Our Relationship With God

Well, good afternoon to everyone. It's certainly a privilege and an opportunity to have another slot to speak in. And I'd like to again thank the choir. They did a wonderful job. It's one of the best choirs I've heard at the feast. And I'd like to thank, again, Kenny Shoemaker for all his work. I don't know if you noticed, but many of the individuals up here singing are younger, and from the younger generation.

So it shows that the next generation is beginning to fill in, fit those slots, and begin to participate. I'd like to also thank Frank and Sonya McCready for all their work. I know that with a feast site, it doesn't matter how big the site is, it doesn't matter how small the site, you still have to do the same amount of work. You still have the same departments, you know, everything. It's just a matter of sometimes it's bigger or smaller. And Frank has done, I thought, a very fine job here, and we certainly want to acknowledge that.

I'd like to acknowledge all of those in Cincinnati who are watching on the webcast. Norm and I had the privilege of being there for a couple of days. Anybody else who might be watching, we really appreciate you tuning in. To me, this is one of the more difficult slots to fill as far as speaking.

And it's the last sermon. You wrestle with it and you wonder, what should I give? There are a number of different directions that you can go in in trying to speak. What should I cover? And I think this year I had, it seemed to me, more difficulty trying to come up with what I should cover. And I discovered that was the reason for that, is I had two different topics. And when you try to speak on two different topics, it's difficult to mesh them all together. So I'm going to cover a topic today that is a fitting end to the feast, but also something that will help us this coming year.

The Bible reveals a considerable amount of information about the millennium. Chapter after chapter in the Bible describes the world tomorrow. Several books of the Bible, main focus of those books are on the world tomorrow. But little is revealed about what we're going to be doing for all eternity. God says that He's planning something for us, but we're not quite sure exactly what all of that is. Let's notice over in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 9, Scripture that we read all the time, yet I think we don't stop to really analyze it and think about it.

1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9, But as it is written, eyes not seen nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him. Now, as I said, we know a lot about the millennium. We know what that's going to be like. And yet this is talking about those who are going to be in the kingdom of God. Notice what it says, Eyes not seen, ears not heard. That means we as human beings are limited by our physical senses. We've got the five senses, and spiritual knowledge is revealed knowledge.

God has to show it to us. And so we have not even seen or heard what God has in store for us in the future. You and your wildest imagination, you can cogitate, think, and reason, and believe you know what it might be like. God says, no, you haven't even heard or seen. Nor has it entered, as it says, into the heart of man. That means we haven't even thought about it, what God has prepared.

And then it goes on to say the things which He has prepared. Now I want you to notice this word is plural. We know that God is preparing a new heaven, new earth. We know that God is preparing a new Jerusalem, a city for us to dwell in. But here it says, God is preparing things, plural, more than one, for us, which we know nothing about. You and I don't know what it is.

But to whom is God going to give those things? Notice it says, for those who love Him. We're going to concentrate on that a little today, on those who love God. What do we know about our ultimate destiny? How can we get there? What do we need to do to make sure that we are in the Kingdom?

I think we know enough already that we're willing to base our lives on it. And hopefully we're willing to die for God's way of life. In Hebrews 11, let's go there, Hebrews 11, and we'll begin in verse 8. We find the example of Abraham. Abraham is the father of the faithful. He said an example for all of us.

And I want you to know what Abraham was willing to do. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place that he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promises in a foreign country. Dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, he heirs with him of the same promise. Now, Abraham left his family. You stop and think about it. Abraham was, when you know a little bit about the history of Abraham, Abraham was a very highly thought-of individual where he lived. He was an individual who at one time had considerable wealth. He was an individual who knew about astronomy, who was schooled in math, who was well-educated.

He had to up and leave his family. No one else around was obeying God at that point. You stop and think about this. You're the only one in your country. And God comes and says, I want you. And this is what I want you to do. I want you to go over here to this strange country.

And I want you to dwell there. And he was willing to do what God told him. Now in verse 13, a summary statement, it says, These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. Now, you and I haven't seen the promises yet, either. We've seen them afar off. The kingdom of God is coming. The world tomorrow will be here. Christ is going to return to this earth. And you and I know that. So we see them. We know what the promises are. We're assured of them. We embrace them. And we confess that we're strangers and pilgrims on this earth.

