10 through verse number 16, I read this last Wednesday night and tried to more or less give an introduction about all I got done with it last Wednesday night, but I want us to look a little further at some just practical thoughts that may help us today if we can for God's glory. Acts chapter 9 verse 10 through verse number 16, and this is about Paul's life, but Paul here was saved three days after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, but here it tells about this, in Acts chapter 9 verse number 10, And there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, And the LORD said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he prayed, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem. And here he hath authority from the chief priests to buy an oil that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, and to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. And I will show him how great things he must suffer for my namesake. You may be seated tonight. and what we started dealing with last Sunday night, I felt I need to do this, and yet it's a, it's a hard subject in a way, and I've got no vendetta I guess you could say in saying this, but I just want us to think about some things about major problems of new converts. And I know new converts are, are few and far between, I understand that, but still there's some major problems that they have. Now Paul was a new convert here at this time, and some of these He had some problems just like anyone would have some problem. But he said he's a chosen vessel. And you know something not only was Paul a chosen vessel you're a chosen vessel. Now that doesn't mean any many mighty more and you know that type of thing. It just means that chosen were in Christ. Ephesians 1, verse 4, He said, According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. It didn't mean God said you to hell or heaven. He just said I've chosen my Son and I've got a way. He's going to die on the cross of Calvary and everybody who will allow the Holy Ghost and will yield to the divine influence of the Holy Ghost who causeth you to approach the Lord that we dealt with. Remember, He said He will be in Christ. He'll be saved. He'll be in Christ and therefore He's chosen. And so we're chosen. Now, as we think about that, if we're chosen, and since we're chosen, we have a tendency to think, well, the Lord would honor us. The Lord will magnify us. The Lord will treat us with care. He'll let no harm. He'll let no tragedy come to us. He'll not let us have trials. He'll not let us have difficulties, nor will we have any problems. Now, sometimes you may not say you believe that, but sometimes even if you're not saved, you think, boy, if I could just get to that point, it's going to be hunky-dory. from here on in. Amen? And it's going to be alright. I won't have any problem. But you know something? The opposite... is really true. The opposite is true. Verse number 16, Paul said about, God said about Paul here, He said through Ananias, it said, Tell him I will show him how great things he must suffer for my namesake. Now all converts face problems and everybody faces problems. You even get in a narrow way heading to the straight gate, the devil is going to do everything he can to keep you from getting in, that's why he said strive. to enter in, but the new converts have problems, and they have problems they never expected to face. They really do. Now, as we think, and like I say, it's just not something to try to prop somebody up. In fact, I try to be very careful of that because I've said before, time will tell. Gold will pan out. There's proof in the pudding. Amen. In other words, we know it will pan out. If you've got gold, it'll come forth. It'll show up on you. But you converts, First thing, problem I think we started dealing with the other night just a little bit that we face and there's seven of them I want to deal with in this series but the first problem a new convert will have is that they expect too much too soon. And not only do they have that themselves, I think sometimes we expect too much out of somebody just because they say they're saved. For instance, after you're saved, you expect to know everything there is to know. Well, did not the Bible say about the preacher? It said, don't call a novice. That's one who's just recently been saved in one sense because he doesn't know everything he thinks he knows. And I remember back years ago when I was lost and I started preaching, I knew everything there was to know, I thought. In a roundabout, if you'd asked me, I wouldn't have said that. But I thought I had it. I had it in the back of my Bible when I started studying. These little blank pages in the back of a Scofield Bible, I had about two of them covered up with places to find some scripture, man. That's all I needed. All I needed, that was enough. Oh, my Lord, help us. Y'all understand what I'm saying? You see, but the Lord said to those whom He had taught for three years, you know what He told them in John chapter 16, verse number 12 and 13? After He said He'd send the Holy Ghost back, He said, verse 12, I have yet many things to say unto you, But ye cannot bear them now. There's some things even after they said it to the master teacher for three years that they still didn't know. They still didn't understand. And he said, I cannot tell you now. You can't bear them. They're too much for you. You're not ready for them now. But he says in verse 13, Howbeit when he, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth. So it's going to take some time. You don't know it all in the beginning. And so when we expect too much we also expect immediate maturity. Well I'm saved and therefore I'm just going to be like a grown up person. I know the Bible says we're placed as an adult adopted son but that's in position. But there's still got to be some maturity. I Peter chapter 2 verse number 2, he said, As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. And to do that, you're going to have to study. The Bible says in II Timothy 2.15, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Now I don't know about you, but study some of the hardest work you've ever done. Amen? I'd a whole lot rather get out and exercise muscles and not have to even think. You know what they say about farmers? They say you're supposed to have a strong back and a weak mind. That's about what they used to say. It's different today than it used to be, but you just had to have a strong back and a weak mind. But I want to tell you, I remember going into the place of business in Paris, Tennessee, and I'd been used to work. But I won't tell you what, I'd go in there and I didn't really think I did anything all