True Blessing from God, Part 6

Let's pray together. Father God, we thank you for today. Truly you are a great God and you are worthy of our praise. And Lord, you have given us your word to explain to us the truth that helps us understand you and our response to you. Today, Father, we ask that you'd open our eyes, that we would see the beautiful God as he is portrayed in scripture and thus respond in a way that brings glory and honor to your name. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our soon coming King. Amen. We have been looking at two verses of scripture in Luke 11 verses 27 and 28 that deal with true blessing from God.

The context of that blessing centers around a conversation that Christ has with those who are committed to moral reformation but need to understand a spiritual transformation. He tells us that there are two kinds of people in the world, those who are with him and those who are against him. Those who are with him have experienced a spiritual transformation. They are described in verse number 28. They are the ones who hear the word of God and observe it. Blessed are those who hear my word and do my word.

And so we have looked at the discipline of listening because we want to experience true blessing as it comes from God himself. And it begins with the discipline of listening to what God has to say. And then we moved to the duty of living out all that we have heard God say. And it truly is a duty. It truly is a responsibility. Why do I say that? Because there are so many things that God asks us to do that we just don't feel like doing. But it's our responsibility to do them. Let me give you a couple of examples.

We've just passed the great holiday of Thanksgiving. And the Bible says that we are to give thanks in everything.

For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Ephesians 5 verse 20 says we are to give thanks for everything. So not only in it but for it. So God commands us to be a thankful people. And yet there are many times we don't feel like giving thanks to God for a situation we're in or in the midst of a situation we are experiencing. And yet God commands us to be a people of praise and thanksgiving. God commands us to be a forgiving person. We are to be forgiving as God in Christ Jesus hath forgiven us.

Ephesians chapter 4 verse number 32. And so we are to be a forgiving people. Yet there are many times we don't feel like forgiving the one that's offended us. Right? We don't feel like that. But the Lord never asks you do you feel like doing this? Because if you do please do it. No he says do it. Because once you experience the duty of living, that is obeying what God says, then the feeling will follow the responsibility.

The emotion follows the duty. If you purpose in your heart to do what God says to do, then you will experience the blessing of God.

If you don't do that and you disobey the word of the Lord, you miss the blessing. And it's important for us to realize what God has for us. Instead of being a forgiving person, what do we do? We want to return evil or return good for evil. We don't, I'm sorry, we want to return evil for evil. We don't want to return good for evil. To return good for evil would be to be forgiving towards those who have wronged us. But the Bible is very clear in Romans 12 that we are to be those who when we have been insulted, we have been persecuted, we have been wronged, we don't seek vengeance.

We in turn do that which is good toward those who have done evil to us. No we don't feel like doing that. Nobody wakes up and says, wow you know what I really want to to return good to those who have abused me. We don't wake up and feel that way. It's not about feeling, it's about obedience to what God says in his word.

And when you obey God's word, you experience a blessing in God's word. And so Peter says it this way in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse number 8, he says to sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind-hearted, and humble in spirit, not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead, for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. In other words, 1 Peter chapter 3 verse number 8 speaks about the fact that we are called to receive a blessing.

And the only way you're going to receive the blessing is if you return good toward those who have done evil to you. If you don't do that, you miss the blessing. That's called the duty of living, fulfilling the responsibility that God has prescribed for me in his word. God is a creator of all man. God knows what's best for man. God says if you follow me and you obey my word, you truly will be blessed.

God says you have been called to inherit a blessing. I want you to think of the person that has done you harm this year, okay? That's 11 months of this year. Think of that one person who's done you harm, okay? Maybe there are more than one, okay? I want you to think that at this time of the year, you are going to return good to the one who has harmed you this entire year. And you're going to begin to experience the blessing of God. I want you to think of ways that you can, in your own mind, be sympathetic, harmonious, kindhearted, and return good for evil.

For the Bible says you've been called to inherit a blessing. Now, I know you're going to sit there and say, well, you know, I can't do that. That's just too hard. Remember who Peter's writing to. He's writing to people who are persecuted, who have died for their faith, who have been wrapped up in pitch and set on fire, a flame to light Nero's gardens. He's talking to people who have been thrown to the lions and been eaten alive. And so he's writing to people who have heard the cries of those who have been burning to death in Nero's garden.

