I know that God is working in a greater way than ever before. Christ is still setting at the right had of the Father, our great high priest. He has never tired from His efforts. And if the people of God will let their prayers ascend it will move God on His throne. I believe that meant not just to pour out His Spirit on all flesh, the Day of Pentecost, but from then on He poured His spirit out on all flesh---that will give Him a place where He can pour His Spirit out. Thank God for His goodness.

The first thing the devil did, was to work on the preachers and get them to feed the people chaff and wood and stubble and got God’s sheep so weak, that they began fighting the battle within themselves and trying to overcome the devil---let alone, take the world for Christ. But, if we will turn back to God’s Word and feed God’s sheep, and after all, that’s what He called us for, to feed the sheep, feed the Church, which He purchased with His own blood, and so get God’s sheep fat and flourishing so they will produce. God, over in the Songs of Solomon, when Christ tells there of the beauty of the Church---Let’s turn over there a minute. I just feel impressed---for I love those Songs of Solomon. I have sung them many times.

The 4th chapter of the Song of Solomon, when Christ is telling of the beauty of the Church; let’s listen to Him. “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou are fair: thou hast doves eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are eve shorn, which came up from the washing: whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.” There’s the church; my friend. How do they look? They look like a bunch of sheep that have just come up from the washing. And every one of them brings forth twins. Healthy sheep will have twins and triplets, but if you’ve got a bunch of old sheep running on a hillside taking stubble, they will do good if thy can bring forth a live lamb.

Now, the reason a lot of congregations are not bringing forth new babes is because God knows the mother is not strong enough. She would die in the attempt. God wants us to feed the church. He told Peter back there, when He spoke to him, “Feed my sheep.” If you love me, Peter, feed my sheep. If you love me, Peter, feed my sheep. If you love me, Peter, feed my lambs. Why did he say feed my sheep twice? If you do not feed your sheep you will not have lambs to feed. I declare unto you, that all a lot of congregations need is just some new babes. That will heal a lot of their conditions. You know, children can grow up and as they grow up together it seems like they let a lot of little things get between them and get certain attitudes, but God blesses their home with a little baby and they all forget their attitudes and all go to loving that baby. We’ve got to have congregations; we have to have babies born in just every little bit; that is what helps us to keep that love and concern. It will cause the other children to forget about themselves and go to helping that babe to make it and while they are helping the babe, God will be strengthening them. God has ordained, that if we will follow His plan, there will be children born, periodically, right down along and it will do something for us in the body of Christ. We will be edified by it.

Turn to the 13th chapter of Matthew, verse 45; we are on the 6th parable. “Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” We studied that of consecration, the last parable…that of the kingdom was like a treasure hid in the field. We proved by the Word that the field is the Word of God and within that the Kingdom is here. We must be born again of the Spirit of God, to find it within the Word. Jesus told Nicodemus, you can’t see it, unless, you are born of the Spirit of God. Then that individual, after he had found that treasure, found the kingdom, he goes and sells all that he has, nothing more then speaking of consecration to God’s eternal Word, selling out---and buys the whole field, or buys the truth.

Now, we take one step farther. I thought that Christ was the pearl of great price and here the man has even got Christ already and he’s consecrated already, but here he has found a pearl of great price. Well, let’s see what the Word says about it. That is why we are studying this thing. I want us to see that a real experience with God, spoils us for the things of this world. When we really love God and find this treasure, we will be through with the things of the world. We will, just as Peter said, be as new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word and we, my friend, will come, and consecrate to its completeness, and when we consecrate to its completeness, God will give it to us in its completeness. We won’t know it all, we will be ever learning, but it will be all ours. And the very Spirit of God in our hearts, will begin to lead us through this precious Word, hunting more gems and rich things.

A man that has consecrated to God’s Word---how will he be? He will be as a merchantman seeking goodly pearls. I want you to see, before we go any farther: He will be seeking through that Word, for other truths. Pearls, my friend, are symbols of truths within God’s Word. The Word of God answers the symbol. You all know what it means over in Matthew, when Jesus said, “Cast not your pearls before swine.” What did He mean? He meant, my friend, when you see an individual that has an attitude that he just raises up against the Word, you are just wasting your time to pour out the truths on him. So, Jesus used pearls as a symbol of truths within God’s Word. He said not to cast your pearls before swine or they will turn and rend you, and trample them under their feet. When we see people today tramp this precious truth under their feet and turn around and knife us in the back, we know what they are. So we see this individual that has sold out to God; you know it was true in our experience. We began seeking through God’s Word to find these truths and every one we found was a little richer; you know that is so. Let me tell you, as long as the Spirit of God is within us He will keep digging up truths here from His Word and our heart with it and that will stir up an anxiety within us to go after something better. He would liken it unto a merchantman dealing with pearls or dealing in truths, my friend, and he is going through this Word hunting richer things and a better pearl.

