"The Secret Place Part 1" Kathryn Kuhlman

The doctrine of the secret place and its importance as the controlling center of a kingdom is the essential factor of the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's exactly what I want to talk to you about today. Oh, it's a glorious truth. And it concerns each one of us. It has meant so much to me. And of course, one cannot give to anyone else any more than they have experienced themselves. And I pray that as it has been such an important factor in my life, I pray that you too shall have your understanding open to this wonderful doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ regarding the sick. And each one of us has that secret place. That 91st Psalm is so thrilling. Oh, how you and I have stood on portion to that 91st Psalm. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. We have stood in that glorious portion of that 91st Psalm, for he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. Take the very last verse of that 91st Psalm. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. That Psalm is so thrilled with... promise and security. If the only security that you and I had was the 91st Psalm, we'd have enough to take us safely through this whole world right home to glory. But remember something. There's a condition to be met. Like all of God's wonderful promises, there's always a con... that has to be met. And the conditions regarding the wonderful promises of this song are found right in that first verse, right at the beginning. Everything hinges on that secret place. You have a secret place. I have a secret place. And that secret place is my kingdom. That secret place in your life is your kingdom. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High. If Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning in that secret place of your heart and your life, then, my friend, You can claim all of the promises of this 91st Psalm. That's the reason I repeat to you again, the doctrine of the secret place and its importance as a controlling center of a kingdom is the essential factor of the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider something a moment, perhaps something that you have never thought about in all of your life. Man is a ruler of a kingdom. Maybe you have never considered, maybe you've never seen this truth, but whether you know it or not, you are a ruler of a kingdom. I don't care how insignificant you may feel you are, no matter what the circumstances are under which you're living, whether you're a success or a failure, No matter whether you're rich or poor, you literally are a ruler of a kingdom. And that kingdom is nothing less than the world of your own life, the world of your own experiences. Now, the Bible is full of stories of kings and their kingdoms. of wise kings and foolish kings, of wicked kings and righteous kings, of victorious kings and defeated kings, of the rise and the fall of kingdoms from every sort of cause. For instance, there was a great king. How often you've read that in the holy word. There... was a great king or perhaps in another instance there was a righteous king now each of these kings is really every man you me the bible is the book of every man and it's just like that from Genesis to Revelation. It really concerns the development of you, of me as an individual. You and your problems are analyzed from every possible angle. And the fundamental lessons of spiritual truth are put forward in all sorts of different ways to meet every condition, every need. Every mood of human nature. Sometimes you're a king. Sometimes you're a fisherman. Sometimes a gardener. Sometimes a weaver. Sometimes a merchant. Sometimes a hero and sometimes a beggar. And that's life. That's life. Yeah. There was a king. Ruling. over a king. You are the ruler over your own life. You are a kingdom unto yourself. It is as a king, the absolute ruler of his own kingdom. That secret place. You make your own conditions. You can unmake them. You can make and unmake your own health. You attract to yourself certain kinds of people in certain conditions. You attract to yourself riches or poverty. Either peace of mind or fear. It's entirely in accordance with the way in which you govern your kingdom. Of course, you may not recognize this. Sometimes I think few people do. Sometimes we suppose that the condition of one's life are largely made for him by outer circumstances, by other people. You may believe that your whole life is governed by someone else. It isn't true. You're not governed by outer circumstances. The truth is that you're governed from within. Nothing but misfortune and confusion could possibly power from the endeavor to conduct any business on false principles. If you are governing your life on false principles, then how in the world can you be a success? You can't. The Word of God teaches us how to live. If you want to live a successful life, then... follow the rules and the laws of God's Word, whether you're a Christian or not. If you are part of humanity, if you break one of the Ten Commandments, if you break one of God's laws, if you live contrary to God's laws, you're going to have to suffer the consequences. I don't care who you are. That's the reason... Homes are in the condition that they are today. Fathers and mothers and children are trying to live lives contrary to God's laws and God's rules. You can't do it. That's the reason the world is in the mess that it is today. Nations are trying to live contrary to the laws of God. Nations are made up of men and women, individuals. If a young person is living his life contrary to the law of God, he's going to have to suffer the consequences. Two and two still make four. The law of gravity is still in operation. No man, no woman. would think of trying to break the law of gravity. Neither can you and I break any one of God's laws and get by with it. You can't do it. If you're conducting your life on a false principle, you're going to have to pay for it sooner or later. Man has suffered because he has been deceived about the nature of life and of himself. Jesus said, know the truth and the truth shall make you free. That was why he spent the years of his public life in teaching, explaining the truth, telling us about God and man and instructing us how to live. You are a kingdom unto yourself. You are the ruler of that kingdom. You are the monarch. over that kingdom. You really make your own life. I turn back the pages of my life. Don't call it luck. How often I've heard people say, oh, you're so lucky. Not really. I do not believe there is such a thing as luck. Not on your life. I can turn back the pages of my life and I'll tell you right now, there was no luck involved whatsoever. Whatsoever a man soweth, that must he also reap. You give God your life, you turn your life over to God, you can't lose. Christianity lives because people find through it the tremendous power of... God to help them with their human profits. I know there's some people who think that Christianity is just a gloomy thing. They think it places its main emphasis on how dark, how deceptive, how futile life is in this world. And how such a view of Christianity ever developed is beyond my comprehension. Why, bless you! Ancient writers describing the early Christians said that there was something about them akin to the song of the skylark and the babbling of