The Process of Having Revival

Summer and I preach the day sessions and the night sessions. And in the day sessions there was a total of six. And in the night sessions there was between 20 and 30. And I felt very good about it. So I have a vivid imagination. So I closed my eyes and I could see a thousand people. So I preached as if though there was a thousand people present. Amen. We don't get our inspiration from the crowd. We get it from above and from within. And I'm I'm smart enough to know that in Pentecost, the tape ministry is our curse. Amen. if Brother Libby had not brought all those tapes with him, I could ask him what he'd been preaching lately and I could preach that around the country. But when he sells his tapes around the country, I have to get my own sermon. Hallelujah. We don't fast and pray for sermons anymore. We just fax them. Hallelujah. On Sunday afternoon, my phone starts ringing and there's a number of preachers call won't want to know what I've been preaching lately and I say, "What is your fax number?" And so I just fax on my notes. So I preach all over the country every Sunday night. Amen. Ain't it good to be here today? But I am I am intelligent enough to know that it's not just this crowd that's going to hear what I'm going to do today, but because of the tape ministry and the and the and the tape, once a tape leaves this place on somebody's hands, someone has done some research and found out that each tape is listened to by over 20 over 20 different times by 20 different people. And by time plagiarism sets in and it's duplicated and reduplicated, stolen and sold, there's no telling how many people will hear this sermon. And it doesn't make any difference who makes the money off of it as long as someone hears what I got to say. Amen. So, I appreciate very much the invitation to be here. I enjoyed the the ministry last night. you had to listen last night and if you was listening with that that spirit ear you received a lot from the service last night. I especially appreciate the fact that there is a time there is a process of time between the promise and the fulfillment. And I heard a preacher preach one time that there's a there's a time between the oil being poured on you and the wearing of the gold when the crown is set on your head. And it's that time in between that makes us what we are. Praise God. This is Alabama revival conference. And so I'm going to stick with that theme and I want to talk about I want to talk about the process of having revival. would you open your Bible with me to the book of St. Luke chapter number 15. And I I I left my bif focus at home and so I'm going to need somebody. Brother Moore, you got a good strong loud voice. And right where you're sitting, you can just read for me. if they get a mic, I would appreciate it very much. Look at Luke chapter 15. And I think I think that is correct. Luke chapter 15. Anybody know what page that's on? And your Thompson chain reference Bible. What number? My god, I'm on page 82. Amen. Chapter 15. I can't even see this so I can't read my text this morning. Uh, brother Moore, would you begin at chapter 15 and verse number three? And he faked this parable unto them, saying, he faked this parable unto them, saying, "What man of you?" Now, there are three, there are going to be three parables written here. Read. Having a hundred feet. Be seated. be seated. I'm I'm already teaching. Okay. If he lose one of them, so there's a parable of the lost sheep that if you lose one of them and does not leave the 90 and he leaves the 99 and he goes and finds that one lost sheep that has been one of the most abused parables in the history of Pentecost. And that gives you a good reason to blame the pastor for backsliding because you were that one lo

you didn't care anything. Never mind. I don't got my sermon. I'm wasting my time. All right, go to the next part of the parable where it talks about the lost coin. Either what woman having 10 pieces of silver, all right, if she lose one piece does not light a candle and sweep the house. This whole this whole chapter is dealing with losing, you lose a a a sheep, you lose a coin. And then, of course, the most important part of this of this passage is the losing of the son. go to where that cat left home. And he and he said, "A certain man had two sons." A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, "The younger of them said, Father, give me in all three of these parables, this is the only one where there was deductive reasoning used. He had two sons. One of them said within himself, calculated, read, give me the portion of good, give me the portion of good that." And he divided unto them his living. I don't know why he did that, but he divided on them his living. Amen. And not many days after the young not many days after he got what he wanted, he took his journey into his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with righteous living. Thank you, brother Lord. We are we are living in a generation that is in a far country. God's normal for us is revival. We are seeking the normal. We are not seeking the abnormal. The church started in a blaze of glory. It lives in a blaze of glory. And somewhere that glory and that blaze has filtered out. And rather than than seeking the the we we we speak of revival as though it's some mystical thing. a million miles out there when revival is norm for the church. A normal, healthy, vibrant church under its proper government of the word, it is going to grow regardless of whether it is trying to grow or not to grow. If we just do what God wants us to do, the church is going to grow. It doesn't matter whether it's an urban community, a rural community, a small town, a large town. It doesn't matter if it's in America or Mexico or in China. If the church does what God wants the church to do, everything's going to be all right. So, I think it is important for us if we're going to have revival and go back to normality, we got to find out where we went astray and retrace our path. and get back to the normal. And I want to deal with the prodal son as if though it was the prodal church. Now, I'm going to be very kind. this I'm sure this is being taped. I have enough enemies to know that if I say the wrong thing, it'll be in headquarters by next week. And I don't want to be critical of anybody. I just want to I want to give you what I feel like that God has given to me. whether it be revelation or or or what it is, you can decide that later. But I want you to notice that the prodal son did not become a prodal son overnight. He did not become a prodal son from the time he said, "Father, give me the portion of goods that fall me and the time he left." It takes some kind of son to even want to do that to receive that kind of inheritance before his pop passes away. Prodal means extravagant, wasteful, riotous. Someone when we speak of the prodical son, we speak of rebellion, of stubbornness, of of selfishness, of greed. Can I have an amen? We speak of someone that is no longer concerned about the family. is not concerned about the body but is concerned only with self and the story of the prodical son does not start with chapter 15 but rather the the story of the prodical son literally starts in chapter 12 and I want you to turn to Luke chapter 12 and let me give you a little bit of insight that might help you so we can get where we're going from chapter 12 of the book of St. Luke to the beginning of chapter 15 of the book of St. Luke. There are 10 specific passages of scripture that are dealing with the prodal son. Every one of them are pertaining to

