God’s best is yours if you want it. How can you get it? How can you prove to Him that you want His best? There’s a way to let God know you want His best, and it isn’t just by saying, I want your way. Talk, as the saying goes, is cheap. If you want God’s way, God’s best, you must act on it. His will, not your own.

Luke 22:41,42, And he [Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane] was withdrawn from them [the disciples] about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Notice the phrase Jesus used: Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Jesus is our example, and when we pray it should always be, “Lord, not my will, but thine be done.” I have a standing order with God: “Anything I ask of you, Lord, don’t answer it unless it’s your divine will.”

If it’s not your will, but God’s will that you choose, then the matter is left up to the Father. If it’s not your will, but His, you’ve turned the matter completely over to the Lord. When it’s really not your will, you can say with your whole heart and mean it: “The problem is in the hands of the Lord.” Your problems aren’t in the hands of the Lord one hundred percent until you let go of them with, Not my will, but thine be done. I want your will, Lord.

In her final walk, the Bride will cry for the will of God to be done one hundred percent. That’s the reason she’s going to do so much, going to be such a terror to the enemy, robbing the devil of so many multitudes of souls. She will walk in the same spirit that her Master walked in when He was here on Earth.

Jesus came as very man and as very God. As very man He showed us how to walk with divinity. If you’re saved today, you’re saved through divine blood; you have divinity on the inside. The apostle Paul said, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me (Galatians 2:20). Since Christ liveth in you, you should have His spirit, His attitude. Wearing the shoes of Jesus, you will say, too, Not my will. Jesus warned Peter that the flesh was weak, but He also said the spirit was willing to obey. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41).

Carry the Cross of Glory

Not my will, Lord…in other words, not my desire, but yours, Lord. We have different desires, a desire for this to happen, a desire for that to happen; a desire to accomplish this in life, and a desire to accomplish that in life. But not my desire, not my will, but yours, Lord. Not my cross, but your Cross.

Many people are carrying their own cross thinking it’s the Cross of Calvary, the Cross of Glory. They’re mistaken. Jesus transformed that Old Rugged Cross into a glorious Cross, a Cross of greatness, a Cross of power for us to carry to a lost and dying world, a Cross of deliverance to set the captives free. It’s a transformed Cross, not one that bends you beneath the load, so heavy you can hardly carry it.

Down through these hundreds of years, the human race has made their own crosses. But the Cross that was made for Jesus He turned into a Cross of love, a Cross of faith, a Cross of humility, and a Cross of deliverance for a lost and dying world. When Jesus died on that Cross He conquered the powers of hell for us. That’s the Cross we must carry. Not my will, not my cross, Lord, but I will fast, pray, and carry your Cross of love. I will gladly carry the Cross burden for a lost world instead of talking about what a heavy cross, what an awful cross the Christian must bear.

Jesus said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus tells you His yoke is easy, His burden light. You carry His Cross with His power, His love, His grace, His goodness, His mercy, His strength, His joy, His gladness. Don’t try to carry the Cross of Jesus like many people try to carry it and are burdened down—it’s not the Cross of Jesus that most Christians carry anyway, it’s their own cross. Not my cross, Lord, but yours will I carry. Not my will, but your will.

Are You Opinionated?

Not my opinions, Lord, but yours. Do you cast down your opinions? Are your opinions in harmony with the Lord’s? Don’t speak your opinions until you take them to the Word of God. If they don’t match the Word, can’t stand the Word test, throw them aside and take His opinions. My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8,9).

When you use your own opinions—and so many Christians do because they’re opinionated—you hurt more than you help. Without realizing it you hurt the cause of Christ, hurt people, keep them from coming to Jesus. You injure people when you don’t take on the wisdom and knowledge of God. You think you’re justified in giving your opinions, but the Lord said you are judged for every idle word you speak. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (Matthew 12:36,37). Opinions not of God are idle words, worthless and destructive. Be careful with your opinions.

The Bride is not going to be opinionated; she’s going to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). In power, in the greatness of I-Am, the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, the Bride will speak the truth as Jesus spoke it when He was here on Earth.

