God's Reality

Preachers, they are no exception. Things are constantly happening and I thought maybe I'd get here kind of early tonight but it didn't work out that way. This morning we talked about some things that I didn't get to finish. I talked to you for quite a while concerning these things but I didn't get to finish them up. As a matter of fact, I just more or less got started on them. And I would like to have gotten in to some things a little more. I thought since I was late  It's probably eight o'clock, or later, already. These things had to be taken care of; they were urgent. And we did. We went ahead an took care of them. Really I thought I'd get back in plenty of time, but Satan sees that you don't. And, of course, I got to talk to somebody tonight that helped them some. They needed some help in the Lord and it done them a lot of good when they found out I would talk with them. You know, a lot of people get the feeling that the minister of Bethlehem won't talk with them, as to whoever it might be. And they get the idea that they can't come to the Bethlehem church. Which I don't know why people get that feeling, but you know, that's the way the world is. And a lot of evangelists now, when they have crusades you have to pay to get into the crusade. And you just about have to have an invitation to come to a church or people won't show up at church. They feel kind of shut out. That's bad that a lot of people do boycott as in their church, but here at Bethlehem we're just good old fashion folks and we love folks and we try to fellowship and everybody is invited. The doors are open to whosoever will. Jesus said let whosoever will come and partake of the waters of life freely, and come, come without money. If you don't have any money come anyway. You don't have to give in the offering; just come. But a lot of people they don't understand that either. So I thought that since it was so late tonight, I told Betty, I said, Well, I won't try to get into nothing other than maybe just talk with them a few minutes. Satan is determined to keep me from getting to you with the revelation of Christ. Why is that? Because the revelation of Jesus Christ belongs to the church. And he'll do anything to keep the preacher from getting it to you if the preacher has it. It's not plentiful through the land as to the revelation, even though the gospel is plenty. It's plentiful all over the world. Everybody has to hear the gospel. It has to go into all the world for a witness to every creature before the end of the world can come. But when it comes to the revelation of the Lord Jesus, which will translate, and is translating the church, that's not plentiful. And he knows at Bethlehem they're pretty much in strife with this and they're moving along pretty good and everything's going along pretty well with them, and he doesn't want to allow them to get too far along. He really doesn't know how far along they really are. See? The Bible said the angels desire to look into this and they cannot. Even fallen angels would like to look into it but they cannot. It's not given to the world to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God as to the understanding of the parabolic speech of Jesus. So, and the reason for that, of course, is because the Bible said, having their foolish understanding darkened by the ignorance which is within, which is Lucifer, then that means that they're cut off and they cannot see this light when it comes. But people at Bethlehem, there are some here that can see it. Not a lot of them. A lot of them that they feel that they see it is only reflecting it, but there are some that do see it. And whatever the measure is that's good. Sister Betty  I was talking to her again today at length about some things, and as I say so many, many things that I never get to talk to you about, about intricate things. And it's really thrilling to Betty, and as a matter of fact she said today, I never heard that before. I never heard you say that. But it's so wonderful to walk in the spirit. So wonderful to dwell in heaven. So wonderful. Folks would say  Some would say, I just don't believe you can dwell in heaven, Brother Pike. But you can. Paul was caught up to the third heaven. Went up into heaven and John saw saints. He communicated with saints that's done gone on past, you know. As far as you're concerned they're in the grave. But as it was with Abraham talking to the rich man in hell, they're very much alive where they're at. And when John went up and saw these saints, communicated with them. As a matter of fact, he almost fell down at one's feet to worship him and the angle said, See that thou do it not, John, because I am of the brethren, the saints of God, or the prophets. So there is another world. As hard as it is for you to conceive of that there is another world. There is a spirit world and there is a spirit person. Natural person. And while that natural person is eating and drinking and buying and selling and laughing and talking and visiting, gossiping and doing all the things that you do in the earth then there is a spiritual person that's loving the lord, just walking in heaven, dwelling in heaven and fellowshipping the saints of God, them that seem to have passed on as far as you're concerned, and having a good time in God. It's a wonderful thing to be a Christian and to understand, to be a real genuine Christian, to be born again. You know, the trouble with the world today that I see is this one thing. And that is that we have been in such a fantasy world and make belief world with television and all these other kind of things until there is no more reality to the people. Everything is just a great fantasy. And because of this they're caught up into to a make belief world. They can't really pay their debts. And they're not really prospering, and they're not really getting ahead, but they've got enough credit cards, and they've got enough credit and enough prestige with the bank and switching things over and working with them until they can kind of keep going and have a fantasy life, you know. And they go out and make a lot of money, but really it doesn't benefit them because the Bible said when they bring it home the Lord blows upon it. Make much, bring it home, I'll blow upon it. It'll come to little. So in all reality they really don't have anything. And they work all their lives and usually die a pauper or just some little something about half paid for to pass on to the kids with a little inheritance and maybe a great big debt unless you are among the rich. And the rich they are rich in this world seemingly but actually when you get right down to it all that you have is what you eat and drink and what you wear, and maybe your car that you drive and a house to live in. Otherwise you don't really have much outside of that, because if you have money in the bank, really the banker is using it and they're getting use out of that and all you have is a record with some figures that says it belongs to you, and you get enough along to pacify, you know. Even if you are a billionaire it's the same way. You just, all you can use is just what's at hand. So, really you don't have anything. If you have a lot of land around somewhere it doesn't do you any good. The grass just grows on it and you have to keep it mowed and that's about all. If you put some cattle on it and you've got a big herd of cattle then you really don't have anything anyway. You've just got a bunch of cattle out eating grass, you know, and unless you get hungry and kill one of them that's no good to you. If you need a dollar or two you can sell one of them, but after all really you don't have any thing. The cattle was in the world without you buying them. They were all around. The indians didn't own any cattle at all; they had buffalo everywhere. They ate and drank and they did all of these things. They had cattle and they had all of these things before you ever came along and got yourself into this bondage of beggarly elements as to be a servant to tribute. So really the best thing that you can do is seek life. To be a real Christian, find life, because life is an abundant thing. It's plentiful. It is something that you are partakers of, even as the breath that goes in and out of our nostrils. And the more life you get the more exuberant you are as to strength and health and happiness, something that you actually feed on and something that's interwoven with you. So really life is better than meat, and the body is better than raiment. So I said all of that to say this, that to keep our minds staid on Christ Jesus, to come to the house of the Lord, to worship God, (Jesus said, Martha, Mary has chosen the better part, that which shall not be taken away from her.) to listen to the wonderful words of God, to incorporate these things within your life style that it might be your provisions through life, as to an abundant living. And let Martha take care of those things. And when I say Martha I'm speaking of the reference of Martha as to the world. Let her take care of all the natural things. Thou art encumber about a lot of things. You are concerned about a lot of things, but the one thing that is needful Mary has chosen. And that's what you need to do, is choose the one thing that's needful and be a Mary for God. Be a Mary for God. Somehow the name Mary had a significance as back then as even as to the coming of the Lord Jesus. But be a Mary. Be a spiritual Mary for God. And be after the things of God and not the things of the flesh. You know, it says of the married woman, she careth about the things of how she might please her husband. But the woman that is a single woman, she is a virtuous woman and she cares about the things, how that she might please God. Though there is nothing wrong with marriage, your made to marry and reproduce and these kind of things, but, and if you marry you've not sinned. The same way with a young man. The Bible said if you be called having a wife, if you come to know God and you've already got a wife don't try to leave the wife, or get away from the wife and deal treacherously against the wife of thy youth. God hateth putting away. But if you don't have a wife and you be called don't seek a wife, because you're free from the problems and the things of the world that causes you to fall into a snare and you can give more time to God, and do more things for God and life is but short anyway. And the Bible said it just a short while when there will be neither wife nor husband. You'll be as though you never were married, because in heaven the are as the angels and you neither marry nor or given in marriage. So then, when you get there it's going to be a different situation anyway. And all this is is just, as I say, for the multiplying and replenishing of the earth that you do these things. So give your time to God. Give your time to God. Don't go after the frivolous beggarly elements of the world. What is there that you would like to do? You know, have you ever just stopped and thought, Now, Lord, I could be a policemen. I could be a sheriff. I could be a governor. I could be a president. I could be anything I want to be; I just have to drive hard enough after it. I can be a millionaire; I could do whatever. But when you have done it all is there anything that you've really done other than just grow tired, got a lot of problems, probably ulcers of the stomach and about everything else you can think of as goes along with the world, as to the plagues? What is it? What does it mean to you? What have you done? You know, some of these singers and entertainers, they'll have four or five cars from a Rolls Royce to a Cadillac or whatever it is, you know, a Porsche. Whatever they can get. Whatever is modern today, but when they get it what have they got other than just a lot of junk that'll rust out, and in a year or so it'll be old and they'll have to have five more new ones to keep up with the style. The same way with clothing, same way with eating. You eat, eat, eat and you just get fatter and wish you hadn't eat so much. And if you don't get ice cream and cake you feel like God has been cruel to you because you