I know that I do not have the vocabulary to fully
give to you in audible words what I want to say
today in our heart to heart talk. What I will
be trying to tell you is something that's so
precious. So wonderful to me personally. It is
something that I know. It is something that is
a living, vital part of me. And yet it is so
hard to express. Before I continue with my Dalar
Dar talk, I want to read just... Two verses of
Scripture is found in the 17th chapter of John.
And I've reminded you before that this is a part
of a prayer that is really the Lord's Prayer.
It was Jesus talking to His Father. I have read
it over and over again. I have studied it. The
prayer, I have wept over it. I had visualized
Jesus alone with the Heavenly Father. And he's
talking to him now. How often I've wondered when
Jesus would leave the multitude, go away in the
wilderness. And you and I both know that when
he went alone from the crowd. He was talking
to the Heavenly Father. He was conversing with
Him. And each time I wondered what He was saying.
But here we have a part of that conversation.
And I want to read just two verses. The ninth,
the tenth, the seventeenth chapter of John. And
keep in mind, Jesus is talking to the Father.
I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me, for they are thine, and all
mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am
glorified in them. You will remember that some
time ago, when we were talking about the wonderful
plan of salvation, I told you that great conference
table. The three sat at that great conference
table. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.
Laying out the plans for man's redemption. for
your redemption, my redemption. Jesus offered
himself through the Holy Spirit to God the Father.
Oh, it was wonderful that God the Father gave
his only begotten Son that you and I might have
life everlasting. That's real. That's thrilling.
God gave. Gave the best that He had. Gave the
best in heaven and earth. His only Son. But God
the Father could not have given His Son had not
the Son offered Himself through the Holy Spirit
to God the Father. And then it was that God so
loved that he gave his son. But go back. Jesus
so loved. Jesus so loved you. Jesus so loved
me. Jesus so loved humanity that his love was
manifested first when he offered himself. through
the Holy Spirit, to be given. Oh, sometimes I
think we lose sight entirely of what it really
means to be born again, what it really means
to be a Christian. And yet the whole thing, the
entire plan of salvation, can be all summed up
in the one word, love. But pause a minute. That
was not all that took place at that great conference
table. That was only a part of it. Evidently,
there was much more involved. And I know it.
From this prayer of intercession, this one prayer
that Jesus prayed, studied very closely, there
evidently was an agreement. that was made between
the three persons at the time when Jesus offered
himself to be given. An agreement whereby those
who would be redeemed, those who would accept
this wonderful pardon of salvation, those who
would be regenerated, through the shed blood
of the Son of God, would become the property
of Jesus. Methinks the Father turned and said,
My son, I give you as a gift. I'm not sure how
he worded it, whether he said, I present you.
Those who shall be redeemed, those who will accept
this plan of salvation and will accept you as
their Savior, I give them to you. They shall
be your reward. For I see here that Jesus is
reminding the Father of that which is rightfully
His. I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me. They're mine. They're my
property. They're my reward. They're precious
to me. And all that is mine is thine. For they
are thine. and all mine are thine, and thine
are mine, and I am glorified in them. I saw something
in this the other night, awakened at three o
'clock in the morning, and I did something. I
was so thrilled with the glorious light of it
all. I was so thrilled when I saw what was really
mine as a child of the king, as a Christian.
Maybe you'll understand a little more fully when
I say to you over and over again, remember to
whom you belong. And in the midnight hour, in
the darkness of the night, I was awakened and
somehow I caught a glimpse. It was so overwhelming.
It was so awe -inspiring. I couldn't lie there
in bed. I got up literally and walked the floor
and rejoiced in my inheritance in Christ Jesus.
Do you really know what it means to be a Christian?
If you will catch the full significance of what
it means to be born again, and you are still
a sinner, you won't hesitate for one minute to
stop whatever you're doing and say, I can't afford
to live one minute without this wonderful experience
of belonging. And it's all been made possible
because of love. It all started with love. The
whole Christian life and all one's Christian
experiences can all be summed up in love. And
it's love to the very last moment when the old
heart takes its last beat. all the way from earth
to glory, and then when we stand in His presence
for the very first time, that love will have
been perfected. In that moment, when you accept
the Christ as your personal Savior, and the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses you from
all sin, and it's so simple. It's so simple.
