The whole world is now shaking with convulsions,, preparatory to a tremendous event. This present world breakdown, with the greatest, most destructive world war of all history; with its economic collapse, social unrest, religious confusion, is merely the WARNING SIGNAL that the END of the present order is here, - and that the second coming of CHRIST, to establish a NEW ORDER on earth is now NEAR, even at the doors!

And speaking of His own second appearing on earth, the master Himself asked, prophetically: "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). When Jesus uttered these words, He was looking into the future, which He could foresee and understand - down into this very day and generation in which we now live. And seeing - or FORESEEING, the pitiful weakness in FAITH, - the almost utter lack of it in OUR day, He asked, "Shall He find faith" will there be ANY faith, on the earth at this time?

When Jesus walked the earth in human flesh, He possessed FAITH! He said plainly: "OF MYSELF, I can do NOTHING!" Few realize that what He did, He did not do in any supernatural power of His own, but literally through FAITH, setting us a beautiful example! He lived in the human flesh, even as you and I. He was subject to all the temptations of the human flesh, even as you and I. And, aside perhaps from a few things such as ability to read men's minds and hearts, Jesus exercised NO POWER during His earthly life that you and I cannot exercise TODAY! He said very PLAINLY "of Myself, I CAN DO NOTHING:" But how contrary that is to what most people suppose today!

Today we hear the EXCUSE for the pitiful lack of faith of this time, that Jesus was employing DIVINE POWER that is denied to us - that His miracles were performed only to prove that He was the CHRIST! But Jesus Himself said that He gave only ONE supernatural, or miraculous SIGN in proof of His Messiahship, - that that was the sign of the prophet JONAH, - that He would be three days and three nights in His grave, and after this exact duration, RISE AGAIN. And that ONLY sign men deny today, believing He was only one day and two nights in His tomb. And then men alibi their own lack of faith by turning His miracles into a proof they were never intended to be!

Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan, setting the example for you and me. And, just as we are PROMISED the gift of the Holy Spirit, WHEN we have thoroughly repented and surrendered, accepted Christ and been baptized in His name as the symbol of our FAITH in His death, burial, and resurrection for us, and also as the symbol of the death and burial of the SELF within us, being raised to a NEW and Spirit-led life in Christ Jesus, - so - in like manner, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus after He was baptized. And through the Holy Spirit, God the Father was dwelling WITHIN Him, - just as He will dwell WITHIN you and me, today, under the same identical condition!

And so, even as you and I may be, Jesus was FILLED with God's Spirit. And thus the power of God, His Father, was literally IN Jesus, just as the same identical power of the SAME IDENTICAL LIVING GOD MAY BE WITHIN YOU AND ME TODAY!

And the fact I'm afraid so many do not comprehend, is that UNLESS this same POWER of God - the Holy Spirit - the same IDENTICAL POWER with which Jesus performed His miracles - does actually and literally DWELL WITHIN US today, then we are not even converted - we are not really Christians at all, and we have as yet NO SALVATION assured! For, we read in Romans 8:9 - "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His."

And so Jesus plainly taught that the miracles He did were to be done also by all true believers, AFTER He had departed to heaven. Notice His plain teaching in John 14:12, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father."

And so we find that all the apostles and evangelists of the First Century true Church of God DID perform miracles, and even GREATER than Jesus had performed, until even Peter's SHADOW passing over the sick and afflicted caused them to be healed.

Peter, Steven, Philip, Paul, - all common humble, ordinary men of themselves, - all HAD THAT POWER, my friends, the SAME identical power Jesus had, BECAUSE THEY LIVED AND WALKED CLOSE TO GOD, and were FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT!

And we seem to LACK that power today, not because God denies us that power, but BECAUSE WE ARE SO CLOSE TO A MODERN MATERIALISTIC WORLD - our minds so filled with the Material interests of THIS life - our minds and our hearts are SO FAR FROM GOD - we are so out of touch with Him through lack of enough of the RIGHT kind of surrendered, submissive, and earnest and heart-rending PRAYER - and consequently, because we are NOT FILLED with the HOLY SPIRIT! Oh, many today THINK THEY are filled with the Holy Spirit when they have been sadly DECEIVED, and have only a fleshly, and emotional COUNTERFEIT.