And verse 16 says, Now they desire better. That is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

So, Brother Abraham was willing to do this. He set us an example. And I think I could spend the rest of the sermon talking about people I know who have done similar things, who've been willing, when God called them, that because of their being called, many difficulties occurred in their life. Now, you have to realize, Abraham did not have a Bible to study. He didn't have a Bible. He didn't have computer programs. He didn't have multiple translations. He wasn't concerned about the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. He had something that you and I need to emulate. He had a right relationship with God. His relationship with His Maker was what motivated him. He knew there was a God. One of the things in studying the history and the background of Abraham, and one of the reasons I think that God did call him, was that Abraham proved, through science, through mathematics, that there was a Supreme Being. And as a result of that, I think maybe God helped him with that, but God called him. And out of the hundreds of thousands of people around him, he called Abraham. Think about you being the only one that God calls out of a nation. He believed God. You and I today live in an age of skepticism. We live in an age where people don't believe, where people don't believe there are such things as eternal values. As the Apostle Peter wrote about our age, that there would come a time in the last days when, quote, people would say, where is the promise of his coming? People do not believe that Christ is going to come. Brethren, you and I live at a critical junction in the history of mankind. We live in an age that is going to, apparently, bridge from this world, what the Bible calls the present-evil world, into the world tomorrow. If we make it into that resurrection, the first resurrection, we will live forever. We will have eternal life in the kingdom of God. We need to make sure of our calling. As was mentioned this morning, this is our day of salvation. I can't go before God, and you can't go before God and say, well, God, I didn't know. I didn't understand. You'll give me another chance. God gives everyone a chance. And when he does, we have to respond to that. You and I need to make sure that we're going to focus on this, that throughout this coming year, that we develop, nourish that relationship with God that we should have. It is so easy to drift. And the Bible prophesies, the Bible indicates, that the predominant attitude that would be prevalent at the end time would be one of just being lukewarm. Let's notice in Hebrews 2, if you'll turn back, Hebrews 2, verse 1, an admonition given to us by the writer of Hebrews, probably Paul.

Hebrews 2, beginning in verse 1, it says, Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things that we have heard, lest we drift away. And it's talking about, in giving the example of a boat that would just be untethered and would begin to drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proves steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience receive the just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Salvation, being in God's family and His kingdom, living forever, being able to accomplish the purpose that God has for us, for all eternity is a great calling, as it says here. And at first I began to be spoken by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, the apostles, God-bearing witness, both with signs and wonders. But let's notice verse 5. He has not put the world to come, in which we speak in subjection to angels. Angels are not going to rule over the world tomorrow. It says, But one in a certain place testified, saying, Why does man that you are mindful of him? Or the Son of man that you take care of him? You made him a little lower than the angels, or as the margin says, a little while inferior to the angels. You have crowned him with glory and with honor, and you have sent him over the works of your hands, and you put all things in subjection under his feet. Now, rather than one thing that we can know about the world tomorrow and about all eternity, is that God has put all things in subjection to man. The same thing is used in Hebrews 1, where it talks about all things have been put under Jesus Christ. You and I are going to be joint heirs with Christ. We're going to inherit what our Father has. Let's go on and notice. It says, for in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now, right now, at this moment, this time, while we're still physical in the flesh, now we do not yet see all things put under him. There's going to come a time when that will happen. So, brethren, as we move forward during the next year and until the time of the resurrection, and as we have the vision of the kingdom of God, as it's been painted in front of us during this feast, what is going to keep us committed to God? What will help to keep us committed to His plan, His purpose, His way of life, His calling that He has called us? We are the elect. We're the ones who have been hand-chosen. Everyone sitting here who has been baptized, who understands, has been called and chosen by the Father Himself. No one's here as an accident. Brethren, what will keep us faithful will be the quality of our relationship to God. Not just a relationship, but the quality of that. Let's reflect a little bit on the God we worship. Turn back to chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews. Chapter 11, beginning in verse 1.

Hebrews 11, verse 1.

We read faith is the substance of things hoped for, the foundation. Faith is the foundation that we build everything on. And the evidence are the confidence of things not seen.

