"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

The Prophet Isaiah Chapter 40, Verse 31

Table of Contents

Dedication

Chapter I The Key to Spiritual Success

Chapter II All Things But Dung

Chapter III These Light Afflictions

Chapter IV Here Am I, Lord

Chapter V Results

Chapter VI Straight for the Goal

Dedication

To ministers of all faiths; to the end that we might see ourselves as we are and Christ as He is, with the sincere desire that we may not be disjointed members of the kingdom, separated too long by denominational barriers, but that we might rise up to embrace in the true spirit of unselfishness—the Body of Christ!

MORRIS CERULLO

Chapter I

The Key to Spiritual Success

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-lh)

Mankind desires to tap in on heaven's resources. The questions asked of me more than any others are, "How do we touch God?" "Reverend Cerullo, how do we know God hears us when we pray?"

When God first began working in my spirit to write this book, I travailed against myself and my deep feeling of inadequacy. It haunted me night and day. Paul said in Philippians 3:12,

"Not that I claim to have achieved all this, nor to have reached perfection already. But I keep going on, trying to grasp that purpose for which Christ Jesus grasped me."

(Phillip’s Translation)

The hunger in the heart of humanity from all denominations and all walks of life demands a balanced Bible-based interpretation of the depth of this subject.

The barometer for measuring success is not by the biggest church in a community, for often men filling these pulpits have confessed the greatest emptiness.

I once was asked to address a group in a church in my community which is very formal. I took my wife and three lovely children (who at this time were 10, 8 and 5) with me.

While I addressed this special group, my wife took my youngest son and my daughter into the main auditorium to listen to a message by the assistant minister. His topic this morning was, "DOES GOD'S PRESENCE ABIDE WITH US CONTINUALLY?"

The auditorium was filled, so the usher had to take my wife and two children to the very front pew.

After the minister announced his topic in the form of a question, my youngest son, Mark Stephen, then only five years old, jumped off the front seat and shouted back, "Oh, yes, He does!"

Mom was so embarrassed but so proud! Mark knew, though only five years old, that Jesus' Presence can be with us no matter where we are and what we are doing. The sad part was that the minister went on to explain that it was absurd to think that God could be with us at work, in the grocery store, etc. He said God was not interested in these things!

I wonder if it is not here that we lay the basis for spiritual success—"knowing God."

The greatest ambition a mortal can have is a desire to know God.

Jeremiah cried,

"Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and KNOWETH ME ..."

(Jeremiah 9:23,24)

There can be for all of us, who are willing to walk the Damascus Road, a light to shine from heaven, a voice crying into our spirits, and a knowledge of our Christ that makes Him the Partner of our lives.

This is no surface experience, or a haphazard Sunday-go-to-meeting type of relationship, but rather a process of His deepening into our beings! An interweaving of the

King of Kings and Lord of Lords into the fiber, the core, the innermost resources of our beings until we cry

"... [we] are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens ... of the household of God."

(Ephesians 2:19)

"... Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."

(Ephesians 2:20-22)

"For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones."    (Ephesians 5:30)

I live near the ocean in beautiful San Diego, California. What a sight to behold when the sea begins to roll under the impact of the winds of a storm. To stand on the land and exclaim, "There is a storm" is one thing; to be out in a boat when the sea is being tossed and the water is filling your boat until you think you are going under, is another.

Both persons exclaim, "There is a storm," but what a striking difference. On the shore you know of the storm but out in the boat you know the storm itself.

The difference is, the first is information; the second is experience.

So, with God! Stay on the shore, and you have only information about Him. Stay on the shore and the deepest depth, the highest height you can attain is but a glimpse of Him as He passes by. But cut away the shoreline and launch out into the deep; take faith's plunge—as the priests of Joshua's day—launch out into the Jordan (the river of God) and you will experience God. You can—you will know Him.

To have spiritual success—to actually possess its key— is to know Him.

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;"    (Philippians 3:10)

How changed are my ambitions!

