girls into unwed mothers. There
has to be something wrong with the parents who would allow young people
together in a bedroom before marriage! Girls should never entertain dates at
home if the parent or parents are gone; it is not respectable; the parents are
failing to protect their child. Lots of young girls whom mamas trusted have
become pregnant; they are just as human as anyone else. If the spot is too
close, that will power can be broken down almost every time. In face of
such danger be very, very careful. Holding hands, a goodnight kiss are
usually all right, but don’t stay hugged up for hours with one kiss after
another. Girls, never see how far you can go or how much you can stir up
the boy; you may arouse a monster you will not be able to deal with. Girls
have even lost their lives like that. Passion can be a terrible thing; it has
caused murder and other crimes of violence, taking people over until they
have no control over their actions. Don’t give kisses freely and avoid those
long lingering ones!

QUESTION: Is it a sin to have relations with a woman immediately

after she has menstruated?

ANSWER: In the Old Testament under the Law, the woman was counted
unclean during menstruation and for five days afterward. But under grace
this is no longer true; people can even have intercourse during the
menstrual period; however, it would not be very sanitary. The Bible does
not condemn it for our dispensation of grace. There are some things married
couples must work out for themselves; things that would be distasteful to
some are acceptable for others and no sin is involved.

QUESTION: The Bible says not to marry a sinner but is it all right to
date one until he is saved?

ANSWER: If there is enough grit in your craw and enough grace in your
heart to keep you from marriage until the one you are dating is really saved,
all right; but I have seen Christians who date sinners and the next thing I
know they are in my office wanting to marry. If people will not accept the
Lord before marriage, chances are even more slim that they will accept the
Lord after. Many have undergone much pain and distress because they have
married sinners. You’re playing with your heart when dating a sinner; if you
lose it to him and he refuses to surrender to the Lord then you are in trouble.
Will you have grace enough to come out of it, grace enough to put the one
you love on the altar and refuse to marry him until he finds the Lord? The
kind of person you date is the kind you marry even though you had no
intention of becoming involved at all. If you are strong, I will not say it is
wrong to date a sinner; but if you go places the Lord frowns upon and do
not bring him to church, it is absolutely wrong. Are you an example when
with a sinner or do you try to fit in with the world?

QUESTION: Should a girl spend the night at her boyfriend’s home

providing they plan marriage in the near future?

ANSWER: Absolutely not! I know that’s a fad today. The neighbors

don’t know there is nothing wrong going on; they think you are shacked up
because it has become so common. What kind of a testimony for God is
that? There are other places to spend the night. If you do not have the
money for them, then stay home! Never do anything that would kill your
influence for God! It is not good for a couple to become so familiar with
each other, anyway; taking privileges becomes too easy.

College couples who live together at school and then expect their parents
to put them up in the same room at home, sometimes talk them into it; but
those parents are in as much trouble as if they had committed that sin
themselves.

QUESTION: I was introduced to a boy; we took a walk in the woods

and I almost had to fight him off. I thought he was just testing me so when
he called again I said, “Okay,” although I had lost interest in him. Later, I
found out he was married. Did I commit a sin by dating him?

ANSWER: In the first place a girl has no business going off into the
woods with a boy; it is asking for trouble. Only visit the woods if you are
with a gang of kids tramping through. Secondly, when he called, you should
have said no. No sin, however, was committed; God would not hold you
accountable for something you did not know. This boy was a deceiving
person all the way, one who evidently was out after a quick affair; he
already had a wife.

Jesus is coming after a people who are special, who are set apart from the
world, a people who are filled with the Holy Ghost. Our youth need to
know the road they will have to walk to be ready for Jesus.

QUESTION: We have not had sexual relations for years. My husband is

afraid he cannot satisfy me and therefore he abstains. He even will not dress
in front of me. In the beginning of our marriage, sexual relations did not
satisfy me; there was no love play before or afterward and I was left feeling
frustrated and degraded. He was examined by a doctor and nothing is
physically wrong. How can I help him? How can he help himself? What
does God’s Word say about such a case?

