Majority 'Believers' Still Astray, Your God Is Who Occupies Your Mind

(0:02) We praise God and we bear witness that no God except He. The title of this (0:09) khutba is, who is your God? And I bet you anything quite a few of you will be (0:18) shocked, because the natural answer, the immediate answer is, what do you mean who (0:25) is my God? God is my God, the one who created me. But the Quran is full of (0:34) verses that tell us that millions of people would say that their God is God. (0:44) You're familiar with the verses that say, if you ask them who created the heavens (0:49) and the earth, they will say God, but they're going to hell. The verses that say, if you (0:57) ask them who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and the Lord with the (1:02) great dominion and the great throne, they will answer God, but they're going to (1:09) hell. You ask them who created you, they will say God. So these are millions of (1:15) people who recognize God as the one who created the heavens and the earth, the one (1:21) who created them, the one with the great authority, the Lord of the heavens and (1:27) the earth, but they're still going to hell. Now I know this is your answer, who is (1:33) your God? I'm going to say God is the one God who created me. But we have this (1:40) khutbah to examine this question, and for you to examine your answer. We know that (1:50) your happiness in this world and forever depends on knowing who your God is and (1:59) worshipping God. God guarantees you perfect happiness in this world and (2:05) forever, and this is repeated in the Quran 23 times. Perfect health, perfect (2:14) wealth, perfect peace of mind, guaranteed. God is the one who runs the universe and (2:20) is guaranteeing this for you. No problems whatsoever. Read my lips like Bush says. (2:25) No problems whatsoever if you are worshipping God alone, worshipping your God. (2:36) And you and I are going to detect flaws in us as we examine this question, who is (2:47) your God? It turns out, I'm going to give you the answer first then we will discuss the (2:59) specifics. It turns out that whatever is reoccupying your mind the majority of (3:06) the day, that is your God. Whatever you are thinking of in your mind, this is (3:13) your God. And the Quran explains this very clearly in specific terms. If you (3:21) are preoccupied with yourself, what you look like, your shave, your makeup, your (3:27) dresses, your hair. If you are preoccupied with yourself, what the people think of (3:32) you, he is a nice guy, she's a nice lady. If this is your concern the majority of (3:39) the day, then you are your God, you are worshipping your ego. And we see this in (3:43) surah 25 verse 43. 25 43 says, have you noted the one whose God is himself, or his (3:54) desires, or his wishes, or literally his self, quote-unquote. Now the answer that (4:05) whatever is preoccupying your mind most of the day is your God, is backed up by (4:12) many many verses in the Quran. If you are preoccupied with your job most of the (4:18) day, that is your God, not God who created you. You can say that the one who (4:24) created the heavens and the earth is God, but your God is your job. If your spouse (4:32) is preoccupying you more than God, then that is your God, your wife or your (4:41) husband. If your property, or the dollar, the mighty dollar is preoccupying you, that is (4:55) your God. Now let us look at the Quran and see what backs up this idea. In surah 33 (5:02) verse 41, it says all you who believe, commemorate God, or remember God, or (5:09) mention God, a lot. Okay? Now the prayer is mentioned five times, the fasting is (5:14) one month in the year, the zakat is two and a half percent of your income, and so (5:19) on, everything is limited. But when it comes to commemorating God, or mentioning (5:24) God, or thinking of God, there is no limit, it says kathiran, a lot. And the (5:28) following verse says, and glorify him day and night. Remember God, or (5:35) mention God, or think of God, a lot. Glorify him day and night. And I will (5:42) discuss with you how to do this. We see in surah 3 verse 191 a description of the (5:48) believers who are going to heaven. God says they are the ones who think of (5:54) God, or mention God, or commemorate God, standing, or sitting, or on their side. So (6:01) this covers all your positions, standing up, sitting down, or laying down, you think (6:06) of God. We see in surah 2 verse 200 that you should think of God, or mention God, (6:16) or commemorate God, just as you mention, or commemorate, or think of your parents, (6:21) your own parents, even more. So you can see even more is an addition. In surah 2 (6:30) verse 165 the believers are described as loving God the most. Do you see the (6:38) comparison? You can love your spouse, you can love your children, you can love your (6:42) job even, as long as God is in your mind the majority of the time. Then that is (6:50) whoever you're thinking of the majority of the time is your God. In 64 14 there's (7:00) a statement that says your spouses and your children can be your enemies. How (7:07) could that be? By becoming preoccupied with them. Ironically if you want a good (7:15) spouse and good