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"For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound,who shall prepare himself to the battle?"

THE GOSPEL TRUMPETERUSPS #871620

Periodicals postage paid at the post office in Newark,Ohio 43055.POSTMAN, send form 3579 to the printer:

THE GOSPEL TRUMPETER675 N. Cedar StreetNewark, Ohio 43055

This periodical carries no subscription price;

however, it is partially maintained through the gifts

and offerings of its readers, with the balance of the

expenses being paid by the local congregation.

PR AY ER : If you need prayer, p lease phone or w rite:

R oger D ecker, Pastor83 D ecrow Ave.N ewark, O H 43055

Em ail: pasto r@ church -o f-god-on line .comPhone: 740-344-2543 or 1-888-730-0461Fax: 740-344-4737Print Shop Phone: 740-345-1312

This monthly religious journal is published for the benefit of the

Church of God universally. It is our supreme purpose to reach the

world for Christ through the printed page. Our burden is to reveal

the truth of God's Word to all mankind, to expose sin and error,

war against apostasy, and to eradicate the longstanding

traditions of men that have no biblical foundations.

Brother Roger L. Decker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EditorWorkers Too Numerous to Mention

THE CHURCH OF GOD BELIEVES IN:

A personal God (John 4:24)A divine Christ (John 1:1, 14)An infallibly inspired Bible (2 Tim. 3:16-17)Salvation from sin (Matt. 1:21)The new birth (John 3:3, 5-7A holy life (Luke 1:73-75; Titus 2:12)Sanctification (1 Thess. 5:23)Unity of God's people (John 17:21, Eph. 4)Divine, physical healing (James 5:14-16)The ordinances (Matt. 28:19-20; John 13; 1 Cor. 11:23, 34)Eternal life (Matt. 25:46; Mark 9:43)The Trinity (1 John 5:7, 8)

SOME SPIRITUAL FACTSPERTAINING TO THE CHURCH

Jesus organized it (Matt. 16:18)On a good foundation (Eph. 2:20; I Cor. 3:11)Christ governs it (Eph. 1:22-23; Isa. 9:6)God admits members (I Cor. 12:13-18)Sin puts you out of it (Rom. 11:22; Ex. 32:33)The saved only are members (John 15:2-6)Membership is offered to all (Rev. 22:17)Final rewards (Rev. 20:12-15; 21:3-4; 22:14)Bible name of the Church (Acts 20:28; Gal. 1:13; John 17:11)

We reserve the right to edit and/or decline any material for anyreason. Not responsible for unsolicited articles or items.

CONTENTS

Partial Obedience and FinishingYour Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2005 Mission Trip to Africa . . . . . . . . . . . 7If People Could Just Know . . . . . . . . . . . 8Especially for Young People . . . . . . . . . 14A Lesson at the Potter's House . . . . . . 15What Value Does God Place

Upon Your Immortal Soul? . . . . . . . 22Meeting Announcement . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Vol. 36 March 2006 No. 3

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he isfaithful that promised)."

Hebrews 10:23

"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens,Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession."

Hebrews 4:14

Hold Fast

We are living in perilous times that

are full of uncertainty and turmoil. The

enemy of souls is diligently working to

discourage, confuse, and destroy as

many souls as he possibly can. In almost

any direction one looks, there seems to

be nothing but problems, troubles, heart-

aches, and strife. Nation is rising against

nation, and tension, disagreement, and

discord are surmounting on every side.

Although the worldly picture may

look dark and dismal and the economic

situation becomes more frightening

every day, let me assure you that God is

still in control. It may seem that situa-

tions are getting out of hand, but our

great God in Heaven sets the bounds of

all things, and nothing can go any

further than He allows. With sin and

ungodliness on the upsurge, many hearts

are failing for fear of those things that

are coming on the earth. Too often

people look on surrounding circum-

stances instead of looking to and trust-

ing in God. Because of this lack of faith,

many turn back from following and

serving the Lord. This world and also

the church is in a shaking time. It is time

for the people of God to get a tighter

grip on God's unchanging hand. This is

not the time to give up the battle or quit

the race.

The words of the Prophet Joel come

to mind, when he proclaimed that "the

Lord will be the hope of his people"

(Joel 3:16). The Lord has never lost a

battle, and He never will. It is the re-

sponsibility of each child of God to stay

close to Him. What encouragement that

ought to bring to our hearts and minds!

Dear one, many things in life are be-

yond human control, things that we

are unable to do anything about phys-

ically, but God is still the Master of

this universe. He is the only One who

can calm the storms of life. He still

has the power to calm the troubled

sea. One old song says, "Sometimes

God calms the storm, and sometimes

He calms me." W e must not allow our

hearts to be overly troubled about

things that are happening all around

us. This will only bring a restlessness

in our hearts that will rob us of our

peace with Jesus Christ, and it can

mar the hope we have in Him. David

said in Psalm 42:5, "W hy art thou

cast down, O my soul? and why art

thou disquieted in me? hope thou in

God. . . ." Now, as never before, we

need to hold fast our connection with

God and refuse to be moved by things

that are going on around us.

The secret to having real victory

and power lies in staying true to God

and living obedient to His W ord and

His will, trusting in Him despite how

things may look or seem to be going.

An old song states, "Hold to God's

unchanging hand." Your doing so will

assure that you never fall. Child of

God, you must keep your confidence

fixed securely in the Savior. He is the

only One who can see you through

this troubled world victoriously. Men

may fail and fall in the battle, and

nations may be defeated by oppres-

sion, but there is victory in Jesus!

Keeping your faith fixed in Him who

is invisible is so important. Psalm

91:7 reads, "A thousand shall fall at

thy side, and ten thousand at thy right

hand; but it will not come nigh thee."

W hy will it not come to you? It will

not come near you because you have

a tight grip on God's hand. You are

dwelling in the secret place of the

M ost High. Being in Christ is the

only safe haven for the soul of man.

W hen you hold fast to Him, He will

hold fast to you.

Paul shared some very important[continued on page 21]

1 Kings 13:1 And, behold, therecame a man of God out of Judah by theword of the LORD unto Bethel: andJeroboam stood by the altar to burnincense.

2 And he cried against the altar inthe word of the LORD, and said, O altar,altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, achild shall be born unto the house ofDavid, Josiah by name; and upon theeshall he offer the priests of the highplaces that burn incense upon thee, andmen’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.

3 And he gave a sign the same day,saying, This is the sign which the LORD

hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall berent, and the ashes that are upon it shallbe poured out.

4 And it came to pass, when king

Jeroboam heard the saying of the man ofGod, which had cried against the altarin Bethel, that he put forth his handfrom the altar, saying, Lay hold on him.And his hand, which he put forthagainst him, dried up, so that he couldnot pull it in again to him.

5 The altar also was rent, and theashes poured out from the altar, accord-ing to the sign which the man of Godhad given by the word of the LORD.

6 And the king answered and saidunto the man of God, Entreat now theface of the LORD thy God, and pray forme, that my hand may be restored meagain. And the man of God besought theLORD, and the king's hand was restoredhim again, and became as it was before.

7 And the king said unto the man of

Brother Roger L. Decker

God, Come home with me, and refreshthyself, and I will give thee a reward.

8 And the man of God said unto theking, If thou wilt give me half thinehouse, I will not go in with thee, neitherwill I eat bread nor drink water in thisplace:

9 For so was it charged me by theword of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread,nor drink water, nor turn again by thesame way that thou camest.

10 So he went another way, andreturned not by the way that he came toBethel.

2 Timothy 4:6 For I am now readyto be offered, and the time of my depar-ture is at hand.

7 I have fought a good fight, I havefinished my course, I have kept the faith.

A Divinely Sent Messenger

The Scripture text in 1 Kingstells us a little about a certain man ofGod, but this incident is all that isknown about him. In the Chaldeanlanguage he was called a prophet,and in the Hebrew he was called a

divine person, one who was whollydevoted to the service of God. Itdoes not give his name, but theWord of God lets us know that hecame out of Judah and went toBethel. God sent him there with aspecific message and implicit in-structions, and he was told what to

do when his mission was accom-plished. He was a divinely inspiredmessenger. Again, verse 1 says,"And, behold, there came a man ofGod out of Judah by the word of theLORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboamstood by the altar to burn incense."

Second Peter 1:21 says, "For the

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prophecy came not in old time bythe will of man: but holy men ofGod spake as they were moved bythe Holy Ghost." The man of God inour Scripture text came in thestrength and the power of the Wordof God, and he uttered the divinerevelation he had received fromGod.

King Jeroboam was practicingidolatry. First Kings 12:32 reads,"And Jeroboam ordained a feast inthe eighth month, on the fifteenthday of the month, like unto the feastthat is in Judah, and he offered uponthe altar. So did he in Bethel, sacri-ficing unto and the calves that hehad made: and he placed in Bethelthe priests of the high places whichhe had made." Since King Jeroboamwas caught up in idolatry, the manof God was sent to Bethel from Ju-dah with a message. He was to cryout against the altar, and he did itright in the presence of King Jero-boam. He said the altar would bedestroyed and the ashes that wereupon it would be poured out. Thatwas quite a message to proclaim inthe presence of the king, but Godgave the man of God boldness anddivine inspiration. The Prophetreceived the Word of the Lord fromGod Himself.

King Jeroboam became enragedand stretched forth his hand againstthe prophet to try to seize him.When he did, his hand dried up, orbecame rigid. He asked the sameprophet against whom he cried outto pray for him. (You know, youneed to be careful along that line. Ifyou speak against a man of God, justremember, you might have to callupon him and ask him to pray foryou. That would be a humblingexperience.)

The man of God sought theLord, and the king's hand was re-stored. Next, King Jeroboam offeredthe prophet a gift, which was com-mon in that day. The king wantedthe man of God to go home withhim, be refreshed, and receive areward. However, the man of God,who had received explicit instruc-tions, said to the king, "If thou wilt

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give me half thine house, I will notgo in with thee, neither will I eatbread nor drink water in this place:For so was it charged me by theword of the LORD [the man of Godhad received a charge, a distinctcommand from God], saying, Eat nobread, nor drink water, nor turnagain by the same way that thoucamest."

The man of God was not toaccept any hospitality from anyoneat Bethel due to the idolatry that wasgoing on there. God was stirred. TheScripture text says in verse 10, "So hewent another way, and returned notby the way that he came to Bethel."However, this prophet's course wasnot finished yet.

The Apostle Paul said, "I havefought a good fight, I have finishedmy course, I have kept the faith."You may make a good start in serv-ing God and in obeying the Word ofGod explicitly, but you need to al-ways keep in mind that your courseis not finished yet. That is where theenemy works on you, saint.

Seduced by a False Prophet

In our Scripture text the man ofGod's mission was not yet com-pleted. His divine charge was goingto be challenged. The Scripture saysthat an old prophet dwelt in Bethel.His sons probably told him aboutthe man of God and told him whichway he went, so he started out insearch of him and found him restingunder an oak tree.

Right away, the old prophetinvited him to his home, and theman of God quickly explained thedivine instructions that he hadpreviously told King Jeroboam. Thisman of God was about to beseduced. The Apostle Paul said in2 Timothy 3:13, "But evil men andseducers shall wax worse and worse,deceiving, and being deceived." Tobe seduced is to be misled, to bedeceived, or to be confronted by animposter. The old prophet who ap-proached the man of God was animposter; he was in a backsliddencondition. How do we know? Had

he been up to power with God, thenGod would have used him againstKing Jeroboam, but God had to calla man of God out of Judah. We readin 1 Kings 13:18 that the old prophetsaid, "I am a prophet also as thouart; and an angel spake unto me bythe word of the LORD, saying, Bringhim back with thee into thine house,that he may eat bread and drinkwater. But he lied unto him."

What is the deceptive part thatthe devil uses on you? It is right inthis Scripture text, and you can readof a similar deception that took placein the beginning of the Book ofGenesis. The devil challenged theWord of the Lord. That is what gotAdam and Eve into trouble. In Gen-esis 3:1-5 we read: "Now the serpentwas more subtle [or crafty] than anybeast of the field which the LORD

God had made. And he said untothe woman, Yea, hath God said, Yeshall not eat of every tree of the gar-den? And the woman said unto theserpent, We may eat of the fruit ofthe trees of the garden: But of thefruit of the tree which is in the midstof the garden, God hath said, Yeshall not eat of it, neither shall yetouch it, lest ye die. And the serpentsaid unto the woman, Ye shall notsurely die [that is the first messageof 'once in grace, always in grace'].For God doth know that in the dayye eat thereof, then your eyes shallbe opened, and ye shall be as gods,knowing good and evil."

The old prophet challenged theman of God with the charge that hehad received, but the Scripture saysthat he lied to him. (Dear one, let megive you some advice. To make itinto Glory, you need to obey whatGod says. You must be careful ofpeople who run around and claimthey are neutral, not for or against.Jesus said you are either for Him oragainst Him.) Oh, this is a sad text.The lie was so convincing that helaid aside his divine revelation fromthe Lord and went back with the oldprophet. No doubt, the man of Godwas hungrier and thirstier and moretired than he was when he startedthat mission. The old prophet knew

the condition of King Jeroboam. Hedwelled right in Bethel, but he nevercried out against his idolatry. Theold prophet was in bad shape, andthe devil used him.

