BACKSLIDING!     DFO 313C         10/74

         1. THE PILGRIM WHO NEVER REACHES HIS GOAL IS NOT ON A PILGRIMAGE!--He's just a wanderer who doesn't know where he's going, so how can he ever get there? I'm sorry, but I just don't have much patience with such people! As God Himself says: "My soul ABHORRETH him that turneth BACK!"
         2. GOD HATES TO SEE PEOPLE'S BACK SIDES, & when He does, He usually gives them a good quick hard stiff KICK in the butt that sends them sprawling back into the slime pit from which they came for another good bellyful of it, hoping they'll get so sick of it THIS time, they'll never look back at it again!
         3. ONE REASON WHY GOD GETS SO ANGRY WITH BACKSLIDERS IS THAT THEY'RE SUCH A TERRIBLE TESTIMONY & seldom ever backslide alone!--They always take others with them! The backslider's a REAL SOUL WINNER for the DEVIL! He's always got the most convincing arguments to justify himself & to persuade others to do the same so he can defend his OWN backsliding.
         4. THEY ALWAYS LOUDLY MURMUR, COMPLAIN & CRITICISE & PROCLAIM THEIR DOUBTS & FEARS TO ALL who will listen, especially the already weak & wavering, particularly babes & beginners! Backsliders are the greatest proselytizers in the religious business! As Jesus Himself said, they'll compass the World to convert one person to their cause, & then make him more of a child of Hell than they are themselves!--Mat.23:15. They become your very worst enemies & the most diabolical traitors to your cause!
         5. LIKE JUDAS, THEY NOT ONLY BACKSLIDE, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE TO FIGHT & BETRAY YOU to prove they're no longer ONE of you. To try to get reaccepted by the System, they now LEAD the fight against you because they're now so ashamed they were once fool enough to be one of you! They become your most dangerous enemies because they know you & your operation so well!
         6. THIS IS WHY GOD GOES AFTER THEM SO HARD WITH SUCH SEVERE CHASTENING to try to get them to repent & come back to Him before they've done too much damage. He sometimes wields the heaviest rod on the backs of His OWN children when they backslide because they KNOW BETTER & are WITHOUT EXCUSE! Then if they will not soon repent, He usually DESTROYS them so they can do no further harm! I've seen it happen so many times! Almost the worst things I've ever seen happen to Christians, I've seen happen to BACKSLIDERS in the hands of an ANGRY GOD!--And I've seen it happen so often & in so many cases, more than I can possibly number!
         7. SO BACKSLIDER BEWARE! YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT UNLESS YOU RETURN TO THE LORD & HIS SERVICE!--And if you DO repent & return, He'll expect MORE of you than He did BEFORE to undo the DAMAGE you've done, make restitution for the losses you've caused, & to work harder & more faithfully than ever before to PROVE your loyalty, which has become somewhat doubtful & untrustworthy from past experience. The TRUST that was once placed in you by GRACE will now have to be EARNED by WORKS to the UTMOST to prove you are no longer a traitor & will no longer backslide. You will find it very hard to restore people's confidence in you once you've lost it. They're afraid to trust you again unless you prove to the UTMOST that you're WORTHY of it! It's a hard road back for the backslider!--Which is another reason why they so seldom come back. It was so easy to backslide but so hard to return!
         8. YET THE LORD SAYS HE'S "MARRIED TO THE BACKSLIDER" (Jer.3:14), & begs the wicked to forsake his wicked way & promises to FORGIVE him if he'll only turn from his sins, which He promises to wash away & make him whiter than snow! So if the backslider DOES make it & DOES return to the Lord & His Service, he will usually make one of the BEST men you've ever had, because he'll do his best to PROVE that he can make it, & work harder at it than almost anyone else, for which God will even seem to bless him sometimes more than others.