He's writing to those who have heard the screams of their family as they're eaten alive by lions. He says, now, this is what I want you to do. I want you to return good for evil. Now, you think about that and you realize that what you've gone through this past 11 months probably isn't nearly as severe as that, right? Peter goes on to say this. Let him who means to love life and see good days, refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. You want to live a long time? You want to experience the blessing of God?

Don't use your lips to speak evil through somebody else. He says, and let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. Seek peace, pursue peace, turn away from doing evil, do good. You say, well, if I do that, then how is this person who has done evil to me going to experience the consequences of their sin? Next verse. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears attend to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. God's face is against them.

God will deal with them. You'd be responsible to do the things that God has called you to do. That's the duty of living. There are so many things in scripture that God says, this is what I want you to do.

Whether it's to be thankful when you're in the midst of a huge dilemma and a huge crisis. And God says, give thanks in everything for everything.

Or if he says, I want you to be forgiving toward those who have been evil towards you and wronged you. I want you to forgive them. I want you to forgive them, not just seven times a day, but 70 times seven. I want your forgiveness to be continual. Or if he says, I want you to return all the evil done to you with good. I want you to do that. I want you husbands to love your wife, no matter how cantankerous and evil she may be. I want you to love her. I want you to love her as Christ loved the church.

I want you to go after her. I want you to pursue her as Hosea pursued his wife when she turned to prostitution and humiliated him publicly. I want you to go after her. I want you to love her. Most people say, I'm not going to do that. I don't want to do that. It's not about what you want to do. It's about what you need to do, right? Do the right thing. Do what God says.

And the Bible says for wives to submit to their husbands. And the wife says, well, if you understood my husband, you wouldn't submit to him either. Yeah, but he's not my husband. He's your husband. And the Bible demands that you submit to those who are in authority over you. And so you begin to look at all the scriptures.

God speaks to every one of us in different ways, but he always speaks to us through his word. It's the duty of living. We listen, but do we obey? We hear what God says, but do we really go home and say, okay, I'm going to put flesh to my faith.

I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to put flesh to the faith and I'm going to go home and I'm going to do exactly what God says.

I'm going to go to work. I'm going to do what God says. I'm going to stand and live for the Lord. That's what God's called us to do. That's where the blessing lies. And the forfeit the blessing is because in our stubbornness, in our stiff necked belief, we will not bow in submission to the authority of God's holy word. We just won't. And thus we miss the blessing altogether. And we live lives that are miserable. Are you miserable today? We just live lives in misery. And we just, we don't want to get up in the morning.

We don't want to get up in the morning. We just live our lives in misery. And yet God has called you to inherit a blessing. And I want you to experience that blessing. I really do. I want you to experience the blessing of God. I want you to experience the blessing that he can give you that is an eternal blessing that will way, go way beyond anything you can imagine. And it comes when you obey His Word. The third point is the delight in learning.

As you begin to listen and to live what God says, you begin to learn more and more. And what you learn is the beginning of your blessing. What you learn is the beginning of the blessing. And as you learn what God has for you, that blessing begins to blossom in your life. And God wants you to experience true blessing from Him. That's why we've spent five, now six weeks on this topic. Because we want you to experience the blessing of God. God promises blessing to those who live and obey His Word. Now what is the delight that comes from learning what we've heard and what we've obeyed?

Well, number one, we told you last week. It simply was this, that when you listen and obey the Word of God, the delight in learning is that His Word becomes more adored. His Word becomes more and more adored in your life. Psalm 138 verse 2, Thy Word, O Lord, is magnified even as thy very name. And we begin to magnify the name of God. His Word is praiseworthy. His Word is perennial. And therefore, we begin to praise God for His beautiful Word. As the psalmist said in Psalm 119, I stand in awe at your words.

