Herbert W Armstrong

   The Pope was very interested in watching Michelangelo, so he came in quite regularly. He kept watching the progress of the painting. After a while, he got to where he was painting the face of God, and the Pope came in much more regularly. Every day he'd come in. He looked up at this painting, shake his head. After a number of days of this, Michelangelo came down from the scaffolding and, standing there talking to the Pope, and the Pope scratched his head and said, "Is that's the way you see God?"

   And Michelangelo stopped and looked up at the picture and said, "Yes."

   He said, "What? I just can't get over that. That's really the way you see God?"

   Said, "Yes, that's, that's the way I see God."

   He said, "But He's got a smile on His face."

   And Michelangelo gave what I thought was a classic answer. He said, "Well, I don't remember ever seeing anyone who had their first son that didn't have a smile on their face."

   But you know, here was a man who should have been the one that represents a real knowledge or reality of what God's really like. And yet a painter and a sculptor had a better reality of what God was like.

   So I'd like to ask you today, first question: How do you see God? The second question I'd like to answer today is: How does God see you?

   I grew up in Southern Baptist Church down in Texas. I went to Sunday school every Sunday, Baptist Training Union on Sunday, Brotherhood meeting in the middle of the week. I had a Baptist picture of God: Don't dance, don't drink, don't gamble. And yet I had friends that I went to high school with. One was a Catholic, and apparently he saw a black and white God because all of their church leaders go around in black and white all the time. So apparently there's something especially dignified or sacred about black and white. And yet when they go to school, there's young people all wear blue, blue uniforms.

   So is your God a uniform God? Everybody's got to be alike, everybody's got to be the same? You know, the same style hair, the same length hair, the same size burns, style and length of sideburns, and you know, everybody's got to be carbon copies of everybody else? And one guy, maybe he's a little bit more holy and a little bit more righteous because his hair is a little bit more like God? And maybe your music, you feel your music just makes you a little bit more righteous because, you know, you've got the sweetest music this side of heaven? That's God's kind of music?

   Well I take great delight and great joy in helping you to really see the God that is the God of creation, the God that made a lot of funny animals. And I can't imagine God creating an anteater and sitting there very staid, very dignified in his black and white, creating an anteater. I mean, I think God had a ball when He created the world. When God created the black and white kitty and put a scent in him, I think God must have really laughed when He saw this skunk. And you know, I can't help but imagine when God created the laughing hyena — if you've ever heard one of those critters when you visit the zoo, you know, where did He get that sound? It didn't evolve. God put that funny, nutty sound in that laughing hyena. And I guess God, very formal, dignified, staid, created the hyena, the skunk, and the possum and all the animals that way?

   Well, God isn't the way man has pictured God. God is a lot different.

   Now maybe one of the saddest things is to have to realize the way God comes across to young people. And to illustrate this, I'd like to read a few letters — children's letters to God. And maybe this expresses one view.

   A little boy named Neil says, "Dear Mr. God, how do you feel about people who don't believe in you? Somebody else wants to know, a friend, Neil."

   Now you can see a lot about the way that little kid feels about God. First of all, he says, "Dear Mr. God," then he says, "How do you feel about people that don't believe in you?" Not me now, God, it's somebody else. Don't, don't zap me right here, not me, it's somebody else wants to know. And then he says, "A friend." Now that's, that's one view that you get of God.

   Here's another boy named Marvin says, "Dear God, can you really do everything? I wish I could too."

   Well, it's exciting to see kids who want to be God. They want to be like God, because man has fascinated children with Superman, Bionic Man, the Bionic Woman, Mighty Mouse, the Batman, you know, all kinds of Invisible Man. You know, that's what we're going to be when we're spirit beings with that kind of power, being invisible, having all of that creativity.

   Well, the little boy writes in and says, "Dear God, I love you because you are so good. I try to be good like you. I am good to all people, my mother and father and two sisters. It must be fun to be God and have everybody love you. Yours sincerely."

   Uh, you know, I can see in that little boy a need for love. He can't find it around the home, he doesn't find it at school, so he finds it with God. "It must be fun to be God and have everybody love you. I love you because you're so good."

   Another boy writes in and says, "Dear God, I saw Saint Patrick Church last week when we went to New York. You live in a nice house. Frank."

   So it's a lot of kids, they think that's where God lives, you know. How about us when we go to Disneyland, is God there with us? When we go to Universal Studios, is God there with us? I'll tell you, God has a ball when you go to Universal Studios. You know, I have a ball when my kids go to Universal Studios and they see these things happening around them and they jump up and they're all excited and I watch them. I don't watch the activity, and their eyes light up and their smiles and laughter, and I'll show you in a little bit — the Bible says God enjoys His people. God takes great delight in His people.

   You know, it's always striking to me, having grown up as a Southern Baptist, that we could go to a church social and ask God to be there while we were playing games and laughing and dancing and, you know, having refreshments, and we'd always ask someone to give the prayers at the beginning of the social and ask God to be there. Well, does God kind of condescend and say, "Well, you got to put up with those humans, you know, they're, they're human and they've got to laugh and dance and sing," so we just tolerate that, you know, we, we God’s, we just sit up here on our throne?

   And you know, not too many years ago, they had a poll in Look magazine: What do you think God's like? The most prominent answer was God's like an old granddad. I guess He has to be old and, you know, He has to have time for you and He has to do things with you your dad doesn't have time to do. But for one reason or another, that's the way they pictured God, it's an old granddad.

   Now some people picture God kind of like Abraham Lincoln on that throne up there in the Lincoln Memorial. You know, that stone statue has sat there for years and decades and years, and that's the way they think God is up there in the third heaven, just sitting there on a throne, looking down at me and shaking His head saying, "Look at that dummy there, boy that guy, look at it, he never learned," and you know, God just kind of sits up there as a cement statue looking down at you. That isn't true, that isn't true. That is not the God of the Bible.