the prodical son. Every one of them is a warning to the prodical son about the direction that he is heading. And I think it's important that if we can trace the warnings that God gives to this son standing there, this young man standing there until the time that he's given his first warning to the time that he is in the hog pin, we might learn the process that it takes to go from being in the will of God to being out of the will of God. It is not God's will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. It is not God's will that his church be powerless. It is not God's will that his church be selfish or greedy or extravagant. It is God's will that his church function as the body of Christ as a vehicle for the head to use to reach out to people. He came to seek and to save that which is lost. His purpose for dying on the cross was not to make individuals wealthy and rich or or popular or famous. His purpose for dying on the cross was the salvation of the whole world. In the name of Jesus. And if we can find out where we went astray, it'll help us get back on the right track. If we don't know where we lost it, we're never going to find it back. We may have glimpses of revival. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place. We may have glimpses of revival. We may have an evangelist come through and and preach a few weeks for us. And we may stumble on a principle here and a principle there. But when the evangelism is gone, we lose it again because we're still on the wrong path. We zigzag through life and every once in a while we stumble on the right path, follow it a little while and get off because we don't have the map of the right path. It is not the will of God for us to have and and and you can disagree with this. I won't mind. You've been wrong many times before anyway. But I know that there are seasons of the activities of the Lord. But in this late hour, friend, the activity of the Holy Spirit is to reach people before the coming of the Lord there. Not only is there demon activity picked up, but friend, there's an overwhelming matching opportunity of the spirit in this hour to do more than it's ever done in the history of the church. We're not waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, ladies and gentlemen. We are living in the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. We're not seeking the outpouring of the spirit. We're seeking to find that path that God wants us to walk and we're having difficulty because there are principles that we have violated along the way. I've been in Witchah next month this month or next month the sixth of next next week I will have been there 20 years. We have had 19 consecutive years of growth. 19 consecutive years of financial growth. God has been very good to us. And I have not had a single problem along the way. I have not had to shed one single tear. I have not had to solve any problems. It has been smooth sailing. There have been no storms. There have been no adversities. All the devils live in your town. for which I praise God for that because when I cast them out, I got to send them somewhere. So, I just give them to you guys. And I praise God for the blessings of the Lord. Can I have an amen to that? I think that we ought to praise God for everything he's done. But I I God is not giving me revival or or giving us an outpouring or giving us the blessings of God because we are something special more than anybody else. That would be spiritual stupidity and arrogance and pride and God would shut me off for saying something like that. But I do believe that that different men along the way pick up different principles. And if we can assimilate all the principles of God and follow them as best we can, God will bless anybody. Now, go to chapter 12. And I I apologize for having someone else having to read for me, but but I bought glasses the other day and and I I still can't use them. I can't see with them, and I cannot see without them. So, everything is fuzzy here. But, if you'll go to chapter 12, beginning at verse number one.

In the meantime, in the meantime, when they were gathered together in an innumerable multit, there was an innumerable, listen to this. Now, there was an innumerable multitude standing there. Read. In so much that they told one upon another, all right? He began to say unto his disciples, first, notice, notice, notice, notice. He began to say to what? His disciples. And I want you to notice the phrase he uses next. First of all, now I believe that there was a young man standing there. He looked at this young man being swayed by what was around him. He turned to his disciples and he said, "This young man is going to follow a path and I'm going to use his journey as warnings for you all and I'm going to teach you what not to do by the journey this man is beginning to take." And first of all, here's the journey and here's how he's going to get started. First of all, read, "Beware ye of the living." Here was a young man standing there. Brother Will Banks, come up here, son. You're a good example. Just getting started out in the ministry. Only been preaching about 10 years. And and he's standing there and here's this innumerable multitude of people. He is swayed by the crowd. Don't get swayed by the 5,000s that's in this church and the 10,000s that's in that church. Can I have an amen? Anybody can take one a group of pigs from one sale barn to another. All right, God. Wake up, folks. Amen. And a lot of those pigs in one sale barn is going to be in the slaughter house the next day. And he's standing there and and and and the people that have the influence and the impact are are are influencing the mind of this young man. And he said, first of all, read, beware of the He's looking at this young man that's caught up and enraptured by what's going on around him. And then he looks at his disciples and he says, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." One of the first steps downward is when we start listening to the wrong You may be seated. When we start listening to the wrong voices. I praise God that I am a United Pentecostal. I've got my card in my right hip pocket. Praise God. It's only saved me one time in in 30 years of toting this card. It has only saved me one time. But the one time it saved me, friend, it was a big time when that policeman stuck that a 9 millimeter in the in the wind in the in the front seat of my car aimed at my right temple. Friend, it this card saved me. I throwed my hands up and said, "I'm a preacher. I got I I can prove it in my right hip pocket if you'll just cool it, man. so I can get my I'm I'm not going for a gun, sir. And I stuck my hip out. I wanted him to see there was a bill fold there, not a gun. And I slapped that UPC card on that cop. He took that gun down, put it in his holder, and said, "Have a nice evening, sir." And drove away. I praise God for the card. And like, not like some of you, I have had to fight to keep my card. Pun intended. Praise God. I thank God that I'm in the United Pentecostal Church. I thank God that I am in this organization. I thank God I'm a born again Christian. I thank God I'm a part of the worldwide body of Christ that's baptized in his name that has taken on his name filled with the Holy Ghost. Can I have an amen? I'm glad that I believe in the absolute oneness of God. God incarnate in Christ. I thank God that I believe that the father is in the Son reconciling the world to himself. I thank God for everything we preach and believe. Amen. But there are there is levan everywhere. People who are part of us are not a part of us that would like to use you to their own benefit. These Pharisees didn't care one iota for that multitude whether they ate or whether they drank, whether they was in the shade or in the sun, whether they had clothes on their back or whether they was naked. They just wanted to use the mass for their own benefit. When people start telling you that the days of revival are over, that everybody's compromised and that nobody's holy and righteous but me, you are listening to the wrong voices. What they want you is to join up with their little side so they can have political or spiritual influence or for whatever reason and put their little bit of levan or their little bit of bitterness, their little bit of pride, their little bit of arrogance, their little bit of of of

