The Spirit of God—The Word of God

Fred Coulter—March 20, 2011

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Now for the New International Version, someone came up with probably a very appropriate title—'the new incorrect version.' However, God makes sure that there is enough information in every Bible that people can repent. But in order to grow in grace and knowledge, in order to grow in the understanding so we can, through the Holy Spirit of God, attain to the first resurrection, now that's a whole other different aspect of it. As God looks down on the earth and His churches, He sees everything there is in the world. There are people God is dealing with we don't know anything about. Some of them can get in contact with us because of the Internet today. And one thing about the Internet in spreading the Word, having everything on the websites, and so forth, is this: it's there twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

On the Internet there's the good, the bad, the ugly. There's the righteous, the lukewarm and the sinful. But what it has to be is this: We have to choose the Truth. That's what's important. And that's what everything that we have done concerning what we are doing, concerning the books that we publish, concerning the Bible that we have published. It's not because we think we are anything great. It's not because I have set myself out to do it, because, 'Oh, yes, I'm God's gift for this, or that, or the other.' No, I'm just thankful to be alive and thankful to be able to know and understand the Word of God. If I've been taught certain things and have learned certain things, I better apply it. God expects us to use what we learn—isn't that correct? All of us!Yes!

• Now we live in an age where all the information is there.
• Now we live in a time where you can prove the Truth as never before.
• Now we live in a time where the errors can be exposed as never before.

Let's get into the Word of God and the Spirit of God. These things have happened in the past, but now we're dealing in a situation where all the things can be proved. The Truth can be separated from the error or the other way around, you can separate the error out of the Truth. Let's look at how we need to view the Word of God, because this is important. I guarantee you one thing, all of those on the committee to do the translating, are doing the bidding of the Roman Catholic Church, because Rupert Murdoch owns Zondervan Publishing and Fox News television, Fox Radio Network and the Wall Street Journal, and he's a big-time Catholic. The Catholics are not going to come in and say, 'We're going to destroy you.' They are going to say, 'We need to have common ground so that we can reach more people.' So that is the basis of the translation of the New International Version. I'm going to get a copy of it and I'm going to read certain critical verses. We are going to find all of their errors. I'm sure other people will be doing it as well. We're not the only ones in the world that know the Truth.

Hopefully, we're faithful to the Truth so God can grant us more Truth. There are many who have lots of the Truth, but the problem is when you let a little leaven into the Truth. 'A little leaven leavens the whole lump'—isn't that correct? You view the seven churches there in Rev. 2 and 3 and what do you find? You find problems with every one of the churches, except the Church of Smyrna where they suffered persecution and the Church of Philadelphia because they were faithful to the Word of God.

Let me just mention a little bit about the Laodiceans. Let's just all admit we've been Laodiceans from day one. The only difference between us Laodiceans, hopefully, and the other Laodiceans is we're not complacent and lukewarm anymore, we've repented and we're zealous. Now if we accept that as truth and what our condition really is, then I think we will grow in grace and knowledge and understanding that God wants us to have. He wants His Truth proclaimed.

Here's what they're doing out there with the Word of God, even in the Churches of God. 2-Corinthians 2:17: "For we are not like the many... [remember, they had that problem during the days of Paul] ...who for their own profit are corrupting the Word of God..." That can apply in many different ways: For their own profit to increase tithes and offering; to become whatever they want to become. The only true profit comes if you're yielded to God, and the only true profit comes if you take your talents and your pounds and you multiply them as God wants you to through the Spirit of God, but not for your own profit.

What do you think Zondervan is looking to in publishing the New International Version, the new New International Version? Money! Profits! Bringing all worldly Christianity together. Hmmm? That's why there's the dividing line of

• the Sabbath
• the Passover
• the Holy Days

That's where God makes the division. Jesus said, 'If you love Me, keep the commandments, namely My commandments.' That's the dividing line. Then add into that the mix of:

• Do you love the Word of God?
• Do you love the Truth of God?
• Do you live by the Truth of God?

Yes, we're weak and human and have sin, that's true. That's why we repent. That's why the model prayer for everyday is, 'Forgive us our sins as we forgive others their sins.' Everyday! Notice what Paul said here. "...but we speak with sincerity, as from God, and before God, and in Christ" (v 17). That's how the Word of God needs to be presented everywhere.

Every minister everywhere who professes the name of Christ has to do that. Unfortunately, they don't do that. They'd rather please the feminists and the homosexuals. They'd rather have an ecumenical movement. That's why to be in the Church of God and understand the Truth is a calling of God and you have to answer that call. It's not going to be because men get together and decide what to do. God isn't there.

Always remember this: In the multitude of counsel, there is wisdom—only if your counselors are wise and love the Truth—right? All you have to do is just take that and apply it to Washington, D.L.C. Do you know what Washington, D.L.C. is? Washington, the District of Liars and Corruption.

What's happening in government? There are some back there trying to do the truth, but they get beat up every day—don't they? 'Oh, we can add 28% increase to the government spending, but if cut a nickel you're going to lose jobs.' God has given them over to a spirit of stupidity. So everything they try and do isn't going to work out. Now if you don't believe that is true, just watch what happens with our President and what he does and where he goes and you'll see that's true as can be.

Here's how the Apostle Paul looked at his ministry. Remember, whoever is a minister and elder it has to be the Truth, the Truth,the Truth! And what is that even Rush Limbaugh says, 'It is the pursuit of the truth.' What he's saying is true, but we need the pursuit of the Truth of God, with the Spirit of God.

Here's what he says, 2-Corinthians 4:1: "Therefore, having this ministry, according as we have received mercy, we are not fainthearted." No! Regardless of the trial and difficulty, the trouble you may go through, don't get fainthearted and give up. If you get discouraged of your circumstances, you read 2-Cor. 11 and what Paul went through, everything he went through. We suffer if our thermostat goes out and its 22-degrees outside—right? "Ooh, it's hard to take.' Try a night and day in the deep. Try being beaten five times with forty stripes. How would your back feel? Plus all the other things that he went through. Paul was literally one man against the world, with a few helpers, and that was it. Yet, God used him to write, counting what Luke wrote with him in the book of Acts, 60% of the New Testament—one man. And only eight wrote the New Testament. We'll see about those men. How important that was. There are those men that are truthful and honest and yielded to God to handle the Word of God the way that it should be. And hopefully, brethren, that needs to be all of us—right? Yes!