   Alright, another little girl writes in and says, "Dear God, last week it rained three days. We thought it would be like Noah's Ark, but it wasn't. I'm glad because you can only take two of things, remember, and we have three cats. Goodbye now, Donna." Now she's applying one of the Bible stories.

   OK, here's the little girl that writes in and says, "Dear God, are you real? Some people don't not believe it. If you are, you better do something quick." So maybe she realizes what's going on in the world, and here again though, you notice that fear of God. Uh, some people don't believe — I mean, don't think I'm one of them, God, now.

   Here a little boy writes in and says, "Dear God, when you wrote the Bible, you made up all the words and spelled them the way you like. That's great. Most of the time I do it like that, but I'm not doing so good."

   And there's another little boy that writes in and says, "Dear God, if you know so much, how come you never made the river big enough for all the water? And our house got flooded and now we got to move." Now, you know, if I had a little kid and he wrote a letter like that to God, I'd be worried. I think, uh, you know, where have I missed the boat teaching this little kid about God? "If you know so much, how come you never made the river big enough for all the water?"

   Well, here's a little boy that writes in. I really appreciated this when he says, "Dear God, your book has a lot of zip to it. I like science fiction stories. So you have very good ideas, and I'd like to know where you found them. Your reader, Jimmy."

   Now here's a little boy that writes in, "Dear God, we're learning about Jonah and the whale, where he swallowed him and everything. It's the best story I ever read with action and fright. My daddy says it sounds pretty fishy. Do you think that's funny? Yours very truly, Sydney." Uh, this little boy didn't know whether God laughed or not, you know, he's not too sure.

   Here a little boy writes in says, "Dear God, did you have as much trouble learning Hebrew as I am? Are there any easy ways to do it? I know you talk English too, so I'm writing in English. Respectfully, Jerome."

   And uh, this, you can't help but feel — a little girl named Donnie writes in and says, "Dear God, we're going on vacation for two weeks Friday, so we won't be in church. I hope you'll be there when we get back. When do you take your vacation?" Well, does God take a vacation? And if He does, He doesn't have to or He needs it.

   The little boy writes in and says, "Dear God, I've got to know something. What is it like in heaven? I know it's nice, but what kind of nice?" And you know, that's why I felt the Baptist — oh, you're going to get to go up there and walk the golden streets in your golden slippers and ride on the clouds and play a harp and... That isn't very much for a thousand million billion jillion trillion years, is it? That doesn't satisfy you very much. So this little boy wants to know what is kind of nice in heaven. What happens when it rains? So there's an inquisitive little one.

   A little girl says, "Dear God, are boys better than girls? I know you are one, but try to be fair." You know, what is God, a boy or a girl? You know, to some people they think God is just a blob of spirit, just kind of a permeating spirit that saturates the whole creation. They don't think of God as a being, they don't think of God as a personality. They don't think of God as a being with character, as a being with a mind and understanding and knowledge and wisdom. What about anger and wrath? Is God that way? Or is God this goody-goody, you know, his hands clasped under his chin and that halo around his head and just that real goody-goody, pious appearance — that's the way God is? That is not the way God is.

   Now here's the little girl that writes and says, "Dear God, could you write more stories? We've already read all the ones you have and begin again. Gratefully, Emily."

   And here's the little boy writes, "Dear God, I wrote you before, do you remember? Well, I did what I promised, but you did not send me the horse yet. What about it?" You know, God's kind of a great Santa Claus up in the sky. You make bargains with Him and you do what you say and He's got to do what you held Him to.

   Well, here's little girl, "Why can't you even keep it from raining on Saturday all the time? Rose."

   "Dear God, if you do all these things, you're pretty busy. Now here's my question. When is the best time I can talk to you? I know you're always listening, but when will you be listening hard in Troy, New York? Sincerely yours, Alan."

   Now here's another little inquisitive mind that you feel sorry for that people don't have an answer for it. This little boy named Mike says, "Dear God, what is it like when you die? Nobody will tell me. I just want to know. I don't want to do it. Your friend." I, I think you get the feeling of a little bit of leeriness for God, kind of, now God, don't zap me now, not yet, God.

   Then a little boy named Norman says, "Dear, dear God, I think it's terrific the way they got the astronauts to go up, to go around, around the world. Please don't let it fall on our house. Your friend, Norman."

   Well, here's one little girl that writes in says, "Dear God, my teacher read us the part where all the Jews went through where the water was and got away. Keep up the good work, I'm Jewish."

   And I guess I'll dedicate this last one to Mr. Albrecht here and, you know, they think they pull something sneaky. I noticed when I give the sermon, they always sing songs with two verses. If they had some in there one, they'd sing one probably. So if you want to know when you've got to listen to me, just watch when they lead two-verse songs and that'll, you'll know who's preaching then. But anyway, I'll dedicate this one to Mr. Albrecht that says, "Dear God, church is alright, but you could sure use better music. I hope this does not hurt your feelings. Can you write some new songs? Your friend, Barry."

   Well, here's a little girl that says, "Dear God, I'm the only one in my class who's Chinese. They all say that you're American, but I am too, so you could be Chinese, right?" That's good, good reasoning, you know.

   Well, there's a couple of different volumes of that, and I may use a few more of them if I have time a little later, but I think we'd have to agree.

   There's a verse back here in Job chapter 36. Job 36. You know, one answer to that riddle that Mr. Hampton gave it — I would think if you can only get two in the boat, to me the best solution would be let the duck eat the corn and then you eat the duck and you and the fox going across. That, that sounds like a better deal to me. But I like duck.

   Anyway, noticing here in Job 36. And of course, here Job was a very proud, self-righteous man and he finally got acquainted with God. You know, one of the last statements Job made was, "Well God, I've heard of you by the hearing of the ears, but now mine eye sees you." You know, it took Job a lot to finally see God. He'd heard of God, I mean his family told him about God, he'd heard about God in church, he'd been told all about God, his ears had heard about God, and you know that's what happens when young people that grow up in the church finally begin to be converted. They heard of God by the hearing of the ear. But before you can be converted, God has to really be real to you. You want to be in the God family.