selfishness, their little bit of desire for political influence and power. They need you for their own benefit. When people speak to you and talk of you whose motives are ulterior and they have other motives for what they want with you, friend, it's time to shut the voice off and say, "Wait a minute. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord I'm going to hear from God, not for what somebody else is trying to get me to do." This young man was being swayed by people who had long robes on. Did y'all get the point? They were being swayed. He was being swayed by those who dress different than everybody else. My sleeve is longer than yours. Therefore, I am holier than you. And all of a sudden, we are in a holier than thou contest. And the first thing you know, we got to out holy the next person before we can before we can stop. And we have painted ourselves in a corner because somebody opened their mouth trying to pull influence and have led us astray. Can I have an amen? I think we ought to live holy. We ought to dress holy. We ought to walk right. And we ought to spit white. Can I have an amen? But there's all kind of voices out there. And if we're not careful, we will listen to those voices. Read some more. uh, brother Moore. Which is hypocrisy. All right. The 11 of Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Amen. Read, read, read, read, read, read, read. For there is nothing covered. Nothing covered. Shall not be revealed. That shall not be revealed. Whoa. Young man, young man, young man, young man, you're listening to the wrong voices right now. And you're going to find mustard on your face one day when God jerks the covers off and exposes the motives that these men had for influencing you. There's only one thing that ought to influence you, and that is to do the will of God for your life. Follow the men and women that have built your life what it is, whose motives are clean and pure. Listen to those who have guided you in the gospel. Come on now, I'm preaching to you. Amen. Read. I want you to notice that I'm going to go to the next one. Neither he that shall not be known. All right. Therefore, whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness, all right, shall be heard in the Whatever you speak in darkness shall be shouted on the mountain top. Hallelujah. Read. And they which have spoken in the ear in the closet shall be stained upon the housetop. Hey brother, we got a bad superintendent, man. Let's elect another one. And we we get we get sidoo talking about distraction. We get sidetracked for five more years because we got to get used to another superintendent. Oh, that's on tape, isn't it? And we get in the political arena. The church is not a political arena. I don't care who the superintendent is. I don't care who the presitters are. Can I have an amen? One is equally bad as the other. Hallelujah. I'm sorry, brother Libby. I forgot that you have been elevated. Our districts are caught up in side choosing and every two or three years we're having to change superintendent or change this pressure because he ain't doing right. What difference does it make whether he's doing right or wrong, good or bad? Our source and strength does not come from humanity. It comes from above. When it comes to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, your presser can't keep you from having revival. Your superintendent can't stop revival. Come on. This revival is bigger than one man or one district or one board or one disgruntled attitude or one disgruntled spirit. Come on, folks. One old one old bail count of church can't stop revival unless you're listening to the wrong voices. One person that's just going to let the pastor can't stop revival if you don't listen to the wrong voices. And revival starts stopping when we start listening to the wrong voices and we start receiving the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Well, praise God. If the preacher would clean this mess out, we'd have revival. Have revival with the mess. The worst hypocrite in the church is not near as evil as a as a best sinner that walks in. Well, only people in the church can hinder revival. Nobody can hinder revival. Well, I got Bible for remember when Achen We not living in the days of Jericho coming out of Egypt, folks. We're in the promised land already.