Verse 2: "For we have personally renounced the hidden things of dishonest gain... [Or dishonest twisting of the Word of God.] ...not walking in cunning craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully..." That's what the world does. 'Oh, everyone, we're here on the Lord's Day today. Bless the Lord.' I'm going to give you a sermon this afternoon to show you that that is lawless righteousness. You understand that term? That's a contradiction in terms. They don't believe in the law of God, so they keep Sunday and when you change the day, you're cut off from God in degree.

Now if you use some of the Word of God that sounds authentic. But let me tell you why Christianity in the world is coming apart: because there is no spiritual substance left. And unfortunately in some of the Church of God it's the same way. So this is not an attack upon the Church of God, this is plea—will you open your eyes, like the plea that Christ gave to the Laodiceans. Use some 'eye salve,' put on the garments that you may see, that you may be righteous and repent and be zealous! Return to God because He's longsuffering. Don't handle the Word of God deceitfully.

"...but by manifestation of the Truth... [So you're going to hear me say the Truth, the Truth, all the way through here because that's what it's about.] ...we are commending ourselves to every man's conscience before God. But if our gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing; In whom the god of this world... [or this age, Satan the devil] ...has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (vs 2-4).

Let's come back here to Isaiah 29 for just a minute and let's see how the Word of God is to them. Now we know that God says in Isa. 28 that it's 'line upon line, precept upon precept, a little here and a little there,' and you have to 'rightly divide' the Word of God.

So here's what has happened and is going to happen again. Because if you don't love the Truth—and remember, what did Jesus say about Himself? 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me.' So you've got to go through Christ and the Father has to draw you. All those things have to be. What happens if you don't love the Truth? If you don't love the Truth (2-Thess. 2) you are given over to believing lies! Always remember this: People believe lies with the same fervor that you believe the Truth.

Isaiah 29:11: "And the vision of all has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed... [that's what the Bible is to them] ...which they give to one who is learned saying, 'Please read this,' and he says, 'I cannot, for it is sealed.'" And how many say, 'We can't understand the book of Revelation. We can't understand this or that. We don't need the Old Testament. We don't need the Gospels because Jesus was a minister for the circumcision, so therefore that was just for the Jews. It's not for us Gentiles.' There are people who believe that! So, they narrow the Bible down to just a little bit. You say, 'Okay, here's a prophecy in Isaiah. Read it and tell me what it means.' I don't know!

Verse 12: "And the book is delivered to him who is not learned, saying, 'Please read this,' and he says, 'I am not learned.'…. [He says, 'I'm not learned, how do you expect me to do this? I only have third grade education.'] …And the LORD said..." (vs 12-13). Here's what's happening in the world. That's why the book, Lord, What Should I Do? Listen, brethren, do you realize that there are 76-million who have left the 'Christian' churches of this world and I wonder out of that 76-million how many are wondering, 'Lord, what should I do?' That's why this book was written.

Here's what's happening, v 13: "...'Because this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips honor Me, but their worship of Me is made up of the traditions of men learned by rote, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandments of men'" (v 13). Not the Word of God!

Is Sunday a commandment of men? Christmas and Easter and Halloween and New Years? Yes, indeed! How about Lent? I talked to a man who is a Southern Baptist. I think he was in Alabama or Mississippi and he said that one of his friends just came from a Baptist church where they had the service of Lent. That's where the Catholics start out forty days leading up to Easter. And you come and you take the mass and the priest has some ashes in a little vessel and he puts a cross on your forehead. That's not the mark of the beast, by the way. And the Protestants used to reject all of that. Now they're embracing it. That's why in addition to the Bible, the most singular important book we have will be Lord, What Should I Do? And the next one will be Occult Holidays or God's Holy Days—Which?

Verse 14: "'Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do again a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise ones shall perish, and the wisdom of their intelligent ones shall vanish.'" That's what's going to happen.

Let's first of all take a look at the Word of God—Psalms 11 and 12 and then 19 tells us about the Law of God and we'll bring some other things in with it, too.

Psalm 11:1: "In the LORD I have taken refuge; how then can you say to me, 'Flee like a bird to your mountain'?" Understand, there's no place of escape. So you go to an island in the Pacific, you're away from everybody until the tsunami comes, and you're history. So you flee and go to the top of a mountain and you're away from it. 'Oh, boy, I'm away from the city and all these dudes.' You have an earthquake and it closes up your cave and you're in there, 'Help, Lord!' Where are you going to go?

"For lo, the wicked bend their bow; they make ready their arrow on the string, so that they may secretly shoot at the upright in heart?…. [Figuratively speaking, how can that be done? By changing the Word of God! That comes first; martyrdom comes later.] …If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (vs 2-3).

So if there is no Bible that has the Truth and the Truth is founded in the Bible, if that's destroyed, what can the righteous do? So maybe the effects of what we have done with the Bible, though we never set out to do it this way, may be far more reaching that we can even comprehend right now. And our only hope is that the Truth will go out in every way that we can do it, that there will be many others. I wish there were ten thousand Churches of God altogether repenting, working independently everywhere so that the world will hear the witness of God, the Gospel of God, and they won't know what to do.

It'll be like this game that kids play. You have a hammer and you have various holes and up pops a ball. So the game is, you take the hammer and hit it on the head there, and another pops up. You hit it there and another one pops. The more you can hit and knock down you win the game. Wouldn't that be nice if it were like that with the Church of God? So many Churches of God preaching the Truth, you wouldn't know what to do. You go over to stop this one, hey, here's another one. You stop that one and another one pops up and here's another one. If you take that and multiply and put it on the Internet, worldwide, guess what we would have? The preaching of the Gospel in the whole world—right? Yes! And in every other means—printed, radio, television—if you can afford it, all of that. Well, I don't know if it's going to happen or not.

Verse 4: "The LORD is in His Holy temple... [And that's where we pray everyday, brethren. Count the blessing of praying directly to God the Father and Jesus Christ, everyday. And Christ is at His right hand.] ...the LORD'S throne is in heaven. His eyes behold; His searching gaze tests the children of men." Remember, God knows when a sparrow falls. God knows us so well He knows every hair on our head or the lack thereof.

