Learning to Think Like God

Does any of us doubt that God thinks differently than we do? We know God thinks differently. I'm going to start today in Isaiah chapter 55. Something we probably instinctively know, but Isaiah 55:es 8 and 9. We're told uh Isaiah 55:es 8 and 9. says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." The Hebrew word that's translated here as thoughts means plans, intentions, and purposes formed in the mind. plans, intentions, and purposes formed in the mind. And God is saying he does those things at a much higher level than we do.

I mean, if we can look up and see the heavens above us, uh God is saying, "Yeah, higher than that is how I think versus how you think." And that's probably very easy for us to understand and believe is true. I was contemplating given that I've given couple of uh of the Bible studies in the Bible quiz series. One recently was on the carnal mind.

One coming up in a couple weeks I'll be giving it is on the what is the spirit in man? And these are all related issues. It made me pause as I was going through these messages and contemplating how our minds work, how they're governed, how we come to decisions that we make and thinking about this scripture. And yet putting that in the context that what are we called for? What what is our future role? Kings and priests underneath Jesus Christ over the whole world.

We will be sons and daughters of God for eternity. God wants us to think like he thinks. And so might be a good question for us to stop and pause and reflect on and ask the question, how does God think? Because however that is, we need to do that too to the best of our ability. Now you can imagine this is a big subject trying to figure out biblically because the only way we can identify this really is to go through scripture and say okay well how are we presented the thinking of God and then we can hopefully emulate that

incorporate that thinking into our thinking make our thinking like our father's thinking who's going to want us to think like he does governing his creation under his son. We are told by the apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 2:1 16 says, "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ.

" It's a bit of a deep thought. We have the mind of Christ. Do you have the mind of Christ? know when I start I was meditating on this I'm thinking to myself wouldn't it be nice if I could just look in the mirror meditate and realize and say to myself yes this is absolutely true I have the mind of Christ think exactly like Christ thinks except for that whole human nature part of me which doesn't exactly think the way Christ thinks we just went through that in the Bible study on the carnal mind who's driving the bus well if we're not

deliberate about that our carnal nature is driving the bus. We need to let Jesus Christ be the one through his spirit. So how it Paul's not lying here when he says that we have the mind of Christ. How do we have it? Through the Holy Spirit. We received that down payment when we were baptized.

So we do have the mind of Christ in us through that spirit. Is that enough? The the word mind here means intellect, understanding, or way of thinking. We have access to that way of thinking through the spirit. Doesn't mean that we've put it on fully and understand fully what that means or how to do it properly.

I doubt any of us says to ourselves, I think exactly like Christ thinks. I've got this down. I'm ready for his to return tomorrow so I can pick up my duties. I'm just ready to go. No, most of us are like we'd like him to come back, but I doubt any of us says, "I'm fully ready for it." That would be normal, I think. But this is the reason though that God give gives us his Holy Spirit so that we can begin to think like he thinks.

And so I want to explore today some of the ways that God's mind is revealed to us in the scriptures so that we can look at well how does God think? And if we can identify that and align ourselves with that thinking we're going to be doing what God wants us to do preparing ourselves for our future role. As I said I can't I can't cover this exhaustively.

So I'm going to cover five areas. Okay? And I'm not telling you what they are in advance. Just gonna feed them out. I'm going to dole them out to you one at a time and uh see how you uh see how this works. I think you're gonna I think you're going to agree. This first point I want to make then is that God thinks in terms of purpose. Purpose.

He doesn't act randomly. He doesn't rely on chance. He contemplates and thinks and plans with purpose. He declares where history is going before it unfolds. We're here. Let's see. Let's go back to Isaiah. I'm going to go to Isaiah chapter 46. Isaiah 46. Let me check myself here. Isaiah 46. I'm going to start here in verse eight.

We'll read through verse 10. Remember this and show yourselves men. Recall to mind you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me. declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure.

The word counsel means to plan. It means plan, advice, purpose formed through deliberate thought. Okay. So it is how we plan. It is our purpose. It is our focus done and prepared through deliberate uh thoughts. A deliberate process of development, intellectual development. Okay. So this is what God is saying that he will make his purpose, his plans, his ideas, he will make them come true.