Be Careful of Partial Obedience

First Kings 13:19-20 tells us: "Sohe went back with him, and did eatbread in his house, and drank water.And it came to pass, as they sat atthe table [the man of God went backwith him and did exactly what Godtold him not to do], that the word ofthe LORD came unto the prophet thatbrought him back." What else standsout in this Scripture reading? Theold prophet was so deceptive thatthe man of God was unable todiscern him.

You need to be careful of Bible-carrying false prophets who canquote the Scriptures. First Kings13:21-22 read: "And he cried untothe man of God that came fromJudah, saying, Thus saith the LORD,Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyedthe mouth of the LORD, and hast notkept the commandment which theLORD thy God commanded thee, Butcamest back, and hast eaten breadand drunk water in the place, of thewhich the LORD did say to thee, Eatno bread, and drink no water; thycarcase shall not come unto thesepulchre of thy fathers."

Here the old prophet spoke thetruth. He did not say that an angelspoke to him. God spoke throughthe old prophet to the man of Godconcerning the punishment for dis-obeying the charge that God hadgiven him. Dear one, let me warnyou: you cannot partially obey Godand get by. God used the man ofGod, but he did not finish hiscourse. You need to be careful ofpartial obedience.

You may say, "Oh, I don't thinkGod cares if I do this or that. Heknows my heart." God does knowyour heart, but He also cares aboutwhat you do. Man looks on theoutside. That is the reason you needto keep both the inward man andthe outward man in good shape.

Everyone has an opinion, but whatabout what the Word of God says?You may say, "I will dress the way Iwant to dress. I have my opinion ofwhat is modest." Well, if your opin-ion does not line up with the Wordof God, it will cause you to be lost.Many people want Jesus, but theywant Him and their own way. Jesusdoes not satisfy all the whims thatpeople have. Dear one, you need toget deeper in the things of God, andthen you will find fulfillment inChrist. Only He can satisfy yoursoul.

The enemy will try to talk youinto disobeying God. In our Scrip-ture lesson you can read how quick-ly the old prophet got out of therewhen his sons told him about whattook place and how quickly hesought the man of God. The devilused him to turn that man of Godaway from obeying what God hadtold him to do.

The High Cost of Disobedience

First Kings 13:23-26 reads: "Andit came to pass, after he had eatenbread, and after he had drunk, thathe saddled for him the ass, to wit,for the prophet whom he hadbrought back. And when he wasgone, a lion met him by the way,and slew him: and his carcase wascast in the way, and the ass stood byit, the lion also stood by the carcase.And, behold, men passed by, andsaw the carcase cast in the way, andthe lion standing by the carcase: andthey came and told it in the citywhere the old prophet dwelt. Andwhen the prophet that brought himback from the way heard thereof, hesaid, It is the man of God, who wasdisobedient unto the word of theLORD: therefore the LORD hathdelivered him unto the lion, whichhath torn him, and slain him, ac-cording to the word of the LORD,which he spake unto him."

Disobedience carries a terribleprice. The Apostle Paul, writing tothe Romans in Romans 6:23, said,"For the wages of sin is death; butthe gift of God is eternal life through

Jesus Christ our Lord." Now, I knowthe Scripture applies to spiritualdeath, but many people have goneout of this world committing sin inphysical death, and they ended upin eternity lost. It pays to obey Godcompletely.

Some people commit murderand suicide all because of the culpritof sin. It is amazing that some serialkillers were raised under the influ-ence of the Bible and got away fromthe things of God. They thoughtwhat God said did not make anydifference. Often they began to messaround with pornography, and itkept growing until they actuallycommitted an ungodly act. Thenthey went from one act to another,and they kept going until finallythey got caught, and then theyended up on death row, taken out ofthis world before their time.

Sin is nothing to fool with, dearone. God wants 100 percent obedi-ence, not partial obedience. Godwants you to fight the good fight offaith and finish your course. Manypeople die before their time becausethey have chosen the road of sin.

The man of God in our Scripturelesson was seduced and deceived byan old lying prophet. The man ofGod from Judah already had hismessage, and he got it by the Wordof the Lord.

What did the Apostle Paul say inthe Book of Galatians? He said inGalatians 1:8, "But though we, or anangel from heaven, preach any othergospel unto you than that which wehave preached unto you, let him beaccursed." In our Scripture lesson, ifGod was going to change themessage that He had spoken to theman of God, He would havechanged it and told the prophetHimself, just as He gave the originalmessage to him. He would not haveused some old backslidden prophetto change the message. God did notuse him to give the king the messageto start with, and He certainlywould not have used that old proph-et to change it. The Word of Goddoes not contradict itself.

How many people are living in

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disobedience to God? Are youknowingly walking against theWord of the Lord? Let me remindyou, when God sees in your heart adesire for the things of the world,He will remove the restraints and letyou go.

Satan Attacks Your Weaknesses

God could see down in the heartof the man of God that he reallywanted to eat and drink and go withthat old prophet. This was the sameman of God who had turned downKing Jeroboam when he offered himreward and refreshment. However,when the man of God became tired,hungry, and thirsty, he gladlyaccepted the old prophet's wordwhen he said that God had changedHis mind and was going to allowhim to go and get refreshed; but outahead of that man of God was death.Oh, how the enemy knew what touse on him. Friend, the devil willattack you in your weak places. Heknows what your weaknesses are.

God did not want the man ofGod to eat or drink in the city ofBethel with anyone. By the time theold prophet caught up with the manof God, the man of God had weak-ened considerably since his encoun-ter with King Jeroboam. In 1 Kings13:9 I want you to notice that theman of God said, "For so was itcharged me by the word of theLORD, saying, Eat no bread, nordrink water, nor turn again by thesame way that thou camest." Then inverse 17 he said, "For it was said tome by the word of the LORD, Thoushalt eat no bread nor drink waterthere, nor turn again to go by theway that thou camest." The first timehe stated this, he expressed it as acharge, or a commandment, fromGod. Friend, when you definitelyknow the will of God, you dare notturn from it.

The old prophet did not havethe authority to change God's Word.Today people put out too much oftheir own opinions concerning theWord of God. One may say, "Oh, Iknow what God said, but I don't

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believe it's a commandment." Whenit comes to the ordinance of feetwashing, some say, "Oh, I believethat's okay, but I don't feel it's acommandment." They are deceived.A child of God will rebuke thosethoughts and obey even though heor she does not understand it.

Others say, "I believe you can dothis or that. It doesn't make anydifference to God. He doesn't careabout the outward appearance." Onthe contrary, God does care aboutthe outward appearance, and Hecertainly spoke enough about it.Why do many pastors back awayfrom the message of holiness? Theydo it because it is a people's church.When the people do not like themessage, then the pastor changes itrather than lose them, despite whatthe Word of God says. There is adanger in changing the message,and it will cost you your soul, just asit did the man of God in ourScripture lesson.

There is a deception to sin, andthe deception is that you think youwill not reap it. I want to remindyou again that God is not as we are.He does not forget. He can remem-ber what happened a thousandyears ago as if it happened today.God does not have trouble remem-bering anything. The Bible lets youknow that the very hairs of yourhead are numbered. Proverbs 3:1-2says: "My son, forget not my law;but let thine heart keep my com-mandments: For length of days, andlong life, and peace, shall they addto thee."

Ecclesiastes 12:13 reads, "Let ushear the conclusion of the wholematter: Fear God, and keep his com-mandments: for this is the wholeduty of man." Dear one, your onlyprotection against the enemy of yoursoul is to obey the Word of God.

Divine Retribution

What was out ahead of the manof God? Again, 1 Kings 13:24 tellsus, "And when he was gone, a lionmet him by the way, and slew him:and his carcase was cast in the way,

and the ass stood by it, the lion alsostood by the carcase." This was di-vine judgment, because the lion wasnot even hungry. Had the lion beenhungry, it would have eaten theman of God and the ass, but it didnot. It stood there like a sentinelover the man of God. It is againstnature for a lion to attack and notdevour its prey, but that lion stoodthere. Verse 25 reads, "And, behold,men passed by, and saw the carcasecast in the way, and the lion stand-ing by the carcase: and they cameand told it in the city where the oldprophet dwelt." The old prophetknew right away that it was divinepunishment for disobedience.

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:6-8:"Humble yourselves therefore underthe mighty hand of God, that hemay exalt you in due time: Castingall your care upon him; for he carethfor you [you need to always keep inmind, dear one, that God does carefor you]. Be sober, be vigilant;because your adversary the devil, asa roaring lion, walketh about, seek-ing whom he may devour." Thedevil will devour you if he can getyou to disobey the Word of God.The man of God in our Scripturelesson disobeyed; he only partiallyobeyed the Word of the Lord. Hiscourse would not have been finisheduntil he returned home.

How many begin serving Godlike a blaze of fire, but not far up theroad something comes along, andthey turn away. Dear one, you aregoing to be tested in your experi-ence. You have some weak areas inyour life, and God will allow theenemy to go there, not to cause youto backslide but to reveal those weakareas to you. When God revealsthose weak areas to you, He wantsyou to take them to Him so that Hecan fortify and strengthen thoseareas.

The man of God was not killedbecause the lion was hungry, but hewas killed under divine retribution.It was punishment for disobedience.Ezekiel 18:4 states, "The soul thatsinneth, it shall die." Dear one, youcannot disobey the Word of God

without paying the price. When onedisobeys and dies spiritually, menpass by and they look in amaze-ment. What do they do? Just as themen in our Scripture lesson did,they go and tell others.

Are You Fully Obeying God?

Your only hope of not beingdevoured by the enemy is strict obe-dience to the Word of God. You maysay, "Well, I may not be measuringup 100 percent, but I am getting by."Are you really getting by? Whatdoes the Bible say? Ecclesiastes 8:11says, "Because sentence against anevil work is not executed speedily[in other words, because God doesnot visit your sin quickly], thereforethe heart of the sons of men is fullyset in them to do evil." When judg-ment tarries, you should not get theidea that judgment will not come.

Numbers 32:23 reads, "But if yewill not do so, behold, ye have

sinned against the LORD: and be sureyour sin will find you out." Godknows where you are located. Hedoes not have to get the CentralIntelligence Agency and the FederalBureau of Investigation to find you.He knows exactly where you are.When God is so good to show youthe evil of a thing, then He expectsyou to refrain from it and keep HisWord. When you keep His charge,or His commandments, you areshowing your love to God. Jesussaid in John 14:15, "If ye love me,keep my commandments."

The story of the man of God inour Scripture lesson started as agreat success, but it ended in anuntimely, unnecessary death. Per-haps you are under the judgment ofGod, and the only reason judgmenthas not been carried out is due to themercy of God. Are you obeying God100 percent or are you living in par-tial obedience? If you are living inpartial obedience, you need to turn

from your sin immediately. Youmust turn from that which is wrongand turn to Jesus Christ. He willrebuke the devourer, and you canhave victory in your soul.

You have not finished yourcourse yet, and you do not knowwhen your life is going to come toan end. If you are in partial obedi-ence, it would behoove you to movefrom that position to 100 percentobedience. If there are things youneed to confess and forsake, youneed to get it done while Jesus is stillon His throne of mercy. Do nottarry, as the man of God did underthe oak tree. Had he kept moving,he would have delivered his soul;but while the man of God tarried,the enemy caught up with him.There is a work to do, and a chargehas been given. You need to com-plete it. You can do it by the grace ofGod.

(Cassette C-5394E)

2005 Mission Trip to Africa

Brother Jan Romine, from Newark, Ohio, and Brother

David Stegmeier and Brother Jeremy Boyd, both from Canby,

Oregon, were privileged to spend two weeks in Kenya, Africa,

with Brother Joseph Mbui to attend the 2005 Church of God

Convention.

The morning after we arrived, we began traveling with

Brother Mbui to various congregations. The first congregation we

visited was the Kiraro congregation. Brother Eliphas Nkonge is

the pastor of that congregation with seventy members; this

congregation is eighty kilometers from Embu.

The next day we traveled 170 kilometers to the Mathiamene

congregation, where Brother Gabriel Lmwithe pastors 150

members. The same day we also visited Brother James

Mugundi's congregation of sixty members. The Mbukomi

congregation is eighty kilometers from Embu. Monday we drove

145 kilometers to worship at Igoji with Brother Erastus Kamene

and his fifty-five members. We ended at Siakago Town where

Brother David Njiru Njoroge pastors fourteen members; this

congregation is twenty-seven kilometers from Embu.

The Muthatari camp meeting started Wednesday morning

and ended on the following Sunday afternoon. During the camp

meeting, Brother Stegmeier spoke on the Book of Revelation in

each morning service. The people were eager to learn the truth

concerning the Revelation.

Before the meeting, Brother Joseph Mbui had a friend paint

a beautiful Revelation chart for him that hung at the front of the

chapel. This was a real help to Brother Stegmeier, not only in

teaching but also for the people to visualize what he was

explaining.