If we have God's Holy Spirit, we shall have understanding of the Bible we shall have ANSWERS to our PRAYERS - even miraculous answers, and we shall have them CONTINUALLY. God's Holy Spirit is not given to us as an ORNAMENT to decorate and embellish the PERSON, to bring pleasing sensations and FEELINGS that make us shout, - that put on a SHOW.

Once you have RECEIVED the POSSESSION, you no longer HOPE for it. But even before you receive it, you have it in SUBSTANCE - and that substance - that assurance - that ASSURANCE that you SHALL possess it, is FAITH. Then again faith is an EVIDENCE - the evidence of things NOT SEEN. Faith PRECEDES the actual receiving of what you ask for. And faith is the EVIDENCE you have, or SHALL have it, BEFORE you even see it. It is the EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT YET SEEN. You do not have it. You do not SEE it, or FEEL it - yet faith is your EVIDENCE that you have or shall have it - faith is the substance, the ASSURANCE of receiving that you still HOPE for.

So I want you to notice, that when you HOPE for things, ASK God for things, there is an EVIDENCE - a PROOF because evidence is proof - that you received what you have asked. And what is that proof - that evidence? Is it the actual RECEIVING of the answer so you see, or feel, or hear that you have it?

Suppose, for instance you were ill - taken with a disease. Now Jesus healed the sick continually. And He said, the works that He did - and this was one of them - should we do also. Now suppose you ask God to HEAL you. Naturally, you want some EVIDENCE that you were healed.

So what is that evidence, that proof? Is it the evidence of the PAIN CEASING - or the swelling going down - something you can FEEL, and SEE? I know a man who says, "When I can SEE anyone healed by direct prayer, then I'll believe in it. " This man freely says he WANTS to BELIEVE in it - he WANTS to have FAITH in it! He is looking for an EVIDENCE that he can SEE - and he has never seen it yet, and frankly I doubt that he ever shall! Because what we SEE - what we FELL - is not the true EVIDENCE. Having the thing - SEEING it - is not faith. FAITH PRECEDES possession because FAITH is CONFIDENCE - ASSURANCE - you shall POSSESS IT.

Listen! The human mind, naturally, can receive KNOWLEDGE only through the five senses. These are the five sole channels capable of transmitting knowledge, by natural processes, to the human mind. The senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling.

Prayer is a SPIRITUAL matter. God is a SPIRIT. And when we ask, for instance for healing, we Do have an evidence proof POSITIVE - that the healing has been done - but that evidence is not something seen, or felt, or heard - it is not a PHYSICAL evidence of FAITH it is rather the SPIRITUAL evidence of FAITH. FAITH is our evidence.

And that is why Jesus said, "These signs shall FOLLOW them that believe" - and among them was this sign - "They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall RECOVER." That is in Mark 16:17-18, and it is a PROMISE God can't break. But the sign - the thing seen - the healing itself, FOLLOWS the FAITH - "These signs shall FOLLOW THEM that BELIEVE," Jesus said.

Let's picture a trial in a courtroom. There's a trial on, over a case of illness. The prosecuting attorney is Satan the devil, the attorney for the DEFENSE (of God's Word) is the Holy Spirit, and you yourself, who are taken with a disease, shall be your OWN JURY. Almighty God is the Judge.

"My evidence," says the devil, "is a literal, tangible, evidence that is real - an evidence you can FEEL - you can SEE for YOURSELF that you are not healed. the pain is still there! In fact, perhaps it has grown worse. You can FEEL it. You can SEE with your own eyes my positive evidence, which PROVES that you are not healed. Now God's Word PROMISED that if you'd pray, you'd be HEALED. You prayed, and you still feel the pain - you still feel the condition. YOU ARE NOT HEALED AND YOU KNOW IT! My evidence is ABSOLUTE. Therefore I ask you to bring a verdict that God's Word is GUILTY - guilty of lying in the first degree!

