 wait. Okay, welcome back after the break. Just before going for the break, we were looking at some basic things to understand even as God reveals His will for our life. So we saw that God always will lead us and guide us in a way that is consistent with His nature and with His Word. But sometimes we look at the life of Peter. Okay, another example we can see is the life of Jesus. You know, Jesus healed on a Sabbath day and also his disciples plucked grain and ate it and the Pharisees and the Sadducees were very angry with God, with Jesus, sorry. And what does Jesus say? Matthew chapter 12 verse 1 to 8, we read that and Jesus explained that He is Lord even of the Sabbath. So you're saying that He is God and He is the Lord of the Sabbath. So He's trying to correct their understanding. The third thing we need to promise is a revelation of God's will. The reason God promised us something was because He will have it. Okay, this is His will and plan for our lives. He wants us to follow into it, flow into it, do it and that is what He has for us. The fourth thing is for us to know His will. Okay, God desires or wants us to know His will. Okay, and God is more than ready to do His will and His plan and purpose for our lives and He's also made it easy for us to know His will. Okay, so look at what the Word of God teaches us about God's will in Colossians chapter 1 verses 9 to 10. Can somebody read that please? Colossians 1, 9 and 10. For this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Amen. Thank you, Musi. So here we learn some, you know, three important insights from this passage, Colossians chapter 1 verses 9 and 10. First, Paul prays for all the believers to be, what does he pray? To be filled. Okay, what is the meaning of filled? Filled means full. Okay, not lacking anything, no more space, not short of anything, not lacking anything. And what does he want to, what does he want the church at Colossians to be filled with? Knowledge. What is the meaning of knowledge? Here it means the Greek means the precise, precise means exact. Okay, correct, deep and clear knowledge. Okay, so as believers, we can pray that we can have the full, complete, precise, deep and clear knowledge of His will. So you can pray, God, give me a complete, full, clear, precise, deep knowledge of your will. Okay, and He also prays, you know, that we would know His will personally for our lives. The second thing is that knowing His will comes through wisdom and spiritual understanding. So how do we know God's will only when we have wisdom and spiritual understanding? Okay, and who gives us wisdom and spiritual understanding? The Holy Spirit. Okay, the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and understanding. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9 and verse 16. It says, the Holy Spirit reveals things to us and makes known to us the mind of, okay, so the Holy Spirit is willing to make known or reveal the mind of Christ to us, but we must be willing to grow in all spiritual wisdom and, you know, God, I want to be filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. One more prayer point can be, you can say, God, I want to know the full, complete, the precise, the deep, the clear knowledge of your will. Okay, and the third thing we can learn from this passage in Colossians chapter 1 verses 9 and 10 is the result. What is the result of being filled with the knowledge of His will? What is the first thing? We will walk worthy of the Lord. That means we will live a life that honors the Lord. What is the second thing? We will live fully pleasing to Him. We will live a life that is only honorable pleasing in His sight. The third thing is we'll be fruitful in every work. That means we will bear much fruit in everything that He has called us to do, and the fourth one is we'll continue to increase in our knowledge, our spiritual understanding of God. But if you do not know His will, we will do things that dishonor Him and displeases Him and there will be no fruit and we will be stagnant. That means we will not move in our knowledge and in our understanding of God's will. Okay, let's look at what the word teaches us in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 8 to 10 and verse 70. Ephesians chapter 5 verses 8 to 10 and verse 70. For you were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth, finding out what acceptable to the Lord. Be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Amen. So what does this verse tell us? Who are we? Who are we? Children of light. Okay, as children of light we not only display the fruit of the Spirit through our lives, but we are also living our lives to finding out, okay, to finding out what is the acceptable will of God. What is acceptable to the Lord? Okay, now the word acceptable can be very, very misleading. You know, it is not something that is okay. Acceptable means chalta hai. You know, it's not chalta hai. It's not okay. It's not like, you know, okay, this is satisfactory, but the word acceptable really means the full agreeable and the well pleased and what is well pleasing to the Lord. So acceptable is not, okay, God will just accept it. I can just do it. He'll just accept me. It's okay. It's not that. It is something that is fully agreeable to God and that is fully well pleasing to the Lord. That is the meaning of the word acceptable. Okay. So as believers, we need to discover what is the fully agreeable and well pleasing will of the Lord. Okay. And we should not be unwise. Unwise means we should not be people who are foolish, who are stupid, you