The Bible is the Voice of God

Colossians 1:21-23

COL-160

Some weeks ago I mentioned to you that the Temple Mount Jews were planning to lay the cornerstone, willy-nilly, this past week. Well, they tried to do it. The police were called out, and they were stopped. And they were held back once more. But they're that far along with preparations with what they need to be able to go and do this – to be able to set that stone in place.

I was also given, today, a print out from the Dow Jones News from last Friday off the internet. And it's entitled "Arafat Urges Europe to use Trade with Israel as a Leverage: Bonn, Germany." Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat urged European countries Friday to use their trade with Israel as a leverage toward breaking the deadlock in Middle East peace efforts. The deadlock that he's referring to is, of course, that the new prime minister of Israel will not accept something that endangers the military capacities and the survival of the nation of Israel. It is the policy of Arafat and of the Palestinian Liberation Army to destroy Israel – not to have peace with them.

So, it goes on and says: "Arafat stopped short of calling for economic sanctions, but urged Europe to play this economic card in a positive way: 'I want Europe to play a commensurate role, protecting and advancing the peace process,' he said, in reply to a question, after giving a speech to academics, politicians, and reporters. Pronouncing the search for peace in a really dangerous crisis, Arafat blamed Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for constant setbacks since his government came to power.

"Earlier, Chancellor Helmut Cole renewed European support for Arafat, and voiced growing concern about the state of the peace process. Arafat also met with the president of Parliament's lower house, Rita Susmuth; Economics Minister Gunter Rextor; and, Finance Minister Theo Weigel. On Saturday, Arafat was to meet foreign minister Klaus Kinkel, and attend a United Nations charity event for needy children."

The stopping of the Temple Mount group from putting their cornerstone in place and this announcement that Arafat is calling for economic pressures upon the Jews, only reminds us that the Lord is at hand. Jesus is coming again. All of these are the things that are making it more and more possible for Israel to be in desperate condition, which is what the nation must have after the Rapture takes place, so that the antichrist can come on and say, "I'm going to settle this conflict. I am going to bring peace." And he puts the lid on the Arabs, and permits the Jews to go full-steam ahead in building their temple.

The Berean Tape Ministry

It was encouraging to me, in the climate of a world like that, to have Jim Armstrong call me this afternoon. He said, "I want you to listen to something." And over the receiver came my voice, clear as a proverbial bell. And he said, "Nathan and I have put together (and it's all kind of technical stuff), but this is going on. What is being put together is a Berean website on the internet." And he said, "You may have noticed that this is the first tape of the basic doctrine series, 'How to go to Heaven,'" and it sounds better than the original tape, because of their technical ability." I'm humbled to have two such men as Nathan and Jim here for us to have this ability, because what this means is that anybody can pick up that tape anywhere in the world. And, in time, they're going to have all of them there. When the antichrist comes on and finds that out, that's time for us to be out of here. But it is not without reason that such a thing is coming together against a background of the events of the world, where the pressure is closing in on Israel from all sides.

So, it is all the more important for us to continue what we were talking about this morning: a new appreciation for the Bible. It is because there is not an appreciation for the Bible as the Word of God, that we have so much trouble in the world today.

Our subject is "Reconciliation of the Colossians, segment number five in Colossians 1:21-23.

The Lord Jesus Christ, while He was on earth, made clear that Scripture was the very Word of God. The Bible did not just contain the Word of God. It is the Word of God. Jesus declared that no one could really live on material food apart from the spiritual food of doctrine. Only animals live on the material level. Respect and awe for the Bible as God's voice is the basis for the moral personal integrity – personal dignity. And there's the problem. Even Christians lack personal dignity in so many ways. I'm being tempted to start listing all the ways that I see all about us – Christians without dignity. But you can't have any dignity until, first of all, you say, "This is God's book. That is God's voice. And when He speaks, there is no debate." This is respect and awe for the Bible. Dignity is having substance and weight as a person so that you are a person to be esteemed. The people in Satan's world system of life lack dignity. They can be cultured; they can be sophisticated; they can be educated; and, they can even be religious, but they lack dignity. There's no substance to them. Just watch some of the charismatic TV evangelists and you'll understand what I mean. There is no substance to those people. There is only con and manipulation.

