Today, you and I are going to have a good heart
-to -heart talk. You know, I can understand much
of the confusion in the minds of men and women
as they sit and listen to one religious radio
broadcast after another. And after about five
or six hours of it, they turn their radio off
and... By that time, they're not quite sure what
they really do believe. For one preacher has
said, it's like this. Thirty minutes later, another
minister of the gospel will say, no, it isn't
like that at all. It's like this. And both have
used Scripture. You cannot deny that Scripture
has not been used. It is the very Word of God.
But there's so much confusion until there are
literally thousands of good, sincere, born -again
men and women who are not quite sure what they
really do believe because of... The confusion
that has been created by so many of God's precious
children. Remember something. And if you forget
everything else that I will say in a little heart
-to -heart talk, never forget this one statement
that Catherine Kuhlman has made today. And it's
just this. Any truth, I don't care what the truth
is, No matter how good, if emphasized to the
exclusion of all other truth of equal importance,
is practical error. Remember that. Any truth,
no matter how good the truth, and it is truth,
if Emphasized to the exclusion of other truth
of equal importance is practical error. Let me
give you an example. Let's take this thing of
divine healing. And I'm going to give you two
examples from the Word of God. The ninth chapter
of John. And I'm going to read several verses.
And everything that I give you today will be
scriptural. And then you'll understand a little
better what I'm trying to teach you. All right?
John, the ninth chapter. And as Jesus passed
by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master,
who did sin, this man or his parents, that he
was born blind? And Jesus answered, Neither,
neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents,
but that the works of God should be made manifest
in him. I must work the works of him that sent
me while it is day. The night cometh when no
man can work. As long as I am in the world, I
am the light of the world. And when he had thus
spoken, He spat on the ground and made clay of
the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the
blind man with the clay. And he said unto him,
Go wash in the pool of Siloam. And he went his
way, and he washed, and he came seeing. And the
neighbors therefore, and they which... Before
he had seen him that was blind, said, Is not
this he that sat and begged? Some said, This
is he. Others said, He is like him. But he said,
I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were
thine eyes opened? And he answered and said,
A man that is called Jesus made clay. and anointed
mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of
Siloam, and wash. And I went, and washed, and
I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where
is he? And he said, I know not. Now get this
picture. Oh, I have relived it over and over
again. I like it when they talk about the neighbors.
Because you had them and I had them. We all have
neighbors. Oh, dear me, and I can just see these
neighbors, their mouths open, and they're watching
the whole thing. Here's the man. Born blind,
everybody in the community knew him. Oh, sure,
they saw him every day. The master came to town,
and he... two came face to face with the one
who was born blind. And when Jesus saw him, he
did something. He spat on the ground, he made
clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes
of the blind man with the clay. And then he said,
Go wash in the pool of Siloam. And the man did.
He did exactly that. He went his way, he washed,
and he came seeing. Ever after that, knowing
human nature as I know human nature, knowing
human nature as you know human nature, there
were those who said, you will never be healed.
You absolutely cannot be healed unless spittle
is made, unless the clay is laid on your eyes.
And even after that, you cannot be healed. It
is impossible for you to be healed unless you
go to the pool of Siloam and wash. And I dare
say the scripture doesn't say it. But I wouldn't
be surprised if there were those who went about
praying for the sick by making spittle, doing
it exactly the way Jesus did it. They would spit
on the ground. They would make clay of the spittle.
They would anoint the eyes of the blind or anoint...
the sick part of the human body, with this clay
of spittle, and then they'd send them all to
the Pool of Siloam to wash. Oh, I'll tell you,
there were crowds around that Pool of Siloam
all trying to wash. They were probably called
the Spittleites. God, you always know they call
themselves something. Ha -ha. The Spittleites
went around praying for the sick. saying now
you cannot be healed any other way. It's got
to be exactly like that. But watch something.
Any truth, no matter how good, if emphasized
to the exclusion of other truths of equal importance,
is practical error. I can prove that. Turn, if
you will, please, now. to something else that
happened to a blind man. Turn to the 18th chapter
of Luke. It's the same Jesus. It's the same power.
And it came to pass that as he was come nigh
unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the
wayside begging. And hearing the multitude pass
by, he asked what it meant. another man, just
as blind as the one whose eyes had been anointed
with the clay. Both blind men. And hearing the
multitude pass by, he couldn't see, but he could
hear the multitude. He could hear their feet.
And he asked what it meant. And they told him
that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried,
saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy
on me. And David went before rebuked him that
he should hold his peace, but he cried so much
the more. Thou son of David, have mercy on me.
I'm glad they couldn't shut him up. He wasn't
going to be denied. He was desperate. Mm -hmm.
And Jesus do it. Jesus just stood still, commanded
him to be brought unto him. And when he was come
near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that
I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that
I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him,
Receive thy sight. Do you want to see something?
All right, watch. Jesus did not spit on the ground.
He did not make clay of the spittle. He did not
even anoint the eyes of the blind man with clay.