Once we understand that, here's a lesson we can learn from it. True humility comes with the Spirit of God. And the humblest of all is God the Father and right alongside of Him is Jesus Christ. That's why, brethren, we're not to get lifted up in vanity. We're not to begin doing like Job did, 'I did this, I did that, I did the other thing,' when he forgot that in God he lived and moved and had his being. There was nothing wrong with the righteousness of the things that he did. But what was wrong: he claimed that righteousness was emanating from himself, rather than from God.

The Truth of the matter is, you can't do anything righteous that is separate from what God has given that is righteous—isn't that correct? You keep the Sabbath. Who gave it? Who made it? Who created it? God did! You love each other, you love your husband, you love your children, your grandchildren, and so forth. Some of them don't love you back the way that you think that you should. But who gave love? Who made all of that possible? God did! So we need to realize that.

But here's also something that God does, v 5: "The LORD tries the righteous... [Why? To know what is in our hearts! Isn't that true? What's really in our hearts? That's why numbers of people are meaningless. The question really is: How many are converted and love God? Right? Isn't that the true question? Yes!] ...but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone; and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup" (vs 5-6). When will that take place? When Christ returns and at the Lake of Fire—correct? See how far reaching the Word of God is? You can't say, 'Oh, this is in the Psalms. Oh, well, that's the Old Testament, we don't need it.'

Verse 7: "For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; the upright will behold His face." Where do you see that written? Rev. 22—correct? Yes! This is how we should feel or how we do feel. You look around us, look at those of us here. This is more than we've had in any of our meetings in the years I've been coming here. That's fine, that's wonderful; we're happy about that. That's great. We hope we can all love each other and have a good study today.

When you're out there in the world, isolated and alone, and there's no one else around you, you feel like this, Psalm 12:1: "Help, O LORD, for the Godly man ceases; for the faithful disappear from among the children of men. They speak falsehood each one with his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things" (vs 1-3). Did He do that to Job? Yes, but Job repented!

The Truth of the matter is this: Whatever righteousness you have comes from God, so you have to acknowledge that all of it comes from God and not yourself, but you've chosen to do that. That's the only part you have in it. And what God wants you to do is

• love Him
• believe Him
• have faith in Him

—and so forth, rather than all the things.

Look back and see what happened. This happens in any church experience, whether in the Church of God, or in the world, what happens? They end up exalting a man and worshiping a man—don't they? So if you haven't listened to the sermon series Invisible Idol—Visible Man—that's cuts us off from God. God wants a direct relationship between each one of us and Him. That's how it's to work. So He cuts it off. Did He cut it off? Did He cut them off? Does He always cut them off, not only in this age, but in the ages before? Yes, indeed! What did He do to Nebuchadnezzar? Turned him into a beast that ate grass, didn't cut his hair or nails for seven years! Can you imagine those claws at the end of seven years?

Here's what they say, v 4: "Who have said, 'With our tongue we shall prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, I will now arise,' says the LORD. 'I will set him in safety from him who puffs at him'.... [Here is what leads us with the Spirit of God]: ...The words of the LORD are pure words... [We're getting down to the point of how do you translate the Word of God? That's how you view it.] ...like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times…. [notice what God does]: …You shall keep them, O LORD; You shall preserve them from this generation forever?" (vs 4-7). That's what we have now—isn't it? Yes, indeed!

Isn't it interesting, how did God start out declaring to Job that his own righteousness could not save him? He said, 'Job, look to the heavens above. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth and the cornerstone? Where were you when I made the clouds? Where were you when I created the heavens? Tell me if you can.'

So you've got to acknowledge God in everything. Even the little itty-bitty cells in our bodies, which they said were simple little cells, are very complicated things. I read a book by a biologist, who also is into quantum-physics. And he wrote a book, The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton. When he got down to those super high-powered electronic microscopes and saw the function of what appeared to be a simple cell, it's in effect a mini-universe. And in our bodies we have trillions of them. Isn't that amazing? Yes!

Where does it start? It starts with the heavens, with the creation! That's why when you get this new DVD with the video and the words, The Almighty God, it's going to inspire you. It's going to lift you up. It is going to be absolutely a magnificent thing, brethren. We can thank Randy Vild for doing that. And all the choir that you hear on it came from four voices. A soprano, an alto, a tenor and a bass and it sounds like a whole choir.

Psalm 19:1: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. Day after day they pour forth speech... [Their sound coming from all of them.] ...and night after night they reveal knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard" (vs 1-3). Meaning that everyone on earth can see the stars in the heavens. Isn't that correct? With the super Hubbell telescope that we have, we can look out there and see things that are so amazing. After the super Hubbell telescope, they've had to recalculate how many galaxies there may be. They have had to recalculate it from 120-billion to 360-billion or trillion. Either way, it's more than we can count.

Verse 4: "Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the ends of the world. In them, He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as a strong man set to run a race, Its going forth is from one end of the heaven, and its circuit... [Circuit? Hello? Round? Yes! You know why the Catholics believed in a flat earth? Never read the Old Testament!] ...and its circuit is to the other end. And there is nothing hidden from its heat" (vs 4-6).

After he declares the glory of God and the glory of His creation, now then you can understand His law. What happens? Whenever you see those things, they're so awe inspiring, it makes you feel like just a little teeny-weeny blimp—right? Help some of you—correct? Yes! What does that do when you're humble? You're willing to believe God and obey Him—right? So that's how it's constructed this way.

Verse 7: "The Law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul... [we're going to see the Word of God is perfect, too] ...the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple" (v 7). Did you know that God expects us through His Spirit to be the wisest ones on earth? Not to show off and say, 'Oh, we're wise, God made us wise. Ho, ho, ho, you poor people out there.' No! So that we can be resurrected and we can rule and reign with Christ.

We're being taught to have the very character of God. That's what it's doing in our hearts and minds with His laws, with His commandments, with His Spirit. "The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandments of the LORD are pure, enlightening the eyes" (v 8). That's why the Protestants don't want you to read the Old Testament, because they say the law has been abolished. Can you imagine how blasphemous that is? Can you imagine all the stupidity of all the people that come together on Sunday morning and hear a preacher say, 'Christ came and abolished the law,' when Christ was the One Who gave it.

"The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.... [Now listen to this, all of you who are on the NIV committee and Rupert Murdoch, who is merchandizing the Word of God in a corrupt form. The laws and commandments of God are]: ...More to be desired than gold, yea, much fine gold… [You do this for profit, you do this to merchandize people, you do this to change the Word of God, God's judgment's going to come upon you.] ...sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward" (vs 9-11). This is why God has given His laws and commandments—for our good! So we can learn how to direct our lives. You meet people all the time, 'Oh, I did this when I was young,' or 'I took drugs,' or 'I disobeyed my mother and went out and got pregnant at fifteen.' You can recover from those things, but why do it in the first place? Take the warning!