Not my opinions, but yours, Lord; not my words, but yours. I will not use my words; I will use yours. All of God’s Word is given with power. Jesus said, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away (Matthew 24:35). Speak His Word, and it will be the power of deliverance for those who are bound. The Word sets the captives free.

The Bride will be careful how she uses the Word. The Early Church members went everywhere preaching the Word, preaching Jesus. They that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word (Acts 8:4). That was the main theme of the Early Church—the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Anointed by the Holy Ghost to send forth the Word, the Early Church was full of the Holy Ghost and on fire for God.

Wait on the Holy Spirit

Not my spirit, but yours, Lord. Many people using their own spirit to try to win people, to witness to them, find it doesn’t work. The Lord said He would make you witnesses. It takes the Holy Spirit to make you a witness for the Lord. Jesus told the disciples in the beginning of His ministry, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). I will make you—His Spirit will make you into a vessel that He can use, and you will be used by His Spirit, not yours.

So many people blunder, hinder, and grieve the Holy Spirit by using their own spirit. Then they wonder what happened to the person they were trying to help. They can’t see that they used their own spirit. Unless you wait on the Holy Spirit, you can speak at the wrong time and interrupt Him, hinder Him. That’s the reason I wait. Know the mind of the Spirit.

Know when the Spirit of the Lord is dealing with you; know when the Spirit is moving for you, in you, and through you. You can know—the Bride will know the Spirit in this her final hour, and that’s the reason she will accomplish so much. As you learn to recognize the Holy Spirit, you learn to separate Him from your own spirit.

See with Faith Sight

Not my sight, but yours, Lord. You can’t see around the next corner, but you can walk it by faith. Take a lesson from the Egyptians: They walked by sight, and the waters closed in on them. Now take a lesson from the Israelites, God’s people: They walked by faith, and the waters couldn’t close in on them. The just shall live and walk by faith, not by sight. The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).

The Lord has given you faith sight to serve Him, not physical sight. Although physical sight is inadequate when it comes to serving Him, it has been used more by God’s people than faith sight. That’s the reason the devil has gotten in to discourage many people down through the years until they have given up on God or else been rendered so helpless that they failed to do much work for the Lord. Discouraged, they couldn’t see and didn’t understand. With limited vision, they failed to see into tomorrow—or even very far down the road.

Physical vision is limited, but faith vision sees on forever. Faith vision, faith sight looks all the way to eternity. Faith sight reaches, takes you to Heaven and you see that city whose builder and maker is God, but physical sight, no.

Divine Faith

Not my faith, but yours, Lord. So many people use human faith thinking it’s divine faith, and then they wonder why they don’t receive from the hand of God. If you’re going to have divine blessings, divine deliverance, divine miracles, divine healings, you will have to use divine faith.

Faith is a gift from God. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). To everyone is given a measure of faith. God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Don’t say you don’t have any faith. Children of God who say they have no faith are living in their human feelings. You don’t have faith? Of course you have faith; you couldn’t be a child of God without faith, for without faith you never could have found Calvary. Why discourage yourself, talk down to yourself, put yourself down? The devil doesn’t need to do very much to God’s people when they do so much damage to themselves by not using the things that God said are theirs to use.

Not my faith, but yours is really saying not my will, Lord, but yours. It’s the will of the Lord for you to have divine faith—Jesus brought it for you. If all we needed were just human faith, Jesus never would have come. But we need more than human faith. Not my faith, not my feelings, Lord, but yours is what I want; I want your divine feelings.

There’s a vast difference between human feelings and divine feelings. God has feelings, but they’re not human feelings; they’re divine feelings. God feels the right way. Human feelings can be bad, good or in between; but God’s feelings are right about everything.

Have you ever felt you were right and then found out you were exactly wrong? We all have. We thought something was going to work out a certain way; we had planned it all out—but it didn’t work. Maybe you claimed something with your own faith, a car or a home. You said, “That’s mine; God told me I’m going to get it”; and then you didn’t get it. You were let down, but God didn’t let you down; you let yourself down. You claimed it with human faith, and human faith is fragile; it doesn’t hold up well at all. With ego and human faith, man thinks he’s a success. But he finds out he is anything but successful when he hits bottom. When there’s nowhere to look but up, finally he says: “Oh, God, help me! Help me, Lord; help me!”

