I think most of you have heard of Ted Williams. He's the—was—the Hall of Fame baseball player, one of the best baseball players that ever played the game. He said one time, he says, "If you don't think too good, don’t think too much." And there's a lot of wisdom there! "If you don't think too good, don't think too much."
And one of the biggest problems in human history is that man does not think straight. He just doesn't think straight! And man does not think like our Creator. He does not think like God. So, let's go to Isaiah 55 and read verses 8 and 9 as a reminder of that. Man does not think like God. The two minds are different. Isaiah 55 and we'll begin in verse 8. God says:
Isaiah 55:8. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, (KJV)
It can't be anymore plain than that! And He says:
Isaiah 55:8b. … neither are your ways my ways," (KJV)
The ways that we do things.
Isaiah 55.8 continued. … [says] the [Eternal].
9) "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (KJV)
So, what this message tells us is that God is saying, "I don’t think the way you think. And the way you work is different than the way I work. And as the sky soars above the earth," He says, "the way I think and the way I work surpasses the way you think and the way you work as high as the sky is above the earth." And what He's telling us, He's telling us that "The way I think is beyond the way you think—far superior to the way that you think!"
Now why is this important? Let's go back to one of our favorite Scriptures, Jeremiah 10 and verse 23. We've been there before recently. This is important because man doesn't know how to think, doesn't know how to put one foot in front of the other. Jeremiah 10 and verse 23, the prophet tells us:
Jeremiah 10:23. O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. (KJV)
Apart from God, man does not know how to think; man does not know how to walk; man does not know how to act. And all we have to do is look at the current world situation to see that. We've talked about that before. And if we want to be like Christ and we want top be like God and we want to be the Bride, then, we should strive to make our thoughts like His thoughts and our ways like His ways.
The reason we start with thoughts is because thoughts lead to deeds. And if we have God's thoughts, those thoughts lead to godly deeds. If we have man's thoughts, those thoughts lead to what we see in the world today—just a complete mess on every front all around the world!
So, today in the sermon what we want to do is investigate the difference between God's thoughts and our thoughts and see what lessons we can learn from them.
What we want to do first is answer the question: Why aren't man's thoughts God's thoughts? Why is there a gulf between the two? Where does that come from?
And secondly, then, what we want to do is look into the Bible and see examples from the Bible to show just how detached the carnal mind is from the mind of God; to see how often the course of action that God chooses makes no sense to a human being—no sense at all!
And then, thirdly, we want to see what lessons we can learn from these examples.
Now, let's go back to the first thing that we want to cover.
I. Why aren't man's thoughts God thoughts?
Why is that? Let's go to Romans 8 and we'll read verses 6 and 7. It's very clear and very plain. It's just amazing how clear the Bible is! And it's amazing what we term "the simplicity that is in Jesus Christ." You don't need advance degrees to determine what the Bible says. Romans 8 and verse 6, it says:
Romans 8:6. For to be carnally minded… (KJV)
That's earthly minded or in a human mind.
Romans 8:6b. … is death, (KJV)
Meaning it ends in death.
Romans 8:6 continued. … but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (KJV)
Verse 7. Why?
Romans 8:7. Because the carnal mind is enmity… (KJV)
I'm reading out of the King James. "Against God".
Romans 8:7b. … enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (KJV)
And the Greek word for "enmity" is echthra (ekh'-thrah). And it can mean hostility toward God, hatred toward God, or it can mean a reason to oppose God.
Not only just not in the same thoughts, but actually in opposition to the way God thinks.
Now where did this all begin? I think we all know that. Let's go back to Genesis 2 and we'll read verses 16 and 17. It started with the first two human beings. It started when Satan made his appearance in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2 verse 16 and it says:
Genesis 2:16. And the [Eternal] commanded the man, saying, (NKJ)
God was very plain, no mystery here, no ambiguity here.
Genesis 2:16. The [Eternal] commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden [you can] freely eat:
17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [you] shall not eat of it, [because] the day that you [do, you're going to] die." (KJV)
Now, Christ, the God of the Old Testament told Israel the same thing. We won't turn there. It's in Deuteronomy 30:18. He said, "If you worship other gods, you're going to die." And Adam and Eve were told, "If you take of this tree, you're going to die." And notice it was not just "The Tree of the Knowledge of Evil," it was "The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil."
Now the Hebrew word for "good" here in Genesis 2 is the Hebrew word towb (tobe). In English you would spell it "t-o-b-e." And it's a word that has an extremely broad meaning. But in the context it means to define for yourself what is good. Not just what is evil, but "Mankind if you take this, you're going to define for yourself what is good rather than what God says is good."
And since that time, man has directed his own steps through trial and error. That is the main way that man has directed his way, directed his path, and thought about what actions he was going to take. It is based on trial and error, but the problem, you see, is that trial and error is under the influence of Satan.
And so, we try things and if they work, we keep doing them. If they don't work, if they cause pain, most people change. Some people don't; they just keep doing it over and over again. But it's done through trial and error. And then if you do that, it leads to the results that we find here in Jeremiah chapter 44. This is the result of trial and error under the influence of Satan. Jeremiah 44, we're going to read verses 16 through 18. And Jeremiah is talking to the people of Judah. And notice their response. He has been trying to tell them God's mind, God's way, God's thoughts. And this is their response based on trial and error inspired by Satan. Jeremiah 44 verse 16:
Jeremiah 44:16. "As for the word that [you (referring to Jeremiah) have spoken] unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not [listen] unto [you]. (KJV)
Oh, okay. Verse 17:
Jeremiah 44:17. "But we will certainly do whatsoever thing [goes] forth out of our own mouth, (KJV)
Just like Adam and Eve. "We're going to decide what's good and we're going to decide what's evil." Notice what they were doing. "We're going to do what we want:"
Jeremiah 44:17b. … to burn incense unto the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: (KJV)
They said, "We've done all this before!" But they said:
Jeremiah 44:17 continued. … [because when] we did it, we had plenty of victuals, (KJV)
The New King James says "food."