"Moreover by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward" (v 11). What is the great reward of the fifth commandment? 'Honor your father and mother that your days may be long upon the earth.' Here's why we all need it. This is why we need the Word of God in Truth.

Verse 12: "Who can understand his errors?.… [Or even the cause of it. How many times have you done something and said, 'Dumb, dumb, dumb.' Yes!] ...Oh, cleanse me from my secret faults.... [That's the washing of the water by the Word—isn't it?] ...Oh, cleanse me from my secret faults."

After you have gone through so many things in your lives, you need the washing of the water by the Word to cleanse your mind and eliminate those things recorded in your mind, so that you

• don't relive them
• don't have trauma over them
• not bitter about it
• not resentful about it
• not jealous over certain things,
• don't feel deprived

Ask God to cleanse your mind from all of that. Remember the lesson, but don't relive the emotion. I'm going to give one more sermon on the Washing of the Water by the Word. I'm going to entitle it, Who Controls Your Mind. I'm going to use some of these Scriptures right here.

Verse 13: "And keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins... [If the Holy Spirit is leading you, it will keep you back from presumptuous sins. Isn't it nice to be warned ahead of time in your mind and all of a sudden a thought comes in your mind, 'Don't do that.' Yes!] ...do not let them rule over me; then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer" (vs 13-14).

Now let's look at the Truth. This will help you understand our approach to translating the Bible, all the translations that I started as study translations first. To have the Truth, to present it to the brethren, so we can all understand the Word of God as God wants us to understand it. Isn't that the way that it should be? Not to exalt the self, not to say how great we are, not to try and show off anyone, but thank God and praise God that He's preserved His Word and He's made it possible so we can understand it. That's the whole motivation behind it.

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Let's look at it in relationship to the Bible and why it's so important. God is causing to be published in the world—through, as I've mentioned before, a printing plant in western China—800,000 Bibles a year sponsored by the American Bible Society and the United Kingdom Bible Society in all of the languages that are in that part of the world. So that's something. This will also be a witness. Out of it how many people God will call, we don't know. But we do know that things like that! Read Rev. 7—What do you find in Rev. 7? 144,000 and great innumerable multitude from every nations, language, tongue. They had a hurry-up course in the sacred names of God right there while they were in captivity so they could know how to pray—I very factiously say. You use the names of God in the language that you speak. Very simple! So God is having a witness out there for the things of understanding how we got the Bible and why it needs to be translated with fidelity and with truth and with accuracy.

Let's come here to Psalm 146:1: "O praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man in whom there is no salvation. His breath goes forth; he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" (vs 1-4). In other words, you can only put off until tomorrow so long before there's no tomorrow. The moral of the story is: While you have life, while you have being,

• love God
• serve God
• praise Him

Verse 5: "Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God Who made the heavens and earth, the sea and all that is in them; Who keeps Truth forever" (vs 5-6). The Word of God is based upon Truth. We've seen that

• with the laws
• with the commandments
• with the precepts
• with God's ways

—all the way through What is the thing that men like to do? To modify the Word of God to please them! And with whom did this begin? Cain! And that is the way of Cain. He wanted to bring to God his way, when God says, 'You do things My way.' God is God! His law is perfect! He's

• loving
• kind
• gracious
• compassionate

That's why He wants us to do things His way. "…keeps Truth forever."

Let's see some other things here. Let's come to John 14, let's read it into the record, because there's something else that we need to cover along with that. This was on the Passover night and remember, all the words of the New Covenant are contained in John 14, 15, 16, and 17. This gives us

• how God deals with us
• how God loves us
• how we are to respond to God
• how we receive the Holy Spirit of God
• that the world will hate us
• that they will even kill us and thing they're doing service to God

Then it ends up with the Lord's prayer, which is not in Matt. 6:12, but it's in John 17. He goes through the whole thing showing that the whole purpose is that we are to become one with the Father and Jesus Christ. That's the whole purpose and goal. So that's why everything here in John 14, 15, and 16 is so important.

• It tells us about the love that God has for us.
• It tells about the love we need to have for God.
• It tells us about the love we need to have for each other.

He says, John 14:1: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places..." (vs 1-2). Isn't that something? We are going to dwell with God forever! Isn't that what it says in Psa. 23? 'That I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever.' Correct? Yes! So as a down payment on living with God forever, we receive the Holy Spirit of God and as Jesus said, if we love Him, He and the Father will come and make Their abode within us.

So just extrapolate out another step or two concerning the Feast of Tabernacles. The true fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles is not dwelling in a tent. It is Christ and the Father dwelling in us, our temporary physical bodies, waiting for the resurrection. So everything has a greater meaning in the New Testament.

"...if it were otherwise, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; so that where I am, you may be also. And where I am going you know, and the way you know… [He told it to them all the way through in all of His teachings.] …Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going... (vs 2-5). How many times did He say that 'I have come from above.'

And what did He say in His final prayer there in John 17:5? "And now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed." We'll give Thomas one little out. Thomas was not with Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration.

John 14:6: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.'" That's just absolute fundamental fact of the New Testament. And you must have the true Jesus with the right way of keeping the commandments of God—Passover, Holy Days, Sabbaths, and the whole package.

John 16 talks about the Holy Spirit. If you would please read in the appendices Appendix K, pg 1,282, concerning the Holy Spirit, the Exegesis for the Translation of the Phrase "the Holy Spirit" (John 14-16). I have some quotes in there from Daniel B. Wallace. He is one of the leading syntax experts of New Testament Greek in the United States.

He was on the committee for translating the New English Version and the English Standard Version. In both of those, in John 14, 15, and 16, they violated the Greek for the sake of tradition, because they did not translate the Holy Spirit in the neuter gender, which it is—'to pneuma.' If it were in the masculine gender, it would be 'ho pneumatos,' but it's not. When you read that appendices, you will hear his lament that while he was on the committee, he could not get them to translate it correctly because of 'theological considerations.'