You've never seen the spirit, the mention, and yet you know it's there. You haven't seen God, but we know He exists. We haven't seen the angels, but we know they're there. So faith is what helps us. It says, By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that the things which are seen... What are the things that you can see? Well, every morning my wife, Norm, and I would get up here, go out and sit on our balcony, and look at the beautiful hillsides. And every day the trees were changing a little more. Sometimes they would be enveloped in clouds. And just drinking in of a natural beauty, that's something that is seen. This earth is seeing the moon. You can see it. The stars, you can see them. The creation, the physical, you can see. But I want you to notice, the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

So the physical, the things we see, are made out of something that is not visible.

The physical realm has been made from what we would call the invisible. Notice the net translation of this verse. Verse 3, by faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God's command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible.

At one time in the universe, the only thing that existed that we know of were two beings. The one that we know is the Word, the one who we call the Father. They had coexisted, they were coeternal. They had dwelt forever in eternity. Now they dwell in a dimension that you and I can't see. So we don't know what's in that dimension. But as far as the physical dimension, there was nothing there. The physical realm at one point did not exist. And physical by its very nature is not permanent. You're not permanent. I'm not permanent. The physical realm, matter, is not permanent. Let's notice in Isaiah 57, verse 15. Isaiah 57, verse 15, tells us about God.

It says, "...for thus says the high and the lofty one, who inhabits eternity." So God inhabits eternity. The word inhabits means to abide, to dwell, or to tabernacle in. So God has dwelt in eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and lofty places with Him who has a contrite and a humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. So God Almighty abides in eternity. The word eternity here means perpetuality or continuous existence. God has always existed. He will continue to exist, and He dwells in the spiritual dimension. That's why you can't see Him. The spiritual dimension and the physical dimension are parallel with each other. Now, exactly how that operates, we'll find out one day. Jesus Christ was able to appear and disappear. And we know that the God of the Old Testament, the one who became Christ, did the same thing. He would appear, speak to someone, and boom, He was gone. And He could shift from one dimension to the other. You and I can't shift. Physical is... that's it for us. There's no shifting for us right now, not until the resurrection.

Now, why did God create the physical realm? Why is this here?

Well, there's one basic reason God wanted to share His level of existence with a family.

And it reveals a little bit about the nature of God. That our God is a God who shares, who gives. He's a God who's filled with grace. He created the angels, but He never offered the angels the opportunity to become members of His family. He did not need the physical realm when He created the angels. They were spirit.

Actually, when He created them, He did... as I said, He did not offer them the opportunity to become members of His family. That may have led to the rebellion of Lucifer and his angels. Did they think it was unfair of God not to give them the opportunity to be elevated and become a member of the kingdom of God, the family of God, like you and I as human beings? At one point, Lucifer felt that he should be in charge, that he should rule. He tried to take over the throne of God by force. And as a result, he was cast back down. Reminds you of what's happened for 6,000 years in the history of man, doesn't it? That people vie for power, who's going to be in charge, who's going to rule. And you find this is exactly where Lucifer came from. Titus chapter 1 and verse 2 explains something to us about what God has done and is doing. Titus chapter 1 verse 2 says, This is in hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie. So, rather than if God says it, that's it! It will happen. See, that's something that you and I need to really think about. We read over sometimes these scriptures. If God says something, you and I can absolutely rely upon it, because God cannot lie. So, notice, in hope of eternal life, promise before time began.

So, before there was even a physical creation, God promised eternal life to us.

That means God had this all planned out. He thought it out. And when it came time to create the earth and to create the human family, God already had said, This is what I'm going to do. And so, He has been busy doing it. The human family was created for a special purpose. To share the life that God shares, to share His level of existence, and to share future eternity with Him. God promised eternal life before the beginning of time. Ask yourself, when did time begin? Well, God has always existed in eternity. That's why He's called Yahweh, Yahweh, meaning the eternal, the eternal one. God is not subject to time. He says a thousand years is a day, a day is a thousand years. Time began when God created the physical universe. When He created the earth, put it in orbit. We measure time by the rotation of the earth. One time, that's a day. Moon going around the earth, that's a month. Earth revolving around the sun, that's a year. So we count time in that way. God is not subject to that, but you and I are. You can tell it. I can look around this auditorium and people I've known 50 years ago. I was watching different ones up here on the stage singing. There was one gentleman there that I met back in 63. I've known him, bumped into him at the feast year after year. He's always serving, he's always in the choir, and a very dedicated individual. So God created us, but as time marches on, we get old. Time marches on, guess what? God doesn't get old. He may be the ancient of days, but he's not old. He's old in the sense he's lived forever, but he doesn't grow old in that he becomes old and feeble. He can't get around. That's just not the way God is. Let's back up to Romans 1 and verse 18. Romans 1 and we'll begin here in verse 18.