I am awestruck by your words. Because your words are awesome. Because God Himself is awesome. And God is the God of truth. And so His Word becomes more adored. Once His Word becomes more and more adored, the world then becomes less and less attractive. The world becomes less and less attractive. And this is crucial to us because we need to be separate from the world. Okay? We are in the world, but we are not of the world. We've spent time talking to you about how it is we become separate from the world.

And it becomes less and less attractive to us. Because God's Word is more and more adorable to us. And so as God's Word becomes more adorable and the world becomes less attractive, we are able to see God do a work. Because we need to realize we are not to love the world, neither the things that are in the world, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, prayer of life. They're not of God. They're of the world. They're going to pass away. And so as God's Word is adored, the world becomes less and less attractive.

That was last week. Number three. I have six more to cover with you this morning. So I can finish this. So I don't have to take it until into January of the new year. His will becomes more and more apparent. Once the Word becomes more and more adored and the world becomes less and less attractive, then His will becomes more and more apparent. That is, I am able to understand His will for my life. People always want to know what God's will is for their lives. And we need to learn to delight, as the psalmist said in Psalm 40, in the will of the Lord.

Jesus used to say that the will of God was His food. It was His daily sustenance. And we are to pray, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Well, if God's Word is adored and the world becomes less attractive, then His will becomes more apparent to me. I understand what His will is. And the Bible tells us if we were to pray, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, I pray that because I want the will of God done in my life. I want God's will to be accomplished in my life. That means it's not about my will, it's about God's will.

It's what God wants, not what I want. That's hard for some of us, isn't it? But it's about God. What is His will? Well, we know what His will is. What is it? God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Timothy 2, 4. That's His desire. That's His will. That's what He wants for man. It all begins with salvation. And once you are saved, then it begins with sanctification, all right? 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 1 to 3, this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality.

God wants you pure. God wants you holy. That's God's will for your life. God wants you to live a clean, holy, pure life. He wants you to be saved, that's His will. He wants you to be sanctified, that's His will. He wants you to live a life of sacrifice, Romans 12, 1 and 2, right? I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God.

What is the good and acceptable will of God? That I present my body a living sacrifice unto Him, that I'm willing to sacrifice my treasures, my hopes, my dreams, my desires, for the sake of the glory and kingdom of God. That's God's will for your life. God's word, or God's will for you, is that you give thanks to Him, right? 1 Thessalonians 5, 16, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, that you give thanks in everything. This is God's will for you. So, you can't ask God to direct you in His ways unless you're willing to follow His will, right?

You've got to be willing to follow His will. God's will for you is that you be submissive to those in authority over you, 1 Peter 2, verses 12 to 13. Say it this way, 1 Peter 2, 12 to 13, says, I'm sorry, 13, 14, and 15. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God, that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.

This is the will of God, that you live a life of submission to those in authority over you. This is crucial because we live in a world that goes against authority, that challenges authority, and yet the Bible says we are to submit to authority.

And so, for me to understand God's will, that it becomes more and more apparent to me, I must submit to those in authority over me. I must say thanks to God in everything. I must be saved, 1 Timothy 2, 4. I must be sanctified, set apart for His purposes. I must sacrifice my life for the glory and honor of God Himself. That is the will of God. The will of God is that I be spirit-filled, Ephesians 5, verses 15 to 18. That is, being not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. What's that?

And be not drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be controlled by the Spirit of God. God's will for you is that you be controlled by His Spirit day in and day out. That is the will of God for your life. And as we begin to understand that God's Word is more and more adored, and the world becomes less and less attractive, His will becomes more and more apparent to me. That is, it's apparent that I should be saved. It's apparent that I should be sanctified. I should be set apart for His purposes, that my life should be a sacrifice for Him, that I should submit to those in authority over me, that I should say thanks to God in everything and for everything.

That's God's will for me. Now, if I don't do those things when they are specifically spelled out in Scripture, how can I expect God to lead and direct me day by day? Commit your way into the Lord, and He will direct your paths, right? But I need to be able to do what He says in His Word and follow Him with all of my heart. Psalm 103 verse number 21 says that we serve Him doing His will. When you serve God, you do His will. When you are involved in service for the King, you do His will. And by the way, the Bible also says that when you suffer for His sake, you're doing His will.