There's no other being in the universe that can say that. Every other being in the universe is subject to the will of the father. Only the father can declare and absolutely make happen what his will is. And so he is a god who has purpose. Even Christ said, "Not my will be done but your will to the father." And so we are all subject to that same will.

And therefore only God can declare the end and make it so. And he does. And as he said, as the scripture here says, he's he's done this since ancient times. declared at the very beginning there would be a Messiah and it would be God who would make it so. So in other words, God has goals and purpose for what he does.

He puts all of his efforts into ensuring his goals are accomplished. He's not letting his plan unfold by chance. He's not letting it randomly occur. Step by step, he's ensuring his plan comes to the end he already decided on. Let's go back here to verse to excuse me to Genesis 1 26. Genesis 1 26. Here at the beginning when God created man, he says, "Let us make man in our image according to our likeness.

" The word image means a representation or form. Okay, a representation or form. So it says, "Let us make man in our representation or form image." Likeness means resemblance or pattern. So he says, "Let us make man in our resemblance according to our pattern." So God created human beings with a defined goal in mind to bring them into his family.

That has been the purpose. Everything God did at the at the creation when we read in Genesis chapter 1, the recreation of the world, everything God did was done to accomplish his purpose for man. The summation, the the conclusion, the end, the last thing he created was man. So he created and prepared the world for man. He placed man in the garden.

He gave man purpose. That purpose is to be in his kingdom. The scripture describes God's ultimate goal as bringing many sons to glory. That is his endg game. That is his purpose for us. And everything he did at the very beginning was to prepare and plan for that. Will God be derailed in that plan? Of course not.

He says that what he declares he will make. So it's for us to understand that this is how he governs. This is what's driving him. He has this plan to bring many sons to glory. You know, it was that thought that when we were invited to become and join the ministry that Beck and I talked about, what greater purpose could there be for us on this earth than to have God's vision and to help God in every way possible to accomplish that vision, bringing sons and daughters to glory? It's a richly fulfilling thing we can do today. Serving one another, helping God

bring many sons to glory. If we have his vision, if we have his goal as our goal, that's a bit of God's mind in us. We are thinking the way God thinks if that's our thinking in this area. So that the creation wasn't the beginning itself. It was the beginning of a plan that was going into motion. It wasn't the completion of the plan.

It was the start. That plan has layers to it, doesn't it? Because there's also God's promises of a nation. Over in Genesis 12, Genesis 12, right here at the first verse, we'll read the first three verses. It says, "Now the Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Do you think that the whole world has been blessed by the nation called Israel? It's not hard to look today over to where the modern nation of Israel, where Judah resides, and ask the same question.

Does the world see Judah, modern-day nation of Israel, as a blessing? No. Who's he talking about? He's talking about Christ. Because it is through Christ that all I mean everyone. He says here, "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." It is through Christ that we have salvation. He is the door through which we enter to have salvation and all men are offered this.

God has not decided that only a few get to be in his kingdom. That is not the limitations of God's plan. He didn't create a plan that said I'll take a few of you and all the rest of you I don't need. I don't want. His plan is for many sons, not a few sons. Romans chapter 8 and verse 28 reminds us that God's plan is both na is based on both nations but also on our on us individually.

Romans chapter 8 and verse 28. So Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. God has purpose. He has a plan. We know right now he's talking about those that are a part of the first stage of that plan. First fruits being called today, not last fruits, first fruits.

a stage in his overall purpose and plan for all mankind to be saved. Everyone who would choose it. The Greek word purpose means a setting forth, a deliberate plan placed in advance. Robertson's word picture explains that Paul accepts fully human free agency. But behind it all and through it all, God uh uh behind it all and through it all runs God's sovereignty.

Obviously, God's plan then reaches its clearest expression during the resurrection. Ephesians chapter 1 Let me see how much of this I want to read. Ephesians chapter 1. I'm going to start in verse 7. It says, "In him we have redemption." That's Christ through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.

