God's Will and Ij Lite 
 
 "N. G. BROUGHTON 
 
 BV 
 
 4510 
 
 .B74 
 
 3- 
 
ibmry of <fche t:heoiocjic<d Remittal 
 
 PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 ROBERT ELLIOTT SPEER 
 
 <— - m n 
 BV 4510 .B74 
 
 Broughton, Len G. 1864-1' 
 God's will and my life 
 
^APR 13 1939 
 
 God's Will an 
 Life 
 
 && 
 
 BY 
 
 V 
 
 Rev. Len. G. Broughton 
 
 Author: "The Revival of a Dead Church, 
 "Up From Sin," &c. 
 
 Chicago New York Toronto 
 
 Fleming H. Revell Company 
 
 London and Edinburgh 
 
Copyright, 1903, by 
 
 FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 
 
 (August) 
 
 Chicago: 63 Washington Street 
 New York: 158 Fifth Avenue 
 Toronto: 27 Richmond Street, W 
 London: 21 Paternoster Square 
 Edinburgh: 30 St. Mary Street 
 
To the "Northfield Conference of Christian 
 Workers" this message is dedicated. 
 
 — The Author. 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
Finding so much personal com- 
 fort in the scriptural truths con- 
 tained in this little volume, I send 
 it forth to be some blessing to 
 others. Len. G. B. 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE. 
 
 By Rev. Len. G. Broughton. 
 Atlanta, Ga. 
 
 Some years ago, during the Wo- 
 man's Conference at Northfield, one 
 Sunday morning, at 1 1 o'clock, I sat 
 in the front seat in the corner of the 
 village church. The speaker, Rob- 
 ert E. Speer, took for his subject, 
 "Every Human Life a Plan of 
 God." I remember very distinctly 
 the announcement of his subject, 
 though I do not remember his text 
 or anything that he said especially. 
 
 When he had announced his sub- 
 ject, my mind instantly went back 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 over hills and valleys and rivers and 
 streams until it rested in a little cot- 
 tage, out in the rural district of cen- 
 tral North Carolina, where my eyes 
 first saw the light of day. Then I 
 asked this question : Is it possible, 
 O God, that that morning, Decem- 
 ber 5, 1865, in that humble spot by 
 the side of that humble little life, 
 the infinite God stood with a chart 
 and compass in His hand for the 
 government of this life ? There came 
 to me, as definitely as any words 
 ever came to my ears, this answer : 
 "Yes, it is not only possible, but it 
 is true." I put my head down on 
 the pew in front of me and began to 
 pray: "O Lord, I am sorry I had 
 no one to tell me this truth in those 
 days, and now I pray Thee forgive 
 
 8 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 all the mistakes of the past and let 
 me get this morning into the circle 
 of Thy plan, and keep me there, 
 Holy Father, until the day of my 
 death." While I am conscious of 
 many blunders I have made since 
 that day, I am conscious also of the 
 fact that that morning was an 
 epoch in my life. Since then I have 
 seen God with different eyes, and 
 His truth has been to me what it 
 had never been before. 
 
 It was just this that the Apostle 
 Paul was speaking about in Colonel 
 4:12: "Epaphras, who is one of 
 you, a servant of Christ, saluteth 
 you, always laboring fervently for 
 you in prayers, that ye may stand 
 perfect and complete in all the will 
 of God." Epaphras was praying 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 for certain brethren, that they might 
 be "perfect and complete in the will 
 of God." It is one thing to do 
 right; it is another thing to be 
 right. Many of us are trying to do 
 right who are not right. All the 
 right doing will amount to nothing 
 in the sight of God until we are 
 right. 
 
 It seems to me that the Apostle 
 Paul has the same idea in Galatians 
 2:20: "I am crucified with Christ; 
 nevertheless I live; yet not I, but 
 Christ liveth in me." 
 
 There are three classes of Chris- 
 tians. First, the man whose creed 
 is made up of "don'ts." Ask that 
 man to engage in anything that is 
 questionable, and he at once says : 
 "No, I don't do that ; I am dead ; I 
 10 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 am crucified with Christ." I wish 
 we had more of that class in our 
 churches. 
 
