Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

The Divine Rest Pt.5

Hallelujah! It's good to be in His presence, amen? Okay, let me get all the advertisements over. First of all, we want to give honor to whom honor is due. We'd just like to take a moment to thank a couple of ladies that have put a lot of hours into our children. Not just in the training from the physical standpoint, but real character. I think Stephanie and Colette have been a real example to our young ladies. Can you say "amen" to that? A lot of hours that they volunteered and put into these young ladies in basketball. Of course, they love the kids and the sport. We found out today that they were recognized and picked as the female co-coaches of the year for the National Tournament. Can you say "Praise God" for that? Amen. Now, their husbands would say they're more than the female coaches of the year. They would say they're the females of the year, but we just rejoice in that, praise God. Where is Colette? There you are. Stand up, ladies, we just want to see you. They didn't want me to embarrass them, so go ahead and stand up, praise God. Amen. Yeah, we thank the Lord for you. The NACA Female Coaches of the Year. Praise God. That's an exciting thing, and we rejoice in that. Two of our young ladies, Brookie and Charity, also were picked this year to the All American team. Praise God for that. Amen. Let's just recognize those young ladies also in that accomplishment. It was a good year, All American, national titles, Coaches of the Year. Praise God. Then there are just the rest of us. Just keep plugging along, praise God, and enjoying the presence of the Lord. A lot of good things are happening.

We were out at the gravesite today. This afternoon .they were replacing the stone for Janet that had the misspelling on it The guy that owns that company is a very interesting guy. We've been able to minister to him a couple of times. He said, "Who are you people? What kind of Christians are you?" He said, "Well, that's probably not the right thing." I said, "Well, we're Pentecostals." I said, "We believe in the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The power of God is real today. We believe in miracles. We believe in a God that answers prayer. It's alive in our lives." He was still kind of looking at me and I gave him one of my favorite phrases. I said, "We're like Baptists on steroids." He goes, "Oh, okay." I said, "But, you know, we're a people that are doers of the Word." He said, "You mean like in James?" I said, "Yeah." I said, "Faith without works is dead." He said, "I believe that." He started telling me about his little girl. He said, "I asked my daughter the other day--she's five years old. I said, what's the purpose of life?" This guy's desperate for information, I guess. No, he's actually a pretty sharp individual. He asked his little five-year old, he said, "What's the purpose of life?" The little girl looked at him and said, "To die and go home to be with Jesus." That's pretty good. I guess mom's not a believer because the little girl said, "Mama, what's your favorite color?" She told her. She said, "Wrong color. It should be red, the color of the blood of Jesus." I don't know what he really is--I think he's one of those guys that is not necessarily in a church. I began to just share some more Scripture and quote some Scripture. I made a comment to him about how I got saved. He said, "I remember that testimony." He said, "You've got a great testimony." I mean, this has been a while, and this guy remembered the testimony that we'd shared with him. I shared with him how I'd gotten born again, and we were just sharing back and forth. You just never know whose life you're sowing into, amen? It's an exciting thing. It's a great opportunity just to share the Lord.

A little letter here--you don't always see the results immediately. Sometimes you don't even know who you're influencing. We got an interesting email the other day. "Dear Pastor Scott, I got saved in 1981 in jail. I received tapes. Another inmate brought tapes of yours, and I spent over 600 hours listening to your teachings back in 1982. I was brought up in a Lutheran church and went to jail at age 24. I'd been on drugs ten years, since I was fourteen. I couldn't even remember the Lord's Prayer. The U.S. prosecuting attorney told the judge that I was so burned out from drugs that there would be no chance of my rehabilitation. Having been released in May of '84 . . ." He said, "I listened to your tapes from 1982 to 1984. I was released in 1984. I became involved in an Assembly of God church in Fargo, North Dakota and Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship. I started a painting business and got married in 1985. I started an evangelistic outreach association in 1994, and have seen over a thousand people healed and many saved. The Lord's led me recently to start an inner city church in Fargo with my pastor's blessing. I've been totally drug-free since December 15, 1981. I don't know words to express the value of time I spent in jail. I was blessed to only have an hour and a half of work each day Monday through Friday. The rest of my time was spent seeking Him and listening to your tapes. I learned how to fast, and I learned how to pray, and I learned how to grow in the Lord. The foundation that the Lord put in me is from your teaching and has kept me accurate and free. Though I've never met you, thank you for being a father in the faith to me. I have an awesome respect for the labor of love you have for the Lord, and the laying down of your life has changed mine. Thank you for going the distance for me. In His presence, Pastor Jim." 1982, and finally you hear the testimony. That's exciting, amen? All these years later, the guy says, "By the way, you changed my life." Praise God. You never know, amen? That's because of your faithfulness.