In the opening, in this sixth seal age, we have a picture of the kingdom. Men and women who had been justified by the message preached by Luther, and had been consecrated by the Wesley age. Now, here’s the picture of the kingdom at the beginning of the sixth seal age. And what were they doing? They were going around in the many religious shops, hunting a greater truth than they had where they were before. God had His people in a “state of unrest” before He sent out the great message of coming on back to Mt. Zion. And people today, before they ever find the truth, get in a state of unrest. As the Word of God in prophecy speaks, they wandered from “hill to hill”, seeking their resting place---and couldn’t find it. Even so, he would show us a kingdom right here before 1880 made up of men and women hunting pearls of truth. They had an attitude; they consecrated to God’s will; they wanted all the truth and here, they went around in the many religious shops. Everywhere they could hear of someone preaching more truth than what they had, they went over and bought that. Just here and there, wherever they could hear somebody that was dealing more truth than they had, my friend, they went and took hold of it. He likened it, my friend, to pearl merchants, if you please. God help us to see! Many are easily satisfied, but this individual that Jesus pictured is a merchant man---one that really went into the pearl business.

We want you to see, that if you don’t get this experience, you will never find the pearl of great price. This individual is already dealing in pearls and truth, before he ever found the pearl of great price. That’s just another preconceived idea we had. Christ did not come at a price. God sent Him and brought Him and I am going to preach on something else this morning that was bought with a price and it is the pearl of great price. This individual was already a merchant man dealing in pearls of truth, before he ever found the pearl of great price. He had to have Christ, he had to have had a born again experience, or he could not have known anything about the truth. [ End of Part 12 ]

MYSTERY BABYLON

1. Somebody said, I didn’t know Babylon had any truths. Yes, the Word of God said she did. You read the 18th chapter of Revelation, the 12th verse, dealing with sect Babylon. “The merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, and of pearls.” Gold, silver, precious stones and pearls, are all symbols of truths. Babylon dealt in truths, my friend, but the bad part, come right on down through, and with that gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; again, they’re all symbols, not natural pearls---we’re talking, symbolic language! With those precious truths, she came right on down and put cinnamon and many, if you please, literal things, and ended up with the souls of men. What did she do? She took the truth of God’s Word and the souls of men and put them right on the level with material things. Sure Babylon had truths, and many of God’s people are running around in the various shops of Babylon seeking for some greater truth than they have. God’s people are always willing to give up something they have got in order to get something better. That is why I never worry about God’s people not coming to truth. Thank God, we have got something better than Babylon ever had, or ever will have. That’s why I like to preach it---and God’s people are wise in spiritual things.

When they see someone has got something better than they have, they are ready to trade right there. Like one brother that has been raised in the _______ Church, never had any experience, even down to “death’s door”, still hanging on to it and trying to reach him with the truth, he said, “Well, it hasn’t done much for me, but don’t think I ought to switch horses in the middle of the stream.” Well, I’d trade anywhere; in the middle of the stream or anywhere else, if the one I had died. Any horse is better than a dead one. The very Spirit of God, within God’s people, would want the best there is. It will make us want everything that God has for His people. That’s what the Spirit of God within us will do.

We turn to the 17th chapter of the Revelation and see mystery Babylon there, the mother of harlots; that which John called the great whore, and the Scripture said she was decked with gold and silver and precious stones and pearls. Well, we learned already that Rome did not have the truth. She decked herself with truth to deceive people. There’s a vast difference between being clothed in the Word of God, and decked with a few Scriptures. She was clothed in scarlet and purple. You know what that signifies. I’m not preaching on her, I’m trying to bring out God’s Word here. She was clothed---there was her foundation; she was clothed in scarlet and purple; it was the devils work from the very beginning. She decked her robes with a few bits of truths here and there to deceive men. Even John marveled at her a little bit. Talk about the Apostle John and his wisdom and his spirit; when he saw that old woman decked in that thing it stirred him a little. He said he almost was ready to admire her. He said, I marveled at her with admiration, but God spoke to him and said, John, don’t be deceived. I will tell you the truth about her.

