WEBVTT 00:00:00.590 --> 00:00:07.089 I am still amazed at the thousands of Christians 00:00:07.089 --> 00:00:10.509 who still do not see the importance of the Holy 00:00:10.509 --> 00:00:18.850 Spirit. I mean that. Do you realize just how 00:00:18.850 --> 00:00:26.089 important the Holy Spirit really is? Do you know 00:00:26.089 --> 00:00:29.230 that the sin for which there is no forgiveness 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:34.659 He is not against God the Father. He is not against 00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:40.520 Jesus Christ the Son, but against the Holy Spirit, 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:45.479 the person of the Holy Spirit that makes him 00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:51.259 a very important person. A sin committed against 00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:57.460 God the Father can be forgiven. Any sin committed 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:00.810 against Jesus Christ the Son will be forgiven. 00:01:02.210 --> 00:01:07.569 But the sin against the Holy Spirit will not 00:01:07.569 --> 00:01:09.989 be forgiven in this world or in the world to 00:01:09.989 --> 00:01:14.890 come. I shall speak on that in another heart 00:01:14.890 --> 00:01:18.310 -to -heart talk. But I'm just saying that now 00:01:18.310 --> 00:01:21.209 so that you realize the importance of the Holy 00:01:21.209 --> 00:01:25.689 Spirit. In our little heart -to -heart talk today, 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:28.959 I want you to see the importance of the Holy 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:38.019 Spirit when we pray. Remember something. The 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:42.640 hardest thing in the world is to know the perfect 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:48.359 will of God. You've gone through it. I have experienced 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:53.180 it. If you are a human being, if you've been 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:57.109 born again, If you love the Lord with all of 00:01:57.109 --> 00:02:00.290 your heart, and you know the things of the Spirit, 00:02:00.450 --> 00:02:05.109 more than anything in the world, you want God's 00:02:05.109 --> 00:02:10.409 perfect will. And sometimes I think it's the 00:02:10.409 --> 00:02:17.770 hardest thing in the world to know the perfect 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:23.530 will of God. I shall never forget dear old Brother 00:02:23.530 --> 00:02:27.870 McCloud. Portland, Oregon. He was well past 80. 00:02:28.530 --> 00:02:34.610 I was only in my teens, and that dear old saint 00:02:34.610 --> 00:02:40.169 of God, taking both of my hands, holding them 00:02:40.169 --> 00:02:48.090 very tightly in his long, scrawny hands, I can 00:02:48.090 --> 00:02:56.270 still somehow feel those bones. tightly clasping 00:02:56.270 --> 00:03:01.830 my hands. It was one Sunday afternoon when he 00:03:01.830 --> 00:03:09.889 said, Girl, I've lived my life. My ministry is 00:03:09.889 --> 00:03:17.310 over and you are just beginning. May I just say 00:03:17.310 --> 00:03:22.789 this to you? Never get out of the will of God. 00:03:24.969 --> 00:03:29.169 I was young. I was inexperienced. I knew practically 00:03:29.169 --> 00:03:34.090 nothing about the Word of God. I only knew that 00:03:34.090 --> 00:03:40.849 I had been born again. I was so inexperienced, 00:03:40.990 --> 00:03:45.310 and I didn't really know what he meant. I confess 00:03:45.310 --> 00:03:49.110 to you, I did not know what dear old Brother 00:03:49.110 --> 00:03:56.340 McCloud meant when he said, never. Get out of 00:03:56.340 --> 00:04:03.020 the will of God. But if this hour I could look 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:08.400 into the face of dear Brother McCloud, that wonderful 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:12.379 saint of God who's been in glory for years now, 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:17.420 I would look into his face, I would take his 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:21.220 hands and clasp those hands very tightly in mine. 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:26.379 And I'd say, Brother McCloud, thank you for those 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:30.000 words. It was the greatest advice that a human 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:37.279 being could have given me. I know now what I 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:44.959 didn't know then as a teenager. And I say to 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:49.720 you with all the earnestness of my being, never. 00:04:51.019 --> 00:04:56.699 Never get out of the will of God, as long as 00:04:56.699 --> 00:05:00.199 you're in His will. The waters may be deep, and 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:02.639 remember, when you talk about the will of God, 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:08.740 the will of God may not always be in the sunshine. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:13.259 The will of God may not always be where there's 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:17.670 prosperity, material prosperity. The will of 00:05:17.670 --> 00:05:22.050 God may not always lead in the paths where it's 00:05:22.050 --> 00:05:27.870 easy. No, ma 'am. Sometimes the will of God will 00:05:27.870 --> 00:05:31.029 lead you through deep waters, and sometimes you 00:05:31.029 --> 00:05:33.069 may feel those waters are about to overflow. 00:05:33.589 --> 00:05:37.449 The will of God may lead you in dark nights where 00:05:37.449 --> 00:05:41.879 there isn't a star in the sky. The will of God 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:47.300 may lead you someplace where you cannot see his 00:05:47.300 --> 00:05:52.060 face. You can scarcely hear his voice and you 00:05:52.060 --> 00:05:58.079 may feel so alone away out there on the desert. 