Richard told me that we have a minimum of a quarter of a million of our teaching tapes circulating in the world. We hear from people that are listening to our tapes all over the world. You've been faithful, praise God. Your faithfulness to be here, your faithfulness to give, your faithfulness to pray, allows this to happen. Who knows what's going on that we haven't heard from yet, amen? That's exciting, praise God. You cast your bread upon the waters, and after many days it returns. I just encourage you, whoever you're witnessing to you may not see it immediately. Twenty-two years later someone may walk up, say, "Hey, by the way, my life's been changed, praise God." These are some exciting times that we're living in, some exciting things that are going on, so be prayerful and share, and just scatter the seed, praise God. What if it's one of the young people that this gentleman reaches that the Lord can use in these last days? Who knows who it's going to be? It's exciting that we've been able to all be a part and to share in that, praise God. We just want to encourage you to continue to pray.

We've been talking about the divine rest. We've seen the mandate that's been given us that there's a labor involved to enter into the rest. We've seen the promise that there is a rest for the people of God. We see the method of entering in. We see the promise that there is a rest to be apprehended. Then we've been talking a little bit about the necessity, why we need to learn how to rest.

We saw in Hebrews then, Chapter 3 verse 12, that the reason we need to learn to rest is so that we don't have evil hearts of, say it, "unbelief." The evil heart of unbelief, we said, was that the Word spoken, the Word promised, was not mixed with, say it, "faith." The promise was not acted upon. As I shared with that gentleman today, faith without works is dead. The rest, then, is the obedience to the promises of God. The children of Israel were robbed of the rest of God because they were hanging out with the wrong folks. Now, the Scripture makes it very clear to us in Hebrews 6, verse 12, the Scripture says we're to be followers of those who through faith and patience are inheriting the promises of God. Most of you know that Scripture. Get it in your notes, Hebrews 6:12. "Be followers of those who through faith and patience are inheriting the promises of God." Who are you hanging out with? People that are resting or people that are anxious and fearful?

You see, the problem with the children of Israel was not that they hadn't heard from God. The problem with the children of Israel was that they heard from God, but they listened to their friends. Now, what do we call that? The Scripture makes it very clear. They couldn't enter in because of their evil hearts of say it, "unbelief." The Bible told us that they were busy murmuring. Now, what was that underlying current that was going on? What was the murmuring that was taking place? There are giants in the land. There are walled cities. You know what the problem was? In that group of people that were being brought out of Egypt that were going into the promised land, close to three million when you look at women and children. Within this group we have the typical cross-section of humanity, and I'm sure that in that group we had some military experts that were sizing up the military capabilities of those that were in this land and said, "We're not able to deal with the proficiency of their warfare. We're no match for the devil. Our flesh can't stand up to it. All humans fail. There's no way that we're capable of fighting the enemy and winning over our flesh." I'm sure that they had engineers and physicists who said, "You know, you have to understand something. Those walls aren't coming down. Do you understand the density of that stone?" I'm sure that they had people that were just kind of pacifists that said, "Hey, look; this is their land. Who are we?" A cross-section of unbelievers, because the fact of the matter was, God said, "I'm giving you a land that flows with milk and honey." Amen?

