I'd like to talk with you for a few minutes about
our future. And I mean exactly that. Not only
your future, but my future, too. All of us have
a future, and it's just one step ahead of us.
My future today is just one step ahead of me.
I'm very deeply interested in it. I'm concerned
about my future. I'm deeply concerned about my
future. That's something that you should be vitally
interested in also, your future. It's extraordinarily
important, this thing of future. But that's where
you and I are going to spend the rest of our
life. There in the future. And so, how can we
improve our future? I'm not satisfied with me
as I am today. Oh, you say, Catherine Kuhlman,
are you really concerned about your future? Am
I? Because I know that there are greater things
out there in the future for me if I only know
how to cooperate with God. Don't be satisfied
with you the way you are this hour. There's a
future out there, a far greater future out there
for you than what you are enjoying today. And
if we both can learn how to cooperate with God,
our future can be great. And so we have to learn
how to improve our future. Now, this question,
like most every question, has an answer in the
Bible. That's why the Bible lives. It has an
answer. It's the book of answers. It makes no
difference what problem you have. You hunt through
the Bible, you'll get your answer. That, to me,
is the strangest thing about the Bible. It's
just as adequate in our complicated, unsophisticated
modern day as it was when it was first written
in an age of camels. It still holds all the answers
to every problem that any man, any woman of any
generation has had to confront. That's the...
amazing thing, the startling thing about the
Bible. There is absolutely no question, no problem
that you're confronted with this very hour. But
what if you'll study the Word of God, you'll
find the answer to that question, to that problem.
Now, in the book of John, the first chapter,
the 12th verse, I find these words, which are
a formula for having a glorious future. But as
many as received him, to them gave he power to
become. In other words, to those men and women
who accepted him, took him into their lives,
built their lives about him. He gave the power
to become something, to have a wonderful, a glorious
future. That is really... All that you and I
need to know. Take him. Receive him. And all
of our weaknesses will fall away. You will overcome
your frustrations, your defeat, your fears. You
will have the power. He will give you the power
to become. And I want to become. I don't want
to stay just as I am. I'm not satisfied with
me just as I am. I'm not satisfied with that
which I have accomplished in life for humanity.
In the past, I'm not satisfied. I want power
to become. I want greater power to become. However,
the passage continues, and it reads, to become
the sons of God. That means to inherit all of
God's great things. Literally thousands of people
have read that portion of the Word of God, and
they have overlooked the real meaning of the
Scripture. To become the sons of God, Do you
realize everything that is involved in that?
It means that you are to inherit all of God's
great things. The Bible doesn't deal in little
promises. It deals in big promises. We live such
small lives. When God expects us to live such
big lives, such full, such abundant lives, the
Bible doesn't deal in little promises. Whenever
the big promises of the Bible have been believed
in earnest, great things have happened in people's
lives. The trouble with too many churches nowadays,
and I don't mean to be critical, But it's true.
And it's the fact that the minister is literally
afraid of the promises of God. He really doesn't
believe. That's the reason he doesn't think big.
And he doesn't preach big. He has never experienced.
And therefore he cuts it down, whittles it down,
makes it small. That's the reason our young people
today. have a right to challenge the church.
They have a right to challenge these things.
In other words, they are saying, either put up
or shut up, if these promises are real, then
let us see the manifestation of the power of
God. They're right in their thinking. I feel
exactly the same way. I'm not going to literally
give my life for something that is small and
little and something that doesn't work. I have
given my life for something that's big and wonderful
and workable. The greatest thing in the whole
world. The promises of God are big. They're workable.
The life of a Christian that he has planned for
each Christian is one of abundant living, a full
life, a glorious life. You know this thing of
being happy. I'm so amazed at people who think
that to be happy is unscriptural. Unscriptural?
If you follow the word of God and live according
to the word of God, you'll be the happiest person
in the whole world. Life, not only life, but
he's promised to give it more than just life,
but abundant living. When you take the gospel,
really take it and believe it, nothing is too
good to be true. Many people attend our services,
you know, and after they will adopt the great
miracle service, they'll say, that was almost
too good to be true. Did our eyes deceive us?
Were we dreaming? Was that just imagination what
I saw? Nothing is too... Good to be true when
you take the Word of God and believe it. If it
is there in the Bible, it's truth. And as you
believe this, you become big. And only big people
achieve big things. Little people with little
faith, little ideas, little concepts get little
results. So be big in your faith when you think
about your future and when you realize, really,
that your future is where you're going to spend
the rest of your life. It isn't something trivial
that I'm talking to you about today. I'm talking
to you about something that's vitally important.
When you realize that your future is you the
rest of your life, then look up. Lift up your
head. Square your shoulders. Be big in your faith.
