Witness Unto Jesus — G.W. North

Scripture as the Bedrock of Spiritual Life

I think I want to come in here and speak to you beloved, not in any way to be corrective but to point to basic things that are so fundamental in our spiritual living that unless we get hold of them right, we shan't live as God wants us to live, and we should be living in a realm, or losing ourselves in a realm probably, we can be alive and lost.

You know what I mean, lost away, lost in the wilderness or somewhere, losing ourselves in a realm of ideas and thoughts, and we're seeking to generate things from our own minds and understandings. Now to combat this, we have the scriptures, and the scriptures are no one man's idea or understanding, they're not even the particular ideas, that is, the originating ideas of the people that wrote the scriptures.

These men, as you will know, were under the power of the Spirit, and the things that they put down are to be for us the absolute bedrock, and we must not, in any degree, formulate any ideas that are different from what the scripture says, although we may present them in different words, because after all is said and done, we must agree that sometimes the wording of scripture is not quite up-to-date wording, and it doesn't particularly matter about that.

But nevertheless, we must keep these things in perspective. I'm sure you won't mind me making reference to things that have already been said in the meeting, through whomsoever they were said. Just with this thought of having our understandings right, it would be a fearful thing to go along to meetings, and if I open my mouth I'm going to be corrected.

That would be terrible, and that's not my idea. It is that prior to them being said, the Lord had already been opening my heart up along certain lines, and so I want to come in now. For instance, it is wrong to speak about the measure of the Spirit, because the scripture distinctly says that God does not give the Holy Spirit by measure.

Now, we must understand that we may think of the measure of our own spirits. That's right. I mean, you can have great measureless heaps of grain, for instance, and you could go along and say, well, I'll have fourteen pounds, please.

Well, that's limited to your measure, but the heap of grain could only be calculated, estimated by experts in the terms of millions of tons. How many millions? Who would know? Especially if the rats can get at it, and so on.

You just can't tell. But of course, in this realm, neither moth nor rust duck corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal. And so, we're in all the glorious fullness of it all. Beloved, let's cultivate, shall we, this knowledge that when the Lord gave the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, he intended to do it this way.

It's given nicely in the terms of Joel, it shall come to pass in the last days, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. There it is. Constant outpouring, constant outpouring. And because one lump of flesh can't contain it, it has to be poured on others.

Because one nation in the flesh can't contain, it's all poured out and poured out and poured out and poured out. Unlimited. And this is a tremendous thing for our hearts to grasp. But beloved, let every one of us in this room tonight know this, that there's no limit to the Holy Ghost.

Now let's get this fixed. Therefore, if any of us are living in an unlimited capacity or experience, it's our fault entirely. And you see, the Scripture is couched in terms to make us understand the glorious truth in all its fullness.

It's utterly consistent. If, for instance, I turned you to one of the most famous verses in the Bible, and then asked a question about it, what answer would you give me? Here it is, and now abideth faith, hope, love.

The greatest of these is love. You're sure that's true? Of course you are. Now I'll ask you a question. Why isn't power mentioned in that verse? I mean, isn't power eternal? Doesn't it abide forever? Especially in these days when we're very, shall I say, conscious of lack of power.

If I said, are you conscious of lack of power? And it wouldn't be fair to start with a little girl like that. I'll start with Bob, and go around and nearly understand what you see and say, are you conscious of lack of power?

What would you say? Well, why in the world is it mentioned in that verse then? Why isn't it mentioned? You're right on the line, Laura. Absolutely. Well, if that be so, why aren't we seeing it? And so on.

And we can ask all our questions, and God does want us to ask questions about this thing. Now then, beloved, let's move on then, because we're on fundamental things, and we have a key within our grasp to so much in the life of the Spirit.

God as Love, Righteousness, and Power

You must remember that God has not got power. He is power. That's the thing. We always think that God has not got righteousness. He is righteousness. Do you see that? God has not got love. He is love.

Once this be seen, you see what God is getting at. In other words, God doesn't want to give us love. I mean, he doesn't say God was so great. John 3 ,16 isn't. God is so great that he gave us love. That's not what it says.

