1

Gods Big If

by Frances Hunter

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from: New King James Version (NKJV) unless otherwise marked, !"#", !"$%, !"$& '( )homas Nelson, lnc, Nash*ille, #+,- )he .i*ing /i'le, 0araphrased ()./), a!"#! '( )(ndale 1ouse 0u'lishers, +heaton, 2.3 )he 4mplified /i'le (4mp), a)"56, !"5$ '( )he .ockman 7oundation

Gods Big IF
IF is both large and small! It is one of the smallest words in the English language, and one of the biggest in Gods vo abular!! IF has onl! two letters, and is almost dis ounted in the di tionar!" #r" $ebster has ver! little to sa! about the word if" %e has three little definitions, and when I loo&ed u' those definitions, I didnt see that the! 'arti ularl! 'ertained to an!thing" (ut even though #r" $ebster has ver! little to sa! about the word if, God and )esus have a lot to sa! about it, be ause if is used 1,*22 times in the word of God" In man! instan es where the word if is used, it 'ertains to a ondition whi h we must fulfill if we want to re eive the blessings of God" In other words, God sa!s, If !ou do this, then I will do that" $hat a marvelous 'romise, be ause when we do our 'art, we &now that God will never fail to do %is 'art! +

,he word if is also used in on-un tion with the urses that God sa!s will ha''en to !ou if !ou dont do what %e wants !ou to do" I dont want to re eive the urses, so Im not going to fall under that IF" In the 2.th ha'ter of /euteronom!, God gives us five sim'le onditions we must fulfill if we want to re eive %is blessings" In the first verse, %e sa!s a lot0 8Now it shall come to pass, 27 (ou diligentl( o'e( the *oice of the .ord (our 9od, to o'ser*e carefull( all 1is commandments which 2 command (ou toda(, that the .ord (our 9od will set (ou high a'o*e all nations of the earth,: ,he first ondition sa!s 8; 2f (ou diligentl( o'e( the *oice of the .ord (our 9od3: the se ond ondition is 8,,,to o'ser*e and do them,: 1umber three is in verse 2 where it sa!s, 8)he .ord will esta'lish (ou as a hol( people to 1imself, <ust as 1e has sworn to (ou, if (ou keep the commandments of the .ord (our *

9od and walk in 1is wa(s, 82n other words, 1e tells us to walk in 1is wa(s= In verse 1+, %e tells us that the fourth ondition is, 8So (ou shall not turn aside from an( of the words which 2 command (ou this da(, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to ser*e them, 81e tells us to hang in there and go right straight down the line and we will 'e 'lessed= ,he fifth ondition sa!s God will bless !ou if !ou do not go after other gods" ,he biggest idol that 'eo'le go after in the world toda! in the idol of self" I want to do m! own thing! 3atan had the same 'roblem! %e wanted to be li&e God" %e didnt want to serve God" %e didnt want to wal& in Gods wa!s" %e didnt want to listen diligentl! to God" %e wanted to do his own thing" $hat ha''ened as a result was that 3atan was thrown out of heaven li&e a bolt of lightning, and the same 4

onditions that aused him to be thrown out of heaven a''l! in our own lives toda!" God 'romises to bless us if we listen to %im diligentl!" 5ften we are so involved in gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme that we dont ta&e time out to let God tal&" 6nd %e tells us not onl! to listen, but to listen diligentl!, whi h means with all !our mind, !our heart, !our bod! and !our soul" ,hat means to give %im !our undivided attention if !ou want to re eive all the blessings whi h %e 'romises in the verses that follow" In other words, give %im ever!thing !ouve got! /ont be a half7wa! 8hristian! /ont be a lu&ewarm 8hristian! /ont be a middle7of7the7road 8hristian! If !ou are going to go for )esus, go all the wa!, be ause God li&es fanati s! 5bserve and do all %is ommandments! /ont -ust sit there and be a hearer onl!" 9

,he (ible tells us to be a doer of the word" :ou an sit and absorb ever!thing that ever! 'rea her has to tell !ou about what the (ible sa!s but if !ou dont get out and do what God tells !ou to do, !our life is not going to be the abundant, vi torious life that )esus 8hrist wants it to be" 6nother ondition is to wal& in %is wa!s" #an! have said, Its hard to live a 8hristian life" ,he (ible sa!s the wa! of the transgressor is hard, not the wa! of the 8hristian" ,he 8hristians life is eas!! 6ll !ou have to do is do what God tells !ou to do, dont do what %e tells !ou not to do, and &ee' wal&ing down that straight and narrow road" ,hats all there is to it! Its so eas! to obe! God" It is ver! hard to disobe!" /o !ou &now wh! we run into miser! in our 8hristian life; (e ause we get off the straight and narrow< we start to do our own thing, and we dont wal& in the wa!s of God" $ell, God wouldnt are if I sinned -ust a little bit, would %e; God .

