In this sermon, the preacher discusses how to know the will of God. He emphasizes that God reveals Himself in both normal and abnormal ways, and that He will come to the aid of those with a heart that is right for Him. The preacher gives examples of how God guides people in their decision-making, such as a woman seeking guidance on marriage and a man experiencing success in his ministry. He also highlights the importance of believing in God, especially when one has a need, and references a verse from the Bible that encourages compassion towards others.

It's good to see you this morning. I trust the Lord is meeting with you. If He's meeting with you, all is well. I'll assure you of that. I want to just put a few things together, sort of pick up the pieces, all the pieces and bring them all together in the light of what I've been saying each morning. I feel that God is speaking to us as His children constantly. And I feel that because we do not recognize God in the realm of adversity, that we do not recognize it as God and do not recognize Him. You know, we just get caught up with the delivery boy, who usually is the devil. And we get so caught up with him, we do not read the message from the Lord. And of course, if you were here when I talked about adversity, this is making a little sense to you, I trust. But the Lord allows these things to come in our lives, adversity, to shut us up to Him, to really shut us up to Him. And then He speaks to us out of this. And when He speaks to us, then of course, we're to trust Him. We're to trust Him with this issue. I play, I do not play games, but I do have little procedures by which I get along. And how I handle my problems is one of the little procedures. I never preach on this. I tell it sometimes when I feel a great deal of freedom and a hunger in the lives of people. But I draw me a circle. And I put God at the top, because He is God of the living and He's God of the dead. That means He's God of everything. There's nothing more than the living and the dead. And He's God. And He's in charge. And then I write, going around as the clock would go, clockwise, I write situation. And I'm constantly having situations. Aren't you? I'm constantly having situations. And sometimes those situations are not so negative. They're not problems. They're not even adversities. They're opportunities. This enlarges a little bit on what I've said to you already. Sometimes they're just opportunities. And so I take these opportunities or these situations. And I usually use the word situation. And I realize that that situation has been given to me to get me to turn to the Lord for leadership, guidance. So I turn to Him for what I would call, on the next little part of that circle, what I would call revelation. Now, revelation. Do you understand what I mean when I say revelation? Revelation. This is very significant, is that a child of God learns how to get a word from God. People ask me all the time, how do you get a word from the Lord? Well, I have a habit of reading the Psalms and Proverbs, those two books, just constantly. And I just read one chapter after another, or I just read a big bunch of chapters one day here and one day there. But I usually have a system about it. I read one chapter after another. And then I do other studying for other purposes, but just for reading the Word, just constantly. And really it's good to have a good system of just going through the Bible. But I ask the Lord to speak to my heart, you know, out of the Word. And His Spirit takes the Word of God and makes it real to my heart. Now, Romans 10, 17 says that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Now, that word, Word, there is an interesting word in the Greek. And it really gave me a great deal of understanding about what I knew when I learned that the word in the Greek for the word, Word, here is rhema. And in many cases where the word, Word, is used in the Bible, it's logos. Logos meaning body of truth. But the rhema of God means that the Holy Spirit has taken that word and personalized it to you for a given situation. Now, I call that revelation. I call it revelation. I'm trying to let you see what I mean by revelation. So here we have God, we have situation, and then we have revelation. Now, the revelation is the truth of God about your situation. Okay? It's the truth of God about your situation. And it's very important that you learn how to discover the truth of God about your situation. You are not going to grow much as a child of God until you learn this lesson. And once you learn this lesson, you are a unique person. I have met some fabulous people in my lifetime. You know, all I have done all my life is meet people just like you, but I mean, I have really been in the people-meeting business. You know, and all I've done really is study people since I was saved. And the most unique family that I have met in America that's alive and, you know, going right now, the most unique family I have met in America is the Elliff family. Now, that's the most unique family I've met. And one day, Mr. Elliff, the father of all the children that I know, took his kids aside and said, I