But now the attorney for the DEFENSE speaks to you - God's Holy Spirit. "I now present evidence that you ARE healed. " He says quietly. "my evidence is simply FAITH - simply TRUST in the veracity of GOD'S WORD. It is IMPOSSIBLE for God to lie. Far more impossible than for you to be healed. Its no difficult task for the Almighty who CREATED you and gave you the breath you breathe to straighten out or repair some little damage that has occurred to the body He created. He has PROMISED it, provided you obey and BELIEVE. The Scripture CAN'T be BROKEN. Its IMPOSSIBLE for God to lie. Regardless of the PHYSICAL evidence of sight or feeling, which often are misleading and deceptive, God's Word says you ARE healed, and your FAITH in that word, is My evidence that you HAVE your healing, regardless of how you feel or what you see. And if you'll simply stop LOOKING at the material evidence with your eyes, or paying attention to what you FEEL, and look only at GOD'S WORD, and HIS PROMISES, and accept FAITH in His Word as the TRUE evidence, I call upon you to render a verdict of HEALED - a verdict that God's Word is NOT GUILTY of lying."

You must render your verdict based upon the EVIDENCE. WHICH, now, is the evidence you believe? That which you see, and feel - the physical evidence that often are deceptive, or your faith that God's Word is true, His promises are sure, that it is impossible for God to lie.

If you BELIEVE this latter SPIRITUAL evidence, and reject the physical evidence of sight and of feeling, God will pronounce sentence that His Word has been VINDICATED by your verdict - and direct that you be released from the disease, and what He directs shall be carried out.

But, if you decide that the physical evidences of sight or feeling are to be trusted in over and above the Word of Almighty God - and you REJECT His Word and His promise, and refuse to BELIEVE in it, - refuse, in other words, to accept and trust in the evidence of FAITH, then you yourself must render your verdict according to the evidence, and your own verdict will be "NOT HEALED - God's Word is GUILTY of lying!"

Now let me give you George Mueller's definition. George Mueller is dead, now, but he probably was the greatest modern apostle of FAITH. He founded five great orphanages and other charitable institutions in Bristol, England. He started out, as FAITH always does, with a very small work, without any financial backing, and absolutely No means of support, except to get down on his knees, and send up a BELIEVING PRAYER TO GOD. For nearly seventy years George Mueller continued that great work, and it grew into a tremendous institution until it housed THOUSANDS. Every dime for feeding, clothing, sheltering, and schooling those thousands of orphans came in only one way - as a result of BELIEVING prayer. George Mueller never sent out a plea for money. He never begged for money. No, he didn't need to, and no true servant of God EVER needs to!

And so when George Mueller gives us his definition of FAITH, we may well listen for he spoke from a rich experience, and his definition is a practical one, because it WORKED, to the extent of $7,000,000 - all used in a ministration of LOVE and MERCY. And there is his definition of faith, - and incidentally, ever since I read it, some fourteen years ago, it has been MINE, and OUR work has been built by putting into actual practice! Listen!

"Faith is the ASSURANCE that the things which God said in His Word are TRUE! And that God WILL ACT according to what He has said in His Word. This assurance, this RELIANCE ON GC)D'S WORD, THIS CONFIDENCE, is FAITH!" That's George Mueller's definition! And it is a true Bible definition. Romans 4:21 - "And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform."

My friends, WHATEVER your need, the first thing to do, to be sure of receiving an answer to your prayer, is to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES, to LEARN whether it is God's will' Ephesians 5:17 - "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."