wouldnt are if I had a little bit of beer, would %e; 5ne beer is as offensive to God as si=t!7five martinis be ause God hates om'ro7 mise" $e need to wal& in Gods wa!s without an! om'romise whatsoever" God is not a God of om'romise" Ever! ondition in the (ible is the dire t o''osite of om'romise" God is a onditional God" %e does not sa!, ,oda! its all right to do it, but tomorrow it is not" God means ever! 'romise that %e laid down in the word of God" %e meant it 2,>>> !ears ago" %e meant it ,>>> !ears ago, and %e means it toda! in the 21st entur!" $e must observe and do %is laws and wal& in %is wa!s! ,he onl! wa! we are ever going to have an e= iting, wild, abundant, -o!ful, fun7filled, thrill7filled life is to wal& e=a tl! the wa! God wants us to wal&" ,he 8hristian who is miserable is the 8hristian who gets out of line and sa!s, I dont thin& God sees me" I am -ust off the 2

straight and narrow so little, I dont reall! thin& that God will noti e at all" If !ou dont thin& God an see !ou, !ou had better thin& again! ,he minute !ou get off of that straight and narrow 'ath God has !ou on, !ou are going to be absolutel! miserable" ,he word sa!s, /ont go to the right" /ont go to the left" $al& right down the middle" $al& that middle road be ause the shortest distan e between two 'oints is a straight line! If !ou follow after the devil, and !ou get off to the right and the left, !ou are going to be following a roo&ed line and !our time ma! run out before !ou ma&e it to where that straight line would have ta&en !ou, whi h is right into the arms of the ?ord )esus 8hrist! I ant wait until I get to heaven and I am onsumed with the love of God in 'erson" Gods love is overwhelming and over oming even down here on this earth! Imagine being in heaven and -ust sitting there with God and )esus" Glor! to God! 1>

God tells us how not to miss it" :et so man! of us tr! to write a new (ible and sa!, $ell, God, this little sin wont hurt me a tin! bit" I tell !ou, that word if is a big word! @uit doing what !ou want to do and let God do with !ou what %e wants to do" ,hat is the thing that will ma&e !ou ha''! 7 if !ou will trade the big if in !our life for the big if of God" I re entl! made a ver! interesting observation" God sa!s if !ou will hear&en diligentl! to %im, !ou will re eive all %is blessings! Gods IF is a 'romise" ,he devils IF is a tem'tation" 5h, ome on, man, wh! dont !ou go out with the fellows after wor&; )ust have one drin&" $hat did !ou give u' smo&ing for; :ou &now it ma&es !ou fat! God will never noti e whether !ou are smo&ing or not" ,he devil tries to tem't !ou" ,he devil gets after !oung 'eo'le and he sa!s, 5h, ome on, -ust have one little 'uff on a mari-uana -oint" )ust 11

one" It wont hurt !ou" %e ontinues to sa!, If !ou will -ust tr! it, !ou will dis over what thrilling things it will do for !ou" It will send !ou on su h a high tri' that !ou will reall! be turned on! /o !ou see how the devils if is alwa!s a tem'tation; %e sa!s, If !ou will -ust heat a little bit in !our business" If !ou owned !our own business, it would be so tem'ting to sa!, If I heat -ust a little bit, ,will ma&e a lot more mone!" If I harge that woman -ust an e=tra A*> she wont &now the differen e" 3he doesnt &now the 'ri e of the wor& Ive done, so ma!be I ould -ust raise the 'ri e a little bit, and ma&e an e=tra A*> that I ould give to God! ,hats of the devil" ,he devil tem'ts !ou to do the things that are dishonest" In the months 'rior to filing in ome ta= returns, more 8hristians are tem'ted than at an! other time be ause the! are tem'ted to heat on their in ome ta= return" ,he devil ma&es it so interesting" %e sa!s, 5h, the government gets 12

too mu h of !our mone! an!wa! so wh! dont !ou -ust heat a little bit" $h! dont !ou sa! that !ou gave A9,>>> to %unter #inistries last !ear; 6ll !ou reall! gave was A3"+4, but wh! dont !ou heat; ,he government doesnt ome and he & u' on !ou and !ou &now 8harles and Fran es" )ust go u' to them and sa!, BI 'ut A9,>>> ash in the offering, but I didnt get a re ei't for it, would !ou give me a re ei't; 3omeone might thin& that 8harles and Fran es would do that, but the! dont &now us! 8harles is a 8C6 and he sa!s, )esus signature overla!s ours" God is honest and if we are reated in %is image, we will be honest, too" /o !ou see how the devil tem'ts 'eo'le; Demember, the devil tem'ts" God 'romises! 5ne of the big ifs that 'eo'le sa! E and I have heard this over and over again E is the one that sa!s, I would go out and be su h a witness IF God would -ust heal me" :our IF invalidates the 'romise of God" In other words, !ou are sa!ing to 13