Let's put it to where we're living today. "I'm giving you a land. I'm giving you a promise. I'm giving you all things that pertain to life and godliness. I'm giving you a promise. No weapon formed against you will prosper." Can you say "Praise God" for that? "I'm giving you a promise. I'm giving you all power and all authority over [How much?] all the power of the devil?" How many of you believe that tonight? Then there are people that are going to tell us, "Well, yeah, but you know, you need to watch out for this, and you need to prepare for that. You need to invest here, and you need to go see this psychologist. You need to go see this financial advisor, and you need to run down there and join Miss Fixit's Family Solving Brigade." It's everything but the Word of God and the promises of God. Be followers of those who through herbs and exercise inherit the promises of God. There is nothing wrong with herbs or exercising. What is it that burns in your heart? Is it the newest method of man? Is it the new science? What is it that causes your heart to leap in you? Is it a testimony about somebody being healed in the name of Jesus or some new laser surgery? Where is the excitement?

We like the contentment, praise God, of all of the bounty that God wants to give us. There's nothing wrong with abundance. He wants to give us abundance. He said, "But when you go into the land, and you partake of the abundance and you eat of those things, the trees that you didn't plant, drink from the wells you didn't dig, you live in houses that you didn't build, be careful [because the tendency going to be what?]. You're going to forget the Lord." (Deuteronomy 8:12-14).

I've shared many times, and you all have experienced the same thing. The abundance is nice, and we've lived in abundance and God has blessed us in these recent years, but, oh, the exciting stories of the angelic messengers and the walk of faith and the dependence of "give us this day our daily bread." You know that when you eat, when you put that morsel in your mouth, you know God gave that to you. Is that exciting?

When it becomes normative, it's no longer frightening. It's just as easy as going to the cupboard with all the abundance that you and I have. We need to learn to walk back into that rest and that assurance to where, whether the cupboards are full or not, you see them full because your God supplies all of your needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19), amen? Faith calls things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). "I'm eating today, praise God." "Yeah, but things aren't looking good." "I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor His seed begging bread (Psalm 37:35), praise God." Man shall not live--command those stones to be turned into bread. "Man shall not live by [natural] bread but [by the bread of life], by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the living God" (Matthew 4:3).

Would you rather have a loaf of bread or the promise as your reality? Men and women of faith. How far have we come from that in our society? How far have we strayed from that walk in the Spirit, the life in the supernatural, the divine rest, to where we trust in our abundance? When it begins to wane, fear begins to grip our hearts. "Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). Where's the provision going to come from? I don't know. The Lord is going to provide. We shake ourselves back into our relationship with Jehovah Jireh. We'd like to say we've been trusting in Him, but we've just been trusting in our own abilities. We say God's blessed us, but our trust is not really in the Lord. It's in the abundance, the bounty.

What kind of people are we going to be when that's gone? What kind of people are we going to be when we're scattered and, as we're going to see in the Scriptures, covering ourselves with animal skins and living in the caves? Will there be just as much trust, a hope, a boast, a thanksgiving, in those circumstances, as there are in this day that we're living in? You see, people of faith are never changed by the circumstances. Men and women of faith aren't changed by the circumstances. God's the same in every situation. Our God will deliver us, and even if He doesn't, we will not bow. We will not serve your God. He will, and even if He doesn't, we're not going your way, praise God. This is that divine rest that we so desperately need in this hour.

We're coming into a day when pressure is going to be put on us. I don't believe that little skit that was done here the other night is way out. Just a couple of decisions, just a couple of executive orders, congressional mandates, to bring about that unity and that peace, so there is no strife between Islam and Christianity and Judaism. We're just not going--you've already seen it, beloved. What makes you think it's not going to happen as it pertains to the name of Jesus? They've already told you that you can't talk about certain races in a derogatory manner. They've told you that you can't talk about sexual preferences in a derogatory manner. It's interesting how things go. There are certain racial slurs that you can't make or anything, but redneck isn't one of them. Rednecks are open season. It's open season on rednecks. You can get rich making a redneck record. Right? Was it rednecks the term they used? You might be a...was it redneck? You might be a redneck if. Is that how it went? You know, if your family just has one sprig; if the richest member in your family's house doesn't have wheels. I guess it's okay to talk about them if you are one, huh? That's my roots, I'm glad I got dug up.