The people of God have been put in the same shape John was in. They have spoken these things and decked themselves with certain Scriptures, until many of God’s people would begin to admire that thing and the work they do, but God has an angel (messenger) that will tell you the truth about her. Sure they deck themselves with truth. We want you to see, you can’t leave that 17th chapter back here in the morning time. The sixth seal ministry put it back there, God bless them; they were true to their message and possessed the Spirit of God and did a great work before our eyes, but they put that 17th chapter beast back here in the morning time and you cannot do it. The Scripture said---see, mystery Babylon, she was not a mother back here. She was not a mother until she brought forth her daughters here. So that 17th chapter had to be left on this side.

Old Rome was symbolized in other ways in the morning time, but the message of that eight beast is for the day and age in which we live. My friend, it is not made up of “this, that and the other”, but the Word of God said that eighth beast is made up of the seven. What is he talking about? Every false religion through the seven ages are uniting and coming together in this very generation to fight against the people of God! Sure they had truth; sure they were decked with truths---there would be no deception if they didn’t. If she would do nothing but go about in her purple and scarlet robe and expose her true foundation, my friend, nobody would be deceived. But that which she decks herself with, she uses those truths to glitter before the eyes even as a lewd woman decks herself with that which attracts men’s attention. Even so the old false system sticks out a few truths here and there to catch honest hearts and catch the gaze of their eyes, if you please, and then bring them in. It’s just like a lewd woman. It’s not very long after she catches your attention, that she has you drinking out of her cup. And once you drink out of her cup; you’re done! That’s why I spare no time crying out to the very church today. Worldly wisdom has a ministry that would be God’s ministry; they feel they can go down and meet Babylon on her ground. Let me tell you, there is no man, can meet her in the power of manhood and intellectual power. She will give you a sip of her cup, and the next thing you know, you’ll make an alliance with her.

Go back to Ezekiel and Jeremiah, when they talked about her and said Babylon “was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand.” What was he talking about? God used Babylon; God worked through here, when they preached the truth and stood by God’s Word, but she emptied that cup of truth, if you please, and filled it, my friend, with the filthiness of her fornication. They are more interested today, in getting people to join their organization, than they are getting them married to Christ. She sits as a queen, where old Ezekiel said, “come on down.” God said to Babylon, come on down and sit in the dust. Why, there’s no throne for you. The good old truth of God’s Word tells us: this is not reigning! It’s just deceiving people and making them think it’s got power to reign, but it’s nothing but an earthly and devilish organization backed by the powers of hell. There’s no God in it. What did he say on down through? Come on down and sit in the dust, there’s not throne for you. Why, they don’t believe in living overcoming lives and only overcomers get to sit on a throne. The Word of God says so. Come on down!

What made Babylon begin to fall? God’s eternal truth will bring her down where she belongs. She has exalted herself long enough. We can’t meet her as a man. That thing is deceptive; it well get the wisest man that ever lived, but thank God, we’re not meeting her as a man. We must meet her just like David met Goliath. He came in his own name, but David came in the name of the God of Israel, that lives forever and ever. The thing that gave David confidence to kill Goliath; the thing he built his faith and confidence on, when he was able to kill Goliath bare handed; he had already killed the bear and the lion. We must get victory over the bear and the lion or we will never fight “this Goliath” that is standing today. But, if you get victory over the beast and his image, thank God, we will be ready to go into the valley and take Goliath “on for a round”. I feel just exactly like David---you think you can handle it? Yes, Sir! What makes you think you can kill Goliath? I already “killed a bear and a lion”. God came on me, and I killed them. If we can have past victory to look back on, it will give us the courage we need to go ahead for God. He stands ready to do something for us if we will meet his condition.