ain't got enough money to buy it, and which ever way it goes it, you know, it's really no good. The last generation was to be an eating, drinking, generation. And they're eating themselves to death. And they'd be able to be a generation of adultery. One wife and two wives and three wives and a half a dozen wives. Never satisfied even with the wife that they've got, or never satisfied with the husband that they've got. And while they are living with one their eyes are lusting after another and it's really a hard, hard situation as a life and a troublesome time that we're living in. But if you love Jesus, if you walk in the pathway of right, if you seek life and seek wisdom of God, and if you seek His wonderful love and the glory that He wants to give to you, the Bible said that this glory which is to be revealed in you that the beggarly elements of this world is not to be compared with. And I just love that. Filled with the glory of God. Be full of the Spirit. Have the wonderful knowledge of God. Have the revelation of God. I'd rather have the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I had rather have one tiny thought that would be a true God thought from the Lord Jesus than to be a king over all the world and own all the gold and the diamonds and the rubies and the silver, and to be the finest, as to mankind on earth that everybody would admire, or anything else that the world had to offer. I had rather have just one thought, just one thought. And that's the truth, so help me God. Now. I've found out that the real treasure is this heavenly treasure that I have in earthen vessels, which I have an abundance of. Paul spoke of the much revelation that God had shared with him and I've been fortunate. God through His grace has given me much revelation and still I just love the revelation and the unveiled mysteries of Christ. It's just so wonderful to be able to feed off of Him. I see people that look like they get weary in well doing. I admit I get weary. I get tired. Everybody does, but I never remember in my life every getting weary in well doing. I just love to do well. I love to do the things of God. I love to talk about the Scriptures. I love to be in the wonderful knowledge of God day and night. Just meditate in it day and night. It's food to my soul. It's a refreshing. It's like a springtime morning to me just to communicate with Him. And indeed He is the resurrection. Well, anyway, in making a little reference back to Mark, the first chapter of Mark in the fifteenth verse, and the first chapter of Revelation and the third verse. I'd still love to comment on the time is at hand. This morning I didn't get to say anything much about the time being at hand. Now, I did, I did get far enough along to where I had a grouping as to a few thoughts that might be encouraging. And might be enlightening. I didn't get to cover the field of thought but very little. And tonight I'd love to just kind of pro and con a little bit on some thoughts just to talk with you because I'm running late. And to really get into something tonight it would just weary you, because your probably tired from the day and at night people aren't very spiritual anyway. It's a very rare thing at night to catch people that are spiritual unless you do as they call it an evangelistic service. Unless you do the things that calls for an evangelistic service. Like, you know, you get up and you run and you jump and you holler and you scream and pound your hand and you drag the mike cord from one end of the building to the other, and when you've done all of these things, you dance some, you know, and play the organ and say amen, hallelujah, glory to God, and holler, you know, and get everybody worked up. Because they're in the flesh a lot anyway, and just to get their attention you just have to go along with them a little bit and catch their attention, and then after that see if you can get in a spiritual thought or two. And they have a jubilant time. Which there is nothing wrong with it because they're praising God. They get into a praise. And the Bible said enter into His gates with thanksgiving. And they praise the Lord and they clap their hands and they have a good time, and the milk of the Word goes forth and the little children they laugh with glee, the little spiritual children they just rejoice over it, you know. And that's good. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. No problem. No problem. That's what the Bible says do. But at the same time if the meat belongs to the strong then it'll take more than clapping your hands. It's going to take more than singing a song. It's going to take more than praising the Lord. It's going to take more than feeling good. It's more than just leaving the church and saying, We had a wonderful service; I feel so good. It's going to take more than that. It's going to take receiving the wonderful knowledge of Almighty God that spoke the world into existence and that spoke you into existence, that created every diamond, and every ruby, and every pearl and every star, the sun, the species of the ocean and those of the jungle and everything that's in the world today. It's going to take that wonderful Word of God where the Bible said He sent His Word and healed them; opening the blind eyes, unstopping the deaf ears, making the lame to walk, resurrecting the dead, bringing the wonderful unveiled revelational knowledge of Almighty God to speak this world out of existence and to bring another world into existence which is foreign to many of you. It's very foreign though you've heard me preach and you've heard me say things, but it's still just as foreign as it ever was. But, folks, it's real. It's not real as to a fantasism where I'm trying to encourage you into some kind of story land as to drift off in a dream world. It's not real to the extent that I'm trying to persuade you through a believing that though it isn't there and though it isn't real and you really don't have it, you don't know what it is and you don't know when it's coming and you're not sure whether it's coming at all or not, you know, but you believe. Not that kind of foolishness. That's not what it is at all. This thing that I'm speaking about is  To you reality is this natural thing around you as to the worldly structure, or something that you can contact and touch bases with as to your human senses, as to get a thrill and excitement, you know, a stimulation. You have to have that to live. As a matter of fact, I was talking to Betty about that today. I wish we had just a little time to go into the world of the quickening. But that's not reality. Even though it is reality to you and for me to bring something to you that's real I've got to bring it along those lines, you know, and I've got to kind of show it to you like that. The streets of gold and the gates of pearl and whatever. But it's so, so, so different from what you think. This sounds strange. I know to you, too, it sounds strange. But it's like a song that I wrote one time. The song says, Heaven can wait until I see Jesus. If I was leaving and if I was going away I wouldn't be looking for streets of gold, but I'd be seeking Him, the Savior of my soul. And I'm not telling the words as they go, but then it goes on as to the chorus. Heaven can wait until I see Jesus. And it goes on like that, you know. Heaven is wonderful and the gates of pearls are beautiful. The streets of gold. The pearly gates. The beautiful throne and all of these marvelous things, but that don't excite me like Jesus. He's the word and life and quickening and stimulation of my heart as to the resurrection. And I know we say that, you know. We talk about that, say, Man, I love Jesus. I love Jesus. And we'll shed a tear or two, you know, but folks, I'm telling you, you can fall head over heels in love with Him and He can be so deep down interwoven with your spirit when you come to know Him. What a wonderful, wonderful, glorious prince of life He is. And once you become entwined with His love and His Spirit, and He becomes interwoven with you, it is something that I cannot express. It's a state of ecstasy that's just, it's clear out of this life, this world, and I really love him like that. He's got my heart. Brother Taylor sings a song we wrote, one day a stranger He stole my heart and He carried it away. So, I found that He really did and that's why the song came out of my heart like that. And I love Him and I was just singing the other day and I was singing, Heaven can waite, I want to see Jesus. I'm sure my wife, she must notice a lot of times. Wives are pretty crafty, you know. They know a lot of things you don't think they know. But tears was rolling down my cheeks and I was staying out of her presence in another room somewhere, you know, so she wouldn't know what was going on. And sometimes I do that. I used to, driving down the road, tears would be streaming down my cheeks and I'd just turn my head so she couldn't see. But my heart would just be, my soul would be just poured out. I want to see Jesus. I want to see Jesus. I love Jesus so much. Just to get there. To think about Jesus, the gates of pearl don't excite me. To think about Jesus the streets of gold don't excite me. To think about Jesus it just excites me so much I could pass right through the gates of pearl and right down the streets of gold and it wouldn't excite me at all to the extent that my heart would be so wrapped up in Jesus to think the thoughts I was fixing to see the One who gave His blood out of His veins for me, and the One who gave me His precious loving spirit that dwells in me today. And the One that so loved me that He watches over me like a mother does a little babe, and He's so compassionate and so concerned that He wept, He wept, and He wept so that I wouldn't be lost. And He prayed until His sweat became great drops of blood. That tears me up just to think about it, you know, I lose my composure. And many times here I would just, I would cry and cry and cry. But I always manage, you know. So then, let's speak just a few minutes about some things. And when I say these things I don't mean that heaven isn't great. You look forward to heaven. It's so wonderful. It's so beautiful. It's the land of enchantment. It's the great magnificence of all times. But don't forget Jesus. Jesus is the spotlight of it all. He is the great wonderful host of it all. I spoke this morning about the time being at hand. Now, let me just talk with you just a minute or two because this morning I got enough thoughts in line to where you kind of have an understanding. So I can just kind of pro and con a little bit and skip about and get a thought or two, just talking to you as a brother, like Jesus would do if He were here. That's the way He would do it. The time is at hand. I said, Now, what is meant by the time being at hand? This morning I had to really hurry through it. I couldn't say too much. I couldn't take too much time. I had already taken too much time with the other. What is meant by the time is at hand? I'm going to say this as a refreshing to you because we went through that real hurriedly this morning. First of all, sin began with Adam. What caused sin? What was sin? How did sin even come into the picture? Where does sin come from? What was the origin of sin? The Bible teaches that the first account of sin, it was when Eve dishonored and disobeyed God as to what He had told her to do. It was a transgression of His desire and His request. Whereas, no one knew what had happened. They did not know about sin, nor did they know anything as to what happened until many years later. Many years later. Two thousand years passed and they still didn't understand. And then besides that more time passed and they still didn't know. And then four hundred and thirty years before the law even from the time of Abraham they still didn't know. But then came the law and the law was God's desire expressed. And it was the commandments that were given. These commandments were given and when men received this law Paul made the statement to express what happen, saying, I was alive without the law. That is, I didn't have any knowledge or condemnation. Though men were dying we really didn't know why, but as to me I had no condemnation. I had a confidence, you know, toward a supreme power, but when the law came sin revived and I died and that which was ordained unto to life, as the wonderful words of God, it became death unto me. Was that which is holy and good and righteous and spiritual, even as Paul said the law is, was that then made death unto me? or evil unto me, that which was good? God forbid, Paul said. I would never have known evil. I would never have known sin had it not been by the law, the law coming to let me know that I was interwoven with an impurity because of the fall, and infiltrated with the powers of Lucifer and a knowledge of carnality and lust until the law reveled it to me. But it overwhelmed me because sin taking occasion by the law, it was strengthened and it slew me. It used condemnation. It intimidated me. And then when all of these things come to my mind I was literally crushed. There I was; I was crushed. All of these things that it said thou shalt not do I am guilty of, Paul said. All of this in my flesh, even to having people killed and stoned to death and all of these kind of things. See? There was my guilt. I'm carnal. I'm sold unto sin for that which I do I allow not. That which I would do I do not. Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death. I blame it on the body as to the first man Adam, of my first birth, iniquity from the beginning, even the spirit of foolishness in my heart as from childhood. And I blame it on the body. So then, what can I do? What the law could not do, he said, being weak through the flesh, that is my weakness to perform it, being carnal sold unto sin. He said, God sending His own Son in that image of a servant, in the likeness of sinful flesh, as a sinful body, as the body of the generation of vipers, as the first man Adam, as that which was the old cocoon, as that which was the bastard child, as that which God hates. And I go on and go on because I could give you a description of these things to try to get you to see how urgent it is before God that you put that thing down and defeat that thing and put your foot on his head and get rid of that thing that your in bondage to that you are so in admiration of, and stop making provisions for that thing and make provisions for God and make provisions for the spirit. And make provisions for the inner man. Though the outer man perish, yet the inner man is renewed day by day. As to what the outer man needs, God has given it to him for the Bible said before you call, or ask God for anything your Heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all of these things and He's already made provisions for it. Even for the little birds and the lilies of the field. Whatever. He'll give you the desires of your heart. Delight yourself in Him. I'll make you to ride upon the high places of the earth, feed you with the heritage of Jacob. My blessing will make you rich and add no sorrow. I'll make all of your beds in the time of your sickness. And it is the Lord thy God that giveth you the power to get wealth. So then, He knows about all of these things so He said, When you go to pray don't say, Lord, give me, give me, give me. Lord, I got to have a car. Lord, I got a have a house and Lord, I need a new car. And this old junk.. (Begin tape one, side two.)..all of them is yours anyway. All they have to do is just be run through the filter. I've given you all things that pertain unto life naturally, physically, and spiritually. See? Don't go that, but pray after this manner: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. That is, come. Come to God and worship God and love Him. Like, come and say, Jesus, I love You. Oh Lord, I love You. Lord, help me. Hallelujah! Praise Your wonderful name. Lord, You're so wonderful. God, I thank You for my blessings yesterday. My little children, I thank You for them, my little wife, my husband. Oh, Lord, it's so wonderful to be a Christian. Father, I'm so concerned about them that's overseas; they're hungry, starving to death. Oh, my God! Help me to help them. And Lord, the widows and the orphans. And dead God, these people they don't understand, give them understanding. Lord, I'm praying for them that are without. Grant repentance unto them. Lord, help my loved ones. You know, a lot of folks say, Well, I don't know nothing to pray about. My lands! I don't know how you could ever say that. Samuel said, God forbid that I should sin against God by not praying for the people. Lord, bless them people that are in the insane asylum; restore them. Lord, them people that are over yonder in prison, God, help them. And them in the concentration camps, and the little girls that's been ravished, and the little boys that's been stolen away and their mother don't know where they are at. Oh, my God! My God! Help them nuns that are over yonder in prison in the convents. And on and on and on and on, you know. My! there's just so many things to pray for. And asking God to give us peace, and pray for the kings and the queens and the leaders of the world. So in this making intercession. Don't pray, Father give me this. And Father, I've got to have that. And Oh, my God, Lord, you promised. And Father, I couldn't pay my rent. And Lord, I've done everything I know how. You know you're lying. You know you ain't done half that you ought to do. And you know that you've been messing around and just frolicking around and ain't had no system of life. And ain't done no way, and all you are doing is just finding fault with God when others that don't have near the income that you have, hasn't made a third of the money that you made, and don't know anything about anything when it comes to education, just working hard, and they're paying their bills and they're getting by and God is helping them and He's multiplying the fishes and the loaves and you're making a big chuck of money and you're bringing it in and you're letting God's house lay waste. And that's not necessarily as to this building as we say, but rather the body here. You're not praying and you're not fasting and you're not living right and you're not seeking God. And this thing, you're making it a house of money changers. That's all you can have on your mind, is thinking about buying and selling, and getting and gain, and all these kind of things and you're letting His house lay waste. And you're making it a den of thieves by inviting all these spirits and all of these things into your heart and into your life to trouble you and everybody else that you come around. Especially the saints of God. And when you trouble the saints of God then God troubles you. So don't never pout with saints of God. Don't never gossip about saints of God. Don't never say nothing about saints of God. See? That shows that your program and computer is all out of control up here. See? That's crazy. That's wrong. That's foolish. You'll kill yourself. You'll die at and early age. The powers of hell itself will be on you in every corner, every nook, of your life and you'll be one big miserable person that won't have anything, that won't have any blessings. And every time you find one fault with a saint of God in this mind then God will find fault with you. And every time you trouble one of them God will trouble you. And every time you do something wrong to one of them then He charge you with it in the day of judgment saying that you so mistreated My body and so re-crucified Me afresh. And every time you do something good to them and say something good about them about them and think something good toward them then the blessings of the Lord come and the angels of God come to minister. And all of these great wonderful things are given to you in Christ Jesus. If you order your thoughts right, your heart right the Bible said in that day God will judge the secrets of your heart by this gospel. The heart by this gospel that I'm preaching. Out of the heart comes forth the issues of life. Do your diligence keep it for it's desperately wicked above all things; who can know it? So then, try to keep your heart. Try to be straight. Try to think the right thought, for as a man thinketh in his heart so he is. And not only that, but I tell you this on numerous occasions in preaching. The Bible says out of your heart comes forth the issues of life. Why? Because the Bible says God is going to feed you the fruits of your thoughts. So as you think in your heart then comes forth the thoughts. That's what you feed on and whatever your thoughts are that's the way you're rewarded according to life, as to judgment or as to the blessings of God. Well, anyway, going back to our original thought here that we strayed off a little bit. So then the first sign of sin, there it was. But now was this the beginning of iniquity? No. No, that was the first registration as to the human mind, and that was the first charge as all die in Adam. Though he was not in the transgression he listened to the woman, the weakness of the flesh. And I could explain a lot about that. Some of you know a lot about it. But, anyway, there was something beyond that that had caused this problem. And that is there was a supreme being called Lucifer, an angelic being. See? Somebody would say, Well, that's like a bed time story, Brother Pike, and those fantasies, we don't know anything about that. You really can't prove that. You're just telling us something. No. If you have any understanding at all you know that there is an angelic world. There is an angelic world. So it's not an erroneous sort of thing to think that there was a Lucifer which was called the Son of the Morning, a power of equality as to God only in the sense of reflection. And this great power that was as to a covering cherub of God's glory, reflecting this glory. See? This is where the problem came in. When a person says, Well, I don't know about the angelic world. It's hard for me to get a hold of. I can't fathom that. All you've got to do is stop and think. When you go into a funeral home and you look at a dead body, supposing I was in the funeral home, supposing you were in the funeral home  And one day if Jesus tarrys all of us will pay it a visit, or something will go on. See? But, now, let's just think over it for a few minutes. Supposing it was my time or your time. Somebody would say, Well, your time will come before my time. Well, you don't know that. See? You don't know that. It just depends how God's got it marked up. Sometimes people shorten their days by their disobedience. So you really don't know. But even if it does come later, as to somebody going before you, you know, you'll go along there because like one day this man is ninety years old and like Sister Betty's mother and Brother Thomas, you know, ninety years old and he's looking back. You're looking toward life. Toward life. And in looking toward life you think every thing is ahead of you when you're young, but then when you get so far along, long about forty, or whatever, you kind of get out of the wilderness and you begin to look back. And as you begin to look back you think, Man, file is behind me. It's behind me, not before me. And see? You are moving on down the trail and maybe the person ninety years they're kind of up ahead. They got a head of you a little bit. But you'll be there. One of these days you'll be ninety and then there will be another fellow back here, another girl back here and they'll be looking up here. And you'll be thinking the same way the ninety year old person thought, you know. But what if you could think like Moses? I haven't strayed off of my thought here now. What if you could think like Moses and be like Moses at the age of a hundred and twenty. Or as it was with him when he was so strong, so healthy and so well in every perspective of life. See? Going strong. Or like Enoch, over three hundred years old. Or like Methuselah over nine hundred years, like Noah, the others. See? What if you could be like that? Now this is what we're speaking about. Finding out where the problem is and the interruption of life. So then, we're talking about going down to the funeral home, that