God that !ou will do it on !our own terms and onditions" $hat !ou are in effe t sa!ing is, I am not going to tal& about :ou unless :ou heal me! 5ne time I thought God was going to heal me before I went to the hos'ital, but %e didnt" %owever, I love %im -ust as mu h toda! as if %e had rea hed down and said, ?et there be new legs on that girl! Going to the hos'ital didnt shut m! mouth! I have news for !ou! :ou will never witness for God after %e does something for !ou if !ou ma&e that a ondition of !our salvation or !our witnessing" Im going to o'en m! mouth and tal& about )esus all of the time" I am never going to shut it, no matter what ha''ens! /euteronom! 2. lists more than twent!7one blessings that will ome u'on !ou and overta&e !ou IF !ou will -ust do these five little things0 1" ?isten diligentl!" 2" 5bserve and do" 3" $al& in %is wa!s" 1+

+" /ont go to the right or to the left" *" /ont go after other gods" /id !ou noti e that three of these things tell !ou what to do, and two tell !ou what not to do! ?oo& at some of the blessings God 'romises in -ust that one ha'ter" If !ou meet %is onditions, God will set !ou high above all the nations of the earth! Glor!! God said %e would bless !ou in the it!" $hat if !ou dont live in the it!; /o !ou &now where !our it! is; :our it! is where !ou live" If !ou own a home, that is !our it!" If !ou live in an a'artment, that is !our it!" If !ou live on a big farm, that is !our it!! :ou will be blessed in the field" (ut what if !ou are not a farmer and !ou do not have a field; /o !ou &now what !our field is; If !ou are in the insuran e business, !our field is insuran e" God will bless !ou in7 that field" If !ou are a se retar!, that is !our field and God will bless !ou 1*

in that field" If !ou are a homema&er, God will bless !ou in that field! :our field is whatever o u7 'ation !ou have! If !ou are in the onstru tion business, or !ou are selling houses, that is !our field, and if !ou do those things God ommanded in /euteronom! 2., !ou are going to be blessed in !our field" :ou will 'robabl! build and sell more houses than an!one else in the onstru tion field! $hatever !our field is, God is going to bless !ou in that field, IF !ou obe! all of %is ommandments" ,hat means wherever !ou are em'lo!ed, God is going to bless !ou IF !ou meet the onditions" %e said !ou are going to have 'erfe t offs'ring" $hen !ou have fulfilled the onditions, !ou are going to have 'erfe t offs'ring" 1ow, !ou an loo& at !our hildren and sa!, :ou ma! not loo& ver! 'erfe t to me, but Gods word sa!s that !ou are 'erfe t" ,herefore, I have 'erfe t offs'ring! 14

,he ne=t time !our hild disobe!s, sa! to him, 3on, !ou are a 'erfe t offs'ring" :ou ma! not be a ting li&e it right now, but !ou are a 'erfe t offs'ring" If an! of !our hildren get out of line, sa! to them, :ou are a 'erfe t offs'ring be ause I have fulfilled the word of God" ,hat is -ust one of the blessings God 'romises! It sa!s that !our ro's will in rease" If !ou are not a farmer, what is !our ro'; ,hat is the salar! !ou are going to get for the wor& !ou do" :our bas&et and !our storehouse will be full of good things" I have heard 'eo'le sa!, Go out and store u' a whole bun h of so!beans be ause theres going to be a big famine oming" I am not worried about that be ause of what God sa!s" %is word sa!s that m! bas&et is going to be filled as long as I obe! that big IF and I do what %e tells me to do" Im not going to worr! about m! storehouse ever being 19

