The Kings Way!

Now, I was thrilled with a verse in the Bible. You don't need to look it up, but trust me, there's many verses here, they're there in their context. Isaiah 35, verse 8, A highway, a highway shall be there, and a way, it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those, the wayfaring men. The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein, shall not be able to stray therein. Now, of course, I have to be careful here not to offend, because there's a lot of futurists in the meeting, and a lot of historicists. And you've got to be very careful what scripture you quote if there's futurists around and historicists around. Yes. Who's a futurist? No, don't tell us. I was in a meeting where they asked me as a young fellow to preach in the Wesleyan church, and I was just out of Glenmore. And, of course, they're all futurists, and if you're an historicist, you dare not go near Wesleyans. Your life is in danger. So, I was to be the main preacher, though I had just come out of a student. And this whole denomination, there are hundreds there in Dundee, their first big convention, and they were strong those days. Well, all their preachers. So, I was in the lunch line. There's the young preacher I was going to be preaching. And this very naughty fellow turned around and said to this very wildly enthusiastic futurist, Mr. Daniels, it's Keith Daniel. And he said, Mr. Daniel is a historicist. And I looked at this man, and I looked at this naughty man, and before I could say anything, this man was growling like a lion. He lost control. I thought I had to run. Anyway, you don't know what I am. So, you historicists and you futurists can be happy. You don't know, and it's just as well. All right. Now, the futurists believe this is the millennium. Yes, if you're a futurist. There's a highway where there won't be lions and other things. Yes, yes, yes. All right, my father, my school and father is a futurist. Is it a futurist? How do you say it? Oh, whatever it is. But I was suddenly realizing the danger of coming and preaching that verse with so many futurists in our midst. But then a good man, T.N.S. van der Vest says, oh, what a good man. You want to be blessed, go and work with him for a while. I always walk away from him, being with him in a tour, mightily blessed and uplifted. He was telling me when I mentioned this verse and I said, the futurists believe this and the historicists believe it. He said, yes, but you don't need that. So, he gave me this verse. So, that's why I've still got a sermon. Here in the Old Testament, there's something very good. You see, when God delivered his people, the Israelis, when he delivered them from Egypt through their faith in the blood, they were spared judgment as the blood was sprinkled over the doorposts. So, the judgment of God was passing them. And then God delivered them through the Red Sea. Now, to those of you that read through the Bible at least once, you find the whole New Testament points back to the history of the Old Testament and we suddenly realize nothing is history. It's all perfect and a sovereign God explaining the steps of salvation, the doctrines of salvation, the outworking of salvation, the amazing history in its perfect context, perfect order, right to the salvation message. History is spiritualized. If you can't spiritualize the Old Testament, Captain Dobby said, leave the ministry now. So, we spiritualize, but be careful now, don't go too far. Anyway, we see how they were delivered through the Red Sea, saved from the bondage, the slavery of being in slavery. And so, we're saved and set free from the slavery of sin to the enemy. We bless God for that, what we see. But now Moses took God's people and he led them through the wilderness. When you're saved, you're not in heaven. There's the promised land, heaven, spiritualized. And here we are now going through the wilderness and we all know the sermons we've heard from Mr. Schultz and Captain Dobby spiritualizing the stepping stones all the way through the wilderness, how we grew through these godly men, expounding and expounding these godly principles of the Old Testament brought to light. We're in poverty without the Old Testament to understand the heart and mind of Christ and what he meant in the New Testament. So, don't neglect the old. Now, going through the wilderness on the road to the promised land, we, we're strangers, we're pilgrims, this isn't our country, we have another country. Hebrews tells us we're strangers and pilgrims going through the wilderness. Yes, this is not our home, thank God. We don't feel at home in the world. This world is not my home. I'm only passing through, some old hymn once said. Well, we're on our road to heaven, the celestial, the promised eternal life, the celestial city. There's our home. That's where we're on. We can't be comfortable, we can't be happy. We just have to go safely through. Now, Moses sent messages to the various godless kings of the godless nations, that they had to pass through these godless nations. They had to pass. They couldn't divert, they couldn't just skip. There was no way to get to the promised land, but going through the territories of the godless. So, he sent messages to the kings, and this is the messages he sent. Numbers 20, verse 17, and our brother Tianus pointed this out to me. Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country. We will not pass through thy fields, through thy vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of thy wells. We will go by the king's highway. We will not turn to the right hand, nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. And so, again and again, you find Moses sending messages to be able to have permission, and not be hurt by the godless kings for passing by the way, and not going awful in any way, straying into their territories, to what their lifestyle is. Judges 11, 19, and Israel sent messages to another king. And Israel said, let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place. Of course, that's the promised land. We will go by the king's way. We will not turn to the right hand, nor to the left, until we've passed thy borders. Hallelujah. I hope that's in your heart. I hope you don't need to understand that this is God. God didn't let this be written for them. It was written for us, Hebrews says. The Spirit realizes every single aspect of what happened to them, including this. Oh, thou shalt not follow the multitude to do sin. When God turns you from the broad road to the narrow road, you can't divert off and go back. There is a broad road, and many there be that take it, but the narrow road, oh, how few there are that find it. Don't leave it. Now listen to this, Proverbs 5, verse 25. Let thine eyes look right on. Let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet. Think about every step you take now. Don't make mistakes now. Let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left. Remove thy foot from evil. In Proverbs 2, verse 13, speaks of those who leave the paths of righteousness. That's tragic. You were on it, to walk in the ways of darkness. That's possible. You see, there are diversions off the king's highway, the king's way. There is diversions. You could go into the godless territory, into their territories. Oh, James warns us, love not the world. James cries out, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Be careful where you go, James says. Don't go and stand with the devil's people, enjoy the devil's things that he feeds his people. Don't go to their places where they get satisfaction. Oh, it's not a proper satisfaction. Once you've tasted the love of Jesus, you try that territory, even a laugh to the heart is sorrowful, God says. You can't enjoy sin once you've tasted Christ. You try and lie to yourself, but oh, don't go and stand with the enemies of God in what satisfies them. Don't go and drink at their wells. Don't go and eat at their tables. Stay, stay, no matter what it costs you. Lose them as friends, yes, but don't lose your walk with God for friends. Oh, please know, Isaiah 30, 21, thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying, this is the way. Walk ye in it. When you turn to the right hand or when you turn to the left, how is that possible? Well, the Holy Spirit is in you if you're saved, and the Holy Spirit is able to quickly, quickly, quickly speak to you if you never miss the quiet time. If you never miss God, you won't divert, and if you suddenly find yourself diverting, if you didn't miss the quiet time, there will be suddenly in your heart God crying, no, child. Temptation's not sin, but you will hear God speaking, this is the way when you're tempted to walk to the left or the right of the King's highway, sir. There are many road maps that have assisted us through lifetime. Imagine not having road maps. Where would the A's and B's be today? But on the King's way, there's one safe, trusted road map. Psalm 119, verse 105, thy word, is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Take this book away. You'll never make it. Be careful now. It's no good having this. The old preacher says, this is useless. I've proved it. I'm not going to lie anymore. This is worth nothing to you. But he said, this, oh, this will keep you holy. This will keep you safe. What have you got, this? What is good is that? How much has your Bible opened, brother, sister? The quiet time is intense being consumed by prayer and soaked in the word of God is the most vital thing in your life. Be careful. You have a road map. The more we have of God's word in our hearts and minds, the more the Holy Spirit is able to quickly tell us. You see, discernment is a gift, but be careful of this word gift. Nothing is instantaneous that's of any worth. Whatever gift you have has to be nurtured. And you cannot tell me you have a gift of discernment. The more you soak yourself in the Bible, the more discernment you have. To any of us it's a gift, but it's given by how much you soaked yourself in the Bible. Soak yourself as your greatest priority in life in this book, for it's our way of not going to the left or the right, that the Holy Spirit, as much as in your heart, God will bring it to your mind. Oh, this is our road map. And now God's word challenges those who divert from the King's way. He challenges us. And this is tragic. Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way. Oh, how many people get offended if you preach truth, preach against things that today we call, oh, you know, the old Christians did it. But no more anymore. We, you know, we're not under the bondage of the law. This is all legalism. We're under grace. You know what that means? It means I want to live in sin while I say I'm saved. Mr. Max said every single human that came near him and said, I'm not under the bondage of the law, I'm under grace, landed up in disgrace. And I found the same. Be careful. I've not come to destroy the law or the prophets. I've come to fulfill it. How? Not by some legitimate trying to memorize things. And thou shalt not, thou shalt not know, but a yield in life. The Holy Spirit writes the law in your heart spontaneously. The law is fulfilled by Christ through you to the degree you yielded to God, but soaked in the word of God. Correction is grievous unto them that they forsake the way. But he that hateth reproof shall die. You don't want to be corrected. Goodness me, what's to become of you? You that forsake the way. God says in Jeremiah 31 verse 21, set thee up way marks, make high heaps, set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest, turn again. God says, if you're willing, if you're willing, be careful if you've gone off the way. Be careful of the diversions. Oh beloved, you will find on the king's highway, there are many, many diversions. So many, it's unbelievable. Just about everything in life can divert you from God. The legitimate things, the safe things, if you let them. There's of course, the tragic things. Diversions that are so tragic that God has set on these diversions. You know, these side things that go off the highways, when you want to turn off the highway. They're there, big signs telling, you know when you're turning up. God hasn't got big signs saying thou shalt not. He's got lives. He's got commandments that tell you about lives, and he's got lives that are warning signals. Don't turn off here or you'll land up there. Be careful, this is a diversion from the way, from the highway you're on. Oh how many have diverted off the king's way. You can divert off the king's way. In so many ways it's tragic. Deuteronomy 17 verse 16, the people wanted a king, remember that? He shall not multiply horses to himself, God says, nor cause the people to return to Egypt. Why? To the end that he should multiply horses. Don't go back to the world. Don't go back to sin. Don't go back to the world's ways that I set you free from, to get rich, to look for financial gain and material prosperity. Oh don't do that. How many of us do? You see, God says, God says, you must not let that king turn you back to Egypt from whence I have taken you and delivered you. Now of course this is written for us, not history. Be careful. God's way is this, Matthew 6, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. He cannot deny himself, he's God. If you believe he will not provide your needs, not your wants, if you seek him first, his kingdom, his righteousness with all your heart, soul, and might in life, God cannot fail you. He won't give you your needs. He won't give you your wants. If your wants are more than what God sees your needs to be, then you will be tempted to divert off the highway of seeking God, staying right with God, and he will provide what you need, what he knows you need. But if you want more than what God gives you, you see, godliness with contentment is of great gain. Be content with such things as you have. God says, don't you go coveting more than what I can trust you with. You've got to trust God. And beloved, let me tell you something, people with very little are normally far happier than those who have wealth. Or haven't you found that out yet? Be careful to divert from God's way. You and I about a year ago were staggered when a man who many of us loved was on the front pages of the newspapers around this whole nation. And there, all of us were staggering and praying and weeping and groaning. At first, we thought something terrible had happened, a misunderstanding of hijacking. But the devil doesn't sit back and say, fine. He took advantage of the whole situation and being able to orchestrate things so that the whole world would now be staggered by every little detail of this man's diverting from the king's way. Satan took control. And he does to bring shame on God's name when you divert. Be careful, preacher. The higher you are, the further you have to fall. The more people will fall and stumble over you. Don't think I'm speaking easily of this man. I was with him the day that he did this thing. The day before he did this, I had a meal with him and had a re-extension in his church. And his senior pastor, I would say, had asked me to speak there. But here I was and having a meal, he looked at me and began to choke. He couldn't look me in the eyes. I had to leave the meal. The night before, I had preached on this. It's possible that you can be a preacher and yet be living in sin, terrible sin that would bring such shame. If God were to lift the lid of your life, the stems of sin that would rise up would shock and shame your whole denomination and the church of Jesus Christ. Oh, even if you're a preacher. I preached there. People reminded me. And then I thought, well, now I realize why he choked trying to swallow food. He couldn't look at me. Then this happened that