Elisabeth Elliot - The Glory of God's Will (English)

high in the mountains of North Wales in a place called Chiana mouth we Liz a shepherd named John Jones with his wife muddy and his black and white dog Mac I stood one misty summer morning in the window of their farmhouse watching John on horseback herding the Sheep with Mac a few cows were quietly chewing their cud in a nearby corner while perhaps a hundred sheep moved across the dewy meadow toward the pens where they were to be dipped Mac a champion Scottish collie was in his glory he came of a long line of working dogs and he had sheep in his blood this was what he was made for this was what he had been trained to do and it was a marvelous thing to see him circling to the right circling to the left barking crouching racing along herding a stray sheep here nipping at a stubborn one there his eyes always glued to the Sheep his ears listening for the tiny metal whistle from his master which I couldn't hear mighty took me to the depends to watch what John had to do there when all the animals had been shut inside the gates Mac tour around the outside of the pens and took up his position at the dipping trough frantic with expectation waiting for the chance to leap into action again one by one John seized the Rams by their curled horns and flung them into the antiseptic they would struggle to climb out the side and Mac would snarl and snap at their faces to force them back in just as they were about to climb up the ramp at the far end John caught them by the horns with a wooden spun them around forced them back under again eyes ears and nose and held them for a few seconds I've had some experiences in my life which have made me feel very sympathetic with those poor Rams I couldn't figure out any reason for the treatment that I was getting from the Shepherd that I trusted and he did he give me a hint of expert explanation as I watched the struggling sheep I thought if only there was some way to explain but such knowledge is too wonderful for them it's high they cannot attain unto it so far as they could see there was no point whatsoever when the Rams had been dipped John rode out again on his horse to herd the used which were in a different pasture again I watched with muddy as John and Mac went to work the one in charge the other obedient sometimes tearing at top speed around the flock Mac would jam on four wheel breaks his eyes blazing but still on the Sheep his body tense and quivering but obedient to the command to stop what the Shepherd saw the dog could not see the weak you that lagged behind the one caught in a bush the danger that lay ahead for the flock did the Sheep have any idea what's happening I asked Mattie not a clue she said and what about the dog I can't forget her answer the dog doesn't understand the pattern only obedience there are those who would call it nothing more than a blind obedience a conditioned reflex but in that Welsh pasture in the cool of that summer morning I saw far more than blind obedience I saw acted out exactly what I want to talk about tonight I saw two creatures who were in the fullest sense in their glory a man who had given his life to sheep who loved them and loved his dog and a dog whose trust in that man was absolute whose obedience was instant and unconditional and whose very meat and drink was to do the will of his master he never stopped wagging his tail I delight to do thy will was what Mac said yay thy law is within my heart my topic is the glory of God's will my husband used to say that a speaker has four speeches the one he prepares the one he actually delivers the one his audience thinks it heard and the one that gets reported in the newspapers the next day and there's not necessarily any relationship between them in an effort to bring into closer alignment what I want to say with what you hear me say I'm going to tell you what it is then I'm going to try to say it and then I'll tell you what I said one the glory of God's will for us means absolute trust - it means the will to do his will and 3 it means joy now what is this thing called trust did max response to John's commands hinge on the dogs approval of the route his master was taking Mac didn't know what the Shepherd was up to but he knew the Shepherd have you have you and I got a master we can trust do we ask first of all to be allowed to examine and approve the scheme the Apostle Paul never said I know what God is up to he said I know whom I have believed we start then with the recognition of who God is he is our Creator the one who's spoken word called into being the unimaginable thing called space which scientists tell us is curved and the equally unimaginable thing called time which the Bible tells us will cease he set the stars in their trajectories and put the sliding shutter on the list lizards I this is the God who dreamed you up thought of you before light existed created you formed you and now calls you by name he says fear not Susan he says I have redeemed you Steve when the Apostle John was an old man in exile on an island called Patmos on account of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus he was granted a vision of one like a son of man eyes like a flame of fire a voice like a waterfall his face shining like the full strength of the Sun and in his hand he held seven stars old John who had known and loved Jesus fell at his feet as one did and then the hand that held the seven stars was laid on him and the voice that was like a thundering cataract said fear not I am the first and the last I died I am Alive I have the keys now write what you see what John saw turned out to be the book of the revelation the most abstruse of all the books of the Bible full of bowls of Wrath and bizarre beasts and lightning and harps and smoke and seas of glass and rainbows of emerald the courage it took to put all that down in writing for other people to read came from the vision that John had had of who it was was asking him to do it it's the same one who asks you and me to do what he wants us to do the God of creation who's got the whole wide world in his hands the God who in the person of Jesus Christ for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was made man and was crucified those hands that keep a million worlds from spinning into oblivion were nailed motionless to a cross for us that hand that held the Stars laid on you can you trust him 2,000 years ago Paul said that the Jews were looking for miracles the Greeks