That's recorded in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse number 17 and chapter 4 verse number 19. And so God spells out His will to us. So we, as the psalmist says, should delight to do the will of God. It should be my food, as Christ says, my daily sustenance.

I live saying thanks to God. I live submitting to those in authority over me. I live sanctifying my life for the purposes and glories of God. I live sacrificing my life on the altar for His glory. That is the will of God for me, and that's what I purpose to do. It becomes more and more apparent as the world becomes less and less attractive, and the Word becomes more and more adored. That's the delight in learning. Let me tell you something.

When you do the will of God, boy, there's great blessing that's there. Great blessing. How many times have we told you, 1 Samuel 2 30, He who honors me, I will what? Honor. God says, He who honors me, I will honor.

God promises to honor those who honor Him. How do you honor God? By doing what He says in His Word. That's how. God wants to honor you. God wants to bless you. The question is, are you being honored and are you being blessed? Only you can ask and answer that question. Number four, oh, we must hurry. My walk becomes more and more authentic. My walk becomes more and more authentic. If God's Word is adored, remember, they're all like building blocks. One builds upon the other. If God's Word is more and more adored, then the world automatically becomes less and less attractive.

Once the world becomes less and less attractive, God's will becomes more and more apparent. Once His Word, I mean, His will becomes more and more apparent, and I know what He wants me to do, my walk now becomes more and more authentic. See that? They all build one upon another. My walk becomes authentic. It becomes genuine. It becomes transparent. 1 John 2 6. He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner that Jesus Himself walked. I walk an authentic life. I walk a genuine life.

I walk a true life. I want to walk as my Savior walks. So we talked about this in our series on Wednesday nights. What does that entail? Well, Ephesians 4.1, it entails that I walk worthy of the calling in which I've been called. That is, I walk in accord with my calling. It means that I walk lowly, Ephesians 4.2. I walk humbly with my God. It means in Ephesians 4.17 that I walk distinctly. I walk separately from the world. You walk no longer as the Gentiles walk, right? In the futility of their mind, you don't walk that way anymore because you walk a distinctive way.

Then over in Ephesians 5.1, you walk lovingly because you are to be empty as your God and walk in love. Ephesians 5.8, you are to walk brightly because you're to walk as children of the light, right? We are to walk dependently, Galatians 5.16, walk in the Spirit so you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh. We are to walk faithfully, 2 Corinthians 5, 6 and 7. We walk by faith and not by sight. We are to walk truthfully, 3 John 3 and 4, that there is no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

So I walk truthfully and I walk intimately, Colossians 2 verses 6 and 7. I walk in Him. I walk intimately with Him. So if I'm to walk as Christ walked, then I walk the worthy walk. I walk the bright walk. I walk the distinct walk, the separate walk. My daily conduct, that's what the word walk means, is daily conduct, becomes more and more authentic. It's genuine. It's true. That can only happen when God's will is apparent. That can only happen when the world is less attractive. And that only happens when God's Word is adored.

And thus I begin to experience the blessing that God wants to give my life as I follow His Word. Next, his ways become more and more appreciated. This is so good. His ways become more and more appreciated. You know, sometimes we look at the way in which my life has gone and we're not too appreciative of what God's done.

But His ways need to be appreciated by me. Well, this is the next step in succession as to what happens. I can begin to appreciate the ways of God. Listen to this, Psalm 103 verse number 7, mark it down, He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. Do you hear the distinction there? He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The children of Israel saw what God did from a distance. I mean, they saw the water separate, right, at the Red Sea. They saw that.

They saw the manna come down from heaven. They saw what God did from a distance. But Moses, he knew the ways of God. There's a big difference there. He understood what God was doing and why God was doing it, as opposed to the children of Israel who had no concept of what God was doing, even though they saw the evidence of God working. They saw the acts of God. They didn't understand the ways of God. How many Christians do we know see God at work, but don't understand His ways? They don't understand it.

God said these words, book of Deuteronomy. Book of Deuteronomy, the 8th chapter, first verse, all the commandments that I am commanding you today, you should be careful to do, that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give your forefathers.