Follow the Jesus Star

Not my star, but yours, Lord. Positive thinkers say, “Follow your star.” That’s ridiculous; that’s what the devil wants you to do. You’re not told in the Bible to follow your star; you’re to follow the Jesus star, that glorious star of love, hope and peace that leads to Heaven, that leads into all the graces of the Lord and gives you the strength you need daily. The Jesus star will help you to pray right, believe right, and keep you on the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. It will lead you beside the still waters and into the green pastures, and you will be fed.

Oh little lamb, look up. All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). If God doesn’t work good out of things that happen to you, then watch out: You’re following the wrong star. When you’re following the right star you don’t have to make excuses for yourself, for your life; you know you’re walking in the shoes of Jesus.

The Jesus star will never dim, never go out. However, if you use human faith, the devil can make you think it’s getting dim. Rise above your human faith-sight and put on God’s faith-sight. You know how to put on your glasses, but do you know how to put on faith glasses? Do you struggle to see when you could put on your glasses and see clearly? Reach out and get faith glasses, put them on and take a look.

It doesn’t matter what anyone tells you, you know you can see when you see eternity. Look at the paths the Lord has for you. The grace of God abounding for you, the promises of God in action for you are on those paths. View it all through the eyesight of God. Jesus brought you eyesight from Heaven in the form of faith, divine faith.

Jesus Laid Out Paths to Walk

Not my paths, but yours, Lord. Do you carve out your own way? Do you make new paths for yourself? I’m going right through this jungle. No one has been this way and I’m really special. You’ll get lost out there with the bears and the lions. Then you’ll have to give up, weary from trying to carve your own path. Jesus came to carve the way for you. He made paths for your feet. Don’t you think it’s wonderful to have His paths you can follow?

Man has laid out roads, made highways so that you don’t have to start out through the woods with your automobile. You follow the road, not the muddy trails that lead nowhere. Good judgment tells you to stay on the road; and faith tells you to stay on God’s roads, God’s paths. Walk the paths the Lord has laid out for your feet; travel the highway of holiness. You’re in trouble if you don’t.

You may see a detour sign, but wouldn’t you be foolish to take a detour when straight ahead is clear? There are no detours on this road to Glory. The Lord said, Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:14). He didn’t mention one detour. The devil will whisper: “Bridge out. Go this way.” Do you believe the devil? If so, you don’t have the ear of God. You have that old flesh ear that only hears what other human beings hear. But with the ear of God, you hear Thus saith the Lord; you hear what the Spirit is saying: Follow the straight road.

The Gospel Light

Not my will, not my hearing, but yours, Lord. Not my light, but your light. We’re used to making our own light, but the Bride will feel the need of God’s light; she knows man’s light doesn’t reveal the evil powers of the devil. Electric lights will not show her the pitfalls, but the light of God uncovers the traps, the detours. It shows the signs the devil has put up to deceive you, to make you think the bridge is out so he can turn you aside, get you to stop, or to be discouraged. The devil will do whatever he can do, but the light of God reveals that it’s the devil discouraging you, working on your mind to deceive you, trying to take your strength.

Not my will, not my light, but your light, Lord—the Gospel light. Jesus said, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). Send the light, the Gospel light. This light must go to a dark world. Many places have electric lights, and yet they are dark, spiritually speaking. We can’t use their light to deliver, to set free. Man’s lights can be turned on but they won’t reveal the devil or the powers of witchcraft, voodooism, and all the other works of the devil that bind people. We must take the light of God, not our light. The Jesus light will show you how people are bound, and the Jesus light will let you know that the captives can be set free, delivered.

Jesus brought heavenly light for a dark world. The Bible tells us the Lamb of God will light up the city of new Jerusalem. The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof (Revelation 21:23). A whole city lit with light from the Lamb of God—won’t that be wonderful! His great light is marvelous indeed.

Rejoice for that light at midnight; rejoice in the wee hours of the morning. When the storm is raging, you can shout Hallelujah! for you have that light. It brings such serenity, such full assurance that others think you’re strange because you’re not afraid. They don’t realize what you can see.