night. The next thing, everybody's all over the place. One thing, oh, the devil orchestrating. And they found him. And they found he was in casinos gambling. Why? You see, I believe with all my heart, things escalate out of control, spiral descent. It starts, though, when you divert from the king's way. He wanted money more than what he had. And so when things got out to hand, he would borrow more. And then eventually he wasn't desperate to gamble, hoping no one would see him, that he could somehow get out of debt. And the more he gambled, the more debt he gets into. Until this whole thing in desperation, his life just falls apart and he's found there when the world is looking for him. And the devil didn't do that. Oh, don't you judge me for preaching on this man. I have wept for that man and I've aged for that man before I dared to even speak to another soul about him, let alone preach. But God has warning signs. These things, beloved, are warning signs. But for the grace of God, that can happen to you, Abes. It can happen to you, Dumenes. Don't you dare just wipe your hands of that man. But for the grace of God, if you're not careful to listen to God's voice saying, this is the way. Don't do this. Don't go and drink from their wells and to their territory, to their ways to get provision. You stay right with God. You get right with God. You stay right with God. That's the quiet time. And God will provide what you need, sir. And be content with what God gives you, what he knows you'll be happy with. Be careful of diversions from this, the lamp unto our feet, God's way, the King's way. Stay on it. Don't divert from it. Be careful. You've got to know it, though. You've got to be consumed by the word of God and prayer, beloved, to know it, that the Holy Spirit does check you the moment you start considering Satan's alternative to God's way. This is the way, if you're right with God and you're as right with God as you were with your quiet time this morning. That's the pulse. That's how safe you are. Don't doubt that now. Oh, be careful of diversions, beloved. Don't give up on that man, please. And don't, don't you speak about him because I spoke about him. Be careful what you say. Be careful. Do you know that 90% of the men I heard speaking lightly without any compassion about men who fell, fell into worse sin so swiftly? Be careful, pilgrims. Be careful. Oh, there are many other diversions, many that the book tells us. David is an example God puts there of the diversion he took. A man after God's whole heart can take such a diversion that thousands of years later, the world is still stumbling over his sin. Shame is still coming on God's name and on God's people through what David did. How did he divert? Well, we preached about how he went. He didn't go on the battle. He just somehow now became, time was idleness. Of course, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is not sodomy. It was idleness. That leads to anything. Be careful. Redeem the time if you've got not on the front line of the battle. Be busy all the time with God's things. Okay, God's word, you're safe then. You're safe then. Oh, David did something strange. He took a second look. Listen, brother. It wasn't sin that David saw what the second look. Be careful. Now, you won't take that second look. The Bible tells me, carefully now, you won't take that second look if you're abiding in Christ. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. This is not some act of faith that I'm in Christ, in his body through salvation. No, this is a discipline. This is the greatest discipline in life, to abide in Christ. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. My little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him that is coming. Disabiding in Christ is vital. Whosoever he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked. Otherwise, don't lie to yourself saying you're abiding in him. Of course, you need to be saved. Of course, you've been to be sanctified, wholly surrendered. But nothing can substitute the discipline of making the greatest priority in your life the quiet time, soaking yourself in the word of God. That second look would not have happened. Mattel of fear said to me, brother, Keith, it isn't your fault if you're walking now to your workplace down the road and there in the shop window is a filthy pornographic photograph they call art today. Years ago, they were put in jail as pornography. Now it's art you put in jail if you threaten them, if you challenge them, because the government protects them. You see, this is legal. It's art now. Oh, the laws change. I want to preach about why they change one day into this lawlessness. Oh, there are laws, but they are laws that are against God and protect evil. Watch out. Matt said to me, now, brother, it wasn't your fault. You disgusted if you had a quiet time. If you're right with God, you're shocked. Oh, God, when you get now to your workplace, you're working away and suddenly that picture comes back in your mind. And the devil says, why are you thinking of this? Now a younger Christian in ignorance says, oh, I failed, cleanse me in the blood. No, you haven't failed. Memory is not sin. There are thoughts of evil, and there are evil thoughts. Thoughts