The Bible REVEALS God's will. We need never say "Well I know God COULD heal me IF IT IS HIS WILL." You can KNOW His will. And so far as healing is concerned, I can tell you definitely that His Word says plainly and emphatically it is His will.

you think I could break a PROMISE when my two sons came to me and put it like that? No, and if you'll JUST AS BOLDLY TELL GOD HE HAS PROMISED, and then CLAIM that promise as applied to YOUR case, and TRUST God to keep it, and quit WORRYING about it - quit trying to WORK UP faith just RELAX, and LET GOD take over from there on - leave it with Him - let Him do it - HELL do it every time!

I know whereof I speak, because I've put what I'm telling you to the test not once, but literally hundreds and thousands of times, and God has never failed to keep His promise once. I've seen the answers come so often and so frequently I EXPECT the answer when I ask.

This work,**** "The WORLD TOMORROW" broadcast and "The PLAIN TRUTH" magazine, which now has grown to national and international scope and influence, started as small as any work could start - literally from NOTHING. It has been from the start 1 00% a WORK OF FAITH - and we had to really LEARN this lesson of faith before it had even started.

I had been rather successful, for a young man, in business before God literally took me out of it and placed me, in spite of myself, in His work. As a young man I had been not only ambitious, energetic and hard- working - I had about as big a dose of SELF-CONFIDENCE as any young fellow could have. I had supreme FAITH - in myself . I was going to be a very important man some day, - so I thought. But f or seven years the Eternal God put me through a process of punishment - economic punishment - such as words could hardly describe.

During that process I came to lose ALL FAITH in Herbert Armstrong. All selfconfidence and self-reliance fled utterly and completely from me. I felt completely down, and out. I was as discouraged as a man could become. We came to the place where we were FORCED by the sheer weight of circumstances, to throw ourselves upon God's mercy, and to TRUST Him for direct and immediate answer to prayer!

And the answer came - not once, but over and over again. The Eternal God was causing me to turn to Him - I was just beginning to understand the Bible - and through this experience a NEW confidence was born - no longer a self-confidence - that was gone forever - but a new and DIFFERENT, and far stronger confidence - FAITH IN GOD and His WORD!

And from the beginning without MATERIAL means, but RICH in a FAITH born of deep experience this present work has grown. All the funds to keep this work God has called us to conduct came now, as they always have come, BY SHEER FAITH IN GOD'S PROMISES - and as a result of ANSWERED PRAYER. And you never hear us beg for money over the air, nor is there any HINT of a request for it in THE PLAIN TRUTH or any of the literature we send out - its all FREE -and God supplies the means. FAITH IS NOT faith in SELF is NOT self-confidence, or faith in other people. God instructs us NOT to put our trust in man–not even our best friends – have love, or CHARITY - or PATIENCE, with them but put your faith in God!

Your feeling, your convictions, your impressions, have absolutely not ONE THING TO DO WITH FAITH. FAITH HAS ONLY TO DO WITH GC)D'S WORD! The one question is, HAS GOD PROMISED IT IN THE BIBLE? If He has, then probabilities, possibilities, feelings, convictions, impression, HAVE NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH IT. God has a thousand ways we know nothing of, of answering, and providing whatever He has promised. We don't HAVE TO SEE HOW He is going to do it.

And another thing, He almost NEVER will do it the Way we expect. So don't try to figure out HOW it is possible for God to do it. You are trusting in SUPERNATURAL POWER. Then BELIEVE in that power. God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. What He has promised, He will perform, but He will do it His way, and in His TIME. Leave all that to Him, and just TRUST Him. Rely upon His Word.

So many think that everything else that comes from God is His GIFT, but the FAITH required to RECEIVE all these things is something we ourselves must somehow work up, or strain and strive for. But we have to just relax and TRUST GOD, even for the FAITH by which we receive everything else!

How can you get it? Draw closer to God. Get to know God. Surrender ALL THE WAY TO HIM, and TO DO His will. And then PRAY. You get to KNOW HIM IN PRAYERS. We are too close to the MATERIAL things. Through PRAYER, MUCH more prayer, you can come closer to GOD and the SPIRITUAL THINGS. And what a HAPPY, JOYOUS experience it is, once you have really done it!