<TITLE>11. Par 42-45</TITLE>L-42 And when we turn aside today looking at this, and looking at conditions, and looking at symptoms--symptoms... Oh, we say, "Now look, I was prayed for last night. You see, my hand's no better." And it never will be like that. No, sir. You don't look at the symptoms; you look at the promise. Amen. The promise is what it is. Look Who made the promise. It was God Who made the promise. It's God's Word Who's in authority. It's God Who spoke the promise. That's Who it is.
And you look at your symptoms. Symptoms are one of the greatest hindrance God has to work with, is symptoms. And if ever if anything that is wrong is a man or woman who will look and say, "Now, I don't feel any better. Now, they prayed for me over at my church last night. And they believe in Divine healing, but really I don't feel any better."
You don't never go by your feelings. Jesus never did say, "Did you feel it?" He said, "Did you believe it?" See where you get the thing all turned around? It's your faith in His promise that does it. Like Elisha, he wanted the promise. And if Elijah said he could have it, if he kept his eye on him, he kept his eye on him. That's all. Amen.

L-43 There was a fellow in the Bible had some symptoms one time. His name was Jonah. Talk about symptoms, he had them. Now, he was backslid. That's a big word for a Baptist to say, but I believe you can do it. So he was backslid. God told him to go down to Nineveh, and he went to Tarshish, the easier road.
So out there a storm came up, a stormy sea. And he had his hands tied, his feet tied, throwed out. A big fish come along and swallowed him, went down in the bottom of the sea. Anybody... Feed your goldfish and watch them when they prowl through the waters till they find their prey. And then when they feed they go right down and rest their swimmers on the bottom of the--of the--of the ban--of the ocean.

L-44 This big whale that swallowed Jonah went down to the belly--bottom of the sea and was laying there resting. Now, you talk about symptoms, that man had it. The first place, he was backslid. The next place, his hands and feet was tied behind him, and he was on a stormy sea in the belly of a whale in the bottom of the sea.
And as he looked this way, it was a whale's belly; he looked that way it was whale's belly. Everywhere he looked was whale's belly. You talk about symptoms, he had it. There's nobody here in that condition tonight. But what did he say? He said, "They are lying vanities. I won't even look at them." But he turned over in vomit and seaweeds around his neck in the belly of this whale, and he said, "Lord, once more will I look to Your holy temple." Not at the symptoms, at the temple. Why?

L-45 When Solomon dedicated the temple, he prayed, and said, "Lord, if Thy people be in trouble at any time, and look towards this holy place, and pray, then hear from heaven." And Jonah denied all those symptoms and called them lying vanities, because he had faith in the prayer of Solomon who dedicated the temple.
And if Jonah could do that upon them circumstances, what ought we to do who don't look to Solomon's temple, but to heaven itself where Jesus sets at the right hand of God with His own promise to make intercessions upon our confession. Symptoms, certainly not, we deny them. There's no such a thing. We take God at His Word, and keep our eye on the promise, and move on.
When you receive the Holy Spirit, the devil will try to say, "You ain't got nothing." Well, that's just all he knows about it. See? Then if you give in to him, you lose it. But keep your eye on the promise.


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