People in Satan's world system lack dignity because the devil makes fools of them. And this is a very sad picture (for Christians to be made fool of), since they are the royalty of God. The worldling has no substance of character because he does not love the Bible, and he is not subject to it. He will not obey its precepts. His life has been trashed by human-viewpoint thinking. A person's whole life is the expression of his attitude toward the Bible as the voice of God. That's it. And your life will be a life of awe, or a life of indifference. But everything you are comes right back to your attitude toward the Bible.

If you have that kind of a sense of awe and respect for the Bible as the Word of God, then the next thing you'll have is the desire to know what's in it. And if that is not what you're getting through expository preaching in your local church, then something is wrong, and you should be very much on your guard. You can fool yourself, but you don't kid God. And the Word of God says, "What you sow, that is what you will reap."

So, why do some people here at Berean church always see to it that they're here in this service? Some of them drive long distances, but they're always here. You walk in here, and you know that certain people are always going to be here, like most of the time I'm here. And why are some people like that? There are some people I know that if I need to have some discussion with them, I'll say, "I'll see him Sunday;" or, "I'll see her Sunday." For some people, I can't be sure whether they'll be there or not.

Now why is that different? It's because those who are always here love His word. They love the Bible; they love the God of the Bible; and, they love what He has to say. Now, that makes a focus. Anybody who's ever been in love with anybody, especially on a man-and-woman basis, knows that you are interested in being with that person, and spending time with them. You don't want to be someplace else if you can have an opportunity to be with that person.

So, when God the Father is really big in your affections, that shows by what you do with your life. Christians are always confronted by the Lord's admonition not to love the world as Demas did. Here is one of the saddest verses in all of the Bible: 2 Timothy 4:10. And nobody is beyond this threat. Demas (who is mentioned two other times in the Bible always is a close associate of the apostle Paul engaged in Paul's ministry. This man was a big man on the team. Verse 9 tells Timothy: "Make every effort to come to me soon (in prison in Rome)." The reason? "For Demas," who has been at his right hand, having loved this present world, has deserted me, and gone to Thessalonica."

Demas loved this present world. And this word "world," interesting enough, is "age." This is what the apostle Paul calls this present evil age. How could this have happened to this man? How could he have swung from what he knew, and from what he had such affection for (Paul, and the work that they were engaged in), that he became entangled in the present evil world in which they live. And he said, "Goodbye Paul. I'm out of here."

It's like one Christian once said to me, "I don't like to come to Berean Church because I like to do some of the things that they tell me that God says you can't do. And you would think that that person would say, "Oh, I thank you for that. That's where I want to be. I want to be alerted." But it's the same question we ask: "How can some of these ex-Bereans we've had, become Roman Catholics?" You shake your head. It's an imponderable thing. Or how can you find someone who had a good beginning here, even as a youngster, and then drift off and never walk in to feed on the Word of God. What a wasted life!

Christians are always confronted with the present evil world. It's easy for Christians to view society, or to view your peers and the institutions of society as being people just like yourself. It's a bad mistake. Those who are not believers, or those who are untaught, carnal Christians, they're not just like you. They're a great danger to you. And yet we tend to impose on people our own quality in the Lord.

The Bible is the Voice of God

Satan is in charge of the whole world. And the believer, respecting the Bible, and following its precepts, is not welcome. Now if you're a "Hail fellow well met" type of person, by the world's society, you have a problem, buddy. There's something wrong. This world does not welcome Christians. Rather than separating from the lifestyle of the world system that Satan has put together, Christians seek to be accepted because they want certain benefits; they want certain recognition; and, they want to be accepted. But as we showed you this morning, Christians are citizens of heaven. So, they are strangers and pilgrims on this earth. Many Christians, however, choose to be part of the ways of Satan's world, because they do not esteem the Bible as the voice of God which forbids friendship with the world. That's the phrase. Don't forget it. The Bible is the voice of God.

So, don't sit in any kind of religious relationship where the Bible is not the primary focus, and a source of instruction. If there's anything you need, it's the voice of God. That Bible is not the focus if you're listening to the voice of man. And here's another biblical principle. The more involved the person is with the world's lifestyle, the less involved he is with the Word of God – the Bible; and, with Christian service. I've never seen that to miss. The more you're involved with the world lifestyle, and what it does, and what it pursues, the less you'll be involved with the Word of God.

