Well, I’m almost through.  I’ve got two more points.  I’ll quit now if you tell me to.  (No)  Shall I finish the last two? (Yes)  I’ll have to.  I’m out of water.

Number eight, very precious.  He said, “You tell the people I’ll never leave them or forsake them.”  And He took me back when I was 20 years old.  I’d been healed of tuberculosis since I was 17, and the church in the little town where I lay sick for five months in the bed called me to give my testimony.  And I went there, and there was a woman with her two daughters.  The oldest

daughter had tuberculosis and had been in the Oklahoma state sanitarium for TB over here in the mountains of Talihina.  And they had arrested her case.  She wasn’t cured, but she had an arrested case and she was home for a few weeks.  So she brought her to hear my testimony in case her faith might rise and she’d be healed.

Well, they invited me to spend the night with them, and I did.  I went to sleep, and at two o’clock, she woke me up.  She said, “Oral, you must get up and dress and leave.  I’m so sorry to tell you.  My husband has just come in.  He’s a good man, but when he drinks, he’s mean.  And he heard you’re here.  He doesn’t believe you were healed.  He’s scared to death for our daughter, so you’ve got to dress and leave.”

And it was dead winter, and I wasn’t dressed for it.  And I walked the streets of that little town two hours.  I nearly froze to death.  And I remembered the name of a family, and I knocked on their door.  And Brother Sorrels came to the door.  And I said, “Brother Sorrels, could you take me in?  Please take me in.”  They took me in and put warm blankets around me and thawed me out and put me to bed, gave me a good breakfast the next day, and I went on my way.

And this is what the Lord said to me.  He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  I don’t know what that means to you tonight, but when God says, “I will never leave you or forsake you,” He means exactly what He says.

Now the final one, number nine, He said, “You tell the people this.  You give them Romans 4:17, call those things that be not as though they were.”

And Evelyn and I took one of God’s weapons, Matthew 18:18, “Whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  We knelt and we bound this man.  We never told a human being, just God and us two.  “Lord, when he eats, don’t let the food digest. When he sleeps, give him no rest.  When he works, give him no fulfillment until he makes this right and takes his hand off God’s anointed.”

Well, we moved to Tulsa.  That was the month of May.  The following December, I had a crusade in this city.  And I was preaching one night like I am now, and a man got up near the back and came down the middle aisle, stumbling and almost falling.  It was this young man, 29 years old.  And he came and threw his arms around my legs and he said, “Oral, I eat, but my food doesn’t digest.  I sleep, but I can’t rest.  I work, but I’m not fulfilled.  If you don’t loose me, I’m going to die.”  And he cried so hard, there were puddles on the floor.

And I called him by name.  I said, “Do you really understand what you’ve done?”  He said, “Yes, I do.”  “Are you ready to repent of this thing and never touch a man of God again?”  He said, “I’m not only ready, I have poured my soul out to God and I’ve driven over here for you to loose me or I’m going to die.” “If you really mean it.”  “I really mean it.”  And there before that whole crowd, I loosed that man with a weapon that is mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.  (Applause)  You are not without weapons.

And the fourth thing God said to write down, He said, “There’s been a slight decline in My healing power, but I’m going to bring healing back big time, including creative miracles.” Healing big time is knocking at the door.  We all know there’s been a slight decline.  But, friend, it’s coming back.

Right here three or four days ago I was going through Joyce’s seminar, and she began to pray for people.  There were tremendous miracles just broke out right here on this stage.  And there were miracles here this afternoon.  And before this thing is over, it just may explode.

But when He said, “including creative miracles,” I didn’t relate to that because I’d never had faith for creative miracles.  I thought that was for the resurrection of the body from the dead.

RR: … out toward the seed that we are sowing into the kingdom of God through the International Charismatic Bible Ministries Fellowship.  Thank You, Lord, for this seed.  It is blessed and made holy unto You.  Lord, it shall do a great work through the ICBM.  Lord, it is now sown into the kingdom, and You are obligated to watch over Your Word to perform it.  And You said when we bring it in, You would pour it out.  And we take You at Your Word and we thank You that as we have sown the seed, You bring out blessing into our lives, spiritually, physically, financially, emotionally, in our families, in our marriages, in our businesses, in our jobs, in our ministries, in every area of our lives.  Thank You, Lord.  By faith we receive the harvest in advance.  And we have it by faith to do what You’ve called us to do, in Jesus’ name, let everybody say amen.  (Response)

Well, give the Lord a handclap of praise.  Thank you, men and women.  (Applause)  Turn to the person next to you and say, “How did you enjoy the ministry of Joyce Meyer?”  Just turn to them, ask them.  (Response)  God bless you.  And you can be seated.  Wow!  That’s all I have to say after your ministry, Joyce.  I receive it.