I had previously translated it the correct way before I got his 'opus magus,' his great thick book on New Testament syntax all the way through. I wasn't done with translating the New Testament when I got it, but when I got it, I went through and made sure that everything that was translated that I had done was in conformity to the Truth that he knew. There has to be some men, somewhere that are honest, that are true, that have the knowledge. It can't all be funneled into my head, like what is it, Ray Kurzweil? You back up to a computer and plug it in—there you are, now you're the most intelligent man in the world.

Here's the way that it should be translated. John 16:7: "But I am telling you the Truth. It is profitable for you that I go away because if I do not go away, the Comforter... [that is in the masculine sense, but it is a descriptive adjective of the effect of the Holy Spirit] ...the Comforter will not come to you. However, if I go, I will send it to you. And when that one... [That's interesting. The Greek there is 'ekeinos,' not he. That one refers back to the Comforter.] ...when that one has come, it will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer will see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged…. [Christ conquered and triumphed over Satan the devil through the crucifixion.] …I have yet many things to tell you, but you are not able to bear them now. However, when that one has come, even the Spirit of the Truth..." (vs 7-12). 'to pneuma tes aletheias—the Spirit of the Truth. Now let me explain something else in the Greek that's important to understand, which is this: Whenever there is a definite article with the word, it is called an articular noun.

Whenever there is no definite article, it is called an anarthrous noun. If you can remember that when you study the difficult Scriptures of the Apostle Paul, that's the key to understanding between 'nomos'—law, and 'ho nomos'—the law. So I hope I haven't lost you there. But for those who get in and study and so forth, you may appreciate that. For those who are new, you can grow to appreciate it over a period of time, and it took me quite a few years before I got there. We won't worry about it if it's a little heavy. But once in a while it's good to have something to challenge your thinking so that you can realize that what has been done has not been done to please men. It has not been done on a whim.

"...the Spirit of the Truth, it will lead you into all Truth..." (v 13). Now that didn't cease with the apostles—did it? If we have the Holy Spirit of God, will it lead us into Truth today? Yes! How do you think that God calls you? It's a spiritual operation—isn't it? Here, you're going along and whatever you're doing, and all of a sudden a question comes up or a problem occurs, and it's like a light bulb goes on in your head—ding! What did that? God's Spirit with you! Now you have a choice at this point:

• Do you want Truth?
• Do you love Truth?
• Are you going to keep Truth?
• Are you going to search for more Truth?

All of those things happen—right? I'm sure all of you have had that happen to you—haven't you? And haven't you been reading the Bible, you go along, you've studied here, you've studied there and you've studied this before, now you're coming back and reading it again. Maybe you've studied it half a dozen times or more. And you come back and read it and all of sudden, 'I never saw that.' Why? 'Precept upon precept; line upon line; a little here, a little there' the Holy Spirit will lead you into all Truth; all Truth that we need to know for salvation.

How do we understand the book of Revelation today? John, who wrote it, he didn't understand it. How could he have understood it? He faithfully wrote it and when he had the vision concerning the temple, then he knew there had to be another temple to come sometime in the future. He didn't know when. So, he made the edit in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 about the abomination of desolation, 'The one who reads, let him understand.' Jesus didn't say those words, because He was talking.

He didn't have a page over His face and read. That was inspired by God to be put there so that at the end-time the Holy Spirit can lead us into the Truth of what it means. Because John, by the time he was writing this toward the end of the first century, Jerusalem had already been destroyed for nearly thirty years. Temple no longer there. He was canonizing the New Testament. I'm sure he read about 2-Thess. 2, 'and the one who goes into the temple of God to say that he is God.' While John was alive when the temple was destroyed and no one went into the temple at that time and said, 'I am God.' So based on that, God let him know to put in that parenthetical statement, 'the one who reads...' Whenever you have God's Word, wherever it's going to be, however far down in time from where I am, 'the one who reads, let him understand.'

Can we understand it today? Yes! Is it because we're smarter than anybody else? No! It's the Holy Spirit. This becomes important concerning the Word of God, very important. "...because it shall not speak from itself... [It's going to bring whatever God wants directly, that's the power of God.] ...but whatever it shall hear, it shall speak.…" (v 13).

It's like this recorder here. Whatever it hears, it'll play back, if you have the right machine to put it in. If you don't have the right machine to put it in, 'what is this funny looking postage stamp? That seems a little stiff to me and how come the corner's cut off at forty-five degree angle? Well, look at on the backside, there's no glue. There are six stripes of copper. What could this be?' So that's how the Holy Spirit works.

Whatever God tells it to convey, that's what it conveys. "...And it shall disclose to you the things to come" (v 13). Not only was that for them, but it's recorded for us so that it comes down in time and in history to us. Now let's look and see how the Bible was written. We have commentary in the New Testament, commentary in the Bible, so you can read all of that. I suppose there's a whole lot more that could be there.

Let's also understand something important. Only eight men wrote the New Testament. A lot of people say, 'Well, it was written by men.' That's what the atheists say. 'Oh, well, the Bible was written by men.' You know what the answer is back to them? Who wrote the book that told you about atheism? Men! Who led them? So you can remind them, only eight. Doesn't take all two hands. It's just one hand and three fingers. Now three of them who wrote parts of the Bible, including Peter, had a special event that happened to them. That was Christ impressing upon their minds Who He was, the goal of God, the substantiation of the Law and the Prophets when they had the vision on the Mount of Transfiguration where Christ appeared in glory with Moses and Elijah. That represents the Law and the Prophets. They were there in the presence of this vision, which also put them at the same level of God dealing with them, as God dealt with Elijah and with Moses. Now it left a lasting impression, especially on Peter. At this time Peter knew that he was going to die.

Here's what he said, beginning in 2-Peter 1:10: "For this reason, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure; because if you are doing these things... [that he wrote previously] ...you will never fall at any time. For in this way, you will be richly granted an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, I will not neglect to make you always mindful of these things, although you already know them and have been established in the present Truth. For I consider it my duty, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by causing you to remember these things" (vs 10-13).

How's he going to do it? He knew that he was going to die. Now what happened to Peter when he got old? What did Jesus say would happen? Someone else would lead him around. He became an old, decrepit man. Some say that he was crucified too. Some say he was crucified upside down. Don't know for sure, very possible.

"Knowing that shortly the putting off of my tabernacle will come... [That's a nice way of saying, 'I'm going to die.'] ...even as our Lord Jesus Christ has signified to me. But I will make every effort that, after my departure, you may always have a written remembrance... [Why did I add the word 'written' here in italics? Because that's what the word 'remembrance' means, a written memorial.] ...of these things in order to practice them for yourselves" (vs 14-15).