There it is again. You've heard it, now you got to do it. If you do, guess what? The land's yours. All you got to do is obey what God has said. That's it. Verse 2, and you shall remember, listen carefully, all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these 40 years. Don't forget about the ways of God in the wilderness. He says this, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. God led you through the wilderness.

God led you through the barrenness of that wilderness to test you, to humble you, to see whether or not your heart was truly His. Some of you today are in a wilderness. Some of you are in a barrenness. That's the way of God for you. And God is saying, I'm going to test you. God says, I know where your heart is.

I want you to know where your heart is. I want you to be able to see it. So I'm going to lead you through the way of the wilderness. I'm going to lead you the way of barrenness, that I might humble you, that I might test you to see whether or not your heart is truly mine. And He says this, and He humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

Here's the lesson. God says, I'm going to lead you through the way of the barren. I'm going to lead you through the way of the wilderness. Why? Because I want you to know there's one thing you need, and that's manna from me. That's bread from me. The only way you're going to live your life is in obedience to my Word. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. I need you to learn that everything you do comes from me. Everything you have comes from me.

Everything you need comes from me. I want you so sold on me and my Word, I will do whatever it takes to get you to that point. And some Christians I know are kicking and screaming and will not capitulate to the ways of God. The ways of God become more and more appreciated. The Bible says this, in Psalm 25, verse number 4, Make me know thy ways, O Lord.

Teach me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation. For thee I wait all the day. Psalmist wanted to know the ways of God. Psalm 27, Psalm 27, verse 11, Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a level path, because of my foes. Lord, teach me your ways. I want to know which way you're taking me and why you're taking me that way, Lord. Teach me your ways. Psalm 77, Psalm 77, verse 11, I shall remember the deeds of the Lord. Surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate on all thy works and muse on thy deeds.

Thy way, O God, is holy. What God is great like our God. Thou art the God who workest wonders. Thou hast made known thy strength among the peoples. Thou hast by thy power redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Thy way, O God, is holy. Lord, I've seen your works. I've seen your wonders. I've come to the conclusion that your ways are holy. Do you think that God has any way that is unholy? I don't think so. All his ways are holy, right? And so how God orchestrates the events in your life, he orchestrates them in a way to bring you to a point where he will test you, he will try you to see if your heart is completely his and fully devoted to him.

And sadly, there are very few that are that way, right? Their hearts aren't devoted to Christ. Oh, they think they are, but they're just not. They're devoted to their own desires, their own plans, their own whims, their own wills, their own wants, but not God's desire, not God's plan. But the one who delights in what he's learned, the Word of God becomes more and more adorable. The world then becomes less and less attractive. Then, very simply, the will of God becomes more and more apparent. My walk becomes more authentic.

His ways become more appreciated. Oh, I love this one. And my worries become less arduous. Isn't that a good word? It's got to begin with an A, right? Because the other ones do. My worries become less and less arduous, less strenuous, less taxing. You feel a little worried today? Lots of anxiety? Remember, they all go in order. Boom, boom, boom. All you do is reverse the order to figure out where you're at. My worries become less arduous, less strenuous, less difficult, less taxing on me. Why? Well, if God's Word to me is adored, then Psalm 97, 14 says, When my anxious thoughts well up within me, thy consolations are my delight.

They delight my soul. See, that's the delight in learning. My worries become less strenuous. They become less intense. I begin to relax because I appreciate the ways of God. God has a way. It's not my way. I can't always trace His hand, as Van Sadder said, I can always trust His heart, right? Isn't that true? I can't always trace the hand of God, but I can always trust the heart of God. And therefore, my worries now become less arduous to me, less strenuous. I can begin to relax in the plan of God for my life.

And I no longer have to worry, be filled with anxious thoughts. Why? Because my Lord is near, right? Philippians 4, verse 35, the Lord is near. Therefore, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to the God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all human comprehension, will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus our Lord. So many times we worry about things that we have no business worrying about. You know, you ever tend to worry, realize that you worry about things you cannot control?