Jeremiah 44:17 continued. [We] were well, and [we] saw no evil! (KJV)
Again, this is by trial and error, but under the influence of Satan. Verse 18:
Jeremiah 44:18. But since we left off [we quit burning] incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, (KJV)
"We've been deprived. It hasn't been successful."
Jeremiah 44:18b. … and [we] have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. (KJV)
That's their reasoning through trial and error. "And we're just going to do what we want to do. We're going to decide for ourselves."
Now the reason man's thoughts aren't God thoughts is because man's mind is corrupted by Satan's mind. And if our mind is corrupted by Satan and the world's mind is corrupted by Satan, there is no way you will listen to God. There is no way that you can have the thoughts or the mind of God and Christ. It's just not going to happen.
And man uses Satan's mind to guide his steps by trial and error. It's as simple as that. And that leads to the results that we just read in Jeremiah. And it results in a state of opposition to God's thoughts—continually opposition to God's thoughts. Man's thoughts continually oppose, bump up to, conflict with God's thoughts. Man of himself does not want to have God's thoughts. We need to understand that.
So, why aren't man's thoughts God's thoughts? It's because the mind of man is corrupted by Satan and man uses trial and error influenced by Satan rather than going to God and say, "God, what should I do?" Man has been doing that for six thousand years.
Now, let's cover some examples, the second big area.
II. Biblical Examples
This will take the majority of the sermon. We want to cover some examples to see how far apart our thoughts are from God's thoughts. Let's see from the Bible how much greater, how much higher, how much different God's thoughts are than our thoughts. And we could, you could give sermons for the next ninety days on examples. We will cover a few, but they are replete in the Bible of how far apart our thoughts are from God's thoughts.
Now, let's look at Abraham. We all look to Abraham, the Father of the Faithful. Let's go to Genesis chapter 12 to get the context of the storyline that we're going to talk about. And as we talk about this, look at the examples; look at their thinking, what they did (he and his wife); and how far apart their thinking was from God. Genesis 12, we'll read the first four verses.
Genesis 12:1. Now the [Eternal] said unto Abram, Get [you] out of [your] country, and from [your family, your] kindred, and from [your] father's house, unto a land that I will shew [you]:
2) And I will make of [you] a great nation, (KJV)
That is a promise. Mr. Armstrong talked about that many, many times. And He said:
Genesis 12:2b. I will bless [you], and [I will] make [your] name great; and [you are going to] be a blessing [to other people]:
3) And I will bless [those] that bless [you], and [I will] curse [those] that [curse you]: and in [you] shall all families of the earth be blessed. (KJV)
What a promise—tremendous wide-sweeping promise! Verse 4, "So, Abraham left." He was obedient. He just didn't question God. He just left.
Genesis 12:4b. … as the [Eternal] had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was [seventy-five years] old when he departed out of Haran. (KJV)
Now let's go to Genesis chapter 15. This is most likely ten years later. So, Abram is now eighty-five years old. Verse 1, we'll read the first four verses.
Genesis 15:1: After these things the word of the [Eternal] came unto Abram in a vision, [and He says], Fear not, Abram: I am [your] shield, [I am your] exceeding great reward. (KJV)
"You can look to Me. You can rely on Me." Verse 2:
Genesis 15:2. And Abram said, [to the] Lord God, [He says,] what [will You] give me, (KJV)
Again, he is referring to these promises of being a great nation and having seed. He says:
Genesis 15:2b. [What will You] give me, seeing I go childless, (KJV)
"I'm eighty-five years old. I don't have a son!"
Genesis 15:2 continued. … and the steward of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? (KJV)
Meaning, this steward was not part of his family. He was a Syrian.
Genesis 15:3. And Abram said, Behold, to me [You haven't] given [me any] seed: and, lo, one born in my house is [my] heir. (KJV)
Now what He was referring to is in those days if the husband and wife were childless, then the inheritance would go to the slave of choice of that family, which would be this Eliezer.
And he's [Abram] saying, "How can this happen because I don't have a child?" Verse 4:
Genesis 15:4. And, behold, the word of the [Eternal] came unto him, [And He says], This shall not be [your] heir [Meaning: anything coming from Eliezer.]; but he that shall come forth out of [your] own bowels shall be [your] heir. (KJV)
Now, these are God's thoughts. And He's saying, "I know you're eighty-five years old. I know Sarai is not quite as old as you are. And you're well past childbearing years, but this is what I'm telling you." It makes no sense to a human being.
Now look at chapter 16. This is approximately one year later. So, Abraham now is eighty-six. We'll read the first four verses and then jump to verse 15 and 16. Now, his wife was known then as Sarai (saw-rah'-ee), as you pronounce it in the Hebrew.
Genesis 16:1. Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: [but] she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2) And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the [Eternal has] restrained me from [childbearing]: [She says,] I pray [to you, I want you to go] in unto my [handmaid]; … that I may obtain children by her. (NKJ)
Now that is man's thoughts. God didn't inspire these. God didn't have anything to do with these thoughts. And so, she is taking matters into her own hand inspired by Satan, inspired by her human mind. And she says, "I want you to take my handmaid and have a child by her." Abram listened to the voice of Sarai (Genesis 16:2b). Again, this wasn't from God!
Genesis 16:3. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
4) And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress [meaning Sarai] was despised in her eyes. (KJV)
She said, "I've got a kid. I've got a child. You don't!" And she began to despise her mistress as a result.
