The Trial of Your Faith

I'd like for us to stand together now as everybody around the altars returns to their seats. I want us to stand together and lift our hands and thank God for such a beautiful move of the Holy Ghost in this atmosphere tonight. And believe me, the move of the Holy Ghost is not over yet, but the stage has been set for the preaching of the word of the Lord. Let's lift our hands and love him tonight. That he loves us this much to move in such dynamic ways. Father, we love you with all of our hearts. Thank you for loving us as human beings enough that you move in such beautiful measures, in such beautiful ways. Thank you, Father. Thank you tonight. Thank you tonight. Thank you tonight. We love you with everything that's within us. We appreciate you so very much. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. I'd like to express tonight to all of our young people. You have heard it said of the younger generation a many a time that the younger generation has what it takes to spark the revival of the end time. You have heard that said by preachers and evangelists that have preached in your home pull pits. You've heard it by youth camp preachers. You've heard it probably as many times as you've heard anything else talking about the potential of the younger generation. I think this tonight is probably pictorial and indicative of what is being meant by that statement. You have the energy to see to it that it does happen. I looked at some of our older brethren on the platform tonight and some of our older saints sitting around the perimeters of the building here and I looked over at some of my some of my colleagues and some that were a little older than myself. I said, "Don't we wish we had the energy to worship God like that?" I just I'm kind of like when I was younger I I couldn't I couldn't understand some of those things. But I remember old brother Audros Fusilair. He is an oldtime French preacher from South Louisiana. Did a great work for the Lord. One of the first preachers of the early days of Pentecost. And by the time we went to Lake Charles, which was now 30 years ago, Brother Fusioner was already a an older preacher at that time. And he's long since gone on to his reward. But I never forget hearing him say or or them talking about him saying so many times. He said, "I'm still jumping that high in my soul." He said, "I just can't get my feet that high off of the ground anymore. Oh, but that's what I like about young people that are on fire. That's the reason your pastors sweat blood to try to keep you on fire because you add to a service an ingredient that maturity and old age just don't have. Of course, old age and maturity has a wisdom and a balance that a service needs. But as far as that physical life that that projection of of of what spirituality and and what getting physically involved in the worship of the Lord, you have such a potential and such a powerful demonstration of the Holy Ghost. Thank you tonight so very much. But I'd like to preach to you tonight. In fact, of course any youth camp that we are a part of, any of us that have anything to do with youth camps, the first thing is to strive for young people to pray through to the place that they can have a spiritual mind. Pray through to the place that they can be affected by a move of the Holy Ghost, sensitive to a move of the Holy Ghost. And I think you'll remember the first night the response as I said last night was just all it was two or three rows deep and that was it. And the rest of you just kind of stood there, you know, because you came from different places, different situations. Your mind was was torn. You you it took you a while to get to youth camp. You were here in your body long before you got here in your heart and your spirit.