People who were once as regular in the church services as I am, are very irregular now. And when I look into it, what's the problem? They're out there in the world. They're getting kicks out of being exalted, and being put in positions of significance and authority by the world. And that takes up their life. They don't have time to be in here, sitting in church.

Separation

But I do recognize, at the same time, that a large part of the blame for the Christian community for failing to be separated from Satan's lies are the pastors who do not feed the believers via expository preaching, which dignifies the Bible in their eyes. Separation is the will of God. And as I said this morning, when I was a teenager, separation was a big thing. You were always separated from the world. And when you grow up with that, and that's what your parents have instilled in you, it's very hard to turn your back on that separation unto the Lord from the world. And it can be extreme, as I said, and you eventually get some maturity and balance it out.

I remember when I was in Baylor University, my junior year, before going into the Marine Corps, a very famous movie came to town. It was called "Gone with the Wind." It was all about the Civil War in the South. It was a big spectacular thing. I said, "Gee, I'm a minor in history, and this would be great to see." And I wanted to go. I never went to movies at all. And they weren't bad then like they are now. So, finally, one afternoon, I'm walking halfway to Waco (down to the city of Waco) from the campus to go to the theater, and I stopped and said, "I don't have a clear conscience on this. I can't do this." And I turned around and went back to the dorm. I never got to see "Gone with the Wind" until several years later when it was practically gone.

That was a little extreme. But the sense was: "I don't play with the world, and the world is a dangerous place to me." So even if everybody else says, "Here's a wonderful experience," it's a dangerous place. It's what Paul calls this present evil age.

I' was sitting in the office yesterday afternoon. The phone rang, and I usually don't answer it. But sometimes, rings like that, I thought it was Mrs. Danish with some instructions for me. So I answered it. And it was a man who introduced himself. He said, "I'm from one of the Baptist churches, and I'm calling the pastors of churches around Irving through the Yellow Pages, because I'd like for your congregation to join me in prayer. I have found out that Paragon cable has two pornographic stations, 1 and 30, which are blanked out." But he said, "I've discovered that periodically they run it in the clear under the guise of putting some advertising." I've never seen them. I've never run into those. But he said, "They're putting it on in the clear periodically to hook people in to an evil program – viewing that which is evil to them as a Christian." And he talked quite a while, and the guy was really hot about this.

So, I said, "Well, I think we can help you on that. In fact, I said, we're a church that, in one respect, is unusual because on Wednesday night, we have prayer meeting, and we do an odd thing: we pray. There is no preaching, and not much singing. There may be a few jokes, and we're out there praying. So I think we can help you with that." And I said, "We'll, we'll bring that up next week."

Now here, within the city of Irving, are they people just like us? No, they're not just like us, because they're not like us in our love for the Word of God.

So there is a lot of resistance to Christian separation. And there is a lot of resistance for the simple call to be loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ. I find it strange that people look at me oddly when I say that there's a certain implication to respect for the Bible as the voice of God, and as the authority of God, and consequently, the place you give him in your life: 1; 2; or, 3. What priority? People look at me oddly when I say that God; church activities; and, Christian service for Him should be first priorities in life. And skip anything in your life that interferes with that. I'll give you a Scripture verse in a moment that that's based on. When the church has something going on, and you have a Christian service responsibility, and you're in some activity, don't let anything stand in your way.

When I say that to some of the young people, they give me an incredulous look, when I tell them that the Berean Youth Club meetings and activities should come ahead of school work. Man, they look at me and recoil: "Well, what do you mean? That Berean Youth Club meeting, that deals with the things of God, is more important than my schoolwork assignment?" When I tell them that prayer meeting should not be interfered with anything, or their Christian service duty – all those things come before homework, or any after-school activity or social life (social activities). Because the public school system is not satisfied with having the kids for hours and hours all day, they have no hesitancy about bringing them into activities on the weekend, and in the evenings.