were seeking after wisdom not much has changed has it people are still looking for instant solutions chasing after astrologers and gurus and therapists and counselors but Christianity still has only one story to tell it's an old old story Jesus died for you trust him Carl Bart was once asked to sum up in a few words all that he had written in the field of theology this was the sum jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so if you can trust that kind of God what do you do next you do what he tells you you obey this was a second thing that I saw as I watched the Shepherd and his dog if you know your master you will to do his will this world is his show he's running it do we think of it as under our management created for the service of our own desires do your own thing they tell us they even say if it feels good do it have you ever heard a more idiotic piece of advice is it our world a sort of make-your-own-sundae proposition with the will of God just a nice creamy squirt of earthly success and heavenly approval that goes on top the will of God is not something you add to your life it is a course you choose you either line yourself up with the Son of God and say to the father thy will be done or you capitulate to the principle which governs the rest of the world and you say my will be done Harry bleh Myers has said from the human race today goes up one mighty prayer of praise and one tremendous shout of defiance against the loving rule of God at every moment and in every act or thought we swell the volume of that him of praise or else of that cry of blasphemous rebellion we identify ourselves with Christ or we deny him Jesus chose a path and went down it like a thunderbolt when we say as Christ did I have set my face like a flint to do his will we are baptized into his death and like the seed which falls into the ground and dies we rise to new life we have shared his death Paul wrote to the Romans let us rise and live our new lives with him put yourselves in God's hands as weapons of good for his own purposes that's hard clear language put yourself Oh B D instead as action I can't find anything about feelings in the scriptures that deal with obedience it's an act of the will our wills are ours wrote Tennyson to make them thine God gave us this precious gift of freedom of the will so that we would have something to give back to him put yourself in his hands choose give yourself present your bodies a living sacrifice until you offer up your will you do not know Jesus as Lord there are many men and women here tonight unsure who have made this choice and have said the eternal yes to God thy will be done if you're wondering when I'm ever going to get to the part about how you can know what it is that God wants you to do if you can just figure out what the orders are you're willing to obey them you wish with all your that it was as clear to you as the pillar of fire was to the children of Israel or the little metal whistle to the collie dog you high-school seniors don't know which college to go to you college freshman wonder what you're going to major in a lot of you came to our bana four Plex about a missionary career are you called or not and it's just possible that there are a dozen or so here who would like to get married how can you possibly know let me tell you a story when the author of Christ the tiger was a small boy he used to pull out of the cupboard the paper bag that his mother saved and spread them around the kitchen floor this was permitted on the condition that he collect them and put them away when he finished playing one day his mother who also happens to be my mother found the bags all over the kitchen and Tommy in the living room where his father was playing the piano when she called him to pick up the bags there was a short silence and a small voice but I want to sing jesus loves me my father took the opportunity to point out that it's no good singing God's praises while you're being disobedient to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams to will to do God's will involves body mind and spirit not spirit alone bringing the body under obedience means going to bed at a sensible hour watching your weight cutting out the junk food grooming yourself carefully for the sake of others it means when the alarm clock goes off your feet hit the floor you have to move some of you remember hearing of Gladys Aylward that remarkable little London parlor maid who went to China as a missionary she spent seven years there of happy single life before an English English couple came to work nearby and as she watched them she began to realize that she had been missing out on something wonderful so she prayed that God would choose a man for her in England call him and send him straight out to her part of China and have him propose then as she told me this story she leaned toward me on the sofa where we were sitting her bony little finger pointing into my face and she said Elizabeth I believe God answers Wow he called him but he okay a little like the alarm clock the call to duty but you have to put your feet on the floor so much for the obedience of the body bringing the mind under obedience means for example doing that reading your professor has assigned the will of God for a student is to study you don't need to do any praying about whether you should study the will of God for a Christian is to be a witness you are the light of the world my witnesses Jesus said you don't need to do any praying about whether this is your job or not but bringing the spirit under obedience entails plenty of praying for understanding and for guidance about the how when and where the Bible won't tell you whom to marry or what mission field to go to but I believe with all my heart that as you seek honestly to do the things you're sure about God will show you the things you aren't sure about we might as well admit that most of our difficulties are not with what we don't understand but with what we do understand in preparation for writing a book on the guidance of God I read through the entire Bible to find out how he guided people in those days I found that in the overwhelming majority of cases it was not through what we'd call supernatural means voices visions angels or miracles but by natural means in the course of everyday circumstances when a man was simply doing what he was supposed to be doing taking care of sheep or fighting a battle or mending fish nets that he received his guidance just before