How to Enjoy the Bible Camp '70 (Session 5)
Publication Date: 07-08-1970
On Ephesians 4:25 where I want to begin tonight, or where we will begin tonight , the first part of what the Research Team gave me is the work that Walter Cummins published in our wonderful Way Magazine on "The Spoken Word." Also, as we cover Ephesians 4:28 tonight, I had all the information in front of me from another article that Walter Cummins has in the... has had in the Magazine. The first article on Ephesians 4:25 is entitled "The Spoken Word." The one on Ephesians 4:28 is "Workers for God." Both of these pieces of work by Walter are absolutely superb. And I believe that they should appear and will appear in our research journal GMIR whenever we begin publishing that. {GMIR Aramaic word meaning ' to perfect, accomplish , mature, complete, arithmetically to be divisible without any remainder.}
And I noticed again that some of the things that were stated are just so beautifully and logically presented, I'm truly thankful for, not only Walter, but the whole Research Department. I think our Biblical Research Department is just second to none. And it' s even going to be better by God' s mercy and grace next year and in years to come than it is at this time. And right now I do not believe that our Biblical Research Department needs to take a back seat for any academic institution or work in the world.
And I thought today, I have never... I've never thought of Walter Cummins in any other capacity than to be my assistant. I know Vince Finnegan, you know, on the books is my assistant. And that' s great. But I've never thought of Walter Cummins in any other capacity for so many years as always being my assistant. And I think he' s just the most wonderful person that any president could have as his assistant. And also to be chairmen of the Department of Greek, and then the coordinator of the Biblical research of The Way International. For any one man to have that position and that responsibility is an awesome reality and I'm real proud of Walter and real thankful for him. But I am also thankful for the rest of our wonderful men and women in the Research Department.
I would like for the Corps all over the country to go to the Magazine and find "The Spoken_Word," that's the title of it, dealing with Ephesians 4:25 and other scriptures, and before the next Corps meeting next week, you endeavor to master that great piece of work by Walter Cummins. It's just, you know, the spoken Word. Over fifty Greek words are used in the New Testament in connection with the faculties of utterance. Over fifty. And then he takes the most important ones and he lists them and it' s just. .. it' s just a piece of research work that you should really as a Corps master in your heart and in your life.
Ephesians 4:25 in the King James reads, Wherefore put away lyin g, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.
The ' putting away' was interesting to me again because of the Greek word aniko, a-n-i-k-o.
And this word is ' the putting away,' this word ' put away,' aniko, is the same root word as in 4:22, where we use the word ' rest,' meaning ' to rest.' Is that right? Yep, that is right. I taught you that,
didn't I? Did I or didn't I? Doesn't look right to me. It is the same root. What chapter am I missing? Am I missing anything? I don't know. Right now I'm screwed up, ha ha. First time today. You check the word again and I'll do that, too and see what I'm missing here.
But a-n-i-k-o is the word for ' putting away from you. ' To put away. And it' s the same root as the word ' rest.' I don't know where the word appears, but it's got to be in there.
Now, that word ' speak,' every man speak. That word ' speak ' is from the Greek word
laleo, l-a-l-e-long-o. And that' s where Walter' s article on "The Spoken Word"_c omes in because that is.. .he uses that word laleo in here, which I teach in Corinthians when I teach the Foundational Class. And he says the word is employed 24 times in I Corinthians chapter 14. I had forgotten that.
This word is truly significant. I couldn' t quite understand it Research Department, what you said on page 26B 16, where you defined it ' to make vocal utterance,' ' to babble,' 'to talk,' 'to exercise the faculty of speech without reference to the words spoken.' I just wondered if there might not be another word that could be substituted or utilized at this point. I know that Zachariah 8:16 is the quotation that is used here, or spoken of. And that Zachariah 8:16 adds force to what is said by using a quote, a quotation. That' s why my question to the Research Department is, How can it be without reference to what is spoken if it is truth plus the quotation of the Word of God that's given. It doesn't quite fit for me.
'With his neighbor' has to be a believing neighbor. This 'speak truth with his neighbor' is a figure of speech gnome, g-n-o-m-e, which simply is a citation. And that' s a citation from Zachariah 8:16.
There are a series of figures of speech, Corps, in chapter four which just put the 00mph, the highlight, to the particular things that are set whereby you put off the old man. This phrase here 'speak every man truth with his neighbor' is one of them. The other one appears in verse 26, 'be angry and sin not.' ' Steal no more' is another one. 'Corrupt communication' is the fourth one. 'Grieve not the holy spirit' is the fifth one. ' All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking' is the sixth. And then ' be kind' and so forth, is the seventh.
You see, the last phrase in that verse, in King James, For we' re members one of what? [Another] And it' s relative to the neighbor. Now you just look at that. Wherefore put away lying, speak every man truth with his what? [Neighbor] For we are members one of another. That doesn't mean just a neighbor who lives next door, but it has to be a believing neighbor because we are members one of what? [Another]. You could not be a member ' one of another' ifhe was an unbeliever. That's how I know this is going to work. This tells me that the neighbor is a believer. And this ' we' re members one of another' continues the imagery of the Body of Christ.
The literal according to usage of this verse is as follows: Wherefore put away the lie... and I believe in my heart, before I go on with the literal that until man is born again, it's all a lie anyways. And that' s why I believe that this translation will fit in the light of that knowledge. Because when a man is not born again, his whole life is just a lie. Now you're born again, and that ' s why I think the text states it ' wherefore put away the lie,' the life you' ve been living , the screwed up life you have lived outside of God. It' s been just a life of a lie. It' s not truth. It' s just the opposite of truth and that's my reason for translating it this way... Wherefore put away the lie.
You've got to go with that translation. You have no other text to go by both from Aramaic and Greek it's 'lie.' Not 'lying.' If the Research Department has anything to share in the light of that, I'd be blessed to hear, but you' ve heard my reasons for translating it, Research Department, this way.
Now since they're born again, their whole life is changed, so the life of lying, and living a lie, and being a lie, and being false, is to be put away.
And every man... this is the translation ... and everyone, everyone. The word ' man' you could use because it's an inclusive noun, but I prefer to use the word ' one.'
Wherefore put away the lie and everyone speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another. That is literal according to usage.
Now for the expanded according to understanding. It's not bad. Because of this... What we coughing for? Everybody sick?...Because of this... and the reason I went in the expanded along this line is because verse 24 last week told us that we are created by God in righteousness and in true purity, through holiness. Twenty four.
That's why 25, Wherefore ... 'wherefore' can be translated 'because of this.' Because of this what? Being created in righteousness and truly pure. See it's an inside job.