Excuse me, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed him in himself that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on the earth in him in him verse 11 is where we'll wrap on this in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to

the council of his will. It's a bit of a mouthful. It's just a way of saying what we've already been saying. God has a goal, an objective. It's the reason he created mankind. Everything he created is to support the destiny of mankind. He will, because it is his purpose, bring that destiny to fruition.

We will be in his kingdom. It is his purpose for us. Now that word predestined means to determine beforehand. The focus is not on the individuals. It is the plan that has been determined beforehand. The result of that plan will be made to come to fruition. That is what is predestined. It cannot be derailed. No one can stop this.

Only God can see his plan to its fruition because only God can execute his will exactly as he intends. And he does so according to a plan he devised in his mind. So how God thinks then in this area is in terms of defined purpose and certain fulfillment. He thinks from the beginning to the end. He builds step by step.

He calls us to align our thinking with his long-term purpose. Wants us to focus like he is on what his goal is for mankind to bring many sons to glory. Point number two, God thinks in terms of law. God thinks in terms of law. Now, we can add terms to that, rules, structure, organization, but at the end of the day, God is a God of law. Psalm 119 172.

Psalms 119 verse 172. It reads, "My tongue shall speak of your word, for all your commandments are righteousness. The word righteousness here is the Hebrew word sedc. Ts e dq t s e dq. It means what is just, what is right, what is straight. God's commandments are not arbitrary. They express what is correct in his sight.

They define his character and tell us how we need to orient our thinking. He is a god of law. When God established the ten commandments, he was not creating morality. He was actually revealing his morality to Israel. Notice Exodus chapter 24. Moses didn't go up on the mountain and then just sit there and ponder with God a few ideas.

They didn't brainstorm up some ways that they ought to organize themselves legally with some laws and some rules to follow. it. We're told here in Exodus chapter 24 and verse 12, the Lord said to Moses in verse 12, "Come up to me on the mountain and be there, and I will give you tables of stone and the law and commandments which I have written that you may teach them.

" God is the author of the law, not Moses. It is the father. It is God. is his law and it defines who he is, his character, his morality. We have to understand that that's where God comes from in his thinking. The law expresses the way he thinks. The Apostle Paul reinforces this principle in Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7. In verse 12, Paul simply says, "Therefore, the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good.

" And when the New Testament says the law, it's not talking about some invented law of Christ or something else. It's it always means the law of God. It doesn't ever mean anything other than the law of God. And it says therefore Paul says the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good. The word holy means set apart.

The word just means upright. The word good means beneficial for uh for beneficial or morally sound. So he says that the law is holy. It is set apart by God and only God can make something holy. We can't. And he says the commandment is just and good. It's upright and it is beneficial and morally sound. So if God thinks in terms of law, then he evaluates actions according to his law.

Consider how God deals with sin. He doesn't excuse sin because we didn't mean it. Because we have an emotional reaction to having realized we did it. Sin is never excused by God. Sin has one penalty, death. God does not wave that arbitrarily. It must be satisfied. He is a God of law. We have to bear this in mind.

ruling under Jesus Christ who brings that law to this world. We won't have the authority to wave off somebody's sins as though he didn't mean to. Or we emotionally are affected by this person because we really care about them, so we're just going to look the other way. Sin has a consequence. It is death. Eternal death. There's only one possible escape from that death and that is if the Savior's blood applies instead of ours for that sin.

That is an eternal law. And so the eternal sacrifice must be applied or God is not a God of law. Same law for everyone, same consequence for everyone, same mercy, same forgiveness for everyone who repents. God thinks through the mind of law and its requirements. 1 John 3:4, we're just reminded of what sin is. 1 John 3:4, whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness.

And sin is lawlessness. It's against law. Hard not to comment on society right now which seems to be very much against law. It's everywhere in the news. It's very difficult not to see it. And yet God is a God of law and he's bringing law to this world through Jesus Christ when he returns.