em't! be ause Gods word sa!s that I am blessed in all that I underta&e! Ferse 9 tells us that !ou will have om'lete vi tor! over !our enemies" /id !ou ever have an enem!; /id the enem! tr! to steal !our -o! or 'ea e! It is so mu h fun to have vi tor! over !our enemies! 6nd to &now in advan e that !oure a winner! :our land will be abundantl! fertile and 'rodu tive! :ou will be established as a hol! 'erson to God! :ou are going to be an e=am'le and witness to all of the 'eo'le of the earth" If !ou reall! love God, !ou are going to be an automati witness" :ou are not going to be able to &ee' !our mouth shut" :ou are -ust going to tal&, tal&, tal& to ever!one about the ?ord )esus 8hrist" ,hat is one of the blessings that omes u'on !ou" It sa!s that all the 'eo'le of the earth will be afraid of !ou" $hen 'eo'le realiGe that God is on !our side, the! dont want to mess with !ou" :ou will be 'ros'erous in goods and hildren, in sto &, and in ro's" 1.

,he ?ord will o'en to !ou %is good treasur!" $ow! %is resour es are unlimited and %es o'ening them to me! 6 blan&, unlimited he &ing a ount with God is better than a million dollars in the ban&" """3o, IF :ou have been 'lanting seed to rea' a finan ial harvest, but nothing is returning to !ou! 6re !ou seeding to be debt free; If !our return is lean, he & out the IFs in !our life" 1>>H is eas!, 22H bad" E=am'le0 disobedien e, unforgiveness, sins, dirt! language, om'laining and not obe!ing 'arents" ,he ?ord will give !ou rain in due season" ,he ?ord will bless the wor& of !our hands! Cut !our hands out in front of !ou right now and sa!, #! hands are blessed be ause God is blessing m! wor&" $hatever I 'ut these hands to is going to 'ros'er be ause the (ible sa!s so" ,hen it sa!s that !ou are going to be 'ros'erous enough to lend to 12

man! nations but !ou are not going to need to borrow from an! of them! Glor! to God! It 'romises that the ?ord is going to ma&e !ou the head, and not the tail" ,hen it 'romises that !ou will be above all men and not beneath them" ,hat is one of the blessings whi h omes when !ou ta&e the big IF of God! IF !ou will listen diligentl! to the voi e of the ?ord !our God" ,he word IF goes all the wa! through the (ible" :ou might sa!, $ell, that is in the 5ld ,estament" Isnt there an!thing in the 1ew ,estament; $e dont have to obe! the 5ld ,estament" $e live under gra e and not under law" God 'ut those laws down to &ee' us on the straight and narrow" )esus ame to fulfill the law" ,hat is wh! we dont have to be legalisti and sa!, IF !ou sli' out of fellowshi' with God for one minute, that is it! :ou have had it! :ou are going right straight to hell! 1o, the (ible sa!s, IF, IF, IF, E 82f we confess our sins, 1e is faithful and <ust to forgi*e us our 2>

sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness: II )ohn 10 2J" %ere is a real good IF" In #atthew 1402+, and this is under the new ovenant, )esus said to %is dis i'les, 827 Ithere is that big IF againJ an(one desires to come after >e, let him den( himself, and take up his cross, and follow >e,: #an! 'eo'le are under the wrong im'ression as to what 'i &ing u' !our own ross means" Ive heard man! sa!, $ell, I have this thorn in m! flesh li&e Caul did" I guess m! ross is that I must be si & all of m! life" ,hat is devil tal&" ,hat is not God tal&! #! unsaved husband is m! ross to bear" I have to get u' ever! morning and I am so miserable be ause I have that old unsaved devil for a husband" ,al& li&e that and !ou will never get him saved" /o !ou reall! &now what the word means when it sa!s, Ci & u' !our ross and follow me; It means to die to self! 21

$h! did )esus 'i & u' %is ross; ,o die! ,hat is what we need to do" $e need to die to ourselves so the things of the world will not hurt us" $e annot get mad be ause somebod! said something that hurt m! feelings< the! offended me" ,hat is another lie of the devil" If we are dead to self, we annot be offended! 3o sto' having 'it! 'arties for !ourself" 6nother good (ible stor! about the IF of the devil is in #atthew +0371>" 8Now when the tempter came to him, he said, 2f ?ou are the Son of 9od, I/o !ou see the devils IF;J command that these stones 'ecome 'read,: /o !ou see how the devil as tem'ting )esus; )esus had been on a fast for fort! da!s" /o !ou believe that !ou would be hungr! after fort! da!s; /o !ou thin& !our stoma h would be growling after fort! da!s; /o !ou believe that )esus, while %e was divine was also man, and so %e suffered the same hunger 'angs that we do; I imagine in )esus mind there instantl! flashed 22