ANSWER: Here is a marriage that started wrong from the very

beginning. The husband took no time to get his wife ready for sexual
relations as he should have. There is an art to love; sex should not be
performed at the animal level just to get it over with. The man who
considers only his own relief omits that all-important ingredient, love; he
makes his partner feel used and disgusted. A real woman needs love; it
makes her sweet and pretty; she responds to it like a flower to the sun. She
needs to be looked after and feel loved; when these attentions are absent,
sex becomes a thing of frustration. As a rule, the man arrives at the climax
quicker than the woman; therefore, he must learn to wait, to concentrate on
something else so he can hold back until his mate is satisfied. Complete
satisfaction must happen on both sides; God made us different from the
animals; He made it possible for a man and wife to achieve great closeness
through sexual relations and the love and tenderness that come after the
climax. It is a fulfillment of love, very different from the degraded feeling
that comes after being with a whore. The right kind of love between man
and wife brings a satisfaction, a refreshing, a strength; they become so very
close in body and mind, a holy unity when sexual love is carried on in the
light of the Scripture. Nothing in the entire world nourishes a couple like
Biblical sexual relations.
 On the other hand, sin has affected human bodies, and not everyone can
perform the sex act. Sex is ninety-nine percent attitude; when the mind is
disturbed, it is hard to concentrate; and as you know, a man must have an
erection before he can perform the sex act. Fear is an awful thing; it has
taken this woman’s husband over; she does not realize to what extent he is
bound by the fear of not satisfying her. He, no doubt, feels less than a man;
and not willing to appear as a laughing stock in her eyes, no longer attempts
to perform the sex act. However, a wife who really loves her husband would
never hold his inability against him. A mother loves a child whether it is
deformed or not, whether it fears or not; that child belongs to her; and a
man and woman love each other first of all because they belong to each
other. Too many homes are held together by only sex; but the beautiful
homes are held together by a love which overcomes grave problems such as
this husband has. The frilly nighties and perfumes she wears will not
conquer his fear. Possibly the first time this man was unable to go through
the sex act his wife may have inadvertently made him feel he was not a real
man. Men are very touchy about their sexual ability, and fears they may
have about it can build up until it becomes too much to cope with.

When a boy and girl marry, they think they will be able to complete the
sex act every time; but there comes a time when the mind is tired or
distracted and the man is not able to keep his erection. He then feels he has
failed as a man; all is ruined. He is not ruined; another day’s rest and
relaxation will change everything. However, too many times that fear will
take over. In such situations it is the wife’s duty to give her husband
confidence.

Some women always wait for their husband’s advances, but they have
just as much right to make the advances themselves; they are as one. Then
there are the women who resent their husband’s advances, but if he did not
make them he would never have the satisfaction of having relations.
Women have just as much right to approach and love their husband as their
husbands have to approach them; it should cause no more embarrassment
than the left hand handling the right. Husbands and wives were made to be
one in the light of the Holy Scriptures.
 This man knows his wife wants intercourse and fears he cannot perform
to the extent that he hides when he dresses. That woman must use wisdom,
pour out much love on her husband, get him to relax and believe that it will
not be a calamity if he cannot perform; it is not a matter of life and death.
Just as a man can cause a woman to be frigid, so can it work in reverse;
both parties must be careful. A couple should not hide their nakedness from
each other.

Some men and some women come to an age in life where they cannot
perform the sex act, and nothing can be done about it. However, there can
still be great love and tenderness between them if they have the right kind
of love. It is no more a disgrace for something to happen to either man or
woman which leaves them with no sexual desire than it would be to lose
sight or hearing. If there is love, husband and wife will support and love
each other when adversity strikes. Lack of real love causes much trouble in
the home. Couples marry because of physical love, and when that fails
nothing is left. Love goes beyond sex. Satan has afflicted man in this area
just as he has brought disease and illness upon him; none of these afflictions
make a man unmanly or a woman unwomanly except in their own minds.
By the way society emphasizes sex, much pressure has been put on people
who are unable to perform the sex act. Millions have felt that pressure. If
you are one of the fortunate ones who have a good sex life, thank God for
it; but remember, it may not always be like that.