Sin is defined as a violation of God's law. So that definition doesn't depend on somebody's opinion about it or what society thinks about it or what our culture might interpret that as it's given to us in the pages of our Bible. It's very plain. It's very easy to understand God's law. So if we want to understand how God thinks, we have to understand that he categorizes behavior according to his commandments, obedience to his commandments.

Now that explains why Christ upheld the law rather than abolishing it. Over in Matthew chapter 5, the God who put his finger to tables of stone and wrote the commandments did not come in the flesh to then wipe them out. And he makes that statement plain in verse 17 of Matthew chapter 5. He says,"Do not," this is Christ's own testimony, "do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets.

" Those who argue that the law was hung on the cross is just another way of saying they are destroyed, having no impact or meaning for us today. Fulfilled is their argument. Fulfilled by Christ. But Christ doesn't say that. He says, "I did come to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you because you can't reconcile fulfilled with done away with when Christ says in the very next sentence for assuredly I say to you till heaven and earth pass away.

Feels like it's still here. Till heaven and earth pass away. One jot or one tit will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. The law of God hasn't gone away. It hasn't been destroyed. It wasn't hung on the cross. Christ did come to bring a greater indepth understanding of it. Intent, he describes intent carefully.

He showed that murder begins with hatred. He showed that adultery begins with lust. He applied the law to thought as well as action. what's going on in here? This is what's leading us to sin. So, we begin by looking at what the law says we are not allowed to do. And then we ask ourselves, what's the motivation behind my activities? Am I thinking about doing them regardless? You can't hide from God.

God thinks from the inside out. Law governs both conduct and motive. And this explains why repentance is required for forgiveness. Repentance looks inside and says, "Do I know what I did and why I did it?" Acts chapter 17. This is just another scripture that that essentially tells us what Peter told at the very beginning sermon.

Another way of saying it, Actsap 17:30, where it says, "Truly," Acts 17:30, "Truly, these times of ignorance, God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent." That's a change of direction. Why? Because the law has been broken. God is a God of law. Justice requires acknowledgement and correction. So forgiveness does not erase the law.

It restores the sinner to a proper harmony with the law. That's what forgiveness is for. But it doesn't wipe away claim that the sin was okay. The sin has a price. But on a repentance, that price is paid by Christ, but not before. Now, clarifying point, especially for the newer members that are learning some of this stuff.

Sometimes repentance isn't just in the word. Sometimes it really is in the actions that demonstrate the heart, the real mind that's going on that recognizes, I have hurt my relationship with God, and I am deeply sorry about that. Whether you properly form those words before God, he knows the heart. That's what's important. So this matters for how we should be thinking when we face decisions.

God does not evaluate our choice by what was convenient, how I felt in the moment. It's here's the law. Here's what you did. If you broke the law, there's a penalty. So when we say God thinks in terms of law, what we mean is this. He has established standards. He judges by those standards.

He expects his people to live by those standards. And those standards reflect who he is. Ultimately, they need to reflect who we are. Can we live for eternity in the kingdom of God but not be fully on board with his laws? No 100% buy in. That's what he's working for right now. We've got to go all in on his law. Number three that I was able to identify clearly.

There are more, but I'm giving you five in this message and I'm on point number three. God thinks in terms of family structure. God thinks in terms of family structure. From the beginning, God reveals himself as a father. He works through a son. He calls his people children. He's building a household. These reveal how God organizes reality.

Ephesians chapter 3. I want to turn over to Ephesians chapter 3. Let me see where I want to pick this up at. Verse 14. It says, "For this reason I bow my knees to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." family. You know, I I recently just wanted to see how capable modern artificial intelligence is.

So, I went to a couple of different platforms and I and I said only using the Bible. I want you to analyze. You can use the Greek, the Hebrew, the Aramaic, all of the original language. You can use that, but you can't use any third party. Can't go to any Protestant sources. No commentaries, lexicons, nothing. Using only the scripture is God better defined as a trinity or as a family? Overwhelming conclusion is the Bible says God is a family.

The language is you cannot ignore the language which I just recited some of the terms. Father, son, children, brothers and sisters, elder brother. All of these are family terms. All of them. household. As you'll see, a term that God uses the word family here means lineage or household descended from a father. The Greek word is patria.