It says, The death of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them or to them, for God has shown it to them. God has shown, through science, through astronomy, through many different ways, that he exists, and man just simply refuses to acknowledge it. Verse 20, So God tells us, Jesus, that his invisible attributes are clearly seen. I want you to notice what we can know about God.

We should be able to look up into the sky. We should be able to look at the stars, see the sun, the moon, and understand God's divine power and understand his divine nature.

We should be able to look up and look down, look under our feet, look through a microscope, see an atom, see what God has created, and be able to see the tremendous energy and power and the greatness of God, and that he controls it, that it's organized. Just like Psalm 19, verse 3, says, that the heavens declare the glory of God.

We can look up into the sky, and they declare God's glory. They declare his power. They declare who he is. God speaks of his great power to all nations and all people. All nations are without excuse when it comes to that. Have you ever asked yourself the question, why did God create such a large universe? Why is it out there?

Well, I'm sure there are many different reasons, and it hasn't entered my mind yet, but all of those reasons are. But one of the reasons, I'm sure, one of the most obvious is to leave mankind without an excuse. How can we doubt his power and his ability when we see the heavens? When you see how big the universe is, how many galaxies, how many stars there are, and you ask yourself, where did this come from? Did it all just sort of boom?

Here it is. Well, it didn't just happen that way. Colossians 1. Let's go back there. Colossians 1.15. Colossians 1.15. Greetings here about God or Christ. It says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all the creation. For by Him all things were created. We know that the two beings sat down and planned everything. It was the one who became the Christ who stepped out and said, let there be life through the Holy Spirit. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven, that are on earth, visible and invisible.

Whether they are thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. You know what a law is? Have you ever seen gravity? Have you ever seen centrifugal force? You see what they do. But what are they? How do they operate? How do they interface with the physical realm? But notice verse 17, He is before all things, in Him all things consist. So He created all things and He upholds all things. So therefore, if Christ created all things through the Spirit of God, all things are less in power than He is.

How much power does God have? It's unlimited. There is no limit to God's power and authority. He is called the Almighty God. He's Almighty. There is no end to His ability. Let me just illustrate what I'm talking about. The energy contained in the earth, this planet you and I walk on, is absolutely nothing compared to the sun. We receive energy from the sun on a daily basis.

The sun is 866,000 times the diameter of the earth, as 1,200,000 times the volume of the earth. The sun radiates every day 330 trillion horsepower of energy to the earth. That's just the earth. We're 93 million miles away. A lot of the energy coming from the sun just goes. We only get a fraction of it. The earth's surface is constantly being bombarded by radiated energy from the sun. The sun radiates 1.5 horsepower of energy per square yard of the earth's surface.

There are 4,600 horsepower per square mile. Multiply that out. Somebody's done this, better mathematician than I am. And you come up with 330 trillion horsepower of energy every day being absorbed by the earth from the sun. The total energy of the sun emitted in one second is greater than the whole amount of energy that the human race has ever used from the time of creation to this day.

Just to give you a little idea of how powerful the sun is. The earth intercepts at any given time about 1-2 billionth of the energy generated by the sun. So 1-2 billionth of the energy generated by the sun is 330 trillion horsepower.

I don't understand that. That's greater than I can really comprehend. But it begins to show a little bit about what the power of God is. We realize that the sun is only one star in the Milky Way galaxy. Actually, it's a medium-sized star. Scientists tell us that there are billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. With the Hubble telescope being put up in space, it's revealed that there are billions of more galaxies than we thought at one time. Now, it only took a pea-sized fraction of uranium and an atomic bomb to destroy Hiroshima and then Nagasaki. That's just a little energy from the atom. The sun is just one medium-sized star in our galaxy of 100 billion. This one galaxy. Our galaxy is just one of an estimated 250 billion other galaxies. Each one is converting matter into energy, and it's radiating out into space. So, just how much power is there out there? As an example, the sun converts 4 million tons of the sun mass every single second.

