WEBVTT

00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:07.480
Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto

00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:16.100
thee. Hide not thy face from me in the day when

00:00:16.100 --> 00:00:25.620
I am in trouble. Incline thine ear unto me in

00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:35.560
the day when I call. Answer me speedily. That

00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:43.679
call may be in the form of a falling tear, or

00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:52.820
a whisper, or even a sigh. God knows the sincerity

00:00:52.820 --> 00:00:56.700
of that heart. And he'll hear the slightest whisper

00:00:56.700 --> 00:01:01.439
from that heart of yours. Father God, answer

00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:09.799
that call. Answer that one's cry. Be real to

00:01:09.799 --> 00:01:19.519
that one. For Jesus' sake we ask it. Amen. For

00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:22.200
a few minutes... You and I are going to have

00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:23.980
a little heart -to -heart talk about something

00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:29.359
that's most important to all of us. And that

00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:37.659
is the will of God. And sometimes I feel that

00:01:37.659 --> 00:01:42.939
the hardest thing in the world to discern is

00:01:42.939 --> 00:01:51.450
God's perfect will for you and for me. I mean

00:01:51.450 --> 00:01:58.829
that. There have been times in my life when I

00:01:58.829 --> 00:02:05.450
have to admit I absolutely did not know just

00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:11.389
what was God's perfect will. I had come to the

00:02:11.389 --> 00:02:17.469
crossroads. I knew that two things could not

00:02:17.469 --> 00:02:22.530
be His will. One was his will and one was not

00:02:22.530 --> 00:02:25.689
his will. And I have stood right in the middle

00:02:25.689 --> 00:02:30.330
of those crossroads, afraid to go frontward or

00:02:30.330 --> 00:02:33.210
backward or to the right or to the left, for

00:02:33.210 --> 00:02:38.750
fear that I would miss his will. So for just

00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:42.090
a few minutes, I want you to sit there with open

00:02:42.090 --> 00:02:46.250
hearts and open minds and let's discuss this

00:02:46.250 --> 00:02:51.550
thing. very freely about the will of God and

00:02:51.550 --> 00:02:58.949
how to ascertain God's perfect will. One thing

00:02:58.949 --> 00:03:02.949
that I have learned from experience, and it was

00:03:02.949 --> 00:03:06.870
one of the greatest lessons that I have had to

00:03:06.870 --> 00:03:11.969
learn, and that is that in seeking God's perfect

00:03:11.969 --> 00:03:22.479
will, a will of my own. I have got to get myself

00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:28.879
to the place where I have no will in the matter

00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:34.139
of my own. I seek at the very beginning to get

00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:40.379
my heart into such a state that it has no will

00:03:40.379 --> 00:03:45.680
of its own in regard to the given matter. Anyone

00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:49.830
know something? Nine -tenths of the trouble with

00:03:49.830 --> 00:03:55.930
people is just here. Nine -tenths of the difficulties

00:03:55.930 --> 00:04:03.389
are overcome when our hearts are ready to do

00:04:03.389 --> 00:04:08.389
the will of the Lord, whatever it may be. And

00:04:08.389 --> 00:04:17.629
when one is truly in this state, You'll know

00:04:17.629 --> 00:04:21.089
His perfect will. But do you want to know why

00:04:21.089 --> 00:04:24.610
sometimes you and I have such a hard time ascertaining

00:04:24.610 --> 00:04:29.689
God's will? Do you want to know why many a time

00:04:29.689 --> 00:04:38.550
we weep and we are so uncertain, we're so perplexed,

00:04:38.550 --> 00:04:41.930
we're so doubtful as to what God's perfect will

00:04:41.930 --> 00:04:48.720
is? It's simply because we've never gotten to

00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:52.480
the place where we have fully surrendered our

00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:57.759
will to the will of God. We want to do exactly

00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:03.199
what we want to do. And it's just like that.

