The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-01-11

"The first time I stood on this platform, |
struck the keynote, which | have continued to
strike and that was, Stick to the Book
"Have you any idea how many addresses I
have delivered during the past thirteen years?
Do you know that during the month of April,
1906, I delivered thirty-hve addresses - more
than one day - with conferences running into
hours and sometimes all night. / held one con-
ference that started at one o'clock in the after
in which fought one OF, the greatest battles that
I ever fought or ever expect to fight.
TESTING PERIODS
Beloved, certain state of affairs obtained.
God permitted certain things to happen.
"Some say, oh what PITY
II do not. ~
."I say, thank God for everything that has
happened, for the devil and his instruments meant
certain things to be the death Of ZION, meant
them to be your destruction which have proven
only tests to try you out. Nothing has ever
happened in my life, which, through the over
ruling power of God, has not been for my good
and for my temporal and eternal welfare. 1t all
depends upon how man faces difficulty -
how he meets test or trial.
"Why, these enemies of ZION openly boosted
a hundred times and more, saying, We have hit
upon plan now that will fix him : but the very
thing they thought would fix me has been the
very thing that made ZION what it is today.
"When say tonight that ZION is on a better
and surer foundation and is better in every
respect than ever before it is because God Al
mighty permitted not one thing, two things, or
dozen things,-but hundreds of things to trans
pire and test this people out as no other people,
not even Israel excepted, ever has been tested by
the fire. 1t is fact that ZION today has been
built up from the ground. 1t has been done, not
in thirteen years, but in reality much less time,
for | had imposed Upon task of cleansing
such as no other leader to my knowledge in Gods
work ever had put upon his shoulders. Ispent
a long period in destructive work before could
begin constructive work.
Let us look back over a few years, and [
want you to listen, because you can understand
all that I am going to say If chose to retire
tonight and hand this whole thing over to
successor, [ could do it with clear conscience
and hand over work that is truly organized and
on a bedrock basis
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT MUST COME FIRST
81 have always told you that the first thing was
the spiritual side. I have told you that God was
not concerned primarily with land, with brick
and mortar and with houses but with people
that are true and tried.
[ have shown you that God begins to work on
out in tangible way can only be the outworking
OF whatever has been born in mans spirit;
hence have told you first Of all that ZION CITY
must be built in the spirits of men and women
and that ZION CITY is more than a mere eleven
square miles, more than brick and mortar, lumber.
shingles and houses.
Il am very happy tonight as I look at ZION
spiritually. Wilbur Glenn Vo1iva could be bet
ter; so could the apostles, elders, deacons, dea-
conesses and all the members. We all know
there is not perfect man or woman within our
ranks; but maintain that this Church TODAY is
in far better spiritual condition than it ever was
since its formation on February p, 1896.
What it has meant in toll in the expenditure
OF energy, in delivering addresses, in exhorting,
in preaching and in teaching, to get this work
where it is tonight, there is no use for me to at
tempt to express in words, for it cannot be told.
The response, couched in simple language.
which has been made to the call, now for more
than two months, by those who have experienced
the new birth and who attend the means Of
grace, is a fair indication of the results Of the
teaching and preaching of the Word of God.
THE TRUMPET HAS GIVEN NO UNCERTAIN
SOUND
Perhaps you do not realize it, but from this
platform we are standing for the fundamentals
wiz. al INV u0ilicu III tiiouSdluS OF CnuICneS,
the God in Whom we believe is denied in the
churches and theological seminaries.
Therefore, when man asked me if we have
the same Bible the churches have, told him NO
:. Well, do you not worship the same God the
churches do?' 1 said, No
DO you not have the same Jesus the churches
have? NO
"The Bible says, ZION, thy God reigneth.'
You are settled tonight, because from this
platform the trumpet has given no uncertain