day. All I did was talk to people and figure and try to trade and try to do this and try to do that. And I'd go home and I'd tell my wife, I'm tired, I don't know why I'm tired, I've not done nothing. But anytime you work, mentally even, it weakens you, it tires you out. It tires you. And so therefore study is something that tires you. In fact the Bible says that in Ecclesiastes 12, 12, And further by these my son be admonished of making many books, there's no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. And so it is. We don't like to do it. I mean as a whole we don't really like to do that. But we expect immediate maturity without growing, without studying. And we also expect automatic manipulation, in other words, what do you mean by that? Well, you know, we want to be operated like a vacuum cleaner, Lord turn me on, it just turns it on, in other words, manipulated, in other words, listen, a vacuum cleaner has no desire, nor does it have a will, but man does. God put it there, you see, and the Holy Spirit's not a manipulator. He must be committed to, He must be surrendered to, even after you're saved, He must be yielded to daily, and He guides you, not drives you. He don't push you around like a vacuum cleaner, amen? Therefore, we must take our hands off ourself. Now, at the point of salvation, you do that, but it's easy to let old self get back on the throne, in a sense, old flesh to get back on the throne. I should say, word terminology gets you in a mess, and say I'm going to do this. Abraham messed up right after he saved went into Hagar because he didn't totally find out what God wanted. He was just a babe in Christ in that sense and so therefore we must take our hands off ourselves. Young converts expect automatic manipulation. We expect too much. too soon. Another thing, we expect instant insight, perfect wisdom and understanding. Boy, I'll never have any more questions about the Bible now. You don't know something, just ask me. Oh, you say, I didn't believe that, but you know down deep you'd think about that more. Sometimes you can get that way on the narrow way that leads to the straight gate, amen? But also, we expect instant foresight and foreknowledge. In other words, most of us want to know the will of God for tomorrow, today. What does a prayer, the prayer that they label the Lord's Prayer, which is really the model prayer, he said, Lord, give us this day our daily bread. And that's not just talking about something to eat. It's talking about the will of God, in a sense, is implied. We need to find out, but we want to, Lord, what are your will for me tomorrow? today and sometime we were so worried about tomorrow we miss out on the day's will don't do what we ought to we most are interested in tomorrow and not trusting today expect too much we expect perfect understanding we we don't expect any more frustrations you get frustrated as you seek the Lord anybody ever that way anybody that way Well, I want this to be gone. And I know the Bible said all things are passed away. Behold, all things become new. But listen, we expect no further frustrations, no perplexities. And you say, well, I'll just understand everything. And in a sense, you will, but also in a sense, you won't. Now, that makes a good sense. Well, you say, I won't have any problem with it. Well, it won't take you long when you study the Word of God and you'll find out that you don't have perfect understanding. God didn't snap His finger and give you complete understanding in all things the moment that He touched you and saved you. Now, sure He shows you things and He does give you insight and He gives you understanding, but just because you're saved doesn't mean you'll understand everything immediately the moment you're saved because you realize something, it's a growing process. In fact, you're going to be unfolding what God did for you, the point of salvation, the preparatory work that led up to salvation, that will be unfolded to you all throughout an eternity. How do I know that? Well let me tell you what the Bible said in the book of John. John chapter 21 verse number 25, the last verse of John, this is what the Bible says, and He said, There are also many other things which Jesus did, that which if they could be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. You hear what that said? Just for three years that he walked upon this earth, he said if the earth was a library and the books was all written about what Jesus did, the world couldn't, the earth couldn't have held him. You ever been in the big library? I mean, Toyer High School was big enough for me. I didn't want to read all those books there. But you think about, can you think about this building? You have bookshelves, just a little narrow passageway, and you've got books all in this building. You'd say, that's a lot of books. He said the world couldn't hold what Jesus did in three years of ministry. How can we expect to know everything about Him? He's going to be unfolding us that throughout an eternity and yet we think just because we're saved and we think others ought to instantly just be boy just a grown up person and never make any mistakes you understand in that sense. Now I know a lot of them who make professions are not saved and I understand that. And the majority of them, when you get right down to it, in this world in which we're living in, but you realize something, we need to realize it's a growing process, and we expect too much. We expect ignorance to be gone. Well, I'll tell you, we don't know about everything, and ignorance just simply means a lack of facts about something, and so instead of being gone, we're swamped with ignorance, in a sense. The more you learn, the less you find out you know. You ever thought of that? I feel like I know less today than I did 20 years ago. I'm serious about it. I'm not just saying that to say it. Sometimes I go back and listen to some tapes that I preached 18 years ago, and I say I wish I could preach that good again. And I didn't know it was good then. But to me, it seemed like I didn't have a stumbling for words. And sometimes I stumble and stumble and stumble. And y'all keep wanting to put up with me, amen. I don't know why, amen. But I'm saying the more you learn the less you feel like you know because you're just uncovering layer after layer after layer and there's some things, you see sometimes you may get down to you don't know but one thing and that is that you're saved but hallelujah that's enough. I heard Brother Milby tell some years ago about the old man lost his mind, kind of, and didn't even know his daughter, didn't know his family, didn't know anything hardly around him, just sort of around, but all at once, they said, watch this. And said he, the preacher asked him, said, hey, when did you get saved? Man, he said he perked up and told him when he got saved and then turned right around and said, who's this over here, who's this woman right over here, his own daughter? He didn't even know who it was. but he knew he was saved. Amen. Now I don't understand all that. That may not happen to every person. That doesn't mean necessarily they're not saved. But listen, you may get to the point, even with your good mind, that you really have to come, I don't know anything, but one thing I do know, I know I'm saved by the grace of God. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Amen. And you don't doubt what the Lord does. Amen. You don't doubt that. Well, at any rate, you see, we expect too much too soon. That's a major problem of new converts than we expected. out of them as well. Second thing is we're expecting to know how to pray without having to learn. Jesus had to teach His disciples how to pray, didn't He? You know what Galatians chapter 4 verse number 6 says, And because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son in your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. That translated could mean Papa, Papa, or Dada, or something that's a very intimate term that you may have around your own house, if you please. You see, but we're living in a day when religious folks think they know how to pray. They change their voice and their rear back and say, I, well it would be like the Pharisee said over in the book of, over in the book of Luke chapter number 18 verse number 11 and 12, he said this, he said, The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican, I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess. Listen, it's not about us, it's about Him. And that's why many Pharisees today think they've got it all down pat, and that Pharisee is a legalistic Baptist as well. See, when you get saved, especially after being religious, a Baptist, maybe a Sunday school teacher or a preacher, you think you really know how to pray, but listen, that's a problem we have. You see, when you're first saved, you say, well, I think I know how to pray, but we have to learn. Does not a baby, I mean, have to learn how to talk? In other words, he's got to learn. And do you tell that baby, don't you say one word, don't you even say mumma or anything, don't say dada. No, y'all all try to get him to say dada before he says mumma. Right? You try to, you want to hear those little mumbling of those words and they're sweet to hear. If they crawl up in your lap, even though they can't pass an English test, they can say da-da, love you, or whatever it might be. It's a good feeling, isn't it Adam? Amen? It's a good feeling. And you don't say, don't you say one word until you put it all in sentence form, you see? And so therefore, we need to get to that place as far as praying is concerned. Babies can't talk, but they can cry out for what they want, can't they? They can cry out. In other words, young converts, don't worry about how to pray, just cry out. You can cry out and the Holy Ghost will show you the truth of God's Word in His time for His glory. Now a person saved must understand the Word of God that is real, sincere, and honest, and Spirit anointed. In other words, Word of God that God directs to him that will feed his soul. He's got to come to that place. He's got to understand that. But not only understand it enough, but he's got to be under that kind of Word. You know why people are like they are today? And I think the majority of them is not saved. I understand that. And Hebrews said many of you need to go back and be taught with the first oracles of the word when you ought to be having meat, eating meat, but you can't even handle the milk good. And but it's the reason of that. A lot of times they're not saved, but yet they need to be under spirit filled preaching, truth preaching where the Spirit of God directs it to their heart. You might not have an ear to hear if you're not saved, I understand that. But if you're saved, you've got an ear to hear and God's going to bring you out of that and He's going to let you grow. You see? And if you're not under that kind of preaching, all you're getting is a pacifier. Now, a pacifier's good sometimes to keep them quiet in church sometimes, you know, but I'm going to tell you what, when they get hungry, they'll spit that pacifier plum out of their mouth and say, I want the real thing. Amen? Right, Marty? It only does at certain times to satisfy their sucking type instinct when their belly's full, but you let the belly get full, they may grab it, think they got the real thing, but they'll spit it out. You know what more people need to do is spit out the wrong kind of preaching and get quit having a pacifier, because it's not going to satisfy. We need to get to the place where God can speak. Listen, the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. You say, but it's true. Yeah, it may be true, but it's still. I want to say this, my palate's been touched for the real truth of the preaching of the Word of God. I remember a time And you know I used to sit in places back in bygone days and I'd go to some of those meetings and some of our fellowship meetings, our brothering meetings if you please and they'd preach about the Word, they'd say some things and I thought they was pretty good preachers, they told some pretty good jokes I guess you could say and they satisfied me, really they pacified me, that's all they did. Of course, I didn't have anything, you see. But I was in darkness. But now that I'm saved, the pacifier won't satisfy any longer, you see. If you're lost, you have a tendency to spit out the truth. But once you're saved, you want the truth, and you'll spit out the pacifier. Cry out, and the Holy Spirit will teach you the truth in His time for His glory. What you need, what you can handle, day by day. You say, but preacher, I don't know how to pray. And then you're getting, you're really putting yourself in a position to be taught. You're getting to a good place to get to that place when you're getting honest. James 1, 19, he said, let every man be swift to hear and slow to speak. Now, most of us, if we're not careful, when we go to pray, we get on our knees, we do most of the talking, and then we say amen, and we get up and go our way, and we do all the talking. We don't wait for God to talk to us. If you've got if you're calling your wife on the telephone and you just pick up the receiver and say hello, honey How are you doing? And there's no you didn't die. You don't die. You're not gonna get through you're not gonna get any response back It's not gonna get much of