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compromising with it in slightest degree. And, as I then
commented, I do not know of any other man who even professes to be
a minister of Jesus Christ who has remained uncompromisingly honest
with God's Word through severe persecution, through test,
opposition, temptation, and in hardship requiring real living
faith.
There are, today, many honest and true ministers associated
with me in God's Church who are completely loyal and uncompromising
with God's Truth. But God called and chose me to be the pioneer
among His ministers in this "Philadelphia era" of His Church. And
as such, I was put to tests such as these other fine and dedicated
men have not been called on to suffer.
First, just before God started opening the mighty doors of
radio and the printing press, I was being paid a very small salary
by the Oregon Conference of what we recognize now as the "Sardis
era" of God's Church., Two ministers persuaded the officials of
that small Conference to demand that I preach and act on a certain
point contrary to the teaching and example of God's Word. I saw
then that if men paid my salary I would have to serve MEN, not God.
And if I worked for GOD, I would have to look to Him for financial
support. I relied on God's promise in Philippians 4:19 -- that He
would supply ALL MY NEED. It was not all my WANTS -- but He did
supply all my NEED. I had no car. I wore out shoe leather walking
over rocky gravel roads to preach to small groups.
Then God let a temptation come. A man claiming to
represent many business men in Eugene, Oregon, wanted to team me
with a well-known evangelist. There was promise of big financial
backing. But I would have to preach nothing about God's Law. I
would have to preach what MEN dictated. I would be muzzled -- as
most ministers are! I showed him out the door.
I still tried to cooperate with Sardis ministers, though
relying solely on God for financial support. I had to suffer every
humiliation . I was better educated than they. God blessed my
preaching with rich results wherever I preached -- no one ever saw
any visible results from the preaching of all the others combined.
Yet they humiliated me every way they could, with the attitude that
I was the "least of the ministers." I suffered their insults in
front of brethren. Yet the brethren loved me, as long as I was
with them, more than they. They fought against me behind my back.
They schemed and strove every way to break up and stop the radio
broadcast.
After the radio work was beginning to grow -- we were on
the air in Eugene and in Portland, Oregon -- two members,
prosperous truck gardeners, attempted to force me to go their way
instead of God's in a certain matter. When I refused, they said,
"We'll FORCE you to it. We'll whip you into line. Our tithes and
offerings are half of the entire financial support that keeps your
radio work going We'll withdraw our tithe."
They did. I trusted GOD, not their tithes and offerings.
And God made up, somehow -- without any efforts on my part -- for
what they withdrew. That year, as in other years, THE WORK OF GOD