God’s will is not up for discussion

The city of Brampton is situated in the Canadian province of Ontario. This is where Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider conducted a divine service on 18 August 2019. His sermon was based on Psalm 135: 6: “Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places.”

God does what He wants

This Bible text certainly does sound rather interesting at first, the Chief Apostle began his explanations. Actually, it is merely a description of the omnipotence of God. “We know that God is almighty. For Him there are no limits. He can do whatever He wants. Nothing is impossible for Him.” This also means that God is completely sovereign in His decisions, he added. “No one can tell Him what to do. No one can force Him to do anything—no person, no spirit, and no circumstance.” Nothing and no one can influence Him.

Ultimately, that also means that we cannot truly understand Him, the Chief Apostle said. “His will and His thoughts far surpass our understanding.” But perhaps we do not understand it and perhaps we do not want to agree with His will—but God does whatever He desires. “He wants us to accept His will. This is not up for discussion.”

He says what He will do and does what He says

However, that does not mean that God acts in an arbitrary or random way without any rules! “No, God is faithful. We can rely on Him. He is the truth. He is righteous. He is love. He says what He will do and does what He says.” Of course it would be interesting to know what pleases God. “What is the will of God? What does He want to do?” the Chief Apostle asked. That is very simple, he said. “God wants mankind to live in fellowship with Him for all eternity. That is why He created man.” Even the fall into sin did nothing to change the will of God. “He wants us to have fellowship with Him. He wants all human beings to be saved.”

It is up to us to say yes

There is only way that leads to salvation: that way is the belief in Jesus Christ. “There is no salvation in any other name except the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4: 12). That is the will of God, and there is nothing man can do but to accept it. This is not something that is up for discussion.” Whether people like it or not, there is only one way: Jesus Christ.

However, God has created man with a free will. He will not force us to be saved, the Chief Apostle said. “We have to decide: do we say yes to God’s will or no? He will always see to it—and this is an important point—that we are never forced to say no to Him either. No matter what the circumstances, He will always make sure that it is possible for us to say yes to Him, to answer His call and to follow Him.” Already Paul said that nothing can separate us from the love of God: no power, no authority, no circumstances. Simply nothing!

Allow God to save you

“God wants to have fellowship with us. He has decided to call us now. He will make sure that whatever happens it will be possible for us to say yes to Him.” In closing, the Chief Apostle made an urgent appeal to the congregation: “My salvation is dependent on my faith and on my willingness to follow Him and to have fellowship with Him. The point is: my salvation is dependent on me, and only me. My salvation depends on my faith.”