Why did God not send it by word of mouth for 300 years before having it written down? Very simple, 300 years later, no one would have experienced what they experienced—right? All of the ones who wrote the New Testament knew and saw Jesus Christ. And even one of them, Jude, was his half-brother. And another one was his half-brother, James. That's why it was written in their day. If you read anyplace where someone is giving the history of how the New Testament came about and said it was passed on by tradition, word of mouth for 200-300 years, you know they're lying because it doesn't conform to the Word of God. But that becomes very convenient so you can what? Change practices and say by the same tradition 'we have things a little different today.' Isn't that nice?

"...in order to practice them for yourselves" (v 15). Now why do you have the Bible today? What do you do when you read the Bible? After you've read it, you close it up and what do you do? You practice it! You live by it!—right? Yes! Today we have the whole Bible and that's a fantastic thing for us to always keep in mind. Now he wanted everyone to know that this did not come from the imagination of the mind of a man. Nor did it come from traditions of the past.

Verse 16: "For we did not follow cleverly concocted myths as our authority, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His magnificent glory… [That made a lasting impression upon Peter and I'm sure it did upon John. James was beheaded back in about 42A.D. unfortunately.] …because He [Christ] received glory and honor from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory... [when you say Majestic Glory, you're saying directly from God Himself] ...This is My Son, the Beloved, in Whom I am well pleased." Never forgot that.

"And this is the voice from heaven that we heard when we were with Him on the holy mountain. We also possess the confirmed prophetic Word..." (vs 18-19). Now prophetic in this case doesn't necessarily mean prophecies alone, but the confirmed inspired Word. What did they have? They were with Christ being taught by Him for three and a half years—correct?

Go back to Acts 6; I've got part of this in the commentary that the apostles were writing the teachings of Jesus very early. Remember how the Church started off on Pentecost; 3,000 were baptized that day of Pentecost—right? Thousands of others joined, then in Acts 5 there were so many thousands in Jerusalem that were believing they were bringing their sick and laying them alongside the street to where even the shadow of Peter passing over healed them. That's part of greater works than Jesus did. He said, 'You will do greater works than these.' Acts 6 is still within the first year.

Acts 6:1: "Now, in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied... [thousands and thousands in Jerusalem] ...there arose a complaint by the Greeks... [the Greek speaking] ...against the Hebrews... [the Hebrew speaking] ...because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. And after calling the multitude of disciples to them, the twelve said, 'It is not proper for us to leave the Word of God..." (vs 1-2). What were they doing? They were studying the Word of God! And we're going to see in just a minute, they were writing the beginnings of the New Testament. With all these new disciples, what was the number one first thing that they had to have ready within the first year? Have ready and written down? Let's answer it with a question: How many of the disciples of Jesus Christ, which it ended up being 120 on the day of Pentecost, how many of them partook of the New Covenant Passover? Started out with 12, just the foot-washing with Judas, but he was betrayer. So you had 11, you had the apostles—right? None of the others of the 120, nor of the thousands and thousands that came later knew anything about the New Covenant Passover. So what did they have to have ready? The instructions on how to keep the New Covenant Passover!—right? Let's see it right here.

After they said, appoint men full of the Holy Spirit, etc. Verse 4: "'But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the Word.'" And the ministry of the Word was writing those things. The apostles would be there talking with each other. Jesus said this, Jesus said that, Jesus said the other thing. They'd be writing it down. Someone would add a little something in. They'd say, yes, that's right. So they were developing these things and they developed first of all the New Covenant Passover to go out to all the new believers. Jesus said, 'Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you.' Correct? So they had to have that ready.

2-Peter 1:19—we have the confirmed inspired Word. That's not just the Old Testament. We'll talk about the Old Testament here in a minute. "We also possess the confirmed prophetic Word to which you do well to pay attention as to a light shining in a dark place... [That's the Word of God and the Spirit of God in a dark world—right? Yes!] ...until the day dawns... [What is the day dawning? The return of Christ!] ...and the morning star arises in your hearts." That's when you're resurrected to be spirit beings—right? Are we not going to shine like the stars in heaven, as Jesus said?—correct? Yes!

Verse 20: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture originated as anyone's own private interpretation... [that's the correct translation, or as one's own interpretation—either way. So, it's not coming to the Bible and reading and saying, 'I think, I have an idea.' No! It wasn't written that way.] (here's the answer): ...because prophecy... [The understanding of the writing of the Word of God, from God to the writer, as we'll see in a minute.] ...was not brought at any time by human will..." (vs 20-21).

That's true whether Old Testament or New Testament. How did we get the book of Moses? God said, 'Moses, speak to the children of Israel'—right? How did we get the prophets? The word of the Lord came to Isaiah; the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah; the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, Hosea, all the way down the line. None of it are the writings of men, but men who wrote what God wanted them to write. Can God do that? And if you have converted men to do that, who are yielded to the will of God, do you think they would write anything less than the Truth of God? No! Of course not! "...but the Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (v 21).

This is interesting because it means 'moved,' just like the wind moves a boat or a ship with sails, causes it to go wherever it needs to go. Is God capable of that? Remember, if someone objects to that, remember this: How about Balaam? He took all that money to curse, but he could only bless. And his heart was set to curse, but he could only bless. And even in going there, he was so cruel to his donkey, some people would say jackass, that he beat it so much that it spoke back to him. If God can control those men, don't you think He can inspire willing receptacles of His Spirit, willing to write the Truth. This is where we get the understanding. What kind of attitude is necessary to translate the New Testament, to translate the Old Testament? Right here!

Track 3: or Download

Let's see something what Paul wrote. We need to understand, everything that is written for us is for our teaching, especially here in the end time. Because human nature is the same, infiltrators are the same, liars are the same, and corrupters are the same—correct? Yes!

Galatians 1:6: "I am astonished that you are so quickly being turned away from Him Who called you into the grace of Christ, to a different gospel." Remember what happened in changing the Gospel of repentance and baptism and Jesus Christ as personal Savior to the gospel of 'give and get.' Isn't that a different gospel? Yes, indeed! What follows a different gospel?