But I think most of you have just about arrived now. There's There's a few on the back rows that haven't gotten here yet, but they're on their way. In fact, they're knocking at the door now. But we we strive to get you into that frame of mind, into that spiritual frame of mind, that you can be sensitive to the Holy Ghost that the Holy Ghost can have its way with you, that you can that you can learn, that you can feel, that you can know what it is, that that beautiful golden moment of surrender when you just let it all happen in the Holy Ghost. Well, that's that that's wonderful and good. But then the next thing we begin to strive for is that while you are in that broken while the fow ground of your soul is tenderized there the plowing has been done. Then the next thing is to try to put you put something in you at that point that will not just cause you to have a shout while you are at youth camp and while the choir is singing and while the while the leaders of the service and the preacher is up here, you admire and you love them so very much because of the setting and all of this. And I I'm so happy that you can shout and you can run the aisles and you can talk in tongues in this atmosphere, but I'm fixing to preach to you something that if you'll hear what I'm saying, it'll give you a shout next week. It'll give you a shout next month. It'll give you a shout next year. Oh, hallelujah. You see, we we have to have these kind of services to get you off a dead center. We have to have these services to get you in the frame of mind and into a into an atmosphere that you can let God do something for you. But this week is not the ultimate. This week is only a a means to an end. You don't live for God just coming to youth camp a week out of a year. You come to youth camp a week out of a year to live for God the rest of the year. That's what I want. That's what I'm going to be preaching to you tonight. I'd love to sing. I'd love to sing. I got a pump dozen songs I'd love to sing, but ain't no time for singing right now. Time for some preaching. How many of you going to preach with me tonight? I don't want nobody on the first I don't want nobody in the first 15 rows to say anything when I ask this next question. I want the ones on the back six rows. I want you to I want you to answer this. How many of you going to help me preach tonight? See what I told you? We need just a little beefing up of spirituality on the back row. But it's going to happen. It's going to happen. Everybody that's going to help me preach tonight, say, "Amen. Has anybody got a clock? If you got a clock, you may as well hide it right now. And if you're going to grumble and gripe because I preached an hour, an hour and a half, you may as well go on home right now because I've got something to tell these young ones. And I don't know whether I'm going to get it and said in 30 minutes or not. And I'm looking at a bunch of kids that's hungry for the word of God. They want to hear something. Oh my lord. Now, let me tell you, if I'd have had my way, of course, Tuesday night, you didn't let me preach. Why we was trying to sing a song, you filled the altar without being invited. Last night, you didn't let me finish my sermon because when I was going to I was going to hit you with a few things right at the close of that message last night, but but you you came to the altar before you let me do it. 90 90 to 95% of this congregation last night of this se youth section right here was in the altar before you ever

had an invitation to come. That is a that is a beautiful move of the Holy Ghost. Beautiful. Now, if I had my way tonight, I'd preach hellfire and brimstone. If I had the ability to do it, I'd shake you over hell to where everything that's not ready to meet God would leave here. If you wasn't praying and talking in tongues, you'd be so scared your teeth would be shattered. But I have felt it. I have tried my best to feel in that vein to reach for those sinners. And I'll tell you what, sinner. If anything, if anything were to tend to frighten you, more than my preaching to you to try to reach you, it would be that God has not allowed me in my desire to reach for you, he has not allowed me to feel to preach to you. And if there's anything that frightened you, the fact that the preacher didn't feel like preaching to you, that ought to frighten you. But I'm going to preach what the Holy Ghost has laid on my heart in first Peter the very first chapter I want to read and I'll read several verses here and give you a start with the first verse of the first chapter. Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontis, Galatia, Capidosia, Asia, Bthnia, elect according to the fornowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold, that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, ye love, in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul. I borrow again from that seventh chapter or seventh scripture that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold perisheth though it be tried with fire might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls. I turn now to first or James the first chapter and I want to read there the second and third verse. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith workketh patience. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men libery and upgradeth not, and it shall be given unto him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.

For he that waverth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. I want to preach tonight. And if you remember the message by anything, remember it was simply the trial of your faith. Would you say it with me? The trial of your faith. Now, would you lift your hands and pray with me that same familiar prayer, three phases? Let me re rehearse it with you. Pray that God would anoint the lips of his feeble servant. Pray that he would anoint the ears of the hearers and that he would melt our hearts together in his presence to receive the word of God. Would you lift your hands everywhere in the building and let's pray that prayer tonight. Oh God, we need you so very desperately in this hour. Thank you for the beauty of your presence. Thank you for the beauty of your spirit. Thank you tonight for what you have already done and for what you are going to do. And I pray for that holy anointing upon the lips of your feeble servant tonight. Anoint the ears of the people in this building and melt our hearts together in the presence of God. For we ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. And we ask it for your glory and for your honor. And everybody say amen. Amen. Now, are you going to sleep on me? I don't know whether you didn't realize the necessity of prayer before you hear the word of God or whether you just feel like you've done all the praying you need to do and you're ready to hear it without praying. But your prayer was not nearly as boisterous as your praise. Let's humbly lift our hands and say, "God, anoint me to hear your word tonight. Would you?" All right. That sounds a whole lot better. Thank God. Anoint us to hear your word, Lord. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God. My God. I believe there's some preachers in this congregation. You can sit down. Glory to God. And anytime you want to stand back up and preach with me, you stand right back up. Now, I don't have written down on a piece of paper what I'm supposed to say here tonight. I've got a bunch of things are rolling over in my heart, and I've got some things that's passed through my mind that I just hope to God he'll bring back to quicken to my mind again. But I want to tell you, if the Holy Ghost will help me tonight, I'm not going to pull no punches with you. I'm going to tell it like it is. Whether you like it or whether you don't like it, whether you agree with it or whether you don't agree with it, I'm still going to preach it like it is tonight. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah to God. Hallelujah to God. Everybody on the on the on the outside section that feels the Holy Ghost in this place tonight, would you say hallelujah? Don't that sound beautiful? Oh, that sounds so good. I believe we're all together in this thing tonight. I really believe that. Now the writers that I have read after here for our for our scripture setting, the Apostle Peter and the Apostle James, they give us a little insight to something that I feel is very important and it's an insight into something that you and I who live in a very unique day. It's almost the tones that they talk in and and the color of their the tent of of their of their words.

