Do You Know and Seek God's Will?

How many of you have seen the classic stage play or movie Fiddler on the Roof? Okay, just about everybody. I thought so. Well, do you remember the old father, Tevye? You know, he always seemed to have those stage sayings which smack of the truth. And Tevye said a lot of things. If you go on the Internet, you can find all the quotes of him on the Internet. And this is one of the quotes from Tevye. It shows, of course, the Fiddler on the Roof.

He says, It sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a Fiddler on the Roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask, why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?

Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That, I will tell you, in one word. Tradition. You know, and everybody starts singing with that. And, you know, Tevye goes on all through the movie or the stage play, and he says, talking to God, You made many, many poor people. I realize, of course, it's no shame to be poor. But it's no great honor either.

Now, what would be so terrible if I had a small fortune, he said? And so he goes all through, again, the play, saying that. Now, let's now look at a statement of Tevye made which relates to our subject today. Tevye says, Because of our traditions, every one of us knows what he is and what God expects him to do. I don't know if you remember that particular statement, you know, in the fiddler on the roof. Everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.

You know, is that really true? You know, maybe among the Jews, it's that way, you know, that everybody knows what, you know, they think God expects them to do. But I don't think most people really do know the answer to that. You know, it seems like very few people know what God expects them to do. You know, I would say most do not really know because they do not know what the will of God is for them. And what is God's will anyway, if I were to ask you that question, what is God's will?

You know, we'd probably be stumped, wouldn't we, about how to answer that particular question. Maybe some would not be, and I think that most would be stumped on what is God's will. You know, is it His will for you even to be here today? If I ask you that question, could you answer that question? And what would your answer be? Now, I'm not going to give you the answer to that question.

I know what my answer would be to that. And, frankly, if you ask me whether or not you should be here, I know what my answer would be for that. But I don't know what your answer would be to it. I think it really shows, if we don't know the answer to that particular question, that we don't know what God's will is. So, brethren, let's talk about that today. What does the Bible say about the will of God?

Do you know what God expects of you? You know, what is God's will for each of us? And how can we discern the will of God in our lives, brethren? You know, how can we discern it? And I think, finally, I would ask, do you seek God's will? And are you seeking God's will right now, today? Now, I'll give you a clue about what it means to seek God's will just by the sermonette that was given by Mr.

Willis and the choices that those three young men made, I think, sort of answers that particular question. But I'm going to, again, wait a little longer in the sermon to give that answer more fully. Let's go to John 4, verse 23. John 4, verse 23. You know, here Jesus Christ, remember, is talking to this woman at the well. This is part of this whole discourse here. But remember what Jesus Christ said to her here in verse 23 of John 4. He says, but the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

For the Father is seeking such to worship Him. Now, think about that particular statement there, brethren. The Father is seeking people upon the earth that He's created to seek Him. Because as we look around the landscape of this entire world, there are very few that really seek God and want to obey God. And in verse 24, for God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

And so God is seeking us, brethren, to worship Him in spirit and in truth. You know, Jesus Christ, when Christ came in His ministry, He even said He did not come to do His own will. He said that time and time again about Himself. You know, I didn't come to do my own thing here, Jesus Christ said, and maybe the modern day vernacular. But He would always say, I came to do the Father's will. Or, what I am doing is what was given to me from heaven. You know, that is what Jesus Christ said time and again. You know, He even told His disciples, look, if you see Me, you see the Father.

And so Jesus Christ, again, did not come to do His own will. When Jesus Christ gave the model prayer to us in Matthew 6, He instructed His disciples and us on how to pray. You know, in that model prayer, and one of the parts of that prayer that we should always keep in mind when we are praying daily, brethren, is in Matthew 6, verse 10. But He said this in verse 9 before that, He said, in this manner, pray.

He says, our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Hallowed be your name. And then in verse 10, He says, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In other words, in heaven right now, the will of God is being done all the time. Now, think about that.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if just a part of the will of God was done here upon this earth? The Ten Commandments, by the way, express the Ten Commandments, express the very will of God. What if, in fact, all the world kept only the Fourth Commandment? How different the world would be? You would have to worry about your job, which, if that were the case, because of the Sabbath issues that come.