During one service, Brother Stegmeier's heart was touched

when he saw a little boy on crutches who came forward with his

offering. Brother Stegmeier felt led to pray for him and asked to

see him after the service. They found the little boy outside

playing with the other children. Upon returning, someone

informed Brother Stegmeier that the young boy had contracted

polio and was thought to be fifteen years of age.

Saturday during the camp meeting, we had a baptismal

service. It was a beautiful sight to see all the saints standing at

the banks of the river singing while thirty-one people were

baptized.

Approximately 650 people were present during the camp

meeting. Among those present were twenty-two ministers and

about 150 children. Some people came from as far away as 500

kilometers, or 310 miles.

The church sits on a hillside that overlooks the valley of

Embu. Above the valley is a beautiful view of Mount Kenya. God

has blessed the people with a wonderful one acre plot on which

the church sits. The people named their meeting place "God's

Acre." The landscape outside the building is gorgeous and

[continued on page 13]

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Luke 19:38 Saying, Blessed be theKing that cometh in the name of theLord: peace in heaven, and glory in thehighest.

39 And some of the Pharisees fromamong the multitude said unto him,Master, rebuke thy disciples.

40 And he answered and said untothem, I tell you that, if these should hold

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their peace, the stones would immedi-ately cry out.

41 And when he was come near, hebeheld the city, and wept over it,

42 Saying, If thou hadst known,even thou, at least in this thy day, thethings which belong unto thy peace! butnow they are hid from thine eyes.

43 For the days shall come upon

Brother David Watson

thee, that thine enemies shall cast atrench about thee, and compass theeround, and keep thee in on every side,

44 And shall lay thee even with theground, and thy children within thee;and they shall not leave in thee onestone upon another; because thou knew-est not the time of thy visitation.

The Terrible Cost of Sin

As I studied for this message, Ithought about the many things Jesushad said and done before the peo-ple, yet they did not believe that Hewas the Son of God. Matthew 13:14says, "And in them is fulfilled theprophecy of Esaias, which saith, Byhearing ye shall hear, and shall notunderstand; and seeing ye shall see,and shall not perceive." Think aboutthe many times people were in Jesus'presence and He preached to themand healed the sick. He performedmany miracles before the eyes of thepeople. They listened to Him and

looked upon Him with their naturaleyes, but they did not know that Hewas the Messiah, the gift of Godfrom Heaven. They failed to realizethat He was the remedy for man'ssin and the very peace for whichthey were looking.

Jesus, in Matthew, Chapter 23,looked at the Pharisees and thescribes and charged them with manythings. He mentioned the proselytiz-ing they were doing and let us knowthey were deceiving the hearts ofmen under darkness. Verses 37-38tell us that Jesus looked at them andsaid: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thouthat killest the prophets, and stonest

them which are sent unto thee, howoften would I have gathered thychildren together, even as a hengathereth her chickens under herwings, and ye would not! Behold,your house is left unto you deso-late." Had they only known whattrouble lay in store for them becausethey were rejecting the Son of God,surely they would have listened toHim! Today often people hear theWord of God preached and see Godmove on souls and save people, seepeople healed, and see people finishtheir course with the testimony thatthey are going to a better place; yetthey do not know God.

In Jerusalem the people did notknow what Jesus was really sayingwhen He said their enemy wouldcompass the city. In Matthew,Chapter 24, Jesus told the Jews thatwhen they saw the abomination ofdesolation, spoken of by the ProphetDaniel, to flee to the mountains. Healso told them in verses 17-21: "Lethim which is on the housetop notcome down to take any thing out ofhis house: Neither let him which isin the field return back to take hisclothes. And woe unto them that arewith child, and to them that givesuck in those days! But pray ye thatyour flight be not in the winter, nei-ther on the sabbath day: For thenshall be great tribulation, such aswas not since the beginning of theworld to this time, no, nor ever shallbe."

Jesus forewarned the Jews thatgreat destruction was coming uponthem. If they had only realized whatJesus was weeping about when Hebeheld that city! Jesus knew thesorrow that would befall thosepeople.

Josephus said when Titusbrought his troops into Jerusalem,he dug trenches and put troops inthe trenches around the city. Thepeople had no way to escape. Aftera period of time, starvation, pesti-lence, and diseases set in. A womaneven killed her baby and cooked itin an oven to feed her hungry stom-ach because of the desolation thathad taken place in that city. Today Isay with a weeping heart, oh, if peo-ple could only know what troublethey are getting into by turningdown God and saying no to salva-tion; then surely they would loveJesus Christ!

What destruction came upon thecity of Jerusalem! Titus' armymarched inside that city and beganto take the people's lives with theirswords. Josephus said they threwthe dead bodies over the walls of thecity, and the blood ran from thosebodies as a river. Friend, it meanssomething to heed the Word of Godand to know Jesus Christ. Any na-tion that turns its back on God has a

payday coming. It means somethingto honor the One who created theheavens and the earth, who placedus here for His glory and honor. Assure as you are living, one day Jesuswill call you too, sinner friend, andyou will know what it means to turndown Jesus Christ. If you could onlyknow what the cost of sin is, surelyyou would not want to fool with it.The people who have experiencedsin and then tasted of the goodthings of the Lord do not want to goback to the things they used to do ifthey have really settled it in theirhearts.

The Cunning Craftiness of Satan

I think of Adam and Eve in theGarden of Eden. God fixed such awonderful place for them, lovedthem, and gave them everythingthey needed to make them happy,but Eve listened to the devil, andthat is where the trouble started. Thedevil is a sly, cunning, crafty oldfellow. Just as sure as you lend himan ear, he will lie to you. What hesays may sound true, but he willlead you to destruction if you listento him.

Genesis 3:3-5 states: "But of thefruit of the tree which is in the midstof the garden, God hath said, Yeshall not eat of it, neither shall yetouch it, lest ye die. And the serpentsaid unto the woman, Ye shall notsurely die: For God doth know thatin the day ye eat thereof, then youreyes shall be opened, and ye shall beas gods, knowing good and evil."

I want you to see how cunninglySatan fixed his testimony to thiswoman. Eve partook of the fruit,and then gave it to her husband;then he partook of it, and their eyeswere opened. Therefore, they ranand hid themselves. You see, there isguilt in the conscience when onesins. No one has to tell you when sinis involved; you will know. Adamand Eve went running and got someleaves and sewed them togetherbecause they suddenly realized theywere naked. The voice of God spoketo them in the cool of the day and

said, "Adam, where art thou?"Adam had to give an account, so heblamed the woman, and the womanblamed the serpent; nevertheless, itcost them. Oh, the high price sin hascost people since it entered theworld! Oh, what it has done to soulsfrom that day to this!

If Adam and Eve had onlyknown what sin would do and whattrouble they were getting into, sure-ly they would have abstained fromthe forbidden fruit. Sin will take youfurther than you want to go, and itwill hold you longer than you wantto stay. It will blind your eyes anddefile your conscience. If you stay insin long enough, it will sear yourconscience until sin will no longerappear to be sin. Sin is still just asdirty in the eyes of God today as ithas ever been. Oh, if people reallyknew what sin could do to them,surely they would want no part of it.

When Cain killed his brotherAbel, oh, what sin really did to Cain!Oh, what a price he had to pay! Singot into his heart because he wastrying to go his own way. He re-fused to give God the offering thatGod required of him, so he becamejealous of Abel, because God hadaccepted Abel's offering. Therefore,sin got hold of Cain, and one day inthe field as they talked, Cain killedhis own brother. If Cain had reallyknown the stain that sin would putwithin his soul, the guilt of his con-science, and the grief he would haveto bear for the rest of his days, sure-ly he would not have killed hisbrother.

So m e in div id u als hav emurdered their entire family be-cause of sin. Some parents havekilled their children because of sin.Some have broken up their marriagebecause of sin. Children havewalked out on their mother andfather because of sin. Other peopleare trying to hide among this worldbecause of guilty consciences causedby sin. However, there is only onehiding place, and that is in JesusChrist. Friend, you need Him morethan anything in this world.

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The Marks of SinWill Follow You

Consider David of old. Heshould have been on the battlefieldwith his men, but he stayed at Jeru-salem. As David looked over hishousetop, he saw a beautifulwoman, Bathsheba, bathing. Lustbegan to fill his heart, and he sentfor her. She came to David, and hefilled the desire of his lust. WhenBathsheba conceived, David sent forher husband, Uriah, who was on thebattlefield. When David broughthim in, he tried to get Uriah to gohome to be with his wife. Davidwanted to cover his sin, but Uriahwas more faithful than David was.He would not go home because hisfellow soldiers were still in the field,battling the enemy. So Uriah lay atDavid's door all night. He was faith-ful, not only to the king but also toGod and his brethren.

Friend, old-time salvation causespeople to be faithful to Jesus Christand to one another. David saw noother way out, so to cover his sins,he wrote a note and sent it to Joab,the captain of his army. He told Joabto set Uriah in the forefront of thehottest battle and then withdrawfrom him so that he would die. Joabdid that, but did that stop the sin?No, David just added sin to sin.

Isaiah 30:1-2 reads: "Woe to therebellious children, saith the LORD,that take counsel, but not of me; andthat cover with a covering, but notof my spirit, that they may add sinto sin: That walk to go down intoEgypt, and have not asked at mymouth; to strengthen themselves inthe strength of Pharaoh, and to trustin the shadow of Egypt!" Those peo-ple went down to Egypt to take acovering, but that was not of theLord. David took a covering, nodoubt, thinking everything wouldbe all right. He probably thought, "Iam the king; I can hide this. Every-thing will be all right." If you put asnake in a box, as surely as someonekicks that box, that snake will letsomeone know it is in there. Like-wise, it is the same way with sin. As

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sure as you try to cover it, somehowit will be revealed. Numbers 32:23tells you, "Be sure your sin will findyou out."

God sent the Prophet Nathan toDavid, and he told David a parableconcerning a little ewe lamb. Davidbecame enraged until Nathan point-ed his finger at him and said, "Thouart the man." Then David came tohimself and repented, but from thattime forward, sin plagued David'shouse. The Prophet said, in so manywords, "God will forgive you, Da-vid, but sin will never depart fromyour house."

Friend, the marks of sin willfollow you to your grave. God mayforgive you of the sin, but when thedevil lays his hand on you, his markwill stay with you until you leavethis world. If you have committedadultery, the mark of adultery willbe on you, though God has forgivenyou. In Matthew 21:31 Jesus told thechief priests and the elders that thepublicans and the harlots would gointo the Kingdom of God beforethey would. He was talking aboutthe marks that sin had put uponthem. If you have murdered a per-son, people will look at you and say,"You are the one who killed thatperson." God might have forgivenyou, but people will still point theirfingers and say, "He's the man whodid that" or "She's the woman."

If people could just know whatthey would be getting themselvesinto and could foresee what sin willdo to them, surely they would notwant to be in sin. Consider whatDavid had to reap. His son, Amnon,lusted after his own sister and com-mitted incest. He forced himself onher; then his brother Absalom killedhim. Next, Absalom took his father'sconcubines and shamed Davidopenly before the whole city.

Sin Has a Payday

I want to tell you that sin has nostopping place. Sin has a payday assure as you fool with it. You willpay and pay and pay. The best thingyou can do is stop where you are,

throw up your hands, and say, "Je-sus, I'm coming Your way. I wantold-time salvation in my soul. I don'twant to go to hell."

Sin will lead you further thanyou want to go. Oh, what destructionsin has! You can read in2 Chronicles, Chapter 36, that God'speople mocked the preachers and thepriests and wagged their heads atthem. Had they only known whatwas lying at their door! The devil hasa reason for trying to blind youreyes. He does not talk to you just towaste time. The devil is not in lovewith anyone. He would take you tohell today if he could. He does notcare who you are, how old you are,or how young you are as long as hecan ensnare you. He will take you tohell if you listen to him.

Whenever God's people becameso rebellious that they refused tolisten to the prophets, what did Goddo? He caused Babylon's army tomarch on Jerusalem and take thatcity into captivity. They stoppedtheir worship. When they caughtpeople worshiping, they killed them.The soldiers would tie a person be-hind a horse and drag that individ-ual through town. They made thempay for water from their own springsand pay for wood from their ownforests. You may say, "Well,preacher, that is unfair." Sin has nosense of reason about it. It hardenshearts and brings people to the placewhere they have no compassion, noteven for helpless children. It drivesmercy out of the heart. Who wants tofool with sin? If you could just knowwhat sin is, surely you would notwant it. Sin is destructive.

"Jealousy Is the Rageof a Man"

I want you to consider jealousy.If folks could just know what jeal-ousy can do to them, they wouldwant no part of it. Jealousy is a terri-ble condition. I have seen it work onpeople, and there is no end to what itcan do. Proverbs 6:33-34 reads: "Awound and dishonour shall he get;and his reproach shall not be wiped

away. For jealousy is the rage of aman: therefore he will not spare inthe day of vengeance."

