Dr. Stanley shares the timeless truths of God’s Word that have provided him with a solid foundation for living the Christian life. Learn valuable lessons such as the importance of spending time with the Lord, relying upon the Holy Spirit, accepting God¨s unconditional love, and more. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to intouch.org/tv.
start your day off right with the free
in-touch devotional subscribe today
[Music]
[Music]
in touch with Dr Charles Stanley
reaching the world with the Gospel of
Jesus Christ through sound Biblical
teaching
next on InTouch lessons I have learned
do you live by principle or by the
pressures of the moment do you find
yourself making decisions based on
immediate feelings or rather by the
principles of the word of God
are you more influenced by your
environment around you or by the Holy
Spirit who’s living within you could you
say that you have a sense of direction a
sense of meaning a sense of purpose in
your life are you just sort of
responding and reacting to life as
situations and circumstances arise the
Bible is full of great principles Godly
principles by which our Lord wants us to
live in fact you could go from Genesis
to Revelation and there’s one principle
after the other that God has given us
because you see this is God’s
instruction book for living
the wisest thing that a father can do
for his children is to teach them very
early in life listen to believe that
this is the word of God and to share
these principles of scripture in such a
fashion that they will be guided by
Divine principles those principles that
make it possible for us to live life at
its very best and I want you to turn if
you will to Proverbs chapter 3 which is
probably the anchor chapter in the Bible
for me personally because there’s a
simple passage within this that somehow
I’ve always gone back to over and over
and over again through these years he
says beginning in verse 1 of chapter 3
my son do not forget my teaching but let
your heart keep my Commandments the
length of days and years of life and
peace they will add to you
do not let kindness and Truth leave you
bind them around your neck write them on
the tablet of your heart so you’ll find
favor and good repute in the sight of
God and man and listen to this trust in
the Lord with all your heart do not lean
on your own understanding in all your
ways acknowledge Him and He will make
your path straight do not be wise in
your own eyes
fear the lord and turn away from Evil it
will be healing to your body and
refreshment to your bones honor the Lord
from your wealth and from the first of
all your produce so your barns will be
filled with plenty and your vets will
overflow with new wine
my son do not reject the discipline of
the Lord aloe has reproof For Whom the
lord loves he reproves even as a father
the son in whom he Delights what I want
to do in this passage and in this
message primarily is to share with you
some of the most important principles
that God has laid upon my own life those
principles by which he has guided my
life there are many others besides the
one I want to mention
but these are the ones that he is most
impressed upon my own heart guided Me by
over all these years for which I am very
very grateful and I want to begin with
the very first one the one that my
grandfather taught me when I was 17
years of age he didn’t even realize the
impact he was having upon my life but he
laid this principle before me in a very
simple fashion obey God and leave all
the consequences of your obedience to
him in order to be obedient to God and
lead the consequences to him it requires
two things number one it requires that
you and I first of all learn how to
listen to God if I do not know how to
listen to God then I will not know how
to be obedient to God that’s why you
cannot separate learning to listen to
him and obeying him
a second thing that is absolutely
essential and that is that I trust him
one of the biggest problems we have in
this whole issue is the idea of the fear
of what may happen if we trust him that
is if I do not understand what the
consequences might be if I can’t see
what the consequences are if I can’t see
my way clear oftentimes one of the
reasons we don’t obey him is because we
want him to give us in graphic detail
what the consequences will be if we obey
him and God is under no obligation to
show me the consequences but I will say
this God has made himself responsible he
is obligated listen to be responsible
for the consequences of our obedience
remember that God is responsible for the
consequences of our obedience it is my
responsibility to learn how to listen to
him
my responsibility to trust him his
responsibility to as a result of my
obedience take care of all those
consequences now oftentimes one of the
things we have to deal with is the
clamor of other people what they think
we should do how they think we should
live in decisions they think we ought to
make and the truth is if you listen to
the world and oftentimes even if you
listen to people who mean well you will
not find nor hear the will of God
oftentimes people tell us what they
think we want to hear what they think
will be easy on us and what they think
we should do from their perspective when
nobody knows the will and purpose of God
for our life but almighty God and
therefore when we say obey God and leave
all the consequences to him we cannot
learn a greater lesson in life
it takes courage to be obedient when you
don’t know what the consequence is going
to be it takes Faith to be obedient when
you don’t have any idea what the
consequences are going to be and
oftentimes when we try to picture and
