Page 12 - The Christian Life and the Church Life_Government of God

The Universal Government of God 11

you do not have to wait — you can tell the Lord, “I am willing. I want to learn
this. I want to learn to acknowledge Your government;” But if our heart is
hardened, if we are so strong in our opinionated self that we will not let go of
our concepts, ideas and plans, the Lord will be able to say to us, “I gave you
a splendid opportunity, but now I must carry out My will in all the churches
in the Philippines and no one and nothing can stop Me.” I have no idea what
that is; I am not here acting out the government myself. I am here humbled
under the Lord’s hand. I am not here to correct anything nor to judge anyone.
I am not aiming my words at any place or at any person. I am just releasing
the truth.

If We Are Oblivious, That Is, Totally Unaware of God’s Government,
Our Being Lawless in the Eyes of God

If we are oblivious, that is, totally unaware of God’s government, we
are lawless in the eyes of God. This is serious. The Lord uses that term in
Matthew 7. They did so many works, but they did not do the Father’s will. He
said, “Depart from Me, workers of lawlessness.” In 1 John 3:4, the Apostle
John defines sin as lawlessness. Suppose you were to fly to Los Angeles, then
rent a car, start driving in the freeway system in the Los Angeles area, and
then a police car pulls you over and he says, “You did this. You did that. You
crossed a line you should not. You made a wrong turn.” Then you say, “I just
arrived from the Philippines.” The officer would say, “Ignorance of the law is
no excuse.” We cannot hide and excuse ourselves because we are oblivious.
The stage of oblivion regarding this matter among us is over.
God’s Intention Being That We Would Respect His Government

God’s intention is that we would respect His government. This is close
to the previous point. We do not just “acknowledge” it. We may acknowledge
something because we have no choice, but we may not respect it. We need
to learn this.
The System of Grace Being Here to Perfect the System of Government

The system of grace is here to perfect the system of government. Because
of the sins against God’s government, the system of grace was formed; and
apart from grace, none of us could be saved. We were all saved by grace, but
we were saved by grace so that we may be recovered to the proper relationship