Elisha, remember, had that light when he was surrounded by the enemy. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see [Elisha was asking God to turn on the light, give his servant God’s sight]. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha (II Kings 6:15-17). They had divine protection, and the servant calmed down in a hurry.

How many times have you almost had a nervous breakdown because you didn’t use God’s sight? Without God’s sight, you can’t see beyond the hour you’re in. You plan to do this or that. Maybe you will and maybe you won’t. Some people sit down for the last time. You think you have control, but you’re not in control. People with much wealth, thinking they were in control, suddenly were dead. They assumed they could go about their business, make their own decisions, do what they wanted to do; but in an instant there was no more life; they couldn’t move a finger or a hand, couldn’t do anything.

God’s Light Is Plentiful

Not my light, but your light, Lord. Not my love, but yours. So many of God’s people have used more human love than they’ve ever used God’s love, yet God’s love is more plentiful. God’s love can fill all the rivers, all the oceans, cover the whole earth and still have plenty left over. But human love fades; it’s weak and runs out. Did you ever have someone love you and then suddenly find they didn’t love you anymore? The next thing you knew they were saying they hated you, or they were telling someone else what a low opinion they had of you. That’s human love; it’s fragile and may turn just plain ugly.

Human love can feel so wonderful that some people are deceived in marrying. A girl looking through human love can see a boy, and think, “I know he doesn’t go to church, but I can fix that. I know he doesn’t shave half the time, but I’ll see that he shaves. I know he doesn’t take a bath as often as he should, but I’ll see that he takes a bath; I’ll see that he smells good.” She had better look through eyes of God’s love, see in reality and acknowledge to her heart what she is seeing.

The love of God will let you know what you are seeing, will help you face facts, face the truth and still have love. But human love is not like that; human love easily becomes disillusioned. Thank God for divine love! For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Keep in Step

Not my shoes, Jesus, but yours. Are you satisfied with your shoes? What kind of shoes are you wearing today? Do you believe that with those man-made shoes you can walk the paths of God in this final hour and keep in step with Jesus? If you do, you’ll never make it. You’ve got to put on divine shoes. As the song says, “I’m going to put on my golden shoes and walk all over God’s Heaven.” Well, I want blood shoes down here, blood shoes that will trample devils underfoot. Those shoes of power and grace are worth much more than shoes of gold.

If someone offered you a pair of golden shoes or a pair of divine blood shoes, which would you take? If you’re not careful you’ll take the gold. Many have chosen the gold and the silver over the power and grace of God, over the blood of Jesus Christ. It’s easy to choose wrong, but if you use the faith of God you look beyond into eternity and see a whole street of gold in the New Jerusalem. God has so much gold in Heaven He’s going to use it for pavement. Would you use gold for pavement? No, you wouldn’t. If you paved the street in front of your house with gold, how would you ever live there? You wouldn’t be safe. Worrying about thieves, you’d never get a wink of sleep. But you can have the gold of Heaven and people won’t disturb you, won’t pay much attention to you—unless they get in sore straits and need help.

Not my paths, not my shoes, not my gold, but yours, Lord. Not my steps, your steps. The steps of a perfect man or woman—perfect in God’s love that is—are ordered by the Lord. In other words, the Lord directs your steps. If you’ve been made perfect in His love, He can direct every step you make. To be perfect in God’s love doesn’t mean you will please everyone. No, you’re not perfect in man’s eyes, but you’re perfect in God’s love and that’s perfection in the eyes of God. You’re perfect in all your motives, perfect in walking with the Lord in love.

The Lord Is Your Strength

Not my strength, Lord. So many, drawing on their own physical strength, are weak. There you are, hobbling along saying you’re weak; but did you ever stop to think that God is strong and He promised to be your strength? The LORD is my strength (Psalm 28:7). The LORD is my…high tower (Psalm 18:2). The Lord is the strength of your life. Can you draw on that strength? Of course you can. Take God’s strength: Not my will, Lord, but thine be done; and it’s His will for you to have His strength. When you’re saying, Not my will, you’re saying, Not my strength; I’m going to depend on God’s strength.

