Are We All Being Led by God’s Holy Spirit?

You know, God called me to a knowledge of His truth when I was only 18 years old. I didn't grow up in the church, but my mother started getting the plain truth when I was three years old. So there was some influence from my mother. She would tell us, you know, the Sabbath is really on Saturday, but then she would take us to a little Methodist church on Sunday. And she would tell us that, you know, Mark, you really shouldn't eat the bacon that I'm cooking for your dad.

And I said, okay, Mom. So we really grew up. We didn't eat this. We didn't eat it because Mom said we shouldn't, so we figured she probably knew more than Dad at that point. She was more spiritually minded, that's for sure. So we had some exposure to the truth at an early age, but it wasn't until we were all adults. My mother actually started coming to church after I did. So I had a brother, a sister, and then myself and two others after me who came to Ambassador College as well. So big influence here in the Big Sandy area, and one of my instructors was Dr. Donald Ward. And I had a lot of good instructors, but I must say I was a little partial to Dr. Ward. He was a very good teacher, and he exposed me to the 10 great questions of life. Have you ever heard about that? Here? I'm sure you probably have, and that's a good thing.

I enjoyed answering those questions. I was new in the church. I was so excited about the truth, and being able to put that down on paper and just write it all out. When I came here to visit my brother the year before I came to be a student, I left with every single booklet that we printed. I had a big briefcase full, and I was really being called at that time.

I really appreciate the instruction that I've had at Ambassador College. Big Sandy and also Dr. Ward have always appreciated his example through the years, his steadfastness in God's truth. It's been a real example for all of us, and I'm very grateful to God for Dr. Ward, and also for his wife Wanda, who's been a very wonderful support and just a very pleasant, wonderful hostess. She enjoyed her muffins this morning. And believe it or not, I even like Dr. Ward's grits. So it was a good morning and a good evening. We had a very nice time together. So it really has been a real blessing for me to be a part of all of this.

You know, with God's direction, with his help and his guidance, I've also not wavered from God's truth since I was a student. And I give God the credit for that because God gets all the credit. But I know part of it has to do with the wonderful examples of others who have also paved the way and have really showed us that it is possible to obey God and to hang in there and to be steadfast. I see Mrs. Elliott here. She's been around a few years herself and has set a wonderful example as well, and so many of you here that have. Now, even though I haven't wavered from the truth, I can't say that I've been perfect. None of us have been perfect, have we? I'm sure I've sinned many, many times over the years, but I know that God has granted me repentance each and every time because I've always wanted to do the right thing. I've desired to do the right thing. I've striven to do the right thing, and it's so wonderful to know that God grants us repentance for our sins. I don't take that very lightly. I know you don't either. We're all very grateful for God's love, His mercy, and His forgiveness. So I have a question for you, and for myself, I guess. What has seen us through God's church all these years? What is it probably more than anything else that has seen us through thick and thin? What is it that's perhaps the most important thing of all? Well, I believe it's primarily a love of God, a love of His truth, and a love of His way of life. To me, that really boils it down. If we really love God, if we love His truth, if we love His way of life, then we'll never leave it.

But if we don't really love it, and we don't really love God the way we should, then, you know, it's not so difficult to walk away. And we know that many people have walked away over the years. So today, I'd like to talk about having a genuine love of God, of His truth, and of His way of life. Also, I'd like to tie in something very fundamental. Are we all being empowered by God's Holy Spirit to love God, to love His truth, and to love His way of life?

Brethren, let us all seek to grow in God's love, as we seek to love Him, as we seek to love His truth, and as we seek to love His way of life. Now, I did want to mention that my wife really wanted to be here with all of you today, but she doesn't travel as well as I do, and my pace is a little too hectic for her, so she has to kind of pace herself.

But she would have loved to have been here with you today, and I know Mr. Kubik would also love to be here. I know he would love to show his appreciation for Dr. Ward and Mrs. Ward as well. So I would like to pass on greetings from the home office. It's been an interesting two and a half years. It's gone quickly since I was given this opportunity to serve in Ministerial and Member Services, and it's been what I call an interesting job.

It's been a very interesting job. So, brethren, as I said, I want to talk about how we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to have that kind of love that only God can give us, because God is love, and it's God living in us, isn't it, that makes all the difference?