Now, when we listen to the wrong voices, preachers are driving themselves crazy, always trying to correct the wrong voices. If somebody wants to listen to the wrong voice, sooner or later they are. Now, once you start listening to the wrong voices, something else happens. Go to chapter 12, brother Moore, and read a bit more of that before we go. just there's some more points I want to talk about. And I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body. Be not afraid of them that kill the body. And after that have no more that they can do. They can do nothing after they kill you. But I will forewarn you. I will forewarn you. Who you shall fear? Fear them. Fear him with that which after he hath killed have power to cast into hell. Yay, I say unto you, fear him. Fear him. Read. Are not five sparrows sold for two fathers, and not one of them is forgotten before God? Read. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, ye are of more value than many pharaoh. All right. And I say unto you, whosoever shall confess before men, him shall the son of man also confess. No, it would be better if somebody took a sword and pierced your heart than somebody jerk your ear to the side and fill it with garbage. Amen. Because I can stab you in the heart with a sword and let you bleed to death and you can go on to heaven. But if somebody poisons you and poisons your soul and spirit with their leaven, not only will you die, but you'll die lost. Now once you start listening to the wrong voices, there is a spirit that gets a hold of you. Now the second passage of scripture starts at verse number 13 of the same chapter. And I want you to notice what happens secondly. I I have seen this so many times in our movement that it's almost unbelievable. Here's are are men seeking revival, seeking the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, seeking the the the power of God, and all of a sudden somebody fills their ears with this leaven. They start listening to the wrong voices. Now instead of desiring revival, desiring the things of God, they get off track. They get confused and they start seeking the wrong thing. Now read verse 13. And one of the companies said unto him, Uhhuh. master, speak to my brother. Speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance. I want him to divide the inheritance. Now, there was a time when the inheritance didn't mean anything to him. All right? I mean, after all, it's about 26 acres out there and we're going to plant tomatoes and pumpkins and squash and cucumbers and melons and onions and and garlics and all this kind of stuff. But but there came a time when God was so powerful in your life. All you wanted was revival and you wanted God and you wanted healing and you wanted miracles and you wanted blessings and you wanted good church and and you want everybody to rock and roll with the gospel. But there's a way of when men start talking to you about about political things and and and about things going on in the church and all of a sudden instead of desiring those things, you start coveting. Coveting things that even if you got it, it wouldn't amount to a hill of beans. This man wants Almighty God that's on his way to open somebody's blinded eyes, open somebody's deaf ears, going to find some man that he can take up off of his bed to walk. Take that valuable time that God could use to minister to people and and and say, "Uh uh, Lord, would would you come and be our lawyer for a while? We got a a family dispute over here on who's going to get the most money in the wheel. And you know and I know that most of our pastors their time is eat up settling squables that don't amount to a hill of beans. Who cares if Susie said something bad about you? If you'd obey the Bible, you wouldn't worry about what Suzie was saying and you wouldn't be offended every time you turned around. Dear God, we're so off base because we're so concerned about some earthly inheritance or we're concerned about something that doesn't even matter. What difference does it make if somebody disagrees with you? Do you think you're God Almighty that you got to be right every time you open your mouth? Let people disagree with you. Roll off your back like water off a duck's back, but don't get caught up in the covetous attitude that's in a lot of our churches. This applies in a lot of areas. And you can you can look at me crosseyed and say, "Well, I don't know that that cover

this bit around here." The reason that the largest church in Alabama is less than 300 is because we are following a process that needs to be reversed. You say, "Wait a minute, preacher, I don't agree with that." You tell me why that that there are God-fearing men, great preachers, the largest church in Alabama is less than 300 when this man right here brings 485 people to church every Sunday on his buses. You tell me why this man here ministers to 130 black teenagers every Sunday. You tell me why this man right here can teach 15 Bible studies a week and win 50 to 60 people to God every year. I'm preaching to you now. I didn't come here to cut you no slack. It's because you think we're greater than y'all are. No, sir. We stumbled on the right track and we're doing our best to stay on the right track, not get caught up in the political systems and all the squabble that's going on out there. The only issue is do we have enough time before the rapture comes? The only issue that I want to know about is do we have enough time to get somebody else baptized before Jesus Christ lit the eastern skies. Amen. We're dying of heart attacks and nervous breakdowns because we're worried about the spirit of covetousnesses in our churches instead of the spirit of revival. And the reason that the mixed multitude is going a whoring is because somebody filled our ears with garbage because their motives was wrong and we listened to the wrong voices. And the spirit of covetousness has set up. Read a little more. And he said unto him, "Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?" Isn't it amazing what preachers make their superintendent handle? Isn't it amazing what upsets our ministers? I'm saying this not for the the crowd here, but there'll be a lot of preachers going to buy this tat, and I want to make sure they understand me loud and clear. It's amazing what people call up and demand out of supern. Hey, brother, my neighbor and pastor about 4 to three miles down the road spoke to one of my saints at the Walmart store the other day. Call that preacher and tell him to leave my saints alone. And when our superintendent going to say, "Why don't you go jump the lake guy? Get a life." We we we have a a large church and it's usually packed on Sundays and we don't you know I'm half blind. I can't see the back of church. And so if a visa comes in sits in the back of church we think give me that old time religion. Give me that and make me love everybody. That's a signal for everybody to get out the pew and shake hands with everybody. Now I don't care where you're from. If you're from across town and you're mad at your pastor don't sit in his face. We're going to shake your hand, smile, and say, "We're glad you're here. Praise the Lord." So, I got a call the other day. The the the pastor said, "What if I sank at your church Sunday night?" I said, "I don't have the foggiest idea. I'm not I'm not paid to keep up with your saints." And he said, "Well, they were there." I said, "Well, that's good. They they were blessed and because we had good church. He said, "You get on a phone and you call them and tell them they cannot come back to your church." I said, "Jack, you do your own pastoring. If you don't want them to come back to my church, you tell them, cuz I'm not going to pastor your people for you." This has quietened this crowd. Holy mackerel. You bunch of coward preachers are scared to pastor your own flock. All right? So, you want the neighboring pastor to pastor them for you and run them off so that they'll be good and mad at the neighboring pastor and love you again. This is good preaching whether you like it or not. It is excellent preaching. I ought to get double pay for this sermon. Hallelujah. It's amazing what we demand out of our our pastor. Pastor, there's a group of people in this church that don't like me. I had a fellow a man and his wife came into my office just a few months ago and said, "Everybody in this church is against us." I said, "They are?" I said, "Hold it just a minute." I went up, got me a notepad, jerked a piece of paper off of it, laid it in front of them, gave them two pencils. I said, "Now lift on this paper everybody in this church that you know." They knew five families. We have 400 plus families in our church. They knew they knew 10 or 12 people.