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:07.069 John on the Isle of Patmos. One wonders whether 00:06:07.069 --> 00:06:10.629 he ever questioned whether or not that was God's 00:06:10.629 --> 00:06:16.069 perfect will. One wonders whether Paul ever considered 00:06:16.069 --> 00:06:22.750 and questioned whether or not those prison walls 00:06:22.750 --> 00:06:32.370 were God's perfect will. But when you're in God's 00:06:32.370 --> 00:06:39.290 perfect will, there'll be peace. You will have 00:06:39.290 --> 00:06:50.470 power and later the glory. There is such a thing 00:06:50.470 --> 00:06:56.550 as God's perfect will and God's permissive will. 00:06:58.089 --> 00:07:01.649 Let me read just a couple of verses of Scripture. 00:07:02.810 --> 00:07:10.980 Psalm One hundred and six. David here is talking 00:07:10.980 --> 00:07:15.019 about the children of Israel. Oh, sure, that 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:19.620 glorious victory. He reducted the Red Sea also, 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:23.399 and it was dried up. So he led them through the 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:28.160 depths as through the wilderness. And he saved 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:31.439 them from the hand of him that hated them. and 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:34.879 redeemed them from the hand of the enemy, and 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:39.699 the waters covered their enemies, there was not 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:45.600 one of them left. Then believed they his words, 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:52.300 they sang his praise. They soon forgot his works. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:58.300 They waited not for his counsel, but lusted exceedingly 00:07:58.300 --> 00:08:05.269 in the wilderness, it god in the desert here 00:08:05.269 --> 00:08:12.649 it comes he gave them their request but sent 00:08:12.649 --> 00:08:23.670 leanness into their soul he gave them their request 00:08:23.670 --> 00:08:33.240 but in granting their request it was not his 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:40.100 perfect will for them. But he granted their request, 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:48.879 but sent leanness into their soul. In granting 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:56.179 their request, it was only his second best for 00:08:56.179 --> 00:09:02.789 them, his permissive will. not his perfect will, 00:09:02.970 --> 00:09:09.269 for they refuse to pay the price for his perfect 00:09:09.269 --> 00:09:12.950 will. And there's many a man, there's many a 00:09:12.950 --> 00:09:15.509 woman listening to me this very moment. I do 00:09:15.509 --> 00:09:18.669 not have to tell you. You know it better than 00:09:18.669 --> 00:09:24.370 anyone else. You have lived most of your life 00:09:24.370 --> 00:09:31.470 according to his permissive will. and not his 00:09:31.470 --> 00:09:36.629 perfect will. In preaching the other night, I 00:09:36.629 --> 00:09:40.710 made a statement regarding the permissive will 00:09:40.710 --> 00:09:46.710 of God, God's second best. It was only in the 00:09:46.710 --> 00:09:52.990 statement. It was not my sermon. After that service, 00:09:53.210 --> 00:09:59.889 a very well -dressed woman came to me. At the 00:09:59.889 --> 00:10:03.889 back of the sanctuary, she said, and her eyes 00:10:03.889 --> 00:10:07.250 were brimming with tears. Oh, she had married 00:10:07.250 --> 00:10:12.190 very well. Her husband is a very fine executive 00:10:12.190 --> 00:10:18.090 here in Pittsburgh. I shall never forget the 00:10:18.090 --> 00:10:21.850 look on her face. She said, Catherine Kuhlman, 00:10:21.970 --> 00:10:30.049 I know exactly what you meant. when you spoke 00:10:30.049 --> 00:10:37.549 about living one's life according to his permissive 00:10:37.549 --> 00:10:43.909 will. I knew exactly what you meant when you 00:10:43.909 --> 00:10:48.250 talked about getting God's second best. For I 00:10:48.250 --> 00:10:54.129 have lived most of my life in God's permissive 00:10:54.129 --> 00:10:58.779 will. There was a time in my life where... I 00:10:58.779 --> 00:11:09.820 came to a crisis. One decision meant a price 00:11:09.820 --> 00:11:17.679 that I would have to pay. The other looked so 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:21.340 tempting. There was less of a sacrifice to be 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:28.750 made. I chose the easier way. And I have lived 00:11:28.750 --> 00:11:34.929 my life in his permissive will. And in that moment 00:11:34.929 --> 00:11:39.389 of decision, I know now and have known for years 00:11:39.389 --> 00:11:47.289 that I missed his best. Because I didn't wait. 00:11:49.509 --> 00:12:00.590 Because I missed. His perfect will in not being 00:12:00.590 --> 00:12:05.309 willing to pay the price. I want you to see something. 00:12:06.210 --> 00:12:10.809 I know this very minute that I'm talking to folk 00:12:10.809 --> 00:12:16.529 who have struggled with this thing as to the 00:12:16.529 --> 00:12:24.090 will of God. Whatever you're doing, just pause 00:12:24.090 --> 00:12:28.480 because... This can be vitally important to you. 00:12:29.460 --> 00:12:35.340 Vitally important. I have been in the same predicament 00:12:35.340 --> 00:12:39.480 many, many times in my own life. I can only give 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:44.259 to you what I have experienced myself. First 00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:48.360 of all, I seek at the very beginning to get my 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:53.460 heart into such a state that it has no will of 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:58.299 its own. Guard to a given matter. And that's 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:00.879 one of the hardest things in the world. I tell 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.519 you frankly, I'm human too. I'm just as human 