What is God Thinking

Dear Brethren,

From the beginning of creation absolutely everything that God has done is for the purpose of bringing His sons and daughters into His eternal family.  There is no doubt about it; God only has our best interests in mind for us.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope ...  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”  (Jeremiah 29:11, 13)

God knows our frame, He knows our proclivities, and He knows our needs.  Our God is a giver of all good things and there is no more encouraging Scripture than the one that says God withholds no good thing from them that walk uprightly.  Of course, walking uprightly and living righteously have to do with our living according to God’s eternal laws and principles.

“God” is a concept that the great majority of people of this world are confused about.  Satan is the “god” of this world – and he is happy to keep people’s minds befuddled, baffled and confused.  Even the people of Western Christian nations know very little about God.  They do not know whether to fear God, love God or hide from Him.  Even most of the self proclaiming, God-loving Christians know very little about God.  If you asked them they would say, “He is in heaven, and His law has been done away with.”

They are totally incapable of comprehending what a world we would live in if everyone believed that there was no need to honor their parents; that it was okay to steal, lie and murder; and no one was faithful to their spouse.

But God is the author of human dignity.  He knows how badly we need His law and order.  There are hoards of men who treat their wives like chattel – a mere personal possession.  The god they serve is pleased when they destroy children and innocents.  What perverted minds they have.  But even among those who profess Christianity, most never know God for the simple fact that they reject Him and His Commandments.

“Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His Commandments.  He that saith, I know Him, and keeps not His Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keeps His word, in him truly is the love of God [being] perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.”  (1 John 2:3-5)

God knows that when we live according to His Commandments and decrees, they convert us to be like He is.  We are being created for the express purpose of being in the Spirit and image of God (Genesis 1:26).  And unless we become like God we will in no wise inherit the eternal Kingdom of God.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting one’s life: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making the immature wise.”  (Psalm 19:7)

We want to love the things that God loves, and hate the things that God hates.  The law of God reveals the mind of God to us.  God’s Law is called “The Ten Commandments,” in only three places in the King James Bible.  But it is hidden in lots of other places.  More correctly they should have been translated “The Ten Words, or “The Ten Statements.”

“God spoke all these words [Commandments], saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”  (Exodus 20:1-2)

God listed this Commandment first – because all the other Commandments find their meaning in this first Commandment.  We see God saying,” I am the Lord thy God,” who is giving you this moral Law – no one else.  Not an angel, not a man – not even Moses or a prophet - I am the Lord thy God who gives you this Commandment.  Then God adds, “I have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” 

He is saying, “I delivered you from slavery and I gave you your freedom.”  Not an angel, not a man – not even Moses or a prophet delivered them.  When someone sets you free – you are obliged to him.  God is making it clear that we are indeed indebted and obligated to Him in a spiritual way:

“Now being made free from [the penalty of] sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”  (Romans 6:22)

And the obligation is this:  Obey these Ten Commandments.  “This is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments: and His Commandments are not grievous.”  (1 John 5:3)

God alone has the right to define good and bad, right and wrong – or in other code for mankind.  Having taken of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man’s judgments will always be flawed.  Only God can establish His moral rules.

God did not establish His Ten Commandments to enrich Himself.  He established the Ten Commandments so that man might prosper in a decent and civilized society.   God is looking out for man’s best interests.  Certainly God is pleased when His children do well.

“The Lord takes pleasure in them that venerate Him, in those that hope in His loving kindness.”  (Psalm 147:11)

Worldly Christians have a very difficult time trusting God.  That is because they know so little about God and how He has nothing but good things in mind for them.  God begins to show us what He thinks in His first command:  He did not say to us, “I created the vast universe…” because we cannot create anything.  He did not say to us, “I gave you life…”  because He alone is the life giver.

But He did say to us, I delivered you from slavery and I gave you your freedom, because that example of how He treated His people is able to be emulated by us.  God desires that we treat everyone in an ethical and decent way.  God could have said, “I’m the Creator God – do what I say,” but there is no lesson in that.  On the other hand, by defining Himself in letting the oppressed go free, God was showing us what He thinks with regard to our relationships with our fellow man.

Right here in the first Commandment, God is laying out how we are to deal with others.  God is telling us what He thinks about how people should be treated.

Throughout the Bible, God builds and builds of this moral aspect of service to neighbor – culminating in Jesus Christ’s example of laying down His very life for man.  In today’s sermon we will continue looking at what God is thinking.

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Sermon:  "What is God Thinking"    


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