Because of this being created in righteousness and truly pure by the grace and the love of
God.. .Because of this being created in righteousness and truly pure, you put away, completely lay to rest the lie that you have been and were living and each one of you speak the truth using a quotation from the Word with his believing neighbor for we are members one of another in the Body of the Church.
Robinson {Edward} said, he translated, 'speak every man truth with his neighbor' and he said it's from Zachariah 8:16 which adds force to what is said by using a quote. That's why I translated that. I think that' s great. It adds force to what is said. If you're speaking to someone, it adds force to what you say by using a quote, a quotation from God's Word. In other words, ' you share the Word with them.' That' s why I went with that translation. I want to give it to you again in this sense.
Speak the truth using a quotation from the Word, which means 'share the Word.' Quote the Word to them. Tell them what the Word says, with his believing neighbor. Why? For we are members one of another in the Body of the Church. This verse is just mind blowing.
Here, you have a born-again believer neighbor who needs to grow up a little more. So what do you do? Each one speak the truth to that neighbor, that believer, using the Word, quoting the Word because we' re members one of another in the Body of the Church. It's a real positive thing to do.
Verse 26 in King James reads, Be angry.. .ha ha... we like that one, don't we. Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
Here is a verse of Scripture that' s very, very difficult for most people. And it' s not too easy for us either. But I think we are able to share the truth of the greatness of this and it's been burning in my heart for a long time to do this with our people.
Everybody has problems with ' how can you be angry and not sin?' You know, how can raise hell with something and not be sinful in doing it? Teed off and not be sinful. And how can you go... and what does it mean 'don't let the sun go down upon your wrath?' See.
In the context, here, verses 26 and 27 deal with your believing neighbor, specifically. Then the Greek word for ' anger' which is from the root orge, o-r-g-long-e means 'anger together with the desire of revenge .' That' s bad. That' s a heavy. The Hebrew word means ' to kill, and all the tumults of passion that terminate in killing.' So it's a real heavy word when it said ' be angry.'
And the way I believe it's used in God' s Word, ' be ye angry' means ' it's a long time anger with your believing neighbor until a change has ensued.' The desire to... of revenge is a change. And I, knowing the Word in the light of the new birth, it's where a change finally comes about. Until that time, you just, long-term, you just stay put witnessing the Word, sharing the Word. You do not dislike the believing neighbor; you simply dislike that he is not fully accepting the Word and walking on it. So it' s a long-term anger until a change has ensued. You just stay faithful.
I don't know what else to do with those words. It is a righteous anger. Yet it is a righteous anger without sin.
Among the scholars, there is a disagreement on these words. Well, I don't know about my being a scholar; that I don' t anything about being about. But it's simple to me because righteous anger is commanded by God's Word when it says ' be ye angry.' Well, the scholars can fight about it. I don' t care. It' s a command. Not just permitted to get teed once in a while when somebody' s off of God' s Word, a believer is off of God's Word. You' re always teed off righteously at any believer, born-again believer, who is off of God' s Word. And for those of us in the Way Ministry, it' s been a lifetime.
Get into it with them on... Oh what subject do you want to talk about? Baptism? Food? One God? See. All that stuff.
The Aramaic is accurate in the words ' and sin not.' It literally translates ' and you will not sin.' Again, this ' be angry and sin not' is that figure gnome. Quotation. A citation from the Old Testament. It' s from Psalm 4:4. But in King James, Psalm 4:4, it's translated 'stand in awe.' The real sense of the Hebrew is ' one of admonition;' sin not. Where we' re admonished to not sin. Sin not.
' Let not the sun go down on your wrath. ' Ha ha. That again is beautiful. People went to bed when the sun went down, when it got dark. That's when they went to bed. So what that simply is saying, ha ha, ' don't go to bed teed off.' Don' t let the sun go down on your wrath. In other words, go to bed; don' t go to bed mad. ' When you go to bed' is what it means. Let not the sun go down when you go to bed. And they went to bed when the sun went down. When it got dark, they went to bed, see.
' Upon your wrath.' And the word ' wrath' here is basically ' irritation.' Ha ha. Previously when I taught Ephesians, I made mention of this fact, ' don' t let righteous anger shake you, wondering if it was right on. When you go to bed, go to sleep.'
Now, this is what we have done with it in the literal, ha ha, according to usage. I got more papers up here than Carter has liver pills, or something. Then, I can' t find my... whatever it is I take off of it.
Okay, verse 26. You be righteously angry.. .this is literal according to usage.. .and you will not be sinning. Don't go to bed even with a momentary irritation, ha ha.
I don't think you get nearly as much fun out of this as I do. It's neat. It's absolutely scrumptious, see. At the opening, is that heavy word, remember? Anger. So it's a real heavy time. So what he is saying, in the heavy time, when your standing on God' s Word and sharing that with the believing neighbor, you' re righteously angry... you're not sinning. And you don't even go to bed with a momentary irritation. In other Words, when you go to bed, thank God the day is over. Say your last prayer and start snoring.
Boy, that would save a lot of sleeping pills, wouldn' t it? Practicing that principle. Boy, oh boy, what a tremendous Word. And hardly anybody understands verse 26. They argue about it, but they don' t get the understanding.
Now this is the expanded one according to understanding, I hope. And again, I would like to just lay some things before the Corps, and especially before the Research Department. I translated the first part of verse 26, You always stay angry with an all-out desire to have them to change which anger will not be sin on your part.
Then I have another translation of that first part of it: You be righteously angry, 'teed off' with sin... 'Teed off' I put in quotes. But don't you sin by acting ' holier than thou' vaunting yourself by acting so righteously like you never sin.
I do not know which one of those two the Research Department feels would be the better. The last part of the phrase that I translated which would go with both of these that I have given you here on the expanded one for understanding. This, the last part, goes with that first one and with the second ... also.. .even if it is only a momentary irritation. When you go to bed, go to sleep. That's what I did with it.
Now, verse 27. King James says, Neither (or neither) give place to the Devil. The word 'place' is simply a portion, a part. No believer will give full place to the Devil, but he may be giving a part, a portion. He' ll mark off a spot, ' this is Devil' s permission over here, over here, no permission, you know. And you really give the Devil a portion or a spot if you stew about it after you go to bed and you toss and you tum and can' t sleep.
This word 'the Devil,' ' the Devil' in the Aramaic is a very interesting and exciting Word to me and it blesses my heart. It' s a compound word where the first part means ' to eat' or ' to devour.' The latter
' to slander' or ' to accuse. ' So when I got to translating this, literally according to usage, verse 27 reads: Do not give any portion or space or an opportunity to the Devil. So I used those three words synonymously: portion, space, opportunity. Do not give any portion or space or an opportunity to the Devil.