Since there is nothing physically wrong, this woman should be very

tender toward her husband, build up his confidence and assure him that, if
they start having relations and are unable to complete them, it will be
perfectly all right, nothing will be lost, and they can just lie together loving
each other. It is marvelous just to hold in your arms someone you love, to
feel just a touch, a caress. When I was going with Angel it thrilled me to
brush her hand or to touch her finger. People need that great love one for
another. Fighting all day will not bring at night the pleasure in sexual
relations that God intended man to have. Too often sexual relations in
marriage have the same flavor as a trip to the back alley, something to get
over with as quickly as possible. Love is marvelous, wonderful; and after
couples have passed the age of sexual activity, if they love each other, there
is still that close bond, that joy in having each other which is the most
important thing in marriage. Husband, if you cannot perform the sex act, do
not feel you are less a man, for you are not. Wife, be thankful you still have
your husband, someone to talk to and be with.

QUESTION: What are the limits in the sex life of a married couple?

ANSWER: The Bible places no limitation on sex between husband and

wife; it is up to them. Of course, they should be considerate of each other.
The Bible tells us, Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled
(Hebrews 13:4). Man and wife cannot commit adultery or fornication with
each other; they are as one body.

QUESTION: My husband is hasty in the sex act; there is no love play

and he threatens to get another woman if he does not get sex at home.

ANSWER: It is hard for any woman to be treated like an animal with the
man showing no consideration for her needs. A man who threatens to have
relations with another woman could not be a Christian; it is a degrading
thing to say. Never would a person tell someone he loved that he was going
out to commit adultery. On the other hand, a wife must look out for her
husband; she should never neglect him by refusing to have intercourse just
because she would rather not be bothered. Neither partner should ever have
to buy sexual relations in marriage, for then something the Lord intended to
be so beautiful sinks down to the level of whoredom. Sex is not a weapon to
be used for destruction, gain or threats. Show tenderness toward your mate.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and
gave himself for it (Ephesians 5:25). Wives, love your husbands as Sarah
loved Abraham. Love, be mindful and considerate of one another. Take time
for love, whether there is any sex involved or not, take time for love. If you
dated in the way God wanted, you did not have sex, yet those were
probably some of the happiest days of your life; take time for each other,
enjoy being with each other. When you are married you do not have to have
sex all the time; but sex keeps a couple together, close-knit; it is beautiful
and wonderful, ordained of God and holy. Be mindful of how God has
made you, know who you are and what you are here for. Care for each other
with consideration, wanting happiness for the other, giving and giving to
your mate. Sacrifice for the other; forgive and forget the hurts. Love works
wonders; clean the resentments and blame out of your heart with love.
 Chapter 13: Soar, Eagle, Soar
Isaiah 40:31, But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and
not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Soar into the greatness,
into the mighty power that is falling upon the face of the earth, power God
has promised to pour out in the last days. Never has there been such a
pouring-out time, and never will there be another like it. Down through the
ages some have soared into the greatness of God—not many, but some.

One of the great signs prophesied in the Bible that Jesus is about to make
His appearance is that Jerusalem was to be trodden down of the Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled (Luke 21:24). Jerusalem is no
longer under Gentile authority; the Gentile age is almost ended. As you near
the end of this final hour, so very much is offered. Search the pages of Bible
prophecy; call to mind everything you can. Week after week, the Lord gave
me what He wanted you to have, gave me the prophets to bring before you;
then He gave me these words, “Soar, eagle, soar into the greatness of God!
Mount up, eagle!”

Come out of the Valleys

The Lord is calling you eagle Christians; you are ready to come up from
those valleys, ready to rise into the greater spiritual things which are at your
fingertips. Don’t stop with the baptism of the Holy Ghost; there is much
more waiting for you. Soar into the greatness of God’s power, able to
handle any storm. The eagle enjoys the storm; and the Bible tells us to
rejoice in persecution and tribulation, be glad in the trials. Blessed are ye,
when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner
of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:
for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you (Matthew 5:11,12).
 The Early Church had this spirit of rejoicing as they demonstrated the
greatness of God’s power. For a short period of time God poured that power
upon the Early Church—and even more will be poured out in this final
hour.