Verse 15:
Genesis 16:15. And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16) And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. (KJV)
Now, if they had not thought as men, if they had not had man's thoughts, humans' thoughts, there would be no Mohammed today. Now think about that.
Many of today's Arabs are Ishmaelites. And if Abram and Sarai had trusted in God, there would have been no Ishmael. Mohammed descended from Kedar, one of the twelve sons of Ishmael. And as of 2006, there were twenty-two Arabic countries and thirty-five countries that are members of the Islamic Council.
Esau took three wives. Two were Canaanite and one was Ishmael's daughter. You read that in Genesis 36.
So, look at the trouble that could have been avoided if they had thought as God thinks and not as a human thinks.
Now let's go to chapter 17. This is fourteen years later. There is still no child. Ishmael is on the scene. He's now a teenager, but Abram and Sarai had no child. Genesis 17:1:
Genesis 17:1. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the [Eternal] appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be [you] perfect [or mature or complete]. (KJV)
Verse 15:
Genesis 17:15. And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai [your] wife, [you shall] not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall [be] her name.
16) [And He says,] I will bless her, and [I will] give [you] a son also of her: [yes], I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. (KJV)
God hadn't forgotten what He said. Now, yes, fourteen years passed. A human being would say, "Well, God has somehow forgotten." Well, God doesn't forget! And so, God came to Abraham at this time. Look at verse 17.
Genesis 17:17. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, (KJV)
I don't know that I would do that, but he did!
Genesis 17:17b. … and [he] said in his heart [Not out loud!], Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? (KJV)
Now these are man's thoughts. These are human thoughts limited by human reasoning and human power. Verse 18:
Genesis 17:18. And Abraham said unto God, (KJV)
Notice what he said!
Genesis 17:18b. O that Ishmael might live before [you]! (KJV)
Man's thoughts! He said, "You just said I was going to have a child. I don't believe it. And, oh, that this child I already have—the one that You didn't want me to have that I planned all on my own. Oh, that he would be in Your sight the father of a great nation."
Verse 19:
Genesis 17:19. God said, Sarah [your] wife shall bear [you] a son indeed; and [you shall] call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him [Not Ishmael!] for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (KJV)
This is God's way of doing it as opposed to man's way of doing it.
And then in Genesis chapter 18 the first eight verses, Christ and two angels appear before Abraham and let's pick up the story in verse 9 of Genesis 18:
Genesis 18:9. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah [your] wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10) And he said [Christ was saying, God of the Old Testament], I will certainly return unto [you] according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah [your] wife shall have a son. (KJV)
Now she was inside the tent.
Genesis 18:10b. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him [His back was to the tent.].
11) Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. (KJV)
She was long past menopause—way long past menopause. Verse 12:
Genesis 18:12. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself [Not out loud as Abraham did. And she says], After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? (KJV)
Again, man's thoughts! Not God's thoughts. Verse 13:
Genesis 18:13. And the [Eternal] said unto Abraham, [Why] did Sarah laugh, (KJV)
He had His back to her and He knew and she laughed within herself.
Genesis 18:13b. [And He said, Why] did [she] laugh, saying, Shall I [surely] bear a child, [when I] am old? (KJV)
Now notice this, verse 14:
Genesis 18:14. Is any thing too hard for the [Eternal]? (KJV)
We should put that, burn that in our brain because before this is all over, we're going to come up face-to-face with that: Is anything too hard for God no matter how impossible it might seem?
Genesis 18:14b. At the time appointed [He says,] I will return unto [you], according to the time of life, (KJV)
Meaning: "I'm going to turn back the clock on your body and Sarah's body."
Genesis 18:14 continued. … and [she] shall have a son.
15) Then Sarah denied, saying, I [didn't laugh because] she was afraid. And he said, (KJV)
And I think He probably said it with a bit of a smile on His face and a wink. He says:
Genesis 18:15b. [No]; but [you did] laugh. (KJV)
"You laughed, Sarah." And God was going to show her over time and show both of them over time that His way is the right way.
In Genesis 21—we won't turn there—the first two verses, God gave them the son of their dreams.
Now guess what? Finally after all of this, they had the son of their dreams. And guess what God did? He said, "Abraham, I want you to go kill him." Now think about that! Now, would we do that? Would we plan it that way? After all this, after performing a miracle when he was a hundred years old, He says, "Now, I want you to go kill him." Look at Genesis 22, the first two verses. Then we'll jump to verse 12.
Genesis 22:1. And it came to pass after these things, that God did [test] Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2) And he said, Take now [your] son, [your] only son Isaac, whom [you love], and get [you] into the land of Moriah; and offer him there [as] a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will [show you]. (KJV)
Verse 12; after he did that, three days journey, worried, knots in his stomach and He [God] said, as the knife was coming down upon his [Abraham's] son's throat:
Genesis 22:12. And he said, [Don't lay your] hand upon the lad, neither do [you] any thing unto him: for now I know that [you fear the Eternal], seeing [that you have] not withheld [your] son, [your] only son from me. (KJV)
Now, look at the fruits of God's way and then we have to ask ourselves, "Would I have done it this way? Would I have engineered it like this?" No, we wouldn't have. It wouldn't even occur to us to do any of this that we just read. And that shows us how far apart our thoughts are from God's thoughts.
Now let's take another example. Let's look at Gideon in the time of the Judges. Now, we'll just bring up to speed in the story of Gideon because, as usual, Israel went out and sinned. And they were, they fell under the domination of the nation of Midian, the Midianites. And this pattern that they would follow though their existence of falling away from God. Once a prophet, once a judge came, they would deteriorate. They would go away from God. They would, then, be taken captive or dominated. Then they would cry out to God and God would raise a judge.