P A T R I A, which is the family that descends from the father. So Paul is describing family structure. God governs as a father over a family. And of course that means that there's authority, there's order, there's responsibility, there's accountability in God's family. When God created mankind in Genesis chapter 1, he did not create isolated individuals to live solitary lives disconnected from one another.

He created man and woman to become one family. and that through them families would populate the earth and that one day mankind would join God's family eternally. God is a God of family. Notice Malachi here. This is the final prophet to write Malachi. Conveniently, it's listed as the last book in the Old Testament.

But Malachi was just slightly before Ezra and Nehemiah. But notice what what Malachi records for us in Malachi chapter 2 and verse 15. He says here in verse 15 of Malachi 2, "But he did not make them one." Or excuse me, I misread that. But did he not make them one having a remnant of the spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring.

This is our marching orders in the church today. God wants godly offspring to the best of our ability to teach our children the laws of God and how to live them. They have to make their own choice. They live in a world that's deceived same as we do. And they're just as vulnerable to being deceived as we have been.

But God wants us to give them a fighting chance that whether in this life or the next, they will ultimately choose God's way. That's our job is to raise them the best we can as godly children. You'll notice that God thinks generationally. 1 Timothy 3:15. 1 Timothy 3 verse 15. Because God is all about building a household.

1 Timothy 3:15, which will include every generation of man. Uh I'm going to start in verse 14 says, "These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly." So he he sent this in advance. He says, "But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

" Paul calls the church the house of God. The Greek word actually means household. A household has order. It has leadership. It has responsibilities. and it has accountability. The Bible also calls the church the body of Christ which is a spiritual organism greater than any what corporation. I've said before and I'm happy to say it again.

The United Church of God is not the church of God. It is part of the church of God. But God is not defined by a corporation. God decides who is in his church. He calls us out of this world into his ecclesia. But if you look through the pages of your Bible, you probably won't find United Church of God or any other church of God that might be a part of our modern structures.

Though I'm not arguing that not all of them are apart. God decides who's in that church, not us. God decides that he carefully places the members as it says in 1 Corinthians 12:1 18. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, it's very clear. It says in verse 18, "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as he pleased.

" So it's God who calls, it's God who places. The word set means to place or appoint. So God arranges the members of his church. He assigns the roles within his church. He distributes gifts to the members of his church and all according to his purpose for his church, his household. So we can be practicing today as members of that household how to think like God thinks.

But of course that requires humility, doesn't it? Peter warned us of this. 1 Peter 5:5. 1 Peter 5:5. He says, "Likewise, you younger people," if I have this correct, he says, "Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders." Yes. All of you, be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility.

For God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. So, as we've been brought into this family together, we submit to one another. That's not weakness. That's done for the benefit of each other. We do that because we love each other in the household of God. It's our deliberate effort to harmonize ourselves, our behaviors, our actions, and our attitudes with the whole household of God, which is the mind of God.

This matters because we live in a culture that elevates individual preference above the group's needs. In God's order, it's his way or the highway. You know, I think about that a lot because I think, is there going to be free speech, freedom of speech in the kingdom? There will absolutely be limits on speech in the kingdom 100%.

You will not get to decide that you have the way of truth and that you get to decide what truth is anymore. God decides what truth is and his standard will be set forth. I'm going to cover that shortly. So God builds families. He's building congregations. And he's building a kingdom.

And ultimately he's building something far greater. Romans chapter 8 29 we read earlier verse 28 I believe all things working together in verse 29 he says for whom he forneew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren not the lastborn the first of many brethren to be born into the family of God.

That's what's coming. Being a part of God's eternal. And notice again it says he also predestined. He does not say he's predestining an individual name. He's talking about a concept that's predestined. Mankind will be in God's kingdom. Maybe not everybody because maybe not everybody chooses it. But those who choose, those who repent, they will be in God's kingdom.

He will make that happen. So if we want to think like God, we have to value unity over individual ego. We have to respect structure over our own independence. And we have to act with awareness that we are part of something larger than ourselves. I think we're doing a decent job with that. So God thinks in terms of purpose.