a 'i ture of beautiful hot homemade bread, brown on the to' with butter -ust ooGing off all over the 'la e" ,he devil said, 5h, ome on, !ou have the 'ower to do it" :ou an do it! 8ome on, do it! %e was tem'ting )esus in an area where %e was wea& be ause of fasting, and thats what the devil does to all of us" %e tem'ts us in the area where we are the wea&est! (ut )esus said, It is written" $hen the devil tem'ts !ou throw a verse of s ri'ture at him right in his fa e, be ause he annot stand the word of God" ,ell him, /evil, !ou sit down there" :ou sit in that hair over there, be ause I am going to read the word of God to !ou" :ou ma! not be able to see the devil in that hair, but I want !ou to believe that he is there" $e an sa! e=a tl! the same thing that )esus did, It is written, B#an shall not live b! bread I'h!si alJ alone, but b! ever! word that 'ro eeds from the mouth of God" ,hen the devil too& him u' into the hol! it!, set %im on the 23

'inna le of the tem'le, and said to %im, I3ee, he is tem'ting )esus againJ If :ou are the 3on of God, throw :ourself down" For it is written0 Ithe devil &nows the (ible, too!J B%e shall give %is angels harge over !ou, anti, BIn their hands the! shall bear !ou u', lest !ou dash !our foot against a stone" Dight then and there is where )esus ame right ba & to that big IF and said, It is written again, B:ou shall not tem't the ?ord !our God" 6gain, the devil too& him u' on an e= eeding high mountain, and showed him all the &ingdoms of the world and their glor!" 6nd he said to %im, I/o !ou remember I said the devils IF is alwa!s a tem'tation;J 6ll these things will I give :ou IF :ou will fall down and worshi' me" $hat he was reall! sa!ing was, #an, !ou an have the whole world IF !ou will -ust fall down and worshi' me! ,his is e=a tl! what the devil does to all of us! %e ma&es his 'lan so tem'ting" 2+

I remember a !oung ro & and roll singer who was raised in a Cente7 ostal 8hur h" %e had a voi e that the world will never forget be ause it had a haunting Kualit! that will sta! with the sinner and the saint ali&e" ,hen ame the rossroads in his life where he was singing in a Cente ostal 8hur h and not ma&ing millions of dollars" I dont reall! &now of an! hur h that 'a!s a singer millions of dollars, but the devil ame to him and said, :ou an &ee' !our relationshi' with God, but -ust thin& how man! millions of 'eo'le are going to be blessed b! that singing voi e of !ours IF !ou will -ust go into night lubs" ,he devil said, $here !ou are living in 'overt! now, !ou will have !our own 'rivate air'lane" :ou will have a house with .1 rooms" :ou will have servants all over the 'la e" :ou will have 'eo'le who will even ut !our food and 'ut it in !our mouth" (ut the devil forgot to tell him what was on the other side of the ledger" ,he devil forgot to tell him 2*

that the end of all of that was death! ,he devil forgot to tell him that when the! 'erformed an auto's! on him there would be seven different &inds of drugs found in his veins" ,hat was a !oung man at the ver! 'inna le of su ess, as the world measures su ess" I dont believe an! singer has ever sold as man! re ords as this man" ,his !oung man listened to the devil, be ause the devil made it sound so good" ,he devil said, :ou an have the whole world" :ou are going to have so mu h mone! that the whole world is going to env! !ou" I remember the night when this !oung singer ame to a it! in ,e=as and too& out a half7million dollars in ash for one nights singing" ,he headline in the ne=t mornings 'a'er shouted the good news that he got a half7million dollars in ash" %e would ta&e no he &s" ,he news7 'a'er was so e= ited about the tremendous ash he re eived, and I 24

imagine this singer reall! thought he was hot stuff! $a! down in the orner, in the ba & 'art of this same 'a'er, there was an arti le about a mone!7 grabbing evangelist who got su h big offerings that the re'orter felt he had robbed these 'oor 'eo'le in hur h" It went on to sa!, From the two hundred 'lus 'eo'le who were at this meeting, he got over a thousand dollars in an offering" 8ondemned! 6 minister of the gos'el wanting mone! to s'read the gos'el gets 'ubli l! ondemned for re eiving one thousand dollars, but the front 'age stor! of the same 'a'er glorified a singer who got a half7 million dollars ash from his fans in the same it!" :ou an see that the devil an ma&e it loo& so interesting, but the wages of sin is death! 8olossians 1023 ontains that big word IF and God tells !ou some things to do" %e said, 827 IIf, if if, if", if!J indeed (ou continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not mo*ed awa( from the hope 29