Be big in your thinking. You've got a big God.
You've got big promises. To as many as received
him, to them he gave the power to become. Don't
be a little person. Don't be a person with little
faith, little ideas, little concepts, getting
only little results, if any. The way this comes
to pass is that you receive the power from him.
To improve yourself. And by improving yourself,
you improve your future. It's a strange thing.
But you can limit your achievement. You can limit
your world. You can limit your future. We draw
unto ourselves according to what we are. You
can have only that. which finds hospitality within
yourself. Oh, to be sure, outside forces also
play upon us and determine certain aspects and
events of our lives. That's true. But in the
long run, we receive just about according to
what we are. I'm going to say something. will
probably startle you. And that is the fact that
I don't believe that we receive what we deserve.
Because God has made it so that we deserve much.
God made plans in His thinking, in His designing
for men and women, for His children. He designed,
he planned that we should deserve much. You and
I were not made for failure. There was not a
single man who's ever been born who will ever
be born in the future who was made for failure.
No person listening to me this very moment was
ever born to be a failure. God gave all the provisions
that every man, every woman might live a happy
life. And he gave us everything that we needed
to make it a happy life. He has plans for you
that you should have a great future, a happy
future, a wonderful future. I'm not talking about
the fact that there won't be troubles, that there
won't be sorrow. I'm not telling you about that.
There will be. But he also gives you the strength
to rise above these things. In that hour of sickness,
he'll still give you the equipment whereby you
can live an overcoming life. A life of confidence.
Inside, there'll still be that great inner peace.
Peace of mind and peace of soul. No, I don't
believe that we receive what we deserve because
God has made it so that we deserve much. But
by a lack of faith, by a closed mind, by sinful
living, by our littleness, we cut off the divine
supply. We do it. His providence doesn't do it.
We do it ourselves. You and I are our own worst
enemy. Caspin Cooman is her worst enemy. Now,
that's something to think about. And I thought
about it an awful lot. Oh, sure. I know that
there are those out there who, um... Oh, you
know, we don't talk about it. Who probably do
not... like Katherine Kuhlman, like you like
Katherine Kuhlman. We don't just don't talk about
it. We just act like it never happened, you know.
But I know something this very moment. I am my
own worst enemy. I don't care who your enemies
may be this hour. You are your own worst enemy.
And by lack of faith, by a closed mind, by our
littleness, we cut off this grand and glorious
divine supply. God doesn't do it. We do it ourselves.
We limit Him. The promises are there. The power
is there. The potentials are all there. And the
potentials are tremendous beyond our comprehension.
The potentials... are there for my future, a
greater future than anything that I've ever experienced
in the past. They're all there. I can have them.
It's only my closed mind and my smallness in
thinking that keeps me from reaching out and
enjoying those great potentials that he has for
me. The same with you. You all like to talk about
me. And we see these things, you know, in the
other person, but we forget ourselves. There
isn't anybody in the whole world who could not
do a much better job in life than he's doing
right now. I don't care how successful you are.
I don't care what you have achieved in life.
You can do a better job than you're doing right
now. I thought five years ago, and at that time
I said, I just can't take on anything more. I
just can't do it. There are just so many hours
in every day. I just can't do it. I can't take
on more commitments. I can't take on more radio
work. I can't take on more television work. I
can't take on more services. I can't do it. I
work down now to where it's impossible. And in
thinking about it, I could have fallen apart.
But instead of thinking about it and having a
nervous breakdown over it, I just kept on taking
on more and more and more. And I still think.
Even though I'm sitting here talking to you,
I could do more. I don't know how, but I'm sure
I could. Because there's still the bigness of
God. There's still the power of God. There's
still the glorious strength of the Holy Spirit.
And there isn't anybody who could not do a much
better job in life than he is doing. I feel sincerely
that I could do a much better job than I am doing
if I would not be hampered by my lack of a greater
faith in the promises and in myself, you know?
Therefore, one of the very first things we need
to learn is to work mentally with ourselves and
lean heavily on God. What is it that you'd like
to have in the future? Do you know? If you don't
know, you'll never get it. Because in order to
attain anything, you have to know what it is
that you want to attain. Yeah? I may be talking
to somebody today who really doesn't want to
have a greater future. You're not really interested
in being a better person. And you are this very
moment. You're content. Millions of people are
literally content to get up every morning, put
the same coffee pot on, the same amount of water,
the same amount of coffee. You've done the same
thing for years and years and years. If you should
change your routine, you'd fall apart. You've
taken the same bus. You've traveled the same
freeway. You've eaten at the same place. You
do the same thing day in and day out. And so
you're satisfied. But as for me, I realize my
future is most important. Your future is most
important. For that is where you're going to
spend the rest of your life. I want to improve
my future.