But, you know, our prayer each day, brethren, is that God's will be done on earth, and not just for this world, brethren, that is out here. That would be a wonderful thing. But in your personal life, in my personal life, is God's will being done in our personal lives? Because our lives should be based on God's will.

And how we live every single day ought to be based upon God's will. Let's go over to John, or Matthew, I should say. Matthew 7. There are a lot of people in the world that are very religious, and sometimes their goodness oozes out of them. You've probably met people like that in the world. You look at them, and they almost seem like they're perfect. And like I say, the goodness seems to ooze out of them. Sometimes it gets a little syrupy, as a matter of fact, when that happens. But in reality, there are people that, again, maybe are able to, by will, worship, to discipline themselves to be a certain way. Sometimes I think people are different than they really seem to be, however. But in Matthew 7 and verse 21, Jesus said this, He says, Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. And I will point out to you among Protestants, by the way, that the Protestants love to say the word Lord. You find that they are always speaking of the Lord. The Lord, Lord, part of it, I think, is kind of descriptive of what happens today. And it says, Not everyone that does that shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. The one who is going to be in the kingdom of heaven, in the kingdom of God, brethren, are those that do the will of My Father, He says, in heaven here. You know, what could be clearer, brethren? You know, sometimes people will come to me, and I sometimes have people that ask questions that are kind of interesting. I had a question this past week that I hadn't had for a long time. A person happened to be attending a Protestant church on Sunday, but the Protestant church was having services on Sabbath as well. So they were meeting on Saturday as well, and they wondered if it would be all right to stay in the Protestant church, because now they were keeping a day. They weren't purposely keeping Saturday as a Sabbath, but they were just simply meeting on that particular day for another reason. And would it be all right for them just to keep the Sabbath there? Now, how would you answer that question? By the way, I had to give an answer to this person, and thankfully they responded very well to the answer that I gave to them. But many will say to me, in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? And we've prophesied of great things. And by the way, there are men that are on television that have dynamic voices and personalities that they talk about the things that are going to come. And they speak with authority. And sometimes they're right. Most of the time they're not. They're not correct about what's going to happen for the future. But they prophesy in the name of Jesus Christ and cast out demons in Your name and done many wonders in Your name.

In verse 23 it says, And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. See, lawlessness means that they were not keeping God's laws. And remember what Jesus Christ originally said. He said, you know, not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, is going to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but He that does the will of the Father. That's who's going to be in the kingdom of God for the future. And so the instruction here says that many will have done many great works in the name of Christ, but will not be in the kingdom of God because they did not fulfill the will of God. You know, as we pointed out in the model prayer, it says we should pray for God's kingdom to come and that the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In heaven, again, God's will is always being done, but this is not so upon the earth. Is His will being done, though, brethren, however, in your life? Does Christ rule you? Does He govern you? Are you submitting to the will of the Father in your own personal life? Well, God has given us, brethren, a tremendous calling, and calling us out of this world and society that we live in. Let's go over here to the first chapter of Ephesians. The first chapter of Ephesians. We've been called out of this society and world, and it is a miracle, the divine miracle that God has been able to lift us out of this society because we were all interlocked with it. Intimately, and with so many things that we're impacting our personal lives. But in Ephesians 1 and verse 15, it says, Therefore I also have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for all the saints, and do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. And so Paul prayed for the brethren. We need to pray for one another. I pray for you, brethren, that God will help you. And it says that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, verse 17, they give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. So we become more educated about God and how God is. And it says, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. So God wants her eyes to be opened and to see. That you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. We want to make sure, again, that we treat the calling, the due respect and honor that calling God has given, that we treat it with respect that it deserves, that God has given to us. You know, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did that, by the way. And we're willing to sacrifice their lives in that fire-reference. And, you know, we need to be doing that in our lives, in our day-to-day lives, as well. Because sometimes in this world we get our feet put to the fire, and we have to either put up or shut up. In other words, we either have to be Christians or not be Christians.

And we need to, again, be Christians in this world that is certainly cut off. In verse 19, going on here, And so, brethren, Jesus Christ has given us the opportunity to realize through what He inspired and what the Father inspired here in the book of Ephesians. Now, Paul was inspired to put this about how important our calling is, and how that Jesus Christ is the head of all things. But, brethren, is He your head? Is He your head? Are you doing the will of the Father? And are you submitting to Jesus Christ? It is the will of the Father that Jesus Christ have authority over all things.

