WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:02.529 You would be amazed how many people ask me a 00:00:02.529 --> 00:00:05.349 very simple question. And this is the question. 00:00:06.230 --> 00:00:11.050 Kathleen Kuhlman, what is your favorite verse? 00:00:11.429 --> 00:00:15.210 What is your favorite portion of God's Word? 00:00:16.429 --> 00:00:21.210 Well, that's the most difficult question to answer. 00:00:21.410 --> 00:00:25.609 But there is a verse of Scripture that's found 00:00:25.609 --> 00:00:31.989 in the 78th Psalm. It's the 72nd verse, and it 00:00:31.989 --> 00:00:38.789 means an awful lot to me. He guided them by the 00:00:38.789 --> 00:00:45.750 skillfulness of his hands. There's something 00:00:45.750 --> 00:00:49.090 about that that thrills me. There's something 00:00:49.090 --> 00:00:54.549 about that that gives me courage. There's something 00:00:54.549 --> 00:01:03.369 about that. that I cannot explain, I have not 00:01:03.369 --> 00:01:08.209 the ability to explain to you what it means to 00:01:08.209 --> 00:01:16.950 me to know that he guides me, he leads me. I'm 00:01:16.950 --> 00:01:21.629 completely dependent on him. Oh, do you understand 00:01:21.629 --> 00:01:27.040 what I mean when I say that without him, I'm 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:35.260 sunk. I have to live a life of faith. And it's 00:01:35.260 --> 00:01:43.359 just like that. I don't dare do anything wrong. 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:49.620 My decisions have got to be right. Because there's 00:01:49.620 --> 00:01:56.129 so many who are depending on me. I must... Depend 00:01:56.129 --> 00:02:01.310 on him for his guidance. I must stay in the perfect 00:02:01.310 --> 00:02:06.329 will of God. If for just one day I would live 00:02:06.329 --> 00:02:10.990 my life outside of the will of God, for one day 00:02:10.990 --> 00:02:18.569 I would not have his wisdom, be given his guidance. 00:02:21.389 --> 00:02:25.689 Think how many lives might be wrecked. what damage 00:02:25.689 --> 00:02:31.009 would be done to the cause of Christ. I must 00:02:31.009 --> 00:02:38.229 depend on his guidance. And I seek it constantly. 00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:44.689 It's the constant prayer of my life. He guided 00:02:44.689 --> 00:02:54.590 them by the skillfulness of his hands. If you 00:02:54.590 --> 00:02:59.770 go to him to be guided, he will guide you. That's 00:02:59.770 --> 00:03:04.590 one thing I can promise you. If you are willing 00:03:04.590 --> 00:03:11.469 to be guided by his guiltful hands, he will guide 00:03:11.469 --> 00:03:17.090 you. But he'll not comfort your distrust. He'll 00:03:17.090 --> 00:03:24.300 not comfort your half -trust of him by showing 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:26.719 you the chart of all his purposes concerning 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:33.419 you. He'll show you only into a way where, if 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:36.599 you go cheerfully and trustfully forward, he'll 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:43.139 show you on still farther. But he'll not show 00:03:43.139 --> 00:03:47.159 you six months in advance. He'll not show you 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:52.180 five months in advance. He may not even show 00:03:52.180 --> 00:03:57.800 you a month in advance. He may not even show 00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:06.460 you a day in advance. I do not believe that the 00:04:06.460 --> 00:04:08.699 Red Sea was opened up to the children of Israel 00:04:08.699 --> 00:04:14.939 a mile in advance of their approach. I do not 00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:23.579 believe that the waters parted. six feet ahead 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:31.139 of them. It was as in active faith they set foot 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:37.300 on the waters at the water's partage. There had 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:43.300 to be a willingness to be led, to be guided by 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:47.060 the Lord. And if you go to Him to be guided, 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:52.420 He'll guide you. He'll lead you if you want his 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:56.680 perfect will. And you seek his perfect will. 00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:59.339 And you come to the place where you have no will 00:04:59.339 --> 00:05:04.800 of your own. And that's a hard place to get to, 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:08.459 I promise you. It's not easy to get to the place 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:17.379 where you have no will of your own. And you say, 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:22.019 nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.560 But if you can get to that place and get yourself 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:28.920 in that position, then you will not miss, you 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:35.980 cannot miss the perfect will of God. And in yielding 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:39.839 your will to him, you are saying by that act 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:47.329 of yieldedness, I want you to guide me. That's 00:05:47.329 --> 00:05:53.129 perfect trust. That's perfect confidence. And 00:05:53.129 --> 00:05:59.069 he will guide you by the skillfulness of his 00:05:59.069 --> 00:06:06.009 hands. And you can't miss. Oh, to me, that's 00:06:06.009 --> 00:06:11.029 very wonderful. That's thrilling. When you're 00:06:11.029 --> 00:06:14.360 doubtful as to your course, Submit your judgment 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:19.060 absolutely to the Spirit of God and ask Him to 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:24.600 shut against you every door but the right one. 00:06:24.939 --> 00:06:30.720 When you're seeking His perfect will, He'll lead 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:35.720 you step by step and He will close the doors 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:44.149 that are not His will. As you go down the long 00:06:44.149 --> 00:06:49.430 corridor, you'll find that he has preceded you 00:06:49.430 --> 00:06:54.790 and locked many doors which you would fain have 00:06:54.790 --> 00:07:01.790 entered. But be sure that beyond these there 00:07:01.790 --> 00:07:09.009 is one door which he has left unlocked. Open 00:07:09.009 --> 00:07:12.300 it and enter. And you'll find yourself face to 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:15.759 face with the bend of the river of opportunity 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:20.220 broader and deeper than anything you had dared 00:07:20.220 --> 00:07:26.920 to imagine in your own sunniest dreams. Launch 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:35.699 forth upon it. It's his will. He has guided you 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:40.699 through that open door by the... skillfulness 00:07:40.699 --> 00:07:49.720 of his hands. Sometimes God guides us by circumstances. 00:07:50.459 --> 00:07:54.540 At one moment, the way may seem utterly blocked, 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:57.959 and then shortly afterward, some trivial incident 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:01.519 occurs. It would mean anything to anyone else. 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:08.240 It may seem such a small, trivial thing. But 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:15.819 To the eye of faith it speaks volumes. Sometimes 00:08:15.819 --> 00:08:18.360 these things are repeated in various ways in 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:24.300 answer to prayer. Nothing is promiscuous with 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:31.680 the Lord. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And then 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:36.519 you continue to walk in the light. And you continue 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:40.429 to walk in the perfect will of God. and you continue 00:08:40.429 --> 00:08:44.850 to be led and seek the guidance of the skillfulness 00:08:44.850 --> 00:08:50.090 of his hands. They begin to multiply as we advance 00:08:50.090 --> 00:08:53.830 toward our goal, just as the lights do as we 00:08:53.830 --> 00:09:00.789 near a town when driving through the land by 00:09:00.789 --> 00:09:07.899 night. We can travel for hours and hours. There's 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:12.539 no light in the distance. None whatsoever. Then 00:09:12.539 --> 00:09:18.759 suddenly we see the lights in the distance of 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:24.080 the town. And so it is sometimes he leads us 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:27.259 through deep waters, the darkness of the night, 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:32.539 and we feel that daylight will never come. But 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:42.299 it will. It will. If you walk on trusting him, 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:51.460 you cannot miss because he cannot fail. Oh, to 00:09:51.460 --> 00:09:55.700 be in God's perfect will. You know, Jesus said 00:09:55.700 --> 00:10:01.419 that to him, the will of God was meat. It was 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:06.649 something that said him, sustained him. Something 00:10:06.649 --> 00:10:14.269 that he lived by. Few people understand what 00:10:14.269 --> 00:10:19.250 