Not my joy, Lord, but your joy. The joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Human joy often fades quickly, vanishes. Like letting air out of a balloon, someone can deflate your joy. There you are, happy, happy, happy—until someone pricks you and your joy is gone. One pin, one prick did it. They didn’t make a pincushion out of you; they just stuck you one time. Maybe the tears rolled; you felt almost murdered. But the joy of the Lord gives you overcoming strength to carry the burdens, to meet the problems of life head-on.

Not my burden, Lord, but yours. Many Christians have been busy carrying their own knapsack full of burdens. Toting their own little burden they think they’re carrying His burden. You’re not carrying the Lord’s burden; you’re carrying your own. All you talk about is I, I, I: Look what condition I’m in; look how hopeless and helpless I am! Look at me. Are you pointing anyone to Jesus? No.

Are You in a Condition to Pray?

Lord, not my freedom, but yours. Some people call His freedom bondage. They think they’re in bondage because the Lord wants them to talk to Him in prayer. The Bible says, The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry (Psalm 34:15). The enemy wants you to make prayer a burden, and your human spirit will comply if you don’t let divinity rule and reign.

By failing to use the sight of God, the ears of God, and the strength of God, you fail to see or hear, and you’re not in a condition to really pray. If you go into the prayer closet in your own strength, you come out in your own strength. You promise God you’re going to pray an hour, and then you look at your watch after a few minutes and say, “God, I thought I’d been here an hour. But Lord, I love you, and if you’d just come down to me, I’d talk to you all day.” He’s already come down to you; He promised, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5). Yet there you are, restless and fidgeting as though you’re in prison with no way out. Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God! Your nervous system is in a storm. You don’t hear Him saying, Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

Didn’t you learn as a child what it meant to be still, to be quiet? Didn’t your parents ever tell you to be quiet? That meant hush, sit down and don’t wiggle.

The Lord said to study to be quiet (I Thessalonians 4:11). Lord, I want your quiet Spirit, not mine. Lord, I want your reasoning. I want to reason with you; I don’t want to use my human reasoning.

Assurance and Confidence

Not my assurance, Lord; I want your assurance. Many Christians have human assurance instead of divine assurance; so when the going gets rough, they don’t have full assurance that they’re really saved. They begin to doubt their salvation, their baptism in the Spirit; they doubt what God has done for them. They even begin to doubt that God loves them. Why? They have taken on human assurance. Human assurance is weak, flimsy; that’s the reason the Lord came to give us His assurance.

Divinity came down—very God was manifested in the flesh for us, and He brought divine promises for us to use. How much divinity are you using? A tiny bit? A lot? Do you use it often or just part-time? How much divinity have you used today, how much divine strength, divine love, divine faith, divine hope, divine joy, divine peace and divine assurance? If you haven’t used divinity, then you’ve been miserable because you haven’t felt close to the Lord. If you haven’t used divine assurance, you have gone down into human feelings that make you feel weak, depressed, oppressed and despairing. Not my assurance, not my will, but yours, Lord, means everything.

Not my confidence, Lord, but yours. For some people, human confidence is about as far as they get most of the time with God. It’s human confidence in the Word of God, and human confidence is limited. You need the confidence of divinity, confidence in the promises of God. When you’ve done all that God said to do, then wait patiently for the fulfillment of the promise. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36). That’s divine confidence.

People tend to speak loosely about divinity; they call many things divine: that dress is divine or that person is divine. But real divinity is divinity that Jesus brought. Divine things are ours: the divine Christ, His divine love, divine hope, divine goodness, divine mercy, divine patience. Not human patience, but divine patience; not human forgiveness, but divine forgiveness is what Christ brought.

Forgive as Christ Forgave

The reason God’s people can forgive is that they use divine forgiveness, not human forgiveness. With divinity on the inside, you have the kind of forgiveness that the Lord had on the Cross. Stephen—as human as you or I—had divine forgiveness; he hadn’t come down from Heaven. Dying for the sake of Christ, he carried the Cross of Jesus, not his own cross. He died a martyr’s death in the same Spirit of Jesus, the same divine love, divine strength. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:59,60).