At this point, they were dominated by Midian. And Midian came upon them with a force of 135,000 troops. You read that in chapter 8 and verse 10. Gideon only had a force of 32,000 troops. In other words, from the start, he was outnumbered 4 to 1—4 to 1! And God came to Gideon and said, "I want you to save Israel. You're outnumbered 4 to 1, but I want you save Israel." And, of course—as I think all of us would—in chapter 6 remember what Gideon said? "Well, okay God. If this is what you want, I need a sign." And he put the fleece on the ground and he said, "If I wake up in the morning and the fleece is wet and the ground is dry, then I know, you are God." And, of course, that's what happened. And, then, of course, that wasn't enough. And he said, "Well, tomorrow morning, just to prove you're God, I want to reverse that. I want the fleece to be dry and the ground to be wet." And sure enough, that's exactly what happened. And I bet every one of us would have done exactly the same thing—exactly the same thing because of how our mind thinks!
Now, let's go to chapter 7 of Judges. We're going to read the first seven verses and then jump to verse 16.
Judges 7:1. Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched [a tent] beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2) And the Lord said unto Gideon, (KJV)
Now they're outnumbered 4 to 1!
Judges 7:2. And the Lord said unto Gideon, [You've got] too many [troops] … (KJV)
Now would we do it that way? I don't think we would! He says:
Judges 7:2b. [You've got] too many for me to give the Midianites into [your] hands, (KJV)
This is God thinking! Not a man. He says:
Judges 7:2 continued. … lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, [of my] own hand [of my own strength we've] saved [the nation].
3) Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned [there] of the people twenty and two thousand; (KJV)
Again, this is men's thoughts saying, "Hey, we're already outnumbered 4 to 1. They're going to give us a pass if we want to leave. They're going to give us leave and we're going to have few days off. Let's go!" And twenty-two thousand of the thirty-two thousand left!
Judges 7:3b. … there remained ten thousand. (KJV)
Now just stop here. This is not something new because in Deuteronomy 20 and verse 8—we won't go there—that's in the context of the Laws of War. And in there it said that the officers were to speak to the people. And they told them, if anybody is afraid, if anybody is fainthearted, He says, "God back to your home before a battle."
Deuteronomy 20:8b. … lest [the] brethren's heart faint as well as his heart. (KJV)
Meaning, they're going to influence other people to be afraid and then a lot more people will leave. So you want to get the fearful out, the afraid out of the way. That was a precedent sent in Deuteronomy chapter 20.
So, that's exactly what happened here in the first three verses. Look at verse 4.
Judges 7:4. And the [Eternal] said unto Gideon, [He says,] The people are yet too many; (KJV)
"You've got ten thousand going against a hundred and thirty-two thousand." God's thoughts! Not a man's thoughts. He says:
Judges 7:4b. … bring them down unto the water, and [I'm going to] try them [I'm going to test them] there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto [you], This shall go with [you], the same shall go with [you]; and of whomsoever I say unto [you], This shall not go with [you], [they're not going to go with you].
5) So he brought [them] down the people [down] unto the water: and [God] said unto Gideon, Every one that [laps] of the water with his tongue, as a dog [laps], him [shall you] set by himself; likewise every one that [bows] down upon his knees to drink. [Set them in two groups.]
6) And [He says,] the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, (KJV)
Meaning, they would get down, but they're scooping up the water and they're looking around. Now this tells you—in the air force, we called it "situational awareness." If you are in a cockpit looking around, you want to know what's going on around you in an airplane. Who are the friendlies? And who are the bogeys? And it's the same thing with these men. If they're scooping water out, they're looking around; they're seeing what's going on. Because, remember, the Midianites weren't very far away. So, this will tell you who has an alert sharp military mind that's more suited to do the job. But the ones that went down on all fours just stuck their heads in the water and starting drinking. They could care less. Somebody could come up behind them and chop their heads off. And likely, as I said, the more military minded and those more alert to their surroundings were the ones that remained.
Verse 7:
Judges 7:7. And the [Eternal] said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped [I will] save you, (KJV)
Now a man would tell you, "This is ridiculous! This cannot happen. This is stupid." according to the mind of man.
Judges 7:7b. [And He says, I'll] deliver the Midianites into [your] hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. (KJV)
Verse 16:
Judges 7:16. And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
17) And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall [you] do.
18) When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow [you] the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.
19) So Gideon [did that], and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp… (KJV)
Meaning, they surrounded the Midianite camp. And the candles were inside the pitchers so they wouldn't be seen. At the beginning of the middle watch, meaning they had just changed. The ones that had been there on watch were leaving; new ones were coming on. There's a little bit of confusion there. They weren't settled into their posts yet.
Judges 7:19b. … they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands [Now, the candles were shining.].
20) And [these] three companies blew the trumpets, and [broke] the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands [they blew the trumpets]: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. (KJV)
Now all of a sudden, you hear the pitchers break; you see these candles that weren't there before and you hear these trumpets blasting, and, then, people yelling.
Judges 7:21. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
22) And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: (KJV)
And they killed themselves. And they [Gideon and his men] just stood and watched like Israel did at the Red Sea. They just stood and watched and God took care of it. Look at the fruits! Not one man was killed! Not one!
But would we have thought this way? Would we have done it this way as human beings? Absolutely not! We wouldn't even have conceived of it!
Now, let's go to another example, Rahab in Joshua chapter 2. Remember Moses is dead; Israel is crossing over into the Promised Land; the first big city they come to—and we're breaking into the context here—Joshua 2 the first two verses.
Joshua 2:1. Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, "Go, [and] view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, (NKJ)
A prostitute—just a plain old prostitute!