I don’t know if you have noticed the way the Holy Spirit is leading, but so far this ICBM is extremely practical.  Did you notice that this afternoon and tonight?  Wow!  This is wonderful!

I am happy to present the man that God has raised up with a message for your deliverance, author, educator, evangelist, and my father, Oral Roberts.  (Applause)

OR: Thank you.  Be seated.  Something good is going to happen to you.  (Response)  Say that to somebody on both sides of you, please. (Response)  Something good’s going to happen to you.

Well, I want you to know that my darling wife, Evelyn, is here, that I’ve been married to 59 years.  Honey, stand up.  Turn around, let people see you.  (Applause)  Honey, remain standing, please.  This is a white woman, I want you to notice.  She is German.  And this is my son, Richard, who is a white man, mostly of German descent because of his mother.

RR:  What are you?

OR: What am I?  Well, I’m a person of color.  I was chosen the Indian of the Year of all the tribes of America in 1962.  I am a full one eighth Cherokee Indian, and now the reason that I’m telling you this is, my daughter, who took after me, is here and she graduated from the ORU law school and is practicing medicine … not medicine … (Laughing) … practicing law for the charismatic community of Tulsa, and she’s making more money than her daddy and her brother put together.  And she’s enjoying every moment of it.  Honey, stand up and let them see that you have Indian, that you’re like your daddy, Indian.  (Applause)  That’s Roberta Ann … Ann … Jean, Roberta Jean Potts.  And I’m so glad she’s here.  Did you notice that dark color of hers?  We people of color have to stand together, you know.  (Response)

And I want you to look carefully, think about 2 Samuel, the 17th chapter.  You don’t have to go there.  But in 2 Samuel, the 17th chapter, everybody knows the story of David and Goliath, right?  What’s Goliath’s older brother’s name?  Oh, got you, don’t I?  His name is S-a-p-h, and in the story of Saph in the Bible, it actually means the container, the containment.

And a friend of mine—wherever you are, Frank.  I know I saw you in here a minute ago—Frank Hultgren gave me an idea on this.  And he said, “I want you to go study the word S-a-p-h.  It means container, containment.”

And I began to think on that.  And the more I began to think on that, God spoke a word in my heart and He said, “What’s in your container?”

And I said, “What?”

And He said, “What’s in your container?  What are you connecting yourself with?  What are you putting in your container?”

And I began to think.  I began to think about the people in my container.  And I began to think about the dreams in my container and the junk in my container that had no business being in my container.

And the Lord gave me a vision on the things in my container, and He showed me a rope.  And I thought, A rope?  What do I need a rope in my container for?

And He was filling things in my box.  He showed me a box, a container.  He showed me the box God wanted me to have, and He showed me an identical twin, the box satan wanted me to have.  Satan can’t create, but he can counterfeit, and he counterfeits good.

And I’m sitting there looking at these two containers, and God said, “The world will want you to put the counterfeit in the container,” and God wants you to have the real in the container, but it’s up to you to know the difference.

And He said, “Examine your container.  Examine what’s in your container.  Is it fake, or is it real?”

And I remembered that silly song that God always reminds me of, “I didn’t know the devil would have blue eyes and blue jeans.”  Everything is going to look so good, but is it God?  Everything may look so appealing, but is it God?  Everything may look like it’s peachy, the building may look perfect, the girl may look perfect, but is it God?

Same way with our substance.  There is a substance, an essence—the word is anointing—but it’s individual.  It’s not corporate.  There is a substance, the essence of God that God has placed in each and every one of us that only you can step into.  I can’t step into Billy Joe’s anointing.  I can’t step into Richard’s.  I can’t step in my mom’s.

God has given me an anointing.  And when I step over into that anointing, then I am fulfilled in what the Bible calls the glory of God.

Now if you look very carefully—and I’m not going to make you turn there—but the reference of John 17 talks about Jesus in all of His glory.  And then He talks about going on, and this is the night that He knows, “My time has come.”  He’s going to be crucified.

And as He’s about to be crucified, He said, “God, the glory that you placed in me, the glory in me, now I transfer to them.”

