<TITLE>09. Par 57-63</TITLE>L-57 Now he... Demas come out of a rich family, and he was wealthy, and money sometimes means religion to people. Like they say in California, "If you haven't got three Cadillacs, you're not spiritual." So it means, if you're not successful, if you don't have the finest church there is in the city, the people won't go. It's almost that way here. Proves to you--you've got to have the finest church in the country or they say, "You, oh, you mean you joined up with a little bunch like that?"
Did you know our Lord didn't have a place to lay His head? Did you know He only owned one coat? See? And He had it, He was just kind of a Person was pushed about. And He didn't have no place to lay His head. But they could've thought the same thing, and did, about Him.

L-59 And now, I believe Demas saw a failing, seemingly, in Paul's ministry. I think that he thought the old fellow was washed up before God. Now, he thought that a people that would pluck their eyes out to give to Paul...
Now, the--Paul said that, he said, "You would at least plucked your eyes out to give them to me." 'Cause Paul, we think, had bad eyes, 'cause he said, "I've wrote with such big letters." He said, "big letter" but I've got the--the lexicon, and it says "with big letters." He was in Rome in prison there. It's something wrong. He said his eyes had been bothering him since the heavenly vision. So he... The people would've plucked out their eyes, seeing Paul suffer, his eyes bothering him, and he suffering. And he asked the Lord to heal him three times. And he said, "Except I would get exalted above the abundance of the revelation, there was sent to me a messenger of the devil that he might buffet me." Now, we'd get pretty good, then hit him again. Then he'd get good, and hit him again.

L-61 You see, Paul had a ministry greater than all the rest of the apostles put together. Some of them could've said, "Well, I walked with Jesus." Why, man on the street walked with Him when He was here. But Paul saw Him in the Pillar of Fire after He was dead, buried, ascended into heaven, and returned back and called Paul (See?) on the road down to Damascus. And he had a greater ministry than Matthew, Mark, Luke, or any of them others. He was far beyond them. And he said, "Except I get exalted now and say, 'Now, you fellows don't know nothing about It,' I seen the Lord after His resurrection."
Well, they say, "We walked with Him." Well, so did all them people down around in Galilee and Nazareth and through the country there. They all walked with Him.

L-63 But, you see, Paul had talked with Him and saw Him in the form that He was before He was made flesh. See? And He commissioned Paul in that state. While He was in that Light, He commissioned Paul. And--and Paul had saw Him. And he said, "Except I get exalted, feel a little higher than some of you brothers, there was given to me a messenger of the devil," that keeps him beat down. And he said, "I sought the Lord three times to take it away from me. And He said, 'Saul, or Paul, My grace is sufficient.'" Then Paul said, "I'll glory in my infirmities, because when I am weak then I am strong. See, I will glory in it."


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