 

ONE FOUNDATION

Do we see this has been a deceptive thing? In the very Word of God in 1 Corinthians the 3rd chapter, I have quoted this Scripture up through here, but I want to deal with it again. We want people to see the truth. Paul tells us “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

There is no foundation short of being born again. But that is not all that is necessary---after you get on the right foundation, let every man take heed how he builds thereon. That is where the trouble starts. There are a lot of people here, that have the right foundation, but they were not careful enough as to what they built into their lives. We’re going to be tried. Jesus said there are just two kinds of builders. You are either building on the earth (sand) or on the rock. There’s only one foundation and the man that built on the rock; who did he say they were? Those that hear these sayings of mine and doeth them---the hearers and doers of God’s Word. They are building on the rock, and ready to be tested.

God does the first testing. How does He test it? The rains descended on it. What is the rain a symbol of? Isaiah 55 said, my Word, will come down, just like the rain comes down. So God tests you, but not until you get your house built. He tests the roof. The rain descended. What else happened? The winds blew. After you get on the solid rock and get your house finished, you can let any wind of doctrine blow that wants to; it cannot blow you down, if you’re on the rock. What else happened? Then the devil is mad; the enemy comes in like a flood---the floods come. Isaiah 55 said the enemy comes in like a flood, so that flood is the devil. What is he after? He’s testing the very foundation to see if he can take the house off the foundation.

I want to tell you, this flood of lukewarmness and modernism that the devil has come in with, has washed more than one house off the foundation. They are still trying to talk about the beauties of the house, but it’s lopsided. It doesn’t set square and stand out for truth like it once did. Well, I’m still preaching on the Spirit of God. Isaiah said, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord, will lift up a standard against him. What has happened? Someone said, I’ve been in the church for 50 years, and I have a solid experience. Well, you still need to hold to an experience with God. The devil can come in like a flood, and wash you off your foundation; house and all. Again, there’s only one foundation; Jesus Christ. There’s no other foundation that can be laid; that’s why these things are bottomless pit works---no foundation. Why, they wouldn’t take this foundation of Christ so when they wouldn’t take this, there’s nothing left for them but the sand. Let the devil build all the institutions he wants, but he cannot build them on the rock. They

won’t stand. Why, old Gamaliel knew more back there, when men wanted to kill off all of God’s people, He said, what is the use of that? If it be of man, it will come to naught, and if it be of God, you can’t stop it any way. You might just as well give it up.

Now, let every man take heed how he builds thereon. It’s not enough to get the foundation; not enough to be born again; not enough to get on the rock. But we have to take heed (every day) how we build thereon. If any man build on this foundation; (and people would miss-teach this Scripture, but it’s very simple if you will read it) for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. There is only one foundation, but if any man builds on this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones; (and they talk about people building on gold and precious stones) no, there’s only one foundation; Christ. After you get Him; then, if you go to building---you build, using gold and silver and precious stones on this foundation, Christ Jesus---That will stand. They will withstand the fire. If you build, using hay, wood or stubble, it will not stand. We have already clarified---we are in the day of God’s wrath from 1880 up to short of 1980, however long He sees fit---and men’s houses are being tried by the fire of God’s eternal Word.

CHURCH DOCTRINES

Babylon had many goodly pearls, but she quit dealing with them. She busied herself dealing with something else. Luther had a good pearl; justification by faith; that’s a pearl of a truth. That is the only one that Luther could get hold of as far as we know, but he kept it! It enabled him to him stand right in “a nest of devils”, if you please, and stand for God’s Word. The Presbyterians used to have a pearl--- equality of ministerial brethren. That’s Bible. Many Church congregations need to get back and learn something of what the Presbyterians used to know. Baptists teach baptism by immersion, the Quakers, Holy Ghost leadership; the Methodists, brother, they had a number of them, repentance, justification, sanctification/consecration, the baptism of the Holy Ghost and holiness. Sad to say, they don’t teach them any more ---not like they used too. They’ve taken the altars out; they don’t believe a man can live holy any more.

The Bride of Christ believes and practices all the cardinal teachings of the Word from one end to the other. These other “brides” (professing to be the Bride of Christ) that are going around and cashing in on some of the old saint’s goodness, I don’t know who they are. They’re not the Bride of Christ. We can take a truth that is as rich as can be, and give it the wrong setting and spoil the whole thing. What am I talking about? You could take a pearl that was worth fifty thousand dollars and put it in a “ten cent” ring and spoil the whole thing. Even so, these organizations took truths that old Rome had, and would dazzle you with; and deck her garments with---would never dazzle the eyes of a true child of God. Why? They’ve got the wrong setting. May God help us to see that Babylon is fallen…is fallen! Why? She quit using gold, silver and precious stones. She’s dealing in wood, hay and stubble today!

