<TITLE>03. Par 12-17</TITLE>L-12 Beautiful examples, the Bible's just so chugged full of those things everywhere you turn. Don't you love to read the Word? Oh, I just read it sometime and weep. Here a few days ago I was reading in the room there, and I just had to set down and cry like a baby. I got up and walked around my chair, put my hand on my chair, looked down at my Bible again, and I just broke down, went around a chair again, looked back at it again.
And I thought, "Oh God, in there is Eternal Life to every man or woman that'll dare to put their trust in it and believe it: Eternal Life." And He said, "Search the Scriptures; for in Them ye think ye have Eternal Life: and They are They which testify of Me." Search the Scripture. The Word of God is a Lamp unto our feet. That we should, if we should be guided then, it's the Light that follows the pathway that leads us from victory unto victory.

L-13 Now, before you can have a victory, there has to be a battle. And if there's no battles, there's no victories. So we ought to be thankful for the battles and the trying. It's God giving us the opportunity to have victories. Oh, my, don't that make it a little bit better now? See, the battle come along, somebody saying something bad about you, sickness come on to you, maybe God give you those light afflictions that He might heal you and show His favor to you, let you see what He means by it. He loves you.

L-14 The old shepherd story that was told there in Jerusalem in the Holy Lands of the shepherds packing a--a sheep, and he said, "What you packing it for?"
Said, "It's got a broken leg."
Said, "How did it do that? Fall over a cliff?"
Said, "No, I broke its leg."
He said, "Why, you're a cruel shepherd to break that sheep's leg."
Said, "No, I loved it." And said, "It was going astray and I couldn't make it mind me, so I broke its leg so I could give it some extra attention. So then it would love me and follow me."

L-15 Sometimes God has to let us break down just a little bit in health to give us a little extra attention, to get us up on His lap, to woo us up in His bosom when the doctor said nothing can be done, then He take us into His bosom, say, "See, I love you. I'm going to let you get well." See? Oh, doesn't that just make life a little better?
Oh, He's so great. He's a marvelous Shepherd, isn't He? No wonder David said, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." How He leads us beside the still waters and restores our soul and runs our cups over and--and anoints us in the presence of the enemy. Did you ever get anointed in the presence of your enemy, just to testify till your cup just boiled over, you know? Just how marvelous it is to be anointed in the presence of your enemy.

L-16 Now notice, then God took King Nebuchadnezzar and made him a tool in His hand. And when King Nebuchadnezzar died, after he had the grass grew out, his hair like lion--or like eagle's feathers, and his fingernails like the claws of the eagle, and so forth, and God had to let him know who was the real King... After his death, Belshazzar, his grandson succeeded him, and then he was more wicked than King Nebuchadnezzar.
And one night there they had a great big party. They called all their--their magistrates and all of the officers in for a great big jamboree. And while they were having this jamboree and they were--went and called out and took the vessels, the holy vessels of God, just to make fun of God, and drank wine to their gods, a toast out of the vessels of the Lord.

L-17 Now, a man is permitted to travel so far, but there is a separating line between life and death. He must never cross that. See? You can go on with your little foolishness for a while, but you'd better know where the line is. Did the Lord ever check you on anything? He does all of us, pull the check reins, say, "That's far enough now." Then you better watch what you're doing from then on, if you're stepping across towards that line.


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