Now, you all have to make your own decision, and you have to decide whether this is the Word of God, and whether the activities related to God come first. Now, you should hopefully conduct your life in such a way that you discipline your time; and, that you get your schoolwork done. But there is a declaration in the Word of God that if you go to Berean Youth Club meetings first, you'll make it at school. If you go to prayer meetings first, you'll make it at school. If you go to your Christian service activity, you'll make it in school. In fact, you'll make it in all of your life. Long after your activities and achievements and fun in Satan's world society, which is all that it is (our history), your devotion to God will have eternal, rewarding consequences and earthly blessings. Live in respect with the Bible. Respect the Bible, and you will live. There is no life apart from respecting the Bible. And to respect the Bible as the voice of God means that you do what it tells you.

Matthew 6:33 is the only way to live. And all I'm doing is fulfilling my responsibility to alert you with something that maybe even your parents have been a little careless about. But you must make your own decision. Matthew 6:33: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Now either that's the most enormous, monstrous lie, or that is the great truth that God has for all of us – not only the youngsters, but the adults as well. When I put first priority to the things of God, and the first priority to my integrity, such that His righteousness is in me, all of these things *and you can go up the context and read all those things) – they're going to be added to you. You are not going to lose out. It's the only way to live in this world and beat the devil (his evil world system), and to retain your honor as a prince and a princess of God. It's the only way to avoid those horrible life choices which otherwise you'll be very much prone to make.

Unfortunately, if you don't follow this kind of a lifestyle, you'll still going to learn that this is true, but you'll have scars all over your life first. You'll have terrible consequences that you've slipped into because you didn't look upon the world of Satan as the enemy of God. Not only do our youth sometimes think that I don't know what's what, but unfortunately, so do their parents – often as not. It is their parents, of course, who say, "Buddy / Girly, it is prayer meeting time. Get ready. It is Youth Club meeting time. Get ready. It is campout time."

Now, I've already been through this. When I spoke to the junior and senior high girls, my first question to them was, "Do you know who I am?" Well, who I am is someone that didn't fall off the turnip truck last week. And I know quite a few things more than you know, and I have a better perspective on life than you have, by dint of age. And I've already been through this, where youngsters in the family are in school activities: maybe in the band; and, maybe on the flag-waving team. But when Berean Youth campout time came, they made the apology to the director, in saying, "I have certain responsibilities toward God, and activities relative to my spiritual life, and I have to go to those first. So, I have to go to this campout. I have to do this. I have to be at this activity."

However, at the drop of a hat, what do we do? We do it just the other way around. If something in church, and my spiritual life, and my godly relationship to God interferes with some outside activity, we go with the outside activity, and we blow off the things of the Lord. Now you judge, as the apostles, in Acts 4:19, said to the authorities in Jerusalem: "You judge whether we should obey the voice of man or the voice of God." Aha! Now this appreciation and esteem for the Bible takes a whole lot different picture. You don't esteem the Bible if you don't obey it. And when the Bible speaks, it is the Word of God.

Matthew 6:33: "Seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." What an enormous promise: to be able to live your life from the earliest days without blowing things.

Now, it's true that maybe you have committed yourself to things, but you must consider whether you should have. You can only do so much, and there are things you should not commit yourself to, if it's going to interfere with the activities of your spiritual life. Yes, you want to be educated. Yes, you want to grow up in good physical condition. Well, what about growing up in good spiritual condition? It's no good to be educated, and it's no good to be in good physical condition if you don't have a good spiritual condition. All that you will do with that is self-destruct. And the thing you should remember is that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, that's going to tell all. And if you think I'm wrong about this – that the things of God come first in the lives of you and your children, before some activity outside of the Berean Church ministries, it's going to all come out to see who's right and who's wrong about this, when we stand before Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ (JSC).

But why would anybody want to use up your allotted lifespan pursuing the good in exchange for the best that God has for you? That's the question in Luke 9:23-25: "And he was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself. (Let him not do the things of the world first.) And take up his cross (your mission in life daily), and follow Me."

That's what the great honor is: to be a prince and a princess in the royal family of God, the church. God has a purpose for you. God has a mission for you. And what the Lord Jesus did, as a 12-year-old boy, was to spend His time discussing the Word of God with the learned rabbis. And He was not being disobedient to His parents, but as he said (this was even as a 12-year-old), He knew that this was His Father's business." And when His parents, three days later, said, "How come you didn't get into the caravan? We walk off, and we finally find that You're missing.

In Luke 2:49, He said, "Don't you understand that I must be about My Father's business?" The 12-year-old Jesus was becoming very much aware now that He was a God-Boy.