There is a glory.  And we think of that word, and we think it’s only just of God.  But when Jesus went to the cross, that same glory that was in Jesus got transferred into us for our own individual anointing.  And that word is the essence of God, and it translates substance.

Now think about that.  He said right here, “These women ministered to Jesus out of their substance.”  Now I could try and sing like Adrian.  It wouldn’t work.  He could try and sing like me.  Jesus, help him!

But you know what?  It’s like when we see a baseball player hit a ball out of the ballpark.  He’s in his glory.

It’s like when we see this young man sing.  He’s in his glory.

What happens when you step into that realm that is your substance and you take that substance and you begin to minister?  Two things will happen.  You’ll either minister to the world and be of the world, or you will begin to minister to God and be of God.  But doesn’t He say, “You are of God, little children.”

Everybody has a substance, but how do they use it?  Realistically speaking, how did Elvis use his?  Realistically speaking, how do some famous basketball players use theirs?  They’re in their glory, but are they glorifying God with what God put in them to glorify Him?  Maybe, maybe not.

And I want to look at the way we fill ourselves and take our substance and give it back to God.  When God fills us with a certain amount of substance, what do you do with it?  You know, if you look at your neighbor—I want you to turn to your neighbor, and it’s a saying I do all the time—turn to your neighbor and say, “You’re full of it.”  Now turn to your other neighbor, and very passionately tell them, “And you’re full of it too.”

Now whether or not that’s a compliment simply depends on what they’re full of, because what you’re full of will eventually manifest.  So what you’re full of depends on what you put in on the inside.

RR: That’s this university.  Turn to the person next to you and say, “ORU is ours.”  Turn to them and say, “ORU is ours.”  (Response)  ORU is becoming the university of choice for the Christian charismatic community.

And I want to say something to you, you ministers, what I say to parents every year at the beginning of the school year.  Send me your sons, your daughters, your grandchildren, your nieces, your nephews.  I will send them back to you better than you sent them to me.  That’s a promise that Lindsay and I make to parents every year.

Tonight is ORU night.  The offering tonight is designated for Oral Roberts University.  The Lord has been talking to me about what He wants to do tonight.  I’m going to ask Pastor Charles Green to come back up because when I shared with him what the Lord laid on my heart, he said, “I have a word about that,” and so does Billye Brim.  Billye, would you come back up for just a moment.

And as they’re coming, I want to remind you of Luke, chapter 10, verse 2.  Everybody say, Luke 10, verse 2.  The Bible says on that day, Jesus said, that “The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few.  Pray ye therefore that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers into His harvest.”

I was having a conversation sometime ago with my father, and he and I were studying that scripture.  And he said something to me that changed my life.  He said, “Jesus said, ‘The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few.’”  He said, “Richard, the church has learned how to sow.” 

And it was my father many years ago who brought that principle of sowing like never before, so people did not give as a debt.  But because Jesus paid the debt—we sang about it tonight.  He paid the debt in full.  It can never be paid again.

He brought that sowing principle, he called it “the principles of Seed-Faith,” of God is your source, plant your seed, expect a miracle.  But he said, “Richard, many Christians have not understood that there is to be a harvest, and you have to labor for it.”  Now labor in the sense that you have to use your faith to believe for the harvest.

It will not be a division for there is no division.  . . . in the spirit of grace, and they will go and they will move.  And you will go and you will move.  And there will not be music that sounds right for youth and music that sounds right for old, but there will be new sounds . . . with the street of gold.  And you will sing by the spirit.  And your spirit will hear it, and you will move with heaven’s own song. 

GUY STUDENT: (Tongues)

BILLYE: So get yourselves together in this camp or that, but move in the power of My Spirit that man may see at last that the body of Christ is indeed young.  And we’re not divided as old and as young, but you will move (tongues) in the gifts of power.  And you will walk and move in this hour.  You will (tongues) even raise the dead, and . . . he said.  (Inaudible)  The body is one, the body is one.  Now both of you speak in tongues together.  (Tongues) 

For there is a voice that I want to give.  I have a voice that when it speaks, men shall live.  And that voice shall come through you, the body of Christ.  (Tongues)  And they will see too that you move in grace and you move in power.

Now link with these young people in this hour.  Young people, you link with those who have walked and tread longer and be even stronger.  But look for the power that is released this day as my servant did indeed say.  Something is falling on you right now.  It’s something new, and you’ll see how.  It is the old and the new together. 