If God is living in us, then we'll never leave his truth. We'll never leave his way of life. If Christ is living his life in us, then we'll always be here. We'll always hang in there, and we'll always eventually, properly do the right thing. So, let's talk about this. Let's consider it. Let's go to 2 Thessalonians 2, to kind of set the stage and why I believe it is so important that we have a real love of the truth, a love of God and his way of life.

In 2 Thessalonians 2, 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 1, it says, Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means.

Certainly, Christ had not come then. Christ has not yet come. We're still waiting for the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It talks about the man of sin that's going to come on the scene, the antichrist, the false prophet. We also know that prophecy talks about a beast power that will rise up, a political power that will rise up along with the false prophet.

In verse 8, it says, And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming. And we can be assured that this is truly going to come to pass. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, with signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception, among those who perish. Because many people are going to be perishing, obviously, upon this earth in the days ahead. The prophecies are sobering, to say the least.

The reality of what's going to come upon this earth is going to make this past year seem very insignificant. It's been a tough year in many ways, but we haven't seen anything yet. We all know that. We realize that.

But notice here it says, Among those who perish, because... Why? Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. So it is a love of the truth that is going to save us. We will have salvation because we love God's truth. You know, we love Him. We love His way of life.

It says, And for this reason God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. And it seems that we see an ever more permissive world going in that direction, becoming more and more immoral in the things that people cling to in this life. And it's prophecy being fulfilled. The love of many is waxing cold. You know, we see much of this in the world today, and we'll see it to a much greater extent in the days ahead.

So I'd like to talk about two aspects that we should all consider regarding the love of God, the love of His truth, and the love of His way of life. And first of all, I would like to encourage all of you to allow the love of God, the love of His truth and His way of life, to become the guiding force in your life.

Now, I believe it has been the guiding force in your lives. I doubt whether you'd be here if it wasn't already. But we have to endure to the end. We have to stay faithful to the very end. So having the love of God today is important, obviously, but we need to have the love of God, His truth, His way of life until the very end, until Christ returns, or perhaps we die before that happens.

But it's so important if we are to have salvation, it's because we love God's truth. We love His way of life, and we'll cling to God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our might. That's what God's looking for in all of us. So is a love of God, a love of His truth, and a love of His way of life, is it the guiding force in your life, the number one guiding force?

Your main motivation for getting up in the morning is because you truly love God, and you love His way of life, and you're grateful for this calling that God's given you. Can you honestly state that it is true, that it is reality in your life? Again, I would imagine that most of you can. You know, nothing's more important in our lives, right? You know, this is something we've given our lives to. You know, many of us have just devoted our whole lives to the truth of God.

We have a very vested interest in this truth and why we're here today. Brethren, let God's love nurture you. You know, cling to God. You know, get up in the morning and seek Him early, as the Scripture says, and cling to Him throughout the day. Draw from Him the strength that we all need as we go throughout life. Life is difficult. Now, I admire people just for surviving today.

I mean, it's a rough life out there. It really is. It's not an easy life for anyone, I don't think. It seems like it's just tough. So, let God's love nurture you and guide you so that you will stay on that straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life. And how do we do that? Well, I think we know how to do that.

It's that we need to humble ourselves before God. And we need to surrender our lives to Him fully and completely and keep our minds ever fixed, set on God's truth upon Him, upon His way of life, upon what His Son has done for us, what the Father has done in giving His Son.

God will give you more love if you turn to Him and seek Him with all of your heart. God will give you more love. He will give you more faith. He will give you more love. Matthew 6, 33 tells us, Christ says, seek first the kingdom of God. Seek it first. Seek first His righteousness. We should all want to become just like our Father in heaven. We sang the second hymn today, Be You Holy, even as your Father is holy.

That is our goal, to be just exactly like God, to be His children, to reflect Him, to reflect His Son, to have that character, to let Him be that Master Potter, making a masterpiece in each and every one of us. Because really, that's God's greatest accomplishment, is changing us into spirit, making us a part of His family for all eternity.