know, without any using our intelligence, not rash, not just being quick to do what we want to do, but we need to be wise. Okay. The word for the Greek word for understand here is, you know, putting together thinking through things. Okay. So you're saying, Hey, this is what God is telling me. This is his plan and will for my life. So if this is God's plan and will for my life, how do I make sure about it? I'm going to, you know, fast and pray. I'm going to look for, you know, God prompting me to the scripture. I'm going to wait on the Holy Spirit. Okay. Now I've got it. So you put things together. Now God wants me to do this. So what, how do I prepare myself? So God, how are you preparing? I'm going to prepare me. So this is what God, areas where God is preparing me. What are the steps I need to take? What I need to do? So you're putting things together in your mind. And that is who a wise person is or somebody who's understanding. Somebody who puts things together, you know, opposing ideas together, bring it together in our minds to understand and to receive what God is telling us, what God is teaching us, what God is instructing us, and what he is guiding us to do. Okay. Sometimes as believers, we are seeking God's guidance. You know, we are asking God's will for our life, but we don't use our common sense. We're just waiting for the supernatural. We're just asking for, we are just waiting that the Holy Spirit will come and show us the way. There'll be one angel coming and showing us the way, one angel holding the way, or we see one door opening, we'll walk it to be full light. Then we know that his God's will, I mean, God is not going to do everything that way. There are sometimes he wants us to use our common sense, our mind, okay, and we shouldn't throw away our common sense. Okay, sometimes when I go for ministry and people, most often when I pray for older people, they come especially in North India, when I go to North India and many older people come and ask me to pray. They have joint pains, you know, joint pains, knee pain and all of those things. So I ask them, before I pray, I ask them, do you eat a lot of aloo? Do you eat a lot of potato? They say yes. I say that is very, very common reason in this old age for you to have joint pains, right? You stop eating potatoes. So sometimes they don't want, how can this pastor or this person who's come to pray for me instead of praying for me is to ask him not to eat potatoes. Sometimes we need to use our teach our own common sense to lead people. Yes, we pray for them, we speak healing, but you know, if somebody comes with you with a problem, you know, you need to tell them, show them what is the wrong attitude, heart attitude, what they are not doing right. Sometimes we just need to use common sense, but where there is a warfare, we just pray and we bind and we release and we heal and restore. We do all of those things, but sometimes we also have to use our common sense. We don't throw away our mind, okay? The fifth thing is things that remain unknown. You know, look at what Deutronomy 29-29 says. Can somebody read that, please? The secret things belong to the Lord, our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us, to our children forever, that we may do all the words of Islam. Amen. God has, you know, God has told us that he will reveal his plan and purpose for our lives, but sometimes he will not reveal everything. There are some things that he will not reveal for us, but we need to just live at peace at the unknown, the unanswered and the unexplainable. Sometimes we don't know why it happened. Sometimes we don't have an explanation. Sometimes we don't have an answer. We just have to, you know, just live with a peace that God knows, God understands and, you know, know that you have this peace that is beyond understanding. Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 and 7. And what is the best thing to do when we don't understand, when we can't explain things, is just let go and release things into the hands of God, okay? So that is the five things that we need to do, some basic understanding for us to have, even as God reveals his will for our lives. Look at what Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasoning, which is your reasonable service, and do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may be proof what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Amen. Thank you, Lucy. So here the scripture passage, you know, people say that there are three different categories of God's will. God's will is good, pleasing and perfect. Is that true? Are there three categories of God's will? Yes or no? No, I didn't tell you that. Did I not teach you that when we were doing fulfilling God's, when we were studying fulfilling God's purpose for our life? I said God's will is not three different categories. It is not good, pleasing and perfect. It is all, his will is good, pleasing and perfect. There are no three categories. That means we can't say sometimes God's will is good, sometimes God's will is perfect, sometimes God's will is you know, good, perfect and acceptable will of God. We can't say that. Every time God's will for our lives is all three, good, pleasing and acceptable. So there's no three different categories, but some theologians, some people say that three different categories of God's will, good, pleasing and acceptable. No, God's will is always good, pleasing and acceptable, all three at all times. Just like if you take an apple and you say that apple is red, it has good flavor, good taste and good smell. Okay. All