have just discovered that we need to learn how to live by Bible promises. Now, what he meant by that was that we need to search the Word of God and let God give us a revelation of His truth about given situations. Are you still with me? Some of you are frowning like you ate pickles for breakfast, but anyway, hold on. And so he taught this family to live by Bible promises when they were just kids. And I do not know one, I do not know one of his children that really is not in the ministry of the Lord and their life is just such an honor and glory and praise to the Lord. And I mean God is doing some unique things through his children, all of them. His daughter is married to Bailey Smith, and God is really doing a great work in Bailey Smith, who is the pastor of the church that baptized the most people in the Southern Baptist Convention for a number of years. And I don't know, he didn't miss it far this last year. But that is not the great thing that God is doing. God is just doing so much in Bailey. And Tom is probably, 20 years from now, if Tom continues to go like he is going, will probably go down as one of the unique pastors in our generation. I mean, it is just amazing how God works in this family. Now, what I am saying to you is this, there is just some real blessings for you if you learn to live by discovering the truth of God about your given situation. Now, I found this about God. I don't know about you, but everything that God allows to come in my life comes there in my life to shut me up to him, to discover him. And to discover him being the truth, the truth about given situations. And all I have done is preach this all week, but I am capturing it again this morning. And so, after you have revelation, you have the truth about something, then you know what to trust Jesus for. And the next step on that circle is the word appropriation. The word appropriation is, to me, is a special kind of thing. I love to use that word. Appropriation means that you claim the truth. You claim the truth. I mean, you believe it. And after appropriation comes what I call manifestation, as the Lord makes it real to you. And then after manifestation comes, I just, for a better word this morning, just use the word giving. That's not a good, that's the best I can come up with at this moment. I've used other words, but there's some, you see, when the Lord manifests himself, you must take that manifestation and give it back to God. That's what I want you to see. And if you do not give it back to the Lord, then it will go sour on you. It will go sour. Now you've completed the circle. There's some words you could put in, in that circle, that might help you. After a situation comes in your life, if you want to put the word desperation in there, that might help you a little bit. Because usually after a situation, before you'll trust Jesus, you have to get what? You have to get desperate. Most people will never trust the Lord until they have to get desperate. Now let me say this. If you have to get desperate, if God has to get you desperate over an issue, it's because you have been spiritually dumb. Amen. Psalms 37, the whole psalm, says that the Lord wants to lead you by his Spirit, tenderly. But if you will not be led that way, he will treat you as a horse or a mule. That means he'll put bits in your mouth and pull you. Amen. Now I'll tell you, I stay, my mouth stays sore. God constantly, God has to lead me that way. But that's not necessary. Jack Taylor asked me one time, he said, brother Manley, he said, do you think God has to kill a person before he can ever make him spiritual? I knew what he was wanting. He didn't want to have to go through sickness like I went through to get a message. And I didn't realize, I answered him honestly. I said, I don't know. But Psalms 37 definitely indicates that you can walk with the Lord and not have to go through adversity. That's right. In the sense of some awkward, some kind of difficulty, the Holy Spirit can lead you. But I'll tell you what, it's not very normal far as human beings are concerned. We have to go through this, it seems like, stress. After you come to, you might put that little word in there, that might mean something to you. Another word that might mean something to you is after the word appropriation. And what I mean by that word appropriation, I mean you believe that you have received, but what you believe in your heart, you continue to confess. So you might just put the little word down there, confession. Because faith is an act. Let me give you this definition. I gave this one the other night, but you may have passed over it. Faith is an act and an affirmation of that act that bids eternal truth to be what? Present fact. In other words, once you have acted on the Lord's promises and believe that they are so, you must continue to confess that they are so. I mean confess that they are so. Just continue to do that. Amen. Continue to confess that they are so until you see the reality. And if you die not having seen the reality, the great objective is that you live the life of faith. They died in faith, not having received the promises. Isn't that something? So