   You know, why would a young person at 17 or 18 set aside their life and say, "No, I don't want to live my life. I don't want to have my life in my own hand. I want to give my life to God"? You know, why would you do that? Unless you know that the way of God is really abundant, happy, brimful and running over living. When you can really see God, you know, the more anxious you are to get on the way of being in the God family.

   Now Job finally came to see God, but notice what Job says here in Job 36. Behold, verse 26 (Job 36:26), "God is great, and we know Him not, neither can the number of His years be searched out." Well, I hope we can know God after today and really see God the way He is.

   I, I know before we left Kansas City, I went around town taking slides of some of the things I wanted to remember about the town, and it struck me that all the different churches that had all these different statues of Christ and God — never one had a smile on his face. You just can't picture God laughing. Can you picture God tapping His foot to music? Can you picture God kind of just really relaxing and enjoying the soft type music like the chorale sang this morning in the first numbers? But can you picture God really moved by a marching band? Can you picture God really stirred and moved by a ballad type song? What kind of God or music is God's music? And we have a lot of different musical presentations here in this auditorium. And I think we might be surprised that God isn't discriminatory or prejudiced like we are.

   Notice here in Psalm chapter 2. Here the heathen are raging, the people imagining vain things. The kings of the earth setting themselves, the rulers taking counsel together against the Eternal and against His anointed. Now you know what we do in human reaction to this, if we had God's power and we knew here were these rebellious nations, kings of the earth, taking counsel against God and against His anointed, we'd be like James and John, the sons of thunder. We'd say, "God, let us call fire down out of heaven and devour them."

   You know, God just kind of sits up there and laughs. You know, the Russians sent someone into space. They launched this, uh, rocket and got out there beyond the gravitational pull of the earth and got out there in space, and then when they came back they set foot on the earth and they made this bold statement, said, "Why, we didn't see God out there anywhere." And you know, that's the dumbest thing you ever imagined because if you got an idea of how far they got off the earth's surface compared to the galaxy and the universe, you know, they just got maybe a hair's breadth off of the earth and there's God way out there in the third heaven beyond all the stars, all the constellations and planets and galaxies, way out there in the third heaven there's God, and man launches maybe a hair's breadth off of the earth and says, "We didn't see God out there anywhere." And I'm sure God just laughed, looked down and said, "Can you believe that? Six thousand years it took man to even get off that orb, and he gets a hair's breadth off there and says, 'Didn't see God out there anywhere.'"

   You know, a Russian clenched his fist — Khrushchev — and said, "We'll take God out of His high heaven." And you know, if we'd been James and John, we'd just zap right on the spot, boy, that's taking care of them, wouldn't it? But you know, God just laughed at that, and I noticed this even here — the heathens raging, the kings of the earth and the prophecy about Herod and how they were trying to wipe out the babes of Jesus' time. They took counsel against the Eternal and against His anointed, saying, "Let's break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us." He that sits in the heavens shall laugh. Now imagine that. Can you believe what you read there? God Almighty, that sits in the heavens, laughing.

   You say, "Well, come on now, that must be a figure of speech or it must be a play on words that you can't take that literally. You don't really mean literally the God who sits out there in the third heavens laughs?" Yeah, He sure does. He laughs a lot of times. He laughed a lot. The Eternal, the Lord shall have them in derision.

   Now notice again chapter 37, or Psalm 37. Psalm 37. Now maybe you've had this happen to you. You get yourself in a bind and you know how the world is. And yet when you get yourself in the bind, you know that, that makes a difference. You can't laugh at that at the time, and we laugh at ourselves later a lot. When we get out of the bind, we can look back on it, then it's a laughing matter, but at the time it isn't.

   But notice Job — Psalm 37:12: "The wicked plots against the just and gnashes upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him when He sees that his day is coming." You know, God's up there and He can see over the hill, and He sees someone plotting, thinking he's getting away with something, and God knows, "Watch him, he's going to get it. He just thinks he's getting away with something," and you watch what happens. So God, when the wicked plot, God laughs at him because He can see ahead what's going to happen.

   Now you might notice in Psalm 59. I think a lot of us would do ourselves a favor if we could laugh at our binds we get in sometimes, and some of us take ourselves too seriously. You know, as one guy said, "Don't take life too seriously, you never get out of it alive anyway." Well, you can, but anyway, not the way he's talking about.

   Notice here, enemies oppressing one of God's servants. And then he says in verse 5 (Psalm 59:5), "You therefore, O Lord, our Eternal God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen. Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah. They return at evening, they make a noise like a dog and go round about the city. Behold, they belch out with their mouths, swords in their lips, for who, say they, does hear? But you, Eternal, shall laugh at them. You shall have all the heathen in derision."

   So you notice when the enemy plots against one of God's servants, God is going to laugh at that person thinking he's going to get away with something. God is protecting His servant, as we'll see a little bit later, but God laughs far more than you may imagine.

   Proverbs chapter one. Proverbs chapter one. And you know, when I read this, I think about the same thing parallel with my children that I can tell them, "Now you better not do that," and you know they're tempted to go ahead and do it anyway, and a lot of times they will, then they learn the hard way. They shouldn't have done it and you kind of laugh and say, "Well, hardhead, I tried to tell you, you wouldn't listen. Now you know." You know that it isn't going to hurt them permanently and you know they're going to learn a great lesson from it, and yet is God that way? Is God that way as our parent?

   Notice He says verse 24 (Proverbs 1:24), "Because I've called and you refused, I've stretched out my hand and no man regarded." Have you done that with your children? You called, didn't listen, and you stretched out your hand to me, rejected the help. "But you have set at naught all my counsel and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity. I'll mock when your fear comes, when your fear comes as desolation."