Simon soared into the greatness of God after Pentecost, but before he did,
it seemed as though he would completely fail. Deeper and deeper he slipped
back into the valley until he cursed and denied Jesus when Jesus was taken
to be crucified. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and
said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech
bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know
not the man (Matthew 26:73,74). At one time he had been far enough up
the mountain to heal the sick and cast out devils; but when the soldiers
came to arrest Jesus, Simon took his sword and cut off a man’s ear. Then
Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s
servant, and cut off his right ear (John 18:10). And Jesus . . . said,
Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him (Luke 22:51).
Jesus healed that ear, made it as good as new. Simon, however, was not
close enough to understand; he backed away needing more: he lacked the
Holy Ghost dwelling within him to teach the ways of God. Many things you
will not understand in this final hour, and so you must walk close to God
and to your teacher, the Holy Spirit. Just having Him is not enough; you
must yield to His directions.

Be Taught by the Spirit

The apostle Paul entered the wilderness for three years; he sat at the feet
of the Holy Ghost and was taught many wonderful things by Him. But
when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and
called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him
among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me;
but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after
three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him
fifteen days (Galatians 1:15–18). Other apostles were taught by Jesus, but
not Paul. No other writer goes so deeply into the greatness of God as does
Paul. The Holy Ghost gave him a knowledge of the Lord that was surpassed
only by the knowledge of Jesus Himself. Things that Paul said, Simon Peter
reported, were hard to be understood (II Peter 3:16)—big Simon who had
sat at the feet of Jesus, who had put his arms around Jesus and had looked
into His eyes again and again. Simon, who had seen the marvelous works of
Jesus as He opened blinded eyes, unstopped deaf ears, healed the crippled
and raised the dead, was there when the man of Galilee commanded,
Lazarus, come forth! (John 11:43). Only through the eyes of the Spirit was
Paul able to have this knowledge of the Lord. It is not a matter of what you
have seen; it is a matter of allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth about
those things to you.

I did not understand the gifts of God until I was taught by the Spirit. I
knew it was God who had hold of me, and I stood, holding on to His
unchanging hand. All must be left behind when you reach out for God. I
knew not whether anyone other than Angel would stand with me. It
mattered not what people said; Angel had the faith to hold up my hands; she
knew the life I lived in the presence of God, that the gifts came from Him.
The things He told me were fantastic, amazing and hard to comprehend at
first; the change they brought to my life was great, and it had come like a
whirlwind.

We did not always have a lovely church and people who believed in this
ministry with all their hearts. We walked the valleys and mountains, just
Angel and I, helping each other, living in the very presence of God. There is
a place in God where you can walk in perfect peace with Him, it’s the
secret place of the most High God (Psalm 91:1). Finding that place means
knowing a fellowship with God that is beyond words, a place that very few
people have ever found. But I believe God is offering that place to many of
you today. You can have such a relationship with God that you will be
conscious of His hand in yours, conscious of His greatness as never before;
and He will become a stronger reality to you than the people surrounding
you. Much is offered; don’t be like Simon, failing to understand. Just yield
to God and accept by faith what God has to offer. This is not fanaticism, it
is the greatness of God that makes people cry, “My cup runneth over!”
Give Me Jesus
All you who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit have had a
wonderful, marvelous encounter with God, a fantastic experience. In those
few seconds, you drew so near to heaven that the third person in the trinity
of the Godhead moved in and took His abode on the inside of you. How
much more could you ask for? Much more, because He is there to bring you
into the greatness of God, to make you sit in the heavenly places that Christ
promised, and to show you the power of God that goes against Satan to
conquer him. God needs men, women, boys and girls who will yield
everything to Him, who will not be wrapped up in the cares of this life,
people like Abraham seeking a city . . . whose builder and maker is God
(Hebrews 11:10), people who will leave all to follow the Master.

Take time in His presence, not one day, but day after day as the Spirit
breathes upon you each waking hour, watches over you while you sleep. By
your yielding to Him to that extent, the fullness of God is with you always:
you are feasting on the greatness of God, reaching out for the things of God,
wanting them more than anything on this earth. The material world will
have lost its fascination, and there is a drawing power pulling you into the
greatness of the Lord; reach up and bring down that strength.

As dependence on the security of man fades from sight, your vision is of

God’s strength and the power of the Holy Ghost. Your eyes are so anointed
that you see more of the next world than you see of this one. “Take the
whole world but give me Jesus”; take all of it but give me the power of
God, the fellowship of the Lord! Give me the power that delivers those
bound by the demon powers of darkness; give me the words of faith to
speak the name of Jesus to set the captives free, the anointing to pray for a
soul and that soul will be liberated! Instead of living in the world’s rat race
predicted by Daniel, be still and know that He is God.