Jesus meant. Even if I'm talking now about the 00:10:19.250 --> 00:10:24.450 will of God being meat to us. Sustaining us. 00:10:25.409 --> 00:10:28.610 There may be very few who know what I'm talking 00:10:28.610 --> 00:10:32.370 about. But it's the most glorious way to live 00:10:32.370 --> 00:10:37.539 that I know anything about. Now, to some, the 00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:40.419 will of God is medicine. It's something to be 00:10:40.419 --> 00:10:47.480 taken now and again to straighten us out. Oh, 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:51.340 you know, once in a while, you seek the will 00:10:51.340 --> 00:10:56.179 of God. It's not a continual thing. It's not 00:10:56.179 --> 00:11:05.570 a life or a way of life. It's something that's 00:11:05.570 --> 00:11:08.950 medicine to you. It's something that you take 00:11:08.950 --> 00:11:16.450 just now and again to straighten you out. It's 00:11:16.450 --> 00:11:22.169 bitter, but it's needed to get rid of your ills. 00:11:23.429 --> 00:11:26.309 Now, this view of the will of God is very common. 00:11:26.370 --> 00:11:33.600 It's something to be accepted with a sigh. to 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:35.480 some folk when you talk about the will of God. 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:40.200 It's such a distasteful thing. It's such a dreadful 00:11:40.200 --> 00:11:42.620 thing because there's consecration that has to 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:47.899 be made. And to them, the will of God is something 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:53.620 to be born. When death and calamity visit them, 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:59.139 they say, thy will be done. It's medicine and 00:11:59.139 --> 00:12:03.620 it's bitter medicine. To some, the will of God 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:07.879 is more like sweets at the end of a meal, something 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:14.519 to round off life and give it taste. But you 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:20.639 don't live by sweets, nor do such people live 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:24.820 by the will of God. The will of God to them is 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:29.000 something that's occasional. It gives life its 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:38.129 flavor, but not. the food. But to Jesus, the 00:12:38.129 --> 00:12:43.090 will of God was neither medicine nor sweets. 00:12:44.009 --> 00:12:52.909 It was meat, the thing that sustained him. This 00:12:52.909 --> 00:12:55.029 implies that we are made for the will of God. 00:12:55.090 --> 00:13:00.519 Just as the body is made for food. So you and 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:06.980 I are made for the will of God. And that's one 00:13:06.980 --> 00:13:11.200 reason why so many of us get into trouble. Why 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:15.320 we make such a mess of our lives. It's because 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:24.019 we are living outside of the will of God. We 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:28.889 only seek His will occasionally. We only... think 00:13:28.889 --> 00:13:36.889 of his will occasionally. You and I were made 00:13:36.889 --> 00:13:40.370 for the will of God, just as the body is made 00:13:40.370 --> 00:13:47.789 for food. And just as surely as we are careful 00:13:47.789 --> 00:13:53.730 of the food and eat the right kind of food, we 00:13:53.730 --> 00:13:59.279 have a good, well -strong body so beloved. When 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:03.539 you and I are willing to be led by the skillfulness 00:14:03.539 --> 00:14:07.440 of His hand and we live in the perfect will of 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:17.139 God, then all things will work out for our good 00:14:17.139 --> 00:14:24.379 and His glory. It's just that simple. It fits 00:14:24.379 --> 00:14:28.779 our moral and our spiritual makeup. and everything 00:14:28.779 --> 00:14:33.840 else is poison. But this is food. His will is 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:41.659 food. I live as I live by the will of God. I 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:46.000 wither and die as I live by some other will, 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:54.179 especially my own. Oh, when I take my own life 00:14:54.179 --> 00:15:01.220 in my own hands, and try to live my life even 00:15:01.220 --> 00:15:07.679 for one day according to my will. I get into 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:13.419 so much trouble, everything goes wrong. Nothing 00:15:13.419 --> 00:15:18.919 comes out right. It just doesn't add up. I'm 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:23.019 