And, of course, it is a matter, isn't it, when we repent and give our hearts to God and to Jesus Christ? Brethren, that we surrender to Jesus Christ. We stop fighting Jesus Christ and we begin to submit to Jesus Christ. In Colossians, let's go to the book of Colossians. So, Christ is the head, brethren. He's the head. And we need to submit to Him. In Colossians 1, in verse 9 here, going down to verse 15, Paul says, For this reason we also, since the day that we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. So, he prayed that God's people, in that age, brethren, would be filled with the knowledge of God's will. What His will is for us. And it says that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being faithful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. It says, Screngthen with all might, again, it's not a physical might, but a spiritual might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long suffering, with joy. So, along with these things, of understanding the will of God, to also have patience and long suffering, with joy. In other words, not be someone who is patient, but, boy, you're in a bad attitude, as a result of that patience that you're supposed to have, or that long suffering you're supposed to have. It says, Now, again, are we submitted to Jesus Christ? So, we have been, rather, transferred to Jesus Christ, who is called the Son of His love.

Speaking of, again, of the Father and His love of the Son. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image, He says, of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. So, if we're surrendered to Jesus Christ, if we're surrendered to the will of the Father, and we're obeying, again, God the Father and Jesus Christ, and submitting to Jesus Christ, Christ is the firstborn. But, brethren, what comes after the firstborn? Well, the secondborn, the thirdborn, all of those are born afterwards.

I know if you're an only child, you may not understand that concept. But, in my family, I had nine kids. And, you know what? I'm number six. I'm not number one. I'm not number two. I'm not number three. I'm number six. But Christ is the firstborn. And, you know, there will be others that will be born into God's family. And we're going to be after Him as the sons of God.

And the goal of God's mission is to eventually bring all mankind into sonship, into the kingdom. And so, God is not selfish. He's, however, at this time calling the firstfruits right now. Calling the firstfruits. And that is us, brethren. That is the church that God is calling right now. And within God's benevolent, loving plan, He eventually is going to give every human being on the face of this earth who has ever lived or existed the opportunity for sonship in the kingdom of God. And believe me, if they are the one billionth person to be brought in the family, they're going to be very thankful for it. Whoever they may be, they're going to be very thankful for it.

And, you know, God right now wants us to have a personal relationship with Him. You know, the church is going to marry Jesus Christ. And, you know, we're going to have a close, personal, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. We're going to be with Him forever. You know, it's like when we have a mate, husband or a wife, we're with that mate, you know, until death do we part. And I really hope that even in the kingdom of God that we don't have to part. I hope that it continues, because my wife is going to be a part of the bride. Now, I know I'm going to look funny in a dress, but, you know, I'm going to be a part of the bride, too.

And all of you men are going to be a part of the bride as well as the women that are called right now. But, brethren, we're going to have that close relationship. And I'm not going to go over to Revelation 19 and verse 7 through 9, but just quote it to you. It says, let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of Lamb has come. Imagine what it's going to be like when that time comes.

And His wife has made herself ready. You know, she has been under Christ's leadership all along as the church, because you and I have surrendered to Jesus Christ, and we're doing the will of the Father. And that's what our husband wants us to do, doesn't he? He wants us to do the will of the Father. And so we have made ourselves ready.

We prepared in that way as God's people. And to her was granted to be a raid and fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then He said to me, right, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And He said to me, these are the true saints of God. And so, brethren, we are going to have a close relationship, a very close relationship with Jesus Christ. And Christ said, you see me, you see the Father. You know, I was really struck when we were over in Maui, and there was a couple that was over there. I never mentioned this to my wife, by the way, but there was a couple over there.

I looked at them and they looked so much alike. You know, it is amazing. I think when people live together, I don't know what it is. You know, they start looking like each other. And, you know, my wife will say, God forbid, but, you know, maybe the older you get, you know, maybe that's when it happens.