Even while being stoned, Stephen prayed like Jesus. Without divine love, Stephen would not have been praying for the Lord to forgive the people who were stoning him; it would have been impossible; that takes divine forgiveness. If you have a hard time forgiving people for what they do to you, what they say about you, then you’re not using divine forgiveness; you’re using human forgiveness.

Not my forgiveness, Lord, but yours. When you came to the Lord at Calvary, you didn’t want human forgiveness; you wanted divine forgiveness. Divine forgiveness will cast your sins into the sea of forgetfulness never to be remembered against you again. Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).

In human forgiveness people say that they forgive you, but they’ll remember. I’ll forgive you this time, but I’ll never forget it. Do you know how that makes a person feel? Like running the other way and praying, “Oh God, help me to never meet up with that one again!”

Wonderful Protection

Not my protection, Lord, but yours. We want to protect ourselves instead of telling the Lord we need His protection. Don’t live in fear; take His protection. Don’t imagine something is about to jump out and grab you all the time; that’s an awful feeling. You can go into your own home and feel creepy; you check to see if someone is under the bed. If you hear a noise, you think a burglar is coming after you. That’s no way to live. The Lord has promised to protect you, and the Lord’s promises are true; but you must trust in Him.

I knew a wonderful missionary to Africa—she’s in Heaven today, bless her heart. She has inspired me much over the years. She told a wonderful story of God’s protection. Her journey took her to a certain tribe, and they gave her a hut to sleep in. The little native girl who was with the missionary called her “Ma.” This little native girl had much faith, and the missionary had taken her on journeys to different tribes.

“They put us in a hut,” the missionary related, “and there was an old, rickety ladder reaching up to the ceiling. I was so tired, I didn’t climb the ladder to see what was up there; I just said a little prayer and went off to sleep. Later in the night the girl said, ‘Ma, Ma, did you hear that?’ I said, ‘Yes Honey, I heard that,’ but I didn’t move.”

The next morning the missionary went out to preach to the people under a tree. One man who came to get saved later told her, “I want you to come with me.” He had a big stick in his hands, and wanting to please, she decided to follow along with him. He stopped right in front of her hut and started to go in.

“You can’t go in there,” she said. “That’s my place.”

“Ma, before you came here, that was my place and there’s something in there I want.”

“All right; if something in there was yours before I came, you can have it.”

He went into the hut and up that old, rickety ladder, the missionary right behind him; she wanted to see what he was going to get. When she saw what it was, she said she almost fell off that ladder. A huge snake was curled up in the loft. The man pulled it out, brought it down and killed it.

“Ma,” he said, “before you came, this was my god. We put you in this hut so that my god would kill you.”

Seeing how God had protected the missionary brought that man to God. He said, “I found out your God is bigger than my god.”

Full assurance—she had that protection. They measured that snake and found it to be thirty-two feet long. The Lord had looked out for her, but she said after that, no matter how tired she was, if there were an attic, she climbed up to look in it before she went to sleep.

Sunshine at Midnight

Not my sunshine, Lord, but your sunshine. God’s sunshine comes at midnight or four o’clock in the morning or whenever you depend on it. Yet many of us go into frustration and despair because we feel the sun isn’t shining. The Son of Righteousness always shines His sun upon us.

Do you want Earth’s sun or do you want heavenly sunshine? Jesus brought heavenly sunshine. Not my sunshine, Lord; I want your sunshine in my life; give me your sunshine. Bask in His sunshine.

Some of you let the warmth from the sun up in the sky comfort you much more than you let the sunshine from the Son of Righteousness warm your heart. You can be so cold, chilled to the bone, and go out in the hot sun and it will warm you through and through. If that big sun that God put up in the sky can do that much for you, imagine what more the divine Son can do for you. The warmth of God’s Son is divine, divine, divine—and it’s for the children of God.

The Lord’s Way

Not Daniel’s way, but God’s way. Daniel said, I don’t want my way. Not my way, Lord, but yours. God’s way was the lions’ den, but Daniel chose the way of the Lord—and look what a victory.