finding that two and two make five. Five and 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:27.299 five make eleven. My arithmetic doesn't come 00:15:27.299 --> 00:15:33.580 out right. Nothing is right. That's the reason, 00:15:33.740 --> 00:15:42.820 oh, I can tell you how I seek to be guided by 00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:52.779 the skillfulness of his hands. You know, I said 00:15:52.779 --> 00:15:56.169 that we were made for the will of God. as the 00:15:56.169 --> 00:16:00.669 body is made for food, that the will of God feeds 00:16:00.669 --> 00:16:05.710 us, while everything else outside that will poison 00:16:05.710 --> 00:16:12.649 us. In South America, there are leaves of a tree 00:16:12.649 --> 00:16:19.990 which, if eaten, take away all appetite. One 00:16:19.990 --> 00:16:25.500 no longer cares for food, but it's a drug. and 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:31.879 not of food. Anything that apparently satisfies 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:39.840 you outside the will of God is a drug. It's not 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:47.100 food. But the will of God is food, real food. 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:52.820 When a man is feeding on that, he's adequate 00:16:52.820 --> 00:16:58.600 for anything. He's afraid of nothing. That is 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:05.759 the glory of it. When you know that you are living 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:09.880 in the perfect will of God and that you're being 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:14.920 guided by the skillfulness of His hands, it takes 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:20.500 the fear out of living. It takes the fear out 00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:25.119 of life. It takes the fear... out of trouble. 00:17:26.180 --> 00:17:34.900 It takes the fear out of tomorrow. There's such 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:42.519 security. And really, the only person in the 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:46.480 whole world in this hour who has real security 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:49.980 is the man and the woman who's secure in Christ 00:17:49.980 --> 00:17:55.970 Jesus. There is no other real security. No person 00:17:55.970 --> 00:18:00.430 will take issue with that statement. The only 00:18:00.430 --> 00:18:06.490 real security is found in spiritual things. And 00:18:06.490 --> 00:18:11.190 the only person who is really secure and who 00:18:11.190 --> 00:18:16.950 knows no fear is the person who is living in 00:18:16.950 --> 00:18:22.470 the perfect will of God and being led and guided 00:18:22.470 --> 00:18:28.890 and protected. by the skillfulness of his hands. 00:18:31.069 --> 00:18:35.690 That's right. And when a man is feeding on that, 00:18:35.890 --> 00:18:41.490 he's adequate for anything. He's afraid of nothing. 00:18:42.390 --> 00:18:48.130 He feels that at the center of his being, he 00:18:48.130 --> 00:18:56.990 has resources, sustenance, reinforcement. Life 00:18:56.990 --> 00:19:04.250 not his own, but he lives by that very life. 00:19:06.130 --> 00:19:11.829 Victorious living is the natural. It's the normal 00:19:11.829 --> 00:19:20.849 outcome of that fact. There's nothing that sustains 00:19:20.849 --> 00:19:27.359 a man like the fact that he knows. that the universe 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:33.559 backs his will when he backs. Is it any wonder 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:39.279 that we share that same sense of exalted joy 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:45.400 that Jesus had on this occasion when he said 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:51.059 that to him the will of God was meet? It sustained 00:19:51.059 --> 00:20:00.390 him. He lived by it. Are you frustrated? Are 00:20:00.390 --> 00:20:08.710 you afraid? Are you insecure? Is there distrust? 00:20:10.470 --> 00:20:20.069 Oh, the insecurity. The frustrations. That's 00:20:20.069 --> 00:20:28.890 the reason that you're taking pills. All kinds 00:20:28.890 --> 00:20:34.650 of pills. You're pill to death. This generation 00:20:34.650 --> 00:20:40.529 is pill to death. Pills to sleep. Pills to stay 00:20:40.529 --> 00:20:50.309 awake. Pills for nerves. Do you want me to subscribe 00:20:50.309 --> 00:20:54.869 the best thing that I know for that which ails 00:20:54.869 --> 00:21:05.039 you? Seek the perfect will of God. Seek to be 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:14.119 guided by the skillfulness of His hands. And 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:24.180 you'll know no defeat. It's a life that is secure. 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:26.759 In him.