It's almost foreign. It's almost alien to us because people are affected in their concepts by the conditions of the times in which they live. And just just as a matter of little foundation here tonight, you and I are living in probably the most carefree, the most troublefree hour that humanity as as just people now I'm not talking about wars and all of these things. I'm talking about I'm talking about the actual extracting of energy to cope with life. You and I live in perhaps the most easy hour that any human being has ever lived in since the foundations of the world. 90% or 95% of all inventions have happened within the last within the last 50 years. The conveniences that you and I are so accustomed to tonight have not even been known to 90% or 95% of the peoples that have lived on the face of the earth since Adam. You and I know the conveniences. We know in fact we are spoiled by all of these things. Automation the automobile, jet airplane, electricity, every every convenience that you and I know tonight and actually it has taken the energies that it that it takes to cope with life. We have so much more energy that we can devote to recreation and relaxation and and fun and and all of these things because if you ever if you ever just, you know, took a little a little thought trip down the trails of yesterday to find out what people did before they had a car to drive, what they did before they had running water, what they did before they had washing machines and and dryers, and what they did before they had can openers, and what they had before they even had cans and and what they had before they had all of this. You know, when when you when you go to looking at the time that's consumed and the energy that's consumed in just hammering out a living, you've got people sitting on our platform tonight. They didn't have time to spend a lot of a lot of energies or time either one in doing the things that it took just to live, right? They had to grow their crops. They had to can their crops. They everything everything about life was but you and I are the we're the products of such an hour of ease as far as the energy that is required and expended for actual living and coping with life. We have so much energy and so much time on our hand until we are the most not only are we the most petted and pampered generation of human being that's ever lived, we are the most frustrated generation of people that have ever lived. Now, there's a reason for it all. There's a reason for it all. Man in all of his searching for making things easier for himself, he has become the victim of his own ingenuities. He has created a near utopia without an answer for his salvation. Right? Man has almost created a heaven here on earth, but he has not been able to figure out the answer to the cry of his soul. He's almost there, but he just can't quite get it all together. He's got the physical part of it worked out, but he hadn't been able to quiet the cry of the soul. He's got the answer to the physical requirement of expended energy, but he has not been able to reach the wherever that cry of his heart was to get a hold of whatever that is in here that won't be quieted.