your time will come. When your times comes and then your down at the funeral home and somebody comes by to pay their respects, you know, and they look over you and they're very respectful, and maybe it's a loved one, maybe it's a church member, maybe it a brother or sister in Christ, and maybe you shed some tears. Maybe you're sincere, or in sincere tears, that is. Maybe it's one of your loved ones. See? But the thing is it isn't going to be long before somebody is going to be looking at you. You know, you look at daddy and there he is, and there's mother. Precious mother and daddy. And before you hardly know it everything is gone and your son and daughter is standing there looking at precious mama and daddy. You know. So don't be alarmed just because you're going to die. That is as the world says it. So don't be alarmed, see? because everybody does it. I mean it's in style. So you don't have to feel bad. Like Jacob said when he got ready to die. He didn't get alarmed about it. He just said, Call them all in. I go the way of all the earth. All the earth. Everybody does it. As a rule everybody does it. So, see? You're not doing anything that no one else has done. You won't be doing anything at all. You lived your life. When you get to be an elderly person you can't look back with old jealousy, as in admiration of youth and their lust and all these kind things that they're involved in that you have already passed through. See? You can't look back on them and be jealous and hate and try to go back and pick up your sixteen year old appearance and all these kind of things. Like the world is doing today with their silly doings. You know. You can't do that. The thing to do is be wise and remember the creator in the days of your youth and then that way you'll never die; you'll never grow old. You'll always be the same. My! What we could say in talking about that. See? As to be, or is it already. See? So don't be foolish. Don't be foolish. Don't have any fear of death because you are a Christian. You're not going to die. You're not going to die. If you wasn't a Christian then I would say you need to fear death, because though all have done it many of them have died. Others have gone to sleep. Those that have gone to asleep will be awakened. Those that have not gone to sleep, that died, they won't be awakened. Like Jesus. I'll give this little thought here before we go on with the original thought. There was Jesus --Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue came to Him and said, Lord, come and heal my little girl. Said, She's at the point of death. She's my only daughter. That is, Jesus started. He was interrupted by so many people that were in desperation until He stopped compassionately helping them just to give time for the little girl to die. He knew that would happen. And then all of a sudden someone came from Jairus' house and said, Don't trouble the Master; she's already dead. Jesus said, Don't be afraid. Don't fear. He knew that that baby wasn't dead. It was just a young little girl and He knew she wasn't dead and so He just went with Him and said, Don't be afraid. Just believe now. Like the writer said, Don't be of a doubtful mind. So He went over there. He took the father, He took the mother, He took James and John and Peter, went into the room and He said to the people, said, Why make such a to do, the damsel is not dead. She's not dead. She's just asleep. And they laughed Him to scorn. But He went into the building, or into the room, and He called to her, Talitha cumi, as to say, Damsel, arise. And the Bible said she awoke immediately and she arose. Why did she do that? And I said that of course to make a point. And that is, why did she arise? Because she wasn't dead to begin with. Then what was wrong with her? She was asleep. The Bible said, And Jacob fell on sleep. After he had his little conversation with his family he fell on sleep like the rest of the prophets. And the little maiden was asleep. She was not yet accountable for her sins. Therefore sin was not imputed as unto death. So, where there is no knowledge of sin, sin is not imputed so she could not sin against God. The Bible said when the forbid the little children to come unto Jesus, Jesus said that is, He said, Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of heaven, for I say unto you that these children their angel doth always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven. Which meant again that though it was a little human body here and though there was an angelic spirit here. (Bringing us back to our original thought, now.) There was an angelic spirit here, see? in this body; yet this angel was not chargeable with sin. It had not yet entered into the understanding to where Satan could project this knowledge of corruption into it as to understanding. It had never come to that understanding as of yet. See? It never developed into it. So, these little children their angel had never left heaven. Jesus said, The son of man who was in heaven, Nicodemus, who is in heaven. I say, Brother Taylor the man that was in heaven, who is in heaven, and where were you before the world ever was when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God leaped for joy. And we say we are sons of God, and I say, Well, where were you? Job, he said, Where were you? Where were you? Somebody would say, Well, Brother Pike, where were you? I was saying, Hallelujah! Glory to God! I was leaping for joy. Oh, somebody said, Now, Brother Pike, let's be realistic. That's what reality is right there. See? Your in a fantasy mind. Somebody said, Now, Brother Pike, you know you have never been to heaven. Not only have I been to heaven but Jesus said, The son of man who is in heaven. How could you say, I'm bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh and He told Nicodemus He was in heaven and then you say that I'm not in heaven? Do you believe what you hear? You say, Oh, I believe, Brother Pike. I'm a believer. Do you really believe that? Do you really believe you are a son of God? Somebody says, Oh, yes, I believe. Oh, no. No, if you were a son of God you'd be bubbling like a little spring and it would be joy unspeakable and full of glory. Tonight if we had a billionaire setting out there and ain't never been a billionaire before, and all of a sudden they got to be a billionaire  Well, let's look at it realistically. They wouldn't even be here. They'd be out somewhere with their billions. But, nevertheless, how would you feel? Folks, we're not talking about a bedtime story. We're not talking about something that you hope, or you make-believe in your mind of fantasy as to your intellectual concept of what you call faith. I'm talking about a reality. Who am I? Jesus said. Or who do men say that I am? And Peter looked beyond the veil, not to know anyone after the flesh, looking beyond that he said, Thou art the Christ. I know that Thou art the Christ, the son of living God. And even with that, though you recognize, when that thing come around do you remember what happened? Peter boasted of what he would do and when it come right down to it it was Satan that was doing all the boasting. Peter he didn't have the goods. Do you know why? He had never received the infilling of the Spirit. Well, anyway, that's about our original thought here. These little spirits, they'd never come into accountability and because of this Jesus said, Now, don't forbid them, for unless you be the same as they, to become as a little child. That is as to the innocency, you've got to be born again; a little child, and you've got to come to that world of innocency like their spirit or you're not going to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Lest you be as a little child, become as a little child, ye shall in no wise inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. So, I say this again. Why think it a fantasy world when I talk about Lucifer, and I talk about the angelic world, and I talk all these things? Why feel that that is such a great fantasy world? that there is really no reality to it? The un-reality is the natural world. All of this is fantasy world. All of this body that you treasure, and this face and these appearance and all the pretty faces and handsome faces and the forms and the figures and the exuberance and the relation of bodies, and all this eating and drinking and buying and selling, and all the molecular structure as to the structure of the world that you esteem to be something is absolutely nothing but just a  Scientists have decided it's just a few atomic particles. Or that is to say, it's as the dust. The body is made from the dust. The earth is of the dust. There is nothing, nothing, nothing at all. The flesh profiteth nothing. Nothing at all. All it is is something that's to be dissolved, to go back to the earth. And Peter said even this body, if it be dissolved as to the coming of the fervent heat, go back to the earth I have another. It's not a tabernacle; it is a mansion. It is the temple of the living God, the body of the Lord Jesus, the glory of the celestial. I have another one eternal in the heavens. If this one be dissolved I'll enter into it. That is, the inner man, the son of God will put this thing off and go right straight in there. So, when we think about this in the light of reality what is man? They've proven him to be nothing but electrical sparks. What is the earth? They've proven it to be nothing but electrical sparks. What is all of this about as to the stars? as to the nickel? the rocks? Electrical sparks. So then, that means that everything is just right for God just, we say push the button like the atomic warfare. Everything will break into a blaze and just melt and dissolve away and God will reconstruct by running it through the fire and of the same material but it will be purged. And in that there is no sin or corruption, iniquity, can be charged to that because the body is without sin, as I said this morning. I don't have time to elaborate on that. My time is running out real quick now. So then, we find that it is a matter of a nature, it is a matter of the spirit. It is a matter of the angel. It is the angelic part. So that's reality. Is there life without quickening? Like I was telling my wife today, (Just rehearsing one or two little things here that I mentioned to her.) See? When Adam lost the Shekinah covering of his glory  God said you cover with a covering but not of me, as through the prophets later He said this to the people. Putting them on skins, falling in the beast level, leaving that heavenly illumination of that wonderful thing of the quickening, the image that was the quickening of life. So, when Adam lost out and went back to the dust, as to out of the garden, back to the place it was taken from among the animals. God had brought forth a great light, knowing that this was going to happen that from the cosmo that's around us, that from that cosmo would come a cosmic energy. Through the hypothalamus, as we've taught you, coming into the body and going into every part of the body to quicken it. For without quickening the body turns into carrion. Without quickening it's just food for the buzzards. And it has to be quickened as to an electrical quickening. And that's all you are, is electrical sparks. And this heart, it's just a muscle. And it's composed out of the electrical sparks and through the friction of this coming down, as to the molecular structure, going into your body and through the friction of this thing, as friction creates the electrical stimulation then you get the quickening and that coming down to you in the form of breath of life, or oxygen, going into the little capillaries of your lungs. I've made the statement before, you have a compound in there that has an affinity to oxygen and it picks it up and then turns red. And when the oxygen goes on through the metabolizing of the body, as through the system to feed the little cells, to quicken and keep them alive, to stimulate, to cause a stimulation by oxygen, as to when you can't breathe you die quick. You know, you're just a breath of life. That's what God made you, see? And you went back to that