The lady writes and says, Dear Miss Guman, you
have made the Bible come alive and proved so
exciting in the life and world events today.
Your heart -to -heart talks are the most precious
words I've ever heard. These are things, you
know, that are so rewarding. And I mean exactly
that. Sure. This thing of living a Christian
life is exciting. Oh, it's the most wonderful
life in the world. You have really never lived
until you have learned how to live the Christian
life. It's the normal way of living. It's the
natural way of life. Any other life is contrary
to this natural... normal way of living that
God wanted it to be and planned that it should
be. That's the reason we have all the trouble
in the world today. That's the why of all the
wars. That's the why of all the hate. That's
the why of all of the riots. It's because we
are living contrary to the Word of God. We are
living contrary to the natural way that God ordained
that man should live. Well, sir, don't let's
get started in that because, oh, we'll never
finish it. There'll never be a place for a benediction
because it just goes on and on. We're going to
have a good heart -to -heart talk today about
something that I feel is so vitally important
and is, um... Something that concerns every one
of us. And that is this wonderful relationship
between God the Father and his child. What it
really means to be a Christian and live this
natural life. I want to remind you that the word
becomes so much more personal. if you'll read
from your own Bible as I read from mine. The
first chapter of Ephesians. I'm going to begin
with the third verse. Blessed. Oh, that word
blessed. It's thrilling. It's marvelous. And
Paul begins with praise and thanksgiving for
the great and precious and marvelous benefits
Joy through Christ Jesus. Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ, according as he hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy. and without blame, before
him in love, having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Christ Jesus in himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will, for
the praise and of the glory of his grace, wherein
he hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of his grace,
wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery
of his will, according to his good pleasure,
which he hath purposed in himself, that in the
dispensation of the fullness of times he might
gather together in one. all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are on earth,
even in him in whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to
the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will, that we should be
to the Praise of His glory who first trusted
in Christ. Oh, this is so thrilling. I wish I
had nothing to do for the next month. But bring
your heart -to -heart talks on just this portion,
the Word of God, because it's loaded. Oh, it's
just loaded with good things. And Paul begins,
first of all, with praise and thanksgiving unto
the Lord for his wonderful goodness, his wonderful
blessing. That, my friend, is the key to all
things. Praise is the key that unlocks the storehouses
of glory. Praise gets a hearing before the Father's
throne. Praise and thanksgiving, you've heard
me say it over and over again. Five minutes to
pray. Not anymore. If that's all the time that
you have. And you may be very desperate about
something. Spend the first three minutes. In
just praising the Lord. Adoring the Lord. Thanking
Him for His blessings. Thanking Him. for past
answers to prayer. And then the last two minutes
in making your request known, you'll get the
answer. It works. There are thousands of God's
children who never stop to praise the Lord, to
thank Him. It's always, give me. Give me. What
would you think of a child who would never put
his little arms around his daddy and say, Oh,
daddy, I love you. Oh, and a child learns quickly.
Sometimes I think some of these little children
are smarter than God's children. I learned very
quickly that I could get anything in the world
out of Papa. If I would just crawl up on his
lap bar, stand on the top rung of the chair,
put my arms around his neck, and say, oh, I've
got the nicest papa in the whole world. Oh, I
meant it. Listen, I wasn't a hypocrite about
it. I meant it. That came easy, believe me. And
to this very day, I feel I did have the nicest
papa that any little girl ever had or that any
big girl ever had. So far as I am concerned,
my papa could do no wrong. But I was very young
when I learned if I would put my arms around
him and tell him how wonderful he was. And always
be very grateful for everything that he did for
me. Very thankful. And express it and tell him
so. Sometimes I didn't even have to ask for that
nickel. He'd put his hand on his pocket and the
nickel would come up without even being asked
for. How much more so with the Heavenly Father.
Some of his children... are always there with
give me. Give me. They never think about praying.
They never think about their Heavenly Father
seriously unless they are confronted with a great
need, a catastrophe, a tragedy, sickness. And
then they turn very quickly to Him. And it's
give me, Lord. Give me, Heavenly Father. And
you get desperate. The next time you do, pause
and check up on yourself. When was the last time
you put your arms around him and said, Thanks,
Heavenly Father. It isn't that I especially need
anything. It isn't that I'm especially desperate
about anything. I just want you to know I'm thankful.
For your blessings. I'm thankful for your protection.
Thanks. And you won't be praising him very long
before you're going to find out. His big heart
will start giving and giving and giving. I know.
I live like that. This is the practical way of
giving. I'm telling you the truth. I'm giving
you some secret that on the surface seems so
simple. And yet, they are some of the greatest
truths that any human being could give to you.
And it's just like that. Paul understood. Oh,
he began, Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with...
All spiritual blessings in heavenly places in
Christ. That's because everything that we receive
must come through Jesus. Everything. Everything
that you receive. Everything that I receive.
Because Jesus is the one who's made all these
things possible unto us. He's the one who has
made it possible that we are heirs of God. He's
the one who has made it possible that you and
I can come boldly before the throne of a holy
God. We would have no right, no man, no woman
has any right to come into the presence of a
holy God under any circumstances. except through
the perfection and the righteousness of his holy
and perfect son. God is absolute perfection.