a conversation going on and sometimes we never We don't dial in a sense. We don't find out what God wants us to do as far as we don't let the Holy Ghost as the operator plug us in. And then when we do, sometime we do all the talking and we don't do any listening. You've got one ear, two ears and one tongue. Amen. Be swift to hear and slow to speak is what it amounts to, you see. We think prayer is a one-sided thing and we do all the talking. So it's a problem that young converts have. They expect to know how to pray without having to learn. They expect too much too soon and so there are others around. The third thing is that we expect always to be filled and never empty. Boy, I tell you now that I'm saved, I'll never be empty again. Everything is going to be filled up to the top. Well, listen, you think you're going to always feel good and never feel bad. those things come in bother me, used to bother me when I was seeking the Lord. Think that once saved that will do away with all my trials and I'll never be empty again. But you know what Matthew 5, 6 said and I know in context at first it's dealing with a person that's not saved. He's talking about how we need to mourn and we need to get poor in spirit and then we need to have a meek spirit and then we need to hunger and thirst after righteousness. That's verse number 6, Matthew 5, 6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Folks, you'll be hungry and thirsting after righteousness from here on. You need to, not only for salvation, but you need to hunger and thirst after the things of God. And the ministry of the Holy Spirit is really to produce emptiness in you and dryness in you so that you'll hunger and you'll thirst after righteousness. that young converts face, especially those who have been saved for a long time. In other words, we expect contentment without discontentment. We expect satisfaction without dissatisfaction. We expect to be happy and never sad. In other words, that's exactly what we expect, to always be filled and never have any problem. But the Bible said, Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness. Hunger is a dissatisfaction. God said you're spiritually prospered when you hunger and you thirst. You realize hunger is a sign I need something. Hunger is not bad unless I can't find something to satisfy. And in this world we're in today, I want to tell you there's not a lot of preaching that's going to satisfy somebody who's already been saved. Amen? It's bad shape across this country today. happen to us is to experience emptiness spiritually because you're getting ready to get something from the Lord to fill you back up. A child of God will experience dryness of the soul. You say, I thought I'd never thirst again. You won't thirst for salvation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new. But you'll have a thirst in your soul for the things of God, a thirst for the living God. Oh, Paul said, Oh, that I may know Him. And that was after he was saved. There will be a behemoth desire, which is one of the results of godly sorrow, work and repentance in your life. First, Second Corinthians chapter 7 verse number 11 the vehement desire your thirst for righteousness your thirst for right standing daily with God not talking about salvation or justification and that's the ministry of the Holy Ghost to produce dryness so you'll thirst for the things of God. A new convert has the Holy Spirit moved on the inside and they get empty and they get frustrated and they say, I thought it was going to be different from what it is now. I thought I was, I'd never get hungry. That's not the time to quit. That's the time to find some food. When you get hungry, don't you hunt something to eat? Huh? You let one of these little babies get hungry, they'll go to flinging their arms and they'll throw away everything. Amen? I mean, they'll get rid of everything. Pacifier won't satisfy anymore because they want to be filled. They want to be filled. Well, I want to find the place where the best food is at when I get hungry. Don't you? I mean, have you ever been to a restaurant? You said, I'll never go back to that place again. I never will forget, we went off on vacation one time, whenever, Laurie was, I don't even know, she wasn't even born, was she? No, she wasn't born, because Laurie was just a little bitty baby. And we took a vacation, got the old truck, put the camper on it, and got the tent. We was going the cheap, economical way. Got the ice on the food and everything. And Lucy had a great vacation. We had steak, had to cook steak. We had steak, you know. We carried it with us, enough to last for about a whole week. We wasn't gonna spend the whole lot. But after a few days, we got over to Cherokee, North Carolina, and we thought, man, why don't we try out a restaurant? And we went into a place over there, I don't know what, I can't, you know, that's four days of McDonald's and all that stuff, you know? But we went in a restaurant over there, and I'm telling you what, you couldn't even eat the hot dogs. I think we ordered hot dogs, didn't I? I did, I don't know what you ordered. You remember it, don't you? Man, they were bad, huh? Will I ever go back to that restaurant? You think I'm that bad of a fool? I'm not going back there. Another time, I remember, boy, we were splurged. We went into a place in Murray. It's not there anymore, but it was a little diner. I guess a greasy spoon in there. Some way or another, we decided we'd go get a piece of apple pie and paid a quarter for that thing. Can you find it for now for a quarter? You can't do that, you know? But we ordered, and some way or another, they got the thing messed up and sent two pieces of apple pie. That's 50 cents, ma'am, that's more than I want to spend, you understand? But what do you do? Well, I'm embarrassed to say, well, I just ordered one, so we sat down and put our fork in one. We was gonna eat it together, so we started to eat it together. That was the awfulest stuff. You couldn't even taste it. It was pitiful, it was pitiful. You think I'll ever go back to that restaurant again? You think I went back the next day? Tried to get him to take back that other piece of pie, and he wouldn't do it, so we paid him the 50 cents, as if to say bye forever. Y'all know what, you know, boy, we've had some good experiences in restaurants, you know. What I'm saying is, do you wanna hang around that type of food? When you hunger and thirst for something, are you gonna be satisfied with some apple pie that's not worth even putting your lip over? Are you satisfied with a hot dog? I don't know what it was. You couldn't even eat it. I mean, honestly, it was bad. And I can eat pretty good. But it was