It's against the law to talk against homosexuals. I want to tell you something. It's against the law. It's against the law to speak about them derogatorily in churches. They're not coming to shut churches down yet for doing it, but it's against the law to say that homosexuals are an abomination to God and that they ought to be killed, so I can't say that. The Word says it, so I will say it, amen? How far away are we in this politically correct society in which we live to where that name of Jesus will no longer be tolerated? It will not be spoken in public. You can talk about God. You can talk about a generic God, but you will not speak in that name. Does that mean that the Muslims can't talk about Mohammed? No, they can talk about Mohammed, you just can't talk about Jesus. Well, that's not fair. It's not going to be fair. You see, the name Mohammed doesn't offend anyone because Mohammed has no power.

I was out at the cemetery today as I told you. They were fixing the thing, so I had just cleaned the Mercedes up because we're selling it. It's going to be advertised in the paper this weekend, so be prayerful. Pray that the Lord will sell that thing quickly, or if you want to buy it, contact me. Love to sell it this weekend and have that taken care of. We'd cleaned it up, and Kimberly called me and said, "They're doing the work out here." I drove immediately out there, and I parked the Mercedes across the street from where the memorial is and they're having this Muslim funeral because the Muslims are across the street from us. They're on the other side of the tracks. I parked on that side of the road, and way over here is where they had a hole dug and they were going to have a funeral. I mean, way over there, and I parked right across from where our spot was here.

They have a strange thing. When they take their coffin out, they have to point it toward the East like they do with their rug. They bring the hearse up, and they bring this thing out. They have like almost a quarter of an acre, and in this whole thing, they're carrying this wooden box up there, and they're walking along, and they come up, and they set it down three feet from my car pointing East. A little Muslim guy, I don't know what he's called, he gets between the box and the Mercedes. I mean, now he's almost touching the thing, and all of the other guys are on the other side. I wished I'd had a picture because all these guys are standing there looking at the Mercedes and they're all chanting. I thought, "This is appropriate. Idols, man, these guys bowing down." It would have made a great Mercedes commercial. They have no power. There's no authority in the name of Mohammed, but just bring up the name of Jesus and people get offended. Makes people mad! There's only one name under Heaven given whereby men can be saved, not the United States, not Southern Baptist, not Calvary Temple. One name, Jesus; it's above every name, praise God.

"At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He's Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11). Don't you talk about that name. If you do, we're going to beat you. They beat them, and they went away rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for His name's sake, amen? Do you have the rest? Do you understand where we are as this peculiar people? We can't relate to the world. We have no allies. There is no one that identifies with us. We are a unique people. We are a minority. We are a peculiar people. Can you rest in that, or do you need to be accepted by the masses? Do you need to be approved by the secular or the established religions, the state church? Let's call it what the Bible calls it, the apostate religious system, the great whore. Are you at rest to walk separately with the risen carpenter, the Son of God? You see, if the footmen weary us, how are we going to contend with the horses, the chariots, the things that are to come?

You've already had to deal some in our society with the discipline of our children. The state says the children belong to them, the Bible says the children belong to the parents. I do not recognize the state's authority. What could it end up costing you? "Well, I just don't discipline the children in public because. . ." They'll figure that out. You'd better get them disciplined enough before you go into public where they don't act up, amen? Can you guide your children with your eye? I could guide mine when they were younger. I tell you what. I'd just look at them. I could move them from there to there just eyeing them. What are you going to do? "Well, if something did happen, I don't think I could...we shouldn't really respond publicly, right?" I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you this, let God be true and every man a liar. "What if I swat them and somebody like these freaks that are out there call the police?" That would be bad. What if you swat them and God blinds their eyes so they don't see it? Are you moving in faith? How about if they pick up the phone and He strikes them down? How about if He strikes them with blindness? How supernatural are we going to begin to walk so we don't cave in to the world and fear what man can do unto us, to believe God to protect us? Even if He doesn't, we won't serve your gods, amen?