Good religion is not cheap and cheap religion is not good. You get what you pay for. That is what Jesus is trying to teach us here in this lesson about a goodly man seeking pearls, who, when he finds the one pearl of great price---what does he do? He sells everything he has. I had to have two sells and I guess everybody else has to have one, I suppose. Who, when he had found the one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it. The first thing we learn is that there is one pearl. The best thing is: it can be bought. What does the Bible say the pearl is? The pearl of great price is the church of the living God, or the divine door. Now, let’s prove it by the Word. Acts 20: 28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.” Brother, that is the greatest price that is ever mentioned through the Word of God. Christ was given because of the Father’s love. God so loved the world that He gave His son, but Christ gave Himself for the Church. Paul said so, in the 5th chapter of Ephesians. The pearl of great price is the church of the living God or the divine revelation of that door that no man can open and no man can shut.

In our last parable, we had the book of life, coming up against men’s books. Today, we have “man operated” doors, “raising up against” God operated doors. The pearl of great price was purchased by the greatest price that ever could be paid; the blood of Jesus Christ. Human organizations cost something. We realize that. It has even cost the blood of some men. The Word of God says, when he had found this pearl, he sells all that he had and buys it. Somebody said, do you think that is the pearl? I know it is. Revelation 21:21, There were twelve gates to the city, because, the twelve tribes of Israel, three in each direction. What for? Making it easy to get in the city; they could come from the north, south, east and west; it made no difference, to get in, but every gate was one pearl. Each gate was one pearl.

We go right on, over to the letter; we find the very pearl written right in the letter---when God deals with a door He opens and shuts that no man can open or shut. Now, when he finds this, he sells out all that he has. What are you talking about? When you find God’s eternal truth, you will find out, a lot of truth you had back here, had the wrong setting. You begin to “tie them in” with a millennium; most people do, and get false conceptions. Let the truths endure and lead you to a day when we all come into “Union Station”. When God shows you this one pearl of great price; nothing more than the divine door to the Church and the unity of God’s people; how we can get in and how we got out; what do you do? It just causes you to “sell out”. You are ready to start learning all over. You have to sell out and start learning all over. Now, why do you want to “sell out”? Well, you really do not need it, because, any truth---if it was really truth---that Babylon had; the pearl of great price has it all!

It used to be, when you wanted meat, you went to the meat market; if you wanted bread, you went to the bakery; if you wanted groceries you went to the grocery store; fruit, you went to the fruit market, but now, they have super markets. Even so, when you wanted to hear about baptism; you went to the Baptists; if you wanted to hear about the Holy Ghost fire, you went to the Methodists; if you wanted to wash feet, you went to the Brethren, but now, God has a super market, you just bring your basket and “come on down”. Anything they ever had back there, that was truth---God’s super market has it all!

In the 3rd chapter of Revelation, just let me mention a few things that God has laid on our heart and then we want to clarify a thought or two. The 7th verse of the 3rd chapter of Revelation, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write: These things saith He that is holy, He that is true.” We know that through the Wesleyan age, people were brought into a “holy state” in that of: the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but “these things saith He that is holy and He that is true:---it is not just enough to be holy, you’ve got to have the truth. “He that hath the key of David”---Go back to the first chapter of Luke and he will tell you there, the key of David meant nothing more than he that hath authority, or is the head over the house of David, or the people of God. “He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth: I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my Word, and hast not denied my name.” That’s what will put an open door before you.

“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie: behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee:” If I were preaching on that, I would stop awhile and say that that was certainly pointing to the very thought of feet washing. It causes us to come and worship before your feet. It will bring us in to that one “bundle of love” where you have love and concern one for another, and the Word of God said: if you do not love your brother whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have not seen? Yes, God gave us a certain way to show our love to our brethren. You read the 13th chapter of John, and he said, a new commandment I give unto you. Where did He give any new commandment? The commandment had always been that we love our neighbor as ourselves, but He said, a new commandment I give unto you: that ye love one another, as I have loved you. How had He just loved them? He washed their feet. A new commandment: I give unto you; that you love one another even as I have loved you---right here. If I’m your Lord and Master and washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. He has given us a way to worship God through our brother.

