Let's get serious here again a little bit about the glory of God. I've talked to several Christians and the discussion almost immediately goes to God's glory. And if you have a problem in life and you've got a prayer you're trying to get answered, we go to God, you know, and God help me and you're the only help I've got and where else can I go? And you're the only one with the answers and I need some help, right? But I doubt very seriously we consider that verse, call upon me in the day of trouble and I'll deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me. You say, okay, how are you gonna glorify God? You would be absolutely shocked if you haven't already asked some people what the response is. They have no idea. They couldn't even describe the glory of God to you. Basically, from my understanding now, as limited as it is, the glory of God is just about the essence of God and everything that he knows and is capable of, his personality, everything involving God. Somehow, that's what it really comes down to. And for a subject that is so predominant in the Word of God that every lost man's knee bends and his tongue confesses Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God, and to every Christian, which will include every single person ever born on this earth before us or after us, every one of us, whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all to the glory of God. That subject has been absolutely void in the Laodicean church. When you ask a Christian nowadays, well, how do you give God glory? Oh, well, I went to church. He says, if you eat or drink, do you have anything to eat this morning? Do you have anything to drink this morning? How about yesterday? Did you do it to his glory? I did it because I was hungry. I did it because I was thirsty. Not 1% of the time do we think about God in any of that stuff. You bow your head and you say, oh, Lord, thank you for this food and bless the body's juice, you know, and take care of so-and-so. And you know that need I got over here, God, help me with that over here. Or if you're in a restaurant, you know it's... Amen. I wonder if the Lord gets a chuckle out of that himself. Don't you realize, though, how predominant this subject really is? In fact, when the Lord began to deal with me about it, and obviously Brother Mark, both of us experienced the same kind of a thing. A total change in our relationship between us and God. A total change in the relationship between us and these scriptures. A total change in ourselves and everybody else that we know and everything else in our life changed. And it wasn't near as much about us anymore. It's just, okay God, this thing's about you, isn't it? And it really, really is. And it's gonna be real difficult as a child to get our attention off of ourself and get it really where it belongs. And as far as I can tell, the only way that that can be done is just keep on bragging on Him. Now, we haven't done a whole lot of bragging on God. I mean, we have done some. You think we're talking about bragging on God, talking about bragging on God? We haven't really gotten serious about bragging on God yet. When you really start getting down to what he does, how he does it, why he does it, the details are unbelievable. I mean, one of the greatest ones, Moses, you know, crossing the Red Sea. First he knocks the wheels and stuff off their chariots to slow down Pharaoh and the armies coming after the children of Israel. Then he puts them on the edge of this big body of water with no place to go, they're trapped. Then they all get scared half to death, you know? And then he says, okay, raise your staff out over the water. What for? Why don't you just go ahead and do it, God? Why do you want him to raise that staff over the water? And then they go across on dry land. Wind blows, dries that thing out, you know, go across on dry land. And you can see the kids going along, sticking their fingers in the water. Look at the fish. You know, I like to play in the ocean, you know, water goes by, and they're just going. You say, you really think that's like that? You said it was a wall on both sides of a man. That thing was so deep that when that thing come together, it drowned him and his chariots and the whole bit. You know why he does all those things? So that his creational gain in the knowledge of their creator. That's the only reason he does that stuff the way he does it. He wants you to know and understand him. That's what it's all about. It's not about pulling tricks on his creation. Oh, I just think I'll go ahead and do it this way this time. No, it's not. It's not what it's about. It's about him and he's doing it in such a way that if you have a desire, then you can start learning about him through all the things that he's done. Those are not cute little Bible stories. They're a description of God and his personality. That's what they are. Anyway, we'll do a little short summary here and kinda bring it up to some new points, but Colossians 1, verse nine and 10. For this cause also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. You notice he says, the knowledge of his will. You know what we think? We think whatever we're doing, if we think it's the right thing to do, must be his will. That's exactly what we think. We think, well, we need to get out there and win souls. Well, we need to knock on these doors and pass out these tracks and we gotta get these people saved. You got preachers that teach in their churches in soul winning classes. You get into a house where you got a lost man or you get him at the door, you never leave without him praying the sinner's prayer. That'd be almost like saying, okay, well, you know, the Catholic church baptizes little kids. Well, that gets them saved. Okay, well, let's just baptize every little kid as fast as we can. They're not baptized into the church, then they're lost. That's the same thing. I mean, it's just another version of it. Okay, let's get these people to pray this sinner's prayer. For when the heart, man, believeth not in righteousness. Man, you can pray all the prayers you wanna pray, it ain't gonna make any difference. Because God looks on the heart. And for a person to get saved, they have to give up their will and accept His. You gotta have a need, you gotta actually repent of who you are and be sorry you got yourself in the mess that you're in, and you gotta look to Him to get you out. And unless that stuff's in your heart, those words aren't gonna do you a bit of good. In fact, they'll just give you a false sense of security, just like so many other churches give their members. And it won't matter whether you're a Mormon or a Baptist. You think church membership's gonna get you someplace? It's not gonna get you any place but right to hell. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I would say also strewn with the bodies of some of the best people on the earth. Why? The most moral. Why? Because they're dependent upon their works. They're trying to live as good as they can live. It isn't about us. Never has been about us. If we can't even keep the first commandment, how are you gonna live good enough to qualify for anything God offers based on righteousness? It's all about him. It's never been about us. Anyway, he says he wants you to be fruitful and all pleasing. And that's for his pleasure, not ours. People come out and they do things for God. Man, I feel better about that. You know Catholics feel better after they go to confession? You know that? They sure do. But that's not the pleasing he's talking about. He's talking about you're created for his pleasure. That's what it's about. Well, how you gonna do that? Unless you understand and know him better. You're supposed to be fruitful in every good work. You say, oh, there's the works. That's what Laodicean church specializes in. They major on those points. You gotta be fruitful, you gotta walk in the Spirit, you gotta do all of these things. I am the vine, you are the branches, right? If you're bearing some fruit, then he'll purge you that you might bear more fruit. Who is it that does it? It's he that giveth the increase. Without me, he can do nothing. Isn't that something? No matter how you figure it, it all points back to Him. When you look at that whole subject of works, it all gets right back to Him every time. When you get in front of Him, you know what you're gonna say? If you understand this, you're gonna say, Lord, I don't deserve nothing. And you'll mean it too. It won't be this false sense of humility that you put on sometimes. You'll know you don't deserve it and your heart will be broken that He's given you anything because you don't deserve it. And he said, I like that. Why? Because you gave the glory to who it belongs to. You gave the credit to who it really belongs to. All of God's creation reflects who he is. And that's what we're supposed to do. The unique thing about mankind is that free will. That is totally unique in everything God created. It's a thing that got Satan in trouble and a third of the angels. And it's a thing that keeps most people from getting saved, that free will, because we want what we want. He's given us an opportunity to choose him or us. You can either take your righteousness, his righteousness. You can either have it your way or his way. You can either please yourself or him. That's what it's about. And when it's struggle between you and him, It's the flesh. You know, your soul, up until the time you get saved, was along for the ride. Virtually no communication between your soul and your body at all. All of a sudden, when you get saved, man, something wakes up in there and this brand new set of desires and a brand new set of everything starts happening. That's when the conflict gets going. But it's like it's woke up. You're born again. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus. You are recreated in him. All of a sudden now you got this desire. And if that thing was taught and fed properly, it's supposed to draw you to him. That's what it's supposed to do. We're supposed to increase in the knowledge of God. Now this is a really complicated thing here. Remember we talked about that stuff, you know not as you ought to know, okay? Daniel 12 verse four says, the end time knowledge shall be increased. Also says in First Corinthians eight, that knowledge puffeth up. And then he says, increase in the knowledge of God. You say, man, that's almost like a contradiction in terms because if everything you're saying is right, then the knowledge of God is gonna lead me into a pride situation and it's gonna be more difficult for me. Well, how can you get more knowledge of God if knowledge puffeth up and these other things, it gets really difficult. Knowledge leads to pride. That's what it says, knowledge puffeth up. The more you know, the more you feel like you're better than everybody else around you. When you get into that educational system where you got a PhD and you're teaching at a university and all the other people that you respect and look up to, who all feel that they're better and smarter than you are, there's some wild stuff that goes on when you get into those rounds. But you know, it doesn't stop with college education. Any single thing that you think you know more of than somebody else, you begin to respond to it. You remember the holiness nightmare, which is a list of sins that don't have anything to do with lying, cheating, stealing, and adultery or anything else? That secret feeling of uneasiness you get when you see somebody doing something that you think you can do better. That is tough, you know? That thing used to eat me up, doesn't bother me anymore now, but that thing used to really be tough, because I knew it was wrong. When you feel it inside of you, you know it's not right. Well, how do you kill it? You don't have to kill it. All you gotta do is just go around it, start looking a different direction, you know? It's all you gotta do. Anyway, you can get that knowledge that leads you to pride. As a teacher, you can become more proud when people recognize you, you know? I mean, preachers and anybody, I mean, I don't care who you are, any public figure whatsoever. Worst thing that can happen to them is everybody starts bragging on them and complimenting them, because sooner or later they start to believe it. That's the worst thing that can happen to them. You know what this stuff is supposed to do? He said some preach, some teach, you know? You know what this is supposed to do? This is supposed to lead you to the object. of what's being taught about. And if whatever's being taught about is correct, it's gonna be right back to God, that's where it's gonna be. Now that's what's supposed to happen. If you go out of here thinking, man, what an idiot teacher, you missed the whole point. If you go out of here thinking, oh man, you know, that was