Oh, what jealousy will do whenthat spirit gets hold of a man or awoman! What rage it causes withinpeople when it gets hold of them!When the Apostles met a lame manat the Beautiful gate of the temple atthe hour of prayer, he needed some-thing besides money. In Acts 3:6Peter said, "Silver and gold have Inone; but such as I have I give thee:In the name of Jesus Christ of Naza-reth rise up and walk." Peter helpedthe man to his feet, and the manleaped up and walked into the tem-ple, leaping and praising God, andall the people saw this. However,the religious leaders refused toaccept that God had done this work,and they raged in their souls.

Jealousy turned those religiousleaders against the Apostles, so theyput them in hold and threatenedthem. You see, they despised them.Jealousy will cause you to despisethe one of whom you are jealous of.It is cruel to good people. It is cruelnot only to the one who is jealousbut also to the one whom that per-son envys. The elders and the reli-gious leaders of that day envied theApostles. You see, those leaderswere trying to be in the church busi-ness, but they could not produce theresults that God worked through theApostles, because they did not havethe power of God working in theirlives. The spirit of jealousy willcause one to go to any means tocarry out his objective, and it willnot spare anyone. When jealousysets in, it will avenge to the veryend.

I have seen singers becomejealous because they thought othersreceived more praise than they did.People such as that are not singingfor God's glory. A spirit is workingon them that should not be there. Ifa person sings for God's glory, itdoes not matter who gets praise aslong as God receives the glory. Ihave seen preachers become jealousof one another, thinking that onecould preach better than the other. If

a man is in God's hand, he willpreach according to his ability andno greater than his anointing. I haveseen jealousy get among preachersand tear works apart, scattering thepeople this way and that way. Goddoes not want that to happen amongHis church. He wants people todwell together in unity and love andto have fellowship with one another,embracing one another. If the spiritof jealousy gets hold of you, it willdestroy you.

Guard Against Becoming Resentful

Another spirit that you need toguard against is resentment. I haveseen people become resentful andthen give others the cold shoulder.They refused to shake hands withcertain people and would ratherthey stayed out of their sight. Haveyou ever watched a cat and a dog? Iwas raised on a farm, and I haveseen a dog turn on a cat when thecat was not expecting it, and everyhair on that cat's back stood up. Thecat would back up and throw up itsfront paws and hiss at the dog; thenthe dog would stop in his tracks.The dog knew the cat was gettingready to scratch its nose if it did notstop and back away.

Sometimes people remind me ofthat when they are resentful. Theyfeel good until they see someonethey resent, and then their counte-nance changes and their spirit falls.Friend, if you could only know theend of resentment and realize howmuch it hurts God! If you could justknow the One who had the nailspierce His hands and feet, the crownof thorns upon His head, and thespear in His side. If you could onlyknow the One who died upon theCross for all your sins. Christ canconquer all things. He can bringpeople together and bring peace inthe midst. If the spirit of resentmentis present, others are going to see it.

Sometimes people say, "Well, itwon't hurt anybody but myself."Romans 14:7 reads, "For none of usliveth to himself, and no man dieth

to himself." If you go home from thechurch services pouting and talkingto your children concerning some-thing that you have become disgrun-tled about, and then you talk to yourfriends about it, you will see that youhave hurt others.

Each of us has an influence withothers. You do not live to yourself,and you do not die to yourself. Thereis no end to the destruction that bit-terness and resentment will bring. Ihave seen mothers and fathers, afterthey have gotten caught up in thesethings, come back to God and makeit right with God, weeping and ask-ing the church for forgiveness. How-ever, their children heard such thingstalked before them and sown in theirlives, and they hardened their heartsand said, "We will never go back tochurch. They hurt my mom anddad." Friend, these things ought notto be. Peace, love, joy, and happinessshould be in the hearts of God's chil-dren.

The Effects of Sin

If you could only know theeffects of sin! In Luke 15:11-24 youcan read the account of the prodigalson. The younger son asked hisfather for his portion of their goods.His father gave it to him, and hewent his way. In time he wasted allthat he had and ended up amongstrangers, finding no one to care forhis soul. That is what sin will do foryou. If you think that people youfind in the honky-tonks or on thedance floors care about you, you arewrong. If you think the gamblers orthe drug dealers care about you, youare wrong. Young person, if sin getshold of you, it will take you awayfrom home, put you in the gutter,and strip you of your good name,your virtue, and everything that isdecent and honorable. You will endup as a spiritual pauper, and maybein jail somewhere. Sin will destroyyou.

When the prodigal son left home,he had good food and fine clothes.He had a loving family and goodfriends, but he ended up in the

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hogpen. That is the way of sin.When people begin to live in sin,they do not know what they areheading for.

I want to relate to you a truestory that may help someone. Some-one told me that as he was going toa neighbor's one time, he found astill in a barn. He said when hefound that still, a spirit came uponhim, and he wanted to run it. Hetalked to several people until hefound someone who agreed to showhim how to run it, and he sold theliquor. He said he enjoyed themoney he was making from it. Hedid not think that he would getcaught and spend time in prison.When he was released from prison,that spirit was still there. He startedmaking liquor again, and again hewent to prison. He went to prisonfive times for bootlegging liquor,and he lost his family and every-thing he had. At one time he had agood-paying job and a home. Hesold the home and got drunk thatsame night, and someone robbedhim and stole every dime he had. Hewas a pauper when he died, allalone. Sin took him further than hewanted to go and robbed him ofevery good thing that he could havehad. Friend, I am warning you tohelp you realize how destructive sinis. You need to take a good look atwhat sin is doing to people's lives. Ithas ruined many talented men andwomen.

The prodigal son finally came tohimself and went home. His fatherran out to meet him, just as youwould do with your own child, be-cause a parent still loves a waywardchild no matter what he or she does.You do not love what he or she doeswrong, but you love your child.When the father ran to meet his son,the prodigal son repented and said,"I have sinned against you andagainst Heaven." His father killedthe fatted calf, put a robe on him,put shoes on his feet, and put thefamily ring on his hand. Soon therewas music in the house. Then theelder son came in from the field andheard the rejoicing. He inquired

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about the noise he heard. One ser-vant told him that his brother hadcome home and his father had killedthe fatted calf. The elder son becameangry and began to have self-pity.No doubt, he started to think aboutall the things he had done and won-dered why his father had nevergiven him a kid and allowed him tomake merry with his friends.

Friend, if you are in God'sfamily, God takes care of you, andyou need to give Him the glory andbe satisfied with whatever Goddoes. If folks could only know whatsin and jealousy and rage will do.

The Awfulness of Hell

The last thought that I want youto consider is this: if folks could justknow what hell is like. No one cantell you what hell is really like. Icannot fully describe to you theawfulness of hell, but I have readenough about hell in God's Word toknow that I do not want to go there.Friend, you are going either toHeaven or to hell; there is no placebetween. This world is the testingground. This is the place where youmust get ready to meet God.

Revelation 20:12-14 reads: "AndI saw the dead, small and great,stand before God; and the bookswere opened: and another book wasopened, which is the book of life:and the dead were judged out ofthose things which were written inthe books, according to their works.And the sea gave up the dead whichwere in it; and death and hell deliv-ered up the dead which were inthem: and they were judged everyman according to their works. Anddeath and hell were cast into thelake of fire. This is the seconddeath."

The vision that John saw givesan account of the great Judgmentand the souls that will stand beforeGod on that day to hear theirsentences. If you could only knowthat you are making your case rightin this world for what your sentencewill be when you stand at the greatjudgment bar of God. It is so sad to

hear so many people give excusessuch as, "If it were not for So-and-So . . ." or "If it were not for mywife . . ." or "If it were not for my dad. . ." or "If it were not for that hypo-crite at the church . . ."

Friend, if you go to Heaven, youare going to have to get things takencare of here in this life. No matterwhat the problem is, God can moveit. If you could only realize howawful hell is, these things would notmatter to you at all. If you could onlysee the tormented souls in the parch-ing flames of hell, you would want tobe diligent to make your calling andelection sure.

The Bible tells us of a rich man inLuke, Chapter 12, who talked ofbuilding bigger barns to store hisgoods, but he gave no considerationto his soul. That night his soul wasrequired at God's hand. You do notknow when you will be required tomeet God. It could be before daylightin the morning. The thing that ismost important is that you makeyour case right before Jesus Christ.

You can read of another rich manin Luke, Chapter 16, who in hell, "liftup his eyes, being in torments" (verse23). In hell he was not concernedabout the riches he had gained in thisworld, but he was concerned abouthis brothers, who were yet living andon their way to hell. Friend, youhave time in this life to fix things asthey need to be so that you do nothave to go to hell. In verse 24 he said,"I am tormented in this flame."

Can you close your eyes andimagine a place of total darkness, yetthere is a flame of fire, and the heatof which is torturous, and the sinsthat sent you there are rehearsedrepeatedly in your mind, tormentingyou? If you go to hell, you will besaying, "Had I only listened to thepreacher and prayed through anddone what I knew it took to go toHeaven, I wouldn't be here!" Thensadly you will realize, "I am tor-mented not only now but forever!"Your tongue will be parched, andyou will remember your loved oneswho are yet living and headingtoward hell. Oh, if you could only

[2005 Mission Trip to Africa—continued from page 7]

contains many vegetables and fruits, from which they feed the people ondifferent occasions. God has blessed the work in Kenya. Brother Joseph Mbuicurrently oversees thirty-eight congregations in Kenya.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Brother Roger L. Decker andthe Church of God at God's Acres, Newark, Ohio, for making it possible for usto travel to Africa. What a wonderful opportunity and blessing it has been tominister to these people! We have seen much spiritual growth since the firstmission trip in 2000.

If it is the Lord's will, we hope to travel to Africa again. In the meantime, letus uphold Brother Joseph Mbui and the other brethren in our prayers.

Brother Jeremy Boyd

Note: You can view the pictures from this mission trip, the camp meeting, and thechurch building in Embu at our Web site: www.GodsAcres.org/pg.missions.html

understand what eternity is andrealize how terrible hell is, surely itwould make a difference in how yourespond to the Gospel.

No Mercies in Hell

I do not believe that any soulwho thinks about hell can lie downon his bed at night and rest easily. Ifyou are saved, you may rest con-cerning your own soul, but if youhave parents, children, or friendswho are lost and on their way tohell, that will cause you to lose somesleep. I have preached many funer-als, and the saddest ones have beenwhen I knew the saved familywould never again see their lovedone. Once after I closed a revival inAtlanta, Georgia, I stopped in atown on the way home, and some-one said, "Did you know that So-and-So was killed this morning?"

I said, "No, what happened?""Well, one of the man's daugh-

ters or his wife shot him."I held that funeral, and in the

service the dead man's beautifullittle girls and the man's wife did notwant anything good said about him,but other family members wanted tohear comforting words. That manfought with his family all night, andwhen he finally went to sleep, one ofthe man's daughters put a bulletbetween his eyes and sent him intoeternity, lost without God.

My friend, you cannot fullyunderstand what hell is! The daugh-ter who killed her father still weepsand cries over what happened, butwho can take away the stain? Whocan take away that kind of hurt?Dear one, the place to stop sin isnow. The place to do somethingabout it is here in this life. You needto heed Jesus Christ, give up to Him,repent, and turn away from sin andthe world. You need to say yes toJesus Christ, because He wants tosave you. Surely you do not want togo to hell. Can you imagine all thepeople from Adam up to this daywho have lived on the face of thisearth and the people who will prob-ably be living from now until Jesus

comes again? Oh, the multitudes ofpeople!

The Bible says the way is straitand narrow, and only a few will findit. Can you think what hell will belike with people screaming in tor-ments? I have seen prisoners whohad done heinous crimes stickingtheir hands through the bars, look-ing for freedom and desiring a betterplace than where they were. Somewere swearing and taking the nameof God in vain, and they were ontheir way to a devil's hell, where itwill be far worse than any prison.Friend, there is a worse place thanthe worst places of this world. Inhell people are lifting up their eyes,screaming, crying, and pleading forthe mercies of God, but there are nomercies in hell. If you go to hell, youcan pray as long as you want topray, but no prayer will ever reachGod there. It is only in this worldthat you will find mercy and peaceand righteousness through JesusChrist.

Think of what hell will be like. Iffolks could only realize how terriblehell will be! Sinner friend, you areheading down the wrong road. Thedevil is trying to deprive you.Please, you need to consider yourfuture. Christian friend, it could bethat you have only a few more stepsto go. You need to hold on to Godand be faithful to Him. It will not belong until you will make it to thegoal. Thank God, you will have a

better place to go, a better place tolive.

I do not want to go to hell, doyou? I do not want anyone to go tohell, but some people are cuttingthemselves off from God. As Godknocks at their heart's door andpleads, they refuse Him, just asJerusalem did. Oh, what destructioncame upon Jerusalem. Consider thewickedness of Sodom and Gomorrahand how they went down becausethey rejected God. If they had onlyknown that God was ready to rainfire and brimstone on them, surelythey would have humbled them-selves.

Friend, something terrible isawaiting just out ahead of you unlessyou give heed to Jesus Christ. If youcould only know what lies ahead,would you continue to do what youare doing? You need to plead yourcase before God now and get it set-tled, and then you can live every dayof your life knowing that when youhave walked your last mile and youstand before Him, you will hear Himsay, "Well done, thou good and faith-ful servant." That is what I want tohear Him say to me when I come tothe end of life's race. If I could saveyou, I would just reach out, put myarm around you, and save you; but Icannot do that. Only Jesus can saveyou if you invite Him into yourheart. Will you let Him in?