of the gospel which (ou heard, which was preached to e*er( creature under hea*en, of which 2, 0aul, 'ecame a minister, 82f (ou continue in the faith,: he goes on to sa(, 8(ou are going to know the m(ster( of the ages, which is @hrist in (ou, the hope of glor(,: )esus 8hrist living in and through !ou! $hat an the devil 'ossibl! give !ou that is an! greater than the &nowledge of the fa t that )esus 8hrist is living in !our heart; 5n e in awhile I feel li&e wal&ing down the 3treet and sa!ing, %e!, ant !ou see )esus; %es in there! I would -ust love to wal& into a su'ermar&et and sa!, %e!, ever!bod!, do !ou &now what; )esus lives in here" :ou 'robabl! thin& %e died 2,>>> !ears ago! $hat greater thing an the devil ever give !ou; %e ant give !ou an!thing that an om'are with the &nowledge that )esus 8hrist is living in !our heart< living in and through !ou in the 'ower of the %ol! 3'irit" 2.

:oung 'eo'le sa!, IF it was as mu h fun being a 8hristian as it is being a sinner, I would be a 8hristian" /id !ou ever hear an!one sa! that; /id !ou ever hear an!one sa!, (eing a 8hristian is a real fudd!7dudd! thing! I dont li&e to have to be a good!7good! all of the time" ,hat is the devil tem'ting !ou! It is alwa!s the devil who tells us to ta&e another 'ath" ,here is no life an!where as e= iting as the 8hristian life" )ohn .031 sa!s, ,hen )esus said to those )ews who believed %im, Ithe! were new onvertsJ 82f (ou a'ide in >( word, (ou are >( disciples indeed,: I6nd here omes the verse that so man! 'eo'le Kuote without reading the verse ahead of itJ 84nd (ou shall know the truth, and the truth shall make (ou free,: I)ohn .032J" 5ver and over again, I hear 'eo'le Kuote the verse, :ou shall &now the truth, and the truth shall ma&e !ou free" ,hat is onl! 'art of the truth" :ou have to ba & u' and 22

listen to the ondition, and the ondition that goes with ma&ing !ou free sa!s, If !ou abide in #! word, !ou are #! dis i'les indeed" If !ou ontinue in #! word" :ou wont be a dis i'le of )esus unless !ou ontinue in %is word" 6nd what does ontinue mean; 8ontinue means to read %is word" It means to do %is word" It means to love %is word" It means to live %is word" It means to hold onto %is word, and dont let the things of the world ome in to ta&e it out of !our heart" ,hen %e sa!s !ou will be %is dis i'le" ,hen is when %e gives the 'romise, but dont ever forget the ondition of God" ,hen !ou shall &now the truth, and the truth shall ma&e !ou free" Ferse 33 sa!s the! answered %im, $e are 6brahams des en7 dants, and have never been in bondage to an!one" %ow an !ou sa!, B:ou will be made free; )esus answered them, #ost assuredl!, I sa! to !ou, whosoever ommits sin is a slave of sin" I/id 3>

!ou hear that;J $hosoever ommits sin is a slave of sin" $ell, God, I am serving !ou, but I -ust dabble in sin a tin! little bit" 1ot ver! mu h, -ust a tin!, little bit, God" (ut what does Gods word sa!; It sa!s that an!one who ommits sin is a servant of sin" 1ow loo& at this s ri'ture, 6nd a slave does not abide in the house forever" ,he servant of sin does not abide in the house of God forever, but the 3on abides forever" 6nd then %e gives that wonderful 'romise, ,herefore if the 3on ma&es !ou free, !ou shall be free indeed" (ut !ou annot be a servant of sin and be free indeed, be ause the 3on will onl! ma&e those free who are in %im" 3o we have to &now be!ond a shadow of a doubt that we are in 8hrist )esus" $e have to meet %is IF ondition to be made free" 6nd its so eas!" #atthew *013 sa!s, 827 the salt loses its fla*or ,,,, it is then good for nothing 'ut to 'e thrown out, ,hat means IF !ou have lost !our flavor, 31