   You know, God looks down and He sees us learn the hard way and He said, "I'll tell you, that guy, look at him, like butting his head against the wall. I keep telling him, 'Don't do that,' and he'll do it anyway. Then he'll later say, 'You know, I wish I hadn't done that.' Now I wish that guy would learn. When's he going to quit learning the hard way?" But you know, God looks down at us and He sees some of the messes we get ourselves in, and He really has a good laugh about it. And I do that with my children, you do that with yours too, when you know that it isn't going to be really hurting or permanent.

   So God laughs at a lot of those traits we get ourselves in, in the predicaments. You might notice back in Job chapter 9. I remember an elder back in one of the church areas that got stopped by a U.S. patrolman that said he ran a red light and the light was as green as anything and he and his wife both knew it was, but apparently this man, uh, didn't have his quota for the month or something and he railroaded him in and he said, "Well, you know, I'm an American. I can stand up for my rights. You can't do that." Well, "I'll take this to court," and of course he didn't pay double, uh. But you know, he'd been giving sermons about graft and bribes and how crooked people were to take money, and then when it happens to him, you know, that's a different story. So I imagine God looked down and He'd known this man had given these sermonettes and then he got himself into a bind like that and well, that was, that was serious then. God just looked down and laughed.

   Now you notice what it says here in Job 9:23: "If the scourge slays suddenly, He will laugh at the trial of the innocent." You know, sometimes God looks down and He tells us the way things are, but we just don't really believe it, and then we get ourselves in the bind and then God looks down and laughs at some of the trials of some of us, even if we're innocent.

   Now you might notice in Ecclesiastes chapter 10. And maybe the reason a lot of people don't know God very well is because, as you can see from these verses, there's one here and one there and they're scattered all over everywhere. There isn't one book in the Bible that says, "This is the way I am, this is God, and this is the way I am."

   Ecclesiastes 10:19: "A feast is made for laughter." Now you know, imagine all the feasts God has. Imagine feasts. Man needs a feast. "A feast is made for laughter." So when you're with other brothers and you're having a good time and you're laughing, and you know, as long as it isn't something that's wrong, God is there, God's laughing. God enjoys His people. God's not some kind of a staid, formalistic, deadpan God up in heaven. "A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry, but money answers all things."

   Now, I'm sure most of us are acquainted with Ecclesiastes chapter 3, where God says to everything there's a season and a time to every purpose. But do you think for God or just for man? God just kind of tolerates this in us because we're humans, and then when we get to be God, we won't need to laugh anymore and we won't need to sing anymore and we won't need to have good times and pleasures, and when we get to be God, we just cast aside all these human things? No, no, that's not true.

   I don't want to ride on a cloud and pluck a harp. First place, God might get more people interested in going to heaven if He had a banjo or a piano or something. You know, how many people like harp music? Well, you're not going to ride on a cloud and pluck a harp, but notice here in Ecclesiastes 3 (Ecclesiastes 3:1): "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heavens."

   And you know, this parallels in a sense the fruit of God's Spirit. If it's the fruit of God's Spirit, then it must be the way God is, because what is God's Spirit except God's nature emanating out from Him, coming in and out of you? So if the fruit of God's Spirit is love, joy, peace, then how could you think God is a sober-sided, just a dead serious — you know, I think there are reasons that Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine, going to a wedding.

   And why did Jesus go to that wedding? Because He knew ahead of time they're going to run out of wine and He'd have a chance to work a miracle? Or did He go to that wedding because He enjoyed weddings? After all, He's the one that created Eve for Adam, and I'd like to have been there to see God when He presented Eve to Adam. I bet He had a good time there. I bet when Adam saw Eve, he said, "Wow wee, God, that's, that's great, that's really wonderful, that's, well, you know, that is, that's really what I need, just a mate."

   And you know, you don't think when God looks down and sees two young people meet after they've asked Him to provide the right person for them and they meet the right one, you don't think God enjoys that and celebrates that and gets excited about that? I'll tell you, He sure does.

   Now notice, if, the fruit of God's Spirit is love, joy, peace — that's the way God is. The very second fruit of God's Spirit is joy. The very first fruit of God's Spirit is peace — the very first fruit is love. And that's the way God is. He has outgoing concern for other people. He has joy, He has faith, and He laughs, He has a good time.

   Now going on here: "A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to pluck up what's planted, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down, a time to build up, a time to weep."

   You know, Mr. Dart was reading yesterday how Jesus wept. If you read the account carefully, He wept because the people had little faith. He didn't weep because Lazarus was dead. He wept because of the people's lack of faith. And yet, you know, growing up as a Baptist, I've heard one scripture drilled into my head for years that I have a hard time not, uh, taking exception to the scripture, but you know they'll quote out of Isaiah 53, "a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief." And they'd have you believe that Jesus went around all His life kind of sadistic, morose, depressed, downcast, dejected.

   And why did He go to a wedding, the very first miracle? Yeah, I know Jesus had grief because of people's lack of faith and belief. But I know Christ was a real, active, vigorous, alive personality, and I can see Christ at the wedding of Cana of Galilee. He wasn't some quiet, shy, introverted, withdrawn wallflower. Now I know He wasn't an offensive, bold, forward, you know, uh, "everybody look at me." But He was certainly at the party. And certainly alive, certainly an active member in that wedding. And everybody knew He was there.

   But notice, there's a time to weep and a time to laugh — for God too. There is a time when God weeps. There's a time when God laughs. There's a time when God weeps over your stumbling and failing and falling and hardship, and there's a time when God laughs at your calamity. There's a time to mourn and a time to dance — yeah, for God too.

   Now, when is the time for God to dance? When is the time for God to mourn? Now this gives you the idea of the way God is. There is a time to cast away stones and gather stones, a time to embrace. You think of God embracing any time? God having emotion? God having that feeling?