foretell in our own mind and our own
thinking from a human point of view what
we think the consequences might be so
often we are absolutely totally in error
because only God in his omniscience
knows what the consequences will be so
if you’ll remember obey God leave all
the consequences to him almighty God is
totally responsible for the consequences
of our obedience second lesson I would
mention is simply this and that is learn
to trust the Lord for every single thing
in life that we need and oftentimes it
is difficult and failure that teaches us
how to learn to trust him God is going
to send us enough difficulty and
hardship in our life he’s going to send
us enough trials and tribulations in
order to teach us to trust them how
would we ever know how to trust him if
we didn’t face circumstances in
situations in which we didn’t feel
helpless and hopelessly lost apart from
the divine intervention of God you can
trust him for every single need you can
trust him to protect your nervous
circumstance and one of the scriptures
he keeps laying on my heart all through
these years is no weapon formed against
you shall prosper and over and over and
over again his weapons have been tossed
at me from one reason or the other over
and over he sent me back to that passage
you’re going to believe what I’ve said
rather than what you see and what you
feel if you’ll just remember that
believe what he says rather than what
you feel or what you see because if you
believe what you feel it can be very
erroneous if you believe what you hear
can be very erroneous if you believe
what God says you never never go wrong
doing what’s right the Third lesson that
I think is so very important is this and
that is learning to wait upon God for
his Direction and his timing here’s what
I’ve discovered when he says wait it’s
probably for one of three reasons number
one because I’m not ready for what he
has it may be that what I believe is the
will of God is the will of God but the
timing is not my timing it’s his time
and he says no way and sometimes we wait
a while we think God I’ve waited long
enough he says no wait are you going to
believe what I said are you going to
believe are you going to believe what
you what you see are you going to
believe what you feel when God says wait
I cannot tell you how important this is
this is one of the most difficult
lessons to learn but it is one of the
most important don’t budge until God
gives you permission to move one of the
reasons is because we’re not ready a
second reason is because the
circumstance that he is preparing for us
that circumstance isn’t ready you and I
can’t rush God we can’t hurry God when
God puts a situation circumstances
together he puts it together in his
perfect timing in his perfect way
oftentimes When God says no don’t don’t
move why Lord just trust me don’t move
but God look at all these things that
are taking place in times going by don’t
move trust me don’t move
a third reason is because God has
something better here we are waiting for
this and God has something absolutely
better over here that you and I have
never dreamed of never thought about and
so I would say lesson number three very
important lesson learn to wait for God’s
Direction and for God’s timing in your
life
the next one I would simply say is one
that is so very important and oftentimes
we think well principles and lessons
that God would teach us uh How would how
could this possibly be one of them but
it’s one of them because
as I think about over the years one of
the most profitable things I ever have
ever done I learned very early in life
and so what is this principle this
principle is this give generously to the
Lord’s work here’s what I’ve discovered
if I if I hold on if I become attached
to anything in life materially what I’m
doing is I’m holding on to something if
I’m holding on to something God can’t
put anything in the hands that that a
tightly fisted like this when I open my
hands to God and say Lord whatever I
have is yours you can take anything you
want you can take as much as you want
all you got to do is to tell me what you
want and here it is if I do that you
know what I know that I’m not I’m not
attached to anything
anytime you get to get to holding on
anything and money becomes a priority in
your life mark this down you’re going to
lose it God is going to see to it that
you lose it money is not our goal our
goal is to walk obediently before God
but if you and I will walk obediently
before God and follow his principles of
giving here’s what he will do he will
prosper you in ways you’ll never be able
to imagine here’s something else it will
protect you from greed it will protect
you from selfishness it will protect you
from becoming materialistically attached
I’m telling you what’s part of what’s
wrong with this whole nation of ours is
that we’ve become a greedy Nation
somehow somebody’s convinced and
persuaded us if we have enough things
enough of this and enough of that enough
of the other we will be happy there is
no happiness no joy and no peace in
things it is to be found in a
relationship with Jesus Christ well I
think another principle that’s so very
important to me and that is I cannot
live the Christian Life it is Christ
Living it through me I can remember the
first time that ever came to my mind I’d
never heard a sermon on it ever read a
book never saw a track never heard
anything about it I picked up this book
by Dr V Raymond Edmond who was then the
president of Wheaton College and he
wrote this book entitled they found the
secret it was simply simple biographical
sketches of the spiritual life and the
spiritual journey of some great men and
women of God I opened that book up one