Where did that power come from? Where did that energy originate? There's nothing in the universe more powerful or greater than God is in His Spirit. There is nothing that you can know or understand or you can discover that is greater than God. And the startling truth is, God is sharing that power with you and me right now. If you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, then you and I have that power. We have the very power that God possesses. Yes, in a limited amount right now, but we have God who is all-powerful on our side. Now, science tells us of the possibility of the Big Bang Theory. Are you familiar with the Big Bang? One day, somewhere in outer space, there was a Big Bang that went off. Matter, power, and energy were concentrated in one source, one place. Boom! Big Bang takes place. It scattered all over, and as it traveled, it formed galaxies, stars, planets, and so on. From that one Big Bang comes billions and billions of stars. The one question they never answer is, where did all that matter come from? Where did all that energy originate? When you look at the universe, it's like a clock. You can see design, you can see plan, you can see unity. Somebody had to set motion. Let me just illustrate.

We heard about people being resurrected and being naked this morning. We're all clothed, which we're all happy for. We're all clothed here today. Now, where did we get these clothes? What if, at one time, there was a thread factory that had a big explosion? It blew up, and thread was blown everywhere. Actually, it got in the jet streams, went around the world, just went everywhere you could think of. Thread began to fall, and some of it fell on top of other thread, and it began to organize itself. Some became blue, some were pink, some were red, all different colors. They formed patterns, different textures, shapes, sizes, styles, and they evolved over the years.

Therefore, you and I have clothes. Does that make sense? Do you think it makes sense to believe that all this matter out there that is composed of energy, that's what matter is? I don't know how God did it, but apparently He took of His Spirit, His power. God is Spirit. That's His composition. His Spirit flows out of Him in power, and He took that and rearranged it in some way so that we could see.

Brethren, that is the God that you and I worship. This coming year, when you're faced with a problem, a trial, a test, a difficulty, feel like quitting, feel like giving up, it's too hard, too difficult, whatever it might be, remember who we worship. We come here to worship Almighty God. He called us here. He is our Father. I mean, if you want a Father, if you want to go talk to somebody, well, my Father is greater than your Father. Our Father is. He's the Almighty.

Our elder brother is. They're on our side. So how amazing is this when you stop and think that the most powerful being in the universe and His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, are willing to share everything with us. They want to share it. We have the power of the universe dwelling in us and with us. No matter what future trial, test, problem we face, we have Almighty God to help us. This power from God dwells in us.

Christ lives in us and is preparing us for the kingdom of God. Are we going to make it? Well, on our own, forget it. But with God's help, God living in us, God will help us to get into the kingdom. He is the power that will do the work that He's called us to do.

God has called us to do the work to take the gospel about the kingdom of God to the world. I truly believe that God has the store for us before the end. Some marvelous doors to be opened. Wonderful opportunities for preaching the gospel. Who's going to do that? Well, He's going to have to do it. God has opened doors for us. If He wants a door open, it'll open to preach the gospel. And you and I will just sit there with our mouth wide open. You can think, wow! Look at this. Look what happened. When we pray to God about our needs, we need to believe and know that His Spirit or His power is with us.

When we pray about the work of God, we're asking God to unleash power. We're asking God to intervene, and He will. In Isaiah chapter 40, verse 15, notice what God says. Sometimes we look at the around, the nations, the armies, human beings. They seem to be powerful. They're people who are called great in this world. But I want you to notice what God says. We hold the nations. Ours are dropping a bucket. All nations, all their military power, all their weapons. God said they're like a drop in a bucket.

Just a drop. They're counted as a small dust on the scales. Verse 17, all nations before Him, there is nothing. They're counted less than nothing and worthless. To whom then will you liken God? What are you going to liken God to? For what likeness will you compare Him to? He shows that man goes and tries to make idols, and they try to emulate God.

Verse 21 says, Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth? It is He who sits on the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, and who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. And then verse 26, it says, Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who bring out their hosts by number, and calls them by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power.

Not one is missing. We've got a gentleman sitting here with us, Mr. Ed Smith, who is absolutely amazing. If he meets you, he knows you. Meet you 20 years from now, he'll tell you your name.