he issued the Emancipation Proclamation a group of ministers urged Abraham Lincoln to grant immediate freedom to all slaves it is my earnest desire to know the will of Providence in this matter Lincoln wrote and if I can learn what it is I will do it I suppose it will be granted that I am NOT to expect a direct revelation I'm a study the plain physical facts of the case and learn what appears to be wise and right the subject is difficult and good men do not agree Lincoln sets for us a sane and humble example there's no reason to assume that divine guidance is a purely spiritual matter or an inward impression if we belong to the Lord lock stock and barrel body mind and spirit why should we expect him to employ only the spirit Lincoln said I must study the plain physical facts of the case if the case happens to be the matter of becoming a missionary you have to believe that God has something to do with you're even considering such a career at all what brought it to your attention how come you're here at or bana think of all the things that had to fit together to get you here at all you heard about it friends talked about it you couldn't see giving up your Christmas vacation to go and listen to a bunch of creatures or missionaries you didn't have time you didn't have the money and here you are you ask God to speak to you you look at a particular need and you see that you could in fact fill that need the timing is right my time said the psalmist are in thy hands you have certain gifts no but mine aren't any good I mean like you know I can't do what she does you say I'm not talking about what she does consider the gifts that God gave you circumstances may point the way even your own desires could be sanctified and used for God's purposes study the facts the need the timing gifts circumstances desires the clear command to witness use your head don't over spiritual eyes trust the shepherd to show you the path of righteousness for his name's sake and remember that nobody can steer a car that's parked one week before I graduated from college I learned that a young man named Jim Elliott was in love with me for months I had been hoping that this would happen but I kept telling myself that it would be fatuous to imagine that he could ever look twice at me he was what we used to call a BTO a big-time operator while I was a TW Oh a teeny-weeny operator and I was sure that every little sign that he might be interested in me was only my desperately wishful thinking no he told me that he loved me my heart turned over and then sank like a stone when he went on to say that he hadn't the least inkling that God wanted him to marry me he was going to South America I thought I was going to Africa each of us had just been through months of hard searching in an attempt to accept the possibility of life as a single missionary we believed we had reached that point and then WHAM here we were in love how do you discern the will of God when your own desires shout so loud we prayed the prayer of what he acquitted him breathe through the heat of our desire thy coolness and thy balm let sense be dumb let flesh retire speak through the earthquake wind and fire o still small voice of calm we prayed Amy Carmichael's prayer I pray thee hush the hurrying eager longing I pray thee soothe the pangs of King desire see in my quiet places wishes thronging forbid them Lord purge though it be with fire and work in me to will and do thy pleasure till all within me peaceful reconciled tarry content my well beloved's leisure at last at last even as a weaned child in one evening as we talked about what was at stake we agreed that it was really too big for us to handle God's call to the mission field was strong our love was if anything stronger there seemed to be only one thing to do to put the whole thing back into the hands that made us and let him do what he wanted with it if he didn't want us together that would be the end of it if he did no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly we had to believe that promise some of you know the end of the story we waited five years then God gave us to each other for two years does this make the will of God sound even more scary let me go on to the third lesson you forgotten the first two by now the shepherd at his dog reminded me that the glory of God's will means first absolute trust it means second the will to do his will and it means believe me young men and women it means joy it can't mean anything less from the kind of God we've been talking about he made us for glory and for joy does he ask us to offer up our wills to him so that he can destroy us does he take the desire of our hearts and grind it to a powder be careful of your answer sometimes it seems that he does just that the Rams were flung helplessly into the sheep dip by the Shepherd they had trusted God led the people of Israel to a place called Mara where the water was bitter Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil the disciples were led into a storm John the Baptist faithful servant at the whim of a silly dancing girl and her evil scheming mother had his head chopped off nearly 21 years ago five American missionaries attempted to take the gospel to a group of jungle Indians who had never heard of Christ on the eve of their departure they sang that great hymn by edith cherry from the InterVarsity hymnal we rest on thee our shield and our defender we go not forth alone against the foe strong in thy strength safe in thy keeping tender we rest on thee and in thy name too we go one of the men was Jim Eliot my husband by that time who had written in his diary when he was a junior in college Father take my life yeh my blood if thou wilt it is not mine to save have it Lord months of preparation went into the effort to reach the Alka Indians of Ecuador the men prayed planned worked dropped gifts from an airplane and believed at last that God was clearly showing them that it was time to go they went and Jim's prayer was answered far more literally than he could have envisioned they were all speared to death five men who had put their trust in a God who represents himself as our shield were speared to death they were speared in the course of their obedience now what does that do to your faith does it demolish it a faith that disintegrates is a faith that has not rested in God himself you've been believing in something less than ultimate some neat program of how things are supposed to work some happiness all the time