night
one Friday night and uh walked out to my
study in the backyard and I began to
read I began to read that first chapter
about Hudson Taylor
I didn’t read but a very few pages
probably about page seven by the time I
got there I thought Lord here’s somebody
who feels exactly the way I feel here’s
somebody who’s struggling with the bird
things I’m struggling with that night
for the first time in my life the very
idea that Jesus Christ came to live on
the inside of me to live through me a
life I could not live because I was
struggling trying to do my best grew up
in a legalistic kind of a church don’t
do this don’t do that don’t do the other
tried my best to do what I should do
didn’t do very well at it I was a Roman
7 Christian what I didn’t want to do I
found myself doing what I wanted to do I
didn’t have the strength to do failure
after failure after failure after
failure trying and trying and I would
plead and pray and fast and tell God
what I was going to do and I was going
to do better and better and better and I
got worse and worse and worse until he
finally got me to the absolute total end
of myself that somehow the Christian
Life was not working and I can remember
the very week that I was that I read
this book I’d already come to the
conclusion God either you’ve got to tell
me something I don’t know I’ve got to
quit telling people you just trust Lord
Jesus Christ that he’ll give you peace
and happiness and joy in your life
because I’ve got it on Sunday Come
Monday I don’t have it something’s wrong
I remember one of the fellows in that
church he kept he’d come down the aisle
about uh about at least twice a month
that’s no exaggeration come down
rededicate his life I got to think and
what in the world’s wrong with him he’s
a good friend of mine what in the world
is wrong that he has to dedicate his
rededicate his life every two weeks I
thought something’s wrong something is
either wrong with the preaching Uh
something’s wrong with him something’s
wrong and then it’s like the Lord showed
me what are you preaching you’re
preaching do good be good you can’t do
good you can’t be good there’s something
all messed up in all this I got up off
my knees that night when I realized John
chapter 15 and verse those first few
verses when Jesus said I’m abiding in
you and you’re abiding in me he says as
the branch abides in the vine he says so
I’m abiding in you and you’re abiding in
me for the first time in my life I
recognized I heard God say to me so
Crystal Clear I’ve never intended if you
live the Christian Life you can’t do it
you never have done it you’ve failed and
failed and failed now you’re preaching
to people they don’t know what the
world’s going on because they can’t live
up to it either I’m telling you you
can’t I’m the only one who can live this
life through you when I get up off that
place I was so liberated I was so afraid
I didn’t even know how to explain it
it’s like God had dumped a whole
theology in my mind and heart I didn’t
know how to explain it I couldn’t even
understand what it was all about at
first except I knew that what I had been
trying to do God never intended me to do
he intended for me to rely upon Him
trust in him and allow him to live his
life in and through me then all of a
sudden Galatians chapter 2 verse 20 came
to my mind and came to my heart when
Paul said I’ve been crucified with
Christ nevertheless I live yet not I he
says but it’s Christ Living on the
inside of me and the life which I now
live I live by the faith of the Son of
God who loved me and gave himself for me
you talking about liberated I dumped off
all listen all of my attempts to live up
to and please and somehow perform for
God to accept me all went away in one
night
it’s the most liberating lesson I’ve
ever learned in life and it’s my prayer
and the tragedy is this the tragedy is
this most Believers will go to their
grave in the bondage of trying to please
God trying to perform trying to live up
to trying somehow to be good enough to
get his acceptance when it is absolutely
impossible remember what Grace is all
about Grace is all about the fact that
God loves us in spite of who we are God
has forgiven us when we don’t deserve it
it is not living up to performing or
trying to measure up to anything one of
the most liberating lessons is it is
Christ in us when I began to read the
Epistles of Paul after that everywhere I
turned in Christ in Christ in him in
whom in fact you could write you could
rack up the whole Theology of the
Apostle Paul in these two words in
Christ because Paul understood that he
understood his own failures and that’s
why in Romans 7 he says I couldn’t do it
I tried and I couldn’t in Romans 8 he
says thank God that he has liberated me
in the person of Jesus Christ Romans 8
is a great chapter Victory Romans 7 is a
great chapter of defeat most of us live
in defeat until somehow we learn that it
is Christ in us and not we ourselves
well when I think about all these
principles and think about what God has
done in my own heart I think about one
of the most reassuring ones of all is
the fact that God loves us
unconditionally listen carefully the
Reason God loves you and me
unconditionally has nothing to do with
what we are who we are how we act it has
to do with his nature it is the very
character and nature of God to love with
all the fullness and all the potential
that the Divine love has to offer it
says nothing to do with us it has to do
with him you see he’s the one who gets
the glory and the credit and the praise
it is God loving us in spite of us and
loving us through and loving us not
because of anything within us but simply
because he’s the God he is
