<TITLE>06. Par 23-26</TITLE>L-23 The man graciously thanked Mr. Lincoln, grabbed the piece of paper, and struck to the prison as hard as he could. Being a civilian, he wasn't allowed, 'course, to enter and only just by request, and he took the piece of paper to the man, and he said, called him a name, he said, "My friend, you are pardoned."
He said, "How do I know that I am pardoned?"
Said, "Here's the piece of paper with Mr. Lincoln's name on it, 'I pardon this man, Abraham Lincoln.'"
The man stuck it back through the cell and said, "Don't tempt me. Why would you make life more miserable for me? Seeing that my time is to die in the morning, and then here you come to mock me with a--a little piece of paper like that? Abraham Lincoln would have pardoned me, it'd have the--the seal of the United States, and oh, there'd been a great ceremony about it."
He said, "Sir, that is the signature of Abraham Lincoln." Just the same as this is the Word of Almighty God. He said, "You give this to the executors, and they'll recognize the name of Mr. Lincoln, and you're pardoned."
He said, "Get away from the cage; I don't want to hear no more." And the man refused to receive it, and the next morning he died at the firing squad, and died under public execution. And then, here's a piece of paper wrote and signed by the President that that man's pardoned, the day before he died, and they shot him anyhow.

L-24 So then, it was tried in the Federal Courts, and here was the decision of the Federal Courts of this beloved United States. It said, "A pardon is not a pardon, unless it be received as a pardon."
That's the way this Scripture is tonight: It is a pardon to everyone that will receive It as a pardon. It's healing to everyone that will receive It as healing. It's grace to everyone that will receive It as grace. And anything God promised, it's yours, if you will receive It as God's Word. But if It's just another piece of literature, It means nothing to you. But if you can embrace It and say, "It's God's Word," then It means something to you.

L-25 Now, Jesus, the... I've had the privilege in my life, of meeting great men. And it's remarkable to notice just how vice versa things can be. I've met men that was great men, and then I've met men that thought they were great men. And there's certainly a lot of difference in them. A great man will always not be a stuffed shirt, but he will try to make you think that you're the great man and he's nothing.
And the man that isn't nothing and trying to be great, it's just the other way. And that's the reason I know that Jesus was the Son of God. He came to the earth without even having a place to be borned. He had to borrow a womb. He had to borrow a manger. He had to--He had to come in through a borrowed womb, and went out through a borrowed grave. "The foxes has dens, and the birds of the air has nests, but the Son of man has not where to lay His head." Yet, the King of glory, the God of heaven made flesh and dwelt among us, that's what made Him big. That's what made Him what He was, by His humility.

L-26 Humility, the way down is all the ways, the way up. "He that will humble himself, God will exalt. He that exalteth himself shall be abased." The way down is the way up for the believer, humble himself before God.
Jesus met with men of all walks of life. He met in great circles. One time He was with thousands, five hundred at once, twelve at once, three at once, and even will come to one. That makes Him great, because not even one person can ever call on Him but what He will be right there at their side. That's what makes Him God is because of His humility.


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