The expanded according to understanding: And you will not give a toehold, an opportunity or an occasion for the Devil to eat you. Ha ha. I get more fun than you ever will out of working this stuff, huh.
You see, and to me, that communicates to my understanding. John 10:10. The thief cometh not but for to what? [Steal, kill, and destroy] Right. To eat you out. To beat you. And that's why that Aramaic word, on the word ' Devil' really thrilled me.
And that ' s why I put it into the expanded translation: And you will not give a ' toehold.' Now, at L.E.A.D., you know how important it is to get a what? [Toehold] Ha ha. And when you' re really climbing in, you' re blessed for a toehold. How thankful you are when you get a foothold. Now the adversary can never get a foothold in a believer' s life until he first has a toehold. That's why I translated it that way.
Do not give... and you will not give a toehold ... shave all the rocks off... an opportunity or an occasion for the Devil to eat you. And that' s exactly what he likes to do to believers.
Now we go to verse 28. King James says, Let him that stole steal not more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. And here again, is another great work that I believe should be in our research journal GMIR, Walter' s work on " Workers for God."
It' s just tremendous where he... you know... he just goes into God' s men are called many things in the Word. They' re called: fellow workers, ministers, or servants, slaves, fellow slaves, partners, messengers, soldiers, fellow soldiers, athletes, fellow athletes, stewards, ambassadors, witnesses, all of those. And he covers them so beautifully. And I love very much how he covered the word ' slave,' because it' s a much stronger word than to be a minister, or to be a servant. It is to be one who is branded, marked out, sold out. And baby, from that day on, there are no ifs, and' s, or but' s. You never budge on it. You are branded. Most believers are never branded. They may be servants, they may be ministers, but they are not branded. When you' re branded, you stay faithful. You do not budge. You do not change. You stay put. If all hell breaks loose, you still live the believing Word.
I think the prophet once said, If I was in the midst of hell, God I know you' d be there. (Psalm 139:8) He' d be there. That' s the doulos. That, of course, is just a tremendous piece of work.
And the other great part that I think... and this is a second piece that I want the Corps to master before next Wednesday night, " Workers for God," the work on ' witness.' You see, it's the same word basically that's translated ' martyr,' see. And we got a lot of those canonized. That's not at all what a witness is. A witness is a living example, not a dead one. The word 'martyr' simply means that you lay down your life in witnessing. And boy, when you put the doulos together with ' witness,' then you' ve got power for abundant living. It's just a fantastic work by Walter and I' m real grateful that it was published. Because once it' s in print, people can take a look at it if they want to.
I'd like a cup of coffee, please.
Now, we are in verse 28. The Aramaic translation is ' and he who was stealing.' I understand it from the English, ' let him that stole,' past tense. The Aramaic is real simple, real strong. ' And he, the one who is born again, who was, past tense, stealing.'
Thank you.
His whole life was one of those before he was born again.
Whenever you bring a cup of coffee to a right-hand man, you put the handle to the right. When you serve a cup of coffee to a left-hand man, you put it on the left-hand side and put the handle to the left. Corps principle number seven or something, ha ha. Mrs. Wierwille would say, Well, be thankful you even get a cup of coffee. [Laughter] Ah, you're wonderful.
See, ' let him who stole, steal no more.' 'Stole and steal,' that' s a figure of speech and is polyptoton p-o-l-y-p-t-o-t-o-n. It' s a repetition of the same root word in different parts of speech or reflections. But, that's not earth shaking right now in my heart.
You see, in some Eastern culture, it was not considered a sin or a shame to steal because that's the way they lived, the only way they lived. Somebody told me... or not only told me, one of our people, but it was in a national magazine, that the basic culture of Russia today is to steal. And in some respects I can understand this. If you don't have anything and you're starving to death and there' s a loaf of bread you can get a hold of... steal the dam thing. I understand that.
So this verse is really sharp, really sharp. Let him who stole, even though that man previously considered it the way to live and there was no shame in it, no sin in it. He said, Well, let that fellow who stole, steal no more. Something has happened on the inside of that man. Something that happened, where He is able to meet all of our need according to His riches in glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. More than conquerors.
A record in the Old Testament, I forget where it is, but it's in there, that it' s never, you never need to borrow or steal bread or... what is that in the Old Testament? Begging bread. One person stand and tell me. {Psalm 37:25, I have been young and now am old; yet have I seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread.} Psalm 27:25 who? {Psalm 37:25} 37:25. All the years, he's never seen the righteous to have to do what? {Beg bread} Beg bread.
First of all, I wish the Christian world could hear this. Secondly, I wish our government in the United States could understand it. The Word says, If you don't work, you don' t eat. A lot of that stuff. Well, what we've been doing is stealing from the people who are willing to work to give to the people who don' t want to work. That's a bunch of crap. That's stealing. That's why this verse is so hot in my soul tonight. Let him who stole, quit stealing, dang it. See.
Many years ago I was really knocked for a loop along some of this line in India, from Dr. Williams. I think he loved India maybe like I love the United States, I don' t know. Because only a man knows how much he loves his own country, I guess.
But... as we were traveling together, he said to me, Dr. Wierwille, I hear you have whores in the United States.
You know, I never had given it a thought. I just took it for granted. [Laughter] And I said, yeah. He said, Why does a rich country like the United States have whores?
And I said, I don't know.
And he said, I can't understand it. Cannot your women make enough money to live? Yeah, but they figure that' s cheaper and more pleasurable or something, I don' t know. And he said, Well, I think it's sinful that the United States has whores.
And I said, What do you mean?
And he said to me, why, I can understand India. He said we don' t enough food, we don' t have enough of anything hardly for a lot of people. And we have whores because that' s the only way they can continue to live physically.
And I thought to myself, well boy, that' s slapping me in the face good. And I took it as a wonderful lesson. There is no excuse in the United States for any women being a whore because she doesn' t need to get screwed and paid for it in order to get money so she can live. There's plenty of work available and if there isn' t she ought to get born again, then there' s a guarantee of work. ..other work, available. I tell you, when you' re honest, some of these men in other countries have some real logic behind their thinking. How would you have liked to have handled that? I just simply admitted, Well, I think we' re wrong in the United States. But I said, I think you' re wrong in India, too, because no reason to have whores here if you get them born again.
So I don' t know. But this verse today as I worked the final working on this verse 28 is when my heart really went back and burned with that truth that Dr. Williams had stated. Because in many Eastern cultures, it was not considered as sin or as shame to steal, if it was a matter of livelihood. You sometimes wonder who will live in the greatest condemnation before God and justice and judgment when the time comes.