It says God so loved that he gave his Son. God is, he is love, and he so loves because he is love, that gifts came up. But he didn't give things, he gave a person. Because it's persons who are reality.

All right, have you got that? It's beings that are reality. It's beings that are the truth. I don't want to get wrapped up in philosophical approaches. I'm not a philosopher anyway. I suppose you've all discovered that.

But the whole tremendous thing for our hearts to realise is precisely these things. And when we're told in 1 Corinthians that, you know, the first, love, joy, love, faith, hope, love, remain, and the greatest is love.

Power isn't mentioned at all because once you understand how these things function, you don't talk about power. Amen. I think we can see it very clearly in a moment. We'll come right back into the Acts of the Apostles.

And you will see that when we are baptised into Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 12, and we are made to drink into one spirit, we are not told after that that we are needing an anointing of power, or a baptism in power, or a baptism of love.

This is all put down so normally and functionally. We're baptised in the body of Jesus Christ. We've been made to drink into one spirit. And we're all members of this one body. And here we go. This functions, that functions because it's all being.

It's all right. It's all tremendous. It's all to do with being in this life, and this life being in us. It's all to do with that. And apparently we're expected to know what it is to be baptised into the body of Jesus Christ, to be a member of that body, and then start functioning, if this be true.

All right? As the verse might very easily explain to us here, let's see if we'll turn to 1 Corinthians 12. It's also clear. It says, there are diversities of operations, verse 6 of 12th chapter, but it's the same God which worketh all in all.

He works all in all. All of them. Now He can only work all of them in all of us. He can't work all of them in one of us, or two of us, or three of us. He can only work all in all, as He lives all in all.

I don't want to take the subject tonight, but just to let us see this. It's all so sweet and wonderful. Now, once we are really alive and moving in this realm, let's drop back to Romans chapter 12, and I think we'll have another key to the whole position.

Romans 6 and the Living Sacrifice

It says this, in verse 1, a very, very lovely verse. Haven't you got a Bible, team, Catherine? I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

I suppose I need not point that out to you very strongly, although I once just mentioned in passing that that, of course, is what Jesus Christ did. When He'd risen from the dead, He presented Himself a permanent living sacrifice to His Father.

You can't present yourself as a living sacrifice to God. Talking about altars and all that here is good material for preachers to get on to. But Paul hasn't got altars in view at all. He died, he rose again, and what did he do?

He went back home and presented himself to his Father, and He was the living sacrifice, obviously. And therefore, Romans 6 comes before Romans 12. Until you know what it is to be buried with Him, crucified with Him, buried with Him, and risen again, you can't present yourself as a living sacrifice to Father.

It's all so simple, isn't it? I wish I'd known all these things when I was as young as some of you. I wouldn't have made half so many blunders preaching as I have made by following the popular idea. The big thing is that He's the living sacrifice.

Now, once you've got this business of being a real living sacrifice, now the whole thing will begin to work. It cannot work, it cannot work, beloved, despite all our best intentions, or with all our best intentions and hopes, unless we've been through Romans 6 as a personal experience.

And know it, and live in it, and not be trying to get in, but we gloriously are. And seeing that all these best things are beyond that, wouldn't it be stupid of God if He left us for 45 years struggling to get through Romans 6?

We'd never reach Romans 12. Although I may as a preacher take liberties to sneak into Romans 12 without going through Romans 6, and start preaching something to people which only becomes a highfalutin idea, and a very good thing, sort of a conference subject to preach on.

But to present myself now as a living sacrifice to God, that doesn't mean to say, oh God, I've enjoyed terrible agonies, I'm living on the altar and aren't I wonderful. No, it's perfectly logical if I've been through, if I've been buried with Jesus Christ and risen again, I'm a living sacrifice now.

It's very sweet and simple and easy, and take all the strain out of it. Now if I am presented then to Jesus Christ as a living sacrifice, I'm not conformed to this world, in verse 2, I'm conformed to the next.