   What about when the prodigal son came home? That was God the Father. You remember His reactions? We'll read those in a little bit. There is a time to embrace for God, for Jesus. And there's a time to refrain from embracing. There's a time to lose, and he goes on mentioning other things, a time to love and a time to hate, verse 8. There's a time when God hates. There's a time when God loves.

   Now it's not selfish when God hates. It's always because He sees people hurting others or hurting, hurting themselves, and that's when God hates. Can you imagine David being a man after God's own heart, and yet in one of the Psalms, David says, "Don't I hate with a perfect hatred those that set you at naught, God?" And yet he's the man after God's own heart, and you know Paul in one of his epistles says, "Be ye angry and sin not." He quickly adds.

   But I think we've been brainwashed into thinking that God is just kind of a blob of spirit. Or else God is just kind of a stone statue up in heaven on a throne. Or we think God is kind of an emotionless legalist. None of those are true, that's not the way God is. There is a time when God is angry. There's a time when God laughs, there's a time when God weeps.

   Now we might notice just an example. Notice Genesis 6. Genesis 6 and verse 6. God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth at the time of the flood. Verse 5 (Genesis 6:5-6): "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." So here's this great God of the universe looking down. Man has gone so far that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, just evil continually. "And it repented the Eternal that He made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart."

   Do you think God isn't a being with emotions? Is that just a play on words or figure of speech or something? No, that means exactly what it says. It grieved God at His heart to see what man with such a great purpose He had intended for him, to see what he turned it into. God was sorry He put man down here and it grieved God. So there's a time for tears in God's sight.

   Now you might notice Psalm 7:11. And I'll tell you later on, you might want to mark these verses in your Bible. I just write the word "God" across all these verses so I can know what God is really like and not the kind of God I was told about for years.

   Psalm chapter 7, verse 11: "God judges the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day." God gets angry every day. Of course, He's got three billion people to look down on, and that doesn't mean you're justified in being angry every day. For some people who can never get angry, that's a fault. They can't get angry error, they can't get angry at inhumanity, they can't get angry at murder, they can't get angry at violence, they can't get angry at lawlessness, they can't get angry at themselves for their own human weaknesses. God is angry every day. And you shouldn't be every day, but you should get angry at times.

   But you know, we're taught that it isn't godly to have emotions. I mean, to ever even get your dander up a little bit. There are a lot of books apologizing for Jesus because He overturned the money changers' tables and He took a little whip and drove animals out of the temple and He raised His voice and said, "Woe to you hypocrites." So people apologize for Jesus. I don't apologize for Jesus. You know, Jesus said, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." He said He came to reveal the Father. God is angry. God gets angry with the wicked every day. There's a time for a man to get angry at himself and his wrong and his errors.

   Now notice though in Psalm 16. Psalm 16. I wish somebody had told me this back when I was in the Baptist church. Verse 11 (Psalm 16:11): "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy." Now you know, you don't have fullness of joy in human endeavors like a sport or, uh, reading a good book or meeting a new friend. You know, there's spiritual joy from God's Spirit and then there's just normal natural joy of daily events. But in God's presence, joy is increased and multiplied, it's exceeded by the joy of the Spirit. "At Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore."

   Now what kind of pleasures are there forevermore at God's right hand? You know what pleasure is to you. You don't think God put all these fish in the waters for man to get pleasure fishing and hunting, climbing mountains? You don't think God meant for man to enjoy the pleasure of skiing on water or on snow? You know, people say there's twice as much water as there is land — ought to be obvious you're meant to fish twice as much as you work. Well, I don't think you can take that that way, but you know when you think about God creating all the things He created, at God's right hand there are pleasures forevermore. So God isn't against pleasures that are pleasures tomorrow and next week and next month and next year. After all, God invented music. God put rhythm in humans. God gave animals their ways, their voices, their melodies.

   Now you might notice Job 36 ties right in with this verse. Job 36:11: "If they obey and serve God, they spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures." Imagine that. If you obey and serve God, you spend your days in prosperity. After all, we remember back in III John, the very second verse of III John, God says, "I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health."

   But somehow we've been taught about poor Christians, poor church people. You know, somehow we think anybody that's a religious leader or in a religion ought to be poor. You know, "God's poor," we hear people say. Somehow I haven't run across any of God's poor. Job, really a wealthy man. David, Solomon, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph — and where are God's poor? I don't find them in here.

   Now I know there are poor God allows to be among us so we can learn charity and help towards other people, but it's not, not God's wish for you to stay poor. It's God's wish above all things that you prosper. Now that really, the Bible really says that. You read III John 2. God wishes above all things that you may prosper and be in health.

   So Job said here, if you obey and serve God, you spend your days in prosperity and their years in pleasures. I really don't think there's any way I could live my life for 25 years and have more pleasure than I have in the 25 years I've been in God's church.

   Now a lot of people have the idea that to be a Christian you say, "What do I got to give up to be a Christian?" Only things that are harmful to you or somebody else. Only things that are bad, that are temporary, that aren't really of lasting value, the true value. But when people have pleasure or prosperity, somehow we're almost embarrassed by it. Somehow we, we think, "Well, you know, you got to be careful now because to be God's poor, you can't get too much prosperity and pleasure." Not if you set your heart on your prosperity, but Job plainly says if you obey and serve, you spend your days in prosperity and your years in pleasures.

   Now we might notice here in Isaiah 43. Another thing I think is a great trait about God that's so unnatural to humans. I've heard people make statements directly contrary to this. Isaiah 43:25: "I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and will not remember your sins." Will not remember your sins.

   Now I say as humans we can't believe that that is really the way God is. Now let me give you a case in point, Psalm chapter 25 and verse 7. Psalm 25 and verse 7. Now here's David in a prayer psalm, a man after God's own heart. Notice what he says. Psalm 25:7: "Remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions."