these three things, red color, good color, flavor, smell is all part of that apple. We are describing all these same things about the same apple. There is not three apples there. One is having flavor, one is having good color, one is having good smell. No, all the three things are contained in that one apple. That means God's will, everything is good, perfect and pleasing is the will of God. So there are no three different categories. Now, the second thing that we learned is this word acceptable does not mean the permissive or the permittable word will of God. Sometimes people say that God's will is permissive or it is permittable. I'll give you some example. For example, God permitted or it, you know, God, the permissive will of God was for Adam and Eve to sin. Okay. That means they say it is God's acceptable will. Was it God's acceptable will? No, it was not God's acceptable will. It was not God's will for their life to eat from that tree and God warned them. Okay. But people say God permitted it. Why did God permitted it? He did not permit it. He just allowed them to go and do what they chose. God gave us the free will to choose. Okay. So there is no such thing as acceptable will or permissive will. Okay. But God gives us the freedom to choose. Another example they say is, you know, Israel wanted a king just like that, neighbors. But it was God willing to give them a king? No. What does he tell Samuel? No, if they have a king, the king will rule over them, make them slaves, make them subjects. But the people wanted the king. And what did God do? He let them have their own choice. Okay. So it's not that God just was acceptable to God. It was the permissive will of God. No, he just gave them up to their own will and to their own choice. So God can warn you to do things and not to do things. But if you don't heed, if you don't obey, if you don't submit, God will allow you to do your own free will and your choice because he has given us, he's created us as moral beings with a free will to choose. He does not treat us like puppets. Okay. Another thing is in the Hebrew people wanted meat in the wilderness. They were craving for meat to eat meat. What did God do? Some people say it was acceptable will of God, the permissive will of God. No, it was just that God, you know, kept them to choose whatever they want. You want meat, take, eat it. Okay. So it was their own choice. So we can't say that, you know, acceptable does not mean the permissive or the permittable will of God, but it means acceptable means the full agreeable and the full pleasing will of God. Just like the same word acceptable is used in Romans chapter 12 verse one where it says our bodies are the temple of the living God. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Okay. So here the word acceptable means offer your bodies as a fully agreeable and fully pleasing sacrifice to God. Okay. So God's will is fully agreeable, fully pleasing, and it's a good perfect will of God. The third thing is, you know, we cannot say that there are three categories of God's will because Paul does not mention this anywhere and say that God's will is having three categories. No, so we can't say that there are three categories of God's will. God's will is always, you know, well pleasing and perfect will of God, the good pleasing and the good acceptable and pleasing will of God. Okay. The fourth thing is we see even in Jesus's ministry, you know, we find that Jesus does not teach us about different categories of God's will. When people came to pray or came to Jesus for healing, you know, what does Jesus do? Does he pray anytime and say, Father, if this is your will be this person? Anytime? No. What does he do when somebody comes for healing? He just gives them the healing. Why? Because he knows that this is God's will for their life. This is God's good, pleasing and acceptable will for their life that they should be saved. So he does not ask, Father, if this is your will, please heal the person. If not, give them the grace to live with it. No, he just healed the multitude. He healed everyone who came to him. Okay. So sometimes when people say this is a permissive will of God, it means actually it is not God's will. Okay. So we shouldn't get into the danger of or the notion of a permissive permissive will of God. That's a casual approach to take and there is nothing like that. If you are saying this is a permissive will of God, you're actually saying you are saying this is not God's will for my life or you are not in the center of God's will for your life. Okay. Now, even as God wants to reveal his plan and purpose for our lives, you know, there is some responsibility that we need to take. We need to seek God's will. We have to listen to him and we need to obey him. Okay. Seek means what? We earnestly desire and ask God to direct us. We earnestly desire to know his will so that we can walk in a way that's honoring and pleasing him. Okay. Look at what Jeremiah chapter 33 verse 3 says. Can somebody read that please? Call to me and I will answer you and show your great and mighty things which you do not know. Yeah. And so it says, you know, when we seek God, we will find him. It says come to me and I will answer you. To read Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 13. It says, you will seek me and find me when you search me with all your heart. So we need to seek God wholeheartedly and when we seek God wholeheartedly, we will find him. Okay. When we earnestly inquire of God, desire to know his will and direction for our lives, we will come to an understanding and we will receive his guidance in our life. Okay. When we seek God's will for our life, we will also receive it. Very famous verse Matthew chapter 7 verse 7. Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds and to him who knocks the door shall be open. So when we ask, we will surely receive guidance. When we knock, God will open for us the right doors and you know, when we seek him, we will find him. Okay. So some things we need to keep in mind even as we're seeking God, the first thing is seeking his guidance during the normal course of things. That means don't go to God only when you want to make bigger decisions in your life. Even in the small decisions of your life, you need to ask God. Maybe you're working in an office or you have a project to do or God has given you, you know, your boss calls you and say, Hey, I want you to do this. I want you to finish in this time. And you're, you know, your thoughts are running mad, you're anxious, you're worried. How am I going to do it? I've not done this before. You come to your table and you say, I don't know why my boss always gives me the hard things to do or, you know, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm faced with this problem. I'm faced with that difficulty or your housewife, you know, your, your husband is having a problem, your children are having a problem at school, how to teach them, how to train them, how to correct them. You know, you're totally confused. You're going through some problem and difficulty can be small, big, everyday affairs. Just go to God, you know, receive his counsel and his guidance. Just close your eyes and say, God, I don't know how to do this. I don't have the wisdom. Please give me the wisdom and the understanding. Maybe you've lost something. Maybe you somebody said something. You have to make a decision. You have to say something. You have to do something about your bike, your car, your house. You don't know what to do. Just pray and ask God for guidance. Also seek guidance during the special times of your life and you have to make bigger decisions. Those times maybe you have to spend extra time fasting and praying, extra time reading God's word, just being alone with God and coming to a position where you will receive from God. Remember, we talked about positioning ourselves, positioning ourselves to receive from God. So position yourself to receive from God. And sometimes it can take many more days, longer days for us to just wait and, you know, to see what God's desire and plan and will for our lives. Okay. And at those times, we just have to fast and also pray. The third thing is guidance during unexpected God moments. There are sometimes in our life, you know, when unexpectedly God will just, you know, we're just going to worshiping God and unexpectedly there will be an answer or we are just traveling. We see something. You know, we get an answer. We're watching the sunset sunrise. We're just standing there in our balcony looking at the tree. The answers will come. We're listening to a man of God. We're listening to somebody else's problem and the answer will come or we're reading God's word and the answer will come. So we will receive breakthroughs in unexpected moments and God can speak to us and counsel us at those times as well. Okay. So the first thing that we need to do is seek God. The second thing we need to do is listen to God. Sometimes what we're doing is we're just asking God and then we are so busy thinking of how to work things. Say, okay, let me go and ask this person. Let me go and ask this person. Let me call up this person. Let me see if I have it here. Let me do this. Let me do that. But just listen to what God is asking you to do. Okay. Let's read John chapter 10 verses one to five and verse 27, please. John 10, one, two, five and twenty seven. Most certainly I say to you, he who does not enter the ship fold by the door but climbs up some other way. The same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the ship. To him the doorkeeper opens and the ship hears his voice and he calls his own ship by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own ship, he goes before them and the ship follow him for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger but will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers. My ship hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. Amen. So see what Jesus shares what the sheep do in relationship with the shepherd. What does the sheep do? The sheep hear the voice of the shepherd. Immediately when they hear the voice of the shepherd, they just follow in that direction. Okay. So the sheep follow him for they know his voice but they don't know the voice of a stranger. They don't recognize the voice of a stranger but they recognize the shepherd's voice. In the same way, we are sheep and God is our shepherd. We need to identify the shepherd's voice. How do we do that? We put aside every voice of this world and we just listen to the shepherd's voice and we know that this is the shepherd's voice and what is he telling us to do. Okay. So when a sheep follow the shepherd, you know, because they know they recognize his voice. So also we need to recognize God's voice, know what he's speaking and be at the right place doing the right thing what God has called us to do. So don't entertain the wrong voices, the voice of strangers, the voice of the world, the voice of Satan, the voice of your own flesh, but just listen to what the shepherd is telling you to do. Okay. Psalms chapter 23 verse 34. Psalms 23, 3 and 4. He stores my soul, leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. Yeah. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. So the shepherd's rod and the staff is not only for defense, that means fighting against wild animals. It's also to guide the sheep. Have you seen the shepherd using the stick to just tap the sheep so that they're moving in the right way? Okay. So sometimes the shepherd would lead the sheep from the front, calling out with his voice, and the sheep will just follow. Okay. So those are times when the shepherd is taking an unknown path, he will lead from the front. When the shepherd is leading the sheep in a known path, the sheep knows, hey, this is the way we are going always. So he'll lead from the back and he will just use his voice and he will use his rod to, you know, to just keep them in the right way and guide them along the path. Okay. So the shepherd's rod and staff is not just for defense, but also to guide and to keep the sheep together. Okay. The same way God is our shepherd. He guides us and we need to listen and follow him. Okay. Okay. So Sanjay says, is it called a Rema word? Yes. The unexpected God moments can be a Rema word. Yes. Okay. The last thing that we need to do is obey God. So when God instructs us, teaches us and guides us, we need to obey him. You know, if you don't obey him, there is no point in him revealing his will for us because we are going to be following our own flesh and that is going to lead us into destruction. Okay. So when we obey our flesh, there's going to be pain, there is going to be brokenness, there's going to be difficulty, but when we are listening to God, obeying him, there's going to be peace and all is going to be. Okay. So this is chapter one about how God leads us and guides us that, you know, we look from scripture. We also saw some of the basic things we need to understand, even as God reveals his will for us and we saw what we need to do, you know, when God reveals his will for our lives, we need to seek, we need to listen and we need to obey. Okay. Any questions? Chapter one. Okay. If not, we'll move on to chapter two. Very interesting. We will study the life of David. Okay. And how he inquired of God. David in the Old Testament was a man who loved God very, very deeply. He sought to follow God throughout his life. What does God tell about David? He's a man after my own heart who will do all, who will do all my will. Okay. Now we see that in Acts chapter 13, verse 36, can somebody read that please? Paul was preaching and this is what he said about David in Acts chapter 13, verse 36. For David, after he had served his own generation, by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers and saw corruption. Now here, what does it say? David served God out. How did David serve God by doing his own will? No, God's will. Yes. Thank you, sir. Get through. He did the will of God. Okay. So he and he was able to fulfill God's purpose, God's assignment for his life. Now, what is the secret of David's life? How did David fulfill God's will for his life? Like we read here in scripture that Paul is preaching and saying, David did the will of God. So what is the secret of David's life in fulfilling God's will for his life? And the secret or the key is that David always inquired of the Lord. That means he always sought God. He was seeking after God. He asked God. Every moment of his life, he was seeking God. Okay. Can I just finish the Sister Lucy and then maybe I'll just explain that to you. Is that okay? Because I've just started this, I'll explain that to you. Okay. So how did David fulfill his will? He asked God at every point of his life. Okay. We know that David was, if you read 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 18, it says that David was very skillful. He was courageous. He was prudent. You know, we studied about a prudent man. Who's a prudent man? Wise, cautious, plans for the future, foresees, he has foresight. Okay. He's a prudent man. He's also good looking. Okay. So we see that when Prophet Samuel anointed him as king, after that, you know, we see that David also defeats Goliath. And what do we read about, you know, David? It says in 1 Samuel chapter 18 verse 5, 7, 12, 14 to 16 and 30, that David behaved wisely. He was highly favored and regarded by the people and the Lord was with him. Why was David highly favored? Why was he regarded? Why was the Lord with him? Why do people say that he behaved wisely was because he always asked God what to do and he did what God asked him to do. So he followed the three things that we learned. The first thing is what do we need to do when we receive God's will to receive God's will? What are the three things we need to do? Seek God. Thank you sister get to seek God. Second thing, listen to what God is saying. Third thing is obey God. Okay. So these three things we need to do. So we see that David, why did people feel that he behaved wisely was highly favored and was regarded by the people because he always sought God. He sought his will, asked God what to do. He listened to what God said. He just obeyed that. Okay. So we'll see different instances in David's life where he does this. Okay. The first thing is in first Samuel chapter 23 versus one to five. Can somebody read that for us please? First Samuel 23, one to five. Then they told David saying, look the Philistines are fighting against Kayla and they are roping the pressing floors. Therefore, David inquired of the Lord saying, shall I go and attack these Philistines? And the Lord said to David, go and attack