That's Jesus Christ going straight up. I'm now conformed to the next world, the world that is to come. I'm conformed to that. Of course that makes me quite out of form with this world. Amen. And then I'm transformed by the renewing of my mind, and I'm proving what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

I'm proving what this great, perfect will of God for my life is. What is this perfect will of God for my life? That I should be crucified, dead, and buried. This was God's beneficent will to me. The slaying of his son, the nailing of his son to the cross.

He's showing me that's my will. Alleluia. Glory. And it's a marvellous thing. And I look beyond that, and I come out of the garden tomb, and I've entered into the new paradise, and I am conformed to the world that is to come.

This is precious, isn't it? And I'm being transformed. My mind is all being transformed. And I say, oh, isn't this lovely that Father should will this for me? God's will for you is that you should be a transformed person.

Isn't that lovely? Not just a crucified person, but a transformed person. That crosses God's method of transformation. You say, really? Well, of course. When Mary Magdalene saw him, she said, if you're the gardener, tell me where he is.

And on the road to Mass, they said, well, now, if you're a stranger here, and you haven't heard that, you see, and he said, Mary, and in the upper room, or in their home, he just broke the bread, and he was made known to them.

You see, he was transformed. He was a transformed person. You and I are not being crucified with Jesus Christ, if we're not transformed people. It's no, we're trying to kid ourselves. I mean, if we can't say we're having struggles to give up smoking, and all this business, if we say we're having struggles to give up drugs, or temper, or, you know, and all this business, well, I mean, that's not transformation, is it?

It's agony, isn't it? And I think we're going to get rewards for struggling hard. The rewards, beloved, are for believing. They're not for life's long struggle. You do see this, don't you? Well, Lisa, I see it so clearly.

And I only want to pass this on to you, because it seems to me to be written in all the lives of the great men of the book. Of course, the fact that they suffered, it doesn't mean to say they struggled because they suffered, you see.

See, so many people suffer, and they struggle so nobly, and they have bitter experiences, you see. But it's not for that. It's for believing and going through. There's a wonderful new realm of suffering for you to come into, beloved.

It has nothing to do with trying to crucify the flesh, or get rid of sin. Jesus Christ did that. What he didn't get rid of was trouble and suffering and tribulation. He didn't get rid of that. He left that to you as a legacy.

For this is the perfecting and purifying process in circumstances. You've got this clear, haven't you? Yes, amen. So wonderful to understand this. And then we go on into the next verse. Anybody think I was preaching to you from this Romans chapter 12?

I don't want to take a key from it. But that's it. If I get over to the Bible, it all starts flaming up. And I can't get away from it. I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Now that's where the measure comes. The measure of faith. Not the measure of the Spirit. That's measureless. Hallelujah. And once we come here, beloved, and know what God has done, amen, amen. If your spirit and my spirit can be measured, then, beloved, we've got to get into a place where, sooner or later, that's got too big to be measured to.

We have a spirit in us that will go with God. Now, my beloved brothers and sisters, your spirit and my spirit will go no further than the measure of the faith we have. All right. Now to connect these things up, so far as we've come, into the Acts of the Apostles.

Power to Witness Unto Jesus

Where this great word, power, is used, you will know that the writer to the Acts also wrote in the last chapter of his Gospel, that is, the 24th chapter of Luke, you shall receive, you shall be endued with power from on high.

Tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with the power from on high. Praise God. And then, in the Acts of the Apostles, in the first chapter, verse 8, you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in Ordu Dea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Glory be to God. That's what God is intending. Power to be a witness unto Jesus. Praise his name. Power to be a witness unto Jesus. Now if you read in the chapters that follow, you will find that's precisely what happened.

You see? Or, in this very same chapter, Peter stood up, and all he did was witness to Jesus. That's what he did. Started, bang off, you men of Israel, verse 22, hear these words, Jesus. There it is, first thing he said.

Listen to these words, Jesus. You see? Witness unto him. Hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth. And all he talks about Jesus is this. He makes just a passing reference to the fact that he was a man approved of God among them by signs and miracles which God did by him and so on.

Him being delivered by the determinate foreknowledge and counsel of God. God knew perfectly well it would be hopeless talking about you and I having salvation and power and love and grace and things like this.