00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:07.740
We're made that way. Human nature is just like

00:05:07.740 --> 00:05:12.639
that. And I don't care how deeply spiritual you

00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:16.180
may be this very hour. I don't care what marvelous

00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:20.519
experiences you may have had in the Lord. One

00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:23.399
of the hardest places to get to in the Christian

00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:27.839
experience is that place where you are so surrendered

00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:36.600
to Him that you have no will of your own. And

00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:43.540
it's just like that. Our trouble, nine... of

00:05:43.540 --> 00:05:48.660
that trouble in knowing God's perfect will is

00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:55.959
that we fight against His will, whether we know

00:05:55.959 --> 00:06:06.360
it or not. For a person wants to do exactly what

00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:13.439
he wants. You know, When people come to me for

00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:18.420
advice, I know good and well that even though

00:06:18.420 --> 00:06:24.939
I may take a full hour and sit there and try

00:06:24.939 --> 00:06:33.480
to give them advice, they may be perfectly honest

00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:37.519
in coming to me, perfectly sincere. I wouldn't

00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:41.750
doubt their sincerity. They may have come to

00:06:41.750 --> 00:06:46.949
me really wanting to know my opinion and wanting

00:06:46.949 --> 00:06:51.089
my advice. And I sit there and I pour out my

00:06:51.089 --> 00:06:54.449
heart and I give them all the wisdom that I know.

00:06:56.889 --> 00:07:03.009
When they leave my presence and go their way,

00:07:03.129 --> 00:07:09.930
regardless of what I have said, What I have advised

00:07:09.930 --> 00:07:14.389
them to do, I know that as they turn from my

00:07:14.389 --> 00:07:19.189
presence, they're going to go out and do exactly

00:07:19.189 --> 00:07:25.189
what they want to do. And it would be a good

00:07:25.189 --> 00:07:29.089
idea if you'd learn that too, when folk come

00:07:29.089 --> 00:07:34.470
to you. They'll take your time. Oh, sure, your

00:07:34.470 --> 00:07:37.240
neighbors will come to your house. They'll take

00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:39.319
your tie and they'll spend half the morning,

00:07:39.459 --> 00:07:43.180
they'll spend all afternoon talking the thing

00:07:43.180 --> 00:07:48.060
over with you and asking your advice. But I'm

00:07:48.060 --> 00:07:50.839
going to promise you something. They're going

00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:57.379
to leave your house doing exactly what they want

00:07:57.379 --> 00:08:07.610
to do. That's right. And that is... is our trouble

00:08:07.610 --> 00:08:13.850
when we come into the presence of the Lord. We

00:08:13.850 --> 00:08:18.509
look up and we say, Dear Jesus, I want your perfect

00:08:18.509 --> 00:08:24.170
will. I want your will more than anything in

00:08:24.170 --> 00:08:28.829
the world. And when he whispers his will to us,

00:08:28.889 --> 00:08:36.009
and mentally we know his will, Sometimes it takes

00:08:36.009 --> 00:08:42.110
us days. Sometimes it takes us weeks before we'll

00:08:42.110 --> 00:08:47.190
get to the place where we will submit our own

00:08:47.190 --> 00:08:55.789
will to His will. Even Jesus had a will separate

00:08:55.789 --> 00:08:59.110
and apart from the will of the Father. That's

00:08:59.110 --> 00:09:01.690
the reason I told you so very often that really

00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:06.870
the victory of God Calvary was fought and won

00:09:06.870 --> 00:09:13.429
in the garden. Think that over. There would never

00:09:13.429 --> 00:09:22.490
have been Calvary if in the garden Jesus, who

00:09:22.490 --> 00:09:25.529
was as much man as though he were not God, and

00:09:25.529 --> 00:09:29.009
as much God as though he were not man, if in

00:09:29.009 --> 00:09:36.340
the garden His will had not been submissive to

00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:40.240
the will of the Father. The victory of Calvary

00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:42.559
was fought and won when he looked up and cried,

00:09:42.820 --> 00:09:48.899
Nevertheless, Father, not my will, but thine,

00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:56.259
be done. I promise you something. That when you