We got through the three Hebrew children. What about Daniel? Daniel was cool. You remember when Daniel was the leader of those guys, and he had purposed in his heart not to defile himself and the other young men followed his example? Be followers of those who through faith and patience, say it, "inherit the promises of God." Daniel was the leader. Those three guys were following him. Daniel said, "I purposed in my heart not to defile myself." Those three guys said, "Amen" and God delivered them. Amen?

God made them princes and raised them up and put them in positions of prominence. Everything is going great, praise God, and then came the image and they wouldn't bow their knee. They made a choice to believe God, and God delivered them, praise God, and not even a smell of smoke upon their garments. Now, it's Daniel's turn. The king of Babylon is gone, and Darius is now raised up into a position of prominence, and Daniel gets favor in the eyes of this king because of his character. Chapter 6 in Daniel begins to give us some information as to the trial that he's getting ready to enter in. Darius set up in the kingdom 120 princes and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was the first. Daniel, who wouldn't eat the king's dainties. Daniel, who lived off of the pulse and was ten times wiser than anything that the world could produce.

Chapter 6, verse 3, "Then this Daniel was preferred above the [other two] presidents and [all of the] princes, because an excellent spirit was in Him." There were those that could not enter into the promised land because of unbelief, evil hearts of unbelief, but then there was another guy that had a different spirit. He had another spirit in him. Don't you want to hang out with Caleb? I want to find me a Caleb, praise God. I want to find a guy who's not always emphasizing giants but emphasizing "we are well able," praise God. Let's go take the land, amen? Who are you hanging with? The guy with the latest herb recipe or someone who says, "Let's pray and believe God. Let's study the Word of God. Let's get back to where the prayer of faith is the first thing that we pursue in our lives. Let's come to the place where we begin to walk by faith again and not by sight." Be followers of those who through faith and patience. He had an excellent spirit in him, "...and the king thought to set him over the whole realm."

Now, what does that do? When he's going to be promoted, what does that create in the hearts of everybody around him? Now jealousy comes in. These other presidents say, "We can't have this, man; this guy's infringing on our place. He's trying to put himself forward." Moses was accused of putting himself forward. Daniel's going to be accused of putting himself forward, and it was God exalting these men because of their humility. It will always create a jealousy, and it will always create a desire to destroy you and we need to come to the place where we'll believe God for our perseverance and preservation.

The presidents and the princes said we have to find occasion against Daniel, verse 4, but they could find none. ". . . forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him." Praise God! What a testimony! A lot of us want God to preserve us without having testimonies that deserve it, that are worth preserving, to where men could see our good works and glorify our Father which is in Heaven. You have to be producing some fruit, and if you do, God will begin to move you to positions of prominence. He'll preserve you, praise God, for His own glory, for His own purposes, not yours.

He was a faithful man. There was no occasion. These guys said, "You know what the deal is here, [verse 5], there is no way we're going to find occasion against this guy." Now, watch, "...except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." Wouldn't you love to be known for someone who was so true to the law of God that they said, "You know what? If we set something up that would make this guy have to choose between his own life, between prosperity, between life and death or the Word of God, he's going to choose the Word of God." Wouldn't you like to have that kind of a reputation? That's who Daniel was. The divine rest, laboring to enter into the rest, studying to show ourselves approved unto God, a reputation. I want to tell you something. That guy's going to do the Word of God. You know what? We can use that against him. I tell you what. The people that have been trying to destroy me for years, they know very well how I'm going to respond to any given situation. The day is going to come when we're going to face something like this. They're pretty sure that if we're put into a corner, we're going to choose the Word of God and it will be turned on us.

What are we going to do? We have to find occasion against him. You all know the story, how they went ahead and they went to the king, and they praised the king. They said, "Ah, King, you're so worthy, and you're so great. You know what you need? We just want to honor you, and so why don't we do this? For 30 days, there can be no petitions made to any other gods but you. There can't anybody be requesting anything from any authorities, from any gods. You're the man!" They know what to play to, don't they? You da man! He says, "You know, I am." Verse 10, Then these men assembled, "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed...."