And he's got to determine to take his son to the cross. So, by the determinate foreknowledge and counsel of God, you by the hands of the wicked men are taken and crucified and slain. And away he's gone then.

He's just got straight to the Jesus, the cross, the burial, and the resurrection, and the receiving of the promise of the Father. Lovely, that's what he goes through in this chapter. It's all he goes through.

And he's a witness to Jesus. That's all. Marvellous, isn't it? That Jesus was crucified by God's determinate foreknowledge, his counsel. He asked counsel of no one. God doesn't pander to, God doesn't get down to consult or take counsel with men.

God knows that men don't know anything. Not in these realms, nothing. They don't know anything. They can't give him any advice. They can't help him on and they can't hinder him when he fixes up his mind and his will.

He'd rather that we moved with him, but it's no good as trying to move against him, because Jesus said this. He said, You could have no power against me at all, except it were given thee from above. That was the presiding judge, the representative of the greatest power on earth.

And that was that. And he was moving on, Oh God, give us all tonight to see clearly into this, to understand that we're dealing with the determinate foreknowledge, the counsel and foreknowledge of God.

We're dealing with his will. We're dealing with the thing that's fixed. When we see Calvary, when we see Easter day as we call it, when we see Pentecost, we know it was all fixed beforehand. What was going to do, what was going to happen, all fixed.

And God moved along that line with steady pace. Nobody hurries him. Nobody can hold him back or slow him down. Hallelujah. Do you believe in this kind of a God? Is this really the one that you're concerned about and you think is concerned about you?

Do I really believe this? Amen. You know, I want to get into this more and more. I don't know whether you do. Hallelujah. God is moving all the time and praise his wonderful name. And that's all Peter could talk about.

Just Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Hallelujah. Him, he was a witness to Jesus. God saved us from just dealing in words about Jesus. God saved us to move and talk with power about Jesus. He said you're going to receive power and talk about me.

That's right. He said you're going to receive power and be a witness to me when the Holy Ghost comes upon you. You see. That's right. Amen. No, you say, well, here you are. There's this great word power.

Well, it is a marvellous power and I suppose we've all preached on it. Some of us are the preachers. At odd times, or perhaps we've been concerned with it, I don't know, at different times in our lives.

But when we get into Acts chapter 3, we see this. You know, we've gone this way before, so many of us, but oh, how we do need to take it right into us, what God is really doing. In that third chapter, you know, the man that was laying from his mother's womb is lying there at the beautiful gate of the temple, you see.

And to them, it's the most beautiful place on earth. I suppose he felt he was about as near to God as he could get in his state. And up comes Peter and John. And the miracle is also wonderful. He said, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Rise up and walk. And he just lifted him up. And you see, he was being a witness to Jesus. He was so bold he came into the name of Jesus. He came into the person of Jesus. He didn't use in the name of Jesus as a formula for healing.

He was only testifying to the fact that he was living in the Jesus name. Instead of Jesus living on the earth now, it was Peter and John. I've packed up using my name. I'm using the name of Jesus. I'm living in the life of Jesus.

This is what the baptism of the Spirit meant to Peter and John. This is what it meant. This great transformation. Has it meant that to you? And has it meant it to me? Hallelujah. It's the same as Paul says.

I live no longer I, but Christ lives in me. It's Galatians 2 .20. You see, every time the power is tied up with the cross. I'm coming there in a moment. It's all linked with the cross. And you will find that power isn't talked about at all here in this third chapter.

It says this. I give it to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And you know, they went all passed on together. They were having a terrific job to hold this man down that was leaping and shouting and dancing.

And I don't want to get too excited or be too excitable. Although perhaps I think I am a fairly excitable kind of a character. I don't know. But I don't want to get too excitable because I don't want to read into the Bible.

It says like this. I think we'd better read it so that we get it right. Let's go on, you see. And where are we? Verse 8. He, leaping up, stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw who? Come on, what does your Bible say? Him. Him. You sure it doesn't say them? No, that's what people would have us believe. We should all go leaping and dancing and walking. There was only one man doing it.