as long as you are in faith, you are honoring to the Lord. And how he manifests himself through your life makes very little difference. It's how you trust the Lord that makes all the difference. The objective here is to trust the Lord, not to receive the manifestation. The manifestations can be very numerous when you are trusting the Lord. But if you are trusting the Lord for the manifestation, they will be few. So I hope you can see what I'm trying to say to you here. Now, I'm just talking to you until you've got to settle down. That's not what I want to say today. I've just got to settle down. I want to answer this question. When can a man trust Jesus? When can a man trust Jesus? This is just another way. It's about the third time I've dealt with this this week. But it's just another way on how do you know the will of God. It's just another way. But you watch. When can a man trust Jesus? Let me just go right into it. No need for a beautiful introduction. All I would say about it in introducing it is that God reveals himself in normal ways and abnormal ways. The Lord will come to your rescue when he finds a heart that is right on whatever level is necessary to let you know the will of God. Do you believe that? Whatever kind of condition you are in, emotionally or physically, environmentally, if your heart is right towards God, God will come to your level and make you to know his will. Amen? There are some things that are just natural, and his will just should be known normally. Like, a little lady came to me one time and said, Mother Manly, I want you to pray for me. She said, I don't know where I'm supposed to get married or not. I said, well, that's stupid. She said, what do you mean? I said, well, you were created to get married. God should show you where you aren't supposed to get married. Now, come on. Amen? I mean, you were created to get married. Why ask God? Now, it may be that you're another Bertha Smith and aren't supposed to get married. But, with that calling comes a promise that you can stand on that will sustain you through those hours and days and months and years. Just like Miss Bertha, she can tell you, brother, that she's never been lonely. Because she's been able to stand on the promise. But see, God's called her to that. Amen? See, it's normal. Right? That's almost like asking, should I wash my face? Isn't the will of God for me to wash my face, isn't it? I mean, you see, we get this thing backwards, don't we? Well, God leads in normal ways. Very normal ways. You say, what do you mean in a normal way? The most supernatural work of God of all times came about in a normal way. You say, what do you mean? The conception and birth of Jesus Christ. Amen? I mean, Jesus was born like a normal baby. Right? That's what confounded those Jews. If he'd have walked in out of the sky, they'd have believed him. But he was born like a regular baby. Amen? I mean, that's something else. He was, well, I call it supernaturally, naturally born. Amen? That's what I say. He was supernaturally, naturally born. Hey, by the way, when Jesus makes you spiritual, that's what you are. You are supernaturally natural. You're the most natural person in the world. Amen. No put on, friends, when you're spiritual. Some woman came to me one time and said, brother, man, I want you to pray for me. I said, I've got a husband. He is full of the devil. I said, well, why do you want me to pray for you? She said, since I've gotten full of the spirit. She said, you know, my husband expects me to clean the house and cook and be a wife to him. I said, I just haven't got time for all that stuff. She said, you know, all I want to do is read my Bible and pray and tell people about Jesus. I said, lady, you've got the wrong spirit. I said, the Holy Spirit is going to make you more of a wife. More of a cook, house cleaner. In other words, the Holy Spirit will make you more of what you're supposed to be. He don't make you some supernatural spook. And she couldn't believe that. But the Holy Spirit makes you supernaturally natural. I mean, that's so sweet to see someone just so relaxed in the spirit of the Lord. Well, the Holy Spirit, the Lord, gives us guidance in normal ways. In normal ways. Have you learned yet that I illustrate by principles and not precepts? Have you? Oh, okay. That confuses people. People think I'm just wandering around talking. Here I am beating my brains out, illustrating these sermons, and they don't understand what I'm talking about. But the Lord led me that way, so I've tried to change it, but it won't work. Now the Lord leads in abnormal ways. Let me give you a good one. I know this man. He's now dead. No, no, he's not dead. His friend had died. I've known him. I've been in his church three times. And he's had a very, very successful ministry. Grew a little church from a little country church to an uptown church. About 700 in Sunday school. A great ministry, and a sound ministry, a balanced ministry. And God really used this man. But when he got saved, he could not read or write. So his wife would read the Bible to him, and the Lord called him to preach. And it got to the day of the ordination, and