But anyway, maybe we'll start looking like Christ more. You know, and we'll be able to say, you see me, you see my husband. You see me, you see my husband. See me, you see the Father as well. Matthew 12. Let's do turn to this over here, Matthew 12. And then in verse 46, it says, These are my mothers and brothers. For whosoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother. And so, brethren, we become joined to each other because we submit to the will of the Father. We follow the will of the Father and, of course, we are surrendered to Jesus Christ. So we must understand that even though all mankind, brethren, eventually is going to have an opportunity to be in the kingdom of God and be sons at that particular time, you know, when they have their opportunity right now, brethren, we are really the only ones that can legitimately call God our Father. He is our Father right now because we are the sons and daughters of God.

And, you know, in fact, when we read in the Bible in Ephesians 2 and verse 1, the apostle Paul called those of this world who were more receptive to the prince of the power of the air, what did he call them? Did he call them the children of God? No, he called them the children of disobedience.

And, you know, what did Jesus Christ say to the Pharisees also? He says, You're of your Father, the devil, because he was the author of lying and all of that and killing. And so you're of your Father, the devil. And so right now, brethren, we are the only ones that can legitimately call the Father our Father.

And because we, in fact, are brethren. And Christ says, My brother, My sister, are those that do the will of God. Those are my family. You know, God hasn't called the mighty. We'll notice in the powerful of this world, but you know what? He called us. He called you. He called me. I don't know what we would have mounted to in the world had it not been for Jesus Christ and God the Father.

But here we are. You know, like I said one time, I had all kinds of plans of what I was going to do, you know, as I was going to school and all that. But, you know, God gives you career interruptions. And you end up doing something you never thought that you would do. But, you know, God hasn't called the powerful, the mighty of this world, but he's called us. The base things, the weak things, as the Bible says.

Like when ancient Israel was chosen of God. God didn't choose the greatest nation or the best nation for that matter, the best people for that matter. He didn't choose those. He chose Israel. And God made them into what they become and have become as a people, what we are today. You know, often our lives can seem pretty hard being called in the church.

And we can think others do better than we do. And maybe, in some senses, they do. You know, they do not have the commitments that we have. It's like, remember what Tevye said in the Fiddler on the Roof? He said, sometimes I wonder when it gets too quiet up there, if you are thinking, what kind of mischief can I play on my friend Tevye?

Is God that way? I don't think so. You know, we can look at the book of Job and remember the discussion that happened between God and Satan there. And I'm certainly thankful that God doesn't play games with us. It is funny, though, to think about, isn't it? And then he goes on to say, I know, I know, we are your chosen people. But once in a while, can't you choose someone else?

But, you know, in reality, we don't want anybody to choose anybody. We don't want God to choose anyone else. The stakes are too high. Let's go to Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2. God is seeking people that will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Are we those people, brethren? In Hebrews 2, verse 9, it says, But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

And it says, for it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things. In other words, He created all things. And bringing many sons, it says, to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. And so He's the captain of our salvation.

It says, for both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. Now think about that Jesus Christ, brethren, is not afraid to call us brothers and sisters. Not afraid, not ashamed to do that. You know, if there were kings and princes, if there were presidents and emperors, Jesus Christ would put us far ahead of any such people. He's not ashamed to call us family, brethren. Let's go to Matthew 10. Matthew 10, in verse 29. It says, Oh, Mark, I'm sorry. I know that was wrong, especially. I saw that particular topic.

I said, that's not my topic. Matthew 10, or Mark 10, in verse 29. Mark 10, in verse 29 and 30 as well. Now I went too far. Jesus answered and said to Peter, Peter said, We've left everything and followed you.

Jesus said, Assurely I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the Gospels, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands and persecutions in the age to come eternal life. So we have, brethren, the best of both worlds. Think about that. And, you know, I don't personally own a lot of land, by the way.

In fact, I own a postage stamp. That's what I own here in the Brentwood area, and I don't own it. The bank owns it, you know. But, you know, I think I'd be pretty welcome at your house if I came and spent time with you. And, you know, I've known farmers and ranchers, and they had a lot of land. They'd let me go to their land if I wanted to go and visit. I've had people that have said, hey, why don't you come on and go on a...

We had one family that had a ranch that was so big, you know, that you'd go camping on it right in horseback. And, you know, ride back into the... way back into the desert and be able to go camping. You know, I had one man that asked me if I'd go do some cattle with him. He talked about driving cattle. And so, in a way, we do, don't we? All of us have access to a lot of land in this life.