Satan has put people in a bind in these last few years, convincing them
there is no time to pray. But the Holy Spirit gave us a direct message to set
aside a time in the closet of consecration. Many people have answered that
call, staying long enough with the Lord for the cares of this life to fade
away, and for the Holy Spirit to take hold of their mind. Whether they have
realized it or not, the Holy Ghost has been operating on them, helping and
clearing their minds, enabling them to have more belief and faith in God,
giving them more strength and understanding of God’s Word and of the
hour in which they live.

A Different Future
As your eyes are being cleansed and your vision clearing, you begin to
look for the coming of Jesus more than you plan for your future on this
earth. At one time the future seemed promising and inviting, but now
instead of looking toward tomorrow with bright anticipation, you are
eagerly awaiting the second coming. It is supposed to be that way. As you
enter into the spirit and the anointing of it, you are preparing to be taken
with Jesus; you are expecting Him! Many of you awaken in the morning,
wondering if this is the day you will get to go home with Jesus. What a
great trip, what a great experience ahead for you who will be ready! In the
past you were satisfied with the way your life was going; thoughts of the
second coming were not quite real. Look at the difference now that you
have become so very close to God by staying hours in His presence. The
Holy Spirit anoints as a unit those of you who are truly His. You feel a
oneness, and you listen together as the Holy Spirit speaks. You bear witness
to each other that Jesus is soon coming. Feel the strangeness of it; feel the
strangeness as the messages are coming through, warning you again and
again to hurry, hurry, hurry! The Lord is soon coming!

Above the Thunderheads

God wants you to mount up like the eagle, enjoying the storm, riding
over the thunderheads. Stay above the troubles in this life; don’t let them
pull you down. Troubles can pile on top of you with such weight that you
no longer are able to do the will of God, to pray, read the Word or to
journey on; all joy in the Lord has gone. It’s time to mount up, time to ride
those storms instead of letting the storms ride you. Are you so tired, weary
and devoid of peace that you feel you cannot go on with God? Never let the
storms of life beat you into the ground, keeping you from looking up to
heaven. Mount ever upward, higher and higher into the grace and love of
God, into His faith, goodness, righteousness and into the power of the Holy
Ghost. Feel God’s strength taking you closer to Him over the trials and
troubles of life as the boiling storm rolls on underneath.

Every storm has a force and a power to be used for destruction or to be

harnessed for gain. The eagle harnesses it to lift and bear him up until he
reaches the place where there is no longer a need to struggle. He just
spreads his wings as the wind keeps him aloft, as he mounts higher and
higher. Isn’t that better than the little sparrow with his beak stuck in the
mud of the valley, scared to death of the crashing thunder and wicked
lightning?

Some of you have been ducking Satan all your life, always running for
cover, hunting a hiding place even when the sun was shining. The Holy
Spirit will help you to be that eagle Christian if you give yourself over to
Him. The hour has come that the Lord is calling all who will answer to
become eagle Christians. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that
have no might he increaseth strength (Isaiah 40:29). How marvelous! No
one is left out, not even the weak; it all depends on what you want to be in
this final hour: eagle or sparrow.

Sparrows in the Camp of Saul

King Saul was a sparrow; God could do little with him as he stood back
watching the battle, full of fear and trembling. And the Philistine said, I
defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight
together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine,
they were dismayed, and greatly afraid (I Samuel 17:10,11). Age does
not matter, David was a youth, but he had a heart obedient and completely
yielded to God and the Holy Spirit. He had ears listening in on heaven, a
tongue that sang the praises of God and fingers that made music to the glory
of God. David praised the Lord, obeyed His commandments. He saw
Goliath and knew the storm was coming. “This will be a good one!” he
thought as he hurried to watch the battle.

David had expected to see his brothers and King Saul be victorious. He
never realized he was to be that eagle who would bring victory.

You may be the eagle God will use to bring many souls into the kingdom.
It is not important that you do not have the feeling for it; David did not.
David just had pride in his heart for Jehovah God, trust and belief in the
greatness of God; he knew God could do anything.