I said, "Now, the truth of the matter is you you crossed up with one of these 10 or 12 people and you want to say the whole church doesn't like you." Well, first of all, with the attitude that you have, it's amazing that the church doesn't like you. But we want the pastor to deal with other people because we got this custom spirit that we've always got to be right. If anybody crosses us, they're wrong. and conflicts arise and the pastors dealing with problems in the church that don't make ill. There was a dispute in the early church about the Grecian women and the Hebrew women getting more food than the other. The Hebrew women get more food than we do. Well, stick your spoon in and get another dip. My God, the preacher don't have to come over, hold your hand, and help you put the spoon in the pot. But there's a spirit of covetous. It's a spirit of covetous, wanting things that if we just shut up, we'd get anyway. But we got these desires that have changed. Kind of quiet. I'll be glad my time is up here. Can I have an amen, somebody? Now, let's go a little bit further. Go to verse number 35, brother Moore. When once we start listening to the wrong voices, the spirit of covetousness demand things that we don't need or shouldn't have. Something does something else happen. Ask yourself this. Are people in your church squabbling about things that they shouldn't be squabbbling about? Are preachers in the district squabbling about things they shouldn't be squabbling about? Are we demanding other people handle things that don't amount to anything? It could be that somewhere we're listening to the wrong voices that I'm going to do only part one this morning. I'm going to do part two in the morning. Part two you might not want to come back to. Okay. Read. Let your lawns be girded about. Let your loins be ged about. And your lights burning. Let your lights be burning. And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord. All right. When he will return from the wedding. All right. That when he cometh and knockth, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh. The Lord when he cometh shall find watching. Watching. Verily I say unto you that he shall guard himself any church, any preacher, any saint, any organization that doesn't have their eyes on the coming of Jesus Christ in 1997 is out of the will of God. We are more we are we're closer to his coming right now than we've ever been in the history of the church. My grandfather preached the coming of the Lord 55 years ago, 60 years ago, 70 years ago. And friend, they didn't have near the signs prevailing back then that we have now with the advent of super computers and and super chips and and the ability to rule the whole world and to give every man, woman, born and girl a number and to control the lives of every human being in the world. It's only happened in the last few months. But ladies and gentlemen, how much more should our eyes be on the coming of Jesus? You see, when we start listening to the wrong voices, when it becomes more important to elect another president, when it comes more important to kick this preacher out and get another one, when it becomes more important to get rid of this Sunday school superintendent and get another one. Friends, our priorities have changed. Hang on because I'm going to become unpopular with this. Oh my god. You know, if we had a thousand people pray through this month and come into our church, a thousand sinners or other religion, they would come in with their earbobs. They'd come in with their paint mascara. They would come in with their clipped off hair. They would come in with their gangstyle clothing. that they would come in with with language that most of us haven't heard. That wouldn't bother

us because secretly a lot of us would go back out and do what they were doing. You thought I'd go, you know, start out compromising. They don't care about that. You don't care if a woman sits next to you that she's painted up, golded up, shouted, dancing. You You don't care how she dressed. I don't bother you. But she better not have no ability. She better not have no sense. I want to tell you right now, I teach this Sunday school class and I'm the superintendent of this department and you stay off my turf. We don't want people in our churches. It is good. I know it's good. I've been preaching 30 years. I know when it's good. Churches stay small because it's already been said. He stole my phrase. I used it last year. Familyowned and operated. I've been superintendent 27,492 years. Right after North got off the ark, I've been here. Praise God. I'm going to be superintendent. Preacher, I want to tell you right now, I was sleeping with him when you came and I be sleeping with him when you leave. Amen. You know, the best thing could happen that church is lightning hitting a steeple and just start burning down. People start coming out because they'll come to a fire before they'll come to your ice cube attitude. We don't care how they dress. We don't care how work, but we will will you. Well, praise God. He don't deserve to to be in no department after all. She'd only had the Holy Ghost three months and her hair on top of her head's only about four inches long. We didn't wait till he gets a big bun back there. Use that any way you want it. We our priorities are not reaching for souls anymore and getting people ready for the rapture, but our priorities are protecting our curve. protecting the pecking order. I'm coming. I'm coming as fast as I can. Praise God. Notice now verse 37. Brother Moore. Blessed are those whose servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching. Verily I say unto you that he shall g himself and make them to sit down to meet. The prodical son would have never been the prodical son if he hadn't listened to the wrong voice. Amen. He would never have become the prodical son if he hadn't started coveting. Amen. He had never become the prodical son if his priorities of life had not changed. Years ago when I first got saved, I was in college. We had a a preacher and his wife preaching in that particular church right after I got saved. And they came to do a soulwinning seminar in our church, little church that I was part of. And I was I was absolutely I was absolutely just overwhelmed by this man. Come to find out later it wasn't much to him, but I was overwhelmed by it. I mean, he was talking about soulless. It took me a long time to get called to preach after I got saved. I I think I think I I had gotten up the altar. I had been saved about 20 minutes before God finally called me. It took God a long time to deal with me. Praise God. I got through talking in tongues and I just stood around and waited forever, it seemed like, for he finally called me to preach. Took about 20 minutes. And from the time I got up from the altar, I started winning souls. I was dragging 50 and 60 people a month, brand new people, first- time visitors to the house of God. I wore out my Eddie Jones. I wore out my car bringing people to the house of God. You came through preaching for us one time. I never will forget playing an accordion. Healer's coming down the road. Healer. You remember that song? Praise God. And I thought that was such a fantastic song. I brought kids out just to hear you sing. And and and and absolutely I'd have two or three carloads of kids at church one night and we'd have a knockdown dragout fight in the church because we elected the wrong Sunday school superintendent. That church was stupid. ignorance eat up with stupidity and this this guy came by preaching on soul winning it and and I was overwhelmed by and so I said that's just night can I can I talk to you for a few minutes and he said yeah and so I kept him his wife up to 2 o'clock that morning I filled a notebook cup with questions and answers that I had for him how to do this how to do that what to do here what to do there how about this how about that and and and I'm telling you, he was a great inspiration. And the other day I was in their district and I had forgotten