And we have brothers and sisters as well. All of you are my brothers and sisters. And, you know, I've got brothers and sisters everywhere. And you do, too. So how many people do you know from other countries? How many people in the world know people from other countries? That they'd welcome you to come and stay in their home, you know?

But not just this time, but rather in the world to come as well, plus God says eternal life. You get eternal life. What a wonderful thing. So we gain now, brethren, and in the future. And Jesus said that many are called, many were called, but few were chosen. And so, brethren, you are among the few people that God has called right now. How could you ever deny the calling of God? You know, there are going to be a lot of people in the future, if God tried to call them, are going to be kicking themselves a thousand times when they come up in that second resurrection.

There are going to be a lot of people in that case. You know, God, brethren, wants you to, again, to have that opportunity to be a part of His family and to live forever. You know, one of the things that I want you to understand, there are several things that are the will of God that you need to be aware of, brethren, and think about. The Father and Jesus Christ want you to be in His body right now, in the body of Christ, right now.

The Father specially chose you to be in the body. And Jesus Christ, remember, He said, no man can come to Me unless the Father draw him. And it says, and I will raise him up the last day. And so the Father chose you, He handpicked you to be here today. And we're told in 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 13 that we're made into one body. We're maybe from very background, but we're made into one body and one spirit. And in verse 18, 1 Corinthians 12 verse 18, it says that He puts us in the body as it pleases Him. And so God wants us to be in the body.

Let's go over to the book of Acts, Acts 2 and verse 41. Acts 2 and verse 41. Here the church was growing quite rapidly. It kind of reminds me of the time when my wife and I first entered the ministry. I think we were baptizing, the church was baptizing around 5,000 people every single year. And so people were being baptized right and left during those years. I remember baptizing groups of 12 to 15 people. And you had to have somebody come in as sub with baptisms because you get tired after a while. But it won't have to be a good problem if we have it again. But in Acts 2 and verse 41, it says, Then those who were gladly received His word were baptized, and that day where 3,000 souls were added to them. I want you to notice that word added. Some people say, I want to join the church. Sorry, you can't do that. You can't join the church. You have to be added by the Father and the Son. Going down to verse 47, it says, They were praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved, and the process of being saved. And so again, we are added. God the Father and Jesus Christ add us to the body, and we're putting the body as it pleases them.

I'm not going to go to Galatians 6 and verse 10, but it talks about the household of faith. And so, brethren, we are a household here. A household of faith. The church, in fact, the word for church is ecclesia, which means the called-out ones. And we're called into the household of faith. And of course, Jesus Christ is the head of that household, on up to the Father. So the Father and Christ want you, brethren, to be in His body, this body of Jesus Christ. Next thing that God's will is, brethren, is God wants us to be approved as workers who can rightly divide the word of truth.

God wants us and desires us. It's His will, brethren, that we learn how to rightly divide the word of God. Let's go to 2 Timothy 2.

So, brethren, it's important for you and me and all of us to study the Scriptures so that we can rightly divide the word so that we can understand it and we can explain it. 2 Timothy 2 and down in verse 14. It says, So when we're talking about the Bible, let's make sure again that we keep balanced minds. We don't want to major in the minors as God's people. We want to major in the majors.

Instead, being diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. And so we need to be approved of God as workers understanding the Bible, understanding the word of God. You know, Mr. Armstrong, always stressed, brethren, stick with the trunk of the tree.

You know, Paul said, shun profane babblings where people get off again on the instead of sticking with the trunk of the tree, they got up, get out on the ends of the branches and the ends of the little limbs where the nuts are. And that's the truth. Stick with the trunk of the tree.

You know, God wants us to be approved workers. And remember that being an approved worker, knowing what the truth is, does not make you a prima donna in the church.

Let's notice over here in John 7, John 7.

In John 7, in verse 16, Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine, but it is His who sent me. And if anyone wills to do His will, anyone is willing to do His will, He shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on my own authority.

You see what He means here, brethren? He's trying to say, look, it's not my doctrine. It's not my teaching. It's the teaching of the Father. Christ did not come to glorify Himself.

But He glorified the Father. You know, what happens, I think, is sometimes people can learn things about the Bible, and their vanity begins to take over.