How disappointed David must have been upon arriving at Saul’s camp to
find all sparrows and no eagles! David could not understand why everyone
stood around quietly while God was being insulted. Who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living
God (I Samuel 17:26)? he wanted to know. “I’ll go after Goliath!” he
determined. That was big talk coming from a mere lad, but David was an
eagle for God; he was going to soar above the worst storm that Israel had
seen in many days. And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail
because of him [Goliath]; thy servant will go and fight with this
Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this
Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of
war from his youth. David said . . . The LORD that delivered me out of
the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me
out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the
LORD be with thee (I Samuel 17:32,33,37). Big Saul, Israel’s leader, had
turned into a little sparrow in search of shelter.

Waters to Swim In
David’s strength came from the brook of God that bears the refreshing
Spirit of the Holy Ghost and pours like a mighty river. Ezekiel saw this
river of the Spirit for our day; he said it was waters to swim in (Ezekiel
47:5), waters in great abundance. Start swimming; be the Christian that God
wants.
 Study what God has been saying to you throughout these chapters and be
rid of that which holds you back; everything that will untie His hands you
will find in these messages. If you fail in this last hour of the Gentile age
there will be no second chance. Now is the time to work for God if you ever
intend to work; now is the time to win souls for Jesus.

Through our television outreach program God has made it possible for
everyone supporting it to be a mighty soul winner: the broadcast goes into
millions of homes at one time, and God must reach even more multitudes
and shake them. The harvest will be quick, for the time is short. These
words warning of Jesus’ soon coming have been heard so much that people
respond to them with disinterest the way they did in the days of Noah.
Then, God waited one hundred and twenty years before He rained
judgment; but now He has waited almost two thousand years, and
destruction is about to happen. The endtime signs are all around you,
fulfilled before your very eyes. Look at the warning signs as you ride down
this highway of God; they all urge you to hurry, hurry, hurry, Jesus is
coming soon! It will soon be Holiness unto the Lord (Zechariah 14:20).

Get ready; after Christ takes His Bride from the face of the earth there
will be tribulation for seven years, and following that, the Perfect Age. The
people of the world today are on the verge of chaos, while you who are
obedient to God are on the brink of wonderful things. You who are saved,
baptized in the Holy Spirit and totally obedient to God are leaving here in a
moment, in a twinkling of an eye. There is nothing that would hold you
back or keep you here; day after day you’ve been ready. With great
anticipation look toward that final moment, to feeling the Spirit sweep over
you—one moment in this body of flesh and the next a glorified body. There
will be no death, no separation, but a change of body while your soul is in
it. What a glorious experience that will be!

Death is a horrible monster, and yet Christians have wanted to go to

heaven so much they were willing for that monster to touch them for the
moment. They knew Jesus had conquered death, that it would have no hold
on their spirit as it soared into the paradise of God. How marvelous! We
who are raptured will not even leave our body as we become clothed in the
righteousness of God and headed for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Use the Power in the Name of Jesus
Are God’s hands untied? What kind of a person are you today? David
soared above the storm as Israel huddled down below afraid and frustrated.
He met Goliath in the name of the Lord, and God delivered Goliath into his
hands. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a
sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the
name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou
hast defied. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone,
and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone
sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David
prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote
the Philistine, and slew him (I Samuel 17:45,49,50). What faith, what
confidence! As you meet the enemy today you must say, “I come after you,
Lucifer, in the name of Jesus!” No other name under heaven is given
among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12), only the name of
Jesus Christ; there is power in that name! By that name the deaf can hear,
the blind can see, cripples walk; use that name and eternal life is given to a
soul. Rejoice and be glad that you have such a name of power to use!

The Early Church disciples learned what that power would do when,
before Pentecost, they went out by two’s. The Lord appointed other
seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city
and place, whither he himself would come. And the seventy returned
again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us
through thy name (Luke 10:1,17). They came back amazed, saying that
even the devils were subject to them through the name of Jesus.

