Transcript of message from TV Broadcast 668 -- taken from Closed Captioning Text

-- Brother C. Parker Thomas: I'm going to use 1st Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 15. I'll take my text from this. "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."

Now that's Paul writing that. I remember on one occasion he referred to Timothy as his son, Timothy. And, of course, this has reference not to natural sons but to spiritual sons. Not many fathers-- I'm thinking of fathers, primarily in the spirit. In fact, one translation, that's the New English Bible, says 'one father.' Of course, that's true. From a natural stand point you can't have but one father. And's that's true also with respect to spiritual father--you can't have but one. You don't share that.

You know, I believe many preachers are impotent. I really do--impotent. And they can't beget children, spiritually speaking. They beget whatever system they're in. They're a part of that. If they're so meshed up in that system, then they'll bring forth after its own kind. That's all you can expect.

I've encountered numerous people that were church members in my lifetime that were not saved. Sometimes I'd be in a meeting with them, a revival or what we called a revival, holding a meeting, and then certain things would happen. I remember Sister Wood, old Brother Wood's wife. He was a preacher and so she was a preacher's wife. And I noticed after three or four nights that she started just staying out. She wouldn't come to church. I knew what it was. She was under conviction and she didn't wanna face it.

And then one night she was in such distress 'til Brother Wood called me, said, Brother Thomas, and I said, yes sir. He said, would you get up and come here and talk to my wife. I got up and went in there. And she was sitting there, eyes red, tears running down her cheeks. She didn't have no assurance of salvation, none whatsoever. Just that she was a preacher's wife.

And then I'm thinking of old Brother Hughes. He died up in his eighties, but he come to the church when he was almost eighty and he had no assurance of salvation. He was Presbyterian, had belonged to the church for many, many years, but he had no assurance of salvation. It shouldn't be like that, should it? If God gets hold of 'em, He'll bring 'em.

But, now, man is trying to speed it up. He does certain things, you know, thinks well that he can get 'em in. You're not gonna get 'em in. Depend on God, and if God convicts 'em...Jesus said, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." We can rest in that. Just rest there because that's true. God's gonna work with those that He has ordained to work with.

In Hebrews, chapter 10, verse 38 and 39, the scripture says, "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." Now there's a difference, you see, between believing--that tells us that right there--believing to the saving of the soul and just believing like a lot of people do today. There's a vast difference. And I'll say this--that the Word by the anointing is the only thing that has life in it.

( congregational amens ).

If it don't have any anointing, it don't have no life. Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; ...deliverance to the captives ...to set at liberty them that are bruised." And if the Spirit of the Lord is not upon you, you can't do that.

We're coming now to the last service. This, I presume, is the last service, tonight and I'm always concerned. You know, I think sometimes, in a way, I hate to see it end. I have this thought that goes with me, and that is suppose there's somebody there tonight that rejected the invitation. I remember when I'd hold revivals and I'd usually have pretty good response of young people coming to the Lord and I would rejoice in that.

And I remember many times when I'd drive away, maybe driving back home, four or five hundred miles, and I'd weep for those souls. I guess that was a manifestation of the Father's Spirit. I hated to leave 'em, but I knew I had to, the way things were set up. And you know, yourself, there's not many fathers.

I'd say that our...in fact we used to this expression, that the religious world, we'd call it the harlot religious world, and that's true. Preachers are hired and fired. They go and they stay. And if they can build up the Sunday school, build up the church, get more people to coming, whatever he does, it doesn't make any difference how he does it. He's a great preacher. But that's not a great preacher as far as I'm concerned. A great preacher is one who has the Gospel, and it is the Good News.

( congregational amens ).

And a preacher that don't have the Good news don't have the Gospel. Many times, I'd drive away from a revival that night going back where I lived and I'd weep. You know for a few days, I'd get lost in the meeting and I'd remember a lot of those kids, young people. They would follow me out and the thing is you've got to go off and leave 'em. And you're leaving 'em with whatever they have there--whatever kind of a church it is, whatever kind of preacher it is.

And I felt like it was almost like, almost like a harlot. In other words, they get you to come in and then God blesses you and uses you to reach some of 'em and then you go off and leave 'em. It just didn't seem right. But nevertheless, that's what I went through. And I was concerned about young people. I always had more than a few young people. For some reason they seemed to be attracted to me. Maybe it was the message. But, nevertheless, God has blessed me and I'm thankful. I believe I'll see many of 'em--hundreds of 'em on the other side.

( congregational amens ).

And the way things are looking, I don't think it's gonna be very long. I hope not. Praise God! There's a vast difference in just believing and believing to the saving of the soul. "We are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." That's the difference. I'm just making that emphasis because there's so many today joining the church--joining the church, making a profession of faith, they put their name down. That don't mean a thing.

I know I've had a few that's got into the church that needed to be put under again, but I'll guarantee it won't be because I didn't preach the truth to 'em. And I believe we'll have a good number there. I'm looking forward to meeting 'em. I'm looking forward to being with 'em. Praise God! I've cast the bread upon the waters.