         9. THE BIRD WHOSE PINION WAS ONCE BROKEN, BY THE GRACE OF GOD WILL FLY EVEN HIGHER THAN BEFORE, & the straying sheep whose leg had to be broken will have to remain in the Shepherd's bosom so long he will never stray again! He knows the price; he's been through that hell of backsliding & he wants no more of it ever again! He'll work harder than he even did before & he'll hate backsliding more than ever & will have less patience with the backslider than ever before!--I oughtta know: I was one!--And who hasn't been at some time or other?
         10. SO I'M SORRY: I HAVEN'T MUCH MERCY FOR THE BACKSLIDER WHILE HE'S STILL BACKSLIDING! Like the Lord, I really sock it to him to try to get him to repent FAST before he does himself & others & the Lord's cause too much damage, because that's the first thing he tries to do, to vindicate himself. That's why I've always said to get rid of them QUICK, because they often want to stay right there WITH you to do as much damage as possible from the INSIDE & take OTHERS with them when they go! This is why I've always insisted on a period of probation before taking them in, to make sure they can make it.
         11. IT'S BETTER FOR THEM TO BACKSLIDE BEFORE JOINING THAN AFTERWARDS. It'll be easier on you & them both & God won't hold them quite as responsible since they don't yet know too much & are still pretty ignorant. But woe unto those that are with you a LONG time & the CLOSEST to you! Like JUDAS, they'll be the worst of all & usually do their best to betray you & are in the best position to do it & therefore are the most dangerous of all! That's why most people have to be with us for YEARS before we trust them enough to let them get near the top!
         12. EVEN IF THERE ARE MANY PROBLEMS AT A HOME, GOD WILL HOLD PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR GOING BACK even if they DO have some very good excuses sometimes. The Lord says, "My soul ABHORRETH him that turneth back!" There are so many Scriptures against turning back: He that puts his hand to the plow & turns back, even LOOKING BACK, is not worthy! Lot's wife looked back & turned into a pillar of salt! The worst things I've ever seen happen to people were to people who went back on the Lord--backsliders!
         13. GOD JUST SEEMINGLY WILL NOT TOLERATE BACKSLIDERS! Paul said the Lord even turned their FLESH over to the DEVIL that their SOUL might be saved, in cases of backsliders!--1Cor.5:5. Peter said in one case, it is better that they had never even HEARD than that they had heard & turned BACK. Jesus said in one case it was better for that man that he had never even been BORN!--2Pet.2:20-21; Mt.26:24.
         14. NOT MANY PEOPLE WHO GO BACK REALLY SEE WHAT THEY ARE GETTING INTO. They think they're going back to the easy way, but they never realise what they're getting into by going back.--A TERRIBLE LETDOWN! It's like mountain climbing. You have a peculiar feeling like you don't want to leave the mountain, no inspiration in it. There is a certain drive, almost a spiritual thing going UP. You'll risk ANYTHING! But going DOWN?--No inspiration, no goal, no accomplishment. You're just sliding back down into the slough!
         15. THE REASON SOME OF THESE PEOPLE SIT DOWN & QUIT & begin to sit back & fall out is simply because they have LOST their VISION. And when they lose their VISION they lose FAITH. And when they lose FAITH they can no longer have any INITIATIVE to do anything. Backsliding is the REVERSE of PIONEERING, & WHEN YOU STOP PIONEERING, YOU START BACKSLIDING!
         16. SOME GO BACK BECAUSE THEY DON'T BURN THEIR BRIDGES BEHIND THEM. They don't sacrifice the plow & the oxen!--1Kings 19:21. They hold a little reservation in the back of their mind of what they plan to do in case God doesn't work! They DIDN'T really CUT ALL TIES BY FAITH. They STILL have a few STRINGS attached--a few things they're holding on to.