of evil you don't have to confess. You just bring every thought into captivity, unto obedience before it becomes an evil thought. Mr. Killian said, you can't help the birds flying over your head, but you've got something to do with it if they lay a nest and have eggs. Oh, David, and now you. Trust me, God will never suffer you to be tempted above that you're able to bear. You look what the devil shows you, but don't look twice, and you don't. You won't. You won't. If you are soaked in the word of God and consumed in prayer, that that time was not neglected. There's something about a dedicated life that's endued with such power to say that God says, no, not that way, child. This is the way. Go downstairs, David. Don't take a second look. He took a second look. Be careful. God gave that to us to say to you and me, don't look twice, and I'll keep you. It's up to you to reject what the devil throws at you. Be careful. Be careful. Oh, how many people, they have been diverted off the king's highway because they missed the quiet times. Now, beloved, I'm going to have to hurry, so forgive me if I miss a lot of things. I can take you to ministers, and they scores and scores and scores some of the greatest ministers you've ever known of in this country who fell into terrible sin. In America, who've broken, walked out, sobbing, said they had to stop the whole meeting, halfway through just sobbing. I couldn't preach on. Filled with sin and shame, thrown from the pulpit, who suddenly took hope when I preached when the godly fall. Get that message if you can, the scriptures, what God can do to still get you back. Don't give up now if somehow you were diverted off the way. You seek God again. The great tragic diversions are normally because of the small diversions. Now, that's a whole page in one sentence. Isn't that good? Life can be filled with diversions from God. My great goal should be that I may walk with God, whatever I do, to do it as unto the Lord. Oh, God, when I first started off, how I longed to walk just with thee. Nothing else was in my heart, but forgive me, God, if as a preacher, habeas, in my efforts to be used of God, I've landed up neglecting God himself. The work of God can be a diversion. Don't let it. It's sin. God's work is sin. God's work is sin if it keeps you from the time you need with God, if it diverts you from God, that you've got no time for God. You will just make shipwreck. You'll be diverted in what? Just watch what happens. Oh, when you first go on this road, you want to walk with God, no one else. You don't want to impress anybody else. But how easy it is to be diverted to this, a diversion that stops wanting to impress God only, and only his smile, only his well done when you finish preaching, and you want to impress men. Oh, you land up preaching only to impress others. You want to hear the testimony of Don Amena about that. Don Amena, how God stopped him in his tracks, and he suddenly realized he's preaching just for Don Amena, and for impressing. Oh, how God had to break him. What a sickening fall to stoop to, for a preacher to honestly want to impress men, and not be there for one reason, one throb in his heart, and God knows, and man knows, it's only God that matters to me, for what I'm saying here. Only his smile, only his well done, no matter what, let men curse, let men bless, that doesn't matter to me. I long left that, only what God says matters to me, and it should be to you. Oh, be careful of diverting from God preacher, because I'm going to tell you something that will shock you. The moment you do, God will let your whole life fall apart. Don't doubt this. People will turn against you in your own mission. Everything will crumble, even lover and friend has forsaken me. You'll stand so alone with nothing but God. God will strip everyone from your life, everything, even the work, until you come to a place of starting with the first step that matters. Only God matters now. You played a fool trying to impress others, doing things for others in the work of God. It's not just for God. Even God's work can divert you from God. Are you only doing this for God? Are you only staying in the A, B for God, or is it for men? Be careful, God. He'll just, everything will crumble in your life so fast. Don't doubt it. It will happen until you're left with nothing in the whole A, B, nothing, no one you can look to. You have to look to God, and then God will start again. He'll do it again and again, if you divert it from him only. A diversion can be interpreted correctly, though unknowingly, as an excursion from God. Can I repeat that? A diversion can be interpreted correctly, though unknowingly, as an excursion from God, and eventually can be exclusion of God. A diversion. It can happen. Be careful now. Eventually an elimination of any time for God, or you walk with God. Diversions can do that. Christianity is not just avoiding wrong. It's doing right. Overcome evil with good. That's our lives. Oh, I better leave that. That's too controversial. It'll take too much time. Now, if you leave your life void when you come to God, you can land up, when you try in your attempt, you can land up worse in the first place. Don't turn away from evil and think that's it, you've got to overcome