Joshua 2:1b. … and [they] lodged there.
2) And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country." (NKJ)
Verse 6:
Joshua 2:6. But she had brought them up… (KJV)
Now he had sent out men to search and to try to find these guys.
Joshua 2:6. [So,] she … brought them up [on] the roof of the house, and hid them [within] the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. (KJV)
Verse 8:
Joshua 2:8. And before they were laid down, she came up [to] them [up] on the roof,
9) And she said… (NKJ)
Notice what she said!
Joshua 2:9b. "I know that the Lord [has] given you this land, (KJV)
"I know it! Not the God I have worshipped in the past. I know your God has given you this land."
Joshua 2:9 continued. … and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land [are] faint because of you.
10) "For we have heard how the [Eternal] dried up the water of the Red sea for you when [you] came out of Egypt, and what [you] did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom [you] utterly destroyed.
11) "And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in any [of us], because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and in [the] earth beneath. (KJV)
What a realization from this prostitute! Verse 12, "Now," she says, "because I understand this and realize this and I'm hiding you:"
Joshua 2:12. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the [Eternal], since I have [showed] you kindness, that [you] will also shew kindness [to] my father's house, and give me a true token:
13) And that [you] will save alive my father, and my mother, and my [brothers], and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.
14) And the men answered her, Our life for yours, (NKJ)
"If we don't die, if they don't find us, then, I guarantee you; we'll spare your life." So, she and her family were spared.
Now, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 1 and verse 1. It's talking about the generations of Jesus Christ, how He descended from Abraham and from David. Matthew 1 verse 1:
Matthew 1:1. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: (NKJ)
Now, let's jump to verse 5.
Matthew 1:5. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, (NKJ)
And tradition has it that Salmon was one of the two spies that were on the roof with her. And that she ultimately married him and had Boaz by Salmon.
Matthew 1:5b. [Then,] Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
16) and Jesse begot David the king. (NKJ)
Verse 16:
Matthew 1:16. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. (NKJ)
So, this prostitute was the great, great grandmother of King David, a direct ancestor of Christ's physical father Joseph. So, the line of Christ came through her, certainly the line of David came through her.
Now, what would you think if God—before this happened—came up to you and said, "Hey, Rick, I’m planning the lineage of David and Christ. Tell me what you think about putting a prostitute in it?" What would we say? "Oh, You can't do that! It's got to be a pure line. You can't do that! I mean why would you do that—a prostitute in David's line and Joseph's line?" We would just run away screaming, putting our hands over our ears and run away. God says, "No, I want a prostitute in there!" And "Well, You can't do that!" He'd look at us and say, "Well watch Me." And then He did it.
And this is a tremendous lesson about God's mercy. Remember—we won't turn there—in Romans 9 we're told that God said to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." He did that for Rahab and He did it for a reason—so that none of us can brag! None of us; the Jews can't brag; the Israelites can't brag. And He says, "Look, I can make anybody righteous through the power of My holy spirit." And look at the fruits of God's way.
And I ask the question again: Would we have thought about that? Would we have thought that way? Would we have done it that way? Of course not!
Now, let's go to another example, David being anointed king of Israel. Let's go to 1 Samuel 16. Samuel is lamenting over Saul and he's wailing and crying over the loss of Saul. So, God comes to him in verse 1 of 1 Samuel 16.
1 Samuel 16:1. And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long [are you going to whine for Saul] how long are you [going to] mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? [He says, I want you to] fill [your] horn with oil, [off you] go, [and] I [am going to] send [you] to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided … a king among his sons. (KJV)
Verse 6:
1 Samuel 16:6. And it came to pass, when they were come [All the sons were around.], that he [Samuel] looked on Eliab [That was the oldest.], and [he] said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. (KJV)
He says, "This is it! This is the guy!" Now this is man's thoughts. He was looking at his stature, looking at his appearance, looking at his muscles. And he said, "This has got to be the guy!" Verse 7, God said to him. Now, these are God's thoughts.
1 Samuel 16:7b. Look not on his countenance, or [don’t look at his] height; because I have refused him: for the Lord [sees] not as man [sees]; for man [looks] on the outward appearance [That is our thoughts, our way.], but the [Eternal looks] on the heart [That's God's thoughts]. (KJV)
We can't know the heart. We can't look at the heart. We ask God to show us somebody's heart if it's necessary, but only God knows the heart of an individual. Verse 10:
1 Samuel 16:10. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord [hasn't] chosen [any of] these [guys].
11) And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are [these] all [your] children? And he said, [No,] … the youngest [is out in the field], [he's with] the sheep. And Samuel said, [you better go get him], Send and fetch him, [we're] not [going to] sit down till he [gets here]. (KJV)
So, it took some time, obviously.
1 Samuel 16:12. And he [went], and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, (KJV)
And the King James says he was "beautiful." The Hebrew word just means pleasant. In other words, when you looked at him, he didn't turn you off. He was pleasant to look on, pleasant enough, but not like the oldest son.
He said:
1 Samuel 16:12b. … [he had] a [pleasant] countenance, [good] to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is [the one].
13) Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the [middle] of [the] brethren: and the Spirit of [God] came upon David from that day forward. (KJV)
The point is that David's oldest brother looked like a king and David did not. And Israel and humans want to look to men and not on the heart. They want a man. They don’t want God. And then the man they pick, they want him to look in a certain way, to have a certain stature.
And we see that in the presidential candidates. We see the one that's maybe more charismatic or the one that looks nicer gets the publicity. It's a very shallow society today. In fact, somebody said, "A Muslim will be president before a bald man." That's what we look at—the countenance.
Would we have thought to do it this way? No, we wouldn't. But look at the fruits of God's way. God picked the right one. A human would not have picked the right one.