the Philistines and save Kayla. But David's men said to him, look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more than if we go to Kayla against the armies of the Philistines? Then David inquired of the Lord once again. And the Lord answered him and said, arise, go down to Kayla for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand. And David and his men went to Kayla and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Kayla. So here we see that the inhabitants of Kayla where, you know, the Philistines are fighting against them. And David, what does he do? He asked God what he needs to do. He doesn't say, I have 400 strong men, 600 strong men, I can go and fight them and defeat them. He did not depend on his strength, but he inquired of God and God tells him, go and fight against the Philistines. But David's men were not assured. They were not confident. They were too scared. So David again inquires of the Lord and God says, go and fight. So when he tells his men, hey, this is what God is saying, let's go and fight. And they win the war. Then they have this confidence. They have this confidence in their leader that, hey, our leader is someone who's inquiring of God, he's doing just what God tells him. And when God tells him that we are going to have victory, we are going to have victory. We are going to have success. So it's, it's just, you know, helping the people are following David, just motivating them to know that their leader is somebody who's inquiring of God. So also maybe you know, you are the head of the house as a husband, as the father, maybe you're running your own business, maybe you're running your own team in the workplace, whatever, you know, and you have a project that is at hand. And you're saying, God, I received this project, should I take it? And the Lord says, take it, you know, I'll help you. So you're very excited. You go and present it to your team, or you tell your family members, and your family members are not confident. Your team is not confident. They say, this is too hard, this one, that one, they bring out everything. And then you go back to God and say, God, this is what my family is saying. This is what my team is saying at my workplace. What do I do? God says, don't worry, just go ahead. I will bless you. So you come back, you have the assurance, you give the strategies, you get everyone, you motivate them, encourage them, and everything goes well. Then your team knows, or your family knows, hey, this person is hearing from God. This person is telling us what God is telling them to do. So they have confidence in you. And that is what happened in the life of David. Let's look at another example in 1 Samuel chapter 30, verses one to eight. Now it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day that the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire and had taken captive the women and those who were there from small to great. They did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. So David and his men came to the city and there it was burned with fire and their wives, their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives, Ahianom and Zesreelites and Abigael, the widow of Snabel, the Carmelite had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed for the people spoke of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved. Every man for his sons and his daughters, but David strengthened himself in the Lord is God. Then David stepped to Abiathar, the priest, Ahimalek's son. Please bring the effort here to me and Abiathar brought the effort to David. So David inquired of the Lord saying, shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, pursue for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all. This is the word of God. Thank you Lucy. So here we see that David and his men, 600 of them, they were busy away from their families and where they were living, you know, they were away and the enemy attacked them and took away all of David's wives, children, everything that belonged to him and all his 600 men, their wives, their children, everything and they just left that place empty and, you know, there's no one there. So when David and his 600 men come back, they find, you know, their wives, their children, everything that belonged to them is gone. And what happens? The men, David's 600 men, they were just heartbroken. What did they do? They just wept very, very bitterly, they moaned bitterly, they wept bitterly and also they were very, very angry with David, okay? So imagine this, not only had David to deal with his own loss, he lost his own children, his own wives, but here also his own men were blaming him and they were also angry with him and what does David do? He was also so broken, so much in pain, but what does he do? He goes into the presence of God and he finds strength in God, okay? So the scripture tells us David strengthened himself in God, he would have cried out to God, he would have moaned, he would have shed his tears, he prayed to God, you know, he would have loved God more and more, but we see that he just drew strength from God and after he was strengthened in his spirit man, what does he do? He inquires of God, he says, God, what do I do in this situation? What do you want me to do? And God gives David his guidance and direction, tells him, pursue the enemy, surely I will give you the enemy, not only the enemy, everything that the enemy has taken away, I will give it back to you, okay? And so it happened just like God had said and I'm sure when they when they got back everything, David 600 