"Now I long to know Christ and the power shown by His resurrection; now I long to share His sufferings, even to die as He died, so that I may somehow attain the resurrection from the dead."    (Phillip’s Translation)

"Oh, Lord, begin this deepening process in us that we may know You in all Your reality. We will be satisfied with nothing less than an intimate knowledge of Your Person and Presence. Work through our person until all shall see, not man, but the beauty of Your Spirit in us."

Chapter II

All Things But Dung

One cannot help but feel that the early apostles and disciples had to have a key to spiritual success. For without printing presses, with no means of modern transportation, they brought the message of Christ and His saving power to their then known world. Besides accomplishing this seemingly impossible feat, they were able to turn whole cities and multitudes to Christ! They laid such a foundation for Christianity that the Dark Ages, endless wars, and rank atheism of the worse order in generations to come could not erase their mark!

The greatest missionary of Bible days best exemplifies these tributes—Paul, "Saul of Tarsus."

Indeed he possessed a secret ... a secret that opened to him all the glories of God, all the power of the Name we so sweetly whisper. But he did not find this by some magical formula. Neither did he push some electronic button and create it.

He gave over to His Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, his whole being, and line upon line, precept upon precept, it grew in him.

The knowledge of his OWNER!

There is no short cut to spiritual power, or to knowing God in a deep intimate way.

Paul's desire to know his Lord was shown by the personal sacrifices he was willing to make by joining of himself to the sufferings of his Lord.

In fact, Paul stated everything that was gain to him; he was willing to count but LOSS—DYING!

"For his sake I did in fact suffer the loss of everything ..."

(Philippians 3:8, Phillip’s Translation)

IF WE ARE GOING TO KNOW HIM, WE MUST BE WILLING TO SACRIFICE ALL TO HIM!

Beloved, we must not—we dare not—hold anything back. Only you know what lies unsurrendered, unyielded, or not wholly consecrated to HIM! All of self, and all that it implies ... our home, our ambitions, our goals ... can come between this degree of integration.

It is true there are no short cuts to spiritual power. True enough, Christ paid the price for our sins. Christ paid the price for our deliverance from bondage, but to know Him beyond the surface, we are going to have to answer the call to complete sacrifice for Him. Oh, how sad to see some come so close only to watch them drop off like the rich young ruler, with bowed head, away from the Master because they could not pay the price.

I will never forget the greatest compliment ever given to me by a layman in the Gospel. We were conducting a crusade in Haiti. God was moving in a marvelous way. Tens of thousands were turning to Christ. The attendance was about 20,000 nightly. One day we had a meeting at our hotel with all the missionaries who were cooperating in the crusade at the football stadium.

The missionaries, meaning well, warned me of having a Sunday night rally because it was the height of Mardi Gras season. On Sunday nights, for seven Sundays in a row, the people go wild—drinking and dancing in the street. The devil worshipers and the witch doctors were angry with me for so many were being converted ... even hundreds of witch doctors. The missionaries feared for my life! This layman, who was present with us from America, stood up and said, "Brethren, let me tell you about Morris Cerullo. He is not consecrated unto life, but unto DEATH!"

My heart never felt the humbling impact of any statement more forcefully than this. Could it be true? Was I indeed consecrated, if necessary, unto death?

We had the Sunday evening service and Senator Arthur Bonhomme came into the meeting this night with his face all aglow. When addressing the crowd of 30,000, he wept, "I have just seen a miracle. Tonight when the streets should be filled with tens of thousands dancing and drinking, I came through the streets to the stadium and didn't find one thousand!"

What a testimony to our resurrected Lord!

Two missionaries in the heart of Africa came across a woman with two children kneeling down by the side of a river chanting. They observed that she was obviously worshiping the river. They stopped and talked for awhile and then went on into the jungle.

About four hours later they returned to find the woman in the same position, kneeling and chanting before the river. But this time they noticed only one child by the mother's side. It was very sickly looking—thin, and all broken out with sores. Stopping again to talk to the woman, they discovered that she had just made a sacrifice to her god. She had thrown one of her children into the river.

This was almost too much for one of the missionaries to bear and he began weeping, "Oh, if she only knew Jesus."

He said to the woman, "How come you didn't sacrifice this other baby with all the sores on its body? I notice you threw in the baby that apparently was strong and clean."