He didn't even tell him to go wash in the pool
of Siloam. No. All on earth said Jesus did was
to ask him a question. What wilt thou that I
shall do unto thee? And Jesus knew the man's
heart. He knew the man's need. He knew what that
man wanted more than anything else in the whole
world, standing face to face with a beggar. And
yet he asked him the question, What wilt thou
that I shall do unto thee? But he wanted an expression
from this man. He wanted the man to express his
need. And he said, Lord, that I may receive my
sight. Jesus, without doing anything further,
said unto him, Receive thy sight. Thy faith hath
saved thee. And immediately he received his sight
and followed him, glorifying God. And all the
people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
Now, what in the world do you think those Spitalites
did about the man who had been healed without
the anointing, without the clay? without washing
in the pool of Ceylon. Well, knowing human nature
as I do, there were a few of them who said, I
don't believe the man was ever healed. I don't
believe that he received his sight. He couldn't
have received his sight without the anointing.
He couldn't receive his sight. without having
washed in the pool of Siloam. But he did. It
was the same Jesus. It was the same power of
the Holy Spirit. And both men received their
sight. One, just as Jesus stood before him and
said, Receive thy sight. Thy faith hath made
thee whole. Thy faith hath saved thee. And the
other one was healed as he went. But both were
healed. I repeat, and this will do away with
so much of the confusion in your mind regarding
many things. of the Word of God. Any truth, no
matter how good, if emphasized to the exclusion
of other truth of equal importance, is practical
error. You can be healed without the anointing
oil. You can be healed without the prayer card,
you can be healed without anyone laying hands
on you. You can be healed right there in your
own home this very moment without even having
been in a miracle service. Who am I to say what
method God will use in healing you? But for me
to say that you cannot be healed except you be
anointed with oil would be error. For me to say
that you cannot be healed except hands are laid
upon you and you are prayed for would be error.
For me to say that you could not be healed unless
you were present in a miracle service would be
error. And you Some of you will never be healed
unless you put forth the effort to be in a miracle
service. For some of you, it is your faith that
you cannot be healed unless hands are laid upon
you and you're prayed for. It's like that. But
do not say, that one cannot be healed except
they're anointed. You can't do it. You just cannot
do it. Now let's come to this wonderful experience
of being filled with the Holy Spirit. I told
you this was going to be a good practical heart
-to -heart talk. Oh, sure. We come to this experience
being filled with the Spirit. The baptism of
the Holy Spirit. The fullness of the Spirit.
We find that God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit
on the day of Pentecost. And again, at the household
of Cornelius. We see that in both instances,
the Holy Spirit was given without any human agency
whatsoever. You cannot find in the second chapter
of Acts where there was any human agency when
they were filled with the Holy Spirit in the
upper room. There was no laying on of hands.
None. You turn to the tenth chapter of Acts.
Then the household of Cornelius. No, I tell you,
that was great. Sure. While Peter yet spake these
words, the Holy Ghost fell on all they which
heard the word, and they of the circumcision
which believed were astonished. As many as came
with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also
was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost, for
they heard them speak with tongues and magnify
God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid,
Walter, that these should not be baptized, which
have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? Mm
-hmm. There was no laying on of hands. There
was no human agency whatsoever. But at the Samaritan
revival, as recorded in the 8th chapter of Acts,
the 17th verse, and at the Ephesus revival, The
19th chapter of Acts, the 6th verse. The baptism
of the Holy Spirit was received by the laying
on of hands. It's there. Just read it. Turn,
if you will, please, to the 19th chapter of Acts,
the 6th verse. And when Peter had laid his hands
upon them, The Holy Ghost came on them, and they
spake with tongues and prophesied. And yet in
the house of Cornelius, there's no scripture
whatsoever that tells us that Peter laid hands
on any of them. The Holy Ghost fell on all them
which heard the word. There was no laying on
of hands. But in another instance, Peter laid
his hands upon them. and the Holy Ghost came
on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied.
Therefore, we find that 50 % of the Scripture
speaks of the laying on of hands in receiving
the Holy Ghost, and 50 % without any human agency.
Therefore, you cannot say that one has to have
the laying on of hands before one is filled with
the Holy Spirit. Neither can you say that the
laying on of hands is not scriptural. I repeat,
any truth, no matter how good, if emphasized
to the exclusion of all other truths of equal
importance, is practical error. But I want to
go one step further, just one step further, while
we're on this subject of being filled with the
Holy Spirit. whether one is filled with the laying
on of hands or without. There is not one single
passage in the Bible, either in the Old Testament
or the New Testament, where the baptism of the
Holy Spirit is spoken of, where it is not connected
with testimony or service. Whenever one is filled
with the Holy Spirit, Whether you've received
that experience with or without the laying on
of hands, the Holy Spirit is given the believer
for power, for service. Not one single passage
in the entire Bible where the Holy Spirit is
given the believer. There is... Always that truth
that it is connected with testimony or service
for the Lord. God bless you.