Now, let's go to the New Testament, the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5. This is a pretty obvious concept of the difference between God's thoughts and man's thoughts. Matthew chapter 5, we'll read verses 43 through 48. Christ is saying to the people, He says:
Matthew 5:43. [You] have heard that it [has] been said, [You shall] love [your neighbor], and hate [your] enemy. (KJV)
Now, you don't find that in the Bible—hating your enemy. That is man's thoughts and it was a popular concept in Christ's day. This is what you've been taught. This is what you've heard. But Christ said in verse 44:
Matthew 5:44. But I say unto you, (KJV)
Now, these are God's thoughts. Not man's thoughts.
Matthew 5:44b. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which [spitefully] use you, and persecute you; (KJV)
These I can guarantee you are not man's thoughts. These are God's thoughts. And this is where the rubber meets the road. And I think this is probably the hardest thing for a human being to do is to do good to your enemy, to do good to somebody that doesn't like you, to do good to somebody that's trying to shaft you and destroy you.
Verse 45:
Matthew 5:45. [You do so] That [you] may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he [makes] his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and [sends] rain on the just and on the unjust. (KJV)
He takes care of both!
Matthew 5:46. [And] if [you] love [those that] love you, [He says, "What's the big deal?" What's the] reward? [Don't] even [the sinners,] the publicans [do] the same [thing]? (KJV)
Verse 47:
Matthew 5:47. And if [you] salute your brethren only, (KJV)
"Hi!" Slap them on the back. Shake their hand. He says:
Matthew 5:47b. [What are you doing] more than others? [Don't even the publicans [do the same thing]? (KJV)
Verse 48:
Matthew 5:48. Be [you] therefore perfect, (KJV)
The Greek means "complete."
Matthew 5:48b. … even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (KJV)
Now, if we were designing this, if we were working up a Sermon on the Mount for us, would we have said this? Would a human say this? Absolutely not! But look at the fruit of God's way! It has changed our lives!
Let's look at one more example and this is Paul being chosen to preach to the Gentiles, Paul being chosen to preach to the Gentiles. Let's understand Paul was a hard-core Jew. He was taught at the feet of Gamaliel. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had all the right credentials. We would say today, "All the letters after his name of his scholarly accomplishments and his background."
Let's go to Acts chapter 8 and read the first three verses.
This is a man that God was going to pick. And we have to ask ourselves, "Would I do that? Would I pick this man with this background?"
Acts 8 verse 1:
Acts 8:1. And Saul was consenting unto his death [referring to Stephen]. (KJV)
Saul had a hand in Stephen's death.
Acts 8:1b. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout [all] the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. (KJV)
All the Brethren left. Verse 2:
Acts 8:2. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
3) As for Saul, he made [havoc] of the church, entering into every house, and haling1 men and women [putting] them to prison. (KJV)
Now the Greek word for "havoc"—get this—it literally means "wild boars that uproot a vineyard.
Now, we in this part of the world, we have lots of vineyards. Can you imagine a wild boar with the tusks, five-six hundred pound boar going in there, rooting around, with tusks tearing out the roots of a vineyard? And you see vines and branches and grapes flying everywhere and dirt going up as he just rooted through and tore up the whole vineyard. That's the picture you get of what Saul was doing to Christians—just reeking havoc!
Now notice what Paul said of his own words in Acts chapter 26. We're going to read verses 9 through 11. This is the man that God picked to go to the Gentiles. Acts 26:9, Paul says—now these are man's thoughts. He says:
Acts 26:9. I verily thought with myself [meaning in my own mind—men's thoughts], that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus [Christ]. (KJV)
"I thought within myself that I should go after these Christians. I should kill them, put them in jail, persecute them." Verse 10:
Acts 26:10. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. (KJV)
This is by his own admission! Verse 11:
Acts 26:11. And I punished them [often] in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; (KJV)
How could he do that? By torture. He had a hand in it.
Acts 16:11b. … and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. (KJV)
Now think about that! This is the man that Christ struck down on the road to Damascus. We won't turn there, but in Acts 9 and verse 15, Paul is called a "chosen vessel" by God and Christ—this man!
Now, when you think about it, this would be the last guy that I would pick. He brought a lot of baggage into the Church. It could be viewed as a trick. The Jews are sending their spy in to see who is meeting and walk into our midst and then report them to the synagogues and then have us all thrown in jail!
And, obviously, Paul in doing this had to come and preach to people he had thrown in jail. Now they are out. Now, they're in a local Church and he had to go preach to them. He also had to preach to the families of those he had killed. Now think about that!
Would we have thought to do it this way? Obviously not, but look at the fruits of Paul. And it shows you the difference between God's mind and our mind, God's thoughts and our thoughts.
There are so many other examples. You remember that Eve thought that Cain was the Messiah? "Gotten" or "acquired"—strictly man's thoughts! Physical Israel, do you know what God called physical Israel knowing they would fail? Remember in Deuteronomy 5, Christ said that "Oh, that they had a heart." Well, He knew they didn't have a heart, but He called them anyway and they went thought this whole process. Would we have thought about doing it that way? And would we have done it that way? Of course not!
Look at Exodus. Remember they had the "Way of the Philistines" from Egypt up into the Promised Land. The Way of the Philistines was only two hundred miles. And God told Moses, "I don't want you to go that way. I want you to go out here in the desert. There's no water. There's no food. There's nothing out there, but that's the way you're going to go. Would we have done it that way? Would we have thought of doing it that way? Unh huh.