evil with good. Replace, replace, replace. Oh, replace evil thoughts with good thoughts. I found the most wonderful way was just to memorize scriptures, and that gave me so much time. The moment the devil tried to bring an evil thought, I just memorized the next couple of verses. Bless the Lord, it works. Replace godless friends, replace godly for evil friends. Don't sit back and think you're going to survive without friends. Christian biography instead of novels of trash literature. Go out of your way. Godly hymns and godly music instead of satanic music that God said stop. Don't leave a void. Don't leave a void. Don't leave a void. Don't let your life be cleansed out and then come with like a vengeance returning. Oh, all these things. I wish I had time. Don't go back to the filthy bioscopes, where 99.99999999 percent will blaspheme and morally corrupt you and degrade you and defile you. And the point, point, the little 0.1 percent that Hollywood disses out, goodness me. Be careful. You divert back and get off the king's way and go to what the godless territory is. Be careful. Oh, be careful. What is more important, more precious than to walk with Jesus Christ? Is anything in life, even Hollywood technology, their blockbusting, the tremendous impact they make the way they are. Get a little taste of it. Be careful. You can really get swathed up. It's so good these days. Be careful of everything, anything. Replace videos with Christian films from the Moody Bible Institute. Replace novels with Christian biographies of Spurgeon and Hudson Taylor and Charles Finney and Andrew Murray. Don't try the new men. They most are going to make shipwreck before they die. Go to the men who worked, who moved the whole world to God, and that'll keep you a lifetime of good literature that will build you up to want to win the world for God every page you reach. Because it worked in them to the end. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. Tell me, what are you treasuring in your heart? What are you laying up in your heart that comes forth? The whole of your life must be, what are you filling with the reservoir of your heart daily to keep? What's everything that's pure? What's everything that's lovely? If there be any virtue, God says, think of these things. Please put it on top of your TV, that verse. Please. This is the way. Walk ye in it. I believe God can take us to a higher level. Be careful now. Don't get offended. Susanna Wesley all read her life, not just her son's life. She loved to read. She spent hours studying the scriptures and other literature, but she purposely avoided novels or similar books, which could not or would not contribute to her spiritual growth. Are you redeeming the time? I'm not saying there isn't good literature that can educate you and build you up. Can I ask you, in your 24 hours, if you were to just put the time of what you spend with things that have nothing to do with God and the things that are explicitly to do with God, would you land up in your own eyes being ashamed of what you're doing, redeeming the time? She purposely avoided novels and similar books, which could not contribute to her spiritual growth. And so her name lives on, generation after generation, as one of the godliest examples of someone who could produce a man like Wesley and Charles, let alone John. Jeanette van den Berghe, I don't know if she's in the meeting. At her salvation, she vowed from that time onwards to lay down novels and any literature, and only to read that which the Holy Spirit would guide her, could build her up spiritually and make her more like Jesus. Now, her life was addicted to reading novels and magazines before her salvation. Replace. Why not replace with the best, rather than just something that's acceptable? Don't you want God's best? I'm not saying everything's sin, but where will the Holy Spirit draw the line and say this is the way, walking unless you're confronted somewhere along the line, if you're just spending most of your life with things that will do nothing for you spiritually? Oh, be careful, even books can divert you. You know, Martin Luther, he wrote 60,000 books about this book. Pamphlets, documents, 60,000. Now, that's a good preacher. Always busy with the things of God. But Martin Luther, when he was dying, do you know what he said? Words that shook the world to this day, shook me. As he was dying, he said, I have one great regret. All the documents and books I've written about this book, if I could just burn them before I die, but I can't now, they spread all over the world as the Reformation went on and on. If I could have one last wish, it would be to burn all those documents, that 60,000, because I have come to realize men are neglecting the book. And this is just the beginning. For books about the book, they neglect the book itself. Tell me, does the Holy Spirit draw the line right now, right now in your heart and say, look, it's you I'm speaking to, child. It's you. How many times have you read the Bible? How many times have you read through that book? That book. How many books have you read through and through? Tell me, even if it's education, even if it's your work progress, you haven't read through this book. Shame on you. That's all I can say. Shame