variety of religion you have not recognized God as sovereign in the world and in your life you've forgotten that we're told to give up all right to ourselves lose our lives for his sake present our bodies as a living sacrifice the word is sacrifice in one of Jim Elliot's love letters and they were different for most I can assure you he reminded me that if we are the Sheep of his pasture we are headed for the altar that isn't the end of the story to get back to the question as to whether God grinds our hopes to powder the will of God is love and the love of God is not a sentiment in the divine mind it's a purpose for the world it's a sovereign and eternal purpose for every individual life everything that happened says Romans 8:28 fits into a pattern for good there's an overall pattern when my second husband was a boy he used to visualize God sitting up there surveying a huge chart he said he got this idea from the Lord's Prayer our Father charged in heaven last year my daughter and I had tea with Corrie ten Boom and she talked about her own experience and that of my husband Jim she took out a piece of embroidery which she held up with the back to us just a jumble of threads which made no sense at all and she repeated for us this poem my life is but a weaving betwixt my God and me I do not choose the colors he worketh steadily times he chooses sorrow and I and foolish pride forget he sees the upper and I the underside she then turned the piece over and we saw that it was a gold crown on a purple background the dog doesn't understand the pattern only obedience as George McDonald put it obedience is but the other side of the creative will I have two more things to say about the why the will of God means joy it is redemptive and it transforms it is redemptive for it means joy not only for me as an individual but for the rest of the world as well did it ever occur to you that by your being obedient to God you are participating with Christ in his death and then in His redemptive work Paul told us this he said we have shared his death we are weapons of good for his own purposes your response helps all the rest of us obey God I say to you for his sake first of all obey him for your own sake if you lose your life remember he promised you'd find it but obey Him - for my sake for the sake of all of us as a spiritual principle here the same one that went into operation when Jesus went to the cross it's the principle of the corn of wheat the offering up of ourselves our bodies our wills our plans our deepest hearts desire to God is the laying down of our lives for the life of the world this is the mystery of sacrifice there's no calculating where it will end this is what I mean by transformation the bitter water the wilderness the storm the cross are changed to sweetness peace and life out of death God wills to transform all loss into gain all shadow into radiance I know he wants to give you beauty for Ashes he's given me the oil of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness Jim Elliott and his four companions believed that the world passes away and the lust thereof but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever another translation says they are part of the permanent and cannot die in Jim's own words by giving up what he couldn't keep he gained what he couldn't lose Jesus had to go down into death the corn if we'd had to be buried divided alone in order to bring bring forth life I've told you what I was going to say I've said it the glory of God's will means trust it means the will to do his will and it means joy can you lose certainly you can go ahead and lose your life that's how you find it what's your life for Jesus said my life for the life of the world you must meet with the Lord each day - now when you and I were younger I can remember some of the things you did I don't know how you meet the Lord now I know you do and I know the students would like to hear something of how you meet God in your own personal quiet time would you share us a little bit for that I get up early enough in the morning to be able to do this before breakfast I spend half an hour 45 minutes usually and I try to start out with the him I don't sing it out loud I have seminary students who live in my house and I don't think they'd appreciate being awakened at that hour with me singing but I go over the words of some morning hymns such as glory to thee my God or when morning guilds the skies my heart awakening cries may Jesus Christ be praised there are times when if I were to express my own true feelings it would be when morning Guild's the skies my heart awakening cries don't tell me it's time to get up already but as I said a few minutes ago our obedience is not dependent on our feelings we have to do a lot of things we don't feel like doing I then read the Bible asking God to open my eyes I try to read straight through the Bible consecutively and I read normally about three chapters a day and make notes and underline sometimes I do topical studies or underline particular kinds of words sometimes it's marvelously illuminating to underline the verbs in a chapter or the nouns in a chapter and then I pray and I have a list my memory is terrible so I have a list of people that I pray for every day and then another separate list for each day of the week which I usually go through very routinely and you can be sure that I don't necessarily have any accompanying feelings that goes along with this and somebody has said pray when you feel like praying pray when you don't feel like praying and praying until you do feel like praying and if I were to limit my prayers to times when I felt very religious or very spiritual I would have done very little praying in my life then I also should say that I regard prayers work if it were just feelings then I guess we could limit it to fun but I do think prayer is work and it's meant to be intercessory prayer it's certainly meant to be work then if I have time left over maybe five five or seven minutes or so then I read some other kind of book besides the Bible right now I'm reading a marvelous book called the courage to pray by metropolitan Anthony thank you very much

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Keywords: elisabeth elliot, jim elliot, the glory of gods will, elisabeth elliot bio, elisabeth elliot ecuador, jim elliot missionary, elliot missionary

Id: Z_BJs1Stb_M

Length: 42min 18sec (2538 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 10 2013