You remember, they had the king seal it in that--it's interesting if you study a little bit you'll see historically that there were different mandates that were made within the kingdom, but when there was a certain decree that was made that it was after the law of the Medes and the Persians. There was a higher law, and when that stamp was put on something, it was irreversible. There were lower legislative mandates that could be changed and pardons that could be made, but when this seal went on it, it was irreversible. That's what they got him to sign.

When Daniel knew that it had been signed in that manner, not that there would be a court of appeal, not that there could be some type of pardon, but he knew it was absolutely irreversible. Daniel knew. The dude was in charge of the country. He knew what it meant. "...that the writing was signed, he went into his house; [and said, 'God will understand if I don't pray for 30 days in public. I'll find some places. I'll sneak off somewhere, and I'll pray silently. The Lord can hear silent prayers, I'll just bow my head.'] and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." When do we change because the laws have changed? Have you entered into the rest? Like Daniel, have you purposed in your heart that you would not be defiled with the world's methodology, with their meats?

"Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God." Do your enemies know where to find you? Do they know how you're going to respond, or is the verdict still out? You see, when you purpose in your heart, one thing is going to happen. Now, it's not going to go away forever, but I'll tell you one thing. Many of you that have the different trials and stuff, I'll tell you one way to get some rest, and that's to purpose in your heart. "And Satan left Him for a season after the temptations because He had purposed in His heart" (Luke 4:12). He knew there was no place to be found in Him, to get a hold of. He had to step back. The devil stepped back, just like he did in the time of Job. He stepped back, said, "I'm going to have to stand around and wait until God takes His hand off of him because I can't touch him right now."

Are you looking for that place? How safe is it when God says, "Go ahead and touch him?" Well, it can't be too safe. Look at the tragedy that the guy went through. There is no safer place than to know that what's happening around you cannot be happening unless God is permitting it. Satan has no power over me. I have all power and all authority over him, praise God. There was a messenger of Satan that's been sent to buffet me. He's beating the tar out of me. My faith, I just feel like I don't have any faith. Nothing's happening when I pray. I'm anxious. I'm fearful. I'm in pain. I sought God on this thing. I mean, I've prayed and seen the dead raised, praise God. I've watched blind eyes open. I've seen God's hand. Now, it's like the heavens are brass, and I sought God three times concerning this messenger from Satan. And God said, what? "My rest is sufficient for you. Paul, you've seen me show my hand and my power. You've watched me drive the enemy out. You've encountered my holiness to when I blinded you with my excellent glory. I filled you with my Spirit. You know there's nothing too hard for me" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

Can you rest when you can't explain why? Can you rest when you'd rather have the cup pass from you and say, "Not my will, but Your will be done." That can only be said in grace, man. The rest--that can only be said when you've sweat drops of blood, when you walk with a limp after wrestling with God, when you've offered your promise up on Mount Moriah and God sends you His sacrifice. That's why we count it all joy in the trials, beloved. We're learning that principle. We're learning all of those things that, that great cloud of witnesses that went before us has proven the faithfulness of God. This is on us, not because we're being overcome, not because God's deserted us, but because God's in control, praise God. Can you rest? Can you throw the windows open and pray knowing the consequences?

The king, verse 14, was sore displeased with himself. He liked Daniel. He knew he was a man of God. He tried to deliver him and labored until the going down of the sun to deliver him. Pilate tried to deliver Jesus. If you're a faithful man, your life's going to affect others. We are epistles that are read of men. Listen to this king. Listen to this pagan king. Daniel, I tried, man. The law of the Medes and Persians is irrevocable, verse 16, and the king said, ". . . thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." He's even got them speaking in faith, praise God. Amen? There's a rest to the people of God. That living Word that pierces and divides asunder soul and spirit, is a discerner of the thoughts and the intentions of the heart of God. "And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet [verse 17] . . . that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting . . . [No merriment. This was a guy that was supposed to be being worshipped. This whole thing is because he was the man!] . . . and his sleep went from him." I think Daniel slept real well, praise God. We've talked about that before. I can just see him, man, just fluffing up one of those lions for a pillow.