He thinks in terms of law. And he thinks in terms of family structure and unity. Number four, God thinks in terms of truth, not your truth or my truth. The truth. Notice that there's one being in the universe who cannot lie. Titus chapter 1 verse 2 Paul here talking to Titus says I'll just read it says Paul a bondervant of God in verse one and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgement of the truth which accords with godliness in hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie

promised before Time began purpose we began with because God promised before time began that mankind would be put into his kingdom. And God cannot lie. Which tells us that a part of God's thinking is truth. It is his truth spoken. It is his truth delivered on. He cannot lie. He cannot fail then to perform what he said he will do.

That phrase cannot lie tells us a lot about how God thinks because lying is not simply something God chooses not to do. He cannot do it. That's where we have to get to. I cannot lie. I'm not going to ask for anyone to raise their hands if they've gotten there. Like you think about the little things where you might maybe not have always told 100% of the truth.

Like it's we're never going to be perfect at this until we get there. So we know I'm not picking on anybody. We're all looking in a mirror, the mirror of the word of God, and know that we fall short. But God doesn't fall short. He cannot lie. So that means that truth isn't a tool that he uses. Deception isn't a tool that God uses either.

Telling the truth, being the truth is who God is. It is his nature. When God promises something, it rests on something absolutely solid. Numbers chapter 23 makes a great statement here on this. Numbers chapter 23 verse 19. Verse 19 says, "God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should repent.

Has he said and will not he do? Or has he spoken and will not he make it good?" That's who God is. He says what he's going to do and he does it. He says who he is and he is it. So when he says he's going to act, that's what he does. He says he's going to judge, he judges. When he says he's going to deliver, he delivers.

So God's words match his deeds. And his deeds match his words. Now God also ties truth directly to script to scripture. If we want to know how God thinks, we have to treat the Bible as the baseline for what real and reliable truth is. John 17:1 17 where Christ in his final prayer before his crucifixion talking with the father having a one-on-one conversation in prayer.

He's no reason to be deceptive with the father. So he makes a plain statement in verse 17 of John 17. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. That's why as we've been going through fundamental beliefs and all the sorts of fun teachings in the Bible, we begin with the very simple premise. This is true.

We may not perfectly understand it, but it is true. We accept it as true. We don't challenge the truth of it. If it seems conflicting, we simply seek to see the resolution to that conflict. The Bible does not contain actual conflict. It's us that get confused. Human beings are deceived, but not God.

And so, we begin with that. This is truth. But notice something about Christ, his own words. Now the very being who inspired this on behalf of the Godhead said this of himself. Let's see John chapter 14. John chapter 14 and verse 6. Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. the door.

That's who Christ is, the door to salvation. He is the truth. And when he says that, he's telling us that his life shows reality as God defines it. If you want to know what the truth is, you look at how Christ lived. What he said, those were truth. Absolute truth. So if we want to know how God thinking works, pay close attention to what Christ taught and how he handled people, how he handled pressure, how he handled conflict.

He is the example of truth. But notice again, we we talked about this just briefly before, but let's go back to Psalm 51. Psalm 51. I made the comment earlier that God wants that God evaluates us from the inside out. Psalm 51:6. It simply says, "Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts and in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom.

" Why do you think he says that that way? You desire truth in the inward parts. What is our inward parts? What's going on that can't be seen? God wants the truth to live there. It isn't a facade we put on. I walk into here, I see you, and I'm wearing a facade of truth that I don't actually really believe. For all eternity, you're going to pull that off? That'd be some trick.

It would also say that you can deceive the father, which that isn't true. So, it has to become a part of who we really are. It is what I believe. This book, the word of God, the example of Jesus Christ and what he taught. I believe that to the core of my being, and I will do my best to live that way. That's what's expected.

But not because I say it, but because it's true. That has to become true for us no matter how difficult. That has to be our thinking. Truth has to guide everything that we do. Not our truth, not the world's version of truth, God's truth. So, we can't label wrong things good because it feels good to us to do that because it should be okay.