For in most of what are called poor countries even, there is sufficient money, food, and other things for the people to live if those in positions of authority were not so selfish and egotistical, and want it for themselves , and let the rest of the world die... or a country die.
The word ' labor' in verse 28 is the word which literally means ' hard work resulting in fatigue.' That's how I felt coming from the woods last night. And I didn' t do anything. It was just hard work being there with the rest of you. Today I got so tired of being with some, I came home. Ah, you' re wonderful.
' Working with his hands' is an Eastern cultural type of thing. Today in our culture, you could have it, you know, the truth is working with your mind or working with your hand, whatever you' re working at. But in Eastern culture, every son was to be trained to work with his hands, even if he was the son of a king. Had to learn a trade, a profession of business.
Jesus Christ was a saddle maker. He made them to ride, I guess, what do you want? Tennessee Walkers , or? See. I think not only did he do that, Paul did it, too, you know. Someday I'm going to find a...or Walter, or some of those, are going to find me a manuscript to prove it. .. and a wonderful carpenter by trade. Many times doing carpentry work and being a saddle maker were sort of in the same household, because building carpentry and having saddles to use for their business and carrying on, were very, very closely aligned. Well, I won' t argue the point, but I wish we' d keep looking.
II Thessalonians.. .Do your hands ever get so dry you can hardly hold anything? Golly, mine are so dry tonight, I wonder why? II Thessalonians, chapter 3:10... this we commanded you that if any would not work, neither should he what? [Eat] Right. Even unemployment is no excuse for stealing. He just doesn' t eat. Goes and gets work. Boy, when I first saw the greatness of these principles many years ago, and then of course, I uniquely by God' s grace, inculcated that into our W.O.W. program and very dynamically in the Corps leadership.
Heb 11:1-3
Heb 11:4-7, 13; 1Jo 3:12
Heb 11:8-11
Heb 11:12-28
Heb 11:29-37
Heb 11:37-40; 12:1, 2; (Eph 2:6)
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To enjoy the Bible, we enjoy it from the inside out, not the outside in. We do not come to the Word of God, with our preconceived ideas, all made up as to what it must say here, there and yonder. We let the Word speak from inherent integrity; it speaks from the inside out to us. Most people come to the Word of God from the outside in. They’ve already got their minds made up as to what it ought to say, so they come from the external to the internal and try to find that scripture which says what they think it ought to say. That’s not the way you can work the Word if you’re going to enjoy it. To enjoy the Word, you have to let it speak from the inside out.
Now chapter 11 of Hebrews, is one of the great chapters that helps us much in enjoying the Bible because it really sets the accuracy and the greatness of much of the Word which you have previously read, it sort of synthesizes it, it correlates it. Because we happen to know from Galatians that faith, came with whom? Jesus Christ, and before faith came, then there must have been a time when there wasn’t any. They could only have believing because they were men of body and soul. Therefore, any time before the day of Pentecost, whenever the Bible speaks of someone having faith, it is impossible. Because it wasn’t available until the day of Pentecost. The confusion has come into the translations because of the word pistis. This word maybe translated believing, or to believe or it may be translated faith. It all depends on the context, both immediate and remote as to which one of those two you would have to use, whether you would use the word believe, or believing or faith. Now, here in the 11th chapter of Hebrews we have the Old Testament people, all of them. Therefore the word “faith” can never be used here because it was not available.
Hebrews 11:1 (Literal)
Now believing is the title deed [substance, title deed] to things prayed for, the evidence they are yours before they are seen.
That’s the accurate translation of that first verse. Would you like me to give it to you again?
Hebrews 11:1 (Literal)
Now believing is the title deed to things prayed for, the evidence they are yours before they are seen.
Believing is the title deed. That’s the word “substance,” it’s the title deed. The title deed entitles you to the product. You have a title deed to an automobile, you can’t ride the title deed home. You have to have the automobile, but without the title deed you never get what? That’s it. Now, look at the beauty of that: believing is the title deed. That’s your signed document that it belongs to you. It’s the title deed to what? Believing is your title deed to things that you pray for, and you can only pray for things which are told you in the Word of God you have a right to pray for; the promises of the Word,
things that belong to us in our day and time according to the Word that we have a right to pray for. Now, our believing, not God’s, our believing and believing is renewed mind according to the pattern of the Word. Believing is the title deed to the things that you pray for; it’s your guarantee that those things you are praying for are already yours before they are seen.
If somebody brought us here this morning a title deed for a new Harley Davidson 74, wouldn’t that be beautiful? Green and white too. Oh man, [LAUGHTER], you see that one I could understand. Ok. A title deed, you would have it all signed and sealed, all paid for, that’s my evidence. That it’s already mine; I haven’t even seen it. I haven’t even seen it, but it’s already mine, right? But you can’t ride the title deed. Now the way I’m going to find out whether that motorcycle is really mine, is I go down and pick it up. Because I have the title deed, I go over, I get the motorcycle. Without that title deed they might throw me out. They might send me to jail, because they might say that I stole it.
Now, in the Word of God, believing is our title deed; believing equals receiving. Everything is conditioned by believing and our believing is conditioned by the promises of the Word to us. Now, I’m going to show you men who had never even come to Pentecost and what they did with believing. We who have more than what they have should get a good lesson, that for the most part the Christian church has lived so far below par, that it would have been better had Christ never come, because some of these Old Testament fellows believed more without Christ having come, than we believe with the fullness of the holy spirit in our day and time. But believing is the title deed of things prayed for; believing (believing) is something you do until the evidence comes into manifestation. Once the evidence is there that you’re believing for you no longer have to believe. The moment I get the motorcycle, I can forget about it; because I’ve arrived, got the product. Now, verse 2.
Hebrews 11:2
For by it [by it what? by believing] the elders obtained a good report.
The elders were made witnesses. For by believing the elders were made witnesses. We looking back today can say of them that these witnesses are only believers who have died. They are believers who have passed away, but before they died, these elders, were some mighty witnesses to people and to us in our time for our learning.
Hebrews 11:3
Through [believing] we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which what do appear.
Through believing, this is what we believe. Can you prove it? No, I simply believe it. Now, my proof for this does not lie in that I can prove the worlds were framed but because I can prove other things, by the process of logic and deduction, I conclude then what God said in Genesis 1:1, had to be right. You follow? For instance when I can speak of tongues, I have got the proof that God must have raised Jesus from the dead. That I have confessed with my mouth the Lord Jesus God raised him from the dead. It must be the proof that I have made him Lord in my life, and you just take a leap out into space and start speaking in tongues, because you don’t feel anything, you don’t smell anything, you don’t taste anything, is it in there? God said it was, so to make him Lord is to believe and just start jumping, which means to simply start speaking in tongues. Through
believing, only by believing, do you understand that the worlds were framed, and that believing is conditioned by other records in the Word that you can bring into concretion which will finally tie the whole Word together, verse 4.
