In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the comforting presence of God in times of darkness and despair. They share personal experiences of feeling hopeless and burdened, but also feeling the strong arms of God around them, providing strength and wiping away tears. The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing God as a person with intellect, emotion, and will, just like a loving earthly father. They encourage listeners to establish a deep and intimate relationship with God, similar to the relationship the speaker had with their own father. The sermon also includes some personal anecdotes about the speaker's childhood experiences in Missouri.

We have been having some good heart-to-heart talks regarding something that's vitally important, solely important because it affects each of us. And we must know the answer. Is God a person? Is Jesus Christ not only a person, with deity and divinity? Is He all that He said that He was? We must know. Is the Holy Spirit a person? Much has been said regarding the Holy Spirit. Volumes have been written regarding the Holy Spirit. And there are those who think of the Holy Spirit as one of the attributes. But few think of Him in the light of a person. Even as Jesus Christ is a person, with a definite personality. It makes all the difference in the world as to whether or not the Holy Spirit is a person. And if you have been following me in these heart-to-heart talks, we have established the fact from the Word of God. And remember, God's Word is truth. And a fool is a man or a woman who takes issue with truth. Because all of our arguments will never change truth. Truth remains. And God's Word establishes the fact that God is a person. That Jesus Christ is not only a person, but the very Son of the living God. And that the Holy Spirit definitely is a person. And it's my desire to bring you face-to-face with a person so that you might have fellowship with God the Father. That you might have fellowship with Jesus Christ the Son. That you might have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Understanding something. And then understanding what I'm going to say, you will see the importance of these heart-to-heart talks. A person has intellect. A person has emotion. A person has will. With the intellect, a person can know, can think, can understand. With the emotional capacity, a person can feel. A person can love. With the will, a person can decide. A person can act. That's why it's so important to know that God is a person. And when we come face-to-face with a person, then we come face-to-face with one who has intellect, one who has emotion, one who has will. Oh, to think that God is our heavenly Father. You know, to me, that's the greatest security in the whole world. I don't care how dark the night. I don't care how deep the waters. I don't care what the problems are. I don't care what our troubles might be. As long as I can lift my head up, I can look beyond those problems. I can still stay above those waters that are about to overflow. I can face any storm. I can go through any crisis. I don't care what the crisis might be. As long as I can look up and have the assurance that my heavenly Father is there, I come face-to-face with a person, more than just a great Creator, but a person with intellect, one who is perfect knowledge, one who is perfect wisdom. I come face-to-face with a person who has emotion, and he's touched with the feeling of my infirmity. He cares. Oh, don't you understand why it's so important to establish the fact that God is a person? Wonderful relationship that I had with Papa. Would that God, that every daughter could have the relationship that I had with my Papa. Please never worry of me talking about Papa, but you see, he was never too busy to take time with me. Never. And when I was a kid, I had earache. Oh, I don't know what caused the earache. Mama would put sweet oil in the ear, but it seemed that I had an earache so often, maybe it was because I'd never wear something on my head, you know. It could be like that. It could be something like that. I'd start out for school in the morning. Oh, it used to get cold in Missouri. I still say that the snow was deeper in Missouri when I was a kid than it has ever been since. That's the truth. I know the snow was deeper. And when I'd start out in the morning, Mama would bundle me up. Not only bundle me up, but I had long underwear on, and we bundled up the long underwear and me and everything else, you know. But I would forget to bundle myself all up when school was over with and come home when I'd come racing in, my cap in my hand and the shawls swinging in the air and my coat open. Maybe that could have been one of the reasons that I had earaches so often. But I can always remember Papa. If I had the earache, he'd sit down in the rocking chair, hold me on his lap, and then put my ear down next to him and rock me. I was so big he could hardly hold me on his lap. But, oh, that was the best time. You talk about the shots that you get from going to your doctor's today. That was the best shot for an earache I know anything about. Oh, I'm so glad my Papa had emotion. That he cared. That he could love me. I was the most important thing in the whole world to him. At least I felt I was. And to think that you and I have, a Heavenly Father. A person. Not just the Spirit. I don't see how anyone in the world could really enjoy his inheritance or really enjoy being a Christian if they didn't have this wonderful relationship of a Heavenly Father. You miss the joy of it all. You miss the great thrill of being a Christian. But a Heavenly Father with perfect wisdom. Perfect knowledge. I can trust him. A Heavenly Father with intellect. And with perfect wisdom and perfect knowledge he cannot make a mistake. And so when I place my life into his hands, into his care, into his keeping no matter what happens to me it must be for my good. Because he cannot make a mistake. If I'm living in the center of his will and that's what that scripture means. That all things work together for our good. If we're surrendered to him. If we're living in the center of his will and of course we're only living in the center of his will if we have surrendered everything to him and permit and allow him to control our lives. And when we permit him to control our lives then it's perfect wisdom one with perfect intelligence one with perfect knowledge does the guiding and the controlling and you and I just can't miss. We just can't miss. We can't fail. It's impossible for you to be a failure. It's impossible for me to be a failure. If a Heavenly Father who is perfect in wisdom in intellect, in knowledge is doing the controlling we may not always understand that. That's where our faith in him comes in. A lot of people are talking about faith but they're always talking about the wrong kind of faith, you know. The greatest faith in the world is to have faith in your Heavenly Father. Then you will never say no matter what happens why did God do this to me? There are people who have spent a lifetime moaning and bawling and complaining every time something happens. They go into a state of deep depression. They're miserable themselves make everybody else miserable by crying around and why did God do this to me? Oh, I can't understand it. Perfect faith perfect trust perfect confidence will look up and say I don't understand it. But I placed my life in his care and keeping. Someday I'll understand. But I know that my Heavenly Father cannot make a mistake. So whatever he is doing whatever the purpose it's all right with me. Someday I'll understand. And then you know going back again to this thing of emotion I believe the Heavenly Father is more concerned about you and about me than we ever dreamed possible. And I'm not only talking about his children. I'm talking about every person who has ever been born. I can prove to you that he is deeply concerned about each of us as an individual because he has placed his own stamp upon the body of every human being every time you look at your thumb. Look at it now. Some thumbs are big and some are small and some are thick and some are thin. Doesn't make any difference the size of thumb. Look at that thumb. There is an imprint made by that thumb. That is individual to you. I would have to believe in God if all that I had was just the knowledge that that little space that thumb bears his imprint. I am mocked. You are mocked by him. That imprint is separate and apart from anyone else who has ever lived and there have been thousands and thousands. Think of the millions of people before you. Think of the millions of people living today. Think of those who will be born in the future. Then look at that little space. That bit of flesh. It isn't a large surface. It's such a tiny surface and yet no two human beings have the same fingerprints. You are mocked. You can't get away from him. You are eternal. You talk about your social security number. I tell you, you were mocked by God. You have his stamp on you whether you want it, whether you like it or not. It's still there. He has his stamp upon you and he's not willing that any should perish. It's his divine will. It's in his perfect plan that from the very first atom to the last person who will ever be born that that one should come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ should be saved from hell. He wills that all shall come into life everlasting. But at the same time we are born as free moral agents and he does not force but we have the freedom to either accept the Christ as our Savior or to reject him. And you can't be neutral. This is one thing, my friend, on which you cannot be neutral. By not accepting the Christ as your Savior then automatically you have rejected him. There's no neutral ground in this. If you're not now a Christian if even when I'm speaking to you you have not now had the forgiveness of your sins you have not now accepted the pardon then automatically you are lost. But it doesn't change the fact one iota that God cares about you. That he's interested in you as an individual. And whenever you have any doubt the slightest doubt that God is interested in you as an individual just look at that thumb. I pray you'll never forget it. Even the old infidel. The old skeptic. Oh, sure. That blasphemous crowd. There is his mark. His mark. Never to be erased. It's there forever and ever and ever. Oh, to think that we're serving a heavenly Father who one day will wipe away our tears. I believe of the same hand who covered the face of Moses when Moses stood there in the cleft of the rock. And the scripture said that God took his hand and covered the eyes of Moses because Moses could not look upon the face of God and live. The glory was so great. To think that one day that same hand will wipe away our tears. And do you want to know something? We don't have to wait until that day when the old heart could have taken its last beat to have the heavenly Father wipe away our tears. But you and I can bear witness that sometimes when the night is so dark and there isn't a star in the sky, there have been times, beloved, when we have felt literally that there was no hope. We were on the verge of defeat. Or perhaps the burden was so heavy, the sorrow was so great, I could almost swear to you that I felt those strong arms around me, strengthening me. I could almost feel those hands wiping the tears from my cheeks in the darkness. That's the greatest security. That's the greatest security in the world. Do you understand now why I say to you that we must know that God is a person? It makes all the difference in the world. I not only worship one who is spirit, I also worship one who is a person with the emotional capacity. He can feel. He can love with the will. He can decide. He can act in my behalf. And if I could only know, if you could only know while we're talking about this thing, how many times God the Father has acted in our behalf. If you could only know, oh, I think, he's opened doors. Perhaps at the time I didn't know. He's given warnings. Perhaps I didn't know. You say it was a matter of luck or perhaps chance. Nothing is luck or chance when it comes to God's children. Not really. You and I have a heavenly Father who loves us. He'll never open the door too late. He'll never close the door too soon. He'll make all the right decisions for you if you will let him make those decisions. A heavenly Father. Our. Please stop your machine at this point and turn your cassette over.