bad. What I'm saying, listen, we need to get to the place. Some places I will not be around anymore. I don't want to go back anymore to some of those places because the food is not satisfied. I'm talking about churches. Amen. Some things I love in the word of God. And when I get hungry, I start dining on them. And God helps you to fill you. And you expect God to set a table where the saints of God are fed. We sing the song, come and dine. He set a table, Psalm 23, 5, He promised us this, Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. He said He set a table in the presence of our enemies. So I love it when the Holy Ghost rings the dinner bell. Amen. I remember talking about back in the olden days, you know, they had dinner bells setting up out by the house, and we still got the old dinner bell from my great-granddaddy's house. And they talked about that a whole lot. It was one of those double A-frame bells, great old big bell. He had an old one, but he had a frame built up there. And he said, they'd be off a good ways away from the house, and said, when the mule heard the dinner bell ring, you might as well unhook them right there. Because if you was going the opposite way, they wouldn't go to the end of the field. They knew it was time for corn. They had more sense than some people. But they liked to hear the dinner bell rung because Grandma had stayed at home. She had been a keeper at home. She had fixed the food, and man, she had the table set. And the mules knew about it, and they went to eat. Listen, when God rings the dinner bell, you'll want to go somewhere, you'll want to get in on it, but I'm going to tell you what, there's some places the ding-dongers done out of the bell. Amen? It's not even there. Y'all get the point? I mean, it's not there. And so, therefore, before the dinner bell rings, there comes a discontentment. Boy, if you had a watch back in those days, you'd plow, and you'd get tired, and you'd look at your watch, and you'd say, boy, about 12 o'clock, that bell's gonna ring. But, boy, the closer you got to it, the mouth began to water, knowing that they had the corn on the knob, we used to call it, you know, corn on the cob, or whatever, and that type thing. You know, you'd long for it, you got discontentment, you got hungry, and man, you didn't have to be cold twice to come to dinner. Amen? Y'all get the point? Our problem is today, there's not many tables that's set in this day and time. And every time I get dry, I know I'm fixing to get a drink because it's the Holy Ghost. He's working, in other words, He's got one for me. Every time I get hungry, I know I'm fixing to get a steak for the Holy Ghost. fixes for you, if you please, a stake of the Word of God. He's fixing to show me something precious when I get hungry and thirsty, because He said, I'll pour water on the thirsty. That's not only for the lost man, that's for the new convert. God says, you need the blessings of that man who continues. And some converts said, they get in that like, they say, oh, something's wrong, you know. What is it? And the fear moves in upon them. Frustration moves in because young converts expect never to be empty. They'll expect always to be filled. Now I know many of them are not saved, I understand that, but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt. But we never, if we're not careful, we don't expect dissatisfaction of the soul. And therefore, another thing is we expect acceptance without opposition. I'm talking about problems of new converts. We expect to be accepted. I don't know about you, but I'd like to be accepted. That's why kids have problems in school. That's why they want to, I mean, this thing of peer pressure, that's to be accepted, isn't it? Peer pressure. I want to fit in. I mean, if they come out, you know, and some girl comes out with a new fangle hairdo and it's all frizzed out and looks like she's been plugged into a light socket, everybody wants one of those jobs like that. Huh? Go home, plug in the light socket. Am I right? I want to be just like them. They're not listening to me. They may be listening and not hearing. You hear it? She's hearing me. She's acting like she's not hearing me. But that's what happens. Why do we want to do that? Why don't we be an individual? The devil's a copycat. And the devil wants you to copycat everybody else. God made you an individual. Be what you need to be. I don't know how I got off on that. But you see, we expect as a new convert, we expect acceptance and never without any opposition. In other words, you know, I wish we could worship without war. Huh? You say, what do you mean, war? Well, I wish the devil would leave young converts alone. In fact, I wish the devil would leave old converts alone. Amen? In other words, I wish he'd leave everybody alone, even the seekers alone. But I will tell you, he has no respect for immaturity. He just assumed to jump on a newborn babe and try their best to get rid of them. In other words, to do them in, if you please. He'll just as soon as do that as attack an older convert. You see, if you're a young convert, you can expect the devil to be on your back before you get home if you get saved, amen? You can expect it. He's already on you, amen? If you're trying to seek the Lord, he's already on you. You say, well, I don't want any war. I don't want to make any war. Don't make any difference. You see, when you made peace with the Lord, the devil declared war. I'm against war I'm for peace in that sense you understand as far as the peace of God but I but I'm I'm not going I'm going to have peace of God that I'm going to have a war if I have peace of God I'm going to have war you say I don't want any but the Bible said in James chapter 4 verse number 1 From whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence even of your lust at war in your members? In other words, fleshly wars against the soul. In other words, Paul said that in Romans 7, I would not that that I would, I would that that I would not. There was a battle going on inside a young convert. Paul had that problem. I don't know what he expected exactly, but I'll tell you, most of us, we expect too much. We expect acceptance without opposition. You realize, if we're going to have war, we're going to have war in the flesh, and war with the world, and war with the devil, because they're all against you. This world's not my home, I'm just a-passin' through. And we might as well as to learn that there'll be a resistance, but we're expecting an acceptance. We're expecting to be accepted. We want God to accept us, and He does, but we also want the devil to accept us now that we've been saved. In fact, we're expecting everybody to accept us without any opposition