What about Samson in the Judges? We won't go there, but his story is in Judges 14 through 16. This is someone who gave into his lusts. He told his parents to go get him a Philistine wife, not an Israelite wife, but a Philistine wife. They begged him not to do it, but he did it anyway. And both his wife and her father were burned to death as a result. Then, if that wasn’t enough, Samson went back to Gaza to see a Philistine prostitute and shortly after that, he met Delilah. And we know all what happened after that?
Now, what if God came up to us and said, "Hey, I'm thinking of using a man to rescue Israel but he can't keep his pants zipped up, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm going to do it anyway." And He says, "I'm going to teach the lessons through this guy that can't control his own lusts. What do you think?" If He asked us that, what do you think? We'd say, "No! You can't do that! That's not going to work." But it worked.
Would we have thought this way? Unh huh. And there are dozens and dozens and dozens of other examples showing how far different God's thoughts are from our thoughts, God's ways from our ways.
So, let's go to the third and last point.
III. What lessons can we learn from this understanding of the difference between God's thoughts and our thoughts?
1. God thinks and works in ways that we cannot comprehend and that we cannot imagine.
Now who would have thought of any of these examples as a human being? We wouldn't even have remotely thought of any of doing it this way? So, if we translate it into our lives, that tells us that God thinks in ways that we can't even comprehend. We can't imagine. And He will work in our life in ways that we cannot comprehend or imagine.
Generally, what we do is we only realize that in hindsight. We look back on an incident or a trial or whatever and we see God moving the chess pieces on the boards in ways we just didn't notice; we didn't see; and if we did see them, we wouldn't understand them. God's thoughts and ways are so far above ours in this life that some of them we will never know why until we talk to God and Christ.
As an example, Joseph's wife, the mother of Ephraim and Manasseh, was the daughter of one of the most powerful priestly families in Egypt. All the Babylonian Mystery Religion that came down to Egypt—her family was the priestly family that taught all that! And yet, that's what happened. You can check that out in Genesis 41. God did it. Now I don't know why He did it that way. He obviously had a reason and someday we'll find out!
But His thoughts are so far above ours. We wouldn't have done it that way, but He obviously did.
So the first lesson we need to learn is that:
1. God thinks and works in way that we cannot comprehend.
And we have to remember that when we go through a trial or we see situations happening and they don't make any sense to us, that doesn't mean that God doesn't know what He's doing. It means we just haven't caught up to His thinking yet. And so, the best thing for us to do, as we used to say in West Texas, is "Hide and watch!" Just like Moses did. Just hide and watch and see what God does because sooner or later it will be revealed and we will understand.
A second reason is:
2. Just because our thoughts make logical sense does not mean they are God's thoughts.
Just because we think from Point A to B to C to D and this is the logical thing to do doesn't mean that God wants it done that way as we've seen by these examples. How many times have you said—and I've said this: "Well, it seemed the right thing to do at the time," but it ended in disaster—absolute disaster. Because we did it according to man's logic and man's thoughts and not according to God's thoughts.
Let's go to 1 Peter 1. We're going to read verses 19 and 20. Let's remember that because our thoughts make sense to us doesn't mean that they are necessarily God's thoughts. 1 Peter 1 verse 19, he's talking about Christ having to be sacrificed and that planned before the foundation of the world. 1 Peter 1 verse 19:
1 Peter 1:19. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (KJV)
Now they knew that there had to be a second Adam before the first Adam existed (Christ being the second Adam). They knew that.
Now, if you went to your boss and said, "Hey, Plan A is going to lead to Plan B. There's no way if we're going to put Plan A in place, but it's going to lead to Plan B. And there's no way that can be avoided, but I want to go with Plan A." Your boss would say, "You're nuts! If Plan A is going to lead to Plan B, let's just go with Plan B."
But God didn't do it that way! If we did, we'd get fired in this world! And so, God thinks so far above our thoughts.
I planned when I was in the Air Force and I applied to get out as a conscientious objector. My thoughts were "Okay. This is God's Church. This is what God says I need to. There is a vehicle in the United States Air Force for me to apply and get out as a conscientious objector. So, I'm going to do that. And, then, I know that they'll approve it and I'll get out." Logical sense—God's behind me.
But guess what? I went through all of that and they turned me down! And so my thought is "God, how can you do this? I'm trying to do the right thing. I'm following the rules. I'm obeying your Law. And so, therefore, You don't want me in this military thing. It's Your will for me to be out." So, therefore I just knew it was going to be approved. Well, it wasn't! And so, you're discombobulated. You're confused. Why did God do this? You have all these thoughts going through your head. It doesn't make any sense to me. Plus it means the possibility of going to jail—more persecution and all of that. "Why would you do this?" Well, God had something in mind. And in hindsight years later, you look back and you see God doing this and moving over here and changing that and working this out to teach lessons that we could not otherwise learn.
So the second point is:
2. Just because it makes logical sense to us doesn't mean that those thoughts are God's thoughts.
The third, this is something that's very important.
3. After an incident, something that occurs in our lives (It could be a trial; it could be a conversation; it could be somebody confronting us; somebody upset with us, whatever.), after an incident, we should be suspect of the first thoughts that come to our mind.
Why? Because they tend to be carnal thoughts! Remember Romans 8 and verse 7? The carnal mind is enmity against God. So, if somebody (It could be a mate; it could be a church-member.) somebody is having a bad day and they come yelling at you and accusing you, the first thoughts, carnally, generally are to fight back. But that's not what God says we should do.
So, we should be suspect of our first thoughts.
Now remember the situation with Uzzah in the days of David about the Ark. That has been covered before. But, remember, the Ark was captured by the Philistines. And after God destroyed, had their idols fall down and all of that, after a few disasters, they sent the Ark back to Israel on a new cart. You can find that in 1 Samuel 6.
