<TITLE>03. Par 21-30</TITLE>L-21   When a young man is going to get married to a young woman, he must know the character of this young woman. Or the young woman must know the character of the young man, something that she can hold to. "Will this man be a just man? Will he make me the right type of husband?" "Will this woman give to me, in life, what I--what I expect out of her, loyalty and so forth?" And then it's got to be somewhere that they can base their--their vows upon, knowing that there is something that will hold. And that's the reason we bring them to the church, and to the Word of God, to get this absolute tied.

L-22   Now, Paul here, as we see, he had an absolute that he held to, all his life, after his conversion, that was: a Christ-centered life! And what a place to have an absolute: a Christ-centered life! It was a different life than what he had lived at one time, for he said, "The life that I now live," which was a different from what he had lived.

L-23   And there come a time that Paul had this experience that brought him to this decision. For, Paul was a great, mighty man amongst the Jews, and a--a great theologian, but he wasn't too sure of his standing. But one day, on the road down to Damascus, a Light, Pillar of Fire, came down from Heaven. And Paul, being a Jew, was acquainted that this Light, Pillar of Fire, had been the Thing that had, the God that had led his people out of Egypt. They had followed this Pillar of Fire. So, being a Jew, he said to Him, quickly, "Lord, Who art Thou?" He knew Him as "Lord," but, "Who art Thou?"

L-24 And the Voice came back from the Pillar of Fire, "I am Jesus, and it's hard for you to kick against the pricks." From that time on, Paul knew that the Jehovah of the Old Testament was Jesus of the New. And he had something that he could hold to, and that's how he could write that great book of Hebrews.

L-25   Now, if you, if in your life you have an absolute, you do things ordinarily you would not do, especially if you have a God-centered life. The God-centered life makes a person do things that ordinarily they would not do; very odd, peculiar. Why is a Christian life so odd and peculiar? Is because that they are looking to God's Word, which is almost foreign to the world today.

L-26 Now, we have churches, and we have organizations, and we have religion, oh, much of it, around the world.

L-27 In my seven times around, since I was here with you at Houston, I've accumulated much knowledge on the gods and the religions of this world. But that isn't what I'm talking about.

L-28 I'm talking about an absolute, connected with Christ. Then, it makes you a--a odd person. You do odd things. Your thinking is altogether different than the thinking you once did, because you have found something, that you've anchored a faith in Someone that created the heavens and the earth. That, His very Word Itself is creative, a God Who spoke the world into existence, and there is nothing too hard for Him. So it makes you creative, yourself, because you take His Words. And a word is a thought expressed.

L-29   Now, Paul had got into that state, to where that he had--had not a theological experience, altogether, but he had a personal witness. He had met God, and knew that he was called of God. And--and nobody had to tell him anything about it. He was absolutely sure that God still remained God. If the world could just do that.

L-30 And if this group tonight, setting here, could just remember that God is still God. He's just as able to answer in this case as He is in a case of Divine healing or anything else. He is still God. And if we can build our hopes, not only our hopes, but a--a positive thought, upon what He says. And we know that It is the Truth.


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