<TITLE>04. Par 13-16</TITLE>L-13 But man wanted to be like, they compare, or to copy after, go like the--the world does, say the things that they do, make a success the way they were a success. We cannot never be a success doing anything the world does. We can only be a success as we follow after God's statutes and His way of doing things. We can never be by patterning after the world. If the cigarette company has met their greatest success by television, and the beer and the whiskey crowd has made their great success through the contribution of television, that's no sign that the church shall make its success by television. The success of the church lies within the preaching of the Gospel, of the power of God, and the demonstration of the Spirit. We cannot say because that television done such-and-such for the cigarette company and the--and the other companies... We do not have any Scripture to tare--try to compare with them people. And as long as we do, we may draw great numbers of people, but that's not what God ordained us to do. We think because that we're all colors, flying high, great organizations, causing great colorful things to take place, that it's a success. We are dying daily on our feet, spiritually speaking. If we stood ten-million strong this morning, and the Holy Spirit wasn't with us, we'd do well to stand ten strong with the Holy Spirit with us. We cannot compare with the world.

L-14 And one of the first things was the church begin to organize themselves. The first organization was the Catholic church, and then come the Lutheran church. When they organized in the Catholic church to make it an organization, one day there was a cry, "The Philistines is on thee, Samson," and Samson broke the cords of the bounds of the Catholic church, and Martin Luther came forth with the organization.

L-15 Then they bound the church with another cord as Delilah did. And they begin... Instead of having God-called men, men who were called by the Holy Spirit, maybe didn't know their abc's, but they knowed Christ. Then the church got stylish, and fashioned after the political speakers. And they had to give their preachers doctor's degree, everybody had to be a Doctor of Divinity. That was another cord to bind the church. Men go off and study, each seminary tries to produce a better scholar so that their churches can brag, "Our pastor is a Doctor of Divinity." And what did they do, one try to have more knowledge than the other one. Well, that doesn't mean anything in the sight of God.

L-16 And there's no need for any man to try to take his worldly knowledge and ever please God with it. It's an abomination in the sight of God. You'll never please God with the worldly ambitions and knowledge, because it's enmity to God, says the Scripture. He cannot do it.
And each one tries to have all the knowledge. They know just what to do and the words to say, and it becomes just a political speech in the stead of a powerly demonstrated, Holy Spirit message that sinks to the heart of men and discovers the sin. They're trained for political talks, and we don't need that. Paul said, "The Word come to us, not only... or, the Gospel in Word only, but through the power and the manifestation of the Holy Ghost." That brought the Gospel, demonstrating the powers of the Holy Ghost. But all these men go off to seminaries and they learn great education, how they must stand before the people, how they must present themselves, how they must dress, and how they must act; they should never use the wrong grammar. Now, that's all right for a political speech, but we're not after the enchanting words of men. Paul said, "The Gospel that I preach didn't come like that, but it come through the renewing of the--the Holy Ghost and the power of demonstrations." Doesn't come by a right formed speech, that your wisdom would be, or your trust would be in the wisdom of man. But it come through the demonstrations of the power of the risen Christ. That's the Gospel, "To know Him in the power of His resurrection."


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