they were out there in the country church. And some of you date back to what you can remember in the country churches where they had no screens. And they would just raise the windows. And that is the type of scene it was. And they were going to ordain this brother. And he knelt down in front of the pulpit and said, God, if you have called me to preach, I want you to let a bird fly in this church and light on this pulpit. And everybody said, oh, poor thing. And a bird flew in and lit on the pulpit. That's a true story. But remember what I said is that it doesn't make any difference. Where you are, if you're a responsible person, the Lord will come to your aid, if you're right with Jesus, and give you guidance. And give you guidance. That's the thing I want to get across to you. He does it in normal ways, abnormal ways. Now, when should a man believe God? First, number one, and I very seldom ever give you a one, two, three pointer. But I'm going to give you a one, two, three pointer today. Number one, a man should believe God when he has a need. Now, there is a verse in the Bible that lays this out beautifully. It says this, you having this world's goods, and seeing your brother have need, and shutteth up the vows of compassion. Or if you shut up to them and do not meet their need, you aren't compassionate, you aren't going to minister to them. How dwelleth the love of God? Do you know what he's saying in that verse? Do you know what he's really saying? He's saying if you've got the need, the supply, and your friend has the need, and you do not meet it, how dwelleth the love of God? Now, listen to what I'm saying. He is indicating here that if you've got the supply and a friend has a need, you don't have to ask God. It's the will of God to meet it. God would have to stop you from meeting it. So what I'm saying is this reveals the nature of God. This reveals the nature of God. You see, when you have a need, when you have a need, that need indicates actually that God has a supply for you. That's right. And so when you have a legitimate need, that legitimate need should reveal the will of God. Now, I realize that what you're going to run into in your own self is what is the need, right? But I stick with the word and say when you have a legitimate need, it's God's will to meet it. It's God's will to meet it. So when you have a need, you should trust the Lord to meet it. In other words, your need should reveal the will of God. Now, we're going to go at it a little heavier. You ready? Which one came along first? The first Adam or the last Adam? The last Adam. In other words, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the God of atonement, of grace and redemption, was before the first Adam was ever created. Right? So, I can't take you into it that far to the extent this morning that we can get all these details ironed out, but the Redeemer was already available before there was ever a need for a Redeemer. And the Redeemer was there with the supply before there was a need. Right? Now, that's how God works. God goes a little further. God allows a person to have a need because he already has the supply. And when you have a need in your life, that need itself is the negative side of a positive side that has the supply. Now, which one came along first? Air or lungs? Air was waiting around for you to get lungs to break. Amen. And when you have a need, that need is deep. It's just simple facts, but it's sort of put to us a different way than usual. Amen. See, the supply is already yours. The need has already been met. You say, where did you get that in the scripture? Ah, Hebrews 4, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, and 3. And especially the third verse. Especially read in the Amplified New Testament. It says that when God completed this thing, he completed it all. When God pulled down the curtain on the sixth day, I want you to know everything was complete. Amen. I mean, the whole business was complete. The supply before you have need. So, you know what the Lord does? He lets you have a need because he's got a table set for you. The need reveals the will of God. I'll tell you, there was a new day when I saw that. Amen. When can a man believe in God when he has a need? Of course, I realize that you'll wrestle with that a little bit because, you know, you say, what is a need? What is a need? But that's good for you to wrestle with. And you'll finally weed all that old junk out if you mean business. Get down to a need. Let me just say something very personal to you. After I saw this, when I have a real legitimate need, I just go ahead and act and praise God because I know I've got the answer. Amen. Act like an idiot. Just praise God I've got it. Amen. Brother Mary, are you lost? Okay, I want to make sure you're right here with us. You see, long before you ever had need of salvation, it was provided for you. God has this all settled. And you had to discover you had a need. And when you had discovered you had a need, there was already what? In salvation. Already the supply. So you could trust the Lord. So when can a person believe God when they have a need? Secondly, when can a person believe God when they have a desire that's of the Lord? Now, I realize that every desire you might have is not of the Lord. But I want to deal with this because I think you can see the will of God here. And see that you have wasted many desires. The desire factor in you is the flame, is the fire. It's the thing that makes you stay or go. You take the desire out of a person, and now you've got problems. You put the desire in a person, you may still have problems, but you've got someone that's ready to go. Now, Proverbs, excuse me, Psalms 37.4, you know what it says? Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give you what? Isn't that amazing? The desires of your heart. John 15.7 says, My word abiding in you, you abiding in me, and my words abiding in you. Ask what you what? Will. Just ask what you will. Now, if you are not getting the desires of your heart, who do you think needs to change? God or you? So if you're not getting the desires of your heart today, who needs to change? Now, I say that you can believe God when your desires harmonize with His desires. And I believe that there's no controversy between you and God. The desires of your heart should be the will of God. That's hard to take in, isn't it? Now, I'm going to sort of leave you there, and I'm going to give you an illustration that will help you later. Okay? When can you believe God? When your desires harmonize with God's desires. But let me just give you this illustration. This sort of broadens what I've said out. And it will help you. I have a friend that lives in Czechoslovakia. And back a number of years ago, the man she's married to now wrote her, and she was about 62, and proposed to her. She called me, and she said, man, what do you think I'm supposed to do? And I have met this man, but said, I don't even, I don't know what to do. Sixty-two years old, all I want to do is live with my grandkids and write books. She had co-authored about 30 books up to that point. And she was married to the late James A. Stewart, and he'd been dead about five years. And she wrote him back and said she wasn't interested. And so she thought she had it settled, and he wrote back and said, I'm going to be in England. And what about meeting me in England? And she had a trip planned to England. And I mean, it was obvious that she was supposed to meet him in England. And she said she got over there and met him, and she said she was just zapped. Now, I didn't know 62-year-old women got zapped. I thought it was just a bargain and a plan. I didn't know you got zapped at 62 years of age. But she said she got zapped. And that language was uncommon to her anyway. It tickled me. I had a big laugh about it. She married him. And when she married him, it was thought that she would lose her American citizenship for her to go to Czechoslovakia and live. Now, being a woman of wisdom, she said, Lord, I have the desires of an American woman, but said I can't be happy in Czechoslovakia unless I have the desires of a woman in Czechoslovakia. Boy, I'll tell you, that's something. She said, so Lord, make Thy, your desires, my desires. So she moved to Czechoslovakia. She was there for a couple of years and came by to see Martha and I in Dallas two summers ago, she and her husband. And I said, privately, we were by ourselves, I said, how is Czechoslovakia? She said, Manly, I'm as happy as I've ever been in my life. She said, I can't believe it. I'm getting the desires of my heart. I just, you know, I couldn't believe it. So about two months ago, we got a letter from her. And you know what she said? She said, I've never been more happy in all my life. But the key to it is she knew how to handle that situation. She knew that the desires of her heart, in harmony with the desires of God's heart, would give her the desires of her heart. So, friend, that's the key. Get your desires to be His desires, and then you can have what you want. Amen. Amen. And boy, when you're getting what you want, I've got news for you. You can't be happier. Amen, brother. Amen. When you're getting what you want. That's, to me, so beautiful. Well, those desires then reveal the will of God. And why shouldn't your desires today be the will of God? Oh, I know. You say, well, Brother Manley, I'm in a body that I have the flesh with me, that wars against God at all times. That is absolutely true. But greater is He that's within you than he that's in the world. And if there's no controversy between you and God, those desires should be the will of God. Sometimes I think we think thoughts are desires, but they're not. So, you just think about that. When can a man believe God? When his desires harmonize with the desires of God. Okay, the last one. And I've already dealt with this some, and you'll recognize it. When can a man believe God? When he has a word from God. Now, people are always asking me, Brother Manley, do you get a word about every single solitary thing before you believe God? And I have prayed all these years that the Lord will let me see through this. And I would have to back off from that question because I didn't want to say no. Because I acted on the basis of my needs. And