(Cassette C-4807E)

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The GoldenWindows

"Oh dear!" exclaimed Ruth impatiently, as she put the

library to rights. "I do wish we could have a new carpet

this spring. I never liked this at all, and now it is so faded

and worn it is simply dreadful. It makes me miserable

every time I look at it."

"Then, since you say you cannot very well have a new

one just now, why do you look at it?" asked Aunt Rachel,

smiling. "There are a great many unpleasant things in our

lives—we find them every day—some of which we are

unable to prevent. If we persist in thinking of them and

keep fretting about them, we make ourselves and every-

body about us miserable.

"It seems to me we might all learn a lesson from the

bees. I have read that when anything objectionable that

they are unable to remove gets into a hive, they set to work

immediately to cover it all over with wax. They just shut it

up in an airtight cell, and then forget all about it. Isn't that

a wise way for us to manage with our vexations and

troubles?

"Someone sent me a post card the other day with this

motto: 'The secret of happiness is not in doing what one

likes, but in liking what one has to do.' It is not in having

and doing just as we like, but in being determined to make

the best of the inevitable. When you find an unpleasant

thing in your life that cannot be removed, learn to seal it

up and forget it.

"And then I think that many times it helps to get a

different view of things. You remember the fable of the

golden windows, do you not? A little boy who had very

few pretty things in his own home because his parents

were poor, often used to stand in his own doorway at

sunset time and look longingly at the big house at the top

of the opposite hill. Such a wonderful house as it was! Its

windows were all of gold, which shone so bright that it

often made his eyes blink to look at them. 'If only our

house was as beautiful,' he would say, 'I would not mind

wearing patched clothes and having only bread and milk

for supper.'

"One afternoon his father told him he might do just as

he pleased, so he trudged down the hill from his house and

up the other long hill. He was going to see the golden

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windows, but when he reached the top of the other hill, he

stopped in dismay. His lips began to quiver, and his eyes

filled with tears. There were no golden windows there—

nothing but plain, common windows like his own. 'I

thought you had beautiful golden windows in your house,'

he said to the little girl in the yard.

"'Oh, no!' she said; 'our windows aren't worth looking

at, but stand beside me and you will see a lovely house

with truly golden windows. See?' The little boy looked.

'Why, that is my house,' he said, 'and I never knew we had

golden windows!'

"You see, much depends on your point of view.

"I have lived to be an old woman, my dear, and I have

come to feel that the most heroic lives are lived by those

who put their own vexations and troubles out of sight, and

strive by every means in their power to ease the burdens

of others, who leave always behind them the influence of

a brave, cheery, loving spirit."

Trust Always: Never Fret

Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and follow after faithfulness:

Delight thyself also in the Lord;

And He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Commit thy way unto the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

And He shall make thy righteousness to go forth

as the light,

And thy judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord,

And wait patiently for Him:

Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way,

Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:

Fret not thyself; it tendeth only to evil doing.

PSALM 37:3-8

Jeremiah 18:1 The word which cameto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2 Arise, and go down to the potter’shouse, and there I will cause thee to hearmy words.

3 Then I went down to the potter’shouse, and, behold, he wrought a work

on the wheels. 4 And the vessel that he made of

clay was marred in the hand of the pot-ter: so he made it again another vessel,as seemed good to the potter to make it.

5 Then the word of the LORD cameto me, saying,

Brother C. H. Dickerson

6 O house of Israel, cannot I dowith you as this potter? saith the LORD.Behold, as the clay is in the potter’shand, so are ye in mine hand, O house ofIsrael.

The Way of Holiness

We are living in a time ofconfusion and uncertainty. Manypeople are confused about what todo, where to go, and what is right.This is also true in the spiritualsense. People have all kinds of stan-dards today, ranging from liberal tofanatical, but there is only one God,one Bible, and one Holy Ghost. Mostconfusion today is due to peoplerefusing to obey God.

In Isaiah 35:8 we read, "And anhighway shall be there, and a way,and it shall be called The way ofholiness; the unclean shall not passover it; but it shall be for those: the

wayfaring men, though fools, shallnot err therein." The Prophet Isaiahsaid there will be a way, and it willbe called "The way of holiness."Jesus clearly stated in John 14:6, "Iam the way." I want you to realizethat to get on this way, it takesobedience to God's Word on yourpart. Unless you do what you aresupposed to do, you will never geton the way of holiness. The way hasalready been made for you to get onthis highway, but you have to doyour part.

Proverbs 3:1-3 says: "My son,forget not my law; but let thine heartkeep my commandments: [If you aregoing to get on this highway, you

must have more than a head knowl-edge of God's Word, and you mustdo more than think about it, talkabout it, and read about it. Whenyou hear or read God's Truth, youmust keep His commandments.What will the results be?] For lengthof days, and long life, and peace,shall they add to thee. Let not mercyand truth forsake thee: bind themabout thy neck; write them upon thetable of thine heart."

The writer was simply sayingthat if you are going to get on theway of holiness, then you have to letTruth and mercy become a part ofyou. Also, you must keep His com-mandments, not because of what

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someone else says, but because it isright. Unfortunately, some peopleare keeping God's commandmentssimply because they want to pleaseothers. Friend, you need to keep Hiscommandments because it is right.This is the only way you can makeHeaven your home. In doing so, youwill find favor and good under-standing in the sight of God andmen. You may not please everyone,but you will please God and thesaints of God, and that is all that isnecessary. Christian friend, it doesnot make any difference what peo-ple think of you if God has writtenyour name in the Book of Life. Theonly one you have to please is God.If you will do that, you will keepGod's commandments and holdonto His eternal Truth.

In All Your WaysAcknowledge Him

Truth is getting scarce in thereligious world today. Wheneveryou hear the Truth, you need to let itgo down into your heart and be-come a part of you; bind it aboutyour neck. Proverbs 3:5-6 states:"Trust in the LORD with all thineheart; and lean not unto thine ownunderstanding [not what you orother people say or think]. In all thyways acknowledge him, and [if youdo this], he shall direct thy paths[that you may always be in theTruth]." You will stay in the Truth ifyou let God lead you. He will neverlead you any place other than wherethe Truth is, my friend.

Jesus made it quite clear thatgoing back to the Father was neces-sary for Him, and He said He wouldsend the Comforter. He said theComforter would teach us all things,give us the Spirit of Truth, and re-prove the world of sin. In otherwords, our lives will convince othersthat they need more than a profes-sion; they need a possession toplease God. You must alwaysacknowledge Him, let Him directyour steps, and be motivated by theSpirit of God.

Throughout God's Word He has

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given examples of those who werein the right way when they soughtGod's divine direction. On the otherhand, when people go astray, theynever find the answers they seek. Iwill give you an example of what Iam talking about. God told Abra-ham to take his only son and offerhim as a sacrifice. Abraham jour-neyed for three days, and when hesaw the mountain that God directedhim to, he went upon that mountainand placed his son on the altar.When he raised the knife to slay hisson, God stopped him, and whenAbraham turned around, a ram wascaught in the thicket. Had Abrahamgone somewhere else other thanwhere God told him to go, thesacrifice would not have been there.

When Paul went down the roadto Damascus, he was on his way topersecute the saints of God. How-ever, as he was traveling there, Godstruck him down, and when hearose, Acts 9:6 tells us that he wastrembling and asked God, "Whatwilt thou have me to do? And theLord said unto him, Arise and go oninto the city, and it shall be told theewhat thou must do." God showedPaul exactly what He wanted him todo.

God is still directing His saints.The same Spirit of God who wasback in Paul's day dwells withinGod's people today. I want to em-phasize that if you receive the Spiritof God, He will direct your paths inall ways. God will show you exactlywhat He wants you to do, where Hewants you to go, and what positionto fill in the body.

The first statement Jesus madewhen He began His ministry andcalled His disciples was, "Followme" (Matthew 4:19). God is still call-ing honest hearts from the life of sin,changing their lives, and settingthem free. Christ has one message,and that is, "Follow Me." If you willfollow God, you will find an experi-ence that will keep you, and youwill enjoy it. Also, you will enjoy thesaints of God, the Word of God, andeverything God has for you. Thenwhen you have finished your

course, He will take you to yourlong, eternal home in Heaven. Onthe other hand, if you do not followHim and you follow a man, it willbring you to nothing but catastro-phe. Sad to say, that is what ishappening to many people today.God's people are divided simplybecause some do not want to followGod and the Spirit of God. Theyhave decided to follow men. God issaying, "Do what I tell you to do;follow Me."

If you follow God, you will seegood results. The people of God inMoses' day needed the Law whenthey were brought out of Egyptianbondage, and they also neededsomeone to direct them. At MountSinai God called Moses up into themountain and gave him the TenCommandments.

How to Be a PeculiarTreasure to God

Exodus 19:3 and 5 reads: "AndMoses went up unto God, and theLORD called unto him out of themountain, saying [had he gone toanother mountain, he would nothave received the Law to direct thepeople]. Thus shalt thou say to thehouse of Jacob, and tell the childrenof Israel; . . . Now therefore, if yewill obey my voice indeed, and keepmy covenant, then ye shall be apeculiar treasure unto me above allpeople: for all the earth is mine." Inother words, God was saying, "Ifyou will do as I tell you to do, youwill be a special people to Me."When you have something special,you take particular care of it. Forexample, when a child receives a toythat is special to him, he will takeparticular care of it. Other toys maybe strung around here and there, butnot the one that is special. God wassaying in these verses of Scripture,"If you will listen to Me and do whatI tell you, then you will be aparticular treasure to Me."

All creation belongs to God.Jesus said in Matthew 10:29-30: "Arenot two sparrows sold for a far-thing? and one of them shall not fall

on the ground without your Father.But the very hairs of your head areall numbered." Since God is so care-ful to number the hairs of your headand cares for every sparrow thatfalls, then you can be assured thatHe watches over you closely. Jesussaid in verse 31, "Ye are of morevalue than many sparrows." If youwill keep God's commandments,you are so special to Him that ineverything you do and everywhereyou go, He has His eyes on you. Hewatches over you, and He will giveyou power so that all the devils inhell cannot move you off track, ifyou will listen to Him.

The Israelites received the Lawthat would have led them to certainvictory. The Scripture lets us knowthat when Moses went up the moun-tain, God gave him the Law. TheApostle Paul stated in Galatians 3:24that "the law was our schoolmasterto bring us unto Christ." When theygot to the end of that era, Christ wasthere, and He took over where theLaw left off. When Christ came, theJewish people refused Him andfailed to recognize Him as the Son ofGod. They said, "Who is this man?"Why? They did not do what Godtold them to do. Friend, if you dowhat God tells you to do and keepHis commandments, He will leadyou each day. When the preachergets up and preaches something thatyou do not understand, if it is God'sTruth, it will register in your heartthat it is Truth, and you will walk inthe light of it. That is what Godwants. God has a standard. He hasalways had a standard, and Healways will.

God told His people they weregoing to cross many countries on theway to the promised land. He saidmany enemies would battle againstthem, but if they would keep HisLaw, He would give them victoryover every one of them. When theycame to the land of Canaan, He saidHe would remove every obstacle sothat they could live in that land ofplenty.

I want you to understand thatGod has given His Word and His

Spirit to guide you, if you will keepHis law. Friend, many enemies willtry to defeat you, but God can giveyou victory over them. You can havevictory over every enemy, myfriend, and in the end you can makeHeaven your home. However, it alldepends upon whether you do asGod tells you to do.

Israel was disobedient, and as aresult, they did not recognize Jesuswhen He came. If you walk in thelight and allow the Spirit of God toguide and direct you, you willrecognize Truth. God will show youif someone tries to lead you awayfrom His eternal Truth. Many peo-ple are of the persuasion that anantichrist will come in the future;however, the Apostle John stated inhis day that many antichrists hadalready come.

Christian friend, when you takea stand for God's eternal Truth,some will try to pull you away fromTruth to an old Babylonian, man-made organization that has nopower of God. All they want to do isdraw you away, and they will workhard on you. You need to take asolid stand for God's eternal Truthand let the Spirit of God lead andguide you each day. None of us issmart enough to direct our ownlives. We each must have the Spiritof God on the inside.

Some people are very slicktalkers. The devil has much experi-ence, but he cannot fool the Spirit ofGod. God said the very gates of hellcannot prevail against you, if youwill let God have His way in yourheart and life. He will walk with youdaily, and you can enjoy fellowshipwith the people of God when youhave the Holy Spirit. Friend, nothingcompares with being with the saintsof God in camp meetings and reviv-als. When people come home toZion, souls receive help, backslidersreturn, and sinners get saved. Whata glorious time it is!

Jesus said in John 16:13,"Howbeit when he, the Spirit oftruth, is come, he will guide you intoall truth." When you allow the Spiritof God to direct you, it will not be

the way man wants it, but the wayGod wants it. When God directsyou, man-made organizations willnot upset you. Many people havebecome entangled in them, but thosewho allow the Holy Spirit to leadthem will stay true to God.