So in a sense, God wants you to be His greatest masterpiece, all of us, collectively. So this is a high and a holy calling. It's certainly not one that we should take for granted. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Continuing education is a major key to growth, and Dr. Word has always sought education, hasn't he? He's set that example. Mr. Erwiller, as well, here in this area, both of them very dedicated to education. And we all need to educate ourselves. You know, we all have a responsibility, and with God's Word, we do have what we need to truly be educated in the Word of God. But we have to open it. We have to study it. Young people need to make a habit of this early in life. You know, I'm grateful God called me when I was 18, and He showed me His way of life, because the Bible has been a guiding force, you know, every day of my life. And it continues to be so. And, you know, lately I've been marking the Bible. This one's one I've marked all up last year, and I've got a new Bible that I'm marking this year. And I'm going through every verse, and I'm marking... I've got at least a dozen different subjects, categories, and a color for each one. So if you need... if you're having a little difficulty knowing what to do with your Bible study, just get a Bible and start marking it and thinking about every verse and what God is saying. Let God speak to you, and you will become more and more educated in the knowledge of God. We must regularly feed ourselves with nourishing spiritual food. God will nourish us. He is a loving Father. He will nourish us. He will give us what we need. I have no doubt that that is why God instituted a commanded assembly. Every Sabbath we're called to assemble together, to hear God's word spoken, to hear God's word, you know, to help nurture us through the power of His Spirit working in us, whom God is called to give these messages. You know, God is the one again that gets all the credit for anything good that happens in human beings. Because as the Scripture says, we're a mess. It doesn't say it exactly that way, but essentially it says the human heart is deceitful above all things. It's desperately wicked. Now we have to come out of that to become like God.

So, brethren, we need to worship God every day of our lives, and we need to be educating ourselves in God's ways every single day of our lives. And as I read in 2 Thessalonians, it talked about the Spirit of God. It is God's Spirit dwelling in us and living in us that will empower us to have that burning desire to please God. Now, we should all have a burning desire to do what God would have us do to please Him, to be His true, faithful children. You know, Father's Day is tomorrow. How much more should we honor our Heavenly Father on Father's Day and say a special prayer of thanks to Him for His calling, for what He's done for us, and what He means to us. Every single one of us has the same Heavenly Father. So Father's Day is a beautiful thing. It's wonderful to honor our own human fathers, but how much more our Heavenly Father? You know, the Scripture says that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. God will reward us. God will bless us. God will help us. God will strengthen us if we diligently seek Him. Let's go to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11, the faith chapter. Hebrews 11, the faith chapter. And here it tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God, but faith is a gift that comes from God, right? And those who diligently seek Him will be given faith. Hebrews 11, verse 6. Hebrews 11, verse 6. But without faith, it is impossible to please Him. For He who comes to God must believe that He is, but not just that, not believe that He is, but believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So God will reward us if we diligently seek Him. Now, this word diligently from both Strongs and Thayers shows that the English word translated from a Greek word means to search out. It means to investigate. It means to crave, to scrutinize, to require. So God wants us to really crave this relationship with Him, to diligently seek Him with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and might. In John chapter 17, verse 17, we read this every Passover. Christ says, sanctify them, Father, through Your truth. Your Word is truth. We are sanctified. We are set apart. We are made holy by God's truth, by His Word. And we are to write His Word in our hearts, in our minds. His Word is to live in us, to motivate us, and to guide us every step of the day, every every step along the way. God will guide you, but you do have to trust Him. Give yourself over to Him, surrender to Him, and have faith. So we are sanctified by the truth. This this Word of God sanctifies us. It sets us apart. It makes us seem weird to some people. It makes us seem peculiar and strange, but we can back it up. It's right here. We do it because it's the truth. God tells us not to eat certain things. We don't do that. We take it on faith that God knows what He's talking about, and He says, Be holy. Don't eat these things. He didn't create them for us to eat. He tells us about it, so we take it to heart. So we're sanctified and set apart. We're different. The days we observe set us apart. You know, most people aren't here today. You know, they're out doing their own thing, but we're sanctified and set apart because of God's Word by His truth.

John 13, 35 says, By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one to another. Now, this is talking about genuine, godly love, one to another, the kind of love that would lay your life down for someone else. That's the type of love that God has and that His Son has to lay our lives down for one another. By this shall all men know that's what we really need to be known by is our love. Not that we shouldn't be known by the other things I just mentioned, but we need to be known by all of these things because it's all of these things that sanctify us and set us apart. So that's the first aspect that I wanted you to think about, to consider, is that we all need to allow God's love, His truth, His way of life to become the guiding force in our lives. Think about it more, consider it more. And secondly, the second aspect, it is the love of God, it's the love of His truth, it's the love of His way of life that's going to see us through all the trials and the temptations of life.