at all, but I won't tell you it's not that way. In fact, the Bible says this in the book of Matthew, chapter 10, verse 34, 35 and 6 he said think not that I am come to send peace on the earth I came not to send peace but a sword for I am come to set a man at Behrens against his father and against his daughter the daughter against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law And the man's foes shall be they of his own household. That shows us that we can expect peace on earth and not expect... In other words, we think that, but listen, we're going to have division on earth. God said it in His Word, we're going to have it. We think that we can expect peace and no opposition, but the opposite is true. We're going to have a division. And so therefore you say, but I didn't expect it to be that way. In fact, he said the foes are of your own household. Mama against the daughter and daddy against the son and whatnot, your own household. You expected your family to receive you just because Jesus received you. You thought when you got saved, you'd just trot in the house and say, hey, I got saved today. And they'd say, glory to God, glory to God, I'm glad you did. But you found out that they're your enemy, they're your foe, your own household. Your husband or your wife rolls up, your mother or father of the children rolls up and had some cutting remark or tried to change the subject, just didn't want to talk about it anymore. Well, it happens. You say, but preacher, what are you saying? I'm saying we expect acceptance without opposition whatsoever. That's what we expect. Surely they'll be glad that I got saved. We expect appreciation without rejection. We expect understanding without being understood. And Jesus said a man's family can be his foes and his friends can be his enemies, is what he said. Even the average pastor will reject you when you walk in and say, I just got saved. You don't even have to be saved. Just tell them you got saved, and they'll laugh at you. They'll make fun of you. Why, you was already saved. I was there when you made that profession. You're going to have opposition when you really get saved. You'd think people in the religious world would be happy about it, but they're not, because many of them know if what you're saying is true, they're going to have to go back themselves and let God bring them through a work of godless sorrow to completion and sin, righteousness, and judgment and be saved, and they're just not willing to pay the price. And yet they're going to pay it one day as God casts them in the lake of fire. Lord, Lord, have we not done thus and so? He said, Depart from me, I never knew you. I never knew you. You see, Jesus said in John chapter 16, verse number 33, In the world you shall have tribulation. Tribulation is grievous affliction or distress. It's pressure, a burden upon the spirit. It means to get between the rock or the hard place. You've got to have tribulation. And Luke wrote down what Matthew did basically here in Luke chapter 12. He made this statement in verse number 51 through 53. He said, Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you nay, but rather division. For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, and the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, and the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law. and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Now, the last part of that you expect to happen, didn't you? Y'all didn't hear what I said, did you? The mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law. You expected that to happen. But it says mother against daughter and son against the father and whatnot. In other words, it's going to come. Jesus said He didn't come to send peace but division. Now, automatically you thought that when you were saved the rest of the family would understand and come in on it. But that's not really right, you see. You see, when God saved you, you're the children of light and the rest of the family. In other words, they're, in other words, you're children of light, but the rest who are not saved are in darkness, and they don't like the light. They don't appreciate you. They don't like you. They'll stand against what you stand for. You say, but I didn't know it was going to be that way. Well, what you expected was acceptance without resistance, without any opposition. But yet, you must have resistance. You must, must have rejection. Why? Well, I'll try to get into that. There must be a division between husband and wife, son or daughter, brother or sister. Why? So they can tell that you've been saved. So they can tell that you're different. So they'll want what you have when you live a different life. You say, but they don't want it right now. No, just stick around and continue to do what God wants you to. You're a child of light and light switches on, will switch on and will turn on one of these days in the other people. And they'll say, I want what you've got. I want who you've got. In other words, God will do a work in their heart. That's what it's all about. He's planting a light in the midst, and they're going to kick against that. They're going to buck against that. Any of you ever experienced that? Well, I thought you was already saved. I thought you'd already done that. I mean, not again. Are we going to go through that again? Well, that's because it's bucking up inside, see? We never talked about things like that again, again. See, the night she was under conviction, came home, that night there were several in the church that had made professions, and they didn't get saved, but there were several made professions, but there was some there that I thought was lost, and I was trying to get, they come through the line, and I said, are you saved? Are you safe? You die right now, you know you'd go to heaven. And I was trying, I didn't ask everybody, but I asked several, because I was trying to get to that one person. I didn't want them to think I was picking them out. Well, I didn't ask my wife that. She got home that night, I was already laying in the bed, and she looked down at me, and she had a very, very stern look on her face. I remember it very well, but yet I didn't think too much about it at that time. But she looked down, she said, why didn't you ask me if I was safe tonight? I said, honey, I know you. She said, you don't know anybody. I didn't catch it, I didn't pick up on it. And the next night she walked out and was saved and we hushed. I didn't talk about it. I didn't talk about it. But he put a light in the midst. Somebody prayed for me, you know. Even whenever somebody'd come over to talk to the preacher about their soul who was lost, she'd begin to talk to that