- [Narrator] If you want God's best
the most important requirement is to want God's best.
Can you see that?
If you want God's best,
the first thing you have to do
is decide in your heart
that you do want God's best.
This is the basic key decision
you have to want God's best
and you have to decide
that you are content with nothing less than God's best.
God will not force this choice on us.
It rests with us to make this decision.
I would like to explain this principle
from the story of the twin brothers, Jacob, and Esau.
I will bring out of their story
what I see to be the key principle.
There are some very striking statements of God in Bible
concerning Jacob and Esau.
For instance, in Malachi 1:2 through three,
the Lord communicated to the Israelites
who are the descendants of Jacob and said this,
"I have loved you," says the Lord,
"But you say how hast thou loved us,
"is not Esau Jacob's brother," says the Lord.
"But I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.
"I have laid waste his hill country
"and left his heritage to jackals of the desert."
Malachi 1:2 through three.
Take note of that.
They were twin brothers,
but God said that he loved Jacob and hated Esau.
God's attitude towards one brother
was in complete contrast to his attitude
towards the other brother.
He loved one and hated the other.
This is further mentioned by the apostle Paul
in the book of Romans,
where he says this about three twin brothers.
And not only so,
but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man,
our forefather, Isaac.
Though they were not yet born and had done nothing,
either good or bad,
in order that God's purpose of election might continue.
Not because of works, but because of his call.
She was told the elder will serve the younger.
As it is written, Jacob, I loved, but Esau I hated.
Romans 9:10 through 13.
Jacob and Esau were born of the same mother
and the same father.
They were not only brothers, but also twins.
Despite this, Jacob was preferred to Esau
before they were even born.
Even though they were twins.
This passage from Romans
raises two very important questions.
First, what did God see in Jacob that he approved?
And secondly, what did God see in Esau
that he disapproved of?
In short, why did God love Jacob but hate Esau?
Let me briefly sketch their characters
as they unfold in the Bible, starting with Esau.
Esau was a good guy, a nice person.
He was strong, active, mainly a hunter.
He didn't do anything to anyone.
He was his father's favorite.
Let us have a look at Jacob.
He was cunning, determined, unscrupulous.
He never got the worst of a bargain.
This is a quality that no one really likes.
He obtained the birthright from Esau for a plate of soup.
When his brother was starving,
he convinced him to sell that priceless birthright
for nothing more than a dish of soup.
If ever there was a bargain, you found it.
He deceived his father to obtain the blessing.
And he acquired a fortune at cost of Laban,
who was both his uncle and his father-in-law.
By no means, would anyone think of Jacob
as a good guy or a nice guy.
By today's standards, most people would prefer Esau.
Why did God favor Jacob?
I would like to give you a fundamental reason
which I believe is the key to everything.
Jacob appreciated what God had to give,
but Esau was indifferent.
And Hebrews 12:15 through 17,
we get a written assessments
of what God thinks of indifference.
His views on indifference are very dissimilar
from those of most Christians.
The author of the Hebrew scriptures
comments on Esau's behavior as follows,
see to it that no one failed to obtain the grace of God,
that no root of bitterness spring up and cause trouble.
And by it, the many become defiled that no one be immoral
or irreligious like Esau
who sold his birthright for a single meal.
For you know the afterward,
when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected
for he found no chance to repent,
though he sought it with tears.
Hebrews 12:15 through 17.
Pay attention to the way Esau is described.
He is described as godless
and he is put on the same level with the sexually immoral.
He is also described as godless
because he sold his inheritance rights
for a single meal, a bowl of soup.
As we are told in Genesis 25:34,
Esau despised his birthright.
You must recognize that by God's standards,
apathy concerning what God has to offer is godless.
And God hates it.
Let us consider the other side,
Jacob's attitude to what God had to offer.
I would like to mention just one key case.
Jacob was on his way back to his own land
when he met a man at night
who was also an angel or a messenger from God.
As you will recall, he wrestled with this man all night.
This is the characteristic of Jacob
because he was a wrestler.
He always fought to be at the top.
You can think of this as what we would call the underdog.
God wants us to be hungry for him.
And just like David, thirst for him.
And Jacob was left alone
and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob,
he touched the hollow of his thigh.
And Jacob's thigh was put out of joint
as he wrestled with him.
Then he said,
"Let me go for the day is breaking."