For our own good, for your own good, you need to seek God with all of your heart, diligently, faithfully, and have Him live in you. You know, Satan is the great tempter. Satan is a roaring lion. Satan is seeking whom he may devour. He's just looking for an opportune time to tempt you. You know, I've always been fascinated by Luke chapter 4, where it talks about how Christ was tempted. It talks about in Matthew 4 as well, but in Luke 4, it says basically that since He got nowhere with Christ, He left Him looking for an opportune time. I don't know if you've ever noticed that, but that was in the heart of Satan, that he would come back at an opportune time to tempt Christ again. Of course, he never found an opportune time with Jesus Christ. You know, I'm sure he tried to tempt Him in many ways, but he was never successful. You know, Christ says He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. If we could just say that, you know, none of us can say that. So, it is important that we realize that Satan is our enemy, that human nature becomes very corrupt early on in life, and that we can be our own worst enemy.

So, we need to learn to resist Satan, to resist the flesh, to walk in the Spirit. God strengthens us through the power of His Spirit when He begins to call us to Him. When He begins to call us, He begins to strengthen us. He will continue to strengthen us as we continue to diligently seek Him. In John chapter 15, verse 26, it says, Christ says this, it's also something we read during the Passover, but when the Helper, talking about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, when the Holy Spirit is come, which I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, it shall testify of Me. And then, if you'll drop down to John chapter 16, verse 13, John 16, and verse 13, it says, However, when it, the Spirit of truth, is come, it will guide you into all truth. God's Spirit will guide you into all truth. You do not need to be deceived in the days ahead. You know, God is going to bring a strong delusion on some. Satan will also do his best, but we do not need to be deceived. It talks about the elect, and we should not be deceived. It says that some perhaps could be deceived, but we will not be deceived if we cling to God, if we really give him the kind of adoration, reverence, love that he deserves.

God's Spirit dwelling in you will allow you to walk in the Spirit more abundantly in the future.

God will produce fruit in your life, and will continue to produce that kind of fruit. You will become a more loving person, a more joyful person, a more peaceful person. You know, these things will be yours as you diligently seek God in the days ahead. When all hell is breaking loose around us, we can have that inner strength. It's God's Spirit that dwells in us. We can become more long-suffering, able to endure more kind, more gentle, more good. We can be more faithful.

As these days come along, we can be humble and meek. We can be self-controlled. We can set the kind of example that people need to see when times are difficult, when times are hard. So I would encourage you again to seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness. In 2 Corinthians, it talks about repentance. Repentance is so important because we're all sinners. There will be a time when we'll fall short, when we'll miss the mark. That's when we need to truly seek God and seek His forgiveness. In 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 9, Paul says, Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance.

We should be sorry when we sin. We should feel badly. We should feel ashamed when we sin.

We should feel guilty because we are guilty when we sin. Now, the world doesn't really like to tell us that sort of thing. I'm okay. You're okay. Don't worry about it. That's something that's been said for many years now. It says, But you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance, which leads to salvation. Not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world. That's what produces death.

For observe this very thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner. That's the key. It's got to be in a godly manner. What diligence or what carefulness is another word here? What diligence? Very similar to diligently seeking God. I didn't look up that word. I have a feeling it's very close. Maybe the exact word. What diligence, what carefulness it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire. That's how we should feel when we sin against God. Because it is a grievous thing to sin against our creator, to sin against our father, to take lightly the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. That's what we're doing when we choose to sin. It is a choice. It is a decision that we make.

It says, what zeal, what vindication. This is what should happen to us when we sin.

You know, Satan would want to discourage us when we sin. Satan would not want us to go boldly before God's throne, praying for forgiveness, admitting our sin, asking God to wash us clean, to cleanse us like David did in Psalm 51 when he finally came to understand after God had to send Nathan the prophet, you know, he was hard-headed and we can be hard-headed as well. So repentance leads to more faithfulness, it leads to more obedience to God.