"Which in reality is not another gospel... [Because you can't have another gospel, there's only one gospel.] ...but there are some who are troubling you and are desiring to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But if we, or even an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel to you that is contrary to what we have preached, LET HIM BE ACCURSED!…. [All in capital letters, exclamation point! How many times in the past did we hear the leading apostle, supposedly, read this? And yet he himself fell victim to the same thing—did he not? Yes, he did!] …As we have said before, I also now say again. If anyone is preaching a gospel contrary to what you have received, LET HIM BE ACCURSED!…. [here's an everlasting lesson]: …Now then, am I striving to please men, or God? Or am I motivated to please men? For if I am yet pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (vs 7-10).

If you aim to please men, you shall soon not be the servant of Christ—isn't that true? Yes, indeed! I don't say these things to exalt myself and I don't say these things to condemn. I say these things so that we can learn. Can we learn? Yes! And these are some of the things that were going through my mind, that I learned, that I experienced. That in translating the New Testament:

• Would I be honest?
• Would I be faithful?
• Would it be true?
• Would I seek to please God or please men?
• What was it that I should do?

Obviously, you've got to do what God wants. Are we not to

• guard the Truth
• stand for the Truth
• preach the Truth

Isn't Christ the Truth? How could we possibly produce anything to represent Christ if it isn't based on truth and if we're not following the Truth and we're seeking the Truth? Couldn't be done! If there's something wrong, let me know, I'll change. If there's something wrong, you need to change, be willing to change. Don't be surprised if you find something wrong. We're all incomplete. We all need to change—don't we—all the time. Sure! Yes, indeed! So that's why I did it.

I started out doing study translations. We started out, I got done going through a series, all the Gospel of John through the King James and I explained the 'th' and the 'eth' and so forth, and what the Greek meant. When I got done I said, 'Okay, brethren, we finished this.' It took us two years to do the Gospel of John, by the way. I said, 'Well, what should we do?' They said, 'Oh, we want to keep studying this way, we're learning so much.' So I said, 'Okay.' So I said, 'How about if we go through the general epistles, we'll start with the book of James.' By that time I was ready to translate that, that is after seventeen years of studying the Greek. When I was a loan broker I'd come home at night and I would study, study, study the Greek. Memorize, memorize.

I would talk with Dr. Dorothy at least once a week. He kept telling me, 'Fred, translate.' And I didn't do it. He kept telling me translate. So when he finally came down with cancer and he came down with cancer because of the way that he was treated in Worldwide Church of God. He was one of the sweetest, nicest, kindest men you would ever want to meet. He was bulldozed and run over and condemned and his wife left him. He finally moved up to Seattle.

I talked to him on the phone. He'd say, 'Fred, translate. Memorize the Greek. Translate, go through all the Greek, go through all of the verbs, go through all the participles, know it forward and backward as much as you can.' So he was at that point getting very sick, so I started to translate. I'd send him copies of what I'd translate and he'd give his comments and send it back to me. So that's how I began to translate. I had absolutely no thought of doing the whole New Testament, but gradually things developed and I told you about the Inclusive Version and what happened when I saw that. I got done with the New Testament, published that. We did all of the commentary and everything. So then as I mentioned, encouraged to do the Old Testament, and hooked up with Michael Heiss to get all of that done.

Let's come back to 2-Timothy 3 and so we'll pick up on the Word of God here and this is true. And, of course, in doing the translating and things, praying all the time, has to be the Truth. If it isn't the Truth, what am I doing, doing it? And if it's the Truth, then it's not me. If God wants me to do it, then it's not me. Isn't that true? I may be an instrument in His hands and if it's going to help the brethren and encourage them so that they can grow in grace and knowledge, that's the whole purpose of it—right? Yes!

So here this describes today's world here. 2-Timothy 3:13: "But wicked men and imposters shall become worse and worse... [that's what the New NIV is all about] ...deceiving others and being deceived themselves. But as for you [Timothy] continue in the things that you did learn and were assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them; and that from a child... [So he grew up as it were, we could say today—I've had people come up to me and say, 'I grew up in the Church.' And then their various stories go whichever way they go, so here they are.] ...you have known the Holy Writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (v 13-15).

The Holy Writings are what? The Old Testament! But through Christ it can make us wise unto salvation. Is that not correct? Plus then we have the New Testament on top of that—right? Now notice, here's what all Scripture is. So when we go into the Scripture, whether the Hebrew or the Greek, and we want to make it clearer for the brethren or clearer for anyone who would read—and I had no idea of selling the Bible. I was going to have it for the brethren.

"All Scripture is God-breathed... [And that could actually be 'God-Spirited.' Holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit!] ...and is profitable for doctrine, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work" (vs 16-17). Let's go back and look at 'all Scripture.' All Scripture means each and every one, even those genealogies that you can barely pronounce the word, name for name, as you read through the chronology and if you're tired, your eyes go cross-eyed. Those are all inspired of God, because those are legal documents defining the line down to Christ. Isn't that amazing?

Do you want legal documents written in truth? Who is the Lawgiver? God is! Then He has to have a legal document showing that One Who came and was Christ, was the One Who was prophesied beginning back there in Gen. 3:15. And then down through the Law and down through the Prophets and down through the Psalms. And now here He was in the flesh. So that's something.

Let me tell you something else that began back in 1991 with Dr. Ernest Martin and Robert Kuhn and Joe Tabor. How many have read Ernest Martin's book, Restoring the Original Bible? They started a website and Bob Ellsworth was the one who managed the website and Joe Tabor was going to do a translation of the Bible beginning with the book of Genesis.

How many remember something about the Bible project that they had back then? Joe Tabor never got further than the book of Genesis. Since Bob Ellsworth was one of my friends, if I would go down to Pasadena I would stay at his place. And guess where his condominium is? Right on South Orange Grove Avenue right across from the Loma D. Armstrong study center where the fountains are. And on the third floor you can look right across and see it. So I would stay with him. Then I told him I was going to do the New Testament, so when we got the New Testament done in its original order, he got one of those and sent it off to Joe Tabor and sent it off to Robert Kuhn. They were collecting donations, because different people, not only brethren, but different people in the world wanted to see that project done to have the Bible in its original order. They were collecting $100,000 a year and very little was being done.

I told Robert when we were making progress on the Old Testament that we were going to do a Bible, Old Testament and New Testament. I said, 'Bob, the way people are sue crazy today, you better be careful, because you've been taking in $100,000 a year for over ten years and all you have to show for it are letters of intent that Joe Tabor has written and a translation of Genesis.'