Folks, you can't control anything. I know you think you can, but you just can't. And God puts you in those situations that are uncontrollable by you, which cause the worry to well up inside of you, and the anxious thoughts to overwhelm you. But the psalmist says, but thy consolations, they delight my soul. Because in the truth of God comes perspective. Comes an understanding that my God has a way that's beyond comprehension. He has a way that's going to lead me and guide me in His perfect will. Psalm 5611 says these words.

Verse 10, in God whose word I praise, in the Lord whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid, what can man do to me? Just so you know that whenever you worry, you're anxious, you're not trusting the Lord God. Because the psalmist says, I have put my trust in God, what can mere man do to me? What can a man do to me? Can't do anything. He says earlier in verse number three, when I am afraid, I will put my trust in thee, in God whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid, what can mere man do to me?

All day long they distort my words, all their thoughts are against me for evil. They attack, they lurk, they watch my steps as they have waited to take my life. Because of wickedness, cast them forth in anger, put down the peoples of God. Thou hast taken account of my wanderings, put my tears in thy bottle, are they not in thy book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call, this I know, that God is for me. That's why I have no worries. God's for me, if God be for me, who can be against me?

Isn't that what Paul said? God's for me. So now my worries become less and less arduous because my God's for me, my consolations become the delight of my soul, I rest in my God because he's in complete control of everything. Oh friends, we all are filled with worry to some degree, some more than others. But worry truly is a sin, that's why Christ condemns it. He says, be anxious for nothing. Don't worry about anything. Almost as if to say, don't you know that the Lord is near? God's near to you. Whenever you worry, you'll realize that you fear man more than you fear God.

Isn't that true? You fear what man can do to you, not what God will do for you. And therefore the psalmist says, in God do I put my trust. I wait upon him. I rely upon him. He's my everything. He is for me. That's a good word, isn't it? If you leave today with nothing else, leave with this, God's for you. God's for you. If God's for you, it doesn't make a difference who's against you. Makes no difference. Boy, I wish I had more time to talk about that. But I don't. My time's already gone. But I got two more points.

Next, my witness becomes more and more appealing. My witness becomes more and more appealing. This is the byproduct of the previous six. My witness now, my testimony, my life becomes more and more appetizing and appealing to those around about me. Because they see God at work in my life. They see me trusting God. They see me dependent upon God. They see my life anxious free. They see my life looking to the only one who can restore my soul. They see me differently than they see anybody else. And my witness now becomes more and more appealing.

Isn't that what is said in the book of Acts? Fifth chapter, 13th verse. Now, as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. They recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed sitting with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But when they had ordered them to go aside out of the council, they began to confer with one another saying, What shall we do with these men?

For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem and we cannot deny it. Folks, that testimony of Peter and John healing a lame man at the temple gates should be a reality in our lives. That should be the testimony of our lives in the marketplace. That there has been a miracle of God take place in our lives that nobody can deny. It's undeniable what God has done. Let me ask you this.

Is it undeniable what God has done in your marriage? Undeniable that God was at work and God did what He could do in the marriage. Undeniable work of God. Can't be denied. Is it undeniable what God has done for you personally in the temptations and sinful desires of your own soul? That God has done a miraculous work in your life. We are new creations. We're newly created by God that we might give glory and honor to His name. And they marvel at Peter and John. They marvel at the apostles. That even when they would flog them and beat them, they would rise up and rejoice having been counted worthy to suffer for the sake of Christ Jesus their Lord.

You see, we need to have lives that are appealing to the world. Appetizing to the world. Because they see a noteworthy miracle has taken place. Our attitudes are different. The way we live our lives are different. Everything about our lives is in stark contrast to the world. Well, if the world has become less and less attractive and the things of the world have become less and less attractive, then what happens to my own personal life? There's a change, right? Things have changed drastically. And the world takes note of that.

They see God at work. Let me ask you a question. Do people actually see God at work in your life, in your marriage, in your family? Do they sit back and say, how did that happen? How was that able to be accomplished in you, in your family, in your marriage? And then you could tell them, it was Jesus Christ, my Lord. He did it. Let me tell you how He did it.