And we're all in this together. We all fight the same battle. It is God's Spirit that will grant us persistence and perseverance in all of life's trials. If you'll, if we, we don't really have the time to go back to 2 Thessalonians, but in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, Paul is commending the people in Thessalonica for their love for one another, for the love that they had for each other. You can read that in chapter 1. And it is love that will see us through the trials. And in chapter 1, it talks about the trials that the Thessalonians faced as well and how God was there with them and for them through those trials. The same thing is true today. There isn't anything that compares with an eternity in God's kingdom. You know, when you think about our reward, our calling, it's overwhelming. You know, we don't deserve it. It's a gift that God gives us. We don't earn it, but we're so grateful for it, aren't we? In 2 Timothy, and we'll conclude with this scripture, Paul talks about fighting the good fight. He tells us how important it is to continue to fight the good fight. So in 2 Timothy, I also would encourage you to fight the good fight. 2 Timothy 4, verse 7. 2 Timothy 4, verse 7. He says, I have fought the good fight. You know, he knew that he wasn't much longer for this earth. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. We can say that faithfully, brethren, just as Paul did. We should come to that point where we believe that nothing will take us out of God's hand. Nothing can pluck us out of God's hand. He loves us so much. He's not going to allow it, and we're not going to allow it either because it's only us that could possibly do that. It's only a choice that we would make if we stopped caring, if we stopped doing our part.

I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. None of us are completely righteous today. It is something that we hope for. We yearn for to become righteous, to no longer be shackled by sin, and by our own carnality would be a wonderful thing. I've longed for this for many years now.

I'm not there yet, but I believe that God will give me victory through His Son, Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of my Savior. So let's all continue to fight the good fight. It says, finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day. Now Paul thought it was going to be a lot sooner. He was wrong. We've been wrong. We're in good company.

He says, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing. Now we have all loved Christ's first coming. We're looking forward to His second coming, to the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ. So, brethren, let's continue to fight the good fight. Again, it's a love of God. It's a love of His truth. It's a love of His way of life that's going to save us. In the final analysis, it is God's Spirit dwelling in us that will bring us salvation. God is a merciful and a loving God. I've seen God bring people back after 30 years of being gone. When I was pastoring in Oklahoma, we had a man who came back in his 70s after being gone some 30 years, and he went back into the world, and he would admit it. He called me before Passover one year. He was crying. He was distraught. He was torn up inside. He admitted that he had turned from God, that he had grievously quenched the Spirit of God, but he said he knew the Spirit was always there, but it was mostly dormant. He was not stirring up the Spirit of God. He was neglecting it, and he was so grateful that God had brought him finally to repentance. But he suffered a great deal over those years. He was a broken man. He was a broken man in so many ways, but he wanted to keep the Passover. I said, well, if you believe you should be at the Passover, then you need to be at the Passover.

He came, and he came for the next 10 years. He was faithful, and he drug himself to church, Sabbath after Sabbath, even though he was wracked with pain. He was bent over. He was just a short little man, and once he stood this tall. But the human condition will do that to us.

And God, I'm sure, was bringing him to repentance in many ways.

So, brethren, continually stir up the Spirit that God has given you, and that may be working with you if you are not yet baptized. I have no doubt God's Spirit is working with you, bringing you to repentance, but you have to listen. You have to humble yourself. You have to allow God to continue to draw you to Him. Seeking baptism is a key element in all of this. We have to move forward. The Scripture talks about those who, having set their hand to the plow and looking back, they're not fit for the kingdom of God. So, once we start moving in that right direction, we need to continue in that direction and not put off something that's so precious to all of us.

So, brethren, God's truth is all-important. It has been at the center of our lives for many, many years, many of us here. Some of us, maybe not so long. We're younger, but it's still at the center of your life, and it should remain at the center of your life. Loving God, loving His truth is essential if we're going to endure all the temptations of Satan the devil and to survive all the trials of life that are coming upon this earth. We do live in perilous times, and they will become more and more perilous as we draw nearer to the return of Christ. So, brethren, always acknowledge God and put Him and His Son first in your life. Know that they have promised to never leave you, to never forsake you. Both Father and Son will direct your steps and bless you along the way. Learn to love God's truth, to love His way of life, to love Him with all of your heart, with all of your mind, with all of your soul, and to do it with all of your mind.