Then, in Luke 2:51, the Bible says (to make it very clear): "He went with His parents, and was obedient to them." What did Christ do? He was a boy on His way to manhood, and the top part in His life was the Word of God and the obedience to His mission.

Luke 9:24-25: "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited (a Christian man profited) if he gains the whole world, and loses (or forfeits) himself?"

Then look down to Luke 9:59-60: "And He said to another, 'Follow Me.' And he said, 'Permit me first to go and bury my father.' But He (Jesus) said to him, 'Allow the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.'" How often it must sadden the heart of our Father, as it did Jesus, when He goes up and says, "I'd like you to join me in a spiritual enterprise. I'd like you to join me in a Christian activity." And the man says, "Oh, well, listen, Lord, I have these things in the world system of Satan. I need to do those first." And as Jesus said to the man, "You are spiritually alive. There are all kinds of dead people out there that can hold those offices and those positions, and do those things. They're dead spiritually. Let those dead ones bury your dead. You stay with the Lord."

Then Luke 10:2: "He was saying to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'" This is the sad part of what happens when people do not follow through on their proclamation – that they believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and act upon its principles of giving Him (our Father) priority number one. There are no laborers in the field.

From time-to-time, we have church activities, and we can't get personnel to conduct them. We can't get people to come in as leaders to handle it. Why? Because their lives are tied up in the world system, or something else that they're pursuing. So, there's the harvest of the precious lives of these kids, and we can't bring anybody on board to minister to them.

Here's the basis of disloyal to the Lord Jesus. This is a mental attitude. Please remember that worldliness is not what you do or don't do. It's your attitude of mind. That's where it begins. It's a mental attitude on the part of the Christian, and it is due to not viewing the Bible as God's book of truth, and being completely sold out to Jesus Christ. Consequently, you elbow Him out of your life.

In Luke 6:46-49, the Lord said, "And why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not what I say." Oh boy. How many Christians or how many kids sit in a church service, and they whisper to one another. Or they send notes so that people are distracted around them, and so that they're distracted. Somebody said, "Dr. Danish, last week they asked me, 'Could you ask people in church, when they open up their candy, such that they need some nourishment to survive, that they'll just open it up.'" That is because they're opening it up very carefully, trying not to make noise. And it just prolongs it.

Also, please ask whoever was snipping their fingernails last Sunday night, not to do that in church. We had one man who regularly clipped his nails (with a big loud clip). Well, he's up in that big beauty parlor in the sky now, so we don't have to worry about him anymore. But this is an attitude. It's not important. This is just church. But this is your life. And without this, there is no dignity.

Luke 6:46-49, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord" and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like. He is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock. And when a flood rose, the torrent burst against the house, and could not shake it, because it had been well-built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the ruin of that house was great."

Jesus, of course, is using poetical language and comparisons about your life. And you can build your life in such a way that, when some really big temptation hits you, you can't handle it. You succumb to it. I'm amazed at what some young people will do in their moral life, and that they would accept somebody to their bosom who demonstrates that this is a low life individual by their indifference to the consequences to a person. Now that's what you're up against all the time. And if your life has rotten foundations, boy, you're going to get knocked right over.

Here's another doctrine principle. The Word of God says, in 1 Corinthians 10:12: "Let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall." You think you wouldn't do that? How many Christians have said, "I couldn't believe I'd be that stupid to do such a thing: to botch up my life like this; and to have a consequence that I can't just blow off. I can't believe that I would've done such a thing. And I'm trying to tell those of you who have not made some big decisions in life: "You have a clean slate. Stay with the Word of God. Stay with life in Christ. Stay with life in Christ. Stay with the things that are spiritual first. I'm telling you: when life is over, or when life has passed a certain stage of your youth, none of these things that you have put ahead of the things of God are going to be worth a Fig Newton. So, the basis of loyalty to Christ is to put up a house that is built upon the Word of God.

Reconciliation has already readjusted the Christian to God's standard of absolute righteousness. So, why live for temporal honors; temporal gain; or, temporal friendships in this world? Why do you want the glory, and the honor, and the recognition, and the things that the world can give you?