How many stars are out there? Billions? And it says here, God calls them all by name. I get up in the morning, and I check my business card to make sure who I am. We all find that our memories are limited. Is it not going to be wonderful when God shares with us a spirit body and the spirit and the spirit in man are combined? And all at once, we have a spiritual mind akin to God. Not quite as sharp, maybe. We will be elevated to that family, and we will be able to remember things. You see it, you remember it, unless you want to forget it. And you and I will be in that family. God is absolutely amazing when you realize His abilities. Verse 28 says, Have you not heard? Have you not known that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator, the ends of the earth, either faints or is weary? His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak. And then He goes on talking about how God will help us. Brethren, how is that power unleashed in our lives? This coming year, what can we do to make sure that the power of God is with us, guides us, leads us? It comes in the way that the world would think is totally opposite of what you should do. That power comes to people who are humble. That means we need to be fasting. It comes to those who are praying. It comes to those who are studying, those who are staying close to God. We can call upon the power of the universe to come to our aid. And one day, brethren, we will be a member of that family. In Daniel 12, verse 2, Daniel 12, verse 2 says, Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise, I'm looking at those who are wise today, those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. You and I, one day, will have brilliant glory. Our bodies will be glorified. And we will have power so much greater than we have today.

So, brethren, God wants to share all of that with us. And He has given us of that power and that strength today. We just need to tap into it. Now, let's move on to another area, the God, that is going to help us this coming year, and on which we need to build for the Kingdom. Simple question, do you love God? I think we'd all say, well, sure, I love God. Do we adore God? Do we worship God? Is God the center of our life? Is He the key of our life? Remember what I read you back when we first started in 1 Corinthians 2.9? The things which God has prepared for whom? For those who love Him. God is preparing a kingdom. He is preparing opportunities, responsibilities, duties, forever, but only for those who love Him. Why is it that we see that many do not remain steadfast, do not remain faithful, or don't endure to the end? Is there something missing in their approach? Let's go over to the Book of Mark, Mark 12, verse 28. Mark 12, 28.

This is an interesting scripture because it adds an element that we do not find in the Book of Matthew.

Mark 12, beginning here in verse 28 as we go through this, I think you will agree that this is a powerful statement. It says, Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceived that he had answered them well and asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus said, The first of all the commandments is here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Now notice, You shall love the Lord your God. How? With all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbors yourself, and there is no commandment greater than these. The scribe said to him, Well said, teacher, you have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other beside him. And to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, with all the strength, and to love one neighbor as oneself, is more than all over and offerings and sacrifices. And Jesus said to him, saw him and answered, that he had answered wisely, and he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God, that he had answered very wisely. Brother Christ gave to us a key that we need to focus on. And I want you to notice something, and I think it maybe helps to explain one reason why. Sometimes people seem to quit and to give up. Notice what he says here, You are to love God with your whole heart. The word heart here in the Greek is cardia. And it means the seat in the center of human life, as the seat of desires, of feelings, of affections, passions, impulses. It can be translated heart or mind, but in this case, it's not talking about the mind, because it mentions the mind. It's talking about the heart, the very center of a person. Your heart is talking about, and we'll see more about that. The word soul is sukei, and it usually means breath, the life element through which the body lives, the principle of life. So it's saying we're to love God with all of our heart and with all of our life, the life, the vitality that we have in our bodies. And then it goes on to mention we're to love God with our mind. Mind here is a faculty of thinking, comprehending, reasoning, understanding, intelligence, the mind. That's talking about the brain up here that we have, our seat of intelligence. And then, let's notice, it says, with all our strength, the word strength there means power or might. So you and I are to love God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. I'd like to just quote from an article I have here that I took from the Heart Math Research Center, talking about the human heart and the human head. It says, traditionally, the study of communication pathways between the head and the heart has been approached from a rather one-sided perspective, with scientists focusing primarily on the heart's response to the brain's commands. The word's okay. Basically, in the past, science has said, okay, the brain tells the heart what to do. Research has shown that the heart communicates to the brain in four major ways. One is neurological communication, that's through the nervous system. One is biophysical communication, that's pulse waves. The other is biochemical communication, those are hormones. And then, energetic communication, or electromagnetic fields.

The heart is the most powerful generator or electromagnetic energy in the human body.