breath of life through Adam when he fell from that illumination. So man is just a breath of life. He's just like an animal. Before he fell he wasn't like that. See? He was illuminated. Even though he was a creature of that kind he had not yet made the change that you and I have made as to being born again in our spirit, but he did have the illumination of the protection. See? That being lost as to the image in which we're made, then that image came back as to the invisible Christ. Which is in us and interwoven with our angelic being on the inside as to administrate. Like it is Aaron within the temple, as to administrate and to officiate within here until the time of the change of the body, which then the creature itself, as to the animal part of us, the body, even that of Adam that was made subject to vanity as being put on the belly and being related to the natural things of the earth by human senses. This things we have to kind of run through a little bit at a time, even though we've done taught you these things to make everything connect together we have to run back through these things. So then, when Christ came everything is finished, everything is sealed. Today I was telling Betty some things. I wish I had time to bring out here of the church ages, of the great ark of the covenant, what really took place, how this all came about and what had to happen during this time period of time and what happens at the end time. Then you'd say for sure, it's for sure, dear God, that is real. See? So we are living reality, as to the inner man, and this outer house, Peter said, God has shown me shortly I must put off this my tabernacle. And if this tabernacle is dissolved I have I have the other one, as to the body of Jesus. I am now married to a new, and my spirit will just enter into His body. Which body we already are through the foreknowledge of God. And that would take a lot of explaining, too. That's where the mysteries come in. Great is the mystery. It so wonderful to really understand. But knowing that the spirit world is real then why do we cleave to the world of fantasy when it's all lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh and just something to pass away. That little old heart today, it's just fluttering around like a dying calf, you know, and you get all scared to death. The muscles have done got all out of sorts because have, somehow or another you have got the nerve system upset, or you have eat something before you lay down you shouldn't have eaten, you know. As I was telling my Danny the other night, he's having a problems there, young, strong, healthy guy. The Bible said in the last days young men's hearts will fail them of fear of looking for those things to come upon the earth. I said, Danny, I said, now remember the sun, going around the earth is at the farthest point from the earth from about twelve to three along in there somewhere. I said, And that's when people usually die. And I worked as an undertaker before. And I said, This is the usually  I've had to go out in the morning, you know, to get them. There they'd be. Family tore up, loved one laying it the bed there, you know. Waking up in the middle of the night and finding them dead. And I said, what it is, you know, as to age or if you don't have enough strength you're not active enough, see? and you lay down at night, you've done eat something that done congested you, you've got a congested heart, problem here because you gasses and you can't pass those gasses and there you are, acids on the inside and the first news you know, malfunction of the heart and you're gone. Because you are just a breath of life; that's all. And that heart has to pick up regular this oxygen, like that. Once this runs through the body and little cells gets this oxygen it comes back around and you have veins, as to blue veins. Like a blue baby, taking the blood out, having to put more blood in because there's no oxygen in the baby. See? It comes back, goes through the heart, back through the capillaries, round and around and the same thing over and over. Well, anyway, the sun being way, away from the earth then if you're a little weak, or you get a suppression to where the heart has a problem then you'll go out. Something will happen to you, or you'll find yourself jumping up in the middle of the night. And we don't use any wisdom with our eating, no system, set gazing at televisions and these conductive nerves from the eye to the brain effects the entire body, the kidneys, the heart and everything else, and people just dying out like flies from the greed and the lust of the flesh. Setting there gazing at some old fanaticism, or nothing, something about politics, or the world, or whatever it might be, sports, and killing themselves out and giving their life because that's devils and demons and parasites drawing that lust and that desire for the things of the world, and using that body up and staying out of the dry places. And you're not wise, see? Well, this is where the problem is, but it is an angelic world. It is a spiritual world. There was a Lucifer and this Lucifer was a reflector and the Bible said because of the beauty of him own self  Now, this is where the problem came in. Someone would say, Well, I wouldn't be like that. There's one thing about it; I would never have been like that. Lucifer was a fool. Well, it's the same Lucifer in you today. You can't keep your mind off of your face. You've just got to pompadour the hair. You have to paint the lips a little bit, some of you, even is you have to have some lipstick that they can't see, you know, too well, and paint the fingernails a little bit even if it's something that somebody can't tell too much about. Or you've got to have your chain around the neck and your bracelets, and you've got to have your pretty polished shoes and you've got to have your bow ties and your shirts, or you've got to have your sporty clothes, or you've got to have your sporty cars, or you've got to something to project the exuberance of that special you. What is that? Satan. The image of the devil. And so Satan he is the same in you. He's doing the same thing. So really in reality you're doing just the same thing that Lucifer done there. See? And when it comes to Adam and Eve somebody would say, Well, they were a fool; I would not have done that. But yet you're the same sovereignty today and the grace is coming down, the blood there on the seat of atonement. And you have the same opportunity to choose even the tree of knowledge, as to the natural things of the world, to the gullible desires of the world, or to choose Christ and self denial, as to do what the Lord wants. You've got the very same words of life, as to the tree of life, saying, Don't do it and the old tree of knowledge that says, Well, it an exciting time. And what do you do? You do the same thing Adam and Eve done. See? So, I said that to say this. That was the first account, right there. I can tell the sparks are kind of going out, you know; you've heard about all you need for tonight. When we come to these things that was the first account of iniquity. When God found this and Lucifer, immediately he could reflect no more, as to Lucifer. And the light withdrew because God cannot look on iniquity. The Bible says that at this very moment for these things that iniquity was found in Lucifer. It was found there. And from that time he became the ruler of the darkness because his light went out. And he became known as the lesser light to rule the night. I wish we could go into that. And then the greater light to rule the day (?). And that's what happened when Adam fell. He fell to the realm of the lesser light. There was a knowledge that entered into him. There was a reflection there as of that which Christ had known, and that is still around in the world today. I just want to elaborate on these things but that's where your greater light and your lesser light comes from. And that's where you true stars and your wandering stars come from. But that was the beginning of iniquity, but it wasn't accounted for as sin of the soul because Satan did not have a soul. Satan was a spirit. See? I make my angels spirits. That was the spiritual world. But when that was conveyed to man, in that God had created a man and a woman, then when these things came into the man then it because sin, as to the soul that sinneth shall surely die. When you come to the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of knowledge, the first thing you can go after, and yet your going after the diplomacies of life day after day seeking the admiration and the degrees of life, as to the admiration of man. And the Bible said seek ye the favoritism and admiration of men. How can you have the honor which comes from God? So that means that there is an angelic world and Lucifer was the beginning of the problem. He's still the cause of the problem and he is still in power and in constraint today. You may have a hard time understanding that but he's still in power and he's still in constraint. And I'm trying to find a place to close because I can tell that you are going out fast. It's like a fire going out. It's sad but you are. And only one or two of you, just here and there, that's really in with God to stay there and the others they've reflected as much as they can take and now their light is going out. It's done got to far along for them, and too much, as to the weariness of the flesh, you know. And of course, the little babies they can't take very much. They go to sleep. But I'm saying these things to you because there are hundreds of thousands of things that you need to know and yet you don't. But whatever you do know, whatever you can get a hold of, whatever measure it is get a hold of it fast because time is running out and the time is at hand. I can't comment any on that tonight as to what I wanted to but maybe from time to time we'll keep...(Begin tape two, side one.)...what we're saying. Let's stand together. How often should we talk about this? Well, as to my way of life, I love to think about it all night long on my knees. Talk to God and meditate all night long and then when I awake in the morning, or if I happen to dose off to sleep, or when I get up from my knees, I love to think about it all day long and talk about it to this group until they get weary and then we'll go over to another group and talk about it to my wife until she gets weary then go over to somebody else. And how much of this then do I want to do, or should I do, or you? The Bible said meditate in His laws day, all day long, and night, all night long and to cast down every thought as to the imagination, the thoughts, the desires of the natural mind, which is enmity with God, and bring into captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ every thought. Which is the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ, for out of that comes forth life, even the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ. So then, this is what I feel like doing. This is what I love to do. This is life; this is abundance of life to me. Someone would say, Well, Brother Pike, I just cannot fathom to keep my mind on God all the time. I don't know. It's like some people that eat. They can eat six times a day. Some people can eat two times a day. And some people like to drink. They drink and they drink and they drink, whether whiskey, or beer, whatever, they just like to drink. Some people keep a thirst, some people keep a hunger so they like to eat. It just happens that I'm one of those kind that likes to eat and drink at the table of God. And I just love to keep my mind on life and that more abundant. I just love to be filled with the life that's the Spirit of the Lord. And why is it again so hard for you to accept this. What if you were as one of the four beast that surround the Throne? Day and night, as it would be to you in that there is no night there, but day and night, the Bible uses the terms as to means and measurement of thought that we might be able to comprehend what's being said. Said, these beast never stop day nor night saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty. Just