Let me tell you why He did it. And then you begin to speak forth the word about the Christ. And your life becomes more and more appetizing. Because the world really, truly wants a contented life. Don't they? They want to live a life of contentment. They want to live an anxious, free life, a worry-free life. They want to live a life that should be our life. Because we have peace with God. We experience the joy of the Lord. We are able to relish in our walk with the Lord God. Right? That should be our lives.

And then lastly, number eight, my worship now becomes more and more acceptable. This is so good. My worship now becomes more and more acceptable. What is worship? It's a human response to divine revelation. That's all it is. It's a human response to divine revelation. Worship is not singing songs on Sunday morning, although that's part of worship. It's not worship. Worship is a human response to divine revelation. Worship is discipleship in motion. That's what worship is. It's discipleship in motion.

Now everything about my life becomes more and more acceptable to whom? To God. Right? More and more acceptable to God. Let me go back to you to Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2.

Paul says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your logical form of worship. That's what he says, verse 1, Romans 12. That is, everything else you do outside of that is illogical. Unless you've done that first.

Unless you present your body a living sacrifice, that is the only logical thing you can do for a God who has done everything for you. That's the logical form of worship. Okay? That you may prove what is a good and acceptable will of God. Right? So now my worship becomes more and more acceptable by God. Don't you want your life to be accepted by God? It's not that it gets you into heaven. You're already there. You're already saved. You're already born again. Okay? But you want to be pleasing to God.

Do you not? Without faith it's impossible to please Him. But we want our lives to be pleasing to God. We want to honor God. We want to glorify His name. We want to praise His name. We want to put Him on display. We want our lives to be acceptable to God. God is seeking true worshipers, those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. So now my worship becomes more and more acceptable to God. And if I go through and I begin to read what the Bible says in Romans 14, 18, how I treat other believers is acceptable to God if I treat them His way.

Romans 15, 16 says, Winning someone to Jesus Christ is acceptable to God. Philippians 4, 18 says that giving money to meet the needs of others is an acceptable form of worship to God. Ephesians 5, 8 to 10 says that living a life of goodness, righteousness, and truth is acceptable worship to God. Ephesians 1, 11 says that being filled with the fruit of righteousness is acceptable worship to God. Living a life of godliness and honesty, 1 Timothy 2, 3, is acceptable in the sight of God. And praising God and giving Him thanks according to Hebrews 13, 15.

Is acceptable to God. That is the beginning of blessing. It's not the end of blessing. It's not the fullness of blessing. It's the beginning of blessing. And I want your heart to be so truly, truly blessed. I do. A while back, four people came to our door. They knocked on the door, and I opened the door. They said, we're looking for a 12-step recovery program for alcoholics. And we were told your church has that. I said, no, we don't. They said, oh. I said, but we do have something better. Better?

Yeah. We have the gospel. And I'd be glad to give you the gospel. No, we're looking for a 12-step recovery program. I said, okay, we don't have that. We have a one-step recovery program. It's called the gospel. And I'd love to be able to give you the gospel. They said, do you know a church that has a 12-step recovery program? I said, yeah, I do. A lot of them do. Well, that's what we're looking for. I said, you know, you're looking for the wrong thing. Because you're going to miss the truth of the gospel.

Again, we have a one-step recovery program. It's called the gospel of truth. I'd be glad to give it to you. No, no, sorry. Thanks for your time. And they left. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine forfeiting a one-step recovery program for a 12-step recovery program? Could you imagine just walking away from the truth? To accept some simplistic, shallow method of taking care of man's physical needs, but never taking care of man's spiritual needs. See, we're concerned about man's spiritual needs. We're concerned about your spiritual needs.

We want you to experience true blessing from God. That's what we want. That's what I want. And only God gives it. And he gives it to those who listen and those who obey his word. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you, Lord, for this day. The truth of your word. The blessing that it gives. This Christmas season, Lord, as we embark on the days ahead, I pray, Father, that we would maintain our focus. And that each of us would experience firsthand from you your blessing. Because we have come to listen.

Upon hearing, we seek to obey. And through obeying, you say, comes the blessing. Our prayer is that that would be us this day. In Jesus' name we ask, amen.