Now you hear me tonight when I preach to you and tell you that God still got everything under control. He's still got it all under control. And I know there's wars and rumors of wars. And I know there's people that are crying there's no God. I know the world's in turmoil and the world's in chaos. But you hear me tonight when I tell you God is not in trouble. God is not in trouble. He still sits on the circles of the earth and he still calls the shots. He still tells the day star when to shine. He still tells the night star when to go to bed. He still tells the wind when to blow. He still calls the shots and he always will. Hallelujah. You just pardon me while I have myself a little spell. M. It feels good, don't it? Hallelujah. I'm so glad somebody's a feeling this like I'm a feeling it. But you see, if we're not real careful, this hour of luxury, this hour of ease, this hour of of near nothing as far as personal buffeting is concerned. We'll we'll let this get a hold of us in that we just kind of get a little idea that life is supposed to all be smooth sailing. And we'll have the attitude, I'm not supposed to have any trials. I'm not supposed to have any troubles. I'm not supposed to have to labor or work for an answer. I'm not supposed to have to struggle and pray to get a victory. Give me a little more volume on this one. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Everybody say hallelujah. Everybody say hallelujah. All right. Here we go. Here we go. Now, I don't like to eat that rubber. I like to take it away from my mouth just a little bit. That's beautiful. Everybody with me say hallelujah. Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost around here tonight. But if we're not careful, we'll get the idea that life being so nearly perfect that the cry of our soul when the only thing that we lack now I'm preaching to you a concept of humanity in this hour. things are so nearly perfect about the only thing. You know, a lot of folks right now that are having trouble, they they can't put their finger on where their trouble is. They don't know where the problem is. They say, "I've got a house. I've got a car. I've got a job. I've got food. I've got clothes. I've got I've got family. I've got everything. But but but I can't get it all together, and I don't know where it is. I I I can't I can't find the answer." Everybody's not like the fella that went to the psychiatrist and he said he said listen I I need help. Fell said psychiatrist said well what's your problem? He said well he said I've got a I've got a five bedroomedroom home. I've got a car with two cat double car garage with two Cadillacs sitting in it. I've got a I've got a $10,000 yacht sitting

in my yard. I've got I've got all of this. I he said I fell said, "Well, my lord, man." He said, "How much money do you make?" He said, " $50 a week." Well, it wasn't hard to find out where his problem was. He just didn't quite have enough enough job for the amount of budget he had. You know, that that's that's easy to find. But I'm talking about people that that they've got it all. They've got it all. But still, they just can't put their finger on where the trouble is. Well, when they finally hear, "Well, Jesus Christ has got the answer." Okay, Jesus Christ has got the answer. Well, praise God. Let me just go and see if I can give my life to the Lord and see if he'll work out these situations that I can't get worked out. I've got it all just about worked out, but maybe maybe the few little things that I can't get together, he can do it for me. And so they give their life to Jesus Christ under the idea and the concept that when they do, all of the troubles will all be over. Everything will be taken care of. I won't hardly be a human being anymore. I'll be an angelic creature walking around on a cloud as it were. And I won't have to worry about living. I won't have to worry about struggling. I won't have to worry about this and I won't have to worry about that. But I want to tell you tonight, friend of mine, Jesus Christ does not save you to put you in a heaven here on this earth. He did not save you to take you out of the conflict. He does not save you to take you out of the trial. He saves you for a reason. He saves you for a purpose. And that purpose is that men may see that with the power of the Holy Ghost, you're not delivered out of, but you can walk through, hallelujah, every trial, every situation, and every temptation. How many of you ever seen a bulldozer? I ain't never drove one of them rascals, but I've always wanted to. I have just I' I've driven down the road and looked off to the side and see them hills. I'd say I wish I had a bulldozer. I'd teach him here until it's put in the circumstances that it was made for. But you get that old dude up against an old pine tree that don't want to give up its tap routt and you let that old that old darling are running that operation. He kind of hit that stick a little bit and it inches a little closer and a little closer and a little closer and the first thing you know that old pine tree that was made to stand, it goes like this. It goes like that and it goes like that and it goes like that. And the first thing it goes like that and the next thing it's like that. What brought the beauty out of the bulldozer when it was put to the test for what it was made to do? There's no beauty in driving a bulldozer down the highway. There's no beauty in putting a bulldozer on a drag strip. There's no beauty in running a bulldozer across a piece of ground that's got lawn and grass growing everywhere. That's not where the beauty is. But you put her to the test. You put it up against the object that it's supposed to move and let that power go to generating and that power pushes down the obstruction. That's where the beauty comes in. James says, "Count it

