GOD'S EYES!      19/7/76          DFO 544

         1. REMEMBER WHEN THE APOSTLE PAUL BEGAN TO GET UNDER VERY GREAT CONVICTION and the Holy Spirit was really prodding him? The picture God gives is when Jesus met him on the way to Damascus and He says, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks!" (Acts 9:4,5)
         2. NOW MAYBE I BETTER EXPLAIN WHAT THOSE PRICKS ARE, because the word used there in the Greek is a word used for an OX GOAD, a stick with a sharp point that farmers used on a stubborn ox that refused to pull the plow.
         3. IF THE OX WAS STILL VERY STUBBORN THE OX WOULD EVEN KICK AGAINST THE PRICKS and still refuse to go, and kick at the farmer and kick at the stick.
         4. So what Jesus said to Saul on the way to Damascus is, "YOU ARE A STUBBORN OLD OX REFUSING TO DO MY WORK, and even though I am prodding you with the sharp stick of the Holy Spirit, you still won't go! You not only won't GO, you won't WORK! You even kick back against Me!"
         5. IT WASN'T ENOUGH JUST TO SPEAK AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS, NOW HE HAD TO GO OUT AND ACTIVELY PERSECUTE THEM! So he was on his way to Damascus with letters from the High Priest to persecute the Christians in Damascus, think of it!
         6. THAT'S WHAT THE BIBLE CALLS BACKSLIDING, TURNING AROUND AND GOING THE OTHER WAY. Apparently the Rabbi Saul got so angry he not only turned against the Christians, he even fought them so that God had to actually supernaturally miraculously STOP him!
         7. GOD SMOTE HIM, STRUCK HIM OFF HIS HORSE just like lightning, and knocked him to the ground and blinded him so he couldn't even see!
         8. THE LIGHT WAS SO BRIGHT IT BURNED SAUL'S EYES and he was blinded, struck like lightning, knocked off his horse to the ground! He was so stubborn God had to actually knock him flat, knock him down! He was fighting God so hard, God hit back! Whammy!
         9. YOU FIGHT GOD TOO HARD AND GOD'LL FIGHT YOU! He gives you a little time to repent, maybe just a LITTLE spanking to encourage you to repent, and if you don't repent He gives you a HARDER spanking. But if you STILL don't repent, if you fight even HARDER, then He starts fighting YOU.
         10. WHO WAS HE PERSECUTING WHEN HE WAS PERSECUTING CHRISTIANS? HE WAS PERSECUTING JESUS! When they fight US and they persecute US and they accuse US, who are they doing it to? -- JESUS! So who is going to fight for you?
         11. WHO WILL FIGHT THEM BACK? -- JESUS WILL FIGHT BACK! "Stand back", the Lord says in the Scripture, "and se ME fight! this is not THY battle but MINE! Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord! For he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of Mine eye. Touch not the Lord's anointed!" (Ex.14:14; 2Ch.20:17; Rom.12:19; Zech.2:8; Ps.105:15.) Hallelujah!
         12. "HEAR YE THE WORDS OF THY FATHER DAVID AND KNOW WHAT I SHALL DO UNTO THEM THAT FIGHT AGAINST THEE!" Hallelujah! Why should we ever worry about what they might do to us? He says,
         13. "TOUCH NOT THE LORD'S ANOINTED AND DO MY PROPHETS NO HARM, FOR HE THAT TOUCHETH YOU TOUCHETH THE APPLE OF MINE EYE!" In other words, anybody that tries to do you or me harm is sticking their finger in God's eye!
         14. SO WHEN THEY TOUCH YOU, THE LORD'S ANOINTED, HIS PROPHETS, THEY'RE TOUCHING THE MOST SENSITIVE PART OF GOD'S BODY, HIS EYES! I never thought of that before! -- His PROPHETS are His EYES! -- The EYES of His BODY, the prophets are the eyes of His Body, the Church!
         15. WE PROPHETS ARE THE EYES OF HIS BODY, THE CHURCH. Think of that, isn't that something? WE SEE the VISION! For "without a vision the people perish!" (Pr.29:18)
         16. IF THEY TOUCH HIS PROPHETS, IF THEY LAY ONE FINGER ON ME OR YOU, THEY'VE POKED GOD RIGHT IN THE EYE! -- And what happens when somebody touches your eye? You involuntarily react without even thinking about it!
         17. SO THEY'D BETTER WATCH OUT IF THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT PUTTING A FINGER ON US! They are touching the eyes of the Lord, and God will not let them get away with it!
         18. WHAT DO YO DO WHEN SOMEBODY STICKS THEIR FINGER IN YOUR EYE? Well, if it's accidental you forgive them. But if they keep trying to stick their finger in your eye on purpose, you're probably going to really hit back! You're certainly not going to LET them!
         19. SO IF THEY TRY TO TOUCH HIS PROPHETS, BROTHER, THEY'RE TOUCHING THE MOST SENSITIVE PART OF GOD'S BODY, and He's not going to allow it! He'll hit back! Thank You Lord!
         20. So, as the lawyer told the Sanhedrin, "BEWARE LEST THOU BE FOUND TO FIGHT AGAINST GOD!" (Acts 5:39) When the Sanhedrin, the religious parliament of the Jews, was discussing how to fight the Christians, Gamaliel got up and said,
         21. "IF THIS THING BE OF GOD, NO MAN CAN STAND AGAINST IT! BUT IF IT BE OF MAN, IT WILL COME TO NOUGHT. BEWARE LEST YE BE FOUND TO FIGHT AGAINST GOD!"
         22. THEY'RE NOT JUST DEALING WITH US -- THEY'RE FIGHTING AGAINST GOD HIMSELF! He says, "Stand back and watch ME fight! I don't need you to PROTECT Me, I don't need you to DEFEND Me or FIGHT for Me. All I need YOU for is to TELL them the TRUTH!"
         23. OUR ONLY WEAPONS ARE GOD'S TRUTH AND GOD'S LOVE! If they fight against these, God will fight back, amen? Thank You Lord! God will bless and keep ALL you eyes of God! Hallelujah!

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