God's Requirements Are Clear and Concise

In the Old Testament we find anexample of a man who did not wantto do what God told him to do. In2 Kings 5:1 we read, "Now Naaman,captain of the host of the king ofSyria, was a great man with his mas-ter, and honourable, because by himthe LORD had given deliveranceunto Syria: he was also a mightyman in valour, but he was a leper."Can you picture in your mind howgreat a man he was? He led the peo-ple until they were delivered fromthe countries that kept them inbondage. He had many goodqualities, but he was a leper.

Verse 3 tells us, "And she [ayoung maid to Naaman's wife] saidunto her mistress, Would God mylord were with the prophet that is inSamaria! for he would recover himof his leprosy." Verses 5-6 read:"And the king of Syria said, Go to,go, and I will send a letter unto theking of Israel. And he departed, andtook with him ten talents of silver,and six thousand pieces of gold, andten changes of raiment. And hebrought the letter to the king ofIsrael, saying, Now when this letteris come unto thee, behold, I havetherewith sent Naaman my servantto thee, that thou mayest recoverhim of his leprosy."

Verse 10 states, "And Elisha senta messenger unto him, saying, Goand wash in Jordan seven times, andthy flesh shall come again to thee,and thou shalt be clean." Naamanwas a man of great standing. Mostpeople would have thought, "Oh,this is a great man, the mighty Cap-tain Naaman who delivered all thosepeople"; then they would have goneout to meet him, but not the man ofGod. He simply sent his servant out

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with a message, saying, "Go andwash in the Jordan seven times."

Verses 11-12 read: "But Naamanwas wroth, and went away, andsaid, Behold, I thought, He will sure-ly come out to me, and stand, andcall on the name of the LORD hisGod, and strike his hand over theplace, and recover the leper. Are notAbana and Pharpar, rivers of Da-mascus, better than all the waters ofIsrael? may I not wash in them, andbe clean? So he turned and wentaway in a rage."

God's message to Naaman wasquite clear. When the man of Godsent the message to Naaman, it didnot matter who Naaman was, howmighty he was, how brave he was,or that he was a captain. God hadonly one message for him, and itwas the same message He wouldhave had for anyone in his condi-tion. The message was that he had todo what God told him to do to becured of his leprosy, which was atype of sin. You see, it is not whoyou are or what you have accom-plished, but rather you must meetGod's conditions and do what Hetells you to do to receive help fromHim. If you need to be cleansed, youmust pray and ask God's forgive-ness, obey Him, and then you willbe cleansed.

The trouble today is, people feelthat because they are high in author-ity, they do not need to do what theTruth says. They do not want tohumble themselves at an altar ofprayer and confess that they aresinners heading for hell. They thinkthey are too important to have to dothese things.

The Word of God lets you knowthat if you are going to make Heav-en your home, you must first ac-knowledge that you are a sinner;then you must confess your sins andask God for forgiveness. When youmeet God's conditions and He savesyou, you will be a changed person.You will walk differently, talk dif-ferently, and look differently, be-cause you will be a new creature inChrist Jesus. The only way God cando anything for anyone is through

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obedience to Him. Naaman said he would rather go

to the clean waters of Damascusthan to dip in the muddy water ofthe Jordan River. Why could he notdo that? God told him to go down tothe Jordan River. He had to get ridof his proud spirit to receive helpfrom God. He told Naaman to godown and dip seven times, not sixtimes. When he finally obeyed Godand dipped seven times, he wascleansed of the leprosy, just as Godhad said he would be.

Naaman could not have gottenthat message from just anyone, andthe only place you can get the mes-sage of salvation is from a true manof God. You may say, "I know some-one who got saved down in Baby-lon." Friend, if that person ever gotsaved, he got past the preacher andgot down on his knees and soughtGod wholeheartedly. One mustacknowledge his lost condition andget hold of God. When a persontruly gets hold of God, then He willdirect him to one place. God will notlet a person stay where he will befed Babylonian food, because it isnot good for the soul. He will lead aperson to where Truth is preached,not error.

Disobedience AlwaysSpells Trouble

When Jonah failed to go whereGod told him to go, it brought trou-ble. Jonah 1:2-3 reads: "Arise, go toNineveh [God told Jonah to go to aspecific place and nowhere else],that great city, and cry against it; fortheir wickedness is come up beforeme. But Jonah rose up to flee untoTarshish from the presence of theLORD, and went down to Joppa; andhe found a ship going to Tarshish: sohe paid the fare thereof, and wentdown into it."

I want you to realize that Godhas called man to the highest apex,or the highest position there is. Hehas given us a law, and that is ex-actly why He called Jonah. God toldJonah to go to Nineveh, but he didnot want to go there. Friend, if you

are a saint of God and you fail to doas God has commanded you, youcan only go one direction, and that isdown. If you disobey God, you aregoing down. Often when a persongets saved, people start to work onthem to draw them away fromTruth. They sometimes say, "Whydon't you come down and worshipwith us?" That should tell yousomething right there.

Jonah did not want to cry outagainst the people of Nineveh, so hewent down to Joppa and boarded aship. He was looking for a way toescape the presence of God. When aperson does not want the Truth,God will allow him to go anotherdirection, but it will be down. Godwill permit that person to have ex-actly what he wants. The reasonpeople are in Truth today is thatthey want Truth; it is not because ofwho they are. Someone may say, "Ihave been brought up in a Christianhome." No matter where you werebrought up, you are where you wantto be. If you are on fire for God, it isbecause you want to be. If you areon the sideline, criticizing and find-ing fault with others, it is becausethat is where you want to be. If youare not interested in serving God, itis because you do not want to be.When God called you, Christianfriend, He put you on the apex.

Jonah did not want to do whatGod commanded him to do, so hewent down to Joppa and found aship, and he paid the fare. If youwalk against light, my friend, youwill pay the fare; that fare is expen-sive, and it is not something you cancancel. If you pay the fare to go anyplace other than the highest apex,you cannot cancel and get yourmoney back, but you will keeppaying the fare. Furthermore, yourchildren and grandchildren will beaffected by your decision to disobeyGod. When you refuse to walk withGod, do not think for a minute thatyou can walk in disobedience andGod will bless you. Friend, you mayprosper materially and financially,but nothing can take the place ofTruth. Your money will not do you

any good in eternity. If you aregoing to work for God and be whatHe wants you to be, then you mustwalk with Him, obey Him, and bewhere He is.

Failing to Obey WillBring You Down

After Jonah paid the fare, it wasnot long until he went down into theship and fell fast asleep. As he wassleeping, a great storm arose and soshook the ship that all those hard-ened sailors began to fear. With sucha tremendous storm, they began tothrow cargo overboard to lighten theship so that it would not sink. Theyknew something was wrong, so theywent down and found Jonah in thelower deck fast asleep. When theyawoke him, they questioned him.Finally, they threw him overboard,and the sea became calm again. Godhad prepared a big fish to swallowJonah. Jonah had a price to pay,even though he had already paid thefare.

Friend, if God throws youoverboard, He still has somethingthat will swallow you. If you fail towalk in the light and cause troubleand disruptions in a congregation,you will not get by. If you disobeyGod, you may still hang around acongregation, but God will throwyou overboard if you persist in go-ing your own way. The devil will beright there to swallow you up, andhe will cause you to think you havesomething when you do not. Jesussaid in Revelation 3:17, "Becausethou sayest, I am rich, and increasedwith goods, and have need of noth-ing; and knowest not that thou artwretched, and miserable, and poor,and blind, and naked."

It is a serious matter if, whenTruth is preached, you get an inde-pendent spirit and will not walk inthe light. You may not like someonein a congregation and choose to gosomewhere else, but remember this:God placed you in the body, and theonly place you will ever prosperspiritually is where God has placedyou. You cannot go just anywhere

you please. You need to seek Godearnestly if you get that thought inyour mind. God placed you in thebody as He saw fit, and when youget out of that place, you are out ofGod's care, and you are on your waydown. You are on your way to yourown "ship," so to speak, and the fareyou will pay will be expensive.

I want you to consider Davidand his act of disobedience to God.Second Samuel 11:1-2 reads: "And itcame to pass, after the year wasexpired, at the time when kings goforth to battle, that . . . David tarriedstill at Jerusalem. And it came topass in an eveningtide, that Davidarose from off his bed, and walkedupon the roof of the king's house." Ifyou continue to read down throughthis chapter, you will find that Da-vid saw Bathsheba and lusted afterher. Then he sent for her and com-mitted the act of adultery, and in theend he committed murder. Why? Hewas not where he should have been.He did not plan for any of that tooccur, but another spirit took over.My friend, you cannot disobey Godand keep His Spirit. If you disobeyHim, you will receive another spirit,and that spirit will take you down,just as it did David.

The Church and HowShe Is Built Up

Jesus asked His disciples inMatthew 16:13, "Whom do men saythat I the Son of man am?" Theygave Him numerous renditions ofwho others thought Him to be, butHe said in verse 15, "But whom sayye that I am?" Verse 16 reads, "AndSimon Peter answered and said,Thou art the Christ, the Son of theliving God." Peter did not say, "Ithink You are . . ."; he said, "Thou artthe Christ."

In verses 17-19 Jesus said toPeter: "Blessed art thou, SimonBarjona: for flesh and blood hath notrevealed it unto thee, but my Fatherwhich is in heaven. And I say alsounto thee, That thou art Peter, andupon this rock I will build mychurch; and the gates of hell shall

not prevail against it. And I will giveunto thee the keys of the kingdom ofheaven: and whatsoever thou shaltbind on earth shall be bound inheaven: and whatsoever thou shaltloose on earth shall be loosed inheaven." Christ is the Rock. In es-sence, He was saying, "Upon Myteachings, upon Me, I will build Mychurch." John 1:1 tells us, "In thebeginning was the Word, and theWord was with God, and the Wordwas God."

Friend, you must meet God'sconditions to be the church. Youmay say, "Everyone says they arethe church." Well, let us see what theWord of God teaches us. Bible con-ditions must be met to be the brideof Christ. What are some of theseconditions? Jesus said, "I will buildmy church," not churches. Let usconsider the origin of the church.Second Samuel 7:12-13 states: "Andwhen thy days be fulfilled [speakingof David], and thou shalt sleep withthy fathers, I will set up thy seedafter thee, which shall proceed outof thy bowels, and I will establishhis kingdom [not Solomon's king-dom, but Christ's kingdom]. Heshall build a house for my name,and I will establish the throne of hiskingdom for ever." You may say,"Solomon built a house." Yes, he did;but if you study it, you will find thatit was not a type of the church.David's tabernacle was a type of thechurch. The ark was set in the mid-dle of one room with only one door,not with many doors.

The Apostle Paul wrote inEphesians 3:15, "Of whom the wholefamily in heaven and earth isnamed." Notice that Paul said "inheaven and earth," not somewhereelse. God makes it quite clear to usthat Jesus said, "I will build mychurch." On the Day of Pentecost,He built that church, and since thatday, He has added to it. Who didJesus add to the church? Everyonewho wanted to be saved from sin,man-made religion, and the enemyof souls, if they met God's condi-tions. He is still adding to the churchyet today. He will continue to build

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upon it until He declares time to beno more. The church is built upwhen a person gets saved and isplaced in the body of Christ as itpleases Him. Do you want the teach-ings of God or do you want to hearwhat man says? It is up to you. Ifyou want to hear what God has tosay, He will show you where youcan go to hear Truth.

How the Church Functions

In Colossians 1:18 Paul statedthat Christ "is the head of the body,the church." In Ephesians 1:22-23Paul said that God "gave him[Christ] to be the head over allthings to the church, Which is hisbody, the fullness of him that fillethall in all." Paul said in 1 Corinthians12:18, "But now hath God set themembers every one of them in thebody, as it hath pleased him." Hedoes not ask you where you want tobe or what you want to do, but Heplaces you in His body as He seesfit. Just because you are not a pastor,a singer, or a pianist does not meanthat you have no place in the body.If you are saved, you are in thebody. You have a place, and eachmember of the body has a work todo. Just as your fingers, arms, eyes,ears, legs, and feet have work to doin your physical body, unless youdo the work where God has placedyou in the body, the body is going tosuffer.

Ephesians 4:11 tells us, "And hegave some, apostles; and some,prophets; and some, evangelist; andsome, pastors and teachers." Godhas also called some to be helpers. Iwant you to realize that the helpersare just as important as the pastor.Pastors need help. You need to prayfor the pastor, the singers, the instru-ment players, the choir director, thesong leader, and the youth leader;but above all, you need to pray forthe preacher.

If God placed you in the body asa helper, but you merely sit backand claim that you have nothing todo, one Sunday you may decide totake a little joy ride to see the scen-

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ery. If you do that, friend, you areneglecting your duty. At times wemay go away or have to work, but Iam talking about just taking a joyride or missing the services for noreason; then you are neglecting yourpost of duty, and you will not havea payday. Remember, God is thetimekeeper, and He knows whetheryou can be in the service. Also, Heknows whether you pray for thesong leader, the choir director, theinstrument players, and the specialsingers. He knows whether you prayto rebuke the devil. Unless you dothese things, you are neglecting anessential part of your duties.