Indignantly the woman arose, threw back her shoulders, and staring the missionary in the eyes she said, "I only give the best I have to my god."

Yes, "I only give the best I have to my god." The cry rings from the heathen who have no hope ... no touch of reality—only sadness and emptiness, while we, who live in joy, take for granted our Savior!

There is no other way to go but through this path. You can find no other road that leads to what the innermost longing of your heart craves ... beyond the surface and into His depths. Walk up this pathway and with each step drop off the robes of self. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone ..." (John 12:24) Earthly ambitions must go except it be a driving force toward Jesus Christ Who consumes everything of man in His Being!

No confidence in the flesh anymore! Surprising? Perhaps, but true. Paul testifies,

"If any other man hath whereof to glory in the flesh, I more. Circumcised on the eighth day, I was a member of the Tribe of Benjamin. I was in fact a full-blooded Jew! As far as keeping the Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee and you can judge my enthusiasm for the Jewish faith by my active persecution of the church. Yet every advantage that I had gained I considered lost for Christ's sake!"

Could it be that the experience we have with Christ is not a deep enough relationship, and therefore we do not become dedicated enough to the cause of Christ?

Only yesterday a person said to me, "I work for a group of scientists. They are the most dedicated people I have ever seen. Each one could make much more money as a doctor, or working in a commercial firm. Yet, they have dedicated themselves to research in behalf of humanity's needs ... and are working for a bare living wage!"

Faith is the only thing that can cause a person to be willing to sacrifice, if he believes strongly enough in the cause or the truth of what he is doing!

False political ideologies have been able to arouse whole nations to their causes ... even to the laying down of millions of people's lives ... only because people believed so strongly in what they were doing that no human sacrifice was too great for the cause.

We have the greatest cause any people have ever seen. We have at our disposal a power far exceeding the power of the enemy ... a power given for the tearing down of strongholds!

There awaits us, and all who will arise now, a world longing for men and women, wholly consecrated to what they believe in, to lead them out of their dilemma.

Why is our generation turning to false ideologies? Because they feel a need to believe in something! Even our young people are looking for a cause. Our churches have supposed they wanted more of the world, and to meet this challenge they have instituted more socials and more suppers. But this is not what they want! Why riots? Why demonstrations? For within these young people is a cry to be led, to be a part of a cause!

Oh, let us not fail them. We have the greatest cause to stand up for, the greatest need for their energies. We have what they need, if necessary, to die for!

It is true you can never bring a person up higher than you are yourself. Success is dealing with yourself as you are!

How can we then do less than give Him our best? If we are to truly know Him and take our place in His kingdom which He longs for us to have, we must, like Abraham, be willing to put our all ... our "Isaacs" ... on the altar ... and, like Paul, be willing to count them but dung!

"Take up thy cross and follow Me, I hear the blessed Savior call. How can I make a lesser sacrifice, When Jesus gave His all?"

Chapter III

These Light Afflictions

Not so long ago a friend of mine held a crusade on foreign soil in a heathen country. The enemies of the cross gathered to destroy him. They pulled down the platform; he barely escaped with his life. What a joy it was to hear him tell of his precious moments of being able to be persecuted for Christ's sake, and to suffer in His cause.

Some of our dearest friends in a large organization took this as a cause to criticize. They cried with the enemies of the cross, "Those crusades bring nothing but trouble" ... a far cry from those of the household of faith who hid the early disciples and followers, who realized that they must not only one day reign, but they must also be willing to suffer. They even went so far as to say this man was out of the will of God holding this crusade because it stirred up the heathen so!

Oh, beloved, I ask you, where in this modern Christianity did we lose sight of the beauty of suffering for the cause of Christ?

I am as positive as the next person; I do not have a negative bone in my body—a greater optimist never lived. BUT, if it is negative to be willing to suffer for His cause, if it is out of the will of God to be beaten, or to be willing to give your life for His cause, I call to our courtroom of conscience the millions of Chinese, Russians, Yugoslavians, and all the other races, colors, etc., who in our history—not a century ago, but our generation—have laid down their lives rather than yield to the lie of atheism.