children you should give your attention to God, not to them. (7:20) Because God is with your kids as they ride the bicycle in the street, not you. (7:25) So if you are with God, God will be with your kids and with your spouse. God (7:30) controls your spouse's mind and heart, and you can guarantee a good spouse if you (7:36) are good with God. Look at this in surah 63 verse 9 God is talking to the (7:44) believers, says all you who believe, do not be distracted by your money and your (7:48) children from commemorating God, or mentioning God, or remembering God. The (7:53) word is dhikrullah in Arabic. Do not be distracted by your money and your (8:01) children from commemorating or mentioning or remembering God. And this is (8:07) directed to the believers. In 64 15 we are told that your children and your (8:13) spouses are a test, because you become attached to them. So one of the common (8:28) gods is yourself, being preoccupied with yourself. Another common God is your job, (8:37) your property, the dollar, and we see this in surah 18. Let me back up a little bit (8:43) about worshipping yourself or yourself being your God. In surah 18 verse 28 we (8:51) say there is a commandment to the believers, do not obey those whose hearts (8:59) are diverted from commemorating and mentioning God. Again the same word (9:05) dhikrullah, throughout these verses the dhikrullah, otherwise I will tell you (9:10) if it is different. It says do not obey, do not follow, do not go with, do not mix with (9:19) those whose hearts are diverted from commemorating God, or mentioning God. (9:27) Because they will drag you with them into thinking about something else. You (9:34) can already see that God is not your God seven days a week, maybe one day a week, (9:41) maybe two or three days a week, maybe zero, I don't know, you're the judge. But this (9:47) is the definition. You just divide the day into 100 units, instead of 24 hours, (9:54) 100 units, and see how many of these units you are thinking of God. Is it more (10:00) than 50%? You judge. This comes as a shock to many of us, but it is also a great (10:11) blessing, because God wills that we know, because you can fix it right now. If (10:18) there is a problem, if I discover that God is my God one day a week, I (10:23) can fix it right now, and I can pledge that God will be my God every day of the (10:29) week. The answer to this question may answer your common question, why am I (10:37) having problems? Also, it will be a good indicator for you, when you have a (10:50) problem, why am I having a problem? If you dig deep, you find that you (10:55) didn't think of God the majority of the day. And I'm going to discuss with you (10:59) how, if I forget, remind me, because I don't have it written here, how to think (11:04) of God the majority of the day. So speak up if I finish the khutba, sometimes I get (11:09) distracted. We have to find out how we can think of God the majority of the day. (11:20) Okay, it is now 1230, I believe everybody is here, so for those of you who came late, (11:25) I'm going to update this for you very quickly. The subject of the khutba is (11:29) who is your God? And the answer is, whoever you are thinking of, or whatever (11:39) you are thinking of the majority of the day, whatever is in your mind, whatever (11:43) preoccupies you. Okay, I mentioned yourself, in surah 18 verse 42 we are told that (11:51) your job, your property, your boss, can be your God. Your boss says we have an (11:59) emergency here at work, and you must come here three o'clock in the morning (12:03) for the next ten days. Are you going to go at three o'clock in the morning for the (12:09) next ten days? God tells you to pray the morning prayer before sunrise. Are you (12:16) going to pray the morning prayer before sunrise? I mean you have to (12:21) ask yourself these questions. You don't have, yes you have, you have to pray the (12:29) morning, every morning before sunrise. What I want to say is that God says you (12:33) cannot possibly do it every day, because sometimes you're too tired, sometimes (12:37) you're sick, sometimes you're traveling, sometimes you have unusual circumstances. (12:41) So unless you have unusual circumstances, if you don't pray the morning before (12:47) sunrise, God is not your God, you have some other God. The criterion is very (12:55) easy. Surah 18 verse 42, you remember the fellow who had two gardens and he was (13:02) very boastful and happy with them? I'm fixed, I won the lottery, I'm fixed for (13:07) life. Sure enough a tornado came and wiped out the two gardens. But we learn (13:14) from that, by the way I'm going to interrupt my khutbah here and say whatever (13:17) your God is, other than God, you're going to lose it. Guaranteed. If you worship your (13:25) Jaab, you're going to lose it. If you worship your spouse, you're going to lose her or him, and so on. (13:31) It is guaranteed. Whatever you worship, other than God, you're going to lose it. Guaranteed. (13:36) So we learn from surah 18 verse 42. Because this tornado came and wiped out (13:46) the two gardens of this guy who thought he was fixed for life. (13:49) So if you idolize your Jaab, give it more attention than God, I guarantee