And what happens, that vanity misleads not only those people that have the problem of vanity about what they know about the Bible, it misleads them and it can mislead other people as well.

You know, if anyone seeks to glorify Himself, then they are not of God.

They are not of God.

Because Christ did not come to glorify Himself.

We should not be glorifying ourselves, either.

Know what we want, brethren, is we want God's approval on what we do.

We want God's approval.

You know, Proverbs 16, verse 25, says, there's a way which seems right to a man, but the end is destruction.

You know, when we allow vanity, begin to take over, brethren, and somehow we think that we are something because we have understanding.

And we have had people that sometimes get off the deep end because they think somehow God has given them special understanding.

I remember, I think, forget who up in Santa Rosa, we had a man come to one of our public Bible lectures.

Was he Elijah? Peter. He was Peter. Okay, he didn't claim to be Elijah, but he was Peter.

I never heard anybody want to be Peter before. But he thought he was somewhat. In his vanity, it took over, and quite frankly, I think he was possessed. Possessed, or at least strongly influenced.

The fact of the matter, brethren, is we can't trust our own minds.

You and I can't trust our own minds, but must be educated in the mind of God so we can discern good from evil and so that we can know God's will.

So think about that, brethren. God wants us to be approved as workers.

I won't go to these verses, but I'll give them to you.

Jeremiah 17 verse 9 says, The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and who can know it? That's your heart, my heart, rather.

We need to surrender to Christ in order to change our heart.

Jeremiah 10 verse 23, Jeremiah said, Oh Lord, O eternal, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

So simply, we can't do it, brethren.

And you might write down Isaiah 55 verse 7 through 9, that talks about how God's ways are higher than our ways.

And so, again, our vanity. Vanity takes over. We're going to miss God's higher way. But it's God's will that we be approved as workers, rightly dividing the word of truth.

It's God's will, brethren. God wants us to see through spiritual eyes. He wants us to see through spiritual eyes.

Now, we all, of course, here in this room have physical vision.

But to one degree or another, that physical vision can be impaired, can it?

And we all have to, as we get older and our eyes begin to deteriorate, we have to make the adjustments.

And quite frankly, if we were to look at somebody who was inexperienced, they'd have the real thick glasses to see the spiritual. If I can give that as an analogy. And the older you got, the more experience you got, eventually you could throw the glasses away.

So it's the other way. It's the opposite in the spiritual. The more experience you become, the less you might say that you need in terms of the help of others helping you around, because you've grown enough that you can begin to help and teach other people. You can sort of throw away the glasses that you had when you were younger, because you understand it, you comprehend. But let's notice here in Isaiah 28 and verse 9 and 10, here it says, Whom will he teach knowledge?

And whom will he make to understand the message?

It says, those just weaned from the milk, those just drawn from the breast, because it says in verse 10, for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, lying upon line, lying upon line, here a little and there a little. Now this is how we begin to understand the Scriptures.

And someone who is spiritually intoxicated by this world can't read the Scriptures and do it like that. You've got to go from one precept to another to build upon the truth. And the people of this world, quite frankly, are spiritually intoxicated. I hope we're not spiritually intoxicated. But we're sober and we see these things and we can compare precepts. And so, here a little and there a little, we come to know the truth. But notice in verse 13, but the word of the Eternal was to them, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, lying upon line, lying upon line, here a little and there a little, that they might go and fall backward and be broken and snared and caught.

In other words, they couldn't understand it. They couldn't grasp it.

And today, it's the same problem in the world. Here a little and there a little, the world can't grasp it. And they get hung up on different things and they fall backward. They don't go forward. You and I go forward because we understand the truth. Because God has opened us our eyes and we have spiritual eyes.

You know, when we don't have spiritual eyes, we do foolish things.

Paul basically made that statement about himself. Look, he said, I once thought that it was okay to stamp out Christians.

He talked about that. His understanding of Bible led him to think that it was okay to stamp out Christians.

You see, that's what happens when we're spiritually intoxicated with the ways of this world.

But if we're seeing through spiritual eyes, right spiritual eyes, then it's quite different. We understand. We can put the puzzle together. We can understand the truth of God.

Let's go to Matthew 13. Matthew 13.