Accuse them as they were hauled off to slave labor camps if you can. Accuse them as they were stoned to death, and frozen in the bitter cold, if you can! As we sit in our comfort and ease—never losing a meal, never losing a night's sleep (not even to pray for others' needs!), how can we accuse them, who, like the Apostle Paul, are willing to be shipwrecked ... face famine ... take beatings ... scoffings ... homeless ... in jail ... before courts, rulers, judges falsely accused? Accuse them. We cannot. Join them in consecration; WE MUST!

I will never forget my first overseas journey for Christ in 1954. I went to the nation of Greece. In Athens God gave us a wonderful crusade. Towards the end of the meeting several of the National pastors came to me. They said, "Brother Cerullo, you cannot close this crusade."

I said, "Why not?"

"Because, this is what we have been praying for for more than 20 years! A revival that would bring hundreds to Christ!" They told me the story of how they had been beaten and thrown in prison for preaching the Gospel!

YES, IN OUR GENERATION! My heart became one with theirs and the crusade continued with great victory!

If we are to know Him, which is the key to receiving spiritual power, we must be willing to be persecuted and suffer for His Name!

I know of a man in the healing ministry who does not have to pray for the sick to be a successful minister. He could pastor a big church; I myself did with over 1,000 in Sunday school attendance. Because this man has chosen to be faithful in his commission to not only preach the Gospel, but to heal the sick, he is severely ridiculed. I am grateful to Christ that he has borne this ridicule. It has come from inside the camp, but nevertheless, he never strikes at his accusers!

If we are going to have all God has for us, we may have to pay this price of being misunderstood. We are going to have to be willing to suffer for Him.

It was said of Paul by the Holy Spirit,

"For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." (Acts 9:16)

"For unto you it is given in the BEHALF OF CHRIST, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake." (Philippians 1:29)

"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him ..." (II Timothy 2:12)

Far be it from me to make a doctrine out of martyrdom! This is not the point at all. The question of how close we get to God often is answered in how far we are willing to go for Him.

Does God pick a man at random for an instrument of righteousness? Can we alter the mind of God? Do not these and all other questions like them fade away when in reality we KNOW HIM?

Paul proved he knew Him by the things he suffered for Him! He showed the world he possessed the key to spiritual power:

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."    (II Corinthians 4:8-9)

"Thrice was I beaten with rods ... five times received I forty stripes save one ... thrice I suffered shipwreck... perils of waters ... of robbers ... perils by mine own countrymen ... perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness ... hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." (II Corinthians 11:24-27)

Yet he cried, "... we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." (II Corinthians 4:16) HEAR HIM 20TH CENTURY CHRISTIANITY! "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, WORKETH for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (II Corinthians 4:17)

Is it not time to wake out of our sleep in Zion? Wherefore have we become at ease?

Why does the world tolerate us? Why is our Gospel so watered down that anyone can find a nook inside it so they can rest as they are, assured that no one will disturb them?

Did Jesus say the world would accept us? Did Jesus say authorities filled with atheism who hate Christianity and Christ would accept us with open atheistic arms?

I ask the Church, "Why are we at peace with the world when Jesus cried, 'They hated me, they will hate you also; they persecuted me, they will also persecute you'?"

Can it be that God is calling even now a group, a remnant, who long to know Him in His resurrection power, who will be willing, if need be, to suffer for His Name's sake?

To possess the key of spiritual success is to sleep while in the jail, knowing that at any moment the angel may come and blow open the prison door.

To possess the key of spiritual success is to stand before your accusers and say, "I cannot—I will not—recant—so help me God."

To possess the key to spiritual success is to know that nothing can separate you from the love of your God. Tribulation? Never. Distress, famine, nakedness, peril, sword?

"As it is written, For THY sake we are killed all the day long ... we are more than CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, These Light Afflictions nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any OTHER creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."    (Romans 8:36-39)

All things have their parallels. I will never forget some of my missionary journeys throughout the Far East—into the Philippine Islands and Hong Kong. I heard some of the World War II stories of sufferings and inhumanities firsthand. To hear these stories of what human beings went through would defy the ability of the writer's pen to describe. But nevertheless, men bore these sufferings ... bore them for human causes ... bore them in hopes that their sufferings would not be in vain, and through their sufferings, someday their world would be free! As they arose to the occasion, they were a contrast to disgrace those who sided with the enemy for fear of loss, or fear of suffering, and thus became traitors!