you, you're (13:56) going to lose it. In surah 7 verse 190 we see that the children clearly can be your (14:05) God. In this verse I will remind you, verse 190 of surah 7, it says this couple, the (14:11) wife gets pregnant and they pray, please give us a good baby, good healthy baby, (14:16) please God give us a good baby, and God gives him a good baby, then they make the (14:22) baby their God. What does this mean? This is what the verse says, end of quotation. This means they (14:27) give the baby more attention than God. The principle holds that whatever (14:34) preoccupies your mind the majority of the day is your God. Again, to get all (14:44) these things, to get the good children, the good job, the good money, the good health, (14:49) the good happiness and peace of mind, you know the answer. I'm going to remind you (14:55) again of the gospel of Luke 12, 29 to 31. Seek God's kingship over you and (15:05) everything else follows. If God is your God, you are guaranteed all of these things. (15:15) Tawbu ila Allah, repentant. (15:27) Alhamdulillah, we praise God, wa ash'hadu alla ilaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharika lah, and I bear witness that there is no God except the one God. (15:35) I hope in your repentance you pledge that your God will be God, the one who created you. (15:40) Because if you had any deficiency in the past, you had better fix it right now, (15:47) with this repentance. And you meet it every day, you can take account of what (15:53) you're doing in the day. Okay, now I want to talk about how do you go about (16:01) making God your God. The Quran teaches us. When you see your children or your (16:10) car runs nicely, you say mashallah, this is God's blessing, God gave me this. (16:17) When you see a beautiful flower or a beautiful sunset on your own fingers, you (16:23) say subhanallah, God be glorified. Okay let me start from the beginning, let me (16:28) go back now. You're asleep and you're getting up in the morning. When you get (16:34) up, you get up in the name of God, bismillahirrahmanirrahim, or say it in any (16:38) language you want. The minute you open your eyes, you say bismillahirrahmanirrahim, (16:42) in the name of God most gracious most merciful, la ilaha illallah, there is no God (16:47) except the one God. This is the first thing you must say. This is the first (16:50) thing, as I mentioned to you before, that everybody will say on the day of (16:53) resurrection, when they get up, they will say 99% of the people will say that. (17:00) 99% of the people will say that. It is not a dirty word anymore, so I allowed myself to say it for the first time. (17:10) I see it on the TV all the time. 99% of the people, they wake up and they want to look at the clock and say, oh, we have to rush to work. (17:25) And this is exactly what they will say on the day of resurrection. So I hope this reminds you that the (17:36) first thing to say in the morning is what you're going to say on the day of (17:39) resurrection, and it must be bismillahirrahmanirrahim, in the name of God, la ilaha illallah. (17:44) So there is, you are mentioning God, the first thing you open your eyes. (17:49) Go do your ablution and do the morning prayer. Now the five prayers (17:53) we are told in Quran, the five prayers are designed for you to remember God. (17:59) It says that, it says do the salat in order to remember me, God says that. (18:05) And it is the most powerful, it is concentrated mentioning of God, I believe of God. (18:10) I believe that the five minutes of prayer make up for maybe a couple of hours. (18:14) Don't take my word for it, and don't take any chances. (18:17) But you must do the five prayers, if you don't do the five prayers you are in trouble already. (18:23) So you get up first thing in the morning and you mention God. (18:28) There comes breakfast, you say bismillahirrahmanirrahim, you open the breakfast, you start before the first bite. (18:34) Remember there is a verse in Quran that says, do not eat from that upon which the name of God is not mentioned. (18:41) Do not eat from that, and the word that covers apples and eggs and bread, everything. (18:49) So mention the name of God, don't forget. You will forget for the next month or so, but keep blaming yourself. (18:58) Every time you eat anything or drink anything you say bismillah, so then again you are mentioning God's name. (19:07) Then you are feeling good, you are feeling healthy, you say alhamdulillah. (19:12) Even if you don't feel good, if you don't feel healthy, say alhamdulillah, thank God, praise God. (19:18) Just find any excuses for heaven's sakes to mention God. Think of God. (19:25) You see your spouse, you see your children, say mashallah, alhamdulillah, thank you God. (19:30) God be glorified, God be praised. (19:35) Continuously, just find any excuses to the sunrise, and you think of the earth rotating, (19:41) and you say glorify God, God be glorified. This is how, just make sure the Quran teaches you (19:48) to mention God in every occasion, for reason or for no reason. (19:55) So I am going to end this subject here, I probably forgot a few things, but we can discuss it tonight (20:00) in the Quranic study, inshallah. But what