Don't say Peter and John. Come on, let's all go skating. Marvellous, you see. It's right, isn't it? I mean, I didn't write the Bible. I do try to believe it. He was loved doing back somersaults and turning and shouting.

This is to say that we shouldn't rejoice in the Lord. But I don't want some of these inferences put over to me wrongly. He went in leaping, shouting, jumping, praising the Lord. Amen. I've done it many a time, but I do want to read my Bible right.

Amen. And it was a glorious time they had there. And when they came up and challenged Peter, he said, Isn't our own power or holiness that's made this man to walk? I'm looking at verse 12. He says, The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, had glorified his son Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go.

But you denied the Holy One and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of Life, whom God has raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. And we have power from on high.

And that's not what he said. And it's his name, through faith in his name. There it is. The measure of faith determines the amount of power. Always. Always. Beloved, let us all, but especially we ministering brethren, understand this.

Faith. Amen. According to the measure of faith. Not the measure of the Spirit. He was poured out measurelessly. Amen. And eternally, beloved, he's never been withdrawn. And he won't be. Glory be to the name of the Lord.

This is wonderful. And the measure of faith. And straight away, you see, you've got the setting. He says, You denied him. Twice he said this. You denied him. Now, beloved, this is where the faith is going to work most.

And I understand this. When people deny him, that you stand up and witness to him. That's when faith will work. That's when you'll find you'll reach the place of power. That's it. That's when you reach the place of power.

When others are denying. If you're a coward and run away, then you can talk about being baptized and the spirit of the cows come. It won't make any difference. It's faith. And boldness. Hallelujah. There was a time when Peter said, He said, I'll be with you.

And you know what happened? He denied him himself. You deny me. And this bit into Peter. I tell you, it burned into his heart. The loving, forgiving Jesus forgave him. But it had burned its way into Peter's heart.

This is one thing you'll find about Peter. That the great events of him, and he was this type of man, and it's this that made him great. This was the material God got hold of when he got hold of Peter.

The things that happened, they bit right into Peter. They burned into him. They became bedrock principles of all scriptural interpretation with him. I wish I had time to work this out for you in the scripture.

But you that are preachers, you take note. They became bedrock principles of Biblical interpretation. They became foundational things of all his ministry. I'll give you one illustration. The first thing Jesus said to him, Now you take this man.

Jesus said, You're going to be called a stone. That became bedrock in all his ministry. He never said a word. This is the fact. I wonder whether when Jesus Christ talks to you, his words gain such power in you and become bedrock in you.

You need expect not to get very far unless this is so in your life. Jesus talks to you. Hallelujah. And it got into Peter. Things he'd done. He denied Jesus. He could never get away from it. Even when the Lord had done what he wanted with him and restored him and made him this great spokesman on the day of Pentecost.

It was there. But the thing that had been tragedy with him and always, bless the Lord for this, this is how he redeems everything. He now turns it into a point for ministry. Hallelujah. He wasn't under the depression of it.

The weight had gone. The stain had been washed away. The perversion had been removed. Now he could use it for the glory of God. You denied him, he said. Again and again. You know, you must let events in your life so mark you, not as to bring you into the web of Satan and bind you with his bonds, but you, beloved, to be able to use them under the power of the Spirit when you're in life for God's glory.

That doesn't mean to say you've got to go into the depths of sin in order to find them out. God will take every man the way he can go. And God will deal with every man according to the way he's come. If he's come a deep, deep way of sin, let him not rejoice in that.

Let him not praise God for that, but praise God only that he's been brought out of it. And then, under the blessed Spirit, refer to these things in your ministry without advertising the depths to which you're sunk.

Peter didn't go back over and say, oh, I denied him, I denied him, and go through the terrible story. It's bad enough to have been written into Scripture once. Otherwise it would never have been mentioned.

But the lesson he learned was eternal. Amen. Glory. I wonder if you and I are learning lessons like this. But let me return to the point. He says, it's his name. Blessed be the name, Lord. It's not me.