about this man. This has been 1968, so it's been almost 29 years since I talked to this man. And he's pastoring a little small church in this district and I was a speaker for that convention. and he came up to me at the church and he said, "Brother Cornwell, are you the guy that went to Louisiana Tech University back in the mid60s?" He said, "You don't remember me." And he told me what his name was. And I said, "Oh, yes, I remember you." I said, "You came by and taught on soulwinning." And I told him what he taught. And I tell I I I said, "I I I had a bunch of questions for you that night and and you and your wife shared a bunch of answers with me till about 2:00 in the morning." He said, "Yeah, we did. We really did." He said, "My wife and I when we finally got you out of our hair." Said, "We thought you was a nut. We we got in our car and drove off." And I told my wife, I said, "That's the biggest nut in Pentecost. Where does a church come up with these kind of idiots? And he said, you know, the biggest mistake we ever made was not realizing what we had in our hands that night. And he said, how have you built that church that you have built? What have you done? Where was you at before that church? And what did you do before that? And so I started explaining to him that from the time I got up from the altar in in in June of 1967, I got the hell scared out of me because of a six- day war. And and John Kershaw said the the Lord was going to come just as soon as the Arabs walked up to the wailing wall. And they and he said, "They're right outside that barbwire fence right now." I got saved because I thought I only had 30 minutes to live for God. And I have been on a onetrack mind and there's nothing going to change my priorities. And that is I am going to be a soul winner for Jesus Christ. I don't care how many preachers fight. I don't care how many organizations split. I don't care how many churches die and go to hell. I am going to win souls. If half of my church wants to go commit adultery, then I'll go win some more adulterers out there. If half of my church wants to backslide and go to hell, that's fine. that I am going to do about the Lord's business and be a soul winner regardless of what's going on around me. Come on now. I'm preaching to you. This is not some theory I'm talking about. It's a practice that I have had for the last 20 years in Witchah. Regardless of what's going on in my church, I refuse to lay down the spirit of soul winning. Pastor, pastor, we need to we need to sit down now cuz we got a problem in the church. I had one man come up to me. He said, "Pastor, you're not feeding me." I said, "Oh, yes. I'm putting out the food." But I said, "If you're going to eat here, it's going to be meal on wheels. Preacher is not feeding me. He just not feeding my soul." Let me tell you why you're not getting fed. Is because the trough is a half a mile down the road and you're still waiting for the preacher to come back and get you. You say, "Preacher, you're offensive." I'm trying to be offensive this morning. It's time that we get back on our priorities. Cast off the wrong voices. Rid ourselves of the covetous attitude and get back on the priorities that God called us to. My knees are knocking. Can I have an amen? Now go to verse number one, chapter 13. Notice the progression. First of all, you listen to the wrong voices. Secondly, you become covetous. Third, your priorities start changing and then something happens. Now, the last time I preached this, right here is where I get in trouble and my knees are knocking because I am being grossly tempted to skip number four and go on to number five. Now, I believe that the prodical son started in chapter 12. You don't have to believe that. It's a personal revelation for me. Okay? And so, if you don't believe that the prodical son was standing there in chapter 12 when he said first of all to his disciples, "Beware of the 11 of the Pharisees." And you think each one of these stories are individual stories to be used

separately, distinct from the others, then you won't have no problem with this next one. But if you get the revelation that maybe the Lord spent three chapters trying to prevent the prodal from being prodical, trying to keep the son from doing something stupid, then you'll receive this chapter 13 and verse number one. This is a wonderful evangelistic sermon that got put in the the Bible so evangelists would have an evangelistic sermon. Read. There were don't have anything to do with the prodical son. Just a little sermon that you know there were some evangelists that needed something to preach. So God put this in the Bible. Okay. Read. There were present at that season. They were present at that season. Some that told him of the Galileans that told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Pilot had mingled with their sacrifices. read. And Jesus answer and said unto them, All right, suppose ye that these You think that these Galileans were sinners above all sinners because they suffered such things? I tell thee, nay, except ye repent, ye shall also likewise perish. All right. Now, suppose he is talking to this son that's on the way to the hog pin. Suppose he is talking to this young man trying to prevent him from destroying his life. You see, once you once you listen to the wrong voices and you become covetous, desiring things that you should not desire, once you start losing proper priorities, then you got to have an excuse as to why your church is smaller than other people's churches. I'd tell you exactly why I run 53. If you preach what I preach, you'd run 53, too. I Well, certainly that's right. And let me just reverse that. If you had preached what I preached, you'd be running 1,200. And the reason I'm preaching what I'm preaching is I want to run 1,200. And the reason you're running 53 is because you're preaching what you want to preach. Now, we'll factor in the rural community and you can adjust that according to inflation and make sense out of it. Okay? God doesn't want us to stop until everybody in our community is saved. Everybody in our town is saved. Can I have an amen? Amen. My wife and I, my wife, uh, especially, but my wife and I pastor pastors in the town of less than 2,000. Actually, it's only has,00 people. It's a rural community. There's about 6, uh, 6,500 in the whole county. And our church ran 700. We won everybody. We run buses down dusty roads and gravel roads and black cop roads. We run buses down smooth highways and bumpy highways. We knock doors in cotton patches, corn fields, and soybean fields. We knock doors and taught Bible studies everywhere we can knock doors and teach Bible studies. Can I have a witness? Somebody. And all around them there were 17 other churches in the community. One apostolic churches. And they averaged less than 25 the other 17. And every one of them was cussing the man that ran 700. Well, praise God that compromise an idiot. If he preached what I preach, he'd have what we have. But you couldn't get one of them jerks to buy a bus and run it. You couldn't get one of them jerks to order a Bible study chart and teach it. You couldn't get one of them to get out of their Cadillac at at some povertystricken door and walk in to minister to nobody because they walk around like the of the walk as if they're the holier than everybody else. And they became the spiritual untouchables. If you're listening to this tape, I'm preaching exactly to you. So don't turn it off yet. Spiritual pride sets in. Our church has better standards than your church. Praise God. Well, I want you to know we don't play pingpong in our church. That's because you're too Go. Well, praise God. We don't play pingpong. But I don't believe in them round balls, so we play bad mitten. That's a gentleman's game anyway. No, it ain't. It's a kids game.

