<TITLE>14. Par 150-159</TITLE>L-150 Here they go through the wilderness now, after the old fashion meeting. Now, they're on their journey. Isn't it strange that they was led right straight to the wilderness of sin, right up to the wilderness, right up into the--the fountain of bitter water? Could you imagine God taking His children, right after they got saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, to fountains of bitter water? Sure. He'd like to express His love to them again. That's right. They got up there.
You know, when you get the Holy Ghost, you attend a lot of obstacles. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God delivereth him out of them all." God brings you right up, facing with it, so He can show you His power and His goodness.

L-152 Like I heard the story of the shepherd in Jerusalem, who had broke his sheep's leg. They said, "Why, you cruel shepherd, why did you break the sheep's leg?"
Said, "Well, she didn't act like she loved me. So I thought I'd just break her leg, so I'd have to give her some special attention, and then she'd love me from then on."
Sometimes God has to lay you on your back with a sickness, that the doctor says you're going to die. God could give you a little special treatment, so you'll love Him a little more. That's right.
 Some through the waters, some through the flood,
 Some through deep trials, but all through the Blood;
 Jesus leads His Church.

L-155 Now, when they were there, and the waters were bitter and they couldn't drink, God provided a way. A little old tree swinging there on the bank, Moses just cut it down and throwed it in the water, changed the whole thing to good, sweet water.
Now, when you come up against one of your bitter waters, or something another like that, there's a tree tonight, spiritually speaking, hanging over Golgotha or the world tonight, that'll sweeten any bitter waters that you may be led by. That's right. That Calvary will sweeten any experience. Many times we get into hard places, and wonder how. But I shut my eyes sometime, and think, "Yonder on Golgotha, where my Redeemer bled and died for my life..." then my trial seemed so little. I just throw aside and walk on. It makes it sweet. It sweetens every experience I ever had. He always sweetens it, when I come to my waters of Marah.

L-157 Now, we're about to catch them now over here in the wilderness, after all those great signs and wonders. The revival had quietened down. And the first thing you know, when the revival quietened down, why, they forgot all about the miracles.
Isn't that just about like people today? They forget what God did last year. What God did at the meeting out here at the high school, you forget all about it. See? What God did, we just forget it.

L-159 Now, notice, and because they begin to argue with one another, "Well, I'm really, after all, I'm a Methodist. Our church is the biggest." "I'm a Baptist, and I'll tell you right now, we believe in eternal security, and we got it. You all ain't got the doctrine, after all." That's when you get in trouble, and your water supply gets cut off. That's right. That's right.
That's when the desert, he lives out in the desert, begin to murmur, murmur and complaining. "Well, I'll tell you. I'll tell you, when that old pastor was here, that old preacher that preached that old-time religion like that, I--I don't know whether he was right or not. I'll tell you; he--he made my mother so mad one night, she went home. And I'll tell you; she was stirred up like." She ought to have been. That's right. "Oh, I don't know whether I want to hear any more of that or not." And there's when your water supply is cut off. That's right. That's when you get in the desert.


<A HREF="P15">Next Page</A>