It isn't a struggle. It's just so simple. What
do I do to be born again? Just accept Jesus.
You walk up in simple confidence and simple faith,
and you accept that. which he has already done
for you. And he has done it because of his love
for you. You accept him. You take it. And in
that moment, it's wonderful to know that your
sins are covered with blood. For it is the blood
that maketh an atonement for the soul. But there's
even more that's involved. For remember, all
that is the father's is his, and all that is
his is the father's. You cannot separate one
from the other. In that moment, God Almighty,
who gave his only begotten son, through the transaction
of regeneration. He becomes more than just a
creator. He becomes your heavenly father through
adoption. Literally. Not only are your sins forgiven,
not only do you pass from death unto life, but
in that moment, literally, You are adopted of
the Father. And the Father of Jesus Christ becomes
your Heavenly Father. And through the plan of
adoption, you become an heir of God and a joint
heir with Christ Jesus. Through no merit of your
own. It isn't something that you buy. All the
money in the world cannot buy this glorious transaction.
You cannot buy the love of God. You cannot buy
the mercy of God. You cannot buy this wonderful
transaction of the new birth experience of regeneration.
The answer is love. Because of his love, you
are adopted of the Father. Because of the love
of Jesus and the love of the Father, you become
an heir of God. And a joint heir with Christ
Jesus. Not through your own righteousness. Not
through any merit. Not through any price. Not
because of anything that you have done. No works.
But because of law. That's not the end. It's
just the beginning. And the greatest adventure
in the whole world is the adventure of living
the Christian life. I believe in sanctification.
I believe in sanctification with all of my heart.
I have to believe in it because the Bible teaches
it. But there was a time in my life when sanctification
almost threw me. I was young. I was inexperienced.
I'd just been born again. And I loved Jesus with
every atom of my being. And I wanted all that
he had for me. Those impressionable years. My
early teens. I went to a holiness camp meeting.
In Iowa. And the man of... God would stand and
preach on sanctification. And when the altar
call was given for those who wanted to be sanctified,
of course I wanted to be. I loved Jesus with
every atom it might be. And every time an altar
call was given, you would see a young, red -headed,
freckled -faced girl, the first to leave the
bench. Walk down the soddest trail to the altar
and cry and cry. Wanting some feeling, expecting
some great emotional experience, I wasn't quite
sure what I was seeking. But over and over again,
after the service had been dismissed and everyone
had left, The great big old tabernacle. The red
-headed teenage girl would find herself alone,
still praying to be sanctified. And nothing happened.
More than once, I wondered if he really loved
me. Sanctification almost threw me until one
day. The Spirit spoke to my heart, and I saw
that it was nothing that I had to do. It was
still another experience of receiving more of
Jesus. More of Jesus. Just more. of him. Over
and over again, you ask me how may I be filled
with the spirit. And I believe with every atom
of my being. I believe in it with all of my heart.
I know because I have experienced these things
for myself. This wonderful experience. of being
filled with the Holy Spirit. And he comes in,
in all of his beauty, in all of his wonderful,
glorious power. And you say, how, Miss Coleman,
how can I be filled with the Spirit? Just take
him. Seek some manifestation. Don't get your
eyes on the manifestation. If you get your eyes
on the manifestation, all that you will receive
will be just the manifestation. It is still more
of Jesus. Through his love, and it's still love,
He gives the Holy Spirit to the believer. Power
for service. And it is still a gift. It is still
nothing that we worked for. It is still nothing
that we merit. It isn't something that we deserve.
It is still a gift. If a son shall ask bread.
Of any of you that is a father, will he give
him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for
a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask
an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, How much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him? A gift. And we talk about being filled with
the Spirit. He is more willing to give you the
Holy Spirit. He is more willing to fill you with
the Holy Spirit than you ever dreamed possible.
And to receive the Holy Spirit is not a matter
of agonizing, of pleading, of straining. It's
a matter of accepting the wonderful gift that
Jesus has made possible through his great. And
even after you're filled with the Holy Spirit
in the final analysis, it is still more of Jesus
and His love. And that love will be perfected
when we stand in His presence and our return.
Redemption has been perfected.