Do you think your body wouldfunction as efficiently if four of yourfingers were chopped off? If you donot do your job in the family of God,you will hinder the work of thebody. The Apostle Paul used thephysical body as a type of the spiri-tual body. He places the members inthe body as it pleases Him. Each ofus has a work to do, but if someonesits back and does not do his part,then it becomes more difficult forthe rest of the body. Certainly ill-nesses or other circumstances mayhinder you. I do not want you to letthe devil press you down over nec-essary situations or circumstancesbeyond your control. I am talkingabout when one can be at the houseof God and can pray but simply failsto do so. If you fail to do thesethings when you can, then you areneglecting your duties.

"A Kingdom WhichCannot be Moved"

We read in Micah 4:1, "But in thelast days [Hebrews 1:2 lets youknow that the last days are sinceChrist came] it shall come to pass,that the mountain of the house ofthe LORD shall be established in thetop of the mountains. . . ." Hebrews12:28, speaking of the Kingdom ofGod, reads, "Wherefore we receivinga kingdom which cannot be moved,let us have grace, whereby we mayserve God acceptably with reverenceand godly fear." The writer let us

know that we receive a kingdomthat cannot be moved. God has set-tled it. He set the standard andmade it the law, and it will not bechanged in any way. We are livingin a world that has been modernizedin every aspect. Nevertheless, God'sTruth is still the same as it was onthe Day of Pentecost. As it was be-fore the foundation of the world, itis still the same today. The onlything we need to do is call upon Godfor grace to measure to the Wordand do what the Word tells us.

In Isaiah 33:20 we read, "Lookupon Zion, the city of our solemni-ties [in other words, a peacefulpeople]: thine eyes shall see Jerusa-lem a quiet habitation [no wars weregoing on there], a tabernacle thatshall not be taken down; not one ofthe stakes thereof shall ever be re-moved, neither shall any of thecords thereof be broken." Throughthe Prophet Isaiah, God was simplysaying that not one word wouldever be changed or taken out of theWord of God; it will always be thesame.

Micah 4:1-2 says: "But in the lastdays it shall come to pass, that themountain of the house of the LORD

shall be established in the top of themountains, and it shall be exaltedabove the hills; and people shallflow unto it [signifying unity]. Andmany nations shall come, and say,Come, and let us go up to the moun-tain of the LORD, and to the house ofthe God of Jacob; and he will teachus of his ways, and we will walk inhis paths: for the law shall go forthof Zion, and the word of the LORD

from Jerusalem."Many people think these verses

of Scripture refer to literal Jerusalem,but you need to examine the Scrip-tures to understand what the truthis. First of all, Matthew 24:35 tells usthat when the end of time comes,"Heaven and earth shall pass away."There will not be any earth left. Sec-ond, all the generations of God'speople since the beginning of timewill gather into the heavenly Jerusa-lem. The literal city of Jerusalemlocated in Palestine has a population

[Guest Editorial—continued from page 2]

information when he stated: "We are troubled on

every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed,

but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken;

cast down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-

9). What was he conveying with these words?

Satan may hinder or hedge in God's people in

many ways, but not beyond the point of finding

help and relief. Oftentimes we lack understanding

on certain matters and we are puzzled about

finding a way out, but we are never driven to a

place of despair or hopelessness. No matter how

dark the surroundings or how great the burden or

the problem that is crowding in on us, God is still

on His throne, and He greatly cares for each and

everyone. Let me remind you that our Heavenly

Father is vitally interested and concerned about

every minute detail of our lives. We must hold

fast, for He knows how and when to calm the

storm that is beating against our frail vessels.

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the

fiery trial which is to try you, as though some

strange thing happened unto you; But rejoice,

inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suffer-

ings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye

may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter

4:12-13). The Lord deems it necessary for every

one of His children to go through trials and hard

places. During these times of testing and proving,

God allows Satan to exert pressure on us. He

permits this so each individual can become stron-

ger and more perfect and mature for the Lord's

use. Patient endurance in these times of tribulation

and reverse will surely bring strong growth in the

soul. This proving will cause your life to shine

even brighter to the lost souls looking on. You

should never forget that people are watching your

life. Many times when the pressure is put on you,

they will watch to see how you react and respond

in the situation. You must hold fast and never

allow yourself to cave in. Victory is offered

through the grace of God.

We must never overlook the fact that God

proves us through His Word. We should not be

discouraged when the Word of God comes close

with searching. God has chosen this method to

reveal any flaws or defects in the lives of His

children. We ought to be extremely thankful that

God loves us enough to awaken, reprove, and

correct. God's desire is not to hurt or destroy, but

to perfect each of us. Hebrews 12:5-7, 11 admon-

ishes: "My son, despise not thou the chastening of

the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and

scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye

endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with

sons; for what son is he whom the father chasten-

eth not? . . . Now no chastening for the present

seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless

afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righ-

teousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

Therefore, whether you are undergoing a

heavy trial imposed on you by Satan or God is

correcting you through His Word, I encourage

you to hold fast to Him. You should never let go

of God's hand. You need to do whatever God

requires of you to keep the victory and His glory

in your soul. Whatever your situation may be, just

remember "That the trial of your faith, being

much more precious than of gold that perisheth,

though it be tried with fire, might be found unto

praise and honour and glory at the appearing of

Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7). Jesus said "he that

shall endure unto the end, the same shall be

saved" (Mark 13:13).

Selected

of approximately 250,000 people.People talk about trillions of peopleoccupying that little town. Howabsurd can that be? This text fromMicah says that God will call Hispeople and gather them home.Where will He gather them? He-brews 12:22-23 states: "But ye arecome unto mount Sion, and unto thecity of the living God, the heavenlyJerusalem, and to an innumerablecompany of angels, To the generalassembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven,and to God the Judge of all, and tothe spirits of just men made perfect."

Yield to the Gentle Molding of the Potter

Our text of Scripture states inverses 2-4: "Arise, and go down tothe potter's house, and there I willcause thee to hear my words. Then Iwent down to the potter's house,and, behold, he wrought a work onthe wheels [in other words, hepreached a message under the

anointing of the Holy Spirit]. Andthe vessel that he made of clay wasmarred in the hand of the potter [notbecause God marred it, but becausethe people would not do what Hewanted them to do]: so he made itagain another vessel, as seemedgood to the potter to make it [inother words, one that pleased God]."

God is still telling people to goto the potter's house, which is a typeof going to where the Word of Godis preached. God is only where HisWord is taught and practiced andwhere people do His work. That isexactly what Micah said in Micah,Chapter 4, and what Isaiah said inIsaiah, Chapter 2. Isaiah said to goup to the top of the mountain, farabove the rest of the hills, and whenyou get up there, he said in verse 3that "out of Zion shall go forth thelaw." God's Word is not what Ithink. I do not preach what I think;I preach the Word of God.

When a man of God preachesthe Word, people must conform toHis blueprint or they will be marred,

just as the vessel was in Jeremiah18:4. What did the potter do? Hemade another vessel, one that wouldyield to the gentle molding of thepotter. That is what God wants.Friend, all kinds of congregationscall themselves the Church of God.Some uphold the standard and somedo not. Others talk in gibberish, butthat is not what God wants. Godwants people who will let Him reignin their hearts and give the HolySpirit preeminence.

The Prophet Ezekiel wrote inEzekiel 11:19-20: "I will take thestony heart out of their flesh, andwill give them a heart of flesh: Thatthey may walk in my statutes." Ifyou have God's Spirit dwelling inyou, my friend, when the Word ofGod goes forth, you will want toobey it. You will hunger for it, andthen God will bless you. May Godhelp you.

(Cassette C-5260M)

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Mark 8:34 And when he had calledthe people unto him with his disciplesalso, he said unto them, Whosoever willcome after me, let him deny himself, andtake up his cross, and follow me.

35 For whosoever will save his lifeshall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his

22

life for my sake and the gospel’s, thesame shall save it.

36 For what shall it profit a man, ifhe shall gain the whole world, and losehis own soul?

37 Or what shall a man give inexchange for his soul?

Brother E. David Stegmeier

38 Whosoever therefore shall beashamed of me and of my words in thisadulterous and sinful generation; of himalso shall the Son of man be ashamed,when he cometh in the glory of hisFather with the holy angels.

Man Is a Living Soul

I want to focus on verse 36 of theScripture text, which reads, "Forwhat shall it profit a man, if he shallgain the whole world, and lose hisown soul?" Notice that is followedby another question in verse 37,which asks, "Or what shall a mangive in exchange for his soul?" Bythe help of the Lord, I want toattempt to answer these two ques-tions. Verse 34 from The Living Biblereads: "If any of you wants to be myfollower," he told them, "you mustput aside your own pleasures andshoulder your cross, and follow meclosely." God is looking for people

who will carry their crosses and betrue men and women for God. Weare living in a day of greatopportunity.

One songwriter penned thewords, "It's a pleasure, an honor, toserve You, Lord." That is puttingit mildly! I thank God that I can bea child of God and live for Him inthis terrible, wicked world. I enjoyliving, because I have discoveredthe way of gladness; it is in servingJesus Christ. He is my life!

When it comes time for church,we ought to lay aside everythingelse and get there. I have absolutelyno tolerance for people who putpleasure and worldly things before

the house of worship. I try to belong-suffering, kind, and loving.Nonetheless, I was brought up toattend the worship services in alltypes of weather. Sometimes ourfamily drove a long way to church.Even if we did not get home untilone or two o'clock in the morning, itwas worth it. We were putting theinterests of our souls before any-thing else. I realize the value of mysoul, and I do not want to lose it.You must put aside your ownpleasures, shoulder your cross, andfollow Christ closely, not at adistance.

Jesus said in verse 35 of TheLiving Bible, "If you insist on saving

your life, you will lose it [thissounds like a paradox, but if yougive up your life and put God's willand His way first in your life, thenyou will discover what it means tolive]. Only those who throw awaytheir lives for my sake and for thesake of the Good News will everknow what it means to really live." Ifeel sorry for people in the world.They go through life with seeminglyno direction, no joy, no peace, andno satisfaction. I am fully saved andfully satisfied. Are you?

Verses 36-37 of the same versionread: "And how does a man benefitif he gains the whole world andloses his soul in the process [he doesnot benefit anything]? For is any-thing worth more than his soul?"No! You need to consider whatvalue God places on your soul. Youneed to look at it as God looks at it,with His perspective.

The Importance of Your Soul

When I was in college and goingout to student teach, they requiredme to write down the goals of eachlesson, such as what I expected toaccomplish in each classroom hour.One thing I would like to accom-plish in this message is to stir you toa greater realization concerning theimportance of your soul. The firstthing in the morning, you need topray and read the Bible. Some peo-ple are more concerned about theircoffee than their never-dying souls.

Christian friend, you need toread the Bible more, pray more, putmore time into helping your soulgrow and remain strong, and be trueto God in temptation. All of thistakes work. If you are unsaved, Iwant to stir your mind to the realiza-tion that you may lose the most im-portant part of you, and that is yoursoul. You need to do somethingabout your soul today. Seeing peo-ple enter the house of worship andputting God first is beautiful. I ap-preciate that, but God appreciates itfar more. Serving God is the rightchoice.

When most people begin the

routine of their day, they think ofhaving breakfast. First and foremoston your mind each morning uponrising should be your relationshipwith God. Your prayer should be,"God, I need You today. Only Youknow what I will face." You couldface a horrible accident. The thou-sands of people who died when thetwin towers came down in NewYork lost their lives, but that tragedydid not do a thing to their souls.Their souls live on, but their eternaldestiny was sealed that day. Nophysical power on earth can doanything to your soul; it will live onwhen your body ceases to live.

What about your spiritual manthe first thing in the morning? Youare a twofold being. Paul said in 2Corinthians 4:16, " . . . though ouroutward man perish, yet the inwardman is renewed day by day." Youshould be really concerned about theinward man.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-34:"Therefore take no thought, saying,What shall we eat? or, What shall wedrink? or, Wherewithal shall we beclothed [the Scripture says to take nothought of those things, but they areforemost in most people's minds]?(For after all these things do theGentiles seek:) for your heavenlyFather knoweth that ye have need ofall these things [God knows yourevery need]. But seek ye first thekingdom of God, and his righteous-ness; and all these things shall beadded unto you. Take therefore nothought for the morrow: for themorrow shall take thought for thethings of itself. Sufficient unto theday is the evil thereof."

What is the Kingdom of God?Romans 14:17 says, "For the king-dom of God is not meat and drink;but righteousness, and peace, andjoy in the Holy Ghost." It is notmade up of those physical things,but it is righteousness, working hardto be right with God, peace, and joy.Before I speak, I always weigh mythoughts and my words to considerwhether I should say what is on mymind. Why? I want to be right withGod.

You should do your best to livepeaceably with all men. Sometimesyou have to make decisions, andyou need wisdom. You should try toget along with your neighbors.Should a problem arise with aneighbor, you need to think about it,pray about it, and be sure that youact right. As a Christian, you cannotact the same way the world does.You should be very careful to act theright way and do what is rightaccording to the principles of theWord of God. You need to do thosethings that benefit your soul.