God is absolute holiness. And we are still, beloved,
in the old body of flesh, far from perfect. You
may think you're perfect. But I'll tell you something.
I'll let you in on a little secret. You are the
only one who thinks you're perfect. Uh -huh.
Sure. Your husband doesn't really think you're
perfect. He sees all your faults. And God knows
your neighbors don't think you're perfect. Talk
to your youngsters. They know you're not perfect.
God knows you're not perfect. I don't care what
your great spiritual experiences may have been
or how deeply spiritual you are at this very
moment. In ourselves, there is no perfection.
Know that. Therefore, when we come into the presence
of a holy God, we must come through Jesus Christ.
That's the reason before Jesus went away, he
left us his name to use. And he taught us how
to pray. We pray in the name of Jesus because
Jesus is perfect. Jesus, the very son of the
living God, is holy. And God the Father, looking
down through the perfection and the holiness
of his... perfect Son who is our Redeemer, our
Savior, gives us a hearing, knowing that we have
been redeemed through the blood of His perfect
Son. And it's just like that. That's the reason,
this says, we are blessed. with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now watch
this. According as he hath chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and without blame before him in love. Now
we're getting into something that's ticklish.
I know it. We must tread very softly. It's like
someone sent me a book the other day and asking
me if I would read it, and I read a page or two
of it and then discarded it because I saw that
in just the page or two that I read, the one
was expressing his own purpose. personal opinion
his own personal ideas we get on dangerous ground
when we do that it's all right to give our own
personal opinion if we are very careful to say
now this is my personal opinion this is the way
i feel about it but if i cannot back it up with
the word of god then I'm on dangerous ground.
But I am never wrong, and you are never wrong,
and you and I will never have to apologize for
what we believe if we can back it up with the
Bible. Let's stay with the Word of God. There
are too many who are going out on a limb by expressing
their own personal ideas. That's a very dangerous
thing. It's very dangerous. Sometimes I feel
like I'd like to do nothing but just give you
the Bible, just read the Bible and say, here
it is, here it is. And you need to get back to
the Bible. You're reading every new thing that
comes out. You're reading books and books and
books and books. Why in the world? Don't you
just stay with the word of God? Then you know
that you will not go off in error. You know that
his word is truth. Now we come to this thing
of predestination. According as he hath chosen
us in him, before the foundation of the world.
Now, what does that mean? There are those who
say that there are some folk who are predestined
to be lost, and there are other folk who are
predestined to be saved, to be Christians. destined
to go to hell and others who are predestined
to go to heaven. Do you want to know something?
It was never in God's plan that any man or any
woman, that any human being from the first Adam
to the last person who will ever be born, any...
person in this great humanity should ever go
to hell. Never. It was never in God's plan. It
was never in God's mind. Hell never was made
for men and women. Hell was made for the devil
and his angels. If you can prove to me from the
word of God. that hell was made for man, you
have found something that I have never found.
When you search the scriptures, there is a hell.
There has got to be punishment for sin. God would
not be a just God if he did not punish sin. He
wouldn't be a holy God if he didn't punish sin.
Sin has got to be punished. Know that. There
is a hell. There is a time. There is a place
for the punishment of sin. A time of punishment
for those who have refused the Son of the Living
God as their Savior and their Redeemer. What
I am saying is that in the plan of God, he did
not predestine that any human being should be
lost. I like to think that way back there and
how many thousands are millions of years it was,
I do not know. Not that does anyone know. But
way back there when Lucifer fell. You remember
Lucifer was one of the most beautiful of three
angels that God created. All angels are created
beings. There was a time that Lucifer ruled and
reigned over this planet that you and I call
the Earth. How do I know? One little word gives
the key. God told Adam and Eve to replenish the
Earth. And you do not replenish something unless
there has been something there before. That wonderful
word, replenish. Therefore, we know there was
habitation here on the earth. Our scientists
prove it. There has been habitation here on this
earth before God ever created man. Lucifer was
the ruler over this earth. And he ruled over...
Thousands and thousands, legions of angels. And
then something happened one day when he said,
I will be likened to the most high God. And he
began to ascend into heaven. Ascend from where?
From the earth. He began to ascend into heaven
with this spirit of jealousy in his heart. And
the first sin that we have any account of whatsoever
is the sin of jealousy. And it is no secret that
the sin of jealousy is still the most prevalent
sin in the hearts and lives of professing Christians.
It's still there. We find it in the pulpit. We
find it in the pew. A very prevalent sin in what
we call Christian circles. It was the very first
sin we have any record of. And then you know
the judgment. Oh, it's all there. You have followed
me in a previous message. And God in his wrath
and God in his fury literally reached down and
turned the earth upside down. That's the reason
that which was once on the surface of the earth
is now in the bowels of the earth. Our oils,
our minerals. All of these things. were once
things on the surface. And then it was that God
said, I will replenish the earth with free moral
agency. And he created man. My goodness, I just
forgot. I've got to leave you. But I'll be back.
And when I come back, Be sure you have your Bibles
out. God bless you.