 Thenwehave another class whose 
 creed is made up of "dos." They 
 are always "hustling." They are 
 never absent from any church meet- 
 ing, and are constantly filled with 
 good works. And yet, I am sorry 
 to say, it does not take very much 
 persuasion for them to engage in 
 anything that is questionable. They 
 live, but they are not crucified. 
 
 Now the other class of people — 
 and I would to God that there were 
 more of them — is aclass represented 
 by the apostle when he says : "I am 
 crucified with Christ (I don't) ; 
 nevertheless I live (I do) ; yet not 
 I, but Christ liveth in me!' The 
 
 ii 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 dos and the don'ts are brought to- 
 gether by the plus sign of the cross, 
 and there we have a perfect Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 "perfect." 
 
 We must understand that the 
 apostle in using the word perfect is 
 not holding up to these Colossians 
 a hope that they may enter into a 
 state of perfection that admits of 
 no higher development. It is not 
 the perfection of maturity: that he 
 is praying for. The Apostle Paul 
 knows too well that they can never 
 attain unto that in this life. He is, 
 however, praying that they may en- 
 ter into the perfection of state. The 
 difference is illustrated by the apple 
 on the tree. The apple when it is 
 12 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 half-grown is perfect, providing it 
 is appropriating all of the environ- 
 ment that go to make up perfect 
 fruit; but it has not reached the 
 perfection of maturity until it ripens 
 and falls to the ground. The apostle 
 here is praying that these Chris- 
 tians may live in a state of perfec- 
 tion, appropriating all that God en- 
 virons them with for the develop- 
 ment of their Christian character. 
 
 Then let us take the next word, 
 "That ye may stand perfect and 
 complete." The Revised Version 
 translates the word "fully assured." 
 Thus not only is it possible to enter 
 and live in the will of God, but like- 
 wise that we may know that we are 
 
 13 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 in the will of God. If that is true, 
 it becomes a very interesting ques- 
 tion, Am\ I living day by day in the 
 will of God? Not only am I in the 
 will of God in the major things of 
 life, not only am I in the will of 
 God when I am preaching and ex- 
 plaining the Scriptures, or attend- 
 ing conventions, but am I living 
 day by day, hour by hour, moment 
 by moment, at home and abroad, in 
 the perfect mill of God? That is the 
 question. 
 
 HOW MAY WE KNOW HIS WILL. 
 
 We may know by coming to 1 the 
 Word of God and finding out, first 
 of all, what is the will of God con- 
 cerning His people, and then by 
 analyzing our own lives and seeing 
 
 14 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 whether or not we conform to the 
 will of God concerning us. 
 
 SAVED. 
 
 The first thing I will ask you to 
 note, is that it is the mill of God 
 that all men should be saved. II. 
 Peter 3 :g : ''The Lord is not slack 
 concerning His promise, as som^ 
 men count slackness ; but is long suf- 
 fering to usward, not willing that 
 any should perish, but that all should 
 come to repentance." That is uni- 
 versalism in so far as its provision 
 is concerned, but it is specialism in 
 so far as its appropriation goes. I 
 used to hear my father tell how, 
 when he was quite young, the 
 United States government, by uni- 
 versal proclamation, offered land 
 
 15 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 out West to any young man who 
 would go and settle upon it. My 
 father was anxious to go, but could 
 not make up his mind. While he 
 was debating the question, two of 
 his companions decided to go, and 
 they went. Those two young men 
 settled upon the land and became 
 independently: rich. My father gave 
 it up in doubt, remained at home, 
 and became dependency poor. 
 There is a universal proclamation, 
 which became special because all 
 men would not accept it. The 
 atonement of Jesus Christ is broad 
 enough to take in the universe of 
 God. Never has there been a soul 
 that has not had a chance at salva- 
 tion in the purpose of God, but how 
 16 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 sad it is that so few have accepted 
 this provision and have been saved. 
 Are we standing in perfect har- 
 mony with this part of the will of 
 God? Do we believe that it is the 
 will of God that every man should 
 be saved? It is easy to think that 
 God wills the salvation of our 
 church and of our neighbors, 
 and of good, respectable peo- 
 ple, but has the thought taken 
 possession of God, that the vilest 
 possession of us as it has taken 
 sinner, the gutter snipe, is just as 
 eagerly sought by God as the man 
 who lives in the mansion? Until 
 that thought has taken possession 
 of us, so that we are willing to live 
 that way, and to work that way, we 
 are not in the will of God. Do you 
 
 17 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 not think that the world sees how 
 the church makes a division among 
 men? They see that we are more 
 anxious about the salvation of some 
 people than we are others ; they see 
 us running after the rich, and the 
 intelligent, and the refined, to the 
 neglect of the poor, and the outcast. 
 Hence the world does not respect 
 our religion. Oh, it is easy to bring 
 sinners to Christ when the sinner 
 becomes convinced that it is his soul 
 that we are after and not his wealth. 
 
