<TITLE>26. Par 279-288</TITLE>L-279 When Jacob lost all of his strength, then God give him power to become a prince. See? When Paul lost his education and all of his theology, God made him a missionary to the Gentiles. When Moses lost all of his ability and become weak, God made him powerful and sent him to Egypt in the power of the Spirit, at eighty years old, whiskers hanging down, his wife on a mule and a young'n setting on her hip, and a stick in his hand, went down and conquered Egypt. Yeah. See? Not with an army behind him, like he wanted to go, but in the power of the Spirit. Amen. When you're weak then you're strong.

L-282 Just walking down that road, he didn't stutter, he didn't stumble, he didn't nothing, walked right up in the presence of Ahab, and said, "I've got the Word of the Lord."
He said, "You're the one that troubles Israel."
He said, "You're the one that's troubling Israel." Yes, sir. Oh, brother. Yes, sir. "Bring out them intellectual priests you got up here, and let's see who's God." There you are. "Climb up on Mount Carmel; let the God that answered at Pentecost answer back again. Let's see if God still is the same God, if Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever." He come off the mountain; he had a Message. Yes. He got real weak before, though, he lost everything before he did it. He had to get weak 'fore he could get strong.

L-284 It's the simplicity of the Gospel that staggers the people. They try to make it a great intellectual something another, when it's the simpleness. But God takes the very tool of humility and weakness and simplicity to work His works with. That's only a tool in God's hand.
John the Baptist, his message, the forerunner of Christ, so simple it went over top the heads of the people. Listen just a minute. (I hope I'm not holding you too long, you standing around the walls. See?) Look. John, when... All the prophets gave witness of the coming of the Messiah. One of them said that the mountains would skip like little rams. Others said, "The leaves would clap their hands." One said, "All the low places will be made high, and the high places will be made low." Oh, my. What a day.

L-286 Did you imagine the school of the prophets and the intellectual conception of that? Oh, my, they had everything so classical. But when it happened, out of the wilderness come an old preacher that never had one day of schooling in his life, probably his grammar was so poor. His father was a priest, but God took him away from that (We had it in last Sunday's lesson.), wouldn't let him be mixed up with them denominations, and took him out in the wilderness to train him Hisself. That's the kind--that's the kind will stay with the Word of God.

L-287 Come out of the wilderness, about thirty years old; I imagine a black beard hanging out around his face, fuzzy; big old piece of sheepskin wrapped around him; stood in mud, up to his knees; said, "I'm the one that was spoke of by the prophet Isaiah." And some of the denominations come out; he said, "Don't think to say in yourself 'We have this and that'; God's able of these stones to rise children unto Abraham." Oh, my. Why? He had THUS SAITH THE LORD. He had the Message; God foretold he was coming. And the reason it come in such simplicity, it went over the top of their heads.

L-288 When Jesus come, He said, "What'd you go out to see, a intellectual speaker that can be changed from the Methodist to a Baptist, and from a Baptist to a Presbyterian, from a Presbyterian to a Pentecostal, and a Pentecostal to something else? Did you go out to see a reed shaken with any wind? Not John." Said, "Did you go out to see then a man that's clothed in fine linen?" He said, "They're at king's palaces, that kind of minister." He said, "What'd you go out to see, a prophet?" He said, "More than a prophet."


<A HREF="P27">Next Page</A>