Hebrews 11:4
By [believing] Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than [what?] Cain, by which he [Abel] obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it, Abel [by it] by his believing Abel being [what?] dead yet [what?] speaketh.
Through some little gal with a little light on? No, no, no – not in a séance. Because it says very plainly that Abel was being, what? Dead. That’s the opposite of what they teach; the spiritualist teach that they are not dead they are up there and they are sending these messages back to us. Abel is dead yet he, what? Speaketh. But he doesn’t speak back from the great beyond; he speaks by his believing. That which he believed and produced while he was here is what speaks to us regarding one subject what? You know in I John 3:12. You all got it? You will need it. Because boy this will answer a lot of questions in your mind and help you to put the whole word together.
I John 3:12
Not as Cain, who was of that [what?] wicked one….
He was of the wicked one, if you’re of someone you have what in you? Who was he born of? [Satan.] That’s what it says that’s what it means.
I John 3:12b
…and slew his [what?] brother…
That’s why he slew him. Well, it says so.
I John 3:12 continued
…and wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s [were what?] righteous.
There you got it, just sharp. One is evil and the other is righteous. And the evil one slew the righteous one because the evil one got possessed. He was born of the seed of the serpent. Back to Hebrews.
Now you will understand why.
Hebrews 11:4
By [believing] Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than [what?] Cain,…
Because Cain could not have offered an excellent sacrifice to God because he was born of the wrong, what? {seed.} Now, this will explain the Cain record in Genesis completely when you remember what I’ve just set before you.
Hebrews 11:5
By believing [Enoch] was translated that he should not see [what?] death; and was not found, because God had translated him: [but] before his translation he had this testimony, that he [Enoch] pleased [who?] God.
And the only way you can please God is to walk before Him by believing. It says so in verse 6.
Hebrews 11:6
…without [believing] it is impossible to [what?] please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he [what?] is, and that he [God] is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Who stay put on the Word. Now, this verse 5 has really been a thorn in the flesh to people. And the teaching is that Enoch was translated that God took him to heaven that he never saw death, that he never died, God just picked him up translated him from here, up to there. That’s not true. To be translated simply and basically means transported. The word “translated” is used whenever a bishop in the church is given an appointment. It says that the bishop of Antioch was translated to New York; that simply means that his bishoprick has been transported from the sea at Antioch to the New York territory; they use it in every consecration of a bishop to this day. Same word, I should have known this from the verse but I was stupid like everybody else. Because I was taught that Enoch never saw death, God took him up there and he’s flitting around up there with God enjoying it while us poor suckers are down here working our fannies off. You know. So, I had this opinion, but I should have known this from the verse, because Enoch was translated and was not found. Was not found; well somebody went looking for him and I doubt very much if they went looking this way. Right? If you were going to go looking for me which direction would you go? Not this way. You would go this way, right? Well, after Enoch apparently went that way according to their teaching, a whole bunch of people looked for him this way for three days or something. The Word says.
Now, you don’t mean to tell me they’re that stupid. If you people here all saw me go up this way until I completely disappeared, I doubt if you would go this way looking for me. You might as well go over here to Armstrong in Wapakoneta and say, “Hey can we borrow that thing that you use to go to the moon, can we look for Dr. Wierwille?” [LAUGHTER] Well, class let me ask you something, this is where it just turns me on, it’s simple. Death is of whom? The devil, right. And old Enoch so pleased God he had walked before him. God said I will never let him see, anybody die. And Enoch, if you’ll check the record in the Word, never S-A-W, he never saw with his eyeballs, he never had seen, he never saw anybody die. That’s what it says, that he should not see what? And we have confused it to thinking that he should not die. It simply means what it says and it says what it means, he had never seen what? How many of you in here have never seen anyone die? Hold up your hand. Boy a lot of you. There are a lot of young people, you have a day coming. Maybe. But maybe you will please God so you will never see dying. I don’t know. But this is why God translated him. God took him from here, over to another place over here and over here Enoch died. But he had never personally seen anybody else, what? {die.} That’s what the Word says. And by the way Enoch, Moses, the other fellow I can’t think of, those three that’s talked about in the Bible; they are all generally buried in the same place. Awaiting the Lord’s resurrection. Do you know why, I know Enoch died? Well, I know it from the Old Testament, but I also know it from verse 13 of Hebrews 11: these all, what? {died.} If they all died then they all, what? {died.}
Now, if they all died with the exception of Enoch, then he would have said so. They
all died except who? It doesn’t say that. It says these all, what? died. And Enoch was one of them, so what happened to Enoch? That’s right. Now, we’re ready for verse 7.
Hebrews 11:7
By [believing] Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, [reverence, respect] prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which [believing] he [Noah] condemned the world, and [Noah] became heir of the righteousness which is by [believing.]
Because he was the only one left. You know, top-man. Now [verse] 8.
Hebrews 11:8
By [believing] Abraham, when he was called [by God] to go out into a place which he [Abraham] should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed;…
Because believing is always indicative of obedience.
Hebrews 11:8b
…obeyed and he went out [Abraham went out], not knowing whither he [what?] went.
Sure, he knew which direction he was going. That’s right. Not knowing where he went I think in people’s mind means he didn’t know where he was going. He started one day this way, another day went that way, third day went that way. No, no he knew where he was. But he didn’t know what tomorrow would hold; “not knowing whither he went” he didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. What two years from now would bring. He only knew what God had said, and upon what God had said he started walking. That’s right.
Hebrews 11:9, 10
By [believing] he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
For he [Abraham] looked for a city which hath foundations,…
Most things people build up on has no what? Foundations, that’s right. Old Abraham looked (looked) for a city which has foundations. A city…
Hebrews 11:10b
…whose builder and maker is [who?] God.
Really remarkable, when is that city coming? An old Abraham back there, even before the birth of Christ, was already looking for that new city, whose builder and maker is God which is the record recorded in the book of Revelation. Boy, don’t tell me that people down through the centuries have not had the same God. Why sure, the same God that’s our God is the same God that is God to Abraham. And so he was already feeding believers back [then]. You see they looked forward to the day of Christ’s coming, to promise, understand? They looked forward because Christ had not yet come, because no gal had ever believed to bring him to pass. You and I sit here and we look back at it. But believing is basically the same Old Testament and New, when you believe you do what? And old Abraham believed; he looked forward to that day. He saw that city coming and in the light of what he saw in the future he moved with power today, that’s the key.
