<TITLE>05. Par 18-21</TITLE>L-18 And God in the beginning knew every person that would ever be on the earth at the beginning. He knew every fly, every flea, everything that would ever be. He's infinite, and He knew everything. And so therefore, the day that our name's on the Lamb's Book of Life, they were placed there before the foundation of the world.
And the Gospel to be preached is nothing in the world but the seining all of the fish out of the lake, as Jesus said. The Kingdom of heaven is... You say what's the used of preaching then? A preacher's got his part to do. He's got... The Kingdom of heaven's like one that's cast the net in and pulled it. Now, there's so many fish in that lake, and when the last one's brought out, that's the end of it. Now, a--a preacher he just throws in the net; he pulls. In that great net, the Bible teaches, he brings in everything. He brings in water spiders, frogs, snakes, lizards, terrapins, tadpoles, and fish. Now, it's not for me to determine or to judge, to say which is fish and which is tadpoles. But if you'll just watch them--if you'll just watch them, the nature that's in them will prove what they are. That's right. That's exactly right.

L-19 You watch a Gospel message go forth. Many will come up around the altar. Sure, the net's got them. Just a little bit they'll be an old Brother Terrapin will stick his head up to say, "I just didn't believe it in the beginning." He was a terrapin to start with; that's all.
And the snake will say, "You know, there's just something about that old holy-roller stuff I can't stand." Snake to begin with... That's right. And the old water spider starts plop, plop, plop, clung, clung, going back. It was that to start with. When the net went over them, they were that. That's exactly right. But the fish was fish when the net went over it too. We are seining for fish. God's the One to determine.

L-20 And that's... If this--this Christian religion is to take its firm stand upon the ability of intellectuals, then we'll not need the Holy Spirit. That's right. If the Christian faith exists upon educational programs, upon denominations, and so forth, and the building of big buildings, and whatever what we have today, then we do not need the Holy Spirit to run God's church. That's right. Then the best thing for us to do, if that be it, we're in the right program. Let's have every person that can get a denomination started, let's do it. Let's build the biggest churches we can have. And let's have the most smartest preachers we can get. Let's have the best degree'd man that we can. Let's oust the poor, and the--so forth in the street, and get the best dressed, and the best mental position people that we can, the best in intellectuals, if that's what the church is to be run by: intellectuals.

L-21 But, brother, this great new Spirit that we're speaking about, this great, new church that Ezekiel saw here, was not to be run upon intellectuals. It was to be run by the Holy Spirit. And then, if the Holy Spirit is to run the church, we don't need so much fussing about denominations, and about the intellectuals, and who can say, "Amen" the prettiest, and dress the best. We don't need that.
Then let's do what Jesus told us to do. Go into the streets and the byways, and get the lame, halt, blind, poor, and whatevermore, and bring them in. For the great supper's going to be set one of these days. We need that. That's the type of religion that we need. Then we wonder how we get it.


<A HREF="P6">Next Page</A>