What makes a man of today stand for truth is not the whipping post, nor Pilate's judgment chamber, nor the horrors of physical torture, though someday for the Christians this may be the case; it is a more subtle Modernist's approach.

God forbid that here and now truth should be misunderstood, and false shadows be cast upon our words! Our fears take the shapes of not wanting to suffer the loss of practical things.

A minister said to me, "I would preach the truth to my congregation, and furthermore I know what I should say, but I can't."

Why?

Well, he is afraid the deacon board will fire him, and he will lose his nice church.

God forbid that because of what temporary, natural losses may be ours, we fail to stand for Truth! I call the conscience of every minister to question! God help us to face reality and not be duped by the subtle forces of the enemy in an age where Christianity is an ever growing organization, and not a living organism. We need to answer the above!

Compromise, out the way! Holy Ghost initiative, come back to us! Lord, be our Guide, not only to light our pathways but our consciences.

Who will dare to speak at this moment in history when the One World Church is being formed before our eyes and the so-called fundamentalists are becoming more and more like the modernists in church government and fellowship?

Who will dare utter the Bible principles for free fellowship, for answering the prayer of Jesus that truly the Body (Christ's Body) would not be a group of disjointed members but neatly fit together? Who will speak to us until the sting of jealousy and envy is taken out of us and recognition for every good work is forthcoming?

Oh, to know Him is to see the bigness of God and the whole scope of His world. Is it beyond our little scope? Perhaps, but it can be as big as God Himself.

What further need for testimony is there, "That I may know him ... and the fellowship of his sufferings ..."?

Oh, that I had some easy secret formula to give you, some practical, positive mental approach to God and answers to prayer, BUT I DON'T. Please forgive the rebellion of my spirit to these thoughts. My whole being wants to cry, "AWAY WITH MAN! DOWN WITH SELF!" "... that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (II Corinthians 4:7)

There is a true way to touch God—to know beyond a shadow of doubt that He hears and answers your prayers. I said a TRUE WAY. SURRENDER—leave nothing unconsecrated. No longer will you struggle to find His will. All our struggles will cease and we will, in actuality, become His will!

"Great is Thy Faithfulness, Oh God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be."

Chapter IV

Here Am I, Lord

One of the most difficult things for Jesus to teach His disciples was the fact that He must die. For this cause He came into the world.

Impetuous Peter, always with his hand ready on the sword, was very slow to learn this, amazing as it may seem. Even after direct revelation of Who Jesus was (Matthew 16:15-25), Peter found it difficult to comprehend how Jesus must suffer many things of the elders, chief priests, and the scribes—to be killed and crucified!

"Be it far from thee!" cried Peter. "... Get thee behind me, Satan ..." said Jesus. (Matthew 16:23)

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF, AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME!"

It is not easy to deny self—crucify the flesh!

How well I remember how the Lord used a person as a great instrument in my life to help me.

I was involved with several persons in the ministry. Several things occurred which hurt me more than words could tell. God gave me grace in the situation to bear up under this load. I was crushed as if my Lord Himself had scolded me in an audible voice.

Months went by. Misunderstandings led to misunderstandings. From the natural standpoint I had given all. I made all the concessions—I turned my back on all my labors and gave everything to these parties.

I went out and began again, but something inside of me was wrong. I still loved these people very dearly, for love is not something you turn on and off like a water faucet. Even when trials come and misunderstandings arise, your love is not shattered or thrown to the winds. I was hurt deeply.

Then one day God's sweet Spirit spoke to me and said, "Son, whose heart is wounded?"

I was about to say, "Mine," but hesitating, I saw the look upon His face as He whispered in my spirit.

"No, not mine," I cried. "A thousand times no!"

It was His HEART which was wounded, not mine or my friends' but He was the One. We had wounded Him by these misunderstandings.

I was in a hotel room in Europe when this happened. I knew what I had to do. I took pen in hand to write to these brethren and ask them to forgive me.