Here Jesus Christ gave what basically I'm trying to explain here. I've tried to explain with what we said so far. But in Matthew 13 and down in verse 10, it says, The disciples came to him and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables?

And he answered and said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

But to them it has not been given.

For whosoever has to him will be given, more will be given. And he will have abundance. But whoever does not have, in other words, he stumbles, because he doesn't see through spiritual eyes, even what he has will be taken from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing, they do not see. And hearing, they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand, and seeing you will see, and not perceive. For the hearts of this people are grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing. Their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears for they hear. For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desire to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. You see, your eyes have become spiritual eyes. You see, your ears also, you hear with spiritual ears. God's will, brethren, is what we see with spiritual eyes. God wants us to be able to do that. You know, someone, by the way, who sees through spiritual eyes, they look at the law of God, and they seek to obey what God says. Someone who does not look through spiritual eyes sees the Bible, and sees what the Bible says, and they come to the conclusion after reading it that the law is done away with. That's the difference. That's the difference, brethren. And, you know, someone who says that they know God, and they do not keep the commandments, what does the Bible say? They are a liar, and the truth is not in them. That's what it says.

And if we're going to, again, profess to have spiritual eyes, that is what the conclusion will make.

You know, looking through physical eyes of this world, people who see the law of God, they see bondage.

People who look through spiritual eyes and see the law of God say what Paul said, or the Apostle John said, in 1 John 5 verse 3, that the commandments are not grievous.

The commandments are not burdensome. In fact, the commandments are a joy.

And, you know, those who look through spiritual eyes want to obey those commandments. And the Bible says in Acts 5 verse 32 that God gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him.

So, again, God wants us to have spiritual eyes, brethren, to see things that this world simply cannot see.

And, you know, our young people, by the way, can also have a vision into spiritual things as well.

Because God's Spirit is with you right now. It's working with you and around you.

And it will be in you someday. When it's time for you and you're ready to be baptized, it will be in you.

But that's why our kids can understand and comprehend things, you know, that even the world cannot understand.

They can't see. They're scratching their head. How do you come to that conclusion?

So, God wants us to, again, see through spiritual eyes.

It's God's will also, brethren, that we learn what agape love is.

Learn what agape love is.

You know, God's ways are so much higher than our ways because of His agape love.

You know, the love of human beings, brethren, is much more shallow than that of God's love, agape love.

Men and women normally love when it benefits them. Isn't that usually the way it is?

A mother's love is probably the supreme kind of love that exists among human beings, but it's selfish, isn't it?

Because a mother will not love other children the way that she loves her own children.

So, man's love is not the same as agape love.

God's love, brethren, is different. God loved us while we were yet sinners.

That's a different kind of love, isn't it, than we know about, and we need to learn how to show that love.

It is loving people without assimilation, without making a difference between people.

Showing that love towards someone, again, no matter how they may be.

It's showing love to somebody that maybe appears to be a bum on a bench, a city bench, a park bench somewhere.

It's being able to see the potential in it, having a care and a concern.

How did God give that love to us? Romans 5-5.

It's shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

See, the Holy Spirit gives that agape love to us, and God wants us to learn what agape love is, brethren.

God's Spirit imparts that to us, and sometimes we will, in fact, see it more in ourselves than in other times, but it needs to be developed and it needs to be cultivated in our lives more than it probably is.

Let's go to 1 John 3, 1 John 3, and verse 13.

It says, Now, let that sink in a little bit, brethren, after what we've talked about right now.

I talked about the love of man, how shallow it is. So don't marvel if the world hates you.

Love is easy come, and love is easy go as well.

We know that we are passed from death to life, it says, because we love the brethren.

He who does not love his brother abides in death.

Let that sink in a little bit, brethren. Think about that.

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

So this is why we need to make sure this agape love grows in us, brethren.

In verse 16, And so we are laying down our lives for the brethren so that we can show again that agape love.

And whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

And it says, Again, that's what agape love has to do with here, brethren.

It's God's will that we would have, brethren, this kind of love among us.

I hope you don't forget what we just talked about here in the last five minutes about this one point, agape love.

It's God's will, brethren, also is God's will that we learn to endure and persevere.

Let's go to Hebrews 10.