Well, David wanted to bring the Ark back to Jerusalem. You find that in 2 Samuel 6. And so, guess what David did? He put the Ark on a new cart, just like the Philistines. He didn't stop to investigate how God wanted it handled, but that's what he did. He put it on a new cart. The oxen were taking it over a rough road. The oxen stumbled. The cart shook. And then Uzzah put his hand up. It seemed logical. It seemed the right thing to do to steady the Ark. And he was killed.
Now, would we have done it that way? Would we have— Well, we would say, "Poor Uzzah! He's just trying to do the right thing!" But do you know what Proverbs 14 says, verse 12?
Proverbs 14:12. There is a way which [seems] right unto a man, but the [way ends in] death. (KJV)
That's exactly what happened to Uzzah! It seemed right to do. It seemed right to David to put it on a new car, but God didn't want it that way. God said, "Do not touch that! Do not touch that!" Uzzah did and he paid with his life. It seemed right to both of them.
But it is scary how far our thoughts are from God's thoughts. And we would all have sympathy for poor Uzzah. Maybe if we were there, we would get mad at God. David got mad at God for a while. And it just shows you the difference between our thoughts and God's thoughts.
The final point, fourth and final point:
4. All of God's thoughts, all of God's ways are directed for our ultimate benefit!
I'll say it again:
4. All of God's thoughts, all of God's ways are directed for our benefit!
The goal meaning that He wants us to be in the Kingdom of God and be the Bride of Christ. We know the Scripture in Romans 8:28.
Romans 8:28: … all things work together for good to [those] that love God, [and those] who are the called according to his purpose. (KJV)
And we need to always remember that going through a trial.
Do you remember Joseph and Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39? We won't turn there, but remember Joseph was sold into slavery. Potiphar bought him. And God blessed him [Joseph] in Potiphar's house. He became second only to Potiphar in power within his house. And then Potiphar's wife, as we would say today, started hitting on him. He refused. He didn't yield. He ran away.
And guess what happened? He wound up in jail! Not for a little time. And yet, during that time, he could say, "God, why do You do this? Why are You persecuting me? Don't You love me anymore? Don't you care about me? I was obeying Your Law and look at the results here!"
And yet, God had a plan. And the plan was that he heard the dream; he interpreted the dream; he came to the Pharaoh's attention and on and on and on. And look where it ended up! And then, through him, Jacob was brought down there; the Israelites came down there. And look at the results of that because of one thing that God did that [Joseph] couldn't understand and we as human beings could not understand. He was trying to be righteous; he was righteous, and he became punished for it. But God had a plan for the ultimate benefit of Joseph and his entire family and for us today.
And in the middle of a trial, like I said earlier, when I was trying to get out of the Air Force, "Why are You doing this?" Well, God was demonstrating His power. I had five times I was set to go overseas. They were trying to get me out of the United States, because it was a problem. And so, I was transferred five times, had the orders cut, bags packed. And at the last minute, within sometimes a week, sometimes two weeks, sometimes a matter of days, the orders were stopped. No explanation why. No reason. They were stopped.
The last one was going to Greenland. And you have thoughts in your head of you get up to Greenland and then you refuse to work on the Sabbath, "They'll never hear of me again! They'll never even know I ever existed—you get up in a jail in Greenland!"
And so, it was just one after the other after the other, but looking back on it, God was demonstrating His power. And He was teaching me to be patient. And He was teaching me not to question Him. "I'm going to do what I'm going to do. I’m going to have mercy on whom I’m going to have mercy, but the end result is I want you in My Kingdom!"
And that's true for all of us! He gives us the opportunity to witness His thoughts and His ways when sometimes we do not understand.
So, let's conclude now. Let's go to Isaiah 55 and verse 7. This is what we must do. Isaiah 55 verse 7, we're told:
Isaiah 55:7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the [Eternal], and he will have mercy upon him; and [let him return] to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (KJV)
We have to get rid of our ways, our thoughts and we have to begin to have God's thoughts in our mind and to have our ways become His ways.
Now let's understand, as I said, look at the goal. Let's go to Philippians 1 and verse 6, a very familiar Scripture. This is the goal. This is where God wants us to wind up. Philippians 1 and verse 6, notice what Paul says to the Church in Philippi and to us today.
Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which [has] begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (KJV)
He's begun the work in us. He's going to finish that work as long we allow Him to finish that work.
Notice verse 12, Paul says:
Philippians 1:12. But I would [that you] should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me [jail, shipwreck, beating, the things which happened unto me] have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; (KJV)
"So that you can be edified, you can be taught, you can have this witness."
And so, we've seen how far God's mind is from our mind. We've seen some Biblical examples that demonstrate the vast difference between God's thinking and man's thinking. And so, what we need to do is to reflect on these and other examples. You can think of a lot more than I've thought of, but we should reflect on these and think about these to remind ourselves how far apart human thinking is from God's thinking.
And remind ourselves just how differently we would have done it versus the way that God did it. And let's understand that. And our way would have been wrong. Our way wouldn't have worked. And we know and we see through these examples and many others that God's way is always right; God's way always works.
And so, we looked at the four lessons we can learn from all this. Let's take these lessons and apply them in our lives so that when we see something that God does and maybe on first glance it doesn't make sense, now we understand why. And it will give us faith and patience and calmness in the middle of trials.
And the key to this all is found in God's command in Philippians 2 and verse 5. We know what that is, where He said:
Philippians 2:5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in [Jesus Christ]: (KJV)
That is where we must go as individuals, where we must go as a Church. We must have the mind of Jesus Christ! Then, we will think like Him and we will act like Him and we will be the Bride of Christ.
Transcribed by kb September 11, 2011
1 Hale, verb, [ME halen, fr. MF haler – more at Haul.] 1. Haul, Pull 2: to compel to go
Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary.