In this sermon, the preacher shares a personal experience of crying out to God for the souls of men. He emphasizes the importance of not relying on feelings but on God's promises. The preacher mentions how Satan can manipulate our feelings but cannot change the word of God. He gives an example of Charles Finney, who preached without preparation and saw God move mightily. The preacher also warns against falling into the trap of seeking feelings or signs before claiming God's promises. He uses the analogy of a child trying to retrieve a ball from the roof without any means to do so, highlighting the need to trust in God's provision.

I was thinking, as you said, Brother Roy, which reminds me of my childhood days. And you don't know how it feels. My dad speaks to thousands of people about the Lord. And he says to many of them, oh, brother. And the other says, oh, brother. And it gets very irritating. And on the phone, he speaks to you. And suddenly, he says, oh, brother. And he forgets to do his son. I was in Africa. And I used to, as I was traveling about, I used to look at the people. And it amazed me. I'm very proud of you people this morning that you're not all sitting at the back. Because it's amazing. Across the world, you'll find that when there's, OK, this is reasonably full. But when there's half a hall or something like that full of people, then people like to fill in right from the back row. And then I stand up. And I have to look at them back there with my eyes. And I either ask them to come to the front, or I say to them, please, the next meeting, can you sit in the front? And I once came to a town, Armelo, in Africa. And I came there. And someone said there was a prayer meeting. I thought, that's wonderful. There's a prayer meeting on Wednesday night. And it seems there's quite a few people come to this prayer meeting. And I went to that church. And I didn't know the people there. I don't think I knew the minister. And I walked to the front. I thought, you know, I'm going to practice what I preach. I'm going to sit at the front. So I walked right to the front. Everybody was sitting at the back that came to the prayer meeting. And I sat right in front. And that minister stood up. And he said, you know, there's only two people that are at the front in a meeting. He said, it's the pastors and the Pharisees. So I said, then, I thought, OK. But anyway, I think the Lord has got a sense of humor. With all reverence said. Could we turn to Romans 8, verse 15, please? Romans 8, verse 15. Now, this is one of the most wonderful, beautiful, precious, and lovely verses in the entire Bible. I'm sure you all know it. But I'm going to read it again. It goes like this. Romans 8, verse 15. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. But you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. And you know, this verse is very, very, very, very precious to me. It's one of the most precious verses that you can ever read in the entire Bible. I was once, actually this year, sitting in my bed and reading. I don't know if you do that. And I was reading this little book about the Muslims, All You Want to Know About Them, something like that. And I came to a section that made me cry. It was when I started to realize what we've got as Christians compared to them. You know, they've got 90-something words for their God. Beautiful words, they call it. And not one of them is love. Not one of those words is love. They would never dare to call God a God of love. He's a sovereign God that predestines certain people that he chooses to do enough good works to one day face judgment day and get through. There's something out there that you can never know. And they find it very hard to understand how Christians can call God Father. How Christians can call God Father. This verse is precious. For you have not received the spirit of adoption, abonded, sorry again, to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. You know, I've met people, we travel across South Africa and you meet many, many, many, many Christians. And many of them, it's amazing how the devil does it. There were once three wonderful Christians. I'm not talking about freedom to sin, no. But they had a freedom in Christ. And now they're in bondage, they're in darkness. Some people of them for years had a wonderful Christian life and then for ten years they were in darkness. Other people were greatly used of God. I know one who was greatly, greatly used of God. In between the devil came and made him go through patches, long patches of darkness and bondage. The devil doesn't want us to experience our freedom in Christ Jesus. I know a person, a preacher, he's in a hut now. He was a wonderful, wonderful preacher. And now he lives there in a little hut in the wood. So the devil got him into darkness. And I'd just like to bring a few illustrations to illustrate how the devil works. How the devil works. You know at college, Bible college, it's a wonderful, wonderful place to be. I've been there for two years, the best two years of my life. I can say that with all my heart. And when I was there, well apart from missionary work. But when I was there something very interesting happened. Somebody read about Charles Finney. I know the person, he was an ex-policeman. He got saved right over the world. And he read that Charles Finney stood up, and in the early days he just took a verse, and began to preach. And God came down. Wonderful. And he had no preparation. And so he went to the jail where we preach on Sunday sometimes, and he said, this is the way to do it, we're gonna take a verse and I'm just gonna preach. And he enjoyed that. And a very interesting thing happened. The other students looked at him, and they felt so bad if they did any preparation for their sermon. They went into bondage about that. I had one student sitting in front of me. The person said, is it wrong, I feel so bad that I'm quoting from a book. The devil is fearful in him. I mean, think of Moody and, the difference between Moody and Finney. I read in a book once how Moody made his sermons. He used to, on a topic, totally different to Finney, he used to gather together everything he could find, quotes and illustrations on a topic. He didn't use all of them, he used to pile them together for hours, and put them eventually together after hours of preparation in the sermon. He used to have a bible, which I was quite amazed to hear about, that he cut out of, and he pasted it down, so that he didn't have to look it up in the bible. And yet God used the old Moody, and he used Charles Finney, totally different. I think of George Muller, George Muller, it's wonderful to read of his books of how he prayed before he did anything, many times, he used to have a few rules, that if it wasn't, that this didn't come into place, then he wouldn't do something. He wouldn't do something. And he many times would pray for a long time, now I've met people that are on bondage, and I mean bondage, well after reading George Muller, some people are so blessed by him, but they are scared to give out a tract on the street, in case it's not the Lord's will. I know people that have prayed for seven months before they are charged with church council, and I don't say that that was wrong, but it's amazing how long they took. If I think of Samuel Morris, he was a bit different, he was a bit like Peter, impulsive. And he heard there was someone in America, he didn't know who it was, he was an expert in the Holy Spirit doctrine, and he decided I'm going to run it, it was a hard journey, he came to the beach there, he asked the captain of a ship that was landing, can I go on your ship, he asked the next day, and eventually got on that ship, he knew nothing about being on a ship. He was impulsive, and he didn't, the wonderful thing is that God didn't say, oh look at this impulsive person, that's trauma, by meaning I can't use him, he didn't pray seven hours like George Muller, before he decided something, oh he prayed a lot, he prayed a lot. But if you read Samuel Morris, you'll see that when he came to America, he stood up in a meeting and he began to pray, and God came down, just by praying, and those people in brokenness. I think it's Ezra and Nehemiah in the Bible, if you want to have different personalities, he's the one, when the people mixed themselves with the people, with the wrong people, wrong wives, that the one of them, he started to tear out his hair, I don't know if you've ever done that, it's not nice, don't try actually, but he started to tear out his hair, and I think it was about 50 years later, the other one was faced with the same situation, and he had all these people mixing themselves with the wrong people, wives, and you know, he must have known about that, but he didn't tear one hair off his head, he had a different personality, he ran among the people and he started to tear their hair out, so you can see there are different personalities, and they're both with the same result, the people repented at the moment, you know, and this is with all respect, because you don't speak lightly of the devil, but the devil is like a murderer, the devil is like a murderer, and let's say that murderer is in front of you and he's got a gun, but he doesn't have any ammunition, he's just waiting, just waiting, he hates you with a passionate hatred, and he's waiting for ammunition to put in that gun that he can shoot at you, and hurt your faith, and if you give him ammunition, he'll use it, every last bit of ammunition that you give to him, he'll use in your life, 1 Peter 5 verse 8 says, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, and I think one of the most dangerous, one of the most dangerous pieces of ammunition that you can ever, ever place in the devil's hands, is your feelings, one of the most dangerous ammunition that you can ever put into the hand of the devil is your feelings, I used to say, there's two things in the Bible that as far as the east is from the west, one is your sins from God if he's forgiven you, but the other thing is your feelings from your faith, your feelings from your faith, and the devil wants you, he longs for you to connect, and many, many Christians do this, they connect their feelings to their faith, and they feel up, I've got faith, when I feel down, I've got faith, and if you do that, I can guarantee you I've met many, many, many, many, many, many people, going through hard, hard, people come up to me in tears, because of this, connecting their feelings to their faith, you will go through struggles that you never had to go through if you do that, I was in America, 3 years back, and I remember being a forgetful person, I got out of bed, and I forgot to eat, I thought I'm going to go down the street, and I'm going to praise to the Lord, and I'm going to pray, and I went for this walk, and as always happens when you don't eat, after a while of praising, my stomach started to speak to my head, and it said there's something wrong, and I was trying to praise, but I didn't feel good, it didn't feel terrifying, and I didn't remember that I hadn't eaten, and I was praising and praising, and it just didn't work, and suddenly the devil came and he said there's something wrong with your faith, look at you, you're praising, you're doing it in the flesh, or something like that, and you know then I remembered I hadn't eaten, so I went back after I prayed a bit, and I ate, and I felt great, and you know I believe God was there when I praised, not because I felt he was there, but because he said he would be there, I remember I was once in an all night prayer session, and it's wonderful, you read of those people who cry, after about 3 hours, and I say this with reverence, I was crying before the Lord for the souls of men, but at about 3 o'clock in the morning I was yearning, and I could hardly see what I was reading when I read a bit of the Bible, but you know what I believe, with all my heart, God answered those prayers when I was yearning, as much as he answered those prayers when I was crying, even when I didn't feel much. R.A. Torrey, R.A. Torrey said do not look at your feelings, do not look at your feelings, but at God's promise. Dale Mooney writes, do you think you can control your feelings? Do you think you can control your feelings? Bear in mind Satan can change your feelings 50 times a day, but he cannot change the word of God. He isn't in that situation, it was for salvation, but I think it applies right across your spiritual life. He said that if you are drowning, and you want to be saved, the devil will come often with a plank of feeling, and he'll say put your foot on the feeling, and you'll put it on there and he'll slip out under your back in the water, very soon. But he said I can give you something much better, I'll give you the rock of God's word. Stand on that, and you won't fall. You know Charles Spurgeon, you think of these great preachers and revivalists who had power with God, and the feeling comes often, or the thought, that these people had wonderful peace all the time. They had something that drove them to their knees, and as they stood on the pulpit, this wonderful feeling came across them, this power. But do you know what Charles Spurgeon said, or wrote? He said I do not always even feel saved, but I know I'm saved because God's word says it. I do not always feel saved, but I know I'm saved because God's word says it. And many people think because they don't have a wonderful feeling that they don't have faith. They don't have faith. And because they do not have faith, the Lord is angry with them. He's always displeased in some little way. I mean Hebrews 11 verse 6 says that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. And then you sit in your quiet time, and at the beginning you don't feel this amazing wonderful feeling coming, and the devil comes and he says, there's something wrong with your faith. I mean if you were truly a great man of God, then this wonderful feeling would be coming upon you right now. And do you know how many people are short, short quiet times? Shorter quiet times, because they're waiting for some amazing feeling. Let me read to you a verse in the Bible that you all know well, and then I'd like to ask a question. 1 John 5 verse 14 to 15, and this is the confidence that we have in Him. That if we ask anything according to His will, we know that He will hear us. And if we know that He will hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petition that we desired of Him. Let me ask you a question. Did this say, and this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we have a wonderful feeling winding up through our ears, that He will hear us, and whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petition that we desired of Him. No. It doesn't say that. It says that if we ask according to His will, He will hear us. Now let me ask you a question. What is it in us that makes us want to feel before we believe? What is it in us that wants us to make us feel before we believe? And I believe it's the flesh. You know, Naaman, I don't know what you call him in America, in Africa we call him Naaman, he was with Elisha, he was the soldier who had leprosy. And he came to Elisha, and Elisha didn't even come out, and he wanted to be healed. And of course the servant came out and told him that he should go and wash himself in the Jordan a couple of times. And then something in him made him get angry. He said, why didn't the prophet come out and stand before me and smite the air or something, and call upon his God? Oh, he wanted lots of things. And then there came his servants and said to him, but you know, if you asked a big thing, you would have done it. Why don't you just wash and be clean? Why do you have to make it complicated? You see, the flesh wants to feel before it believes. It wants to have a sign before it believes. It wants to understand before it believes. And you must watch out for this. This is the reason why many people never get saved if you speak to them. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 22 says, for the Jews, the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. I am very glad that I was also a baby once. And I did terrifying things in church. Some of them, my dad says, probably I must never ever say what I did. But I might say that one day. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 22 says, for the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. You see, the Jews want to have a sign before they believe. They want to understand. You have to explain to them logically, and if it doesn't make perfect sense intellectually, they are not going to believe you. Believe Christ. And sadly, the saved fall for the same trap. They, before they believe, when they go to their knees in a quiet time, when they seek the promises of God, they want to have a feeling, a sign, or to understand it perfectly before they claim anything from God. Many people fall for this trap. Now, it's at this point that I'd like to give you a little illustration. It's precious to me. Many people are like a little child. And this little child, like me many times when I was a little boy, kicked the ball on the roof. And when the ball is on the roof, you have to get it off. And let's say the father came, like my father wouldn't always do, and he said, child, you must get that ball off the roof before I come back, because you're getting a big, big, big, big spanking. And the little child looks up and he's scared of the spanking. And the dad goes away. And he goes, my daddy's away for ten minutes. And he looks around the house, and there's nothing to help him to get to the top. There's no ladder, there's no ivy, there's no whatever. And he's getting more and more scared. And eventually his father comes back, and his father said, did you get that ball from the roof? He said, but daddy, there was no way up. There was no ladder, there was no nothing. How could I get that ball from the roof? And you know, many people are like that. They read in the Bible, rejoice in the Lord always. They see a standard, we are more than conquerors. They read in the books of how people used to pray for hours. And they see this wonderful, great standard up there, and they feel, wow, but I don't know how to get up there. There's no ladder, there's no ladder. Like the little child. Here's another illustration, a little child comes to his father. You know, little child love imagination. Oh, I used to, I used to have a toothbrush, lots of imagination. And the little child, they want to fly. I want to fly. And comes his daddy and says, daddy, little child, daddy, I want to fly, but I can't fly. I tried. And then the daddy looks down at the child, and for a few months this child just wants to fly, but he can't fly. And eventually the daddy comes home, and he says to that little child, little child, I've got a treat for you. You're going to come with me. And he gets in the car and he's excited. And they start the car, and they drive all the way there to the airport. And he gets out, and there he's arranged with someone, and he gets him into the aeroplane. He says, now we're going to fly. And the little child's big eyes are open. And the daddy's excited too that his child can be excited about what he wanted to do. And there they go, up into the air. And they're flying high in the sky, and it's just wonderful for the little child. And the answer to that little child is, when he asks, how can I fly this? In an aeroplane. In an aeroplane, but not in yourself. And if someone came to me and said, I want to have victory, I want to have faith, I want to claim the promises, I want to approach God with boldness. I say, but I can't. You know what I tell him? You can't, but in Christ you can. The devil wants to keep us ignorant of our position in Christ. Colossians 2 verse 6 says, As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. And at the first glance many people think this is only speaking about a standard. A standard of walking as Christ Jesus. But I disagree with that. 1 John 2 verse 6 says, we should walk as Christ Jesus. The Bible cries out, we should walk as Christ Jesus. That's the standard. But here it says, walk in Christ Jesus. Walk in Christ Jesus. You know Paul in the New Testament used the words, in Christ, more than 70 times. More than 70 times he uses the word, in Christ. It was Paul's message, in Christ. And I want to read to you just a few of the verses concerning our position in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1 verse 12, In whom also we have obtained an inheritance. Ephesians 1 verse 7, In whom we have redemption through his blood. Ephesians 2 verse 8, For through him we both have access by one spirit unto the Father. Ephesians 3 verse 12, One of the verses I love in the Bible. In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by our faith, by the faith of him. Read carefully, it doesn't say we do anything. It just says, it says we have, we have, we have. And I'd like to read that verse to you again. All this is ours in Christ Jesus. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. And with all reverence said, I liken it unto a motorcycle. Let's say you bought your child a motorcycle. I wouldn't do that too easily. Americans are more brave with their children. I suppose they've got more children, I don't know. But imagine you said to your child after you'd given him a motorcycle, after one week he hadn't ridden that motorcycle. And I would say to my child, you know, as you have received this motorcycle, now you must ride it. You must use what you've got. And I'd like to ask you, do you make use of your position in Christ Jesus? As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Colossians 1 verse 3 says, for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 1 verse 9 it says, for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. Now it's at this point that I'd like to tell the story of Mr. Bramwell. Mr. Bramwell. I don't know if you've probably got a book of Mr. Bramwell somewhere. He's one of those famous old preachers. Somewhere. But Mr. Bramwell was a person who was very wonderful by God's grace. He used to pray six hours a day. He went to many places and God came down and many hundreds of people turned to God. And you wonder how did he do that? He must have been a wonderful man, in touch with the Lord. And true he was. But you know what he said, which amazes me? He said, I always, always went up to pray reluctantly. I had to force myself to pray. And then he said, I went through many dry seasons when I felt nothing. Six hours of prayer day. Now how did he do that? How did he know that God would answer his prayers? Well, Ephesians 3 verse 12 says, in whom we have boldness to act with confidence by the faith of him. You see his boldness was in Jesus, not in his feelings. His boldness was in Jesus, not in his feelings. And you know I walk down the streets many times when I'm praying to the Lord and I feel nothing. I feel nothing. And I say to the Lord, and I claim his promises, thank you Lord. I feel nothing. But I know you're going to answer my prayers. Because in Christ I have boldness to act with confidence by the faith of him. Not in my feelings Lord. And you know the more I do that, the more God answers my prayers. The more I ignore my feelings and simply come in Christ Jesus to God, the more God answers my prayers by his grace. And I can say this to you, the more you pray, not worrying about your feelings, simply coming in Christ Jesus, the more God will honor your prayers. I can guarantee you that. Tried and tested. I can make lists of miracles that have happened. Not that you talk of miracles. You don't need a sign. But God answers prayers that doesn't look to feelings, that simply trusts him. I'd like to read with this thought, there is lots of things that are ours in Christ Jesus. The Bible, in the New Testament, as I said Paul says the words in Christ more than 70 times. So I've only mentioned a few verses. It is ours. Things that are freely given of the house of God, says Corinthians. But I'd like to read 2 Peter 1 verse 4. You all know this verse. And then just a little thought before I close off. 2 Peter 1 verse 4. Whereby given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. That by these promises. Now I'd like to turn to 2 Corinthians 1 verse 20. Now you all know this verse as well. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 20. For all the promises of God, in him are yea, and in him are men, unto the glory of God by us. Every single promise in the Bible is yours in Christ Jesus. Not in feelings or waiting for a sign. Charles Wesley said faith, mighty faith, the promise sees and stands on that alone. Laughs at impossibilities and cries it shall be done. I'd just like to end off with this thought. If you are a child and you see a ball on the roof and you've got to get the ball down and you haven't got a ladder, then it's, whose fault is it that you can't get the ball? It's not your fault. It's not your fault. If you don't know the way up. But if you do have a ladder and you don't use the ladder, then it's not someone else's fault, it's your fault now. My longing for my heart is to see people spend more and more time in prayer and praise and truly live in victorious lives. And if you've got, if you know that in Christ Jesus it is yours and you can spend much time in prayer now and praise, not worrying about your feelings and soaking yourself in the word of God and you don't do it, then that daddy should have come home and given that little boy a hiding. And I, I, I don't know why people, when you think of the cross and if they know how, and God gave so much to them, how they can lay their lives on the altar and give everything back to them and seek Him with all their heart and spend much time in prayer and praise and seeking God on your knees with the Bible, if you know how, your position in Christ. So now, it's an old expression, the ball is in your court. If you're worrying about feelings, you don't have to, but it's your fault now if you don't discipline yourself to seek God, not God's fault. And with this thought, I've said right through the week I can't sing, but I'd like to sing you a little song that the Lord gave to me, I believe, I don't know, I do trust He did, after much prayer, in a country in Africa called Namibia. And I'd ask you to close your eyes as I sing this prayer. It goes, like a child in the hands of its father, I'm safe in the hands of my Lord. Through the storms and the trials I may pass through, I can stand on the rock of His word. Precious hands, precious love of my Jesus, same hands that were pierced for my sins, they're the hands that will hold me and keep me as I live for my Savior and King. When I think of the way that He suffered on Calvary's cruel tree long ago, of the blood that was shed to save me, of His love never ceasing to glow. Precious hands, precious love of my Jesus, same hands that were pierced for my sins, they're the hands that will hold me and keep me as I live for my Savior and King. When I think of His hands that were enfolded in fervent prayer to my King. Precious hands, precious love of my Jesus, same hands that were pierced for my sins, they're the hands that will hold me and keep me as I live for my Savior and King. Well, now you know, I hope you knew before, what is ours in Christ Jesus. I challenge you, as Christ's hands were pierced for you, as they are beautiful for you, so let your hands be beautiful and pray. If I can dare to make that comparison, in seeking God and living for God, let's pray. Father, I'd just like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for so many things, but for our position in Christ, it's just too precious, Lord, as rich as its glories. It's wonderful, the victory in Christ Jesus, the authority, what is all ours, the boldness, Lord. I just thank you, Lord, that we can come with boldness to access with confidence by the faith of Him, in Him. And Lord, I ask today for every single one of us, I beg you, Lord, I beg the people before me, that we would spend much time, Lord, seeking thy promises, making them part of our lives in Christ Jesus, and spending much time seeking God. In Jesus Christ's name, I ask this prayer. Amen.