Realize that the devil does become subject to you through the name of
Jesus; the power in that name binds old Lucifer. Many fear and tremble
because they either are not using that name or else they are using it with
fear and frustration instead of pure faith, using it as a matter of habit and
form and accomplishing nothing. Be still and know that He is God. Say the
name, Jesus, just one time full of power, faith and love; and Lucifer will
lose his hold on you as you take your stand, a mighty eagle for God,
mounting up into the greatness of God and the power of God’s glory. Many
persecutions, trials, frustrations and troubles are ahead with the devil
working on your mind; it is essential to become an eagle Christian in this
final hour. Keeping your mind stayed upon Him means you must take more
time in the presence of God than ever before if you are to have peace. Satan
is doing everything within his power to destroy the peace of God in your
heart, bringing every tribulation and trial your way; and the Lord has let
you know there is more coming, much of it during this final hour. But
rejoice bringing in the harvest! As you arise in the greatness of God, under
the influence of the Holy Spirit, and as you see how He is moving, praise
Him for His greatness and glorify His name.

Make God the Center of Your World

Stop looking at what God is not doing and keep your eyes on what He is
accomplishing. So long as you keep your eyes on His greatness, you cannot
be defeated. If there is something you want Him to do and it remains
undone, check to see if you have tied His hands in any way. Your tongue,
your disobedient way, failure to read the Word and stay in His presence,
lack of prayer, can all tie the hands of God.

David was forever praising the Lord; use praises to free the hands of
God. The bear and the lion came; David slew them and kept on praising
God. God was everything to him, his world.

Is God your world, your all in all? Is anyone or anything between you
and God? Do you put anyone ahead of God? If so, you have tied His hands.
Will you sacrifice God for your family? Then His hands are not completely
free.

The hour of His greatness is here for us just as it was for the Early
Church. When the Spirit was poured out on the apostles, they made the
most of it in the short time they had. They thought Jesus was coming right
away—they did not understand the Word of the Lord.

I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in

darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12). The Lord promised
that His children would not walk in darkness, but in the light; and the Lord
said His people would know this day, this hour, that it would not take them
unawares. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all
the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own
selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see
these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at
hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all
be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not
pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be
overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life,
and so that day come upon you unawares (Luke 21:29–34). Are you
unaware? Do you really believe that Jesus is coming; are you acting as
though it’s reality? It is time either to mount up or to stay in the valley
forever. The Lord is moving on you; become an eagle for the Lord. Climb
out of that valley into the greatness of God’s goodness. Higher and higher
God has called His people.

Oh, Moses, how wonderful it must have been on your mount when you
met God! Expect to meet God every day as you walk across this great
mountaintop. Striving, casting self down daily, cultivating your mind with
God’s Word, weeding out everything unlike Him, you are standing as a
whole person before Him, a vessel of honor to be used, a vessel He has
been able to mold and make. O LORD, thou art our father; we are the
clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand (Isaiah
64:8).

You no longer protest when He starts to the potter’s house to break and
re-make you. “Anything, Lord,” you say “just so I’m a vessel of honor.
Have your way. It matters not; I must be what you want me to be in this
final hour. Just to be led by the might of you, to know the mind of the Lord,
to take on the mind of Christ is all that really counts! And oh, Lord, I hear
the cry of the lost and I hear the Spirit saying, ‘Go forth, thrust in thy
sickle, and reap (Revelation 14:15); the souls are ready! Bring in the
sheaves!’”

The Storm Is Gathering Thick and Fast

 The storms of tribulation for this old earth are gathering thick and
fast; they’re clearly visible. This will be one storm you will not be able
to ride out; everyone who is left will be underneath. We must get out of
here. There will be no eagles among the Gentile people in this storm,
but the Lord will cover the Jewish people with the palm of His hand
and gather them to shelter—one third of them.

The tribulation of this world will be beyond the human mind;

nothing like it has ever been seen or will be seen again.

Now is the time to soar into the greatness of God’s love and into the
power of His goodness! The Holy Spirit is reaching down for you. That
Holy Ghost who came as a mighty wind into the Upper Room and filled
tabernacles of clay is checking your garments, getting you ready for the
great flight. He came on a mission, and for two thousand years He has
struggled with disobedient, unyielding, ignorant men who lived in
darkness and disputed the things of God.