it took me years and years and years to
overcome the conclusion yes I can
confess I can declare To The World God
loves me unconditionally no matter what
when I think about people for example
who cannot believe in eternal security
who struggle with the millions who do
they just can’t believe that that once
they’re saved by the grace of God they
say well you know if you believe that
then that’s license for sin my friend
listen once you understand that God
loves you unconditionally you don’t look
for license for sin you’re not looking
for freedom for sin what you want to do
is you want to be obedient to God
because you’re so grateful for that kind
of love when you trust them as your
personal savior he seals you the Bible
says under the day of redemption he says
you’re a child of God nothing you can
ever do can listen can alter the fact
that Jesus Christ died for your sin can
ever alter the fact that he loves you
absolutely unconditionally you could
never be lost after God has saved you
because he says he sealed you with the
Holy Spirit he’s living on the inside of
you you’d have to take the spirit of God
to hell with you to die and be lost
when I think about people who live in
the bondage of fear every day you’re
going to heaven I’m not sure why not
well if you trusted Jesus as your savior
well I tried well did you do it yes I
did well uh did he savior I think he did
well you save I think I am no are you
saved well I think so you know what
they’re doing here’s what they’re doing
looking at their behavior looking at
their conduct looking at their past
judging listen judging themselves the
way they would judge someone else when
God loves us absolutely unconditionally
unconditionally and has saved us forever
well the next principle when you notice
is this and that is that God is in
absolute control of every circumstance
of life I don’t know of a more
comforting thought than that that God is
absolutely in total control he says no
weapon formed against you will prosper
not any he says why because he’s in
control what appears to be oftentimes
something that is against us or
something that uh that would destroy us
in some fashion God knows exactly what
is happening you and I listen we live
Under The Canopy of his Divine Omni
listen omniscience omnipresence
omnipotence he is in absolute control of
every single facet of our life if I
didn’t believe that I would quit
preaching the word of God because it
would mean that we are now victims and
the world can do this to us and the
world can do that and therefore just
anything can happen within where is
Faith where is this Jehovah God who is
abso listen he is absolute and
faithfulness and infinite in power if
he’s all the Bible says he is he is
absolutely Sovereign therefore he is in
total control of every every single
thing that happens people who don’t
believe that they’ll tell you what you
ought to do
they want you to make this decision that
decision of incision the problem is
they’re not willing to trust God they
don’t know the god that you know they
don’t understand that he’s Sovereign in
control listen if God is in Sovereign
control of your life who am I to tell
you how to live your life who am I to
tell you what to do next if God is in
control of your life if you’re listening
to him if you ask me I’d say well here’s
what the word of God says that you have
to make up your own mind does this fit
the principles of God is this is this a
sovereign God at work in your life doing
something very good how often I have
seen in my own life in the lives of
others things that were so painful
things that were so difficult well
listen was the very substance that God
was using to build and strengthen and
edify and listen make strong and solid
and established and undergird and
overshadow that person’s life don’t
listen don’t turn away from difficulty
hardship what does he say in Proverbs 3
he says he says do not reject the
discipline of the Lord why because
oftentimes it is that discipline which
may come because of something we’ve done
or because something someone else has
done because God has something in mind
he says don’t turn away from it God is
loving us and what is he going to do he
says he’s going to turn all of that into
something absolutely beautiful
it’s easier for us to believe that about
other people’s lives but not our own
next lesson is this and that is the
importance of absolutely depending upon
the holy spirit for everything I think
one of the most profitable lessons is to
realize I don’t have to do anything in
my spirit I don’t have to do anything in
my flesh I don’t have to do anything in
my strength there is the indwelling
supernatural power of God that indwells
every single believer whatever he calls
you to do you can do it well and you can
do it in a way that’ll make an impact
because that’s the way God designed you
and me to live that he would live on the
inside of us his life through the Holy
Spirit enabling us to accomplish
whatever it might be that’s why none of
us can take any credit you can’t take
any credit if God is the one who’s doing
it and so pride is a heinous sin in fact
God says he hates it he hates it because
it steals him of his glory he hates it
because of its destructive element in a
person’s life because when a person
ceases to depend upon God they must
depend upon themselves and once they do
I’ll tell you Satan has a hook in that
person’s life and they’re headed down
well as I think about all these
principles and how important every
single one of them is I think about this
very important principle and that’s this
what I believe is the priority of life
and that is one of the most important