 SANCTIFIED 
 
 Take the next step. It is the will 
 of God that the saints should be 
 sanctified. I. Thessialonens 4:3.7: 
 "For this is the will of God, even 
 your sanctiUcation. For God hath 
 
 18 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 not called us unto uncleaness, but 
 unto holiness." Let us not be fright- 
 ened here. I know how prejudiced 
 we are upon this subject of sancti- 
 fication, and yet there is nothing 
 taught in the Bible any more defi- 
 nitely than the doctrine of sanctifica- 
 tion. 
 
 What are we to understand by 
 this word "sanctify?" It means 
 two things, to cleanse and to set 
 apart. It is the will of God that we 
 shall be clean. Is there any man in 
 this world who doubts that? Would 
 you be satisfied to live with an un- 
 clean companion? Is God any less 
 satisfied to live with an unclean 
 soul ? Of course it is the will of God 
 that we should be clean. 
 
 It is also the will of God that we 
 
 19 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 should be separate, set apart. Sure- 
 ly there is not one who would say 
 that God does not will the separa- 
 tion of His people from sin and 
 from sinful companions. Is there a 
 true wife who would be satisfied to 
 live with a husband not separated 
 unto herself? Never. Of course it 
 is the will of God that we should 
 live a separate life, holy unto Him. 
 
 Now, if this is the will of God, 
 it is possible for us to attain it. In 
 the purpose of God we are sancti- 
 fied, we are cleahsed; we are sep- 
 arated the moment that we are re- 
 generated. But though this be true 
 of us in the purpose of God, it is not 
 true of us in our experience. We 
 have the birthright, but we have not 
 claimed it; and what we need is to 
 
 20 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 get down humbly before Him and 
 by faith appropriate what He has 
 provided for us. 
 
 DELIVERED. 
 
 We come to the next step. It is 
 the will of God that we shall be de- 
 livered from the power of sin. I 
 Corinthians 10:13. "There hath no 
 temptation taken you but such as is 
 common to man; but God is faith- 
 ful, who will not suffer you to be 
 tempted above that ye are able; 
 but will with the temptation also 
 make a way of escape." How 
 precious this truth is to my heart. 
 Temptation is not an uncommon 
 thing. God has not willed to keep 
 us from temptation, but, blessed be 
 21 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 His name, He does will to keep us 
 from being mastered by it. 
 
 But when we are tempted, then 
 what? Fix your eyes upon Jesus. 
 He says He hath provided for every 
 temptation, not only the great temp- 
 tations, not the little ones simply, 
 but for every temptatioh He has 
 provided a way of escape. There is 
 no reason in the world, as I read the 
 Scriptures, why any Christian 
 should yield to temptation. Christ 
 has made the way of escape. If His 
 word be true, there is always a rem- 
 edy if we will only look up and ob- 
 tain the light and the strength. So 
 when we come to face our tempta- 
 tion, let us face our Christ, and in 
 His strength we may become 
 22 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 strong, but in our strength we are 
 ever weak and feeble. 
 
 FILLED. 
 
 Let us take another step. It is 
 the will of God that we should re- 
 ceive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
 Luke 11:13: "How much more 
 shall your Heavenly Father give the 
 Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." 
 Jesus Christ wills that every man, 
 that every woman, that every child 
 redeemed by His blood should re- 
 ceive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It 
 may not be the power to preach, or 
 to teach, or become a missionary, 
 or to evangelize, or to write books 
 or edit papers, but He wills to equip 
 every saved soul with the gift of 
 power for the life that He desires 
 
