<TITLE>23. Par 80-83</TITLE>L-80 You're living here by the seashore or... Take your goldfish, when that fish feeds, he prowls through the water till he finds his prey. Then when he finds his prey he goes down to the bottom of the--the sea, spreads out his swimmers and rests. If the water's too deep, and he's way out in the ocean, he stays at the top, of course. But when he's down at the bottom, when he's preying, he goes down to the bottom...
Now, this whale had swallowed Jonah. What a fix that whale was in. Had all that big stomach full of backslidden preacher. That's a whole lot for anything to stomach. And here he was down there in the bottom of the sea. And here was this preacher, hands tied behind him, backslid. Talk about symptoms, he had some.

L-81 Look. First place he was backslid. Next place he was on a stormy sea. His hands was tied behind him; he was in the belly of the whale, and the whale in the bottom of the sea. If he looked this a way, it was whale's belly. If he looked that way, it was whale's belly. Everywhere he looked, it was whale's belly. Talk about symptoms, that's worse off than any of you here this afternoon. He had symptoms, what I mean.
But what did he say? He turned over in that vomit down there, got on his knees, seaweeds wrapped around his neck; he looked in the whale's belly. He said, "I refuse to see that whale's belly. They are lying vanities." He said, "Once more will I look toward Your holy temple, O Lord." Hallelujah.
What? Why? When Solomon dedicated the temple, the Pillar of Fire come in and settled behind it. Solomon prayed. He said, "If Thy people any time be in trouble and look toward this holy place, then You hear from heaven."
And Jonah believed that God heard Solomon's prayer. And that old whale got so sick at his stomach, till he vomited the preacher right up in Nineveh where he belonged. Is that right?

L-82 Well, if Jonah under those circumstances... Amen. Here it is. Get it? If Jonah under those circumstances, backslid, hands tied behind him, in the belly of the whale, on a stormy sea, down in the ocean, if he could refuse to see the whale's belly and believe that God heared Solomon's prayer, how much more ought you and I today to hear Christ Jesus, Who has died and took His own bloody garments, and setting at the right hand of God, making intercessions on our confessions. What we say He's done, He's... God's there to make it right.
How much more ought we to refuse our symptoms? It's nonsense. "I won't look at my crippled hand. I won't look at my--about my deaf ear. I'll look to your holy temple, Lord, where Jesus stands at the right hand of God making intercessions on what I confess to be true." Amen. Say, I feel religious right now. I tell you, I do.

L-83 Look, just a little bit. Got to hurry, it's getting late. All right. Notice this. I can see then... Martha, she goes out to meets Jesus. She falls down and said, "If Thou would've been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, whatever You ask God, God shall give it to Thee."
Now, look. There was a woman with a desire in her heart. She had come exactly the way God told her to to His representative, which His Representative at that time was His Son, today is the Holy Spirit. All right.


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