The Word of God has said, it’s the latter and former together.  And you will be Spirit-led, Spirit-led into grace, Spirit-led into power, and the world will see that manifested   touch of God in this hour.  (Applause) 

RR: Well, come on, give a shout of praise to the Lord.  (Applause)  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  This is a spontaneous move of the Holy Ghost.  Come on, cut loose.  (Response)  This is a spontaneous move of the Holy Ghost.  Come on.  (Repeats)  Hallelujah!  This is a move of the Holy Ghost.  

Some of you are right where he was.  And he put out a fleece before the Lord.  I don’t recommend this, unless the Lord impresses you.  He said, “I’m going to quit the ministry, Lord.  I’m going to get a job at the S&Q Men’s Clothiers.  I’m quitting, unless You answer three fleeces.” 

He said, “I’m going to rent the auditorium in Enid,” which seated a little more than a thousand.  He said, “I want one thousand people there when I announce there’s going to be a healing rally.”  Now you have to know what kind of miracles that was.  He was running 75 in his church.      

The second fleece was that the offering would be received without the use of a stomach pump and that the offering would be enough to take care of all the expenses.

And the third fleece was, somebody would get healed.  They’d know it, and he would know it.  And if God did not answer those three fleeces, on the Monday morning he was resigning from the church and taking a job as a clothing salesman at the S&Q Clothiers.  You notice all the ribbons have been red, white, and blue.  Hallelujah!

My father, as I grew up, told me this story.  He said, “That Sunday morning in church, it was like a funeral because everyone knew the three o’clock hour was coming.  And everyone knew there was no way that a thousand people could show up.

But when he walked into that Enid auditorium that afternoon, the janitor met him at the back door and said, “Brother Roberts, would you like to know how many people are here?”

 “Yes.”

“There are more than a thousand.”

And then when the offering was raised, in typical Oral Roberts’ fashion, he said, “Go back and count it right now.  I’m going to wait on you,” and found that the offering was three dollars more than the expenses. 

And then when he preached a message on healing, “If You Need Healing, Do These Things,” he laid his hands on a woman, a German woman, who could not open and close her hand for 38 years.  And all of a sudden when he touched her, her hand loosed and she screamed.  And everyone saw that she was healed.

Now Danielle Agnew, music critic.  Keep going, guys, you’re going to get to little Danielle, sweet lady, nice music critic.  This is what she wrote.  “Remember, the music industry is just looking for a chance to completely dismiss you and your music.  And once you cancel a gig with a promoter or club, trying to rebook it later, you might as well be trying as a lesbian trying to get into Oral Roberts University.”  Just reading what she wrote.

Art.  National endowment for the arts takes money out of your tax dollars.  In this painting, I won’t even read what it’s called.  You read it.  Blank on Christ.  And it is spread with a bucket of urine everywhere it goes.

In the national newspaper, “All you need to remember is?-this is a father giving advice to his son-?stay away from the beaches, national forests, airplanes, TV evangelists, Wall Street, savings and loan, raid on gas, and people who don’t wear condoms.”  In 2002, out of 28,810 votes registered on Am I Annoying.com, 78.71 percent of the voters thought Oral Roberts was annoying, and listed the following reasons why and why not.  Why he might be annoying.  He got  his son Richard and daughter-in-law Lindsay to be involved in his ministry.

He named Richard as the President of Oral Roberts University.  Well, there’s one for you.  What rocket scientist came up with that one?  He believes he has the power of healed. Why he might not be annoying.  He preaches to morons with simplistic  ”God is a good God, and satan is a bad satan.”  There you go.  That’s brilliant.

This is the Oral they know, but I want to show you the Oral I know.  And then I want to ask you a question.  Take a good hard look at his life, take a good hard look at your life, take a good hard look at television.  The choice is yours.  What in the “L? are you tolerating in your church?  Immorality or immortality?  Only one “T? in between.  What are you preaching, and what are you tolerating?  The choice is yours.  Do you want their father or do you want our Father?  Do you want pink, or do you want red?  Do you want their Madonna, do you want ours?  Do you want rules, or the one who reigns?  Do you want passion, or compassion?

How many of you have tolerated on television Will and Grace instead of Amazing Grace?  Most Christians can’t even get on those stations.  You know it, and I know it.  Do you want idol worship, and are you participating, do you watch it, do you thrive on it, or do you want intense worship?