!ou have lost !our abilit! to 'er& u' something! /o !ou use salt in !our oo&ing; /o !ou thin& for the most 'art food tastes 'rett! bad if !ou dont 'ut salt in it; I do! I thin& it tastes terrible without salt" 3alt is what brings out the flavor" If we 8hristians have lost our abilit! to flavor the earth, we have lost our abilit! to have 'eo'le loo& at us and sa!, $ow! $hatever it is that wild woman has, I want it! I dont understand what shes got, but whatever it is, I want it" I dont understand what shes got, but whatever it is, she loo&s li&e she sure is ha''!! 6nd I am! I am the wildest, ha''iest 'erson in the entire world" I believe that without a doubt in m! heart" I dont have to worr!" I have vi tor! over all 'roblems" Ive been set free! %allelu-ah! $hen our little granddaughter was two7and7a7half !ears old, she was sitting on m! la' and began 'ra!ing in tongues" I listened intentl! for a few minutes, then I said to her, 3'i e, are !ou 'ra!ing in tongues; 32

I wish !ou ould have seen the loo& on her fa e when she said, :eah! I as&ed her dadd! if he had laid hands on her for the ba'tism with the %ol! 3'irit and he said, 1o, 8harit! Iour granddaughter who was then five !ears oldJ 'robabl! did" :ou &now how she 'ra!s and sings in tongues all the time! 6nd dont even mention that !ou have a 'ain when the! are nearb! be ause !oull have four little 'eanut butter and -ell! hands laid on !ou so fast it will ma&e !our head swim! God is going to raise u' fanati s two !ears old, five !ears old, ten !ears old! God is even going to rea h old 'eo'le" Im glad God didnt give u' on old 'eo'le or %e would have given u' on me a long, long time ago! 3ometimes when we first get saved, we sit down in our omfort7 table little 'ew and sa!, $ell, now I an rest" Im saved! :ou have lost !our flavor if !ou sa! that and do that" :ou have lost !our abilit! to 33

season the world around !ou" :ou need to remain a fanati all !our life" I re entl! led a 8atholi girl to the ?ord and shes going to salt her whole hur h" 3he is reall! e= ited about )esus" 3he even gave a ta'e to the 'riest on how to re eive the ba'tism with the %ol! 3'irit! ,hat is reall! 'utting a little flavoring in the 'ot! If the salt loses its flavor, then it is ast out" God sa!s, If !ou have lost !our flavor, IF !ou forget, IF !ou are ashamed when !ou go to s hool or to wor& to tal& about )esus, then God sa!s %e will throw !ou out" 6nd all be ause !ou have lost !our abilit! to flavor the 'eo'le around !ou" Id rather be one fanati in a high s hool lass who tal&s about )esus than to be the 'o'ular one that !ou ant tell from a sinner" I want to be salt! wherever I go! ,hat fanati al husband of mine tal&s about )esus ever!where we go" %e a ts li&e the! &now what he is tal&ing about" %e -ust goes right on and on" I dont &now of an!one who 3+

leads more 'eo'le to )esus than 8harles" %e hasnt lost his flavor a single bit! %es saltier toda! than he was the da! he got saved! Glor!! ,hin& for a moment" 6re !ou a bigger fanati toda! than !ou were when !ou got saved; %ave !ou lost a little bit of that savor; %ave !ou lost !our first love IDevelation 20+J; /o !ou need to get ba & to the ?ord and sa!, I had better get into the word of God" Id better listen to the word of God" Id better do what %e tells me to do" Id better wal& in %is wa!s, and Id better Kuit wal&ing in m! own wa!s" ,hat is the thing we all need to do" Demember the three tem'tations of the devil! %e made it sound so good to )esus" %e said, 5h, !ou an brea& that fast !ouve been on, )esus! :ou an brea& that fast" )ust turn those stones into deli ious hot bread with fresh ountr! butter running all over the to'" 5r how about the world; $orshi' me and I will give !ou the whole world! 3*

Demember this0 the devil ant give !ou an!thing but trouble sin e )esus redeemed us from his ontrol! 5h, if God would -ust heal me, or heal m! husband, we would tal& about )esus! If !ou dont tal& about %im before !ou get healed, !oull never tal& about %im after !ou get healed" :ou tal& about )esus be ause !ou love God! ,hats the thing that will ma&e !ou tal& about %im IF !ou reall! love %im" Id tal& about )esus whether or not %e had healed m! leg" ,he Israelites wal&ed fort! !ears and their an&les never swelled" I loo&ed down at mine re entl! and said, 6n&les, !ou are not going to swell either" I loo&ed at Csalms this morning and dis overed again it sa!s, %ow lovel! on the mountain are the feet of them that bring Good 1ews" I loo&ed down and said, %ello, !ou beautiful feet! :oure lovel!! :ou bring Good 1ews when !ou tal& about )esus 8hrist" ,hin& about !our own world how man! times !our life has hinged on 34