I acted on the basis of my desires. And I acted on the basis of my word, a word from the Lord. So, I back off, back off. But the Lord in more recent months has given me the understanding and the boldness to share what I'm sharing with you right now. Now, I believe that a man can believe God when he has a word from God. And what I mean by a word from God, do you know the difference between facts and promises? Do you? Let me just talk to you a little bit about facts and promises as we close. I didn't realize I'm taking all the time here. You see, there's truth in the Bible that's applicable to every one of us in every given situation, regardless of who we are, that reveal the facts of God, about God and about you. The facts. The promises differ from facts in that in a given situation, God will lead you to a promise that will be applicable to you personally, but that's not applicable to someone else. Do you follow me? Now, this is where our Christian brethren are getting off about healing. They're saying healing is in the atonement. Therefore, all sicknesses of the devil, everyone's supposed to be healed. Just believe God for healing, and that leads to despair in most cases. Amen? On the other hand, healing, God does heal today, people. He really does. But the Holy Spirit has the right and the privilege, and the Father has the right and the privilege, and the Lord Jesus has the right and the privilege to lead an individual to promises that will encourage them to trust Jesus for their health. Do you follow me? Now, like, for instance, back in 1972, I was, one, I was facing death, 70, 71, 72. And the Lord gave me a promise that I would live to see my children's children. And I have shared that testimony across this country and Southwestern Seminary and, oh, just all over. And I've never, I've never found people, I've never found a person that's got that same promise that I got for my need. So a promise differs from a fact. Now, a fact is a fact whether you believe it or not. But it only becomes experiential and operative in you as you believe that truth, as you trust the Lord in that truth. Now, a promise is true about you, and it will only become operative in you when you trust the Lord about that promise. Now, I want to give you one fact. Oh, yeah, just one before we go. Here is one fact that's, that's a fact about every one of us. 1 John 4, 4. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Now, that verse is applicable to every person in this building. That's not a promise, that's a fact. It's a fact to every one of us. I mean, it's a fact whether you believe it or not. But it's only when you discover it as a fact and believe it that it becomes real in you personally. Ye are of God, little children, and have what? Overcome them. You're an overcomer this morning. You say, I don't feel like it. I don't act like it. But the fact is, ye are. And you know that you are, then you believe it. And when you believe it, really trust the Lord. Do you know what? Ye are, experientially. Now, that's a fact about you. And did you know the devil would do everything he could to keep you from believing that truth? Could I give you an illustration out of the Old Testament in closing? Jacob. Jacob went out to see his brothers out on the ranch. They took him, took his beautiful coat, threw him in a ditch, later sold him right on into Egypt. And took that beautiful coat, took the little goat, took the blood from that goat, mangled that coat in that blood, and made it look like that Joseph, Joseph had been killed. And I call him Jacob. Well, I'm talking about Jacob and Joseph. I better get my story straight here. I'm talking about Joseph's coat. Joseph being sold into Egypt. And Joseph going to Egypt and the children of Jacob coming in, showing their dad that fabulous coat and the facts that made it look like Joseph was dead. Do you know what the Bible said Jacob did? He mourned. Any of you know how long he mourned? Twenty years. Twenty. Twenty years later, the brothers of Joseph discovered him in Egypt. And Joseph sent for his dad. Remember that? This story is in Genesis 37 and Genesis 45, if you want to look it up. Joseph sent for his dad. The brothers beat the wagons home and said Joseph is yet alive. His dad said no. When he saw the wagons coming, you know what it says? He said he's yet alive and his spirit was revived. Do you know why? Joseph believed, Jacob, excuse me, believed the truth. Do you know why he mourned for twenty years? He believed a lie. You are an overcomer this morning. And if the devil can, he will get you to believe a lie. Because you will live on the basis of what you see, smell, taste, feel, and hear and understand from the sense world rather than what this blessing book tells you. But when you see, beloved, the truth is this and believe the truth, your spirit will be revived. Yes, sir. The devil wants you to believe a lie. And the truth may be this fact that you are an overcomer this morning. In fact, it is a fact. But if he can get you to believe a lie because of what you're experiencing, this is not make-believe now. Because the moment you believe the truth, it's reality. Amen.