 23 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 that soul to live. The Holy Spirit 
 is in charge of the work of extend- 
 ing the kingdom of God on earth, 
 and when a man believes this and 
 surrenders his life to the Holy 
 Spirit as the Master of the situa- 
 tion, that he may be guided and di- 
 rected and instructed and empow- 
 ered by Him, that moment he re- 
 ceives the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
 How important. First, in order that 
 we comprehend "the Word of Life." 
 I shall never forget a visit into 
 Luray Cave, Virginia. As I went 
 in I was given a candle, which was 
 to furnish light. When we got in 
 the midst of stalactites and stalag- 
 mites I was disappointed. They 
 were pretty, but not half so pretty 
 as I expected. Finally, my guide 
 
 24 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 took from his pocket a roll of mag- 
 nesium ribbon and asked me to give 
 him my candle, which I did. He 
 then touched the ribbon to it, and 
 such a light as I have never seen 
 flashed out through the cave. My ! 
 stalactites and stalagmites such as I 
 never dreamed of before were be- 
 fore me. They, had been there all 
 the time. I had not been able to 
 see them. So in the comprehension 
 of the Word of God. We fail, be- 
 cause we rely too much on the can- 
 dle-light of reason. God wants us 
 to offer up our minds to be touched 
 by His Spirit. Then the light flashes 
 and that which we have never seen 
 is brought plain. 
 
 Again, we need the Spirit for 
 power in service. Once I saw an 
 
 25 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 electric car loaded with passengers 
 come to a standstill about half way 
 up a hill. The motorman had great 
 difficulty in keeping it from running 
 backwards. Somebody asked what 
 was the matter, and the conductor 
 said "the trolley had jumped the 
 tram wire." How much like the 
 church. The majority of us preach- 
 ers are working more on the back 
 brakes than anything else. We have 
 given up the standstill situation. 
 All we now hope for is to keep from 
 running backward. There is no 
 connection between the tram wire of 
 power and our work. 
 
 GUIDED. 
 
 Now, take one further step. It is 
 the will of God that we should be 
 
 26 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 guided in daily life. This is perhaps 
 more practical than anything else. 
 Psalm 32 :8 : "I will instruct thee 
 and teach thee in the way that thou 
 shouldst go." Is not that a blessed 
 promise? How we are confronted 
 by the perplexities of life. But, 
 blessed be God, there is a way of 
 light. We may have to wait to see 
 it, but the waiting pays. Sometimes 
 we get the worst of it by not wait- 
 ing. Here is a man confronted with 
 a certain proposition. He does not 
 know whether to accept this propo- 
 sition or not. It looks dark both 
 ways. And after a while he says : 
 "I cannot wait any longer for God 
 to tell me; I must take matters in 
 my own hands and do the best I 
 can." Every time we do that we 
 
 27 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 come out worse. We can afford to 
 wait if we are waiting on God. 
 
 But does God promise to guide 
 every one of us? Under certain 
 conditions He does. Solomon tells 
 us whom God proposes to guide. 
 Proverbs 3 :6 : "In all thy ways ac- 
 knowledge Him, and He shall direct 
 thy paths." God will guide every 
 one who acknowledges Him. 
 
 You recall the story of Mendels- 
 sohn and the young musician who 
 refused to let him try the cathedral 
 organ. But when the master hand 
 had once touched the keys, how 
 ashamed the novice was of his own 
 bungling work. My brethren, at 
 best we are making but little har- 
 mony with our lives, at best we are 
 living in the midst of discord; we 
 28 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 know very little about how to play 
 on the keyboard of life. God never 
 intended that we should play it. This 
 instrument, this divine instrument, 
 with these keys, was made for the 
 fingers of God. Jesus Christ, the 
 Holy Spirit, God the Father, the 
 triune God, comes close to us and 
 says, "Child of My creation, leave 
 off trying to control your own life's 
 music. Let my fingers play on the 
 keyboard of your life. You must 
 be tired of this discord, of this con- 
 fusion of sounds that you think, per- 
 haps, may be so good, but as I see it 
 from heaven it is most miserable dis- 
 cord. Let me have the keyboard." 
 What answer shall we make? Are 
 we saying, "No, I want to do the 
 best I can with it. I cannot sur- 
 
 29 
 
GOD'S WILL AND MY LIFE 
 
 render. I am afraid thou wilt not 
 make the music that I like." O my 
 God, help us to leave the keyboard 
 and let the Holy Spirit come and 
 take His seat, let His fingers touch 
 the keys and His meloyd dominate 
 our life. This is life in "the will of 
 God." 
 
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