individual. I remember it just as well as just yesterday. And Holy Ghost said, she's talking to you. I didn't let her know that I knew that, but later on I asked her. She said I was. But thank God for that. See, don't keep riding that old stick horse to death. Don't keep on going that way. Let God, that division's there because God wants to put a light. Yes, they're not going to be perfect, I know that. And you're going to try to pick out everything you can to put down and say this is not this and this is not that. But I want to tell you that's God's goodness to let you have a light right there with you. Husbands and wives, sons or daughters or daddies or mamas or whoever. Mama laws and daddies laws. laws as well. Amen? Because God wants to put a light in that house. Just stick around, the switch will turn on. But we expect reception without any rejection whatsoever. I Peter chapter 4, verse number 3, Peter says this, I Peter chapter 4 verse 3, He said, For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries, wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of right, speaking lied in the house and say, why are they doing that? You see, Peter says, your friends that you run around with before you were saved, your buddies, they speak evil of you because you got saved. They criticize you, they tear you down. Instead of involvement, you'll have isolation. So one of the greatest problems of young converts is the feeling of isolation, of loneliness, and can't talk to anybody in the city. before he always was one of the gang, I mean, he was always looked up to, he was always included when the other buddies went out, and all of his friends, or she was included in all the chit-chats. But as soon as you got saved, all of a sudden, instead of involvement, there's isolation. When you get around them now, they speak evil of you. They wonder why you don't run with the same crowd, why you don't do the same things and enjoy the same things you used to. Why don't you enjoy the excessive right that Peter talked about? They wonder why you don't drink like you did or why you don't live like you used to live. And when they're doing the same thing, now all of a sudden you're the troublemaker. You're the one that's rocking the boat. You're the one that's causing the problem. You want to be involved again. The old flesh does. I wish I was accepted like I was before. And you want to be involved and you say, but hey, Take me like I am now, and they said, no, we like you like you were before. Wish you was back like you was. My sister said she liked me like I used to be. She said that, you know, like me, like I used to be. And I hadn't even tried to cram anything down her throat, you know. Hadn't, I used to when I was in legalism, tried to cram it down her throat. And then whenever I got the other way, went through that trouble and turmoil of times, she made a statement to mom, she liked the new Edgar better than the old Edgar. Now then, now then the new Edgar she don't like at all. you know, in that sense. You understand what I'm saying? That's what he's talking about. But we don't like you like you are now. That's what the gangs say. So you're isolated and you say, poor me. Have a pity party, go home and play you a little violin, you know. Have a pity party. My friends don't like me and I have foes at the house. In other words, it's something when you have foes at your house and your friends won't fellowship with you. That's something. But I told you, it's not what you thought it was going to be like when you got saved. We don't expect resistance or rejection. We expect everybody to love us. They're going to love me now. because we love them and we expect them to love us in return. You say, I love you, but they'll say, don't touch me, don't get around me, I've had all you I want. They may not say it that way, but their actions do. First thing you know, they don't invite you to their get-togethers, then you come to the preacher and say, I'm as lonely as a person can be. I'm so lonely I could die. And you supposed to be that, you supposed it wasn't supposed to be that way. And why? Because you got to learn. God's bringing you to the place where you'll learn to lean on Christ and then others can see Christ in you. You see, you don't need to lean on the preacher. Some preachers teach their people to lean on them. I don't want you to lean on me. Amen. Lord help, I'm already wobbly. I'm already down in a sense. Don't lean on me. I don't mind talking and giving advice and that type of thing as best as I know how. But listen, you've got to learn to lean on the Lord. And if you don't do it, you've got a problem. You're going to have a real problem. That's what God's working in you so that He'll take all your idols away. If you put me on a pedestal, I'll fall off. He don't want you to lean on me. He don't want you to put me above Him. I'm a nobody. I'm a nothing. It's not about me. It's about the Lord. It's about Him, you understand? That's what you've got to see. So therefore, you need to learn to lean. Now they speak evil of you because you don't run to the same excess of right that you once did. And now all of a sudden you're a problem, you're the troublemaker, and you are a troublemaker. You're the one that got saved, in other words. Because if you go in where they are, you're odd. Because you don't talk like you used to, and you don't do like you used to. And now they don't even want to talk to you. They don't want to have nothing to do with you. And in other words, you ask, what's wrong with you folks? What's wrong with them? What's wrong? You see, I love them. And they say they don't they don't want to get around me. What's wrong with their foes at the house and friends who won't have anything to do with you? You're lonely and isolated. What do you do? You look up your old drinking buddies, the good drinking, but not the old ones, but the good drinking buddies. Fees and 518. He said he said here, he said that fees and 518. He said, find it, and be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. In other words, he's talking about look up your drinking buddies at the house of God, the church. get together with those that drinks out of the same spigot, amen. We're just drinking from a different bottle than we used to drink, amen. In other words, drinking from the spirit, in other essence, get around them. That's where it's at. When a child of God gets saved and filled with the spirit, he starts loving everybody and he likes to get around his drinking buddies. That's why we go to camp meeting Wished we had more drinking buddies at the camp meeting, you understand? But to get around the drinking buddies, those who drink from the well that God