   You know God doesn’t remember? God doesn't remember. Can you imagine that? A man worrying about whether God is going to remember his sins of his youth. Can you imagine when you've done something sinful and you really repent of it and you really ask God to forgive you and help you to never do that again and to have the strength so you never would do it again? Then you know, maybe a week later you say, "God, I really am sorry for what I did last week."

   "What's that?"

   "Well, you remember I told you last week."

   "No, I don't remember. I don't remember. What are you talking about?"

   Is that really the way God is? Can you really imagine God being that way? You know, people pull dumb things — we've all done. You go around for years, kind of ducking your head and kind of feeling self-conscious and condemned, guilty, and you think everybody else knows what you did and you feel bad about it, and God doesn't remember. I mean, He either doesn't remember — this book, you can't believe, you can't take this word for what it says — or He doesn't remember. After you have repented, God does not remember. And yet here is David worrying about God remembering the sins of his youth. And we're all that way. God forgets. Thank God. Thank God that He forgets.

   You know, people always want to make some being different. I remember Mr. McNair one time was standing at a bus station over in England. This lady was griping about the way she was made. She was saying, "Well, you know, sometimes I wish I had eight arms. I wish I had eyes in the back of my head. I wish I had a mouth somewhere easier to get to." And she was all upset about the way she was. She was standing there at this bus with a bunch of packages and couldn't see both ways and had to turn around with all these packages.

   And you know, Mr. McNair said, "Wait, wait, just a minute now. You know how hard it is to find a position to sleep at night as it is, and how would you do that if you had eight arms? Can you imagine what that would be like trying to sleep with eight arms?" He said, "You said you'd like to have your ears under your arms, so if you didn't want to listen to anybody, you just have your arms down and you wouldn't listen. Then all the time you are listening, you have to be like this, all the time like that. But then you said you wanted your mouth down here where it just goes right into your stomach. You got to open your shirt every time you want to eat then. And if you had eyes in the back of your head, imagine what a hazardous driver you'd be."

   Well, the lady agreed God maybe knew better the way He made us. But you know, somehow we all think we can improve on the way God made us.

   Well, I'm not going to turn and show you God is a jealous God. Deuteronomy 6:15. You know, I'm a jealous husband. My wife is a jealous wife. I had a birthday just yesterday and I won't tell you how old I am, but uh, just add four years, however old you think my wife is, and I can get off better that way. But you know, I'm a jealous man. I'm jealous about my kids. I'm jealous that some guy is good enough to marry one of my daughters. And I'm jealous about my wife. God is a jealous God. He sure is. God is a jealous God. He gets jealous when He sees you interested in some other religion or worship or some other god. You can read that in Deuteronomy 6:15.

   Now let's come back to Psalm 149. Psalm 149:4, and here he's been talking about praising God. "Praise ye the Eternal," the word hallelujah. "Sing to God a new song, praise in the congregation." Then he says in verse 4, "Because the Eternal takes pleasure in His people."

   You really believe that? The Eternal takes pleasure in His people. I'll tell you, God really rejoices to see you have all this money to spend on yourselves because you've been willing to live His way of life, you've been willing to give back to His work and get His work done. God loves to see you get to travel across the country, come to headquarters, go out to Disneyland, go over to Universal Studios, go out to the ocean. God just loves to see His people get all those benefits and blessings. God loves us so much that He sends us to His feast times to resort areas. None of us could ever afford to go any other time. We wouldn't go there. Twelve hundred people in Hawaii — imagine that. God takes pleasure in His people.

   Now in what ways does He take pleasure in His people? Well, notice Psalm 35. You know, it just does God a world of good to get to give you a raise. You work hard and you pay your tithe and you put aside money to go to God's feast. He just rejoices to give you a raise.

   I remember one man that came from California to Texas for the feast years ago. The boss said, "Well, your job won't be there when you get back."

   So, "Well, I've got to go."

   He got back a couple of weeks after he got back, he was down in one of the markets and this man said, "Hey, I haven't seen you work at the company for a while."

   "Well, I don't work there anymore."

   "You don't? How come?"

   "Well, you know, I took off for the feast and my superior said my job wouldn't be there when I got back."

   He said, "Well, you know, we've never had that kind of a policy in that company." You know, he was the higher-up for this other man. He said, "I'm going to look into that."

   Not long, he called this guy up and said, "Hey, come on back to work over here for us. We want you over here. You're honest, hard-working, come on back over here." And he got the other guy's job, and the other guy was canned.

   And that didn't just happen once. I have known several cases of that, and I will tell you that did God a lot of good to do that. God really rejoiced and celebrated and enjoyed doing that. I mean, when you enjoy doing things, you are in God's shoes.

   You notice here in Psalm — it tells you that God does. Psalm 35:27: "Let them shout for joy and be glad that favor My righteous cause." You know, every now and then we'll have a student come hollering and shouting across the campus down in Big Sandy. I enjoy hearing that because something's happened. You know, either he, uh, got baptized or that first thing you think, maybe he met the right girl finally in his senior year. Uh, but you know, one reason or another, guy just come jumping and shouting and yelling across the campus and your first reaction to say, "Wait, come on, God is the quiet God, you know, the quiet hour. I mean, don't get noisy around God. I mean, God is very dignified, very quiet and formalistic." And sometimes He is, sometimes He isn't.

   And I read in the Bible that God goes forth with a shout. The God, well you can't say streaks, but God zips across heaven, shouting with trumpets blowing. Shows you what happens in our language, but Psalm 35, here he says, "Let them shout for joy and be glad that favor My righteous cause. Yea, let them say continually, 'Let the Eternal be magnified, which has pleasure in the prosperity of His servants.'"

   God has pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. God just loves to bless you and give you and prosper you. Or you can't believe your Bible. God has pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. Now we read III John 2 that it's God's wish that you prosper above all things.