all joy. When you enter into diverse temptations, count it all joy. In other words, he's almost making it sound like that's the thing to look forward to. Well, that's not the concept that a lot of people I've had some dealings with in this hour have about living for God. I'm counseling people every once in a while that come to me and say, "Well, bless God. I thought when I got in the church, I wasn't going to have no more trouble. Dear Lord, if if this is all I get for living for God, just a lot of trouble. Well, I could do this good in the world." Now that kind of sounds stupid, don't it? And it kind of is stupid because we are so weak need. We're so spineless. We're so limp wrist until we don't know how to stand up and be counted as men. Come on. Our attitude about trials is rotten. Right. Do you hear what I'm saying? I said our attitude about trials is rotten. Is this thing big enough for me to get down there? Honey, I got to get off of the bow of that ship and get out here in the water, will you? Oh. Hallelujah. Well, I thought living for God was going to be different than this. My I've I' I've been having a lot of trials lately. And I guess if the Lord loved me, I wouldn't have any trials, would I? Come on, brother pastor. Help me out. The other day I had to pray. I had to pray 10 minutes. Well, you can't imagine. I walked in the classroom and somebody somebody grinned at me cuz I had long hair. It just hurt my feelings so bad. Hallelujah. Somebody the other day in a science class made fun of Pentecostals. I tell you, it just almost it just almost offended me so bad I couldn't hold up my head because somebody asked me the other day. I don't know why they're always picking on me. They asked me the other day, "How come you folks don't cut your hair?" Well, I don't know why they're always looking at me, why they're always picking on me. I don't know why they're always asking me that kind of a question. You poor little old darling. Somebody hungry wanting to know what church you go to and you take it as a personal affront. You hang that little old cotton picking head of yours and you hemho around and you dug dig your toe in the dirt and say, "Well, I'm Pentecost." Somebody ask you why you don't cut your

hair and you say, "It's because I got an old pastor that won't let me. How come you don't go to movies? How come you don't have a television set? How come you don't wear jewelry? How come you don't use dope? How come you don't do this? How come you don't do that? And when they're asking, you think they're taking a personal swipe at you because your attitude about trials is rotten. But I got news for you. The Lord didn't fill you with the Holy Ghost to set you up as some kind of a dolly in a showcase. I said he didn't give you the Holy Ghost to set you up as some dolly in a showcase. He didn't set give you the Holy Ghost to put you out on some green lawn as some kind of a pretty tractor. The Holy Ghost is in you to give you power over every obstacle, every foe, every devil. Hallelujah. I don't know. I don't know why I have to live in a glass house. Everybody's always watching me. Why is everybody always watching me? I have to do everything just right. I have to do everything just fine. I have to do everything or they're always are throwing rocks at me. I just feel so bad. I'm just so looked at and I'm so persecuted. You weak need spineless jellyfish. Next time you have a chance, you get somebody to take a picture of your backside. You got a spine that's as wide as a saddle blanket and as yellow as that wall. In case some of you are wondering, I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to every one of you. I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to you. If you can't stand up against a little temptation and if you can't stand up against a little force and a little walls, you're a God don't need sisses in his church. I think that's one thing that's happening now. There's a little there's a little there's a little turnover going on because God's God's tired of some sissies. God wants somebody that's got some convictions. God wants somebody that believes something. God wants somebody that'll stand for something.

Woo! Hey. Go sit down. I got some more to say. Take off. I don't know what y'all are doing over there, but I'm having fun. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Now, sit down just a minute. Let me give you a little Bible lesson. Now, you ready for a Bible lesson? Anybody got the time? Anybody tired, ready to go home? give you a little coffee break. All right. Let me tell you something. There is a difference in a belief and a conviction. It's too easy anymore for somebody to say, "I believe that." Oh, yes, preacher. Tell it like you want to tell it. I'll believe it. But when they get out away from the heat of the service and the anointing of the message and the influence of the presence of the pastor, they don't have enough guts to stand for what they believe. You can come to church and shout because we preach against television and picture shows. And then when you get out there where the darkness is, you turn one on and look at it. Hallelujah. You shout with a preacher when he preaches his own holiness. And then when you get out to where the crowd is, you roll up your skirt and put your wig on that makes it look cut. Do you want me to tell you what that kind of a spirit is? It's oldfashioned hypocrite.