How do you ask someone to forgive you when you feel you are right in a circumstance of misunderstanding? I am not talking about this flimsy false approach: "If I did anything to hurt you, I didn't know it. Please forgive me."

I could not write this letter as long as I started from the basic premise that I was right, and wrong had been done to me.

As I took the pen in hand, God gave me the wisdom to see how to understand the problem. I started from the premise that they were right—and I looked at the problem from that viewpoint! Surprising as it was, when I did, I began to see areas where I could have done otherwise and perhaps altered some of the misunderstandings. I know hindsight is much better than foresight, but that was not what this resulted in, for I was seeing a way in which these individuals could be restored in my thinking. I had a base from which I could not and was not accusing the brethren or looking for justification of my hurt ... but honestly seeing myself as they saw me, and understanding the "why" of their actions. The result, I had a reason for writing my letter. What a joy overwhelmed me when I knew I no longer was a party to wounding the heart of Jesus!

We sing, "Oh, to be like Thee, Oh, to be like Thee; blessed Redeemer pure as Thou art. Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fulness, stamp Thine own image deep on my heart!"

"Here am I, Lord, willing to lose my life for Your sake. Knowing that only then will I truly find it."

Oh, beloved reader, what a road to walk. What altars to pass by—sacrifice, suffering—now self- denial. There are no easy short cuts to spiritual power.

CHRISTIANITY, ARISE! Put off the robes of materialism and put on the robes of spiritual power. A call to know Him is before you. Can you arise? Is the longing for the deepening power of His Presence strong enough to get you out of the social room and into the Upper Room?

After 30 years of serving Him, from the Damascus Road, through the great Epistles to the Romans, Galatians, and the Corinthians, we see inside the man who brought to the early Church the deepest revelation of Christ, His life and the kingdom of God. What we see is hard to fathom. A crying, a longing, an ambition beyond all comprehension. He lays all on the altar again, and again, and again.

About 25 years ago, it was estimated we had about 38,000 missionaries on the foreign field. Today we barely have 28,000. Do we need to send fewer? Is our move backward? What is wrong with us when there is nothing in us to spark a desire in those around about us to go? To hear the call of God is still the greatest calling in the world.

With 100,000 souls a day dying and going into Christless graves, the need for the ministry is greater today than ever before!

The trials of Africa are not easy to face anymore when the beauties of America stare us in the face. The sweat of India is not easy to succumb to when you can live in the shade of comfort here in the United States. Still God calls, "Watchmen, what of the night?" Still the Spirit breathes the words of our Master, "The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few."

Oh, the black pages written across our history books telling of lost opportunities because someone was not ready. China, Africa, Japan ... always the same ... TOO LATE! ... NOT READY! ... "Tomorrow we will pray" ... "Tomorrow we will give ... just let me get my feet on the ground. After I finish this one deal, I will support the Gospel work! ... Tomorrow we will go!"

Tomorrow, for most, never comes; but the voice of God still cries, "Who will go for us." "Whom shall I send?"

When we truly know Him, His voice becomes our voice .... We will reproduce ourselves as He reproduces Himself in us.

Can we join Paul in this cry?

"That I may know Him."

Did this student of all students not know Him? Was it not from his own pen that Scripture abounded? Why is he crying from the depths of his soul? If any man should know Him, he should, for he received this divine enabling from God Who ordained him to give these words to the world. Still his soul bares itself in earnest desire: "THAT I MAY KNOW HIM."

This desire to be completely identified with his Savior, the Lover of his soul, this Redeemer ... not satisfied with a passing relationship ... not satisfied with words in a letter, but never ceasing until the two become one! Here is the basis of all true SPIRITUAL POWER!

"For his sake I did in fact suffer the loss of everything, but I considered it mere garbage compared with being able to win Christ. For now my place is in him ..." (Philippians 3:8,9 Phillip's Translation)

Chapter V

Results

When we know Him, we tap heaven's resources. Not only do we change in person, for He is our life and our place is in Him, but a revolution of spirituality takes place. Now, let us be careful not to confuse this with what is scoffed at: "super spirituality." I am not proposing any "holier-than-thou" approach or attitude. NO! But a practical spiritual understanding that will bring us the results we need for facing our everyday lives.