Your Soul Is the Real You

The things that build up thehuman body, such as meat anddrink, should come after the thingsthat benefit your soul. Man is aliving soul. Genesis 2:7 says, "Andthe LORD God formed man of thedust of the ground, and breathedinto his nostrils the breath of life;and man became a living soul." Acertain false religious group thinksthat a man is no better than an ani-mal. I do not study into those falsereligions; I study the Truth.

Some people have really weirdideas about man. They feel that manis about like a goat or a cow, butJesus taught the Pharisees that manwas better than the animals. In Mat-thew, Chapter 12, you can readabout Jesus healing a man with awithered hand. The Pharisees foundfault with Him. (There is alwayssomeone around to find fault.) In somany words, Jesus asked them ifthey had one sheep and it fell into apit on the sabbath day whether theywould get it out. A man is worthmuch more than a sheep, a goat, adog, or a cat.

I sometimes wonder about theway some people treat their pets.There are even burial grounds forcats and dogs. Some churches havea certain Sunday of the year whenthe members can take their pets tochurch and the pastor blesses them.In general, society has gotten so badthat the laws of our land permit thekilling of little, innocent, unborn

23

babies; yet it is illegal to kill a littlebird, and if one does, he will beordered to pay a very hefty fine. Weare living in a sick society.

Your soul is the real you.Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, "Then [atdeath] shall the dust return to theearth as it was: and the spirit shallreturn unto God who gave it." Godgave you something that neither younor your parents had anything to dowith. He gave you a living soul. Apart of you is earthly and a part ofyou is from Heaven, from God.When the body of man dies, his soulcontinues to live.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm49:15, "But God will redeem my soulfrom the power of the grave: for heshall receive me." Your soul cancontinue to live without your body,but your body ceases to live whenyour soul departs. I have heard ofpeople experimenting, and theyweighed a man while he was aliveand then after he was dead to seehow much his soul weighed. That isludicrous! The soul is the part ofman that comes from God andreturns to God.

Genesis 3:19 tells us, "Dust thouart, and unto dust shalt thou return."Second Corinthians 4:18 tells us that"the things which are seen aretemporal; but the things which arenot seen are eternal."

Why Is Your Soul SoValuable to God?

God created your soul when Hecreated you. By rite of creation, Hehas ownership of you. Ezekiel 18:4says, "Behold, all souls are mine; asthe soul of the father, so also thesoul of the son is mine."

Jeremiah 1:5 states, "Before Iformed thee [the antecedent of I isGod] in the belly I knew thee [yousee, God knows all about you]; andbefore thou camest forth out of thewomb I sanctified thee, and Iordained thee a prophet unto thenations." In reality, you cannot putyourself in the ministry or in thebody of Christ; God must ordain it.Many young men who get saved

24

want to pastor right away, but mostof them are not qualified. God putsmen in the Gospel work. It is not upto individuals to choose. If you areto be in the ministry, God chose youbefore you were ever born; there-fore, you need to leave it to Him.One reason our world has such ahorrendous mess today is that toomany ministers are not God-called.If a man is working division anddiscord, that is a sure sign that hehas never been divinely called byGod into the ministry.

You ought to labor whereverGod has put you and do your bestfor Him. There is a place for each ofus. A wife should be happy andsatisfied where she is. The husbandshould take his position and behappy where he is. Husband, whenit is time to go to work, you shouldget your lunch pail and get on yourway and be happy.

You should leave the choosingof your life and your position in thechurch to God. Do not be so quick topush. A person's gift will makeroom for itself. It is beautiful whenmembers submissively, quietly, andhumbly take their rightful positionsand labor within the body. Youshould not envy another person'sposition.

Your soul is valuable because itis immortal; it is eternal. The richman and Lazarus both died physi-cally, yet they are still alive spiritu-ally. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28,"And fear not them which kill thebody, but are not able to kill thesoul: [If you live for God and standfor God, do what you should do,you do not have to go around beingafraid of people. You need to fearGod and do your best to live cleanand holy before Him. When you getin a tight spot, you can say, 'God, Iam depending upon You.'] butrather fear him which is able todestroy both soul and body in hell."

The Living Bible in Matthew 10:28says, "Don't be afraid of those whocan kill only your bodies—but can'ttouch your souls! Fear only Godwho can destroy both soul and bodyin hell." No physical force can de-

stroy your soul. The soul is the per-son in you that reasons, ponders,thinks, feels, makes decisions, andacts according to those decisions; itis the real you. People can see onlythe outward man, but God weighsyour thoughts.

Your soul is valuable becauseyour Heavenly Father gave His bestto redeem you. Heaven gave its verybest. Have you ever heard of aworldly leader giving his only son toredeem his whole kingdom of rebel-lious subjects? No! I have oftenthought about how God gave Hisonly begotten Son and watched Himcome into the world only to see Himhumiliated, spat upon, slapped,betrayed, and denied. People do thesame to Christ today. If you do it toa man of God or a brother or a sisterin Christ, it is the same as thoughyou are doing it to God.

If you were to say, "Oh, hedoesn't amount to anything," youare saying it to God. I will just giveyou an example. A family movedinto a neighborhood where a certainsister lived. The new neighbors werenot of the Church of God, but theywere of another faith at that time.They dressed very modestly andvery beautifully, but the neighborsbegan to make fun of them. Thisdear sister stood for what was rightand treated them right. The peoplein the neighborhood were wrong forthe way they were acting toward thenew neighbors. This sister wouldnot join in with them, and she wonthe new neighbors to the Church ofGod.

Young person, in school do youstand up for other fellow Christiansor do you deny that you knowthem? When they are going throughhard places, do you have the atti-tude, "Oh, I would rather notnotice." All of this comes down tothe godly principles you need to liveout at school and in the community.

"Ye Are Bought With a Price"

God gave His best to redeem us.Romans 5:6 says, "For when we wereyet without strength, in due time

Christ died for the ungodly." Youwere not a very pretty person whenGod found you, and neither was I,yet He loved us. You should notlook at a person the way he is now,but consider what he could be if hegets saved. When you work withsomeone, you should not look athim as being a drunkard or a manfrom the gutter, but you should lookat him as an individual whom Godcan clean up and make his lifebeautiful.

When you think about the greatprice that Jesus paid to purchaseyour soul, that should show youhow valuable you are to God. In 1Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul said:"What? know ye not that your bodyis the temple of the Holy Ghostwhich is in you, which ye have ofGod, and ye are not your own? Forye are bought with a price: thereforeglorify God in your body, and inyour spirit, which are God's."

Your body and your soul areGod's. You should use your body toglorify God; therefore, you ought tokeep it clean and holy. There is somuch ungodliness in the worldtoday. You need to keep your mindand your soul clean and holy. Godcreated your body and your soul tobring glory to Him. Young man, youshould use the strength that Godgives you to bring glory to Him.Young lady, you should use yourvirtue, your beauty, and yourwomanhood to glorify God.

Revelation 4:11 states, "Thou artworthy, O Lord, to receive glory andhonour and power: for thou hastcreated all things, and for thy plea-sure they are and were created." Onesong says, "He bought my soul atCalvary." Paul said in 1 Corinthians7:23, "Ye are bought with a price."

Again, our Scripture text readsin verses 36-37: "For what shall itprofit a man, if he shall gain thewhole world, and lose his own soul?Or what shall a man give inexchange for his soul?" One soul isworth more than this entire world.The soul of your father, the soul ofyour mother, the soul of yourhusband or wife, the souls of your

sons and daughters and your grand-children are worth more than thisentire world. God places great valueon a person's soul.

Choices That ImpactYour Soul's Welfare

When it comes time to die, mostpeople forget the plans they have forthe future. They forget their wealthand their earthly possessions. Fore-most in their minds is, "What am Igoing to experience beyond thismortal life?" In approximately fortyyears of preaching the Gospel, Ihave seen many people down at theend of their lives turn to God whenthroughout their lives they wantednothing to do with Him. Some ofthem really struggled to believe thatGod would save them, because theyhad squandered all those years andhad done their own thing.

Many years ago when BrotherEmerson Wilson was alive, we wereasked to visit an older man in thecommunity. He had cancer, and hisfamily asked if Brother Wilson and Iwould visit him. We went andworked with him, and he said, "Ihave a terrible time believing thatGod is pleased and that I am readyto go. I went to church, but I wasnever really serious about servingthe Lord."

I have seen people get saveddown at the end of their lives, and Ithink that is beautiful. Not manyyears ago, a man who was termi-nally ill started coming to church,and he got a wonderful experience.I believe the man made it. Your soulis far more important when it comestime to die.

Those who have had theprivilege of hearing the Gospel aretaking a chance if they become care-less in their experience and do nottake this business of serving Godseriously. They stand a greaterchance of being lost at the end oftheir lives than someone who hasnot had the same opportunities. I amnot going to take any chances.

The Living Bible in Psalm 49:6-7says: "They trust in their wealth and

boast about how rich they are, yetnot one of them, though rich askings, can ransom his own brotherfrom the penalty of sin! For God'sforgiveness does not come thatway." You cannot receive God'sforgiveness by paying the preacheror by giving away everything youown.

Many years ago I remember aman who told Brother EmersonWilson that he would give every-thing he had if he could getaudience with God again. He wentto the altar, and about one hundredmen in the congregation gatheredaround him to intercede on his be-half. I do not know whether the manever prayed through, but that is avery sad place to be in. The only wayone can receive forgiveness isthrough the blood of Jesus Christ.

I try to reason with parents whoare making choices that will impacttheir souls' welfare. I counsel them,"If nothing else, consider the souls ofyour children. Are you doing thatfor your own sake? Are you doingthis because you want your ownway? Do you realize that you couldcause your whole family to bedamned and yourself too?" Toomany people hold out for their ownway. They are as stubborn as a Mis-souri mule, so to speak. They do notcare about their own souls or thesouls of others.

Where Will You Spend Eternity?

When preaching the Gospel, Itry to weigh every word I say verycarefully. Sometimes I go home andspend a whole week struggling withthe words that I said for fear theymight have offended someone. Weare responsible for other souls. Youcan turn someone away from theGospel by what you say or do. Youneed to be aware of your facial ex-pressions and be careful that you donot speak an unkind word. Some-times people can be so stubborn.Someone may say, "Well, I think Ishould be the Sunday school teach-er. If I'm not, then I'm out of here" or"If I can't do this or that, I'm going to

25

take my family and move." They donot even consider their souls' wel-fare. What will you give in exchangefor your soul and the souls of yourchildren?

Psalm 49:8 in The Living Biblereads, "For a soul is far too preciousto be ransomed by mere earthlywealth." This verse states it in a veryprofound way. You need to guardyour soul. Revelation 3:11 states,"Behold I come quickly: hold thatfast which thou hast, that no mantake thy crown." The Psalmist saidin Psalm 49:9 of The Living Bible,"There is not enough of it [wealth] inall the earth to buy eternal life forjust one soul, to keep it out of hell."Nothing is stronger than the Wordof God.

To many people, their wealth istheir hope and their god. The Psalm-ist said, in so many words, "All themoney in the world cannot redeema soul, because a soul is worth much

26

Mecha

(The church is located

Revival Me

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Service Tim

Special Fellowswith a

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Pastor Alle

more than that." Only the blood ofChrist can ransom a soul. In thehour of death, neither money,prestige, education, personal beautynor anything else will mean any-thing. What you meet after youexpire is what will occupy yourmind. Your soul was made for theSpirit of God.

As I said earlier, God values thesoul of man much more than any-thing else, no matter what it is. InMark, Chapter 5, you can read thatJesus saw a demoniac man. Thosedemons asked to go into a herd ofpigs, and Jesus said, "Go." Why?That man needed help. His soul wasfar more valuable than a herd ofswine. Your soul is more expensivethan your vehicles, your homes, orwhat someone may think of you.What people think of me does notconcern me a great deal. Mostimportantly, I want to be very surethat God is pleased with me. Friend,

nicsburg Church

at 9297 W est US 36, just W est of Me

eting & Special Fellowsh

March 13-18, 2006

angelist: Brother Larry Dishm

es: Monday-Friday 7:00 p.m. & Sat.

hip Service will be held on Saturdameal provided by the local congreg

veryone Welcome

For further information contact: n Polston, 2020 Ralph St., New Castle

Telephone: 765-521-8284

if you should lose your soul, youwill have lost everything.

In closing, won't you consideryour soul, dear one? You need toconsider where you will spend eter-nity. There is an adage that says,"Drive carefully. The life you savemay be your own." I have heard thatchanged a little to say, "Live prayer-fully and carefully. The soul yousave may be your own."

How about your soul today?Are you clear with God? Thereneeds to be a reviving of prayer, ofBible study, and of carrying burdensfor souls. Saint, you need to do yourbest to share the Gospel with others.Dear one, are you clear with God?What is the condition of your innerman? Won't you seek the Lordearnestly?

(Cassette C-4930E)

of God

chanicsburg, Indiana.)

ip Service

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10:00 a.m.

y at 10:00 a.m., ation.

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, IN 47362