think. What if I said, Now, folks, from the time you come in here don't stop saying holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty through the service? You'd think I was eccentric, and in just that little bit of time. Somebody would say, Well, I would give out, Brother Pike. And indeed you would. But not in the presence of that light and that strength. You'd feel strong enough to wrestle a lion saying, Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. Somebody would say, What kind of life would that be? What kind of life would that be? That is life. They're just sitting there all the time drinking life, life, life, life. Just filled up and overflowing with life. Oh, but, somebody would say, well to me life is ball games and life is shows, life is eating and drinking, and life is laughing and talking and seeing television and reading. See? That's why I say you don't understand. That's why I say you don't understand. And so then, folks, I think it's wonderful to give this body to the wonderful spirit of abundant life to whom it belongs and as to whose it was in the beginning before Satan stole it and took control of your life, or spirit, as a little babe to be a renegade and make you a renegade and pull you away from this abundant life, as to the filled up overflowing spirit of joy and peace and jubilance. So someone would say, Well, Brother Pike, you know, I, I  Well, now stop and think. There is an angelic world. Is it you that's after television? Is it you that's after the things of the flesh? No. It's Lucifer. Why is Lucifer after that? Why is he after those things? Because he lost the things of greater power and degree and height and wealth. He lost that and became the ruler of this intellectual darkness of your ignorance; being blinded by the ignorance that's within you. See? Because in heaven  If driving cars is life and if all of these things, as to the natural relationship is life, then what do they do in heaven? There is neither marriage nor given in marriage. There is no automobiles to drive. There's no movies to see. There's no night clubs to go to, and all of the things that you esteem and you do. There is no money for them to spend and no markets to go shopping in. So then, it must be that we are having strong delusions and something has got us off key somewhere. Someone would say, Well, they don't really live. What do you mean they don't live? The Bible teaches they are greater and more abundant in life than you are. Angels are greater in power and might than you are. You're the one that is dead in trespasses and sins while you live. They're not dead. They're much alive. The only life there is is in the spirit, not in the body. So then, that means there has to be some kind of spirit in your body doing this and that's the spirit that's been cut off from the greater wealth of life; been blinded and doesn't know how to get out of the dry places except through a similar light, as to get into your body as I said this morning. I won't try to explain, but those things as to that that's coming down from heaven to you by mercy until you come to the knowledge of truth. All right. Let's sing a little chorus together. You know, it's just that we don't understand; that's all. Though we feel sure we do; yet we don't. When I say that, like things we've preached here for twenty years. Now if you understand, that's great. That's great and you do understand. The righteous must understand. But as to what measure I'm speaking of, do you understand? Folks, in my little pilgrimage life, what I've shared with you in twenty years here there are hundreds and thousands and thousands of things that God give me that I've never shared with you. So to say that you understand even with what I've shared with you you'd be way off base. Now if you got hundreds and thousands and thousands of things that He's given you as to add to the things that I've given then that's fine, because it's for sure that you're not going to have anything outside of this that's been given because whatever you get has to fit this. If it doesn't you are having strong delusions. Because there's but one mind. There's but one God. There's but one faith. There's but one revelation. And if you got part of it over here at Bethlehem and you get part of it somewhere else it's got to dove tail together or you missed out somewhere. You got confused somewhere because there's only one mind of Christ. What I say to one I say to all and if this mind that I say as to my expressions being within you. And many things as to you as to the pastor, I've not taught you. Jesus said, Many things I had to say unto you. I have received hundreds and thousands of things other than what I've taught you. And I'm still just as hungry as a little child. I doubtless shall come to visions and revelations because of that wonderful world of joy and jubilance. Someone would say, Well, I'll get tired, Brother Pike. You know, if I just get  All I'm looking for is just this over here and once I get this together, you know, I don't want to worry about all that other. And that's where I say you don't understand again. See? You mean you don't want anymore life. You just want what you've got. Well, that's what the problem is; you're going to die because you're satisfied with what you've got. But that ain't the way it is with me. I want life eternal. I want it coming into my heart eternally. I never want it to stop. I love the breath of life. I breathe hundreds and thousands and thousands of breathes, but I want to breathe millions and millions and millions. I just love living. So when we take the idea, you know, we just get tired. You know, we don't want to try to get anymore, but then the question arises, this man's got a bucket full of diamonds and this one's got a bucket full of rubies, and this one's got a bucket full of gold and this one's got a bucket full of silver. And you've got a bucket full of whatever you've got. And they say, Well, I've got some extra buckets at home. They're filled up and since you are working so hard, you've got a bucket, I'd love to give you this bucket. Can't you just picture yourself saying, Well, I've got a bucket of diamonds but I don't need anymore. And the billionaire says, you know, I've got plenty of billions. I'd love to give you an extra billion to go with that million you've got. Can't you just picture yourself saying, Oh, that's just too much trouble. I don't want to try to gather anymore. No. You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't do that. What it is, the thing that causes you to be weary in well doing and not to go after the things of God, the wonderful heavenly treasure, which created the diamonds and whatever, it's Satan. It's Lucifer. He's cut off from it. He's cut off from it. And he doesn't want you to do anything that's going to drive him out of that body. He wants you to be a recipient of that which the spiritual world has created, as to those natural things. And fasten your affection on the natural things, because he's cut off from the spiritual things. And the only way he can get life is through the inspiration of natural things, and that's to stay out of the dry places. He takes less because he can't get to the better. And that's where your problem is; that's why you are shortcoming. But, folks, when you get into the real mind of God it's so wonderful. Let's sing this little chorus together. We sing that song Everything's Going To Be All Right. I really believe it will be all right. I was thinking about it today, the song everything's going to be all right. All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and those that are the called according to their purpose, for them that He foreknew He did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. And them that He predestinated He also called. Them that He called He also justified. And them that He justified He also glorified, as to say, And what can we say to these things. If God be for us who can be against us. Evidently everything is going to be all right. Let's sing this little chorus together, can we? (Singing.) Testify of His glory now. Testify of His love. Tell the world about it. (Singing.) Somebody say hallelujah! Let's sing another little chorus or two and I'm going to let you go home. (Singing.) Sing again it with me. (Singing.) Let's sing another chorus, can we? Let's sing a few choruses together to worship the Lord, and knowing that after Sunday night you've got to go face the week again. And a lot of times the brethren meet on Monday night to strengthen us a little bit, but when you go out to face the world it's like a car that it has to come up to the station every once in awhile to fill up or it gives out of energy. And the more that we have the farther that we can travel. And we sing these songs to where it will break you a loose a little bit and let you get into the spirit. I know that you sing. I know you sing and I know that's good and I'm glad because you feel the presence of the Lord and that's good. But there's something about getting into the Spirit, into the Spirit. Not into emotion but into the Spirit. And you do get emotional when you get into the Spirit, but there's something about getting into the Spirit of Christ in a sober, sincere hunger, thirst; something that causes your soul to long and to desire after Christ. Like the man that wrote the song, I'm longing for jesus to come back. I long for Jesus Christ my friend, who will come and take me from this awful place down here. See? I'm longing for Him. And these kind of songs that take us off into a real frame of mind when we get spiritual. Otherwise we're just natural. We repeat these songs and that's all there is to it. The people years ago that came to church they did not sing like we do. We sing a song and then we sing a song and then we sing a song and then we sing a song. They didn't do that. They would sing a song, maybe one song the entire service. Maybe they would sing one or two songs. Maybe they would sing three songs and after awhile they'd hit that certain song that got a hold of people's heart and people began to get broken up or began to get into the Spirit and that would be it. They'd just praise God and go on and sing that song, sing that song, sing that song. See? Because what they were looking for was not a song. They were looking for the Spirit. And though song writers, real song writers, they write out of inspiration just like preachers preach out of inspiration. And I've written many hundreds of songs and those songs were given me, as I say, when tears were in my eyes, or when my heart was crying out to God. Whereas, as a rule I hardly ever sing any of my songs. Like the song that the Lord gave me today, Apples Of Gold in Pictures Of Silver. See? But I hardly ever sing them. Brother Taylor he sings them every once in awhile. I hardly ever sing them. The children usually sing them, but I usually wind up singing somebody else's songs. And I don't reach out to get a whole lot of songs to sing as to a verity of songs. I stay pretty much with a few songs. But I have in the past had many hundreds and hundreds of beautiful songs in heart that we've sang. And I love to sing songs, but I'd rather just get around the altar. Brother Branham used to have about one or two little songs he would sing. There shall be light in the evening time, the path to glory you shall surely find. Or I love Him, I love Him, I love Him, you know, or some little songs like that. Two or three songs and that's about all there was to it. See? Because to worship the Lord in spirit, to worship the Lord in truth, to have the Lord to talk with you, to show you things, to revel things, to give you visions, to give you faith for healing and deliverance and all these wonderful things that we've been endowed with in our life time, having been blessed with these things. God has blessed us so wonderfully. As a matter of fact, a little thing occurred today and I told a certain person of the thing that I saw. When I was praying and I saw it. Sometimes I'm on my knees asleep and I see things. Sometimes I'm walking around and I see things. Sometimes I'm setting in a chair and