CONFIDENCE IN PRAYING, PRAYERS BECOME POSITIVE.

How many multitudes of good, honest Christians know when they pray that their prayers do not go any higher than the ceiling? When we know Him, He hears us when we pray! This is our confidence. Not only do we know He hears us, but our prayers become positive. No longer cringing, weak prayers filled with beggarly cries, but prayers filled with confidence that what we are praying for is the will of God, and we come POSITIVE, filled with His faith! Not expecting to fail or to be turned away, or to have the request turned down. We come boldly unto the Throne of Grace to worship, to adore, to commune, and also to receive, to bring our petitions properly signed in the Master's Name to the altar of the Father. We know that He heareth us and we have the petition we ask because we ask according to the will of God!

THE BIBLE BECOMES ALIVE

I once took a course in child psychology. While reading the book for the classes, I felt it boring and too deep to make sense for the average person. I found it very difficult to get keenly interested in the subject because of the hindrance of the textbook.

One day the author of the book came to a nearby town and was giving a lecture. I went. I listened as he talked for a long time on the subject of child psychology. Observing the type of person he was, I could easily understand how he could write in such a manner and go way over the heads of the average person. Yet the more he talked and explained how he felt and why, I began to recollect several things he said in the book. To me, the result was a complete reviewing of the subject. From that day, each time I picked up his book I would visualize the author and almost hear him lecturing in a clear voice. It brought a complete understanding to me of the contents. Just acquainting myself with the author—and knowing him—had revolutionized his book.

I cannot tell you how many people have said to me, "Morris, I wish I could understand the Bible. It is such a mystery to me."

Yes, how true and it will continue to remain a mystery —a closed book, a chore to read—until you first know its Author. It will continue to gather dust on the mantelpiece and take second place to the newspaper, the secular magazines, the TV, and radio programs until you know its Author.

But when you know its Author and become acquainted with Him—Oh, look away, beloved. Lift up your eyes. Again, I am not talking of the norm. How many Christians do you know who are plagued with the spiritual disease outlined in the above paragraph? I have prayed with thousands who find it a difficult task, even though they claim to be Christians, to read God's Word. Indeed, they have bowed their knees, but somehow a deepening process has never occurred. The world and its elements have crept in to take first place and now there is no power within them which can pull them in the right direction.

"Oh, Holy Spirit, by grace divine, move from our eyes the blinding spiritual cataracts. Let us behold Him Who is eternal ... not external. Book of books, fade not with the classics. Join not the shelves wherein lie the dust collectors. Move out from the mantelpiece; take your place in our hearts! Become alive in our hands."

It can and must, but if it does, we must know its Author. It is the only way the Book can be understood properly. We must have a firsthand, personal meeting with its Writer. Then acquainted with Him, we hear Him explain its contents. No more mystery. No more clouds. No more obscurity. We see clearly, until the day when revelation will give way to the Inspirer, when the anointing will give way to the Anointed Himself. We shall see then as we are known.

Chapter VI

Straight for the Goal

"But I keep going on, trying to grasp that purpose for which Christ Jesus grasped me. My brothers, I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF TO HAVE GRASPED IT FULLY EVEN NOW. But I do concentrate on this: I forget all that lies behind me and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal ..." (Philippians 3:13,14, Phillip’s Translation)

There is an old adage which says, "You never know a person until you live with them." I don't believe anything has more truth in it than these words. How many times did we feel we knew a certain person only to discover, to our dismay after a long relationship, that what we thought was not right at all? What a rude awakening has been ours when we realize most of mankind has two faces ... one we see and the other we don't.

A woman once told me, "Oh, yes. My husband is so kind and courteous outside, but you should see him as he is home with us alone. We can hardly live with him."

It is like a young boy courting his girlfriend. When they get into the automobile, he runs to open her door, or fix her chair at the restaurant table. Two weeks after they are married, she is standing by the car door and calls, "Darling!" He replies back, "What's the matter, dear, is the door locked?"

Yes, how true! In the natural you never know a person until you live with them.