00:09:56.259 --> 00:10:01.220
are seeking the will of God, in that moment,

00:10:01.909 --> 00:10:07.549
When you can get your heart in the state where

00:10:07.549 --> 00:10:15.190
His will is your will and your will is His will,

00:10:15.389 --> 00:10:20.250
it'll not be long before you'll know the will

00:10:20.250 --> 00:10:28.029
of God. Now, having done just this, there's something

00:10:28.029 --> 00:10:35.379
else. I do not leave the result to feeling or

00:10:35.379 --> 00:10:41.539
simple impression. If I do so, I make myself

00:10:41.539 --> 00:10:47.500
liable to great delusions. I can be easily deceived

00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:53.340
if I leave myself open to feelings and depend

00:10:53.340 --> 00:10:59.539
on feelings to lead me. Because sometimes feelings

00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:05.580
can be very deceptive. That's right. God never

00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:09.539
gives feelings to enable us to trust him. God

00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:13.080
never gives feelings to encourage us to trust

00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:18.179
him. God never gives feelings to show that we

00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:25.159
have already and utterly trusted him. We walk

00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:32.139
by faith, not by appearances. We walk by faith,

00:11:32.259 --> 00:11:40.340
not by feelings. God never intended that his

00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:46.139
children walk according to their feelings. Oh,

00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:50.129
I know, self may want to. And a great many of

00:11:50.129 --> 00:11:53.049
us do. Haven't you met that somebody that one

00:11:53.049 --> 00:11:58.710
day, how are you? Oh, I'm just fine. Oh, isn't

00:11:58.710 --> 00:12:01.570
the Lord good? And they're way up on the mountaintop

00:12:01.570 --> 00:12:07.690
someplace. But the next day you see them and,

00:12:07.809 --> 00:12:16.779
well, how are you? Oh, I'm just awful. I tell

00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:22.159
you, Miss Cooman, I'm just awful. Things are

00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:27.899
going to the dogs. And really, nothing has changed

00:12:27.899 --> 00:12:33.879
but their feelings. It's like that. Maybe they

00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:37.519
weren't feeling as well physically today as they

00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:41.379
felt yesterday. Or maybe a disappointment came.

00:12:41.500 --> 00:12:43.379
Maybe they were counting on something that didn't

00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:47.370
materialize and... Then they feel as though the

00:12:47.370 --> 00:12:50.389
bottom has dropped out, and when you meet them

00:12:50.389 --> 00:12:54.049
on the street, they look as though God was dead

00:12:54.049 --> 00:12:57.169
and they were one of the pallbearers. It's just

00:12:57.169 --> 00:13:02.809
like that. But God had not changed. He was just

00:13:02.809 --> 00:13:07.169
the same when you met them the second day as

00:13:07.169 --> 00:13:08.710
when you met them the first day and they were

00:13:08.710 --> 00:13:12.970
on top of the mountain. God's word had not changed.

00:13:14.409 --> 00:13:16.570
One would have thought that God had altered his

00:13:16.570 --> 00:13:20.809
promises by the way they acted. But God never

00:13:20.809 --> 00:13:25.769
alters his promises. God never gives his power

00:13:25.769 --> 00:13:29.690
to anyone else. It's just the same. A person

00:13:29.690 --> 00:13:34.570
like that is governed by their feelings. Remember

00:13:34.570 --> 00:13:38.990
something. God gives feeling only when he sees

00:13:38.990 --> 00:13:43.909
that we trust him apart from... All the feeling.

00:13:45.389 --> 00:13:50.029
He only gives us feeling when he knows that we're

00:13:50.029 --> 00:13:56.090
resting on his word, on his faithfulness to his

00:13:56.090 --> 00:14:01.509
promise. And it's just like that. Our feelings

00:14:01.509 --> 00:14:08.909
may be as uncertain as the sea or the shifting

00:14:08.909 --> 00:14:18.090
sands. We stake everything on God's word. And

00:14:18.090 --> 00:14:25.169
God's facts are as certain as the rock of ages.

00:14:25.450 --> 00:14:34.309
And so in seeking God's will, never rest on your

00:14:34.309 --> 00:14:39.889
feelings but his word. for his will will never

00:14:39.889 --> 00:14:44.090
be contrary to his word. Amen.