see things. In this particular instance I was, I think I was setting in my chair just meditating and I looked and I saw this particular thing and I said  I told the individual later I said, You watch what I'm telling you. You're going to go to prison. I said, If something don't happen. I said, You need to do something. The song said drifting too far from the shore. Come to Jesus today, don't turn Him away. You're drifting too far from the shore. And sure enough something occurred today and they fell into the hands of the police. See? And what we need to do is as we walk in the spirit we can watch. You know, the Brother tonight  Nothing really ever happens to us but what God gives us a warning first. Before Herod was to kill Jesus there was a warning. Flee into Egypt. See? And there's always a warning. And we don't heed the warning. And He'll tell us a number of times. We still don't heed the warning and then we find ourselves in circumstances that we can't cope with. But, folks, if we'll listen to the Lord we'll walk in the spirit. Everything is going to be all right. All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and them that are the called according to His purpose. Because them that He foreknew He predestinated. He foreknew you and you are elect according to His foreknowledge. I'm elect according to His foreknowledge. The Bible said make sure your calling and election  Make sure you are one of the elect. Don't just go around and say, Well, it's by predestination; if I make it I make it, if I don't then what can I do? Don't do that. He said you put forth an effort and you make sure of your election. Make sure that you are one of the called and one of the elect. And He enumerated some things as to the fruits of the spirit and the activities of life that He has called you to. Make sure that you do these things. See? You search it out. If you can perform these things in your life you'll never fall because you are the predestinated. You're sealed in. You're God's elect. Them that He foreknew, being elect according to foreknowledge He also did predestinate. So you're the predestinated of God. You don't have to worry about sinning. You don't have worry about being lost. The only thing you have to prove is your predestination. You do have to prove that you are one of the elect, that you really are God's child. And the positive proof of that is that you have His Spirit in you, and if you have not His Spirit, though you be ever so religious, you be a believer, whatever, you're still none of His. You might be a believer that's moving toward the spirit and by predestination you may be one of His. But the proof of it is when His Spirit comes into your heart. For God gives His spirit to them that obey Him, and anything that will keep you from getting the Spirit will keep you out of heaven, which would be disobedience. All right, let's sing again. I kind of got lost in my songs there. (Singing.) Can you sing that with me? (Singing.) Sing that with me. (Singing.) Can you sing the chorus one more time? (Singing.) Let's sing this one. (Singing.) Can you sing that? The song writer said, I met Satan in the morning and I fought with all the day long, but in my struggling fight God gave me strength in the time of my weakness and at sundown I sang victory's song. Let's sing it together. (Singing.) Sing that chorus. (Singing.) So let's sing this little chorus in closing here. (Singing.) Can you actually praise the Lord? Do you actually serve the Lord in Spirit? Do you love the Lord with all of your heart? with all of your mind? with all of your strength? When you seek Him with your whole heart then you'll find Him. Other than that you'll only come to church. It'll just be another service, another...(Begin tape two, side two.)...inspiration of life, even eternal life. (Singing.) The woman told Jesus at the well all about how they worshipped God and their place of worship. And today it's about the same way, having a name that they live, as to a denominational name. They're really dead. Dead in trespasses and sin, but the woman was telling Jesus all about this and how they worshipped God over here in the mountain but Jesus said, Woman, the time is coming and now is when the true worshipper shall worship God in Spirit and in truth for God is a spirit and He seeks such to worship Him. If your spirit don't touch God in the service and go out to God that means you're in a bad condition. (Singing.) You know, every person that comes in they should have the attitude as a president said one time, as to their country, say not what can my country do for me? but what can I do for my country? And when you come to church you should not come to church as with the feeling, what can the church do for me? but rather filled up and over flowing with the spirit and the power of God, abundance of living on the inside, to be an inspiration that your light might so shine that men would see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Or that is, draw men and people. Take them out of the highways and hedges and fill the house of God up. (Singing.) How many of you believe that Jesus is here? The Bible said where two or three are gathered together in My name there am I in the midst. We have at least two or three gathered in the midst, as to His name. And Jesus is among us. So then, that means out of this little group since Jesus is here there should be joy unspeakable and full of glory. There should be an abundance of living and an excitement of intriguing to know that the Master Himself is here. So if we don't understand that and we don't see that and we don't believe that and we don't acknowledge that then that means that we're not much of a light. We're just a dead weight, eating too much, enjoying ourself in the natural too much, and coming to church at night, as I say, and unless it's evangelistic as to a real drive to stir and awake, no real exuberance as to praising God. But folks, God isn't looking for all that exuberance. What He wants is just to settle down to be quite in your spirit and to worship the Lord like they did in days of old when tears would stream down their cheeks. The Lord being our example, He never became to exuberant as to emotion, but he was broke up inside and tears would stream down His cheek and He would rejoice in spirit saying, Heavenly Father, thou art always with me. And people who really walk with God, a lot of times as was said of Paul, Paul was in constance grief. Jesus constant grief. A man of sorrow, acquainted with grief. In my heart continual sorrow because they give their body, their back to the whip and they give their bodies to the nails and the thorns. And they give their bodies to sacrifice day and night that they might be in a position to where they can be filled with the abundance of the light, the wonderful knowledge of God that emanated from Jesus when He talked with them and walked with them and their hearts burned within them. And with this when you do that your rejoicing is not in the flesh. There is no rejoicing to you in the flesh because you feel the misery and the pains of the battle. You're on the battle field and you are a soldier, and if you are in the conflict and the heat of the battle and your protecting them that are at home on the home front that's not in the areas of the battle, and while they eat and drink and they laugh and they talk, as to the wife and the children, as the little ones in God, you're in the midst of the battle. There you are in conflict and it's a different world altogether. But this is the way the parents lay up for the children. So then, let's learn to rejoice in spirit. God is a spirit. He wants you to worship Him in spirit for when you let your spirit go out to God He comes into your spirit. He comes into your heart. He dwells in your temple and it's such a beautiful worship. It's such a lovely thing. And faith will break loose and you'll feel faith just rise up. Not an intellectual make-belief but something out of the heart, as to faith rising up and you'll feel that wonderful quickening that a lot of times over in the middle of the morning when people are asleep, that is some people, I feel that joy, that jubilance, and my wife she does hear me perhaps sometimes, perhaps she don't, but I'll be on my knees worshipping the Lord, speaking in tongues, speaking in tongues. And Paul said, speaking in tongues more that you all. Speaking in tongues as I pray in the spirit and as I try to find His mind and this wonderful, wonderful knowledge, this great wonderful world of jubilance and happiness and joy unspeakable that's filled with glory. So then, I will praise my Lord. I will praise my Lord. Let's praise Him in spirit and in truth. Can we sing that chorus one more time together? (Singing.) Just one more time together. (Singing.) Lift your hands up and close your eyes. Examine yourself. Just examine yourself now. The Bible says that if we would examine ourselves, if we would chasten our own selves, if we would judge our own selves we'd have no need to be brought into the judgment that we be judged of God for we would see our shortcomings, judge ourself by the Word of the Lord and then we would see our shortcomings and we'd have no need to be brought into the judgment. But when we do not judge ourselves then we are judged of the Lord and chastened of the Lord. Judgment beginning in the house of the Lord that we be not condemned with the world, because if we're not chastened then are we not children. Being not children we are not partakers of the benefit. And if we children then all are partakers as to the chastisement. And if you are not chastened then that means that you are a bastard child and that means that all of your sins will follow you to the judgment. For the Bible speaks of judgment beginning in the house of God, and that some mens sins, as confessed sins, are forgiven as the minister remits those sins. And those sins confessed then you go to the judgment bar of God without any sins to be justified in His sight. And if not then those sins that follow you, they will be there unjudged and you've not been chastened for them and so then you must be condemned with the world and cut off. So let's judge ourselves not of unworthiness, as to eternal life. But let's judge ourself as to a worthiness by the righteousness of Jesus and put away malice and all of these things that would take away the abundance of living that God gives us for He said, Above all things I would that you prosper. He wants you to prosper. He wants you to prosper. He wants you to have the natural things of prosperity and life. I would above all things that you prosper and that ye be in health. He wants you to be physically fit even as your soul prospers. Have you ever ask yourself the question, Does Jesus want me healed? If you are sick does Jesus want you healed? Can you really understand whether He does or not? When you believe that He does your battle is more than half won. But when your mind is always filled with questions as to whether I don't know whether He does or not; I'm not sure. You know, maybe I've been ugly and maybe He's chastening me, and I really don't know whether He wants me healed or not, because maybe He's upset at me. Maybe I'm not good enough, or maybe it's not for me. See? But then have you ever ask yourself this question, why did the Lord say, present your bodies? Not your spirit, now. Your bodies a living sacrifice unto God, holy, without spot, without wrinkle. Wholly, completely that is, that it might be acceptable in the Lord. Why did He say do that? See? Bring your body to me; it's a sacrifice for the sake of your soul. For you are the lamb and therefore it's sacrificed, as to the sufficiency of your soul. See? And present your bodies a living sacrifice without spot, without wrinkle, without blemish. Now, in the light of that you ask yourself, why did He say that? Because that's the way it is. It's an atonement for your soul. But on the other hand, see? When your talking about this doesn't that make you stop and think? and doesn't that prove something to you? Isn't that enlightening to your understanding? Because if He says, Don't bring