Not the brain, not any other organ, the heart. Producing the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field of any of the body's organs, the heart's electrical field is about 60 times in amplitude than the electrical activity generated by the brain. Furthermore, the magnetic field produced by the heart is more than 5,000 times greater in strength in the field generated by the brain, and can be detected a number of feet away from the body.

And it goes on to say, this magnetic field that flows from the heart not only envelops every cell of the body, but also extends out in all directions into space. The cardio field can be measured several feet away from the body by sensitive devices.

Now, what does that mean? Have you ever met somebody, and for some reason, you instantly liked that person? It was just something about them that you liked? You hear that likes attract? Is it possible that there is a magnetic field? It's not only possible, it's been proven. An aura, a field, magnetism around people. You can bump into some people, and right away you feel a negativism. They're just negative. Other people are very positive, and there's an energy that flows out from the body. When the Bible talks about that we've got to love God with all of our heart, it's talking about more than intellect. I think that there are a lot of people who have been converted in their minds.

They change their mind, they change their reasoning, their thought pattern in one sense, to accept the truth. They accept the prophecy. They accept, yeah, that seems logical. They believe it's logical to accept the law of God and to respond to that. But what happens if somebody else comes along with an argument that they can't knock down? Or some type of reasoning that they don't know how to handle? Well, they change. You and I must love God not only just with our mind.

Yes, we must do that. We've got to prove that this is the truth, that the Bible is the Word of God, the way to live. But we've got to do it with our heart, the very center of our being, with our passion, our feelings, our emotions. Everything there is about us. There's another interesting aspect also in the Bible. As you find, you go through and read about the mind, the heart. Remember the Bible talking about bowels of mercy, compassion? That our bowels, what we call the gut, that elementary canal area, that this is where a lot of feelings come from.

People wonder about that. Let me just read another article here. Something that I think is amazing, that early in the embryo genesis, in other words, a new creation, a new child, a collection of tissues called the neural crest appears and divides in fetal development. One turns into the central nervous system connected to the brain. The other is the enteratic nervous system. They form simultaneously independent of each other, and then later on they connect.

The two nervous systems link through a neutral cable called the vagus nerve, the longest of the cranial nerves. This is your vital connection from the brain to the gut, from the gut back to the brain. The brain is not the only place in the body that is full of neurotransmitters. A hundred million, notice this, neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number that is found in the brain. I find that amazing. Same number. The brain in the bowel has got to work right, or no one has the luxury to think at all.

You see, science tends to look on us as just simply an intellectual being. And we are intellectual. God has given us a brain, a mind, which we should be thankful for. But God has also created us. And when it comes to worshipping God, we've got to worship God with our whole being. That's what this scripture is telling us, not just the intellect. What does the Bible say? The law of God has to be written where?

On our hearts. Not just on stone, but in our very being, not just in our mind, in our heart, in our inner person, in our attitude. The seat of a person's will or center of their emotion. We're to worship God with all of our heart. Too many agree intellectually with arguments for obedience, but it's not stamped in their heart. It's not stamped in their very being. It's not a part of them and their vows. It's to be a part of our very fiber. Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31, this has been read earlier.

But let's go back. The new covenant that God is making with mankind and that He's in the process of making with us. Jeremiah 31, verse 31, The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel in the house of Judah.

Verse 33, this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I'll put my law in their minds. It's going to be put in the mind and write it in their hearts in both places. And I'll be their God, and they shall be my people. God wants us to be thoroughly converted. One can be converted in obedience on an intellectual level. What about the religious leaders of Christ's day? They kept the Sabbath.

They kept the Holy Days. They tithed. They fasted. And yet, they were not anywhere near close to the kingdom of God. It's got to be more than just technical understanding. The Bible says that David was a man after God's own heart. Back in 1 Samuel, we find, in 1 Samuel 16, verse 1, how God views us, how God looks at a human being. Not the same way that humans do.