Because it makes sense to me that it's okay. If God says it's wrong, it's wrong. And that's it. That's where our thinking has to come from. What does God say? If God says it's wrong, it's wrong. If God says it's right, it's right. End of story. Ephesians chapter 4, where Paul brings this home for us as New Testament Christians.

Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 25. Paul says,"Therefore," Ephesians 4:25, "Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another." This truth needs to permeate God's household, which we have been invited to become members of. So it means that we don't mislead. We don't twist words.

We don't leave out key facts to create a false impression. Truth means we don't repeat claims we have not verified. God's mind does not rush to accuse somebody eager to see them punished. Truth first. Truth is also something God expects us to do out of love. Not just merely tolerate, but we have to love one another. And truth is a part of that.

It doesn't mean that we we don't say mean things out of love and say that we, you know, we were mean. We were just meant that out of love. Like I tell you this story from time to time as a reminder. When Beck comes to me and she's got a new outfit to wear, I don't tell her mean things about it if it's not the most flattering thing she's ever dawned in her life.

I'll just say that's not going to flatter you the way you'd like. I've saved my life a few times with that. I'm confident. You feel free, man. Feel free. That's a good one. It works a lot. That doesn't flatter you the way you'd like. It works. I'm just telling you it works. All right, that's a free one. You can have that one. So, I'm just saying you don't have to be mean in truth.

You can be loving and truth and we should be loving in our truth. All right. All right. Uh let me see here. I'm seeing if I have to cover any more of this. I think you guys have the idea on that. Let's move on to the last point while we have a few minutes left here. God thinks finally, this is my fifth point. God thinks in terms of mercy.

Now, when you think of mercy, it's kind of easy, at least in my mind, maybe this is just a kin's way of thinking, but when you think of mercy, does it tend to lean into the idea of something that's related to law, punishment, justice, like that's where mercy applies? That's when you'd like to see it applied if you're the one on the wrong end of that deal.

You certainly would be looking for some mercy, I suppose. I was contemplating the greater depth of the word mercy as it's as it is defined by God's own character. How do we see God employing mercy in the way he thinks? It isn't just about law and justice. It's not that it doesn't include that. It absolutely does. Notice in Exodus chapter 34.

This is where I want to go for this point here first. Exodus 34. I'm going to read here beginning in verse 6 of Exodus 34. Verse 6. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth. keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

By no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. God wants to give us mercy through forgiveness, but that requires repentance. So, it begins with us realizing we've sinned. We've broken the relationship and we turn back towards God.

We repent and then God applies forgiveness. He's eager to give us mercy when we repent, punishment when we don't. What is the end of the encouragably wicked? Those who defy God shake their fist in his face and say, "No, I will not come under your authority." mercy. They will be destroyed for eternity. They won't suffer.

You know, this this article that I was asked to help write for an upcoming Beyond Today was on this question of eternal conscious torment. It's a very Protestant teaching. It they have to try to figure out a couple ways of explaining things that aren't really explainable under the way that their theology works. And so one of the challenges is that they believe in uh Calvinism on predestination.

Now we've talked about a little bit about predestination here. Well, we've noted a couple of things where the Calvinist teaching says no, this is individuals predestined for these things, but that's not what the scriptures say. It says the plan is predestined to be fulfilled. That's what we know to be true.

But under the modern Protestant teaching, it is you. If you are called and saved, were predestined for that. You don't really have a say if you actually understand what they're saying. Salvation is forced down your throat. God already picked you. He's already got a place for you reserved in heaven. That's where you're going.

The rest of mankind, the much greater version, will all be punished for all eternity in consciousness. That is eternal conscious torment. The belief that if you have sinned in this life, you've violated the eternity of God. Therefore, an eternal punishment is required for you. This is the thinking that goes behind this.

I've done quite a bit of research to see where they are coming from. It's kind of hard to reconcile that idea with scripture. In fact, it's impossible to reconcile that with scripture, which is what that article goes on to make the case about. That is not who our God is. He is a God of mercy. A person who says no, God says fine, no more you.