   Now notice Psalm 147. Psalm 147:11: "The Eternal takes pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy." So if you have a reverence and awe, a respect for God, and what God says you are afraid not to go by, God takes pleasure in them that fear Him, and those that hope in His mercy.

   You know, when you've done something dumb and you just cry out to God, "Oh God, have mercy on me," God takes pleasure in those who have that kind of faith in His mercy. If you know God is merciful and you come and present yourself before God humbly and ask God for mercy, God takes pleasure in you when you do that. God takes pleasure in you when you say, "Oh no, I'm not going to do that. God says don't do that. No, I know I better not. You learn the hard way. I'm not going to do it." God takes pleasure when you fear Him and when you hope in His mercy.

   Yet I don't think most of us, all our lives in God's church, would say, "Well, I know God looked down on me from heaven and said, 'That's My beloved son in whom I am well pleased.'" Well, you think God ever did that with you? I mean, it's about time a lot of us face up to realize He sure has. There are many times in our lives when maybe you faced a real test and you said, "No, I'm, I'm not going to work on the Sabbath. I'm not going to, uh, hold back on going to God's feast. I'm just going to go."

   But you know, God looks down and says, "That's My beloved son in whom I am well pleased." I mean, that's true. God is no respecter of persons. God did that three separate times in Jesus' life. Opened up the heaven and looked down and said, "That's My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." If you don't think God ever does that, what do you think He does? He does, He sure does. He does that quite a bit in your life. I hope we can begin to realize that.

   Notice Ecclesiastes 3:13. God knows a lot more about us than we ever imagined. Ecclesiastes 3, verse 13: "Also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God." Now you know, when you sit down to a good meal, it's great that you have concern for people around the world that aren't able to sit down to a good meal. But you know, he says here every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor. It's the gift of God. That meal you're eating, the drinks you're having, the family atmosphere there, it's the gift of God.

   Now you might read Ecclesiastes 5:19-20, God gives riches. Chapter 5, verse 19: "Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth." God's people in the Bible were rich and wealthy people. Now we're more interested in spiritual wealth and treasure, but it's still God's will to bless you, and I say most people that have ever come into God's church have been blessed.

[Tape Flipped]

   Well, harp, piano, that's all right, but to have a trumpet or a trombone or drums on stage in God's church? Oh, you know, I never imagined that as a Baptist, Southern hardshell Baptist. But you know, some people can't even imagine a piano on the stage of God. And some people can't even imagine men and women sitting together in God's congregation either. We sure got some funny ideas about God, don't we? Kind of ridiculous.

   God says you can praise Him in the dance. If you’re dancing the right way and the right attitude. You can sing praises to God with the timbrel and harp. Verse 5, he says, "Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud upon their beds." You'll do that lying there at night at the feast. "How Great Thou Art," you know, just riding along on the way to the feast, singing, singing aloud. Well, that's great, that's the way you ought to be.

   Psalm 150: "Praise ye the Eternal, praise God in His sanctuary." So you notice this is in the church. "Praise Him in the firmament of His power, praise Him for His mighty acts, praise Him according to His excellent greatness, praise Him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise Him with the psaltery and harp, praise Him with the timbrel and dance. Praise Him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise Him upon the loud cymbals."

   Now can you imagine that? Even these great big old bong-bong cymbals, praise God with cymbals? You got to be kidding. Now who could imagine that in a band with God? If God always wanting this real soft, quiet, dreamy type music, you can't do that with cymbals. Well, God isn't a staid, formalistic kind of a God that doesn't enjoy a variety of music. God says you can praise Him with a trumpet, timbrel, dance, praise Him on the loud cymbals.

   And you know, the New Living Bible even makes that more funny because it follows up the next verse and says, "Yes, loud clanging cymbals," because if you really wouldn't believe it the first time, so He repeats it over again. "Yeah, that's right, you heard it right, loud clanging cymbals." Praise God with loud clanging cymbals. So there are times when God enjoys loud, marching, vigorous music. A man knows that it's good, but somehow we hadn't thought of God that way.

   I noticed back in John 14. John 14:8. Philip says to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and that, that will be satisfying. That will be sufficient. That will suffice us."

   Jesus said to him, "Philip, have I been for so long a time with you and yet have you not known Me, Philip? He that has seen Me has seen the Father." Apparently God must have known that people really didn't realize the way God really was. So Christ came to reveal the Father. And Jesus said, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." The Father would have turned water into wine at the marriage. The Father would have gone around doing the same things Jesus did. What He spoke and what He did was the Father.

   So I want you to realize that when you see in the New Testament the things that Jesus said and did and the actions, that's the Father. If you've seen Christ, you've seen the Father. "And why do you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?"

   Now let's notice back here in Luke 15. And to me, when I want to see how much like God we are going to become, this is one of the real key passages. When you are really beginning to be like God, are you really like this?

   Here is the man that had the two sons. The younger said, "Give me the portion of goods," verse 12 (Luke 15:12). Not many days after, the younger gathered together, took his journey to a far country, wasted his substance with riotous living. He spent all, then a famine came, he began to be in want. He joined himself to a citizen to feed swine. So a lot of times he'd rather eaten what he had to feed to the swine.

   He finally came to himself and he said, "Well, look at all the hired servants my father has. I'm going to go to my father and I'm going to say to my father, 'Father, I sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.'"

   Now you know, that's really repenting attitude. I want you to notice though, when you get that attitude and you're thinking what you're going to say to God when you get down on your knees to God, God beats you to it. Look at the next verse. He arises, comes to his father, but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

   And the son said unto him, "Father, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight, and I'm no more worthy to be called your son."

   But the father said to his servants — you know, he didn't even say, "Yeah, you sure did. I'm glad to see you learned your lesson. You should have repented." You notice that? God knew this son had repented, so before he even got a word out of his mouth, the father ran to meet the son, had compassion, fell on his neck and kissed him. So there is a time to embrace, as we read back in Ecclesiastes. God is an emotional God. God is the God of feeling. This is God the Father in this parable. This is the way He deals with the sinner. He runs and falls on the sinner's neck and kisses him.