CHURCH MORALS

1. Because thou hast kept the Words of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” We’re presently in some of that, and our only hope is to keep the Word of God with patience. We must stick by the truth and hold on to the Spirit of God and He said He would keep us from it. What do you mean, from it? Not keep you in it, but from it! There are a lot of things I’m not being tempted with.

They “came at me” and wanted me to join the church federation; the ministerial assembly. A lot of brethren joined it, then, they get down there and sweat and are tested and tried and get the heart put on them. They “pull them every way” to try to get them to give a little ground. I’m not even tempted along that line, because I don’t go down. I’ve found a place, thank God, where He’s keeping me “from the hour of temptation”. I see people being tested and tried and put in the “sweat box”---along many lines, but I’m kept from it. I’m not saying, I’m not tempted. I’m saying, I’m being kept from the hour of temptation--- that was to come on the church to try them. Job said, “After He has tried me, I will come forth as pure gold,” But, thank God, God has a place to keep you, if you do it His way. There are a lot of things people are being tempted with, that we don’t have to be tempted with. You do what you want; I’m going to take it the easiest was. I have all I can do. Somebody said, “You’re taking it the easiest way; well, I do some things. He keeps me from the hour of temptation. I will not haul a woman in my car, unless my wife is with me. He keeps me from temptation. I don’t go in a home to pray for a sister, unless somebody else is there. Somebody said, “Are you afraid to trust yourself?” No, but I’m just as human as anybody else. I just don’t allow myself to be tempted along those lines. I don’t have to be.

I have had brethren say to me, “You mean, if you saw a sister walking up the street, and it was raining, you wouldn’t haul her home? No, she can drive my car and I’ll walk, but I’m not going to haul her. You can do what you want. Someone said, “There’s nothing to worry about. There’s not? If you had been with me, in the last few months and seen the devilish cases of the ministry---that have been in adultery and ungodliness, you would have a lot to worry about. Terrible! Tearing down the good name of God! They take the advantage of the thought: that they are ministry, and everybody trusts them. I’m not “putting that out” as a rule to go by, I’m just telling you how I feel. It has been working quite well---been able to “keep myself clean”, anyway.

“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.” Praise God, God is ready to make overcomers pillars in His temple. I pray God, that there has been pillars made in this camp meeting. What are you talking about? I’m talking about men and women, that get established in this truth and go to work for God. A pillar is a support. Instead of having a bunch of pillars to support the thing, it’s taking all we can, to support the pillars. They say, they’ve been in the church thirty years, and it takes all the praying they can do for themselves. They say: pray for me, I’m about to go. God is looking for a people that will get grounded and settled in the truth and stand on the truth. Thank God, and then, they support it. God will get you in between. Brother, you get firm on the truth and then, He will let the truth down on you. You are in there. Thank God, and if you stay a firm support in the truth, you will “go no more out”.

HALF TRUTHS

God is looking for people who will get grounded and settled in the truth, thank God, and then they support it. You get firm on the truth, and then, He lets the truth down on you. You are in there, and if you stay a firm supporter of the truth, you will go no more out. You’ll be so busy serving God; you won’t have time for the devilish snares. What are you talking about? When you die, you won’t even go out. No, you are a part of the family, both in heaven and in earth. You won’t even go out when you die. We don’t read obituaries for the saints: he was a member of the Church. We read: he is a member of the Church. I’ll write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, which is the New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from God. I’ll write upon him my new name.

We know that nobody knows the Word of God, but Him…and when He comes into our heart and life, He unfolds it to us. I firmly believe that God knew that many would defile the very name, Church of God. He has written on His people a new name that no man knoweth. If they knew it, they would defile it, too. A new name---I don’t know what the name is, but I know where those people are gathering. He that hath an ear, let him hear.

Now, let’s get right into some essential things here, for a half hour or so. These things lay heavy on my heart. The 12th chapter of Hebrews, verse 22; a very familiar Scripture: “But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. And the Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” We are told that the word church or churches appears 109 times in the New Testament. Church is translated from the word, ecclesia, or more correctly, translated, congregation. They “run off” with the thought church, until people say that they are individually the temple of God and that is truth and they go from there. Now, a better translation of the word ecclesia: congregation of God. The Greek would read: that “ye are come unto the general assembly and congregation of the firstborn.” Brethren, you might (in modern speech) have a church all divided up, but you cannot have a congregation all divide up, for to be a congregation, it has got to be gathered together in one place. I realize that we are treading on that, which many would call a bad subject. When we would begin to mention the least difference between the kingdom and the church, but in one sense, they are the same, but in another sense, for men that have understanding from God’s Word, they can see it different. May we not forget the “old paths”. May we not forget the three unclean spirits, “like frogs”. They are doing their work.