Not my way, Moses was saying, but your way, Lord. The Lord’s way was right through the Red Sea.

Not my way, said Joshua, your way, Lord. Marching around the walls of Jericho until they came tumbling down was the way of the Lord. His ways are not ours.

Not my way, Elijah cried, but your way, Lord.

Not my way, Job was saying, I want your will, not mine, Lord.

Not my will, Lord, Isaiah the prophet said. Here am I, send me.

Not my will, but yours, Lord, was Enoch’s every thought. And the will of the Lord was to take Enoch to Heaven alive.

It was also the will of God for Elijah to go to Heaven alive. But one day under the juniper tree, Elijah wasn’t asking for God’s will. Instead he pleaded: It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life (I Kings 19:4). God understood and sent an angel to minister to him. Elijah yielded to the will of God, and in the end, he went to Heaven without dying. There appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire…and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (II Kings 2:11).

Do you really want the will of God? Is that what you want? The will of the Lord may be to go by the way of the fiery furnace en route to Heaven, but the will of the Lord is always best. In the will of the Lord you’ll find all the strength, all the grace, all the power and all the greatness that the Man of Galilee used when He was here on Earth; it’s all yours.

Not my will, but your will, Lord. When you say not my will, it includes all I have brought to you today and much more. Many people don’t realize what they’re really saying when they ask for God’s will to be done.

Receive the Holy Ghost

The Bride will cry: Not my will, but yours, Lord! Each member of the bridal company will cry that over and over again and mean it just like the Master meant it when He said, “Father, not my will, but yours be done.” The Lord Jesus proved that He was human in that hour. The flesh does get weak, but as long as we have the divine Spirit within us, it makes our spirit willing to yield to the Holy Spirit. It is essential to yield your spirit to the Holy Spirit; that’s the only way God can work.

Jesus had the Holy Ghost when He was here. John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Him in the form of a dove. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him [Jesus], and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased (Luke 3:22).

Jesus told the disciples He would pray to the Father, and they would receive the Holy Ghost. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (John 14:16,17).

Acts 2:38,39, Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. The Holy Ghost is for every one of you: You won’t yield to all God’s will daily without the Holy Spirit; it’s impossible. Jesus let us know that the human spirit could not do it without the power of the Holy Ghost. That’s the reason Jesus commanded His disciples to receive the Holy Ghost baptism. He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost (John 20:22).

Many people say we don’t need the Holy Spirit baptism; but if we don’t need the Holy Ghost, if He’s not a must in this hour, why did Jesus have to have the Holy Ghost to be able to bring us all that He brought and show us how to use it? I’m glad that the Holy Ghost is for you and for your children, and for all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Not my will, Lord, but your will.

Salvation and Healing

If you need salvation today, why not say this prayer? Oh, God, save my soul. I’m so sorry I sinned against you, but I have come home. I confess that I am lost. I confess all my sins. I beg your forgiveness, and I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus. Come on in, Jesus, and have your way in my life. Not my will, but thine be done today and all the tomorrows that I have left. Your will be done in my life.

If you are sick and afflicted, or maybe your little one is afflicted, the Lord said, I am the Lord that healeth thee (Exodus 15:26). I’m the Lord’s believer. He has gifted me with His gifts to help people. He pours His power through me to work His will for people. It’s divinity at work, and He confirms it. I preach the Word, tell people what God has said, and it works, it works, it works.

Lord, I bring the people to you today. I bring that person who is bound with heart trouble, those with diabetes, cancer, AIDS, that paralyzed one, that blind one, that crippled one, and that little one who is diseased, deformed, born with just part of a brain. Make them all well today. In the name of Jesus, heal! In the holy, holy name of the Lord, heal! In the mighty all-powerful name of Jesus, heal! I pray.

His power is flowing into the bodies of people to get them well; give Him all the honor, the praise, and the glory.

If you felt His presence, watch yourself or your little one get well, and then write and tell me about it. And you who found Jesus today: Let us rejoice with you. It’s wonderful to hear from people, to know they have been healed, saved, or delivered by the divine hand of our Lord. How marvelous He is!

Not my will, Lord, but your will. Do you mean it?