men would have been strengthened, there have been more confident in their leader and in the God who is leading them, okay? So what do we learn from this? We learn that sometimes when we go through setbacks in life, we come to a point where we will lose everything, we will lose our loved ones, we lose our health, we lose our, you know, whatever we have invested in the, in business, whatever we come to a place where there is close those, we are pushed to the corners, like we have pinned to the wall and you know, we are just being battled by the storms of our life. What do we do at those times? We don't just give up on God, we just won't curse God like Job did not do, but we must strengthen ourselves in the Lord, our God, strengthen yourself. That means just pray to God, worship Him, love Him more, just cry out to God and strengthen, ask God for what direction and leading you need to take and how you need to handle this situation and what action you need to take, okay? So when David did that, was not only strengthened, of course his 600 men had no hope in him, they were angry with him, okay? Maybe even ready to kill him, but once David was strengthened, he heard from God who was able to lead his 600 men and they were able to recover everything, okay? So that is what we need to do, okay? We'll just stop here because Lucy has a question, she wants me to review again the word acceptable. Now the word acceptable, some people say that acceptable will of God means the okay will of God. God permits us to do anything and everything. He permits us to tell a lie, He permits us to cheat, He permits us to marry a non-Christian, He permits us to give bride. So He permits us to do what we want because if you look at scripture, we see that God permitted Adam and Eve to eat from that tree. If God did not, you know, if it was not God's permissible will, acceptable will, why did He allow them? You should have stopped them. He's God, He's so powerful, right? And also people say that, you know, the, you know, about Israelites wanting a king. God did not want a king, but why did God give them a king, even when He did not want them? So there is something called the permissive will of God, or the acceptable will of God. Now there is, this word acceptable does not mean the permissive will of God, or it does not mean the permittable will. That means God permits us to do anything and everything, okay? Does not mean that. Acceptable means what is fully pleasing and what is fully agreeable to God. What is fully pleasing to God and what is fully agreeable to God. So that is the meaning of acceptable will of God. Now, how do we then, you know, interpret these issues where we read, God allowed them to do it, God allowed them, gave them up, you know, it's because God gives us up to our own choices. It's because when God gives us up to our own choices, it does not mean that God is permitting us, or it is a permissive will of God. No, it is when God is allowing us to do what we want, that means he's saying, hey, this is your choice, this is your will, you do that. Like, God allowed Pharaoh to be stubborn, hard hearted, you know, God allowed the people of Israel to do what they wanted to do. Want to worship idols? Go on worship. You're going to be punished, see? So that does not mean there is the acceptable will of God, does not mean the permissible or the permissible will of God. There is nothing like that, okay? It is just that God leaves us to our own to do what we want to do. But acceptable means what is well pleasing and fully agreeable to God. So when we know that, hey, this is God's will for my life, is it well pleasing to God? Is it fully agreeable with what is inconsistent with his nature, inconsistent with his word, and if it is consistent with his nature, with his word, that means it is full pleasing, it's fully agreeable to God, and I go and do that, okay? So that is the meaning of the acceptable will of God. And there is no such thing as the permissive will of God. Permissive will of God means it is not God's will. That is what's the meaning of permissive will. That means it's not God's will, but you're still going ahead and doing it. Did you understand, Lucy? Okay, thank you. Any other questions on these two chapters? We haven't finished chapter two, but we can learn from David's life, you know, David inquired of God. So even when in small things, you inquire God, even in the big things of life, you inquire from God. Any questions? We will look at a few more instances in David's life, just three more instances, how David inquired from the Lord and we can learn more, okay? Any questions? All these, well, we were always like, sorry, Lucy, I didn't understand. All these, we were always like, ask and receive Christians. What do you mean? Are you saying that we need to keep on asking and receiving? No, sister, all these days, we were like, ask and receive, like leading a nominal Christian life, no, now we are studying all of these, means how do we start off with implementing step by step? Okay, okay, thank you. Yes. So how do we discern? How do we understand? How do we ask what is in agreeable will of God, what is well pleasing and fully acceptable to God? Yes, we're learning that and then we have a better understanding, a better knowledge, and we are receiving spiritual wisdom and knowledge and understanding that helps us know better and receive better from God. Yes, thank you. Thank you all for attending this class, have a good weekend, restful, refreshing weekend, enjoy your weekend and see you next week. Thank you. Thank you, Sonia.