on you. Music. Moody said, the most important book for a Christian to have beside the Bible itself is a hymn book. I don't want to argue with Moody. Somebody's, well, I mean, I would say the Pilgrim's Progress, but Moody probably is right. The most important book for Christians to have beside the Bible itself is a hymn book. But be careful not to be diverted today by going into the devil's territory and take the devil's music. Just throw in the word Jesus. Every now and again, think, oh, there is something religious here. Be careful not to let yourself be diverted off the way, the King's way. The American church today, the evangelical church today of America, and they have great multitudes of born-again believers because of the Bible Belt, because of Charles Finney, especially Whitefield, first Edwards, then Whitefield, then Finney, later on the prayer revival through Jonathan, through Lamphere, and then the prayer revival in Moody. There's multitudes there, but the churches are not split on doctrine anymore. Evangelical churches used to be so. The one thing that unites the whole church and the other section is there's two sections now, music. The godly leave the churches and their masses and travel past 20, 30, 40, 50, 100 churches to get to one church that doesn't destroy them, wear them to the ground by playing worldly, devilish music and saying, this is the modern way. Oh, sir, be careful. You're willing to lose the godly just to get the world, and that's all you'll get. If the godly can't survive your music, sir, you're no longer godly. You're worldly. If the only music you can use to get the world, to get your congregation filled or the youth groups you've got is the world's music and throw in the name of Jesus, I mean, just look at the faces of the groups in the front that you have entertaining them and tell me that's God, and you let the godly go. That's because you didn't want the godly. You just wanted good attendances, even if it's the world. Be careful of not wanting to be successful and throwing away being faithful. And the stepping stone to be unfaithful in every aspect of truth, just music. The next, give them a year, give them five years, there's nothing left. You'll think it is the world, full stop. Even the message from the pulpit, nothing that can win a man in truth. Scared to offend because most of the people you've got are the world. You don't want to lose them now. I mean, you've lost the godly. Be careful. Godly music. I dare you, young people, to burn all that trash that the Holy Spirit, if you want God, the Holy Spirit will say, look, this has got to stop, child. I dare you to replace it with music that's godly, that's beautiful. I don't say you have to be in one stigma of just hymns. I used to listen to classical and I loved it, I must say, because I'd never known such beautiful music. But even that I buried, because I only love the hymns now. Am I going too far? I'd rather do what old uncle de Toy, François de Toy, when he apologized to his parents for going too far, maybe going too far, as it may be, and making it difficult for them. And the old mother said, oh, we discussed you and decided we'd rather you go too far. Let you get to heaven and God say to you, you went too far, child, that for God to look at you and say you never, ever were willing to go far enough. We're glad if you went too far, boy. Discipline yourself. The more you listen to music, even if it's Satan's music, you will enjoy it eventually. What's obnoxious to you, give it a chance, continue to just absorb it, and I guarantee you, continue listening, and eventually you'll enjoy it. I dare you to listen to godly music or beautiful music, music that is pure, lovely, whatsoever things are pure, not things that are associated with devilish, evil, wicked ways. You don't have to bury our heritage of the godly hymns, sir. And I dare the Church of Jesus Christ that's left, that's conservative, I mean, with a standard. Get your young people, don't tell them evil music is not here. Teach them to take up violins and pianos and everything else and start in a classical way like overseas, up to 400 of them sit there, these young people playing the great hymns of their faith, 5,000 in meetings I've been, young people, not angry, not unhappy, singing the great hymns of the faith in such a sanctified way, looking like sanctified people. For God's sake, don't tell them no, and then don't tell them what to do. Teach them before they go back. You give yourself a few days, just listen to good godly music, you'll love it. But give it a chance, for God's sake, for God's sake. Well, that means I've got to end because I've lost the place. It must be that it's meant. Listen to me, only one life to live, it will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last. And so, leave this building and go on doing the things that are nothing to do with Christ and waste your life. Or, even if it's hard at first, stay on the King's way, the highest possible way, the carefulest route, that nothing will divert you from God, not even God's word, not even novels of Christianity. Don't waste your time when you haven't read through the true stories. What do you want to listen to fictionless things for? Do I fame you? Can we stand, please?