So you don't have to endure the kingdom. Neither do those in the kingdom have to watch you suffer for all eternity while they're partying in heaven. What is a more grotesque view of the That's very Roman to me. the coliseum where the you've got the Christians down there and they're all killing each other and you've got the gladiators and they're killing each other and there's a party going on all around him and that this is what the view of the future is.

No way does not harmonize with the character of God to do that or to even come close to believing that's true. So the greater mercy then for that person is they will be ended for eternity not suffering. So God clearly shows mercy in forgiveness, but he also shows mercy in healing. I mean, isn't it fantastic that he provides for us James's instruction where if we just go to the leadership, the elders of the ministers of Christ, and ask to be anointed that there is a process where God hears specifically for this kind of prayer for healing because

he is a merciful God who desires to heal. Even Christ himself. Matthew 14. Now we get a good view of this gives us a great view of the mind of God. In Matthew chapter 14, this is who they are. This is their very character and how they think. Matthew 14:14. Let's let's pick it up in 13. It's just a tiny little adder there to your notes.

Verse 13. When Jesus heard it, he departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out, he saw a great multitude. And he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. That's who he is.

If Christ is truth, then what he does is truth. And this is what he did. that we have a very strong clue about the character of God when it comes to the idea of mercy first. Compassion for those hurting, healing for those who need to be healed. Mercy also appears when God provides in times of need. Psalms 145:9. I'm just going to turn over here real quickly. Psalm 145:9.

The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works. We've had we've had direct experience with being in a position where we had needs and our needs were fulfilled in ways we had no idea. And that mercy, by the way, isn't limited to just God's people. Our God is a tender, merciful God.

It is a part of how he thinks. When we were in Alaska, one of the kids that Becca was homeschooling or or excuse me, she was babysitting during the day with the I can't remember what they called, daycare. She had a daycare. These families aren't in the church. But one day, Becca is sitting there and she gets a strong, strong urge to go and get a box of food put together and take it to one of the mothers of one of the kids that she daycared for.

Didn't know why, but she shows up at this person's house with this box of food and said, "I don't know why, but I am compelled to bring this to you. Will you accept it?" And this woman starts balling. She's not in the church. She's balling. Why? She had been praying that God would meet their needs.

They were out of food and she did not know what they were going to do. So God isn't just sitting up there. We can't paint him into a box that says he only hears the prayers of the called. Every single human being is a potential child of God. We don't get to tell God who he gets to listen to. He is a merciful God. But mercy does not cancel justice.

It operates within justice because God does set standards. He also provides a path for restoration out of mercy. He disciplines, but he doesn't abandon. Micah chapter 7 again. Let's go back to Micah here. Micah again, not Malachi. There we go. Okay. Micah 7:18. Beautiful statement here. Who is a God like you? Pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage.

He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. That's how God thinks. It's one of the ways God thinks through mercy. God takes pleasure in showing compassion. He doesn't search for reasons to condemn. He searches for repentance so that he can forgive. So while this message could never explore the full depth of God's mind, we have at least seen the following.

God thinks in terms of purpose. He knows where he's going and he moves history towards that end. God thinks in terms of law. He defines right and wrong and he judges by a fixed standard. God thinks in terms of family. He's building a household under his authority. God thinks in terms of truth. He speaks what is real and he expects honesty in the inward parts.

And God thinks in terms of mercy. He forgives. He heals. He provides and he restores. This is the mind of God. If we want to learn to think like God, these are some things that we can look at about how God's mind works. Yes, so far above our thoughts are his thoughts. But his goal for us is to to learn to have the mind of Christ.

He gives us a down payment of his Holy Spirit to give us a piece of that mind, that ability to think like him. From there, it's on us to grow in that knowledge, to grow in that way of thinking. Ultimately, he wants us to think like he thinks so that we will rule like he will rule when we ultimately one day have our full and final role as kings and priests under Jesus Christ to bring God's government to this whole world.

Learning to think like God is the work of a lifetime, but it is the necessary preparation we must have to fulfill our future roles in his kingdom.