It's not I. It's not power, power, power. Let's get out of this talk of power. It's Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. And through faith in his name. Yea, the faith which is by him. I've given this man this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Hallelujah. And then he goes on and he says, and I what that through ignorance she did it. Because that's how Peter did it. Because he was ignorant. So knowing he wasn't ignorant, he knew Jesus. Yes, he was ignorant.

But he was ignorant of himself. Oh, I'll lay down my life for your sake, he said. Jesus just looked at him and he said, Oh, I said, before the cross. You knew me, Peter. He was ignorant of himself. And isn't this also, isn't this true?

Ignorant of sin, we've all been it. Ignorant of sin, ignorant of the devil. Ignorant of self, ignorant of God. Ignorant of everything that matters. We're born ignorant. We increase our ignorance. I don't know what we don't do.

But God by his grace and mercy loves us, beloved. And brings us into this place where he will deal with us so radically. Hallelujah. If we'll only let him. Faith. Faith. Let's turn to the fourth chapter.

The Cross, the Name, and Faith

Where the same story is taken up really. This time, they're in trial for their lives. You know. Annas verse 6. The high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander. And as many as were of the kidded of the high priest were gathered together at Jerusalem.

And when they had set them in the midst they asked, By what power or by what name have ye done this? Now, you may think that Peter only refers to the name. Let's go on, shall we? Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost and said of them, You rulers of the people and elders of Israel.

If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man. By what means he is made whole. And the word impotent means a man without power. Seeing that we're on power. A powerless man. All right.

Be it made known unto you all and to all the people of Israel. That by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Whom you crucified. Whom God raised from the dead. Even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

This is the stone. There it is again. He couldn't get away from it. This is the stone. He's right on it. Bless God for an impressionable man. Bless God for a man upon whom God could write something. Hallelujah.

But you see what he says. He says it's his name. By the name of Jesus. Talk about power. Don't keep talking to me about power. Want to know about power. Apparently. It's his name. He says it's him. It's his name.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. And then you see he goes straight away and he talks about the cross. Whom you crucified. Because that's the power. That's what Paul said. He said. Listen. He said. I determined to know nothing among you.

He's talking to the Corinthians now. We looked into the 12th chapter you remember. I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And the power of the Holy Ghost. He didn't say Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost.

Did you see that? He said Jesus Christ and him crucified. See as I was with you in weakness and trembling in my speech. And went on he says. It wasn't with persuasible words of man's wisdom. Holy Ghost.

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men. But in the power of God. Jesus Christ crucified. The power of God. And the Holy Ghost has only come to make this. The determining. And the determinative.

And the divine factor in every situation. Hallelujah. What a precious thing this is. And then beloved. If we go down to the end of that chapter 4. We read. And when they prayed. Or if we'd like to go on.

Or read that prayer perhaps before we come there. This prayer is so lovely. And after all it is Sunday night. And we are spending time in God's word aren't we? It says that they went to their own company.

In verse 23 of chapter 4. And they reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that. They lifted up their voice to God with one accord. And said Lord. Thou art God.

Amen. Do persecutions make you see the greatness and onlyness of God? The onlyness of God. They never saw anybody else or anything else. Thou art God. Glory be to the name of the Lord. Which circumstances only did that meet one of us.

Eh? If they really did. You're going to tell me that God put them in prison. That God did this and God did that to them. Who put Jesus Christ in prison then? You see doesn't God go along with wicked men?

Not in their motives. Not in their desires. But he certainly goes along with them alright. Praise God. Of course he does. That makes a prison cell a feather bed for any man. In spirit. You by wicked hands.

You took and you crucified and you slew Jesus Christ. You see that was what Peter said. That God was there. And God was in him. And God was in Jesus Christ at that moment. For the greatest thing that Jesus Christ ever did.

And so beloved here we are. Thou art God. Oh to have my life so taken up with God. Oh to be so free from self. Oh to be so free from softness that groans and moans. For I'm not redeemed from sufferings.

At all. I've been redeemed into them. A new kind of suffering. Oh they're just the same old sufferings. People going in prison. People being this. People being that. No they're not. Everything's new when we're in Christ.