   And then the sinner says what he planned ahead to say, and the father didn't even acknowledge it, didn't even admit it, didn't say a thing about it. The father just said, "Bring forth the best robe, put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet." I want you to know what is rejoicing, what is celebrating, even with the Father. It wasn't something superhuman. The father says, "Get your best dudes on, get your ring on, your best shoes, bring here the best meal, and let's eat and be merry."

   Now that's, that's what God is doing when God is eating and being merry. Puts on His best clothes, puts on His rings, puts on His best shoes, uh, kills the fatted calf, and let's be merry.

   Now how are they merry? Well, "My son was dead, he is alive," they began to be merry. Well, how do you do that? Well, his elder son's in the field. He comes and draws nigh to the house. He heard music and dancing. You mean to tell me that's how they were merry too? You know, that's how we are when we are merry. You feel like singing, you feel like dancing, you're happy, you are enthused and excited. So here the prodigal son is in the house with the father and the guests, music and dancing. Well, of course he was jealous.

   But now I want you to realize that's the way God is when someone learns their lesson, when they come to themselves and come back to God.

   Now I want you to notice just a few scriptures on how much God really is aware of your situation. Psalm 56, this is one golden scripture to me. I know a lot of little widows and a lot of people scattered way out. They can't come to church regularly even yet. They go through all kinds of trials. I know there are a lot of people here alone without their husbands, a lot of people here without their wives, a lot of young people here without either their parents here too. You've had some rough times in the past year. I don't, I don't guarantee — God knows about that.

   Notice verse 8 of Psalm 56 (Psalm 56:8): "You tell my wanderings, put You my tears into Your bottle." Imagine that. You think you weep and cry and shed tears over difficulties and God doesn't even know about it, huh? No, you don't either. No, you don't. It's as if you had a little bitty test tube there, God is measuring out your tears. We don't ever cry but what God knows about it. Your children ever cry but what you know about it? I don't think my kids cry rearly but what I know about it. God measures your tears in His bottle.

   Not only that, look what else he says: "Are they not in Your book?" God writes them down in the book of remembrance. That's a real golden verse, you need to remember that one. God does measure your tears minutely and writes them in the book.

   Now what book? Well, Malachi chapter 3. It's hard to imagine even when you as brothers get together and you talk about God's kingdom and God's family and what you're going to be able to do as the Son of God, and God hears that. God writes that down. You can't get together and talk about God's kingdom and God's work and God's church and God's saints, but what God hears it. Where two or three are gathered together in His name, He's there.

   Notice verse 16 of Malachi 3 (Malachi 3:16-17): "Then they that feared the Eternal spake often to one another, and the Eternal hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Eternal and that thought upon His name." Oh yes, God hears when you speak often to one another in the fear of God and awareness of God's name and God's family and God's kingdom and your future.

   Notice verse 17: "And they shall be Mine, says the Eternal of hosts, in that day when I make up My special treasure," the margin shows "My jewels." You're like a jewel of God. You're the greatest value of anything in the world to God. The person who has been called, who has God's Spirit, this is your day of salvation. I mean, this is it with God. One place He calls you the apple of His eye. And here He says in the day He makes up His special treasure, He's going to remember you and you're going to be His, and He'll spare them as a man spares his own son that serves him.

   Now a couple of last pictures here. I want you to notice Psalm 116. We've had a lot of good friends that aren't here with us this year that have died this past year. Don't think God wasn't aware of that. He knew that a lot better than we did. Psalm 116:15: "Precious in the sight of the Eternal is the death of His saints."

   God doesn’t let somebody out off to themselves dies unknown. There's no way as one of God's saints you can just pass off the scene and nobody really knows about it. God knows. It's precious in God's sight. God looks down on you. "Precious in the sight of the Eternal is the death of His saints."

   Notice in Psalm 72. Psalm 72: "He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also and him that has no helper." Verse 13 (Psalm 72:13): "He shall spare the poor and needy and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their souls from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood be in His sight."

   No, you're not going to have your blood shed on the way to the feast but what God is aware of it. We've seen miracles work right here at the feast of people where God has been concerned about the violence, about their blood.

   So when you read these verses like this, I hope you can realize that God is a very moving, tenderhearted, very merciful, yes, very powerful. God gets angry, God has outgoing concern. God forgives. You know, God is an Eternal Spirit being with character and personality out there in the third heaven. He's not a blob of spirit, He's not a stone god. He's not a Pentecostal god. He's not an Adventist god. He's the God of the Bible. The God that breathes, the God that weeps, the God that laughs, the God that dances, the God of music, of excitement.

   You know, Romans 1 says the invisible things of God you can clearly see by the things that are made. Just stop and thumb through a book sometime of fish or birds or animals and imagine the way God must have been when He made those. The invisible things of God you can see by the things that are made.

   But above all else, don't forget how much God knows about you. Now, we haven't had time to turn to the scriptures about the very hairs of your head are all numbered. You know, not a hair falls but what God knows about it, and you're more value than many sparrows, Jesus said. But there's so many scriptures you can't even get them into a sermon on how much God cares about you.

   You know, you take the men in the fiery furnace. It says the smell of smoke didn't even get into their clothes. The fire didn't even singe their hairs. That's how God cares. When reading the scriptures that not one hair of your head falls but what God knows about it. There are many examples that show that.

   Mr. Dart was saying when the Israelites came out of the wilderness, their clothes didn't wax old on their back and their shoes didn't wear out on their feet either. That's how much God knows about us, and that's how much God cares about us.

   Well, I hope anyway that, uh, you've gotten a better picture of God today and that we'll wipe out our ideas about God we've had from the past and really get to know the God of the Bible so we can say that we see God with the seeing eye and with a real feeling, and not just the hearing of the ears.