lessons you’ll ever learn is this listen
that your personal time of meditation
with God should be the priority of your
life listen
you cannot do anything in the Christian
Life more valuable more fruitful more
productive because it listen it
underlies every single one of these
other principles and that is the time
that you and I spend on our needs before
God and listen the time that you’re not
spent on our knees with the word not
listen not just praying you can pray all
kinds of stuff you can get listen you
can get off on all kinds of tangents
praying but if you are praying with the
word of God reading the scriptures
asking God to speak to your heart God
speak to my heart about this show me the
truth about this what are you saying to
me here’s what happens God loves us and
he wants us to himself he wants us to
spend time alone with him just like
every man and every woman who really
loves each other they want time alone
when there’s nobody else they’re just
the two of them they want to fellowship
and have that kind of relationship God
wants you and me alone with him the most
valuable time you and I can spend in any
given day it’s time when we spend alone
being quiet listening to him praying
crying out to him
and oftentimes pastors will say to me
well if you just have one thing to say
to me as young Pastor what would you say
tell them all the same thing the most
important thing in your life is the time
you spend alone with God on your knees
in the word for yourself not looking for
a sermon but you’re looking for God to
speak to your life cannot tell you how
important that is your dad’s going to
teach your children how to do that
before they go to bed at night you go
tonight with them and open the word of
God with your children read them a
passage of scripture and you can read
them other books too but listen don’t
neglect the word of God so early in life
they can’t even remember when they saw
this book you read a little passage pray
with them talk to them listen they will
grow up listen they’ll grow up with a
faith that is strong early in life
because what you did is you fed them on
the word of God you instructed them in
the things what you’re saying by using
this book is listen this book is
important this message is important this
is the word of the Living God the Gospel
of Jesus Christ
can penetrate the most hardened heart
transform that life
and change their Eternal Destiny if
there is one thing that I have learned
over these years it is this this is the
most precious thing on the face of this
Earth this is the revelation of almighty
God and the Apostle Paul said I’m not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ for he
says I’ve learned that it’s the power of
God and the Salvation to everyone who
believes and as I think about so often a
simple message you can speak to several
hundred people seven thousand or several
thousand or several million people you
know what it’s amazing they all hear
they all hear what God is saying to them
those who are listening and God can take
listen my voice is someone else’s voice
put it in some other language let
somebody else say it doesn’t make any
difference it is the awesome power of
the Living Word of God it can transform
a life it can absolutely transform a
person’s Eternal Destiny you and I have
the most precious message the world has
ever known will ever know and here’s
what Isaiah said about it he says the
grass us with us and the flower Fades
but the word of our God stands forever
this is God’s instruction book and my
friend if you want life at its best I’ve
just laid out some principles to you
that I know that work I’ve seen them
work in other people’s life I know
they’re working my life every single one
of them comes from this book you ask God
to show you the principles and for your
life he’ll add some to those he may not
give you the same ones they’re all the
truth if you want life at its best you
go to the best book you go to the
instruction book you go the revelation
of God this is God’s mind put in human
print in order for you and me to
understand who he is and to be able to
come to him through his son Jesus Christ
if you’ve never trusted Jesus Christ as
your savior this is the way you do it
you accept the testimony of the word of
God which says that Jesus Christ is
God’s only begotten son he sent him into
this world to Down the Cross placed upon
him all of your sin so that your entire
sin that past present and future he took
with him to the Cross when he died on
the cross he paid your sin dead and
pulled the way that you’re saved is this
you ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive
you of your sins you accept his death as
full payment for your sin you tell him
that you’re receiving him as your
personal Savior and the moment you do
that by faith you become the child of
the Living God and grew up with the Holy
Spirit sealed the day of redemption and
then listen you have the wonderful
privilege of joining all of us in the
greatest adventure of life and that’s
living the Christian Life by allowing
Jesus to live that wonderful life
through you Moment by moment day by day
I can tell you my friend this is the
only light that really counts this is
the only life that really works this is
the only life that listen not promises
but provides a joy the peace the
happiness and contentment in Good Times
bad times and pleasure and in pain Our
God never changes
thank you
so wherever you are I want to encourage
you to whisper a simple prayer asking
him to forgive you and telling him that
you’re trusting him as your personal
savior today and my friend one thing but
certain you ask him he is ready to save
you ready to change your life