the word IF" /id !our husband sa!, 1E !ou would marr! me !ou would ma&e me the ha''iest man in the world; ,hat was a good IF, wasnt it; $hen our little granddaughter was five !ears old, she loved to hel' her mother, but on e in a while her hel'ing wasnt e=a tl! hel'ing" 5ne da!, when her mother wasnt loo&ing, 8harit! got the &it hen leanser out Iwhi h has a good blea h in itJ and de ided to wash the new ar'et for her mother" 1aturall!, she made a mess of it! )oan said, $hen !our dadd! gets home, !ou are going to get a good s'an&ing! 8harit! said, 8all m! dadd!" Ive got something to sa! to him" 3he alled her dadd! on the 'hone and said, /add!, IF !ou dont s'an& me, I will never do it again" Ill never do it again! 3omething 'owerful hung on her word IF" #an! times we ma&e a 'romise li&e that to God and sa!, 5h, God, IF !ou will -ust forgive me this one 39

more time, I will never do it again" I will never do it again! God, IF !ou will forgive me this time, I will never do it again" ,hen, we turn right around and brea& the 'romise to God, but God never brea&s %is 'romises to us" ,he favorite e= use of man! 'eo'le for not attending hur h is, I would go to hur h ever! 3unda! IF there werent so man! h!'o rites in hur h" /o !ou see what the! are doing; ,he! are invalidating the word of God" ,he word sa!s in %ebrews 1>02* that we are not to forsa&e the assembling of ourselves together" 6nd that 'erson who sits at home thin&s it is a good e= use to sa!, ,hose h!'o rites in hur h &ee' me out! (eloved, I have news for !ou" 6t least the h!'o rites are doing something! %eres another big IF" IF I ould -ust get m! bills 'aid, Id give to the hur h" IF I ould -ust get m! finan es straightened out, Id give to the hur h" ,hats -ust the o''osite of what Gods word sa!s" 3.

%e sa!s IF !ou want to get !our bills 'aid, give first! (ut Fran es, that doesnt ma&e sense! I didnt sa! it made sense, I -ust said that was what Gods word sa!s! %e sa!s, IF !ou give, !ou will get! ?u&e 403. ma&es that ver! lear" )esus sa!s, 89i*e, and it shall 'e gi*en to (ou: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running o*er will 'e put into (our 'osom, 7or with the same measure that (ou use, it will 'e measured 'ack to (ou,: %eres another big IF that stands in the wa! of our being Gods anointed at all times! I am so worried" I have so man! 'roblems" Im so worried about those hildren of mine" ,he!re on drugs and the! want to sin all the time" ,he! dont want to do the things of God" I ant on entrate be ause Im so u'set, so I ant read the (ible, but BIF I ould -ust get m! famil! straightened out, I would reall! serve God and get into the word! 1o, !ou wouldnt" 32

IF !ou want !our hildren to get saved, be a real witness for the ?ord, and get the engrafted word of God into !our heart, and then see what ha''ens! $hat does )esus sa! about worr!; In #atthew 401273+, %e tells us not to worr!" ,he heathen worr!! )esus tells us not to worr! be ause %e will ta&e are of us" Chili''ians +012 sa!s, 84nd m( 9od shall suppl( all (our need according to 1is riches in glor( '( @hrist Jesus=: 6nd that in ludes the salvation of our famil!! 8/ut seek first the kingdom of 9od and 1is righteousness, and all these things shall 'e added to (ou: I#atthew 4033J" ,he biggest IF that stands in the wa! of most 'eo'le is a om'lete ommitment to the ?ord )esus 8hrist" $ell, IF I ould -ust get m! life straightened out, or IF I ould get a better -ob, or IF m! husband would -ust get saved, or IF m! hildren would -ust get straightened out, then I ould reall! serve the ?ord! ,he +>

big IF in this ase is the doubt and unbelief that the devil gives us" ,he e= iting and s ri'tural wa! to be vi torious in all these things is to reall! love )esus and let the lesser things ome se ond to %im in !our life" ,he thing that is so e= iting about listening to God is that Gods 'romises are all good" Ever!thing that God 'romises !ou, %e will give !ou" ,here has not failed one word of all of %is good 'romises, and %e sa!s, 8! will e*en hasten m( word to perform it in (our life,: I)eremiah 10 12, 'ara'hrasedJ" $e need to trade all the big IFs in our lives for the IF of God! 8/ehold, 2 stand at the door and knock, 27 an(one hears >( *oice and opens the door, 2 will come in to him and dine with him, and he with >e: IDevelation 302>J" Its sure a lot more fun serving God than serving the devil"

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