I love the explanations of the skeptics. They'll say that Daniel didn't get attacked because somebody had snuck in just prior to him being cast in and fed the lions, and they were gorged and couldn't eat anything. They ate the guys that got thrown in here in just a few minutes. Amen? "The children of Israel didn't cross the Red Sea it was a misinterpretation in the Hebrew. They crossed the Reed Sea. It was just a little area that was near the Red Sea, but it was just marsh and it was kind of dry that time of the year. There was some wind that rippled across and kind of let them see where to step and so they were able to cross the Reed Sea and it wasn't any great miracle." It was a great miracle! All of Pharaoh's army drowned in an inch of water, praise God. You can't explain it away, amen? The explanations are harder to believe than the miracles.

"Then the king arose [verse 19] very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. [Dude hadn't slept all night] And when he came to the den he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel.O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually . . . [Don't you like that phrase--whom thou servest continually. This dude wasn't a Sunday morning Christian like the gentleman I spoke to today. He knew about James. "You mean like James?" "Yeah." We're doers of the Word not hearers. Faith without works is dead being alone. I told this guy, "We're doers of the Word. We serve our God continually."] ...able to deliver thee...? Then Daniel said unto the king...My God hath sent his angel [The fourth man in the furnace. You're never alone, beloved. He will not leave us nor forsake us. Can you say "Praise God" for the fourth man, the angel of the Lord? Was this a theophany? I don't know. I believe it was. Was it the angel of the Lord, Michael, the warrior? Possibly; it doesn't make any difference to me. We got delivered, amen?] and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him [Now, this whole teaching--remember, we talked about the rest, and we've talked about the Garden of Eden. We said we need to return to a spirit of what?-innocence, childlike faith, absolute dependence upon God and nothing from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, nothing of self-sufficiency. His angel has delivered me. His angel has shut their mouths because] innocency was found in me . . ."

They took him forth, verse 23, "and no manner of hurt was found upon him." No smell of smoke upon their garments because he believed in his God. Our God will, and even if He doesn't, we're not bowing our knee, king. We're not worshipping your idols, we're not going your way. I'm not bowing to you, devil. My God is able. My God will heal my body. My God will deliver my child from the power of drugs, from the power of the lust of the flesh. My God will deliver me from the spirit of fear, from this torment. I'm not bowing my knee to you, devil. I'm resisting you in the name of Jesus, and even if He doesn't, His grace is sufficient for me. Even if that messenger of Satan continues to buffet away, His grace is sufficient for me. If everything I have is gone, His grace is sufficient for me. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Do you have that rest? As we battled through those years with Janet, many years of sickness, she was such a strength to me. Her life such a testimony. It just humbled you. As God delivered her 12 years ago, we rejoiced in that and never thought that we would have to go through that again. For this last incident, and for her to just be gone in months, and the one thing that I wrestled with, and the one thing that I feared, who am I going to be without her? His grace is sufficient, praise God. I thought God was going to heal her. I expected it. I'd seen it too many times before not to expect it, not only in her life but in others by the thousands. I shared the testimony with you as she went home, and as I wrestled with God, I said, "What good is it? I've laid these hands on thousands of people and watched them be healed, and now I'm powerless." God told me that, He said, "You'll never know power like you're going to know it until you find out that it's not in you, it's in Me. When you learn the power of rest, when you learn the power of my grace, when you learn how to die to yourself, when you learn how to become totally dependent upon Me, you're going to move into another realm that you've never known anything about."

I'm looking forward to what's ahead, praise God. I'm looking forward to what God can do through me with me out of the way. We saw some good stuff with me stumbling around staying in the way. I think God's going to do some great things. I keep having these periodic resurrections that He's got to kill me again, but other than that, I'm excited.