me the halt and don't bring me the blind. Don't bring me the sick. Don't bring me an offering that is all spotted up. Give that to your governor; see if he'll receive it of you. I'm a great God. I want you to present to me an offering of your body that's not blind, that's not sick. The body, a living sacrifice. Doesn't that make you to understand that he doesn't want you sick? He doesn't want anything wrong with you, because he wants a spotless offering. He wants a body without sickness, a body without weighty things, as to oppression and poverty and all these kind of things. And he's so fixed it in Jesus to where He can have that; that's His body. What kind of body would you like to have? Would you like to have a body that's lame and halt and blind and all those kind of things? Someone would say, Well, Brother Pike, He said, Go out and invite the halt, the lame and the blind because the others that were invited to My supper were too busy. They had too much health and too much joy and jubilance in the flesh, as to frolic and to spend, whatever, to take time for God. Didn't He say just have a revival and call the sick and the halt and the lame and the blind to furnish My supper? He did. But isn't it also true that Jesus took that sacrifice, as to healing the halt, the lame and the blind to make them a perfect sacrifice? As the vision I saw when the hand went out and the little freaks was walking down the street and the big hand went out in the public place, as like a place of New York and gathered those things into me and there we worked with them until they become whole and complete as a beautiful specimen of a human being. So then, God wants you to be healthy, folks. I would above all things that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. All of it hinges on soul prosperity, security of the soul. Once again we'll sing this chorus and then we'll let you go. (Singing.) I'm going to ask Brother Fountain to come up and dismiss us. I always say and am reminded that there's a fountain open in the house of David when I think about Brother Fountain. Can you just lift your hands up, close your eyes. Do you ever really worship the Lord in spirit? Do you ever really pray? Do you ever really read your Bible? Do you ever really meditate? Do you get in solitude? or is it a formality that when you come to church you just don't have an jubilance, you don't have any joy, you don't have any thing unless somebody stirs your flesh up with some kind of jubilance, as to singing or music or whatever? Has it ever occurred to you that when Jesus breaks the heavens you're going to have to have something outside of music? That you're going to have to have a melody in your heart? Two in the field, one taken and one left. Two at the mill grinding; maybe no music at all, one taken and one left. Two in the bed sleeping, one taken and one left. Maybe a man gone and a woman left. Maybe the woman gone and the man left. Maybe the child gone and all of them left. Maybe a son that's followed, or a daughter that's followed and the rest of the family left when He breaks forth. Somebody said, Well, there'll be some music. Of course, there'll be some music, all right. There'll be some music because he'll sound the trump of God and ten thousand of His angels will come with Him. But, folks, it won't be music like you're thinking. It won't be the kind that you expect. Neither will be the trump as to what you're expecting. The trumpet sounds there will be  The trump, as the song writer said, it will sound so loud that it'll wake up the dead. Be thankful for your music, be thankful for the singing. Don't be foolish. Don't get into a rut. Get into the spirit. Get into the spirit, because you're not moving in the spirit. I feel better about you today than I've felt in the last few days, because this morning to your hunger and thirst there did come forth a desire and a drawing. Tonight there's not much but that's because you're filled up with the natural. Like I told my wife this morning when I come up here to preach. She fixed my breakfast. She had it about half ready and she said, I want you to eat, now. Whereas, I needed some strength. I said, No, I better not. I better not. Why? I said, Because I want my spiritual mind awakened and I want to reach the people, and sometimes on Sunday morning some of them don't eat and it gives a little strength for the spiritual side of it. And I said, There is a natural mind and a spiritual mind and I want the spiritual mind stirred up, and I don't want to give any strength to the natural mind, as to the fleshly appetite to stimulate, whether it be lust or human desire, or whatever it be, as to the things of this world. I said, I want my mind in Christ stirred up, and I want it to be able to speak. So I didn't eat. And that's where the wrong comes in. Some of you never give your spiritual mind a chance. You never deny the body. You never meditate in the spirit of God, or study the Scriptures, or do anything spiritually. And your so carnal, and you're dead while you are living. You are carnal if you play the musical instruments; you're still natural minded. And there's no feeling as to the instruments unless it's to whip it up as to get the flesh going, you know, as to an inspiration. There's no spiritual inspiration. There's people's hands that run across the keyboard that when they run across the keyboard there's a spiritual anointing and the music flows out and tears just come into my eyes many times just listening to a melody from some kind of a thing from an instrument. And you know, like David when he played on his harp, there was an anointing, there was a blessing that came ringing out through the strings that even in so much that Saul was freed. Freedom came to Saul, as from evil spirits. And the prophets of old, a lot of times they wouldn't prophesy until the timbrels began to play and the atmosphere was just right. And you're suppose to play music not to excite the people as to the flesh and to entertain them, to make them to become enthusiastic in the flesh. But you're suppose to play and sing to bring the spirit forth so that the spirit will hunger and thirst after Christ, that when the Spirit speaks that you receive those things and that you hear the voice of God, that you know His lovely voice and that you do the things of the Spirit. See? And with this, this is the way it should be. This is the way it's suppose to be and we don't need what we call evangelist services at night only in the fields. As to the fields, we need it out there in the fields because we're dealing with sinners and we're battling against devils. And I know we have some of the same in the church, but we have enough strength in the church that we are children of God. We are suppose to be growing to the mighty stature of Jesus Christ in such a wonderful exuberance that the gifts of the Spirit should be working in the church all the time. All the time the gifts of the Spirit should be working in every member of the body. There shouldn't be a member but what they are spiritual enough that everyone should be in the Spirit and things of the Spirit, as the many gifts of God should be working in their life, or your life without a natural formality of just a ritualistic of coming to church. While we sing this chorus one more time our Brother is coming. (Singing.) Search your hearts now. Examine yourself. See if you be in the faith. Faith by the hearing of the Word. See if your just playing with religion, if your just making belief, if your just coming with formality. I can tell many, many, many of you are. I can tell for sure. I've got a few here that's making an effort, and a few here that deep down in their heart, even though they're not where they'd like to be with God, they really are sincere and they're beginning to get their eyes open and they're wanting to find a spiritual experience with God to walk in the spirit and to let the outer man perish while the inner man is renewed day by day. How does the outer man perish. By neglecting him as we look toward the things of the spiritual man. (Singing.) See? I'm going to let you go in a few minutes but don't lag on me at the musical instruments to your human reasoning. And don't lag on me in the audience. I might be preaching to you and this might be the last night that you have. People are going out all the time and sometimes I tarry a few minutes, or sometimes I kind of lag. And sometimes there's a reason. Whereas, we're routinist. We feel like last night, tonight, the night before, whatever, you know. And tomorrow and back to church. But there may not be a tomorrow for you and you may not be back to church. I might be somewhere else tomorrow. You might be somewhere else tomorrow. You don't know what tomorrow holds. Some of you that were in church just a few nights ago was whole and healthy, now you're not whole and healthy at all. Why? All of a sudden like a nightmare something stuck you and you feel  How did that happen? But life, it's not how old you are. It's not how long you've been here. It's not who you are, or how much knowledge you've got, or how much wealth you've got. It's whether or not you have contact with life. And when life gets ready to go it goes and if it wants to tarry for many years it will tarry. Like a woman a few days ago. They interviewed her and she was a hundred and fourteen years old, they said. And they said, How did you live so long to get so old? And of course, being childish like, you know, not really knowing how to answer them, just a simple woman, she said, Well, I just kept on living and got older and older. So that's the way it is. We just keep on living. But what made her keep on living for a hundred and fourteen years? Someone would say, Well, she must have been a devout Christian. No; not necessarily. The Bible said some shall live longer by reason of strength. Though we know that the true way of life is the strength of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is our strength and we know that they that have the joy of the Lord live on and on, even eternally. See? But on the other hand some people do things that causes God to bless them and favor them. Some don't. Some are so selfish they never have time to help any one. But you can't get even so much as a cup of water without receiving a reward, and as I say again. Maybe, who knows, whether young or old, it could be that you gave your last cup of water today. Or maybe, who knows, maybe you'll live longer to give another one. Or maybe that was the last opportunity. And tonight is the last opportunity as we sing this song, I think I'll praise the Lord just while I have a chance. How many of us would like to hurry home and get home tonight knowing that when we got home that that was it? the old body would expire and that would be it. The breath of life would leave and there we would be at home. Wouldn't you think that you'd want to stay with the saints? And wouldn't you think you'd want to stay a little longer? And wouldn't you think you'd say, Hey, folks, don't leave me. I know you're full of life and you don't understand, folks. You don't understand. I'm dying, you know. Stay with me. Stay with me. Cheer me up. Jesus said during the time of His travail and sorrow when He was getting the victory over Calvary and over Satan for your sake, the sweat as blood drops, Couldest thou not watch with me one hour. He said at the passover when He was eating the supper, very human like He said, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you. You know, I'm so glad you're my brethren. This is the last time. I won't eat it with you again until I eat it anew in the Kingdom of God, or drink this wine until I come to you, He could have said, after the Pentecostal experience to set up My Kingdom on the inside to where the new wine, as to the presses, it bursts out. Supping with you; I knock at the hearts door. Open it; I'll come in. So then, let's sing one more time together and I'm going to let you go. (Singing.)

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

Founder and first President of Jesus Christs Eternal Kingdom of Abundant Life, Inc.

Holiness Unto The Lord