It is hard to teach when no one has a desire to learn. But the Holy
Spirit is in the height of His glory now. This is His crowning hour, the
hour the Bride is to be taken out. He is moving, and people all over the
world are receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Protestant and
Catholic alike are receiving Him, and there will be more and more in
these last days we have left. The miracle power will be poured out upon
the earth in a fantastic way. Why would you doubt God; why strive and
agonize with Him about one little matter? When you pray, ask in faith
believing, “not my will, Lord, but thine be done,” instead of contending
with the Almighty day after day and week after week. When you can
pray a prayer from your heart according to His will and leave it in His
hands, you have the seal of complete deliverance and obedience. Walk
the road of obedience, and let Him do as He wills for His honor and
glory. Let Him take over. Surrender with confidence to the Lord.

Will You Answer His Call?

 The hour is late; the hour is short and today, yea saith the Spirit, the
Lord hath given unto His people the things to untie His hands for them
to see His glory and to see His power. I will walk with you, saith the
Lord, if you will walk with me; and I will be strong toward you if you
will yield yourself unto me. I have cradled you in arms of love, and I
have spent much time teaching you—and would have spent much more
time if you had lingered and stayed with me. I call unto you: Yield
yourself completely into my hands that I might use you for my honor
and for my glory. Open thine eyes and behold the strength of the Lord
thy God; and I will be strength unto thee, and I will be health unto
thee. In this hour of distress I will be a refuge. Trust in the Lord thy
God with all of your heart and lean not to your own understanding;
and I shall bring it to pass, saith the Lord, because I am God!

I called and I called to show you my greatness; I called and called

unto you to come into my arms that I might hug you close and tell you
of my greatness, that I might whisper things to come. I called and I
called so that you would not walk in darkness, so that you would know
the hour in which you walk. I called and called to let you know that I
would walk with you; I would be your God if you would be my people.
I have called and called and called and called.

Oh, how wonderful for Him to call—if He just called one time! What
a marvelous thing it is to be called of God, to be called into His arms,
hugged close to His bosom, to be cradled and sheltered by the Lord
God of Israel, by the same hands that with tender care brought the
Israelites out of bondage.

As an eagle carries her young, God started with them to the land of
Canaan. Had they obeyed Him, they would have been there in eleven
days; but they failed and it took forty years. We cannot afford to slow
down the program of God or to interfere with His divine plan. Jesus is
soon coming, and if we fail God, loved ones will fall into destruction; we
will not only be left, but will be the cause of others being left.

How awful to know the Bride of Christ has been taken out and you
were not among them! Maybe once you had been caught up with the
vision of His coming, but then you let it fade. The Holy Spirit is moving,
searching and weighing hearts. You are coming into greater things; a
mightier anointing and more of the Lord is offered to equip you. Will
you really reach for God? Some of you won’t, you have lost the vision.
Are you ready to meet Jesus? Have you failed Him, keeping His hands
tied with some disobedience you cannot be rid of? Are you doing
something that is wrong? If so, you have limited God and He can no
longer move for you. Search your heart, examine your life, let the Holy
Ghost help you be free of the things that would hinder Him in any way
from having complete freedom in your life—untie the hands of God!

Thus saith the Spirit of the Lord, If you do the things that the Lord
hath given you in these messages, you will untie God’s hands
completely that He can do a perfect work in your life.
 About the Author
Reverend Ernest Angley is the pastor and founder of Ernest Angley
Ministries with churches in two locations: Ernest Angley’s Grace Cathedral
in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and Grace Cathedral in Akron, Ohio. This Jesus
ministry is in the midst of a tremendous worldwide outreach which is
spreading the Gospel into many nations by way of crusades, television and
the printed page. God has endowed Reverend Angley with special gifts to
bring healing for soul, mind and body to people all over the world. He does
not claim to be a healer but a witness to the marvelous healing power of
Christ. His television programs—“The Ernest Angley Hour” (aired weekly)
and “The Ninety and Nine Club” (aired daily)—present the fullness of
God’s Word and teach the truth about salvation, healing and the baptism in
the Holy Ghost.

Check your local listing for times in your area or watch episodes of The
Ernest Angley Hour at http://www.ernestangley.org
More Books by Ernest Angley
Order Now at http://www.ernestangley.org/estore/
 Untying God’s Hands
By Rev. Ernest Angley

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 1977, 2001 Ernest Angley.
Printed in the United States of America.
Distributed by Winston Press.
P.O. Box 2091, Akron, Ohio 44309