What are you battling right now? What are you afraid of losing? The one thing that I feared to lose, I lost, and His grace is sufficient, praise God. It's for His glory, it's about His name. It's through His methods. It's through His wisdom. It's His sovereignty. He does good. The Judge of all the earth does right. He gives and He takes, blessed be His name. Will I justify myself, or will I justify my God? There's a rest. Not to the place of Catherine Kuhlman by any means, and I don't know if I've ever shared this publicly before, but I used to hate those miracle rallies. I would get physically ill. I was so afraid that God wouldn't show up. It's good to be free, praise God, and to be at rest. Maybe somewhere here in the future, He's going to really be able to use me, if we can just learn to rest. If the treasure is just solely His presence and His glory, or as a little five-year old said, "If I can just learn how to die and go home and be with Jesus." No manner of hurt because he believed in his God.

Father, make that real to us, we ask in Jesus' name. Cause our hearts to trust solely in You. Bring us back to that innocency to where we don't believe and have faith in our faith but have faith in our God, not faith in our ability, faith in our God, faith in His call, faith in His purpose, faith in His wisdom when it's beyond our understanding. Faithfulness to finish the course and say, "Though He slay me, I'm going to praise Him. I'm going to serve Him."

Have you purposed, "Though He slay me, if nothing ever goes the way I hope again, I will serve Him, I will praise Him, I will say He does right, I will not allow the circumstances to dictate my worship of my God, the rest that belongs to the children"?

Let's stand before Him tonight. As Gary plays for us, we'll take a moment and just rejoice in the presence of God and in His promises. No weapon formed is going to prosper. The fiery furnace won't prosper against you. The fiery darts will not strike your liver. Young people, put on the armor of God, and that fiery dart of Proverbs will not strike your liver. You won't be taken by her eyes.

Someone who's left our fellowship recently, one of the greatest advocates against us, organizing meetings to try to bring this ministry down because we're "a cult and trying to destroy and control people's lives and not give them the liberty to seek God on their own and work out their own salvation" was just used of the enemy to bring one of the local pastors down into sin and in adultery; fled to California, has come back to try to get one of their children. All of that's bad, but not as bad as this. Listen. Heaping teachers to themselves having itching ears, deceiving and being deceived, believing a lie. Their doctrine is this: "We're not in adultery. The Bible says that what God has joined let no man put asunder. Man didn't put us asunder, God did. He called us together to start a ministry. This adultery is of God. This is the will of God. This is God. It's above the Word. It's special revelation." Someone who sat here and was taught for years.

When you don't do this Word, you're going to forget what manner of man you are. There's a rest to be entered, beloved, the rest of obedience. It's a rest of death to self-will. You want to know this person's testimony when they left this fellowship? "I've never been closer to God. I'm finally free from any type of interference in my life. I'm walking in the Spirit." Yeah, that was a spirit.

The wife of this pastor called this ministry and said, "I can't believe this. What was the involvement there at your church?" Now, see, this ministry never called us when these people went there and asked for--we called them and said, "You better watch out for these folks." "Was that happening with you at your church?" One of our pastors said, "No, because our pastor won't allow any of us to counsel women alone. We take our wives with us or a deacon." Another spirit, a jealousy for the integrity and the holiness of God, a biblical recognition of the power of the flesh, to where you give no place to it. Not fear, but an awareness of its power. You can't take fire in your bosom and not be burned, so don't take it into your bosom. A rest, a defection from the world system and wisdom into the innocence of absolute obedience to the Word of God. It's the hour we're living in, beloved. If iniquity's going to abound, then how much more should our effort to be free from it abound?

"The greatest thing in all my life is loving You." If you love Him with all your heart, if you're yoked to Him, you'll find the rest. Let's just sing this as we close for tonight. Let Him know how much you love Him. Just slip your hands up for a moment. Tell Him you love Him tonight. Just thank Him for His Word that's working in your life. Thank Him for the Spirit that lives in you. Thank Him for the promise that He'll never leave you. Thank Him for the angels that have been given charge over you and yours, that you don't have to fear. The state of the economy doesn't affect the promises of God. The conditions of the nations don't affect the promises of God. The threatening of the devil doesn't affect the promises of God. If God's for you, who can be against you? I give you power and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall harm you. Father, we thank you for that promise in Jesus' name. Amen.

Before you go, turn to somebody next to you, say, "I'm at rest, praise God." Amen. Go in peace, God's love go with you.

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