That's the reason our world is in the trouble it's in now. We can say we believe one thing when the Holy Ghost is a moving and when we get off our yonder, we prove something else by our actions and God hates it. What we're needing now is not people to say, "I believe that, preacher. I believe it. I believe it." We need some people that's got some convictions. Hallelujah. Now, let me tell you what a belief is. Let me tell you what a belief is. Just don't don't you don't have to go back and forth. Just go ahead and sit right where you are. Sit down. Sorry, y'all. Taking up too much time going back to find your seat. A belief is something that you lend credits to. A a a belief is something that you are persuaded of. A belief is something that you lean in the direction of. But a conviction is something that you have been put on trial for. I know believing is the first step that leads toward God, but you hear me tonight. It's a lie from the pits of hell that believing constitutes salvation. Because if believing constitutes salvation, then the devil is one of the biggest saints. Because the book says he believes. He even believes so much that he trembles. Believing is not where salvation is. A lot of believe a lot of people say when I believed that was it. I don't have to do nothing else. Did you know there is one of your mainline denominations? In fact, it's been in the paper a whole lot here the last couple of three days because of their convention trying to elect a president. And you know what the doctrine of that church is? The doctrine of that church is says that if you ever say I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are saved eternally. If you ever say I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, it don't matter what you do after that, you are saved. They say by their own admission, two of their members that wasn't husband and wife was caught in the bed together by the wife's husband and one shot killed them both. But the preacher preached them both into heaven because he said the blood that once covered their sin covered yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In in other words, if you ever just stumble up on saying, "I believe in the Lord," whether accidentally or on purpose, if you was to ever change your mind and wanted to go to hell, you couldn't pry your way into hell with a crowbar. That don't sound like my book. That don't sound like the Bible I read out of. The Bible that I preach out of says that you're going to have to repent. You're going to have to be baptized in Jesus' name. You're going to have to live with the Holy Ghost on the inside and walk holy and godly and separate from this present world.

You can say what you believe until you're blew in the face. But what you say you believe is not what you believe. It's what your actions prove. That's what you really believe. I believe it, brother pastor. Tell it, brother pastor. I believe in holiness. I believe in holiness. I believe in Jesus name. I believe in in in all of these things. I can shout with the best of them when I'm at church. But what I want to know is what do you do when you get out there in the courtroom of human observation? Let's go down all around here. What you say you believe, unless your actions back it up, is not worth a snap of your finger, brother, preach it. But after you say, "I believe it, brother." when the preachers are preaching it and then when you get out there where the courtroom of human observation puts you on trial and they say, "All right, now tell us, prove to us what you believe." It's when you have been tried and the jury finds you guilty, that's when you have been convicted. It's not enough to just say, "I believe it." But when you get out there and they try you for it and you come out guilty, that's How many of you are enjoying the Holy Ghost here tonight? Let me see your hand. You see that old gay-haired dad of mine sitting on the platform tonight? Dad, I want you to come up to the pull pit. one of the greatest old darlings I've ever known. He's not just big in statue, he's big in spirit. As a 17-year-old boy, his dad was a deacon of a certain church. His family were members of that certain church. They happened to pitch an old Brush Arbor down the road from where my dad and his folks shot sharecropped. His his dad was a sharecropper also. And that old brush arbor dad had a way as a 17-year-old boy when he got through with his BTUs. All of his training, there was still something hungry down here. He'd leave the He'd leave the training union and he'd go by the old brush arbor and he'd listen to what theirs is saying. It was at that old Brush Arbor that God got a hold of his heart. His mom and dad, of course, they'd go to their church when it was convenient. They never did have time to go down by the old Brush Harbor. They satisfied in their denomination. They satisfied in their rituals. But the 17-year-old heart of this man right here, he was longing and hungry for something. Finally, my grandpa realized that there was something about my dad that was getting hooked down at that old Brush Arbor. Cuz one night, my dad walked in. Dad had been to that Brush Arbor. And his testimony was he said when those people said hallelujah he said it sound like you could heard it for 10 miles.