brooks. Christianity began with singing over Bethlehem of Judea in the long ago, and the Bible ends with the great company of the redeemed singing the songs of salvation. How the Christian night can be seen as gloomy. is certainly a mystery because it isn't. But you may ask, what about the cross? Yes, what about the cross? Is the cross a sign of defeat? Not at all. Is it a sign of victory? The cross is definitely a sign of victory and not of defeat. The cross is bloody. That's a fact and a terrible thing. But victory isn't sometimes easy. Victory is often spattered with tears and heartbreak and sorrow. But it is powerful and it rises above suffering. and glorious triumph. Always remember that. Always. The basic thing about the cross of Jesus Christ is that it stands for goodness over evil. Plus. It stands for faith over despair. Plus. It stands for immortality over death. Plus. It stands for strength over weakness. Plus. It stands for justice over injustice. Plus. It stands for love over hate. Plus. It means plus over all the minuses. Dre, that lasted only a moment. Do you think of the crucifixion as defeat? Ah, beloved, listen. They broke his body, but they didn't break his mind. They broke his physical being, but they didn't break his love. They broke his movement temporarily. but they did not break that glorious truth which he taught. No, the life of Jesus does not end in defeat. As they stood there that day by the cross and saw his body being taken down off the cross, there may have been the skeptic who stood by and felt it was the world's greatest defeat, but my... Beloved friend, it was the world's greatest victory. No cross need ever end in defeat. Every cross can end in victory and triumph. Some people think that when things go badly, that is defeat. They think that when you have to suffer, That is defeat. But that is not defeat. That is the beginning of victory. And real victory is often bathed in tears and blood and struggle and pain. Christianity is not in defeat even now. To be sure, it has difficult enemies to fight. There's indifference and even a tendency of some Christians to disagree among themselves. And the members of one group get the idea that they know everything and some other group says that they do not. And so they form different denominations. I sometimes wonder what Jesus thinks of the present state of his church. I sometimes wonder. We're all so human. We've let prejudice creep in. Always remember something. Prejudice does not belong to Christianity. Prejudice does not belong to Jesus. Prejudice does not belong to God the Father. Prejudice does not belong to the Holy Spirit. Jesus was a simple man. He went around helping people, healing people, forgiving people, loving people, doing good to people. And that is what has kept his church advancing for 2 ,000 years in spite of all of the enemies. I dare you. If you believe in Jesus, and if you will keep the faith, If you will give yourself, if you'll pray, if you'll work, if you'll think, if you'll get out into society and try to influence in Christian ways, you'll find that this is the greatest, the most glorious period in human history for tremendous advancement of the kingdom of God. This can be the church's greatest hour. This can be the Christian's greatest hour. This can be your greatest hour. This can be my greatest hour. Know that. Christianity is not in deep today. I would give anything a word of in this moment. I could open your understanding to the hour in which we are living. The greatest power in the world today is not force. It's love. I tell you again that if you will allow yourself to be immersed in the baptism of the love of God, if you will give yourself to Him, instead of looking at your... own defeat, if you go out into the world and try to influence the world into Christian ways and turn of the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll find this to be the greatest hour of your life. And in the most unlikely places, you'll find Jesus transforming lives. It's glorious. I'm talking... to you about something that is important, the most important thing in the life of any man, any woman. That's why we love Jesus. Because he changes people. Do you need changing? Are you satisfied with yourself as you are? Am I? Of course not. Of course not. There's so much more. Oh, beloved, there is so much more. If only you and I could get our eyes off of the cross. The cross will be there. But out of the greatest suffering comes the greatest triumph. Out of the greatest heartbreak comes the greatest victory. Those who suffer most, love most. A diamond cannot be polished without friction. Nor man perfected without trials. Great pilots. are made in rough waters and deep seas. By lifting the burden of others, we lose our own. Bees are simple things, and yet the very thing I'm talking to you about at this very moment is something we hate to face. Sure, there's a cross. There was a cross for him. But remember, that cross was not the world's greatest defeat. It was the world's greatest victory. This very moment, you're all bogged down with sorrow. So much so you haven't seen the daylight for so long. It's been so long since you have seen the shining sun. It's been so long since you've heard the singing of the bird. It's so long since you've seen the beauty of the flowers. It's been so long since you've heard the laughter of the little children and really enjoyed them. Jesus can make you over. Know that. That's why we love Jesus. Because he changes people. Do you need changing? Are you satisfied with yourself as you are? Of course not. But if we would all just let... Jesus make us over. We could change the world. We could do away with all the racial antagonism. All the injustice. All the crookedness. And meanness that goes on. You say you're dreaming, Catherine Kuhlman. No. I'm talking to you about the most prank. thing in the world. When you look at the cross, see it for what it is. On the one hand, a hard, splintery thing bathed in tears, a symbol of pain and suffering, but also rising triumphantly as the plus sign. The sign of victory of the good over all evil. And Christianity is the greatest thing in the world. There's nothing in the whole world this very hour that's greater than Christianity. Only one has the power to transform the lives of men and women. Only one has the power to transform hate. into love. Only one. That's Christianity in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Heavenly Father, in the hour when the Son of God walked this earth, We have problems now that are even more complex than any that they had and perhaps require even more faith, more understanding, more dedication. But we as your children ought to be even stronger than our forefathers. Stronger than even the Christians in the early church. Because we have had the experience. Great. spiritual experiences and examples of those who lived in the past. Help us to be big enough for the responsibilities of our generation. Help us to keep the faith and bring victory in our time. It's a simple prayer, but it comes from the bottom of our heart. For me, to live is Christ and rest is love. In the stillness of this moment, renew every vow that you've ever made. Be very conscious of his presence. Be very conscious. of the Heavenly Father who loves you. And even in the stillness of this moment, He'll transform your cross into victory.