With the light of what you know the future is guaranteed to be, you move with power in your life today, else you’re going to be frustrated a lifetime. I keep telling my Corps and my staff that we here at the Way Headquarters, the greatest danger we have is to be tempted by Satan, to look at our tasks rather than the goal. We become task oriented rather than goal oriented. And then you flip out. But when you look at the immediate task in relationship to the total goal then you stay happy. And most people in life are simply task oriented not goal oriented. And in the Way Ministry we got to be goal oriented. We have to see the greatness of where we’re headed and not just a little job where you bleed your heart out. Where you mow grass, where you, I don’t know, throw a ball over the building, just not those little tasks, but those little tasks is what makes possible the great goal of the future. We must be goal oriented and not task oriented. And yet it’s the task that brings the goal. And most people want to go to the goal, they don’t want to do anything along the line; we like to sleep in. and I suppose you know how I hate people who like to sleep in, that’s right. That’s my biggest fight with young people, and with most adults, they can’t get their fannies out of bed in the morning. They can stay up all night and rap about nothing, they call it the Word but it’s usually just counterfeit. I have recorded some of those sessions where they sit till 3:00 in the morning and rap then I take it back in my office and really listen to it. They haven’t said a lousy thing that’s amounted to anything since 11:30p.m., but then next morning they’re tired, they can’t get out. See. Well you want to tell me you’re a man of God or a woman of God? You’re too lazy to be a man of God or woman [of God], that’s right. I’ll tell it to you straight. You’re never going to learn anymore of what I’m going to teach you and it’s most likely you’re going to forget in 48 hours. Anybody that’s lazy doesn’t get anything from God. I can read it to you from the Word. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t people who sleep in till noon because they work and really work their jobs till 4:00 in the morning. I know this. What I’m talking about people who want to be leaders or are people who think they want to be leaders in the so called Way Ministry who can stay up and rap till 2:30, 3:00 in the morning and then not be able to get up. That’s right. When you tap this ministry and really believe it, you can really talk the Word and walk the talk until three o’ clock in the morning and still be back on the job fresh as a daisy at 8:00. I did it, for years and years and can still do it, if I have to, or if I want to, that’s right. But you see, you have to put first things first, but we use God as an excuse, we’re not really believing, we’re just talking about it. Verse 10 says:
Hebrews 11:10
For he looked for a city which hath [what?] foundations, whose builder and maker is [what?] God.
And people if they could do that in the Old Testament just looking forward, they certainly were not just task oriented they were goal oriented. Well, what are you looking for? You see, when I read the Word, to enjoy the Word, I always see it in the light of what the future holds, for the believer today. Not just what can I have today. I thank God for the day, as somebody said last night it gets the whole thing together. That’s beautiful, but have you ever stopped to think that this thing is so big it not only gets the whole thing together today, but it’s got the whole thing together for tomorrow and for the day after that, and it’s the only thing that has everything together. Man if they can do it without Christ, what can you and I do filled with the power of the holy spirit?
Hebrews 11:11
Through [believing] also Sara herself [lambanō] strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him [God] faithful who had [what?] promised.
[Repeats:] “…she judged him faithful who had promised.” If I remember correctly Sarah, was 90 years old. Wasn’t she? Wasn’t Abraham 100? Right? Well, he was 100 when Isaac was born. Now, I don’t want to take anything away from people’s believing. But I want to tell you something, it took Sarah a long time to get there in Abraham. God had given this promise to them many, many years before. Now the reason I teach you this is so you never get critical of other people. Because I just thank God when anybody gets to the place of believing. If you teach the Word to them, like now, you teach the Word to them in 1970, let’s say they wouldn’t believing until 1990, if the Lord tarried, well praise the Lord they still did what? {Believed.} That’s the greatness of it. And it’s not your responsibility or mine to make them to believe, it’s our responsibility to rightly divide the Word and hold it out there so they have an opportunity to believe. Now old Abraham and old Sarah really freaked out on God many times. But when she finally got around to being about 90 years of age she really began to believe, and when she believed she conceived. Now, not all believing is conceiving. [LAUGHTER] This believing here was conceiving. Isn’t that wonderful? And in the process if you know your Old Testament, Abraham really blew it. Because, Ishmael was born and Abraham interceded with God, that Ishmael might be that seed. And the Ishmaelites were nothing but a thorn in the flesh all through the years. He really blew it. But thank God, they finally got to the place and that tremendous statement in verse 11, the tail end: “…she judged God faithful who had what? {promised.}” Boy to get to that place is really something.
Hebrews 11:12
Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead,…as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
Out of Abraham, a beautiful figure of speech. Just means oodles and oodles of people were born out of that relationship.
Hebrews 11:13
[Now] these all died in [believing; they died according to believing is the ancient text] not having received the promises,…
The fulfillment of the coming of Christ and the promises that were made to Abraham were not fulfilled. Yet they looked forward.
Hebrews 11:13b
…having seen them afar [what?] off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Just simply said well, were just a passing through, my treasures are all laid up, remember?
Hebrews 11:14, 15
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
They could have gone back and lived it out here upon earth, you know eat drink, and be merry, but they weren’t mindful to do that because they had seen the promise ahead and they stayed put on that promise.
Hebrews 11:16
…now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: [where] God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he, God, hath prepared for them a [what?] city.
Wonder which one, New Jerusalem.
Hebrews 11:17
By [believing] Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
If you have not read our research work on Abraham and Isaac you ought to read it. Because it is one of the great problems of the Old Testament and I believe that we have given the most accurate solution to it. If we ever learn anymore one of our other people will certainly share it, but it even indicates that at that time Abraham went beyond what God requested of him.
[The research work that Dr. Wierwille referred to is Studies in Abundant Living Volume 3, chapter 8 “Of Human Sacrifice.”]
Hebrews 11:18-21
Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be [what?] called:
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
By [believing] Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
By [believing] Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
Beautiful orientalism.
Hebrews 11:22
By [believing] Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
Where they were to be buried.
Hebrews 11:23
By [believing] Moses, when he was born, was hid three months [by] his parents, because they saw he was a proper child;…
They saw he was a proper child, you know; they saw that he was just a perfect child and would be just that type of child. This they must have seen by revelation.
Hebrews 11:23b
…and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.
Which said all of the male children were to be killed.
Hebrews 11:24-26a
By [believing] Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches…
“Esteeming the reproach” – it stands for looking for the coming of the Christ.
Hebrews 11:26b
…greater riches than [all] the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
Which is still future. That Moses was quite a guy, a real fellow. Now, when I see these things written, like here in Hebrews, and I read the records of their life in the Old Testament, I learn so many things about human nature. Now, Moses killed a man, right? One of the Egyptians if I remember correctly and yet did God hold this against him? Never once mentioned when it comes to the believing side here that he killed someone, but it does set forth that Moses believed God.