He said one night on the way home he got down in the middle of the old gravel road. He said God if them people can say hallelujah and get that much out of it. He said, "I'm supposed to have religion just like they do, and I can do the same thing." He got right out in the middle of the gravel road and said, "Hallelujah." as loud as he could say it. And he said, "It didn't sound like you could have heard it to the road ditch." He said, "Right then, I knew those people had something I didn't have." He went home. He woke up his mama and his daddy. He said, "Now look, mom." The family kind of aristocratic bunch had gone to talking to his mom and dad said, "You better keep that boy away from those wild people down at that brush arbor." But dad went in there and woke up my grandpa and grandma and said, "Listen, mama. I don't care what a hun says. I don't care what ain't sis now. None of the rest of them say. If we ever go back with Jesus, we're going to have to have what those Pentecostal people got. Glory to God. My grandfather knew that my daddy, his 17-year-old son, was hooked down at that Brush Arbor. He had just bought him a 98 cent Bible, a brand new Bible. He gets arm in- arm with his 17-year-old boy and says, "Son, I think I'll go down there, will you, and show you where those people are in error." My grandfather goes down and he goes to hearing that Pentecostal preacher under that brush arbor. He tore that new Bible up trying to make a liar out of that preacher. But instead he found out that they were preaching the truth. So now it's not just that 17-year-old boy, but he he won his mother, his daddy, all of his sisters, his brother, now his son, now his grandson, now his granddaughter. You think I want to let this go? Not on your life. I've got a heritage. I've got a heritage. I've got a heritage. I'm not going to play the hypocrite and say I believe something when I'm in the house of God and then get out there and fail the test. I'm looking for him to put me on trial so I can prove what I believe. Count it all joy. Count it all joy. When you enter to enter into diverse temptations because when you say that's all you got is empty words. But when they put you on trial, it gives you a chance to prove what you said you believed. I want some convictions. I don't want just believing. I want some convictions. I want to have some convictions in my showcase. I want to have some convictions. Hallelujah. How about the preaching? Daddy, what's it going to take for a man to be saved? Take this microphone and quote the scripture that tells you what to do to be saved. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all gathered together in one place and one accord. Then suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of the rushing mighty wind and filled all the house where they were singing. Cloven tongues like the fire teleony to them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to

speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them the utterance. Oh hallelujah. And the 30th verse said, "And Peter said to them, repent and be baptized, every one of you." Oh hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh hallelujah. Repent. Repent. and be baptized, every one of you, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And that's not all of it. That's not all of it. And the promise is unto you and to your children, all them that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. That's what it's going to take to be saved. Oh, hallelujah. Great job. It could fall on you right now. Receive the Holy Ghost. corn. So there's some of you, you want it handed to you on a silver platter. You don't want to have to fight for it. You don't want to have to stand up for nothing. You don't want to have to buffet the world. You don't want to have to have convictions. You don't want to have to pray. You don't want to have to fast. You don't want to have to talk in tongues and stay spiritual. What I'm preaching to you tonight, it's time for you to either put up or shut up. Glory. Hallelujah. If you think this generation's going to get by without having to fight for what you believe, you've got another thing coming. When you've had those that have blazed the trail before you that had to lay their reputation on the line, there's Brother Melvin Spears and Sister Spears. I couldn't help but weep my eyes out the other night when I saw that darling. Brother Spears was on one side and Sister Spears on the other. I called Sister Johnson over. I said, "Sister Johnson, look at that old mother in Israel. Look at her. She was standing there. She didn't have a boy in the altar. She didn't have a girl in the altar. She didn't have a grandchild in the altar. But she was standing there weeping, tears streaming down her face. She was walking from one to another. I said, "Sister Johnson, what does it mean to her to be standing up around this altar weeping and crying like that? It didn't mean nothing except that she had a cause that she wanted some young people to get in their heart like she got it in hers one day.