So I said, 'You might consider not being the one to run the website and take care of the collection of donations, just in case.' So shortly after that he changed and then someone came along and said, 'Fred, why don't you try and sell the Bible,' and this is how I first got in touch with the Washington Times. That was Leon Richey. So he said, 'I know John, the advertising man back there, because I know him, he can give you a good rate.' So I said okay.

So we ran an ad and I thought, 'How are we going to do credit cards? We're not set up for doing credit cards.' So I talked to Bob, found out he had the whole thing set up to do credit cards. So I said, 'Okay, Bob, I'm going to run the ad in the Washington Times'—and then there were a couple of other ones that we ran it in—'if you could process the credit cards, we'll give you $10 for each one you process. You don't have to do anything.' The orders came in and he thought, 'I know how to do this better than what we're doing.' So he said, 'Fred, I can do the advertising. I'll pay for the advertising and I know how to get in all of these magazines and these books and we'll advertise the Bible.' And that's how the Bible got to be selling and he was selling the Holy Bible in its Original Order done by us, though he started the original project in 1991 with Ernest Martin, who subsequently died; Joe Tabor, who is still over in Israel, and Robert Kuhn who is a banker in New York.

He's been involved in the project for over 20 years. He's the one who is selling the Bible. We're getting good results with it. Of course, with the economic situation, it's not going quite as good as it was going, but we hope that it's going to pick up. And we hope now that with some of the things like the New NIV that's coming out, that now the Holy Bible in its Original Order will become of more value to more people. And the whole object is to have it so that people can understand the Word of God. The money that comes in, he gets it wholesale to do the leather Bibles lambskin, cost us $26 for the completed one. We sell it to Bob for $36. The money that comes in from there we have a $10 profit, plus a return of cost and we save that up and put it in savings. Right now we've got—combined with everything that we have, even after doing the second edition of the paperback—just had 6,000 done. Even with that we paid $77,000 for 6,000.

We still have $122,000 in savings specifically for publications right now. We do everything by cash. We have no loans; we don't owe anybody; we operate strictly on cash. The money that comes in from sales of the Bible, we use that to buy other books, we use that to put into savings, and so far this year out of the savings, still $122,000 left we have done the book Judaism—A Revelation of Moses or Religion of Men? which cost us $19,000. We just did the Lord, What Should I Do? book which cost us $19,000. So that's how we use the money. Today with the Internet, I think we're going to see a speed up of the process because of the events in the world. I don't know how many people tell me, 'I've gone online and I have downloaded everything you have

I met a man over in Seattle that he works as security for Microsoft and he downloads everything on memory chips and plays them while he's driving around at night securing Microsoft. We have Church at Home.

People say—because there are so many things out there to deceive people, that people now want to prove things. They don't just to hear things and run and jump. They want to prove, they want to look, they want to do all these other things. I had one man, he said that he checked out every Church of God. So he was baptized here this last spring. So he said, 'I went to United, I went to Restored, I went to Philadelphia, I went to whatever other fellowship there was, any Church of God online, and my question was:

• Do they follow the Bible?'
• How about the one who's in charge, is he an idol or someone who is teaching?

They can do that today. It's really something. People come up and say, 'I've been three years checking you out online.' Oh, really? Of course, we don't know who's going online, but last year as you saw with the report that I sent out with the letter in February, 617,000 distinct visitors on the Spanish, the CBCG, Church at Home, and then we've taken all the past videos, converted them and put them online, all the past videos that I've done.

That lets you know the idea and the thoughts behind what we are doing. And, brethren, I know this, and we all ought to know this and keep praying for it everyday and I have a wonderful wife, who will not let me get lifted up in vanity, trust me, she will not. It takes a pretty independent-minded woman to live with me, because I'm not the easiest one to live with.

We've got to keep in mind always—we live and move and have our being in Christ! Whatever we do, we've got to be led and motivated by the Spirit of God, whatever it is. If you pray about that and if you do that, I know that you're all praying for me all the time. And all those prayers help me a great deal. And it humbles me a great deal, because I remember when we were alone—nothing, no income, no job, 49-years-old, four children and a wife, no severance, no retirement, no savings—and God has seen us through it all, been tough.

Those are the things behind what I do. If I do it, it's got to be Christ in me, not what I think, not what I want. And I better be yielded to God everyday, pray everyday, study everyday. Take care of the tithes and offerings that come, use them, maximize them, and multiply them. Right now we want to fill all of our storage booths, we have ten of them, with books and Bibles before inflation goes out of sight. So we have them paid for. If there's a depression, then we don't have to worry about where we're going to get the money to do them, because we have them. So that's what we're going to do. And I'm sure that's what all of you would want us to do—right?

That's why we need to learn the lessons of the past, not in anger or bitterness or resentment. It's over with! God has dealt with them! But to understand as warnings, 'Do not do this.' But keep going toward Christ all the time.

Scriptural References:

• 2-Corinthians 2:17
• 2-Corinthians 4:1-4
• Isaiah 29:11-14
• Psalm 11:1-7
• Psalm 12:1-7
• Psalm 19:1-14
• Psalm 146:1-6
• John 14:1-5
• John 17:5
• John 14:6
• John 16:7-13
• 2-Peter 1:10-19
• Acts 6:1-2, 4
• 2-Peter 1:19-21
• Galatians 1:6-10
• 2-Timothy 3:13-17

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Revelation 2, 3
• 2-Corinthians 11
• Isaiah 28
• 2-Thessalonians 2
• Revelation 22; 7
• John 14-17
• Matthew 6:12
• Psalm 23
• Matthew 24
• Mark 13
• Acts 5
• Genesis 3:15

Also referenced:
Sermons/Series:

• Invisible Idol--Visible Man
• The Washing of the Water By the Word

Books:

• Lord, What Should I Do? (coming soon)
• Occult Holidays or God's Holy Days--Which? by Fred R. Coulter
• The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton
• The Basics of New Testament Syntax by Daniel B. Wallace
• Restoring the Original Bible by Ernest L. Martin
• Judaism--A Revelation of Moses or Religion of Men? by Philip Neal

Appendix K, Exegesis for the Translation of the Phrase "the Holy Spirit" (The Holy Bible in ItsOriginal Order by Fred R. Coulter)
DVD: The Almighty God (coming soon)

FRC:lp
Transcribed: 3-30-11
Formatted: bo: 3-31-11