The reason you don't play golf is because you ain't got no goth expertise. Praise God. I hate golf because I don't know how to play it. And we have to become holier than everybody else. I tell you right now, that power fell on them. Power mingle their blood with them because they didn't have holiness in their church. I I can't ask the chairs to say amen. Okay. And I couldn't hear the amens off the tape player being played either. Okay? So, somebody at least nod your head here. Okay? You ought to be holy. I said, "You ought to be holy." Amen. If you got a pastor, you ought to follow your pastor. You ought to obey your pastor. He alone has the right to set the standard for your church. And you ought to follow that man of God. Can I have an amen? The manual of the United Pentecostal Church declares that the local church itself has the right to set the standard for that local church. Praise God. And I want you to know we ought to quit comparing our standards with somebody else. Learn to fellowship with those of like precious faith and go on. But don't get caught up in the spiritual pride that you're holier than somebody else is the reason you're not growing. We're not growing because we're off the wrong track. We got to get back on the wrong of the right track and forsake the wrong track. You can be seated. I got just about six or seven more minutes here to get in trouble. I'm not quite through with this one yet. Okay. Amen. Pride is a cover up for our own lack of communicating with God. Pride is a cover up for our own laziness. We cannot forsake this pride because it would admit that we're on the wrong path. And so we have to compare ourselves with everybody else. My church is not holy. I'm struggling with my church. I have problems in my church. We have sin in our church. I'd be willing to bet you $5 right now. That's a sin to gamble, but this is a cinch for me that there's somebody committing adultery in my church right now. I'd be willing to bet there's a queer hiding on our pews. I'm trying to root them out. I'm trying to expose them. I'm trying to get them to the altar, but I'm not going to walk around and say because we got a thousand people that we're the holiest people in Pentecost because all of my brethren says I'm not the holiest one. But I can tell you what I am doing. I'm casting out the nets. Amen. I'm doing my best to bring in the fish. And if I keep on preaching the truth, God will separate the bad from the good. Can I have a witness, somebody? Amen. I'm struggling with my holiness right now. I got girls in my church that are clipping their hair off. And so do you. Amen. Unless you're running three. Amen. Can I have an amen? I guarantee you that somewhere in our youth group, I got somebody that ain't doing right. I walked up to a baggy britching kid the other day and I said, "If you're going to youth congress with us, I want you to take them gang britches off, pull them up a little bit higher, put a belt on, and and quit letting your butt show. I wouldn't want to send my kids to that kind of church, but we have two other 200 other teenagers that are living right, that are dressing right, that's not going to the movie theaters and the dance halls and all the other places. Praise God. But I'm not going to give up my church because I got somebody that's in a gang out there. I have buried eight kids that's been shot down in in gang related incidences in the head and and and I'm sorry about that. But I'm not going to quit pastoring because I made eight mistakes that I couldn't reach. I tell you what I am going to do. I'm going to keep on a fishing. I'm going to keep on a struggling. I'm going to keep on trying. And I hope those that's not holy will get holy. But praise God, I'm not going to quit doing what God wants me to do because of spiritual pride in my heart. I'm not in this thing to be holier than you. I'm in this thing because there's a wall that's lost and dying and going to hell. I'm not in this

to be a bigger church than you. I'm here because God has given me a city that I got to reach for his name's sake. We got to get rid of our spiritual pride. It's all right to say, "My church is struggling right now." It's all right to say I got somebody and my church is not living right. It's all right to say that my church is carnal because when you are truthful of yourself and you quit trying to be holier than somebody else, then you can hear the voice of God that'll call you to prayer and to fasting and to seeking God and to humility. And then God will hear your prayer and heal your land and forgive your sin. Pride is a crippler in our midst. It's a crippler. Read a little bit more, please. And I got to finish. I got to close. Or those 18 upon whom the tower in Saleom fell and slew them think ye that they were sinners above all. I tell you why, brother Libby. I'll tell you exactly why brother Libbyy's struggling. Praise God. he got some folks in his church ain't living right. Oh, how spiritual it took me to say that. I tell you I tell you exactly. Praise God. Why brother Will Banks ain't having revival. I know somebody in his church ain't living right. Well, shut your mouth. I I don't want to know whether they're living right or not anyway. I got enough people backslide without you adding another one to me. Spiritual pride. My church is better than your church. We preach straighter than you preach. He don't believe fat me greasy. I had a man tell me face to face the other day that I didn't believe a skunk stink. We was in the mall. One of our young couples was in the mall and they have a little girl and she saw a family walking down the mall that the little girl and her mother and they looked Pentecostal, had the big bun on the back of their head. And the girl had a little dress on. And so she remember she said, "Are you Pentecostal?" to this other little girl. And the mother turned and said, "Yes, we are. Who are you?" She said, "I go to Brother Cornbell's church." She grabbed that little girl's hand, her daughter, and ran down the aisle. Said, "We don't fellowship with y'all." And ran down the aisle. They're wholeer than I am. I don't believe fat meets greasy. I don't believe a skunk stinks. I don't believe a grease pole is licking. And this little girl said, "Mama, why did she do that?" She said, "I don't know, honey. Let's go ask Brother Cornwell." Pastor, what's wrong with us? I said, "We're charismatic. We're unholy. We're backslid. We preach false doctrine. And we're all going to hell." She said, "Pastor, evidently this woman ain't never heard you preach." I said, "No, she hasn't." And she probably never will. But I said, "Just remember this. If her pastor would come sit 30 days on our pews, he might get saved." Spiritual pride and arrogancy separates us from our brothers. It separates us from people who could we could benefit from with their walk with God. Can I have an amen? I'm not talking about fellowshipping with evil. I'm not talking about compromising your faith. I'm talking about for ourselves to get rid of our pride so that God can come back to us and get us back on the right track. Amen. If you're holier than me, honey, you're not near holy enough. You better quit worrying about being holier than your neighbor and pastor. You better start being holy as Jesus Christ. One more. One more step and I'll finish tomorrow. Amen. Number six, verse six. Read. He spake also this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. All right. and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none.

Does this fit or what? First of all, you listen to the wrong voices. Then you start getting covetous. Then your priorities change. When your priorities change, you got to start justifying where you're at. And and and pride sets in. And then all of a sudden he says, "Here's a fig tree with no fruit on it." All right. Fruitless pears. I had I told my gardener that I wanted some fruit trees in my yard. He said, "Well, you like pears?" I said, "Pears is fine. Peaches, plums, apricots. I just like fruit trees in my yard." at CAT planted some of the most beautiful pear trees you've ever seen. This past spring, they came out and they bloomed and people were stopping out on the street taking pictures of my trees. My chest swelled up, my buttons popped off. Man, I mean, I had finally arrived in the neighborhood and they wasn't a stinking pear on it. fruitless pear trees that look like pear trees, blossom like pear trees, and and they were they were fruitless pair. Only thing they were good for was to look at. All right. I called him up and I said, "Do I need to get a beehive or close so these bees can pollinate these trees when I have?" He said, 'N no pastor, them are fruitless pears. People don't plant real pear trees because they're not very beautiful. I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'Real pear trees are are are are kind of gnarly and and they don't they don't shape up good and they don't they don't look right. Soulwinners are too busy to wonder what style neck tie we're wearing or if we're wearing the latest style shoe or drive the most popular car. I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm coming. Praise God. I had a preacher make fun of me the other day because I wore rubber soul shoes. I said, "Brother, when you hit the streets like I do, the kind you wear, they just aren't very comfortable. Who cares whether you wear wing tips or rubber soul shoes? Do they cover your feet? Do they keep your feet warm? Can you shine them up a little bit? You see, once pride sets in and you got to be holier than somebody else or better than somebody else, friend, you can look on the shade tree and there won't be no fruit there. And if we're not bearing fruit, why don't we stop and say, "Lord, there's something wrong." Not with the gospel. Not with the Lord. Not with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We may be on one side of the track and God's working on the other side of the track. Come on, Alabama. Y'all don't like this kind of preaching. We got too much pride to admit that we're on the wrong side of the track. Amen. Praise God. Come on. Come. Come on now. Holler. Amen. Praise God. If my church ran 25 this year and 25 next year and 25 the year before, I I I think I'd say, "Wait a minute. There's something wrong with me now. I'm going to quit preaching against all the preachers that's around me. I'm going to quit criticizing all the district officials. I'm going to quit criticizing my presser. I'm going to quit custom my superintendent and try to elect a new one. Why don't you look at your own self and say there's something wrong with me. I need to get back where I need to be. Get rid of my pride because my productivity is nothing. Let's stand together. I got to quit now. I've covered five steps and I know that you think that I have covered the most important five, but the next five passages and the next five steps are just as important for a fact are more important because he's warning his disciples. See that young man? He's walking down the wrong road. He's headed for a pig pin. Here's the steps he's going to take. and he warns his disciples about the path that the prodical son started down. That's why some churches have not grown in 10 years. That's why some preachers have not won a soul in 10 years. Turn to your neighbor and say, "I love brother Cornwell. I think If if if he would preach a little straighter, I'd like it. Come on. I didn't just preach this for you today. Somebody's going to get this

tape. And they're going to need to hear it. And if I can change one preacher, one saint, one church, I'll feel like I'd done something when I came to Alabama. God bless you. Let's give the Lord a hand clap praise. Thank you, brother Sutton and brother Will Banks and the staff for letting me come.