God wants you and I to learn how to wait.

We don't like waiting, do we? We don't like to wait at a stoplight.

You can ask my wife what I think of stoplights, but...

Second thought, don't do that.

But Hebrews 10, down here in verse 36, like I said, it's God's will that we learn endurance and perseverance.

In verse 36 it says, You have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

And so God says, hurry up, learn my way, learn my will, and then wait and be long-suffering.

So we need to learn how to wait. We need to learn how to endure, brethren.

And God wants us to really see these things.

It means endurance must become a part of us, and not just a short-term act on our part.

It means that God's way of life has to be a part of us, and not just a short-term act.

You know, if somebody lives by God's way of life 50 or 60 years, you probably know it's not an act.

If they stuck faithfully with the truth for that many years, these people are real. They're the real thing.

And so we need to again realize that God doesn't want us to act, but He wants us to be.

So it's God's will, again, that we learn to endure and persevere.

Also, brethren, it is God's will that we abide forever.

It's God's will that we abide forever.

Now, this world that we see out here is only an illusion, because it's ephemeral, and it will be short-lived and pass away quickly.

It will only be if we compare it to eternity of bleep and time.

And so many, unfortunately, though, are willing to sacrifice everything, everything God offers, eternally, for a few pleasures right here in this world right now.

So God desires that we be around forever. Let's go to 1 John 2. And down here in verse 15, here it says, But he who does the will of God abides forever.

God wants you to be around, brethren, forever.

It's always sad when we see someone leave God's church, and we don't get to see them again.

And we concern ourselves about it. We pray about that.

I'm sure we've prayed about many through the years that have left and departed from us.

But, you know, we need to again realize that God wants us not to be a short-termer, a quick act, but forever. Let's go to John 11. John 11. John 11.

Just a couple of verses here. There's a final scripture here to turn to. In John 11, down in verse 25, Jesus said to her, you know, this is after, by the way, the death of Lazarus, and of course Jesus Christ's resurrection of him.

But in verse 25 of chapter 11 it says, And Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me, and this is more than just a, you know, you might say a short and sweet understanding of Christ, but believes in me, believes in Christ. Though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. And he said, do you believe this?

Brethren, do we believe it? Do we believe it?

Christ is the resurrection in life, and if we abide in him, we're going to live forever.

You know, Tevye, by the way, is depicted as having a very negative view about life, all the way through, in fact, kind of a negative view, and we laugh at that, don't we? We laugh at how it's put, and there's nothing wrong, again, with having something that is comedic in that way.

But, brethren, we of all people should be very thankful of being called right now.

We ought to be the most thankful people on the face of the earth.

You know, there are so many very positive reasons why we need to know what the will of God is for us in this life. If I asked you, brethren, was it God's will for you even to be here today, what's your answer?

Without equivocation? Absolutely!

You know, if it says it in the commandments, if the Bible tells you something that is very clear in the Bible, and there are many things that are there, it's God's will that you do that, that you do that, and you can answer in the absolute positive affirmative about that.

But there are so many very positive reasons why, again, we need to know what the will of God is for us in this life. And one great truth, brethren, which is the most encouraging about God's will for us, is that we will be in God's family forever. We're going to be in God's family forever. And, you know, we don't know what the future is going to be, but this universe is big. This is a big universe, and I'm not even sure that we're limited to this universe. Some scientists say that there might be ten different dimensions. Who knows? Maybe this is not the only universe. I don't know. I have no idea. Neither do you. No scientist does. Even comprehend what it is like. The one thing I do know, I do believe that God created this earth, and it's very beautiful.

You know, you can't see some parts of this world and not realize there is a God. You just simply can't. You know, as I tell the Father when I pray to Him, I talk about God, I said, I know it must be much more beautiful in Heaven than it is even down here, because you're the author of it. So, brethren, God wants us to understand His will so we can someday taste of what God has to offer for us in the Kingdom for the future. When Christ's Kingdom is established here upon the face of His earth. If you know God's will, brethren, if you know God's will, then you believe it. I want to conclude here with one verse I'm going to read to you. And all of us will immediately recognize it in Romans 8 and verse 28. It says, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. All things work to the good. Why? Because you know the will of God is going to turn out good and you're going to live forever.