1 Samuel 16, verse 1, Now the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go, I am sending you to Jesse. Then in verse 6, So it was, when they came, that he looked at Elab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before me. Probably 6'2", 250 pounds chiseled out of oak. Oak, someone who had biceps and just a strong-looking man. Verse 7, The Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or his physical stature, because I have refused him, for the Lord does not see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. God looks at our heart. He looks at our will. He looks at our desire. He sees the passion that we have. He sees our affection. What is the center of our life? If it's not God, we're missing the boat. Brethren, we are the Church of God. We are the family of God. God is with us. So we must love Him with all of our being, our might, and our desire. This coming year, there is nothing that we could do that is more important in our life than to make sure that our relationship with our God is strong and that it is growing. And again, the only way that develops is, like any relationship, you've got to spend time with God. In 1 Corinthians 15, we project ourselves into the future here, beginning in verse 20, to a time where everything is going to be under God's authority. Let's notice it. It says, Now Christ is risen from the dead. He has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Verse 22, As an Adam will die, and Christ all will be made alive. So the promise of the resurrection of every human being who has ever lived, but each in his own order, Christ was first. Afterwards, those that are Christ that is coming, then comes the end, when he shall deliver the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. So there's going to come a time when Jesus Christ will put an end to all human rule and authority and power. And he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet, and the last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For he has put all things under his feet, but when he says, all things are put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under him is accepted. That means the Father is accepted. Now when all things are made subject to him, to Christ, then the Son, or to the Father, I should say, then the Son himself will also be subject to him, to the Father, who put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Brother, there's coming a time in the future when God will be all in all.

You know what that means? That all things, at that time, God will be in. One meaning is that he will be above all and supreme to all. Holman's New Testament commentary says Christ will remain in subjection to the Father, so that God may be all in all, in everyone. That God may be everything to everyone.

And we find in, you can just jot this down, chapter 11 and verse 3 of 1 Corinthians, it talks about the head of the woman is the man, the head of the man is Christ, and then it says the head of Christ is God. That God may be all in all, or all things in all things. There's coming a time when God will be in all things. Those who refuse to accept God and the human plane will no longer exist. Only those who are going to be in his family will be there. He will give to all of us eternal life. We will owe to him our life, our existence. He will give us a spirit body. No way that you and I can go out here and create a spirit body. My wife and I have five sons. We had something to do with that process. But you want to go out here and create a spirit body? Good luck. You and I can't do it. God has to do that. He will give us a spirit body. So all things will have been created by him. All things will exist because they have flown from God. He is given to everything that will exist at that time in life. So what are we going to do for all eternity? Well, we're going to have to wait.

There are a lot of things that we may be doing, but God has not yet revealed them. We haven't even thought of them yet. The things that we can know we've been trying to cover. Let's notice, though, over in 2 Peter, 2 Peter 1, verse 10, 2 Peter 1, verse 10, It says, Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. And notice what it tells us, You and I are looking forward to the time of the resurrection. All humanity is going to look forward to a time in the future when they've had their opportunity, and they will have an opportunity to enter the kingdom of God. Notice the Good News translation translates to verse 10, So then my brothers and sisters try even harder to make God's call and choice of you a permanent experience. If you do so, you will never abandon your faith. In that way, you will be given full right to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

God has been waiting 6,000 years for us. From the time of Abel, when he got first, Abel, as far as we know, is the first one converted. And he's going to be in God's family. The Father and Son have been planning this before the angels were created, or before the physical universe was created. The word abundantly here in the Greek is a phrase that is described back in the Greek world, the Olympian winners. They went off to the Olympics, they came home as winners, and they would come back and they would receive this triumphant welcome home. Well, there's going to come a time in the resurrection when God the Father and Jesus Christ are going to welcome us. The door that has been closed is going to be thrown wide open, and the entrance into the family of God, the kingdom of God. As the contemporary English version says in verse 11, then our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will give you a glorious welcome into the kingdom that will last forever. So, there are two words that you want to hear. Well done. And there's going to come a time when you and I walk into that kingdom, into the family of God and change, that Jesus Christ is going to be there, and He's going to hug us. Have you met somebody at the feast you haven't seen in years? A friend? And they come up and they hug your neck and say, It's so good to see you. Imagine what it's going to be like when each one of us are in the kingdom, and Christ comes up and He puts His arm around us, and He says, I've been waiting for you. I love you. I appreciate you. You're my brother. You're my sister. The Father has been waiting for you. We've had this plan, and it's worked. And now you are going to be with us. In other words, we will have stepped into a different dimension at that time. And He's going to say, You're going to be with us forever. We're going to be able to live forever and get to know each other. We're going to be able to live forever and work together. I've got a fantastic future planned for you. Well done, good and faithful servant.