<TITLE>23. Par 80-82</TITLE>L-80 There was a maniac one day up in Gadara, who was cutting himself. And they bound him in chains, and his power of ten times an ordinary man could break the powers of them chains. I always thought, if he was so perfectly under the influence of the devil... When the devil takes a hold of a person insane, it takes men and men to hold him. He breaks them chains, completely surrendered to the devil. If he could break chains, how much more could we break, completely surrendered to God? How much more powerful is God's power than the devil's?
There he was, this poor maniac. And he was always out there in the graveyard, cutting himself with stones, and attacked everybody. But one day he met God. Things changed for him. After that he was clothed in his right mind. Why? He had met God.
A leper stood by the gate begging. One day Jesus of Nazareth passed by, and he said, "If Thou will, Thou can make me clean."
He said, "I will. Be thou clean." And from then on he was clean.

L-81 There's a little old immoral woman, as we talked of last night, slipped out to the gate--out across the gate, and out to the city well to get some water one day. Down in her soul laid a--a Scripture that when that Messiah come what He would be. And she was a prostitute; she was an awful woman. She'd had husbands, and living with one then, not married to him. So you know she was a woman of ill-fame. And when she saw Jesus and heard Him say, "Go get your husband," she said, "I have none."
Said, "You've said well, for you've have five. And the one you're living with now is not yours."
She said, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. And we know when Messiah cometh He will tell us these things."
What did He say? He said, "I am He that speaks to you."
She was a changed woman. Look. When she went into the city... It's absolutely unethical for a woman of that type... Or a man to listen to her. But she had met God. Something had to listen to her. That's right. She'd come in contact with God. Something had to listen.
When a man really meets God... I imagine we could see some of them people here was on these cots last night, and wheelchair setting around here. Ask them today. They come in contact with God. They'll be changed from that time on. Something happened. From the time that God speaks, something happens. Anything that comes in contact with God, from then on it's changed.

L-82 Now, a minute. Death come in contact with Him one time. Right. Now, we're closing. Death contacted Him. You know, the devil never did believe that was God. He always thought It was some just ordinary prophet. But he didn't realize what It was. He didn't know that was Emmanuel, that That was the flesh and body of God, that He was made flesh and dwelt among us.
When he had Him up there on the mountain that day, he said, "If thou be the Son of God, turn these stones into bread." See, that same old devil still lives today. They had Him down there in the courtyard that time. They knowed He could perceive the thoughts of the people, so they put a rag around His face, and took a stick, and hit Him on the head, said, "Now, if you're a prophet tell us who hit you." He never opened His mouth. He doesn't clown for the devil.
Up on the cross... Said, "If thou he the Son of God, come down and we'll believe you."
That same old devil lives in people today: same thing. "If you do, let me see you do this. Let me see you do that."
He said, "I do only what the Father shows Me."


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