Hebrews 11:27
By [believing] he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
That’s his first coming, right? You and I as the epistles say look for his second coming. If Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses can so believe God and so walk, looking for his first coming, how much more don’t we have now to look for his what? {Second.} Yeah, see it? Now, Moses could have really ruled Egypt. He had access to the throne of Egypt and this was in the day when Egypt was a great nation, but he never accepted that. But his training was fabulous Moses was not some old ignoramus, stupid bird, not a fellow who quit school in 6th grade. He was trained under the court; he was trained in all of the sciences, all the arts, that man was a highly educated man. As a matter of fact he was trained in the king’s court, if I remember correctly, for 40 years. And he was 40 years old (wasn’t he?) when he got in trouble and killed and had to skidoo the country. Then he was out for 40 years, AWOL [absent without leave] from Egypt or something. Then he returned to Egypt and for the next 40 years, he was the leader of the children of Israel.
Hebrews 11:28
Through [believing] he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Boy now, that must have been a real step; where God simply said just sprinkle the blood on the door posts, the lintels and so forth. Eat the flesh of the lamb and if you’ll sprinkle the blood, the old devil won’t touch you. And if you eat the flesh of the lamb and you believe it, you won’t get sick. Two and a half million people did this. They left Egypt with all the wealth Egypt had; it was given to them, they didn’t steal it. They were so tickled to death to get rid of them, they brought them all of their possessions their gold, their money and everything else and they said get gone, fellows, take her along, just as long as we get rid of you. That’s right.
I say to people move your lips, your throat, your tongue, make the sounds make the words. All you have to do is do that Christ is already in there if you have confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus, believe God raised him from the dead and you will speak in tongues. And sometimes I find people who have difficulty believing to do this. What
would you have done in that day, when nobody else had ever sprinkled any blood on the door post? And nobody had ever eaten the flesh of the lamb. Old Moses must have really believed, and he was able to get two and a half million people to believe with him. And they walked under the most adverse conditions and as the Psalmist says: there was not one feeble knee among them. Not one sick person. And today you can’t find a Christian church with twenty people in it who haven’t been sick for 20 years. Everybody’s sick in most of the places, right? You see something has happened some place people. And it cannot be in God, for God is the same yesterday, today and forever. I am the LORD I do not change, he says. Then it can only be in whom? People, men, that’s right. We are just not rising up to our believing privileges. And one of the great reasons for this is that we have never been taught properly. And secondly we have been talked out of the great power of God and believing. Well, I think the Way Ministry has a real place to stand today. At least we’re beginning to lift people up again, at least we’re getting people to start believing and every time they start on that road, they’re going further and further and further. We have people in the Way ministry, who before they took the class on Power for Abundant Living were spending between six and eight hundred dollars a year on just doctor bills. Immediately after the class is all terminated and they haven’t spent a dime on doctor bills. Well, why not? This is why when I read this and I see the believing, everything we do or you know that Satan does in this world, is primarily designed to get people out of believing. And if you’re honest, he’s sure done a pretty good job with the so called church, (hasn’t he?) the Christian people. He has got us just about as pagan as the unbelievers when it comes to believing. We have got more faith in the banker, more believing in the banker, more believing in the doctor, more believing in the hospitals for the most part than we have in God, right? I have nothing against doctors, that’s right. I can believe that old boy can set my arm, praise the Lord, but as long as I can believe, I don’t need him. And one of the things we got to start practicing is to endeavor to believe more. There is a rule, I might as well tell you; this has to go in your life. No matter what happens to you, that first place you have to turn is Father. And with everything you got, you go to Him first. And then if your believing isn’t big enough then you better go the other way. Boy, we as believers ought to at least go to the Father. So, these are tremendous things in here, much deeper than just off of the top of a person’s spiritual head.
Hebrews 11:29
By [believing] they passed through the Red sea [like as if it was dry ground.]
Suppose even the dust was flying, I don’t know.
Hebrews 11:29b
…which the Egyptians assaying to do...
Got a real Baptist’s baptism. They drowned. That’s right.
Hebrews 11:30
By [believing] the walls of Jericho [did what?] fell down.
And have you ever read that record in the Word of God? It’s so funny, you just have to sit there and laugh till your tummy hurts, that’s right. They paraded around that big wall of that city and it was 40 some feet wide. I’ve been there, I’ve seen the excavations. If I hadn’t I’d still know it from the Word. That’s right. And they parade around that big
wall, some big men, adults. Man, the people in town must have really had a laugh. Can you imagine. If they had had psychiatrist in those days, would they have had a conclusion on that one? Parade around once a day, get through, come home get in their bunk, one day is bad enough, but the Lord says do her a second day. So, the second day He takes them around there for six days, mind you. And I’ll bet those fellows inside of town were just having the biggest laugh they ever had in their life. They said those crazy, Godly people, you know. Think they’re turned on, they’re off on their rocker. Seventh day the Lord said march around seven times. But boy they hot footed around that big old wall seven times, really tremendous.
Hebrews 11:30b, 31
…the walls [of the city] of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
By [believing] the [innkeeper],…
Not harlot, that’s right; she wasn’t a little red-light district gal. The innkeeper. She was an innkeeper. Her name was Rahab.
Hebrews 11:31b
…perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies [of Israel] with peace.
She’s the only one that gave them hospitality and believed and she and her whole house was the only one that kept standing. All the rest of them went, down the drain.
Hebrews 11:32, 33
And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Who through [one thing what? believing, they] subdued kingdoms, [they] wrought righteousness, [they] obtained promises, [and they] stopped the mouths of [what?] lions.
That’s right. They threw old Daniel into the lion’s den, remember? And old Daniel simply says, Leo go lay down. [LAUGHTER] He stopped the mouths of lions. How did he stop the mouths of a lion? By believing, that’s right. And old Leo just couldn’t do a thing about it except lay down. He couldn’t have chewed him; he would have gotten indigestion, I suppose.
Hebrews 11:34
[They] quenched the violence of [what?] fire, [they] escaped the edge of [what?] the sword, out of weakness [they] were made strong, [by their what? believing, they] waxed valiant in fight,…
That’s right, one man could lick 1000, by believing.
Hebrews 11:34b, 35
…[and they] turned to flight the armies of the [what?] aliens [by believing.]
Women received…dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting [what?] deliverance;…
Could they have been delivered? As long as they did one thing, what? Believe, that’s the whole lesson. As long as they believing, they could have been delivered.