         17. AND YET THERE ARE OTHERS WHO, LIKE DEMAS OF OLD, HAVE SIMPLY GONE BACK BECAUSE THEY STILL LOVED THIS PRESENT WORLD, & when the real testing & showdown came they proved they were not willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for either their flock or the Lord, & did not love the Lord that much, & therefore deserted their post, even in the midst of battle, like the hireling that fleeth when the wolf cometh, having no real love for either the sheep or the Shepherd, but was only there for the hire or the glory, & when the going got ROUGH he RAN! IT'S THESE TESTS WHICH TELL THE TALE BETWEEN A GOOD SHEPHERD & an HIRELING!
         18. JUST REMEMBER THAT WHEN PEOPLE START TALKING ABOUT GOING BACK, THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT FOR A LONG TIME, & by the time they have started TALKING, it is already too late! They have already made up their minds in their own hearts to go back. And the longer you let them stay the more they will poison others with the same disease, like a traitor in the camp! This is why Jesus said, "He that having put his hand to the plow & LOOKING back is not worthy of Me!"--Luk.9:62.
         19. IF A PERSON WANTS TO GO BACK to the pit, & a little loving, patient, prayerful persuasion & Scriptural admonition of not more than an hour won't dissuade them, for God's sake, LET THEM GO! They'll have to learn the HARD way!
         20. EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER, BUT THE HARDEST ONE!--but if that's what they NEED, let'm HAVE it! I don't think I ever dealt with a potential backslider for more than a few minutes, except for a few rare cases by special revelation! As soon as I had talked to them long enough to find out that they really WANTED to go back, I HELPED them to leave as quickly as possible, without talking to anyone else, as one bad apple can rot a good many others!
         21. ANY LIFE OR TERRITORY NOT YIELDED TO THE LORD, WHEN THEY MAKE A DEFINITE DECISION OF SOME KIND, LIKE GOING BACK, THEN IMMEDIATELY THE LORD ALLOWS THE DEVIL TO TAKE OVER: The Devil has won!--They've decided in his favour. Like the man whose house was swept & garnished & EMPTY, & because he didn't FILL it with the LORD & the HOLY SPIRIT, it soon got filled with DEVILS, & his END was worse than the BEGINNING!--Mat.12:43-45.
         22. ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS IN THE WORLD TO DO IS TO RESIST THE HOLY GHOST, which you need to help you make the grade. As the Lord Himself said, if this resistance continues unrepentedly, it will NOT be forgiven, & your LATTER fate will be worse than your BEGINNING!--Mat.12:31,32,45.
         23. SO YOU CERTAINLY NEED THE BAPTISM OF GOD'S LOVE & POWER TO BE FILLED TO OVERFLOWING with His precious Holy Spirit in order to have the strength to pull through! Because spiritual RESISTANCE causes spiritual CALLOUSNESS!--Every time we resist God's Spirit our hearts grow HARDER, until He will strive with us no more & we are "destroyed without remedy!"--Pro.29:1.
         24. SO MAY THE RESISTER BEWARE! The Lord nevertheless says He is MARRIED to the backslider & there is always time to repent, & even the Lord's CHASTISEMENTS & TRIBULATIONS are signs of the Lord's LOVE, to get you to repent & come back to serving the LORD. There is NO sin that is unpardonable except RESISTING the LORD: In other words, the UNrepented sins. I'm sure the Lord loves you & is waiting to forgive you if you'll return to the Lord & His Service.
         25. ARE YOU A POTENTIAL BACKSLIDER?--BEWARE! "Let the wicked FORSAKE his way & the unrighteous man his THOUGHTS & let him RETURN unto the Lord, & He will have MERCY upon him; & to our God, for He will abundantly PARDON."--Isa.55:7.

         "Too late! Too late!
         He was on the downgrade & couldn't find the brake!
         So they hurtled downward at an awful rate
         And many were the souls that day
         That met a fearful fate!"

--You'll ALWAYS take others WITH you!--(From an old song, Author Unknown)
         26. ARE YOU ONE? IF SO, CRY OUT FOR GOD'S HELP & HE'LL save you! Do it TODAY!--TOMORROW may be TOO LATE!--God has NEVER left you & WE STILL LOVE YOU!--Please come back TODAY! ILY!