I have here now, the tale that I have, is I remember (20:06) specifically Nahmeh came to me and said, how come I don't get straight A's? (20:10) She is a good believer, alhamdulillah, and many other students wonder, how come we don't get straight A's? (20:19) And my answer to them always was and is that you will get... yes John, I am not going to embarrass you, (20:26) no, it is okay. I am not going to mention it. (20:30) The answer always is that where it counts, God will give you the straight A's, where it counts. (20:35) And I experienced this in my life, in my own personal life, where it counts. (20:41) And the example that we are going to see here is a typical example. (20:49) This is the last game of the season, the last inning, the last out, two outs, in the ninth inning. (20:59) I believe most of you understand baseball, and understand the ninth inning and two outs, (21:05) and two strikes, you know what this means. This means the game is over, right? Almost. (21:11) So this was Sammy's finale in this season, and it is a typical story as far as your courses are concerned, (21:23) and even what is happening to you in life is concerned. (21:26) This is a typical example of the believers, what God does with the believers. (21:34) I am starting at this point where the second out in the ninth inning is going to happen, okay? (21:46) And I think it is self-explanatory. (22:29) Oh, sorry. (22:30) Did you hear that statement? The season rests, what Khalifa does with what pressure, right? (22:40) The Bisons are going to have to score at least one run here in the bottom of the ninth. (22:47) Khalifa gets just three tries. (22:52) The runners take their lane in, and they will play back deep. (22:56) Of course, at any base from home. (22:59) Outside corner, the strike ball. (23:13) On the count, the runners take their lane in first and second. There are two outs. (23:20) The herd needs a base hit. (23:24) Khalifa! Come on, Khalifa! (23:26) Khalifa! (23:32) Come on, come on! (23:40) What an incredible state first half of the game. (23:43) Get ready for that. (23:45) The third base. (23:46) The left fielder is going to be a hit. (23:47) He's going to make a run for the ball. (23:50) As he's hit, the third base and the fourth throw, the left fielder is down. (23:55) I'm going to get real quick, I'll give you some info. (23:58) It can work a lot. (24:01) It's going to be interesting. (25:52) And then I'm going to start number two out here. (25:55) I'm going to start with the first one. (25:56) I'm going to mix in the money from the board. (25:59) And then I'm going to present it to everyone (26:00) and say, well, thank you. (26:02) You're welcome. (26:02) Who's winning? (26:03) Who's winning? (26:04) I'm going to go to the front. (26:05) Who's winning? (26:05) I'm going to go to the front. (26:06) And then I'm going to have a big round. (26:08) I'm going to play P5. (26:09) And then P6. (26:10) I'm going to turn. (26:11) And then P7. (27:55) and Dorn Taylor, the two tough-legged pitchers on the pitching staff, (27:58) but tonight they come from behind with two out in the bottom of the ninth to give Dave Johnson not only the win, (28:02) but to set the record with 15 wins is really great. (28:06) And you have to really thank, really, what has taken place all year long here this team has had. (28:15) One more, one more time. (28:17) On a great note, a special thank you once again to all the people who supported us, (28:21) and for you and me, a very special thank you to our comrade and pride in the truck, (28:27) our producing director, Doug Kennedy, who really holds everything together for us. (28:30) Yeah, he really does. Without him, we couldn't make this baby work. (28:34) And then, just to turn the lights out on us here at the stadium, (28:36) we have Dave Johnson down there available to talk to, (28:39) and there's a good look at him right there. (28:42) And, Davey, can you hear us with everything going on? (28:45) Yeah, no problem. (28:45) Okay. I'd just briefly like to ask you, partner, (28:48) what did you say to Sammy after he had the RBI syringe? (28:51) Well, I just said, I just ran off, I mean, I don't even know what I said. (28:55) I just kept going to him. (28:57) Seven years, seven years, Sammy and I signed together in Greenwood in 1982. (29:01) We've played together almost every season, or at least part of the season, every year since. (29:06) And we've just become real, real close through the years. (29:09) And it was great. I mean, he's the one that came through, and he didn't give up, (29:12) and neither did the other guys, it was just, he was just a big clutch hit right there. (29:18) It's longer than I thought. (29:21) Hopefully I'll get a chance to go to the Big Red sometime. (29:23) Davey? (29:26) Yeah, Davey. (29:27) He was, uh, he could have been one of our last guests. (29:31) He's talented, Doug Kennedy. (29:33) And he has been involved for us tonight. (29:37) For Doug, and Dilley, and the entire staff of WNYB-TV 49, (29:43) and the Buffalo Bisons, I'm Jim Prince. (29:46) Good night, everybody. (29:52) Good night. (30:02) So this is the idea. God will give you victory, and the crucial time. (30:06) So when you get, if you don't get stuck...