I didn't know a lot of things when I started preaching and I did everything that I knew to do and some things I didn't know to do. I did some things that were good and some of 'em that were bad to get people to come to church. I'd work the whole area where the church was located, going from house to house visiting people and reading the Bible, preaching to 'em, then inviting 'em to the service that night.

And sometimes I'd have great revivals. I remember one time I was preaching in this little old town and the man, he worked and I'd gone in and seen his wife and talked to her about the Lord and then when he saw me coming that afternoon, he was...no, what it was, I was on the porch and he started driving in and he saw me there, so he just drove on by. But I fooled him. I jumped into my car and went out after him.

( laughter ).

Why? I'm concerned about people. He was trying to run. I knew he was and so I said something I think that God used. I drove up and he was driving real slow down the road. And I drove up beside of him. And I got out and I went and talked to him. I said, listen, if you don't want me to come back to your house anymore, I won't, but I don't want you to run from me, because I've got the Gospel. You ought a appreciate this more than anything in the world.

And, he said, Preacher, I'll be there tonight and so he was afraid to come. He was afraid he might get saved. You know the reason people don't wanna get saved? They don't wanna give up their lives. I know it was with me. You hold to that old life dearly. You think there's something to it. You hold to it and you put it off. You say, not today or not tonight. I will next week, maybe. Next week comes and it's just maybe. But your salvation is something that is the most precious thing you have access to--most precious thing that you'll ever have access to.

And if you hear the Gospel, I mean the Gospel of Jesus Christ, where He died for your sins and He rose again, and He's on the right hand of God, the Father, up there interceding for you and for me. If you believe that, you don't have anything to fear. Just say, Lord, here I come. In my hands no price I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.

( congregational praise ).

If God still works in your heart, you can be thankful. You can thank God, 'cause there's many people that God's not working with. And there's some that God's gonna stop working with, whether they want him to or not. That's why it says over there in the 3rd chapter of Hebrews. "...To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts." He meant it and you can get gospel hardened.

I...up in North Carolina, I visited an old man up there. He was known as an infidel. And I talked to him about the Lord. He told me that he wasn't interested in the Lord. And I told him, you know, I was talking to him a little bit, He said, well, Son, I know all about this. I used to...I've heard Cyclone Mac preach, I saw...he mentioned several old time preachers. He'd heard them preach.

But I left without him being saved. I left with him just like he was, and I hated to do that, but that's all I could do. God has given many people an opportunity in my ministry. I don't pull nobody. I don't believe in you coming against your will. I believe in God just moving upon your will in such a way that you've got to come.

( congregational amens ).

Did you ever stop to think that a baby, he doesn't come because he wants to? He comes because it's the time and the processes of nature are set in motion. When that little fellow gets ready to come, he comes. You ladies know something about this. You don't try to hold back. You try to help him get here. And he's glad to get here when he does come. He'll probably sing you a little song when he comes.

( laughter ).

It'll be a wah, wah, wah, but at least he's heard. You don't even have to slap him on the buttocks. But this is why Jesus said what He did in John chapter 3. Nicodemus came to Him by night and said, "...Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see..."--nor enter-- "...the kingdom of God."

He answered him twice, I mean two things, can't see nor enter. In other words you're shut out. You think you might see, but you don't. I'll tell you what, if you ever see it you'll know it's a treasure hid in a field and you'll take everything you've got and put it in it to get that treasure. Praise God! That's the greatest treasure there is.

( congregational amens ).

Paul also said, "...we have this treasure in earthen vessels..." The greatest thing I have today is eternal life. You can't manufacture it. Hallelujah! You cannot do anything to get it outside of Jesus Christ. The one who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life..."--no man cometh unto me except he be drawn.

Now just suppose God never draws you. Think about it. If you're not saved, or yet don't have the knowledge of Christ in your heart, you're not saved. You're sure he'll call you? I'm not sure He will. I know God quits dealing with people and He knows exactly how far He's gonna let you go. But you must be born again--born not of blood, but born of God, born of His Spirit. Hallelujah!

God works with the heart. And then that heart reaches the place...it's an awful thing to be under deep conviction and to know that you can die and not be saved. Did you know that? I visited an old man one time who was eighty-something years old. He was an atheist. They warned me and told me about what he was.

I went on in to see him anyway. And he told me this story. He said, way back there...I don't know how many years before, forty or fifty years...he was walking along the road and he found a booklet. He picked it up and took it home with him. And he said, that booklet explained why there was no salvation. Somehow he wanted to believe that and he did believe it. That was the end of his quest. He never had any more desire to believe the Gospel. And I suppose he died like he was. But what I am trying to do is get you to see there's hope. And it's not hope tomorrow, it's today.

( congregational amens ).

That Scripture does not say tomorrow if you will hear his voice, it says, today if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart. And he means that. Until whatever you're desiring becomes today, you just as well forget it. I pray to God that you'll understand what I'm trying to say. I pray to God that I'll meet you on the other side. I pray to God...and it's a matter of you coming to Jesus Christ.

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