<TITLE>06. Par 20-23</TITLE>L-20 But he hated Abel. He thought Abel was a holy-roller. He hasn't changed his opinion. He thought Abel was a religious fanatic. And he still believes it, that his formal ideas and his culture of his own thing is better than the baptism of the Holy Ghost. But he's wrong. Absolutely wrong. I don't care how well his choir can sing, or how good his preacher can preach; without the shedding of Blood, there's no remission of sin. Back to God's plan. Back to the Bible.
God has a way, but man don't want to come to it. Man said, "Now, look. I'm as good as you are. I go to church. I pay my dues at the church." And he wants to be religious. And that's all right. But he's religious...
But, you see, the nature of the earthly man is religious. Cain was religious. Satan is religious. Religion isn't what saves you; it's the Blood of Jesus Christ what saves you. And that's God's only grounds that He will meet you on for worship. Other's in vain.

L-21 Now, we find out that man gets very religious. So he goes out, if he's religious like Cain does, and got the flowers and the fruits of the field, and he made hisself a place to worship, and built an altar. We find man doing that today. He will go out, and he will form hisself a form of godliness, as the Scripture said He would do: "Have a form of godliness, but would deny the power thereof." Now, most of America is guilty of those things, Pentecostal and all, forming themselves a creed, or a code of rules, or something that they'll live by. And the Scripture forewarned us.
And oh, he... There's something in him, because if he is a fallen man, he's still a creature of God's hand-making. There's something in him that makes him worship. And if he wants his own way, he's following his intellectuals. And his intellectuals is of the devil. His heart belongs to God.

L-22 Notice him. And now, we find him out here. We just passed through a season recently, called Lenten season. Oh, he wants to get real religious during Lenten season. For forty-six days, he will deny his cigarettes or something. And he will... I'll--I'll go with him on self denial. That's all right. For forty-six days he will deny himself of something. He will grumble, and fuss, and hope that forty days hurries and gets around, that forty-six days. He wants it to get over, because he's sick and tired of doing without a smoke, or he's without a drink, or without something another that he's sacrificed. It's Lenten. And he can't do it unless he plays a hypocrite to his church. He has to keep that Lent.
And then on Monday after Easter Sunday, he goes hog wild after that. That's right. Why? The nature in him. He will buy him a box full of cartons of cigarettes. He will long for that midnight hour to strike, and jump up and grab a cigarette, or get him a drink or something. And he will really tear up for a few days. Why? He's really putting it on big. I'd go with him for the forty-six days. But after forty-six days, he pulls away from me.

L-23 I believe that Christian life is a continual sacrifice. "He that will come after me, let him deny himself daily (every day, not forty-six days, but every day), take up his cross and follow Me," said Jesus. Not just forty-six, but every day... Christian life is one continually Lenten.
Oh, how the Christian loves to do it. He doesn't do it with a--a grudge; he does it with a feeling that he loves God; and he's glad he can do it. It's a joy to serve the Lord Jesus. It's a joy to sacrifice. It's a joy to worship the Lord. It's a joy to be called a fanatic for the Kingdom of God's sake. It's a joy to take a stand for the right, and move from the wrong. Joy to praise Him. It's a joy to abstain from the things of the world. It's in their heart. It's a perfect Lent. Lenten all the time. God's Spirit comes into you and changes your desire.


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