But Jacob said,
"I will not let you go unless you bless me."
And he said to him,
"What is your name?"
And he said, "Jacob."
Then he said,
"Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel,
for you have striven with God and with men
and you have prevailed.
Genesis 32:24 through 28.
The meaning of Israel as here interpreted
is struggling with God.
How typical, Jacob was a struggler, a wrestler.
However, he had one key principle,
he wanted God's best.
He said this to angel,
"I will not let you go unless you bless me," verse 26.
I think that was the key to God's favor toward Jacob.
God did not condone the flaws in Jacob's character.
God never does condone character flaws,
but because Jacob was not content
with anything less than God's best,
God was gradually able to deal with him
and make him the man he wanted to be.
The condition and starting point
was that Jacob would not be satisfied
with anything less than the best of God.
I want to ask you, will you make the same decision
that you will not settle for anything less
than God's best this year.
The sentence immediately presents you with an option.
Do you want the best of God or do you not?
Our personal relationship with God is never one sided
or a one-way street.
There are always two sides.
There are always two directions.
On the one hand, there is what God makes available to us.
On the other, there is how we react
to what God makes available to us.
What kind of life we actually experience
is determined by the interplay of what God gives us
and how we react to it.
This is very clearly illustrated
by the parable of the sower.
Matthew 13:18 through 23.
This parable was about a man
who went forth to sow seed in a field.
The seeds fell on four different soil types.
At first, some seed fell off the beaten track
and because the soil was hard
and was knocked down by the feet of the passerbys,
the seed did not even get into the ground.
As a result, birds of the air ate the seed
and it produced nothing.
Secondly, some of the seed fell on rocky ground.
The seed went down a bit until its roots hit rocks,
and it began to grow too fast without root depth.
When the sun became hot, the plants withered away
and the seed also produced nothing.
Third, some of the seed fell onto thorny ground.
The thorns grew up with the plants
and eventually choked them.
The plants did not get enough air and nourishment.
And so the seed too
brought forth no permanent good.
I do not want to deal with the first three types of soil.
I would like to concentrate on what I consider
the culmination of this parable.
The goal towards which Jesus is working,
which is good ground.
I trust that you, my subscribers
are people whose hearts are in good soil.
This is what Jesus says about good soil
and the seed that has fallen on it.
As for what was sown on good soil,
this is he who hears the word and understands it.
He indeed bears fruit and yields.
In one case, a hundredfold,
and in another case 60,
and in another 30, Matthew 13:23.
Remember that a man who produces a harvest
has two key factors.
First, he hears the word
and second, he understands it.
This is true for anyone who symbolizes good soil.
However, even though all the people who represent good soil
bring forth the crop,
there is a very important difference
in the level of yield they produce.
Some produce a 100 times, some 60 times,
and some only 30 times what was sown.
In other words, of every seed sown
a few produce a 100 seeds,
others produce 60 seeds and still others produce 30.
It is interesting to observe
that the hundredfold yield
is more than the sum of the sixtyfold
and the thirtyfold yields put together.
This principle is found throughout the word of God.
I want to focus on the hundredfold yield,
which is representative of the people
who want and achieve the best of God.
And another version of the same parable found in Luke.
Jesus makes the following statements about the good soil.
And as for that and the good soil,
they are those who hearing the word,
hold it fast in an honest and good heart
and bring forth fruit with patience, Luke 8:15.
There are two vital factors in this description,
both of which are related to our theme
of the desire for the best of God.
First, here is the kind of heart
which is described as noble and good.
As an alternative translation for noble is honest.
The first condition is therefor honesty,
which includes openness and sincerity.
Honesty means not covering up anything
or applying double standards.
That is the first essential.
Second, there is a threefold response
from these honest people.
They hear the word, they retain it,
and by persevering, they produce a crop.
Those three actions are extremely important.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus I praise you for the gift of another day.
I was able to open my eyes and I felt my heart beating
for your mercy is still firm.
Lord, help me to forgive those
who will sin against me today.
Teach me to be strong in you
and to orient my ways according to yours
and not to myself, be diverted from it.
Lead me through temptation.
Do not let me fall into temptation.
Lord, it is your will that we bear fruit.
I desire to bear so much fruit
that the world will see it in me.
And that your name will be glorified.
Help me to achieve this,
because the world awaits our manifestation.
I will bear fruit that manifests me
only for your glory, Amen.