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:09.679 as you are. When we face something and we're 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:14.000 desperate about making the right decision, it's 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:17.860 the hardest thing in the world to get your own 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:21.139 feelings, your own personal feelings out of the 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:28.639 situation. Because invariably, there is one thing 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:35.860 we would rather do than another. You know, I 00:13:35.860 --> 00:13:46.179 always remember when I was a kid, I used to eat 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:53.600 my spinach first. Because I didn't like it and 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:59.200 I would hurry up and get that over with. So I 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:02.100 wouldn't have to face it, you know. But we're 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:06.740 human like that. We have our likes. We have our 00:14:06.740 --> 00:14:16.440 dislikes. We hate to face the spinach. You can 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:22.679 never know God's perfect will. until you get 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:27.779 your heart into such a state, you get your mind 00:14:27.779 --> 00:14:32.159 in such a state that it has no will of its own 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:38.440 in regard to a given matter. You know, nine -tenths 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:43.940 of people and nine -tenths of our trouble is 00:14:43.940 --> 00:14:49.700 just here. Nine -tenths of the difficulties. 00:14:50.700 --> 00:14:53.039 or overcome when our hearts are ready to do God's 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:58.279 will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:01.980 this state, it is usually but a little way to 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:04.500 the knowledge of what his will is. If right now, 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:06.240 somebody who's struggling with the will of God, 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:10.480 if right now you can get your mind, you can get 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:14.200 your own heart to the position where it has no 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:20.360 will of its own, it'll only take... but a few 00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:24.440 seconds before, you will know God's perfect will. 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:31.700 You'll know it. Having done this, I do not lead 00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:36.399 the result to feeling or simple impression. If 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:41.039 I do so, I make myself liable to great delusions. 00:15:42.539 --> 00:15:45.100 Some people, you know, govern their whole life 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:46.720 by feelings. That's the reason they get themselves 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:57.019 in such, uh... Oh, dear me, you. Look back for 00:15:57.019 --> 00:16:00.480 just a minute. You've brought all your trouble 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:03.799 on yourself because you allow your emotions and 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:10.039 your feelings to govern you. Don't do it. You 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:17.620 can't. If you leave the result to feeling or 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:22.610 simple impression, to emotions. If you do so, 00:16:22.649 --> 00:16:26.470 you'll make yourself liable to great delusions. 00:16:27.830 --> 00:16:34.250 You cannot govern your life by feelings. You'll 00:16:34.250 --> 00:16:36.009 get yourself into trouble as sure as you're born. 00:16:37.029 --> 00:16:44.889 Next, seek the will of the Spirit of God through 00:16:44.889 --> 00:16:50.250 the Word of God. For his will for you will never 00:16:50.250 --> 00:16:56.090 be contrary to his word. That's one thing you 00:16:56.090 --> 00:17:00.429 can be dead sure of. He'll never make you an 00:17:00.429 --> 00:17:05.430 exception. Never. He'll never make me an exception 00:17:05.430 --> 00:17:15.049 to his word. His word stands true. And if you're 00:17:15.049 --> 00:17:20.660 seeking the will of God, and it is contrary in 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:24.859 making that decision, it is contrary to the Word 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:32.400 of God, then it is not His will. His will will 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:39.099 always be in accordance with His Word. Did you 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:41.880 ever get to the place where after having done 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:47.720 all these things, you steal? Couldn't get his 00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:53.160 perfect will. All right. Here is where the Holy 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:59.420 Spirit comes in. The 8th chapter of Romans. The 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:07.299 26th verse. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:14.289 our infirmities. For we know not. what we should 00:18:14.289 --> 00:18:21.150 pray for as we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh 00:18:21.150 --> 00:18:27.089 intercession for us with groanings which cannot 00:18:27.089 --> 00:18:38.589 be uttered. If you do not know God's perfect 00:18:38.589 --> 00:18:49.450 will, then do Absolutely nothing. Make no decision 00:18:49.450 --> 00:18:59.750 whatsoever. Be absolutely quiet. And let the 00:18:59.750 --> 00:19:08.609 Holy Spirit intercede for you before the throne 00:19:08.609 --> 00:19:16.180 of God. I'll continue in my next heart to heart 00:19:16.180 --> 00:19:16.480 talk.