Hebrews 11:35b
…that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Which is the just, you know what happened? They just got tired of believing. So they died. Being in the just resurrection anyway. You might obtain a better resurrection; they just got tired of believing. This is what I said happens in our lives. You just have so many glorious things happen, yet you finally get to the place where you get tired of having to stand, to believe. So, death is of the devil, that’s the end of it. But boy, the next moment is the gathering together. I don’t get discouraged along that line.
Hebrews 11:36, 37
And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, [cut in the middle, they] were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins;
Do you know what that means? They sowed them up in freshly slaughtered sheepskins and goatskins and what happens when that dries? Yeah, that’s what happens to you when they put you inside one of those and sew it up. When it dries it just breaks your bones. That’s what they did to them.
Hebrews 11:37b-39
…being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
(Of whom the world was not [what?] worthy:) they wandered in deserts,…in mountains,…in dens and caves of the earth.
And these all, having obtained a good report…
Their report card still was A+. That’s a good report.
Hebrews 11:39b
…[They got their] good report through [what? believing], [yet they] received not the promise [of the fulfillment of the coming of Christ.]
But they saw his day.
Hebrews 11:40
God having provided some better thing for [what?] us…
A better thing for us; for we have seen Christ coming. We are filled with his power, we are born again of God’s spirit. We do have his gift, some better thing for us:
Hebrews 11:40b - 12:1
…that they without us, should not be made perfect.
Wherefore seeing we [for whom there is something better, Christ in you the hope of glory; seeing we also] are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,…
Who is the cloud of witnesses? We have just read their names, all the believers of the
Old Testament, who believed and by their believing wrought righteousness. Their believing is the cloud of witnesses with which we are surrounded. Are they alive? No, they are what? Dead. They are not a cloud of witnesses who are alive, they are dead. These all, what? {died.} It’s their believing that is the witness to us. Therefore, let us, because of this—
Hebrews 12:1b
…let us lay aside every weight…
We got to lay it aside, you don’t pray about it. You lay it aside.
Hebrews 12:1 continued
…every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set [what?] before us,
If they of the Old Testament could so believe and accomplish what the Word says they accomplished, then we having something better in Christ, certainly, we can walk so that we’re not weighed down. So, that we’re not beset with all kinds of sins, and we just run with patience, patience. Having done all, what? {stand.} That’s right.
Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto [whom?] Jesus…
Looking unto whom? Not unto the world situation. When you keep your eyes upon the world’s situation, you will never have believing in God for the world will beat you. As long as Peter looked up he walked on the water, when he looked at the water, he started going down. As long as you and I look at the Lord Jesus Christ and the greatness of his Word, we’re going to keep going up. But when you start looking round about you at the world’s situation and at people and you keep reading all of the newspapers and listening to all the television shows, you always go down. It will beat you people, because what you feed your mind is the only thing you can believe. And if we feed the greatness of God’s Word to our minds, you got to go up. It’s the law. You feed anything else to that mind, it’s got to go down. We only rise to the end or the degree of our believing, and our believing is conditioned by what we send to the mind.
Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our [NO, he is the author and finisher of what?] faith;…
HE is the author and finisher of it. Look what he did.
Hebrews 12:2b
…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,…
It wasn’t the joy of the cross he endured. Doesn’t say that. But the JOY that was set before him, what he could see in the future of what he could accomplish if he endured the cross.
Hebrews 12:2 continued
…the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Isn’t that tremendous? And the scripture says in Ephesians that we are already seated
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We’re already seated there. Well bless God if we’re already seated there, then we’re just looking down at the stupidity of the world, because we’re already looking from a higher altitude. That’s right. We’re seeing it from God’s redemptive point of view, what we already have in Him. That’s why this ministry and the word it represents gets people on the up and up. Now, they may trip out, but so did Abraham. There’s a man mentioned in here by the name of David, he had a night out. You see, that’s no excuse for you tripping out or for me, or having a night out, but he did. Yet, they believed God, they came back and they believed. That’s why there can be no criticism in this ministry; there can be no judgment of one man to another. But there can only be a holding forth of the Word, for it’s the Word that’s profitable for right believing, for reproof, for correction, which is instruction in righteousness. And praise the Lord when there is just one believer. Just praise the Lord.
We’ve talked this morning in the meeting that I had with the men in California and Wichita, and so forth. As long as there is one of our believers in a city, that city is blessed. I don’t care if it’s New York, as long as there is one believer there, that city is blessed because God’s there. That’s right. And we were talking this morning and boy that stuff is hot on my soul. Let’s split. That’s right. Let’s get out of Jerusalem, which means out of Way headquarters, out of Wichita, out of California, let’s start learning the Word and then as soon as you know enough of the Word that you can trust yourself with it, or God can trust you, then hit some other place where there isn’t a group and you start witnessing. Go in [groups of] four, five, six; walk down the street, slug them with the Word or do something. Then you get a half a dozen there. Then you get 40 or 50, we do a class, we start them rolling. Then they split again, we go to another city. We don’t have to be together much. All we need to do is know that we’re together in the walking of the fellowship of the greatness of the Word of our day and time. We got 100 people let’s say in Wichita, all right, kick out 75 of them. They’ve sat around or heard so much of the Word they ought to be out some other city. That’s right, keep the 25 there till you got them trained plus 75 others then kick out another 75. You know what I mean kick out, that means with love, it’s not excommunication. It’s just saying all right honey now get going. We can always find where the need is. Because wherever the people are, there is the need so we have no problem there. And this kind of thing will again be the very great power of our country. Why not talk to the governors of this state. They need the Lord. If you can’t see them, see the secretary and tell them you’re staying until you see the governor. Ain’t got anything else to do, just sit in. When he does, tell him what God’s doing. Didn’t Paul do that? Old Felix Old Festus, and boy, just talk. People, there is more believing right here and now in this place then perhaps in the entire world, outside. That’s right. More united you know, consolidated. All right, now we have to take that believing out into the world of need. And God has no hand but our hands, remember, with which to give them bread (bread of the Word). He has no feet but our feet with which to walk among the almost dead. We say that we are His and He is ours, deeds are the proof of that, not words. And these are the proving hours, right now. The hour is late. We’ve only got one life to live and one life to give. We might as well give our utmost for His highest. And not settle for that which is good when God offers us the best. And the best is God and the greatness and the wonderfulness of His Word. That’s what believing accomplishes.
[Prayer]—Father I thank you for the great night and the greatness of your Word and the greatness of your love and power; and for your goodness unto us. And for sending us and raising us up men and women, young people, boys and girls who really stand for your Word. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we just stand for the Word; come hell or high water, Father, we just stand for the Word. So I thank you for this through Christ Jesus, Amen.