What are they doing? They are leaving a ministry, that once stood for a separate message, and called people from Babylon. They have sowed seeds of universalism in the thought of religion, until they are looking for some “universal move” of a lot of Babylon churches to come together with the church and make up the bride of Christ. Brother, that is some of the seed from the three unclean spirits like frogs. They have done their work there. I quote a little portion from D. S. Warner’s book on “What the church is and what it is not.” He said, “It is true that the church began under the labors of John the Baptist, Christ and the apostles before Pentecost. Many believed and entered the kingdom then, and constituted material for the church.” Now look out! But we cannot go back beyond Pentecost. The man or woman that is saved today, since the Spirit of God has come, is in a different category, (before God) than those were before Pentecost. Now we want to deal with it, with all fairness, but God has a message for us.

There are two questions we want to answer. Are the saved who are affiliated with different denominations---members of man-made churches—are these truly members of the Church that Jesus built or in others words, the body of Christ. There’s a great need to look into this. If all the saved are truly members of the body of Christ, the church, why call them out? The older brethren were then all off the track, and all these hundreds and thousands of people that they have called out, including some of you people---you have been fooled and mistaken---I know---a preacher said to me, Bro. Wilson, you should not do that, just preach against sin, and that is what I’m doing. Old Babylon’s sins have reached unto heaven. The Word of God says: she would never be healed. Why? Her sins have reached unto heaven---there is no space for repentance now, so I am preaching against sin---I mean when I preach against Babylon, I’m still preaching against sin. If all saved, regardless of belief, wherever they are; constitutes the Church, then, we have no excuse for our existence. Then we are what the religious world says we are---a bunch of “trouble makers”. Half-truth is worse than no truth at all. Some say, do you think that half-truth is worse than no truth at all? Yes, I’ll give you an illustration.

Yesterday there was a bottle of milk with a drop of poison in it. Nobody would drink green poison, but a lot of people will drink milk, and it has got enough poison in it to kill them, just as much as if they would drink a whole bottle of poison. Don’t forget about the woman with her measures of meal with leavening (corruption) hid in it. Half-truth is worse then no truth at all. I know a man that was a horse dealer in Granville. He pulled some of the worse deals you ever seen. He did most of it because he just liked to. He told me one time, he just got a kick out of seeing how bad he could beat people. He just got a kick out of it. He had a horse for sale, and he would just dope him up and fix him up. He’d get a horse that was lame in one foot; he’d take a rock and hit it hard on the other foot before he was ready to trade it off. The horse would not know which one hurt the worst, and it would just walk about the same on both of them. He had it all doped up and fixed up and a young man came there to see it---I’m talking about half-truths---the man liked it. He said, “this is the way you’re buying that horse, son, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to keep it.” So he thought, what do you have to lose---he took it right on home, and in about two days all the medicine got out of him and he was fit for nothing---could not hardly get out of the barn. So he came leading him back to this man. He said, Mr., I brought this horse back. “Well,” he said, “Don’t bring him back to me.” But you told me if I didn’t like him I didn’t have to keep him. “You don’t, but I don’t want him. Take him, sell him, trade him off, you don’t have to keep him.” Half-truth.

See, this is truth with deception wrapped around it. God won’t send us all to hell. Tell everybody, just rest easy, we have nothing to worry about; God is not going to send any soul to hell. Sure He won’t, but He can’t keep you from going there if you don’t choose righteousness. Half-Truths. God’s got good people in these churches. Sure, He has some good people there. I’ll go along with that. Let’s us tell the rest. He’s calling them out. This teaching of universalism with respect to the church, is leaving people in a fog of denominationalism and they will never see the whole truth. The church proper did not exist until the fullness of Christ came. Ephesians 1:23, declares that the church is defined as His body. What is His body? The fullness of Him---I believe that means just what is says. “Gave Him to be the head over all things, to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.