I'm preaching to you tonight. If you ever make it, you're going to have to get a hold of it just like they got a hold of it. There's so many things I'd like to preach tonight. So many things I'd like to say, but everywhere in the building, let's lift our hands and love him tonight for the truth. Oh god. I don't know why I feel impressed to tell you this in closing, but you and I are the generation upon whom the ends of the world has fell. If you'll get a hold of it, if you'll apprehend it like it apprehends you, there'll be no separation. Paul said, "For I am persuaded that neither height nor depth, principalities nor powers, things present nor things to come, things in heaven or in hell. I am persuaded that nothing shall be able to separate me. From the love. From the love. There's so many more that I'd like to tell you about. There's so many more so many more experiences that I'd like to tell. But let me close with this one if you will. I feel God is talking to somebody in this congregation that needs the Holy Ghost. I've got a friend that pastors a church in Jackson, Mississippi. You all know his name, Tommy Craft. He and Sister Craft told us some time back about a girl. I say a girl about a 25, 26 year old woman. Very, very nice, very well-mannered. In fact, a lovely person evidently from a very lovely, maybe a wealthy family even. I don't know all of the circumstances, but God picked her out of the family, brought her to the house of God. She believed the truth, embrace the truth, and she didn't just believe, she stood the trial, even that her own family put her own. She passed, she was found guilty of believing it, and thus she had a conviction. But she lived for God for I suppose a year, two years. I don't know just how long she was in the church. Finally, she was smitten with that dreaded disease, cancer. She figured that perhaps it was God's way of smiting her with that disease or allowing her to have the disease so that maybe he'd want to do a miracle.

and that miracle would bring her folks to God. She just wanted it whatever the cost. She wanted it. She progressively gotten worse until finally she was hospitalized with that dreaded disease. She lived in hopes she'd have her pastor and her pastor's wife there as often as she could, praying with her. the bedside of the hospital praying and believing God for a miracle. But somehow the miracle that she was looking for never did quite come the way she thought it would. She would skirt the brink of death and then she would come back. Skirt the brink of death and come back. And finally, it's been about a month ago I guess now. Her name is Helen Packer. Helen was in the hospital room for her final time. The disease was taking its toll. As far as what you could see with the natural eye, it looked like that perhaps God had maybe forgotten. But Helen held on. Helen held on. They were all waiting for death to come. Death was imminent. Everybody knew that it was it had to be the last final hours. And just as they were waiting for her to draw her last breath, there was a voice came over the intercom of the hospital. voice blurted out all over the hospital and said, "There's a call for Helen Packer." The family, the people in the room looked around because they knew that anybody that knew Helen Packer knew that she was dying. couldn't talk on a phone. They were stunned. Finally, somebody left the room. They go downstairs to the switchboard to talk to the operator. Operator, where did the call come from? She says, I don't know that, sir. I don't have a number. They didn't leave a number, but I do have a little piece of paper. They left a message. She handed the piece of paper. The message says, "Tell Helen Packer her ride is on the way. You go ahead and doubt it if you want to. Back row, Mr. Tough Boy, go ahead and doubt it if you want to. Those of you that don't have the guts to stand up for anything, go ahead and doubt it if you want to. But I'm serving notice to those of you that's in here tonight, the Holy Ghost tells me your ride's on the way. Your ride's on the way. Those of you that want the Holy Ghost, those of you that are not ready to meet God, you've been weak need, you've been spineless, you haven't lived for God like you should, I want you to make your way down to this altar right now and let's let some of these that have the Holy Ghost pray you through right quick. God bless you, Sister Joan, sing a song. Those of you that want to pray, come on, let's pray. Get somebody by the arm. Get them by the hand. Drag them down here to this altar. Let's pray them through tonight. The Holy Ghost is a moving. The Holy Ghost is a moving.