How about Lot? 2 Peter 2:6-9: If Demas is a sadness, Lot is equally so. Now as we read this, remember what the apostle Paul said: "We live in an evil age." This world is not your friend, and it has nothing to offer you except to undermine your character and your life with God. Here, Peter's talking about God's judgment upon the generation of Noah. Then in verse 6, he says, "And He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (two homosexual havens) to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter."

Now, if you say, "I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and that it is the voice of God, and then, as we just read, you do not seek the Kingdom of God first, and all His righteousness, and believe that all the things that you think are necessary in life will be added unto you, then you have said that God is a liar." You have called Him a liar, and you will have declared that you don't really esteem the Bible as the Word of God. And you don't want to live the godly life.

Now, Sodom and Gomorrah were brought down to ashes to show all of us the consequences, in the long run, of living the ungodly life. What is the ungodly life? Living by this world's standards – Satan's system?

Then there is verse 7 – the sad verse. "And if he rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men, for by what he saw and heard, that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds." And I have no doubt that Abraham warned him, when they had to separate, not to choose the cities of the plain as a territory for his herdsman, and his flocks, and his family to grow up.

We're showing, in chapel in the academy, a video on the Bible. And last week, this was the scene. The conflict between the herdsman of Lot and Abraham. And Abraham says, "Look, there's plenty of room for both of us. There's too many of us this close together. Where do you want to go? If you want to go to the right, I'll go to left. If you go to left, I'll go to the right." And the eyes of Lot looked out there, those glimmering, glorious, shining, sophisticated cities of the plain, of which Sodom and Gomorrah were the chief. He said, "I'll go there." And in this video, it's not in the Bible, but it's the very thing I just said. Abraham said, "That is a very wicked place, Lot. Should you go there? Will that be good for you and your family?" And Lot says, "Yes, there's good pasture, and there is a good opportunity for my family."

Well, the good opportunity was that the time came when they were thrown out of the city by God's mercy before He destroyed the two cities. His wife didn't make it, because she couldn't leave without looking back. And eventually, the daughters became pregnant by the father, and the Edomites and the Moabites, two of the big Arab problems for the Jews today, came into existence. And why? Because he oppressed himself by being in the presence of the world system of Satan – the sensual conduct of unprincipled men: "For by what he saw, and what he heard, that righteous man, living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day-after-day with their lawless deeds." Why didn't he get up and say, "I'm out of here." I don't know. Why don't you do it, when the things of the world system: your business; your school; your social life; and, your associations demand that something going on in your responsibility toward God at Berean Church keeps you away?

Colossians 1:21 has reminded the people of Colossae that they came out of this kind of a cesspool of society: "And although you were formerly alienated, and hostile in mind, and engaged in evil deeds toward God." He reminds them of their terrible lifestyle in the world. Now the question is: why do you want to go back, Colossians, and live in that world again? What God calls upon us is not to love the world. And if you don't love it, you hate it. And the lack of treating the Bible as God's medium of guidance to you in your life will lead to willingness to do any evil. You'll do it. Just give yourself an opportunity, and you'll do it. The only reserve you have to say "No" to evil comes because you say, "The Bible is number one as the work and the voice of God. And what it says, I have learned, and I'm going to be faithful to what I learned." Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." It's either a big lie; or, a big truth (a big relief).

Now sometimes you might not know exactly what you should do. You have some problems of the decisions you should make, and the relationships that you should go into. That's when you talk to other Christians (older Christians). You talk to me, and then you do what you choose. But you don't muddle through. And, in heaven's name, you don't go talk to your school counselors. You don't go talk to your office counselors. You don't go talk to the people of the world for advice. Those people are going to spend eternity in the lake of fire.

What God wants you to do is to recognize that you are a prince and a princess. And He is not silent. He has spoken to you in this Word. That's the great thing about being a child of God in the church age. And if you'll put top priority to the things in your life that are relationships to the things of God, as they're expressed through your local church, and the other things that God has given you to do, you're not going to lose out. You're going to be a winner, and you're not going to be some sorry character that says, as one man said, "I just don't like it at Berean Church. There's too much you talk about there that I like to do."

And we don't talk about anything here that is my opinion. We talk about that which is the declaration of the will of God.

So, as the apostles said to the Pharisee authorities, I say to you: "Choose you whom you should obey: man, of Satan's world system; or, God, as a citizen of heaven.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1995

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