QUESTION:
What will courtship reveal about the couple’s true hearts?
ANSWER:
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” [I Timothy 4:12]
“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” [II Peter 3:11]
“No man has the right to take the pulpit to preach the gospel, unless he's had a backside of the desert experience. No man, no person has the right to call themselves a Christian until they've had a backside of the desert experience. It's still the backside of the desert; we call it "Upper Room," but it's still the backside of the desert too. It's where you meet God. Oh, how ridiculous it is tonight to take people in the church, just by baptizing into water and putting their name on the book. Oh, we need and old fashion, Saint Paul's revival, and the Bible Holy Ghost right into the church again, and a real old fashion meeting, an experience. After you've had an experience, then you know what you're talking about. That's when you've got faith. They might explain it and say, "Well now, you oughtn't to be a Methodist; you oughtn't to be Pentecostal." They might talk you out of that, but when it comes to a place for that sacred spot where you met God, brother, Satan can't put his dirty feet on that place. You know you've talked to Somebody there. You know something happened. Yes, sir. You were there. You know all about it. From then on, you can go and conduct yourself like a real Christian. Oh, the conduct today, of people calling themselves Christians... No wonder our poor women are painting their faces, and cutting off their hair, and wearing little shorts, and things. It's because they have failed to get that spot back there on that sacred sands yonder. That's right. No wonder our man are permitting it, and smoking cigarettes, and things. They failed to find that sacred spot yonder, somewhere, where God and man meet together. That's right. That's what we need tonight.” [Time-Tested Faith, New York, NY 58-0530]
“I thought, if a slave being away from home, knowing that he was a son of a tribal king, how much more ought the children of God to conduct themselves like sons and daughters of God while we're in this alienated world. How we ought to embrace these promises of God. How we ought to cherish those things and hold them dear. It doesn't become a Christian to operate hisself around unbelief. A Christian should have his chin up. He should be ready to believe anything that God says, no matter what it is. It'll keep the morale of the rest of them up. It'll... We are sons and daughters of God. And we ought to conduct ourselves like that.” [Thirsting For Life, Los Angeles, CA 59-0414]
“I said, "Lord, let me beg. Let me drag, or let me suffer, or anything just as long as I've got Eternal Life." Life is what conducts you. It's what makes your conduct. You just can't hide real life. There's no way to do it. What are Christians to do? We're aliens. But our Father is the King, and we are sons and daughters of God. We ought to conduct ourselves like sons and daughters of God. When I see the church becoming so loose, and the women in their immoral dressing, and the men doing, it just grieves me, because we are sons and daughters of God, and we ought to act, and walk, and talk, and conduct ourselves like that.
When we get away from that, I'm afraid there's something wrong in us. We've lost the vision, who we are. Because the life that's in us is what guides us and directs us.” [Thirsting For Life, Chicago, IL 59-0613]
“I thought, no matter what we may have to go through with, if it's trials, if it's heartaches, if it's persecution, if it's to be laughed out and made fun of, what kind of a people ought we to be? We are sons and daughters of the King. Though we be in an unwelcome world, though we be to a place where we're hated, maybe called scandalous names like "holy-roller, pentecostal-tongue." What different does it make? We ought to have our chin up, our shoulders out, believing God's Word, because across the land yonder, our Father is the King. And I think it's a ridiculous shame when I see King's daughters wearing the kind of clothes that they wear in these days. When I see King's sons smoking cigarettes, and drinking whiskey, and a little drinks of beer, how that's not becoming as the son of the King of heaven. No matter how poor we are, how we have to be run over, how the world talks about you, and says everything about you, it ought to make you keep head up for the mo-…morales of the rest of them. We should never have words against one another. We should always say the highest thing about a brother or sister. If one is down in the gutter, don't never shove them any farther down. Pick him up; get him out of there as quick as you can, because it helps. We should be an example. We should live an example, like we are sons and daughters of God, the Eternal King. We ought to conduct ourselves in that manner as sons and daughters of the King. We should never do nothing that would bring disgrace.” [Thirsting For Life, Phoenix, AZ 60-0304]
“What ought all our conduct to be? Not like the world, but we should act like sons and daughters of God, conduct ourselves like King's children, not like slaves of fashions, and slaves of passion, and slaves of pride. And we--we should be sons and daughters of God, and act like it, and conduct ourselves that way. Let our conversations and everything be seasoned with God's Spirit.” [Jehovah-Jireh, Tulare, CA 61-0226]
“The Word of God's a Circumciser, that's cut off surplus flesh. That's exactly what's right. Just having a little clean, American fun: that don't go with the Kingdom of God, not associated with the Kingdom of God, not at all. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. We ought to conduct ourselves like servants of God. We ought...[Text Missing] If that would make a Negro, knowing his father is a king in Africa, to conduct himself among his people as a king's son, what ought it to do to you and I that's born again of the Spirit of God? What kind of a life ought we to be? What kind of a way should we conduct ourselves? Not as a weakling and back off and be tossed about by everything, and halfway believing and things of the world and galloping in. Stick up our heads towards Calvary and believe every Word God said and every promise, and conduct ourselves like men and women of God. Don't dress like these Jezebels and--and act like them here. That's right. Don't you do that. It's pitiful. There's only one woman ever painted herself to meet God, to... Never to meet God... In the Bible, there's one woman ever used paint, and that was Jezebel. God fed her to the dogs. So you see, she's just dog meat to begin with. So that--that in the sight of God, so just remember, brother.” [Be Not Afraid, Richmond, VA 61-0311]
Bible References: : I Timothy 4:12; II Peter 3:11
[Answer provided by Bro. Ken Andes, Minister, Lynden, Washington]