More so is this true with our Lord. We will never really know God until He becomes a part of our everyday life, until we set a place for Him around our table, a chair for Him in our living room while we entertain friends and converse together, a seat reserved for Him while our TV's are on.

Paul said, "Whether I eat or whether I sleep, sit, walk, get up or lie down, I do it all for the glory of God."

How truth rings clear now, dear song writer, "Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before."

After being married for more than 23 years, I am just finding out some beautiful things about my wife. Incredible, but true.

The more we live with Christ, the more He becomes a part of our everyday lives. The more room we make for Him to be a link in the foundation of our homes and beings, the more we shall know Him. He will reveal Himself to us in so many marvelous ways. We shall behold His beauty which is without ending, and see His wondrous workings, not only renewed day by day but which defy the imagination, for they are past finding out!

When we know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, we become an instrument of His peace!

We will answer the call as Abraham did to sacrifice the best we have, only to discover we have not really sacrificed at all.

We will, like Paul, be willing to suffer only to realize, "This light affliction cannot be compared with the glory."

We will, like Peter, learn the lesson to deny ourselves— crucify the flesh for the glorious awakening that we have not given our life or really lost it, for we have indeed found it in Him!

Isaiah's still, small voice has become ours, for we now know how to recognize the sweetness of His whisper,

"Who will go?" "This is the way, walk ye in it."

Surrendered, we cry—ready for service we stand, "Here am I, Lord." Separated unto God. Consecrated without reservation; dedicated without measure! Truth alive by our side! WORDS ETERNAL IN US! LIVING FOREVER MORE! NOW WE KNOW, AS INDEED WE ARE KNOWN OF HIM!

Doors of impossibility open before us. Mountains of defeat, valleys of despair move as we walk closer—and dispel themselves into darkness before the light of His beautiful Presence!

"Shine brightly, Oh Truth—march on, not only in our souls but forevermore through us!"

"THAT I MAY KNOW HIM AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION."

'Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace: Where there is hatred help me sow love. Where there is injury help me sow healing. Where there is doubt help me sow faith. Where there is despair help me sow hope. Where there is darkness help me sow light. Where there is sadness help me sow joy.

Oh, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love; For in giving we receive, In pardoning we obtain pardon; In dying we are born to ETERNAL LIFE. "

St. Francis Assisi

THE MAN, THE MINISTRY, THE MESSAGE

The most dominant theme of this ministry is

‘This is not the work of a man, but it is the work of the Holy Spirit of the living God/

MAN

The uniqueness that God has placed upon every part of this ministry does not lie in the talents or the ability of man but in the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon one of His servants. Whether it is in Africa, the United States, Argentina, England, Asia, South America, or wherever — the message comes through loud and clear that it is the Presence of the Lord that breaks every yoke.

MINISTRY

Each one of the 7 Ministries of Caring has been born of the Holy Spirit as well. These 7 ministries are: North American Crusades/Seminars; Overseas Evangelism Crusades; Training the National-Building God’s Army/National Evangelist Crusades; Television, Radio, Literature, Jewish World Outreach; “I Care” Prayer Ministry; World Outreach Center — School of Ministry. These are not the result of the planning of a council created to find “good works.”

MESSAGE

The message is a clear and simple declaration of exactly what the Bible says. The whole presentation of the Gospel including salvation, deliverance, healing and the Second Coming of Christ are always evident. Specialized doctrines that tend to divide and confuse the Body of Christ have never been a part of this ministry.

The continuity and integrity of this ministry over the past 25 years is the result of staying in the middle of the stream of what God is bringing to pass in this hour and always being ready to move quickly with what God wants done.

For further information concerning the ministry of World Evangelism, write: U.S.A.: Morris Cerullo, P.O. Box 700, San Diego, California 92138 ENGLAND: P.O. Box 148, Potters Bar, Herts. EN6 1YA CANADA: Box 2555, Station C, Downsview, Ontario M3N 9Z9

Table of Contents

Dedication

Chapter I The Key to Spiritual Success

Chapter II All Things But Dung

Chapter III These Light Afflictions

Chapter IV Here Am I, Lord

Chapter V Results

Chapter VI Straight for the Goal