deep, that man, he knows some stuff, you missed the point. You did. because it's not supposed to be about me at all. It's not supposed to be about Brother Mark at all. It's supposed to be about the subject of those things. That's what it's supposed to be. I mean, if I had my desires, nobody would ever say a word to me one way or the other about that sort of thing. Why? Because it's not about me. It's not about I learned this and I need to teach it to you. Believe me, I used to feel that way about a lot of stuff, but not anymore. And if it's all about God, that changes your whole attitude toward what you say and why you say it and your motive for saying it. And all you want to do is say, okay, if I be lifted up, would you all amen unto me? Lord, I can't even do that without you. Without you, I can do nothing. So you do it. Do it. Get their attention on you. Make them think about you. Make them realize how little they think about you to start with. Anyway. We covered last couple of weeks, you know, about children. You gotta go back to get to the future, and that means you gotta get humble like a little child. Now, we are God's children, and as such, we're very self-serving. We're so much about ourselves, and we go to God, we never think about what's in his best interest. We never think about how can this benefit you. Only thing we ever think about is God, help, I'm in trouble. Gimme, gimme, gimme, you know, my name is Jimmy. Give me more, you know, I'll take all you got. I just want a million dollars for every year I'm alive from now on God, that's all I want. You can tell how much God thinks of money by some of the people he gives it to. I heard that years ago and that's the truth, man. He talks about a rich man entering in the kingdom of heaven, going through eye of a needle and all that stuff. I mean, there's some people out there with some real money. The only ones that have a chance at all are guys that make that money real quick without it being connected back into ancient family and corrupt money, all this other stuff. Still pretty tough. Anyway, moving along. As a child, what do you think of your father? You say, oh man, I think of him anytime I want something. You know that's how children think? That's how they think. I'll think of my mommy or my daddy anytime I want something. That's when I go see them. When was the last time your kid ever came to you and said, what can I do for you? You know, is there anything I can do for you today so you benefit more because I'm your child? Well, we get opportunities all the time. A good parent is loved more if the child understands that parent. If they understand a good parent's love, That child will appreciate that parent more. If a good parent's actions are understood, the child will love that parent more. A good parent. If that kid understands a parent's abilities, they'll appreciate that parent more. You know what has to happen, don't you? You have to get your mind off yourself and get your mind on that parent. You have to gain understanding and knowledge of that parent as a child. Child don't think that way normally. Child always thinking about self. If you understood you had a good parent and you understood your parent's motives, you'd love your parent more. You know what most children do, don't you? They rebel against them. You know why? Because they don't understand them and they don't know nothing about them. Matter of fact, they consider their parents their enemies when they get up to be about 13. I mean, you're just the warden then. And none of those things change. If a kid understood a parent's plans, they'd understand a whole lot more about that parent. They'd appreciate the parent more. Are you making us go to so-and-so? I don't wanna go. We're gonna go get a haircut. I don't wanna get a haircut. And what's the point? You ever try to talk to your kid? This hurts me more than it does you. Of course, most of the time, we only think physical pain, right? If it's gonna hurt you as a parent, it's because you love that kid. The only time you can honestly say that is when you're not getting revenge. Most parents wait until they get mad at their kid, and then they get revenge. Then they get even. They're retaliating. They're competing with the kid. They're not raising the kid. They're competing with him as an adult. You made me mad, whack. How's that feel? That's not a good parent. A good parent does what's in the kid's best interest. If you understood that parent's desires, man, you'd love that parent a whole lot more than you ever did. Why? Because a good parent's desire is in the best interest of the child. Now, your heavenly father has all those desires and feelings and abilities and motives and actions and love for you. And the reason we don't love him more because of it is because we don't know much about him. We know more about our salvation, about the words in the song about him and about books in the Bible and stories in the Bible, but actually him and his personality, that's really difficult. You know why the first great commandment is so hard for us? Because we missed out on all those points about our parent. Our Heavenly Father has every one of those attributes and more. He has our best interest at heart. He has sacrificed and suffered along with His Son going through what He went through. I mean, how do you think God felt when Jesus Christ says, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? How do you think God the Father felt right there? He's torn between the love for his creation and the love for his son, ripped apart. And if it wasn't for that love for his creation, believe me, he would have never put his son in that position or ask him to. Man, God, I need some more money. My car's busted down. Help me, God. Thanks for this food. You start to love him, and then when he says, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, it starts to get easier. And you start to interact with God instead of react. You start to function within his plan. You start to get more cooperative in the things he's doing in your life, and you begin to try to understand what he's doing. You start to try to understand him instead of rebel him like a teenager. Instead of fighting and just praying for relief, you start to begin to pray for understanding, knowing that His ways are not our ways. And if your ways don't match God's, who's right? Anyway, we'll get into more of this next week. Let's close in prayer.