sunk in their soul, there's strength in that, you see? They have the same source. And then we're not isolated, but we're welcome, we're involved, and we're included. Psalm 2710, he said, When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord take me up. and you know something, the saints of God will love you when your physical parents won't love you. In other words, your mate won't love you, the saints of God will love you. You just stay true, be a light in the house. The Bible tells how a woman's to win her husband, likewise the husband or wife is to, in 1 Peter chapter 3, it gives you those, be the hidden man of the heart is what he said there. Saints of God will love you. Children of God will love you because you're part of the family of God when no one else will love you. You may have foes at the house and friends that will have nothing to do with you and isolate you, but you have You've got companionship and fellowship with the saints of God. Don't feel sorry for yourself. Don't have a pity party. You say, but preacher, I just don't know how to handle it. You say, well, I'm not got that way. Well, you might. I'm just trying to help you. That's why I'm trying to help you. Young converts have a battle trying to get in because others think you're strange in your conduct. Don't you think they they thought that about Apostle Paul? Sure, they did. He is strange. And you know something? And I believe Paul thought it was strange too at first, the treatment that he received. Remember what Acts 9,16 said, Jesus said this, he said, I'll show him how great things he must suffer. for my name's sake. And then Acts 13, 45, he said, well, when the Jews saw the multitude, they were filled with envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Paul preached and they contradicted him and blasphemed him. If there's anything a preacher loves to hear, in other words, it's a people who appreciates the message and genuinely means that. But in other words, they like it when you love the preaching, but they contradicted Paul's preaching. They spoke against him. Acts 1350, he said, But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coast. In other words, they got rid of the preachers, what it amounts to. I know a lot of churches who would like to get rid of the preacher. There's a lot of preachers who've been gotten rid of from time to time. In other words, because he preached the truth. But Jesus said, I'll show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. Acts chapter 14 verse number 19 about Paul, he says, And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. They stoned him to death, left him dead out beside the road. But the power of God resurrected him, and he went back into the city. And the Bible said in the book of Acts chapter 16 verse number 16 and 17, Acts 16, 16 and 17, he said this, he said, And it came to pass, as they went to that prayer, a certain damsel, possessed with a spirit of divination, met us, which brought her a master's much gain by soothsaying the same, followed Paul, and us, crying, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way, and really it's a way in the Greek, a way of salvation. And this did she many days, but Paul, being grieved, turned, and said to the Spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. Now, see the devil was after him and it was through a woman, used a woman. You see, Paul did a right act. He cast the devil out of her and she wasn't interested in him. I want to tell you, you get the devil in you, you'll be after another's mate, but you get the devil out of you, you'll be satisfied with your own mate. Amen. That's not just to the preacher, but anyone. You see, the devil will get after you through somebody. In other words, many think the devil gets in a red suit and a pitchfork and a long tail. That's not necessarily how he operates. He gets in somebody, and sometimes it's in a good-looking package, and you say, but if I could have him, or if I could have her, it'd be just what I wanted. Oh, no, no, no, no, it wouldn't be. If you're married, you already got what you wanted. You say, but not what I wanted, but what I got. Well, you need to ask God to give you love, and you'll be satisfied with what you've got, and in other words, you'll get what you want. Amen? That may not make sense, but it's true. Being saved is just not like what young converts think. We expect acceptance without opposition. And Paul, I believe, had the same problem. Acts 22. Verse 22-24, listen, it said, They gave him audience unto this word, when he talked about going to the Gentiles. Then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live. And they cried, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air. And the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined, by scourging that he might know whereof they cried so against him. Get that picture. They got so angry at Paul's preaching, they got mad and took off their clothes and cast dust up in the air. You ever seen an old bull? Paul the dirt and cast it up on him. Sort of what they did, amen? And I'm talking about opposition that he had. Jesus said, I'll show him how great things he must suffer for my namesake. And he was whipped, he was scourged that day. You see, when your own family persecutes you and your friends persecute you, just remember that you have a Heavenly Father who loves you and a family who loves you and appreciates you and a preacher who loves you and understands you and will stay with you by the grace of God till you come through. Amen. And whether you're saved or not, for God's glory. May God help us not to expect too much too soon, but also remember not to expect it out of others for God's glory. help us today. These thoughts, I pray you'd use them to speak to our heart, help us to realize that the hunger and thirsting is there that you want to fill us. Oh Lord, we sure do need a meal in this place. I pray you'd help us to set the table and you said you'd do it in the presence of our enemy. Even in this meeting, Lord, there may be some come who will actually be our enemies, but I pray God you'd set the table in the midst that we'll hunger and thirst after you and help us to get together with some of our buddies and drink from the well that you've sunk in some soul and even those that's not saved can get a drink and continue on and keep on keeping on and come through for your glory. and we'll thank you for what you've done. Lord, do a work in our midst that you might get glory. Help me to get out of the way and help me to lift you up and see you work in our midst that you might get all the glory and we'll thank you for what you do. For we ask it in Jesus' name, for His sake we pray. Heads bowed,