Atonement: Day of Reconciliation

Happy feast! We'll keep you guessing what we're going to say up here, right? Well, beautiful offeratory, and it's so good to see all of you here on the day of atonement. If you ever wondered how you could make time stop, just do it without food and water. That does it, doesn't it? It makes the time go on and on and on, but it's like sometimes children, you know, when if they start fasting, it's like the sun just hangs in the sky. And it never, you know, it's almost going to go down, but it just hangs there.

It keeps hanging there, and you know, until their mouth really begins to get real dry and like cotton in the mouth, you know. You ever had the cotton mouth before? You know, on the day of atonement. Today, of course, is a day that God commands us to keep this day of atonement. But what comes to your mind, brethren, when you think about the day of atonement? What immediately comes to your mind? That this day means? You know, like the binding of Satan? I think all of us would probably think about that. Immediately, we would certainly think about humility, because you feel pretty low right now, don't you, when you haven't had your coffee or whatever you used to in the morning, and you know, you're beginning to drag as we're heading into the afternoon, big time.

We think of also, since atonement at one minute, we sang a song, in fact, about that, about being at one with God. But you know, atonement has another meaning. There's always something else to talk about when it comes to the Holy Day, and this Holy Day is no different. Atonement pictures a time of reconciliation of all things. You might say it's also a day of reckoning, a day when things get settled, when everything gets leveled out.

I was talking to somebody, you know, this past week about how that God has a way of making life level, bringing things back to what they should be. And so this day pictures that. It pictures that broad place it was talked about in the first message, that God is going to give a broad place for people to rest, and the millennium, of course, is that time when that's going to happen. A lot of things are going to have to happen before that occurs. But let's notice in Leviticus 23, it wouldn't be, of course, a Holy Day here if we didn't turn to Leviticus 23, but in Leviticus 23 down in verse 26, it says, And the Eternal spoke to Moses, saying, Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be a day of atonement.

And it says it shall be a holy convocation for you. So that's why we're here for this holy commanded assembly. And you shall afflict your souls. You know, so check yourself, you're afflicting your souls as God commands you to do this day, an offer and offering made by fire to the Eternal. We did give an offering here today. And you shall do no work on that self same day. It is the day of atonement to make atonement for you before the Eternal your God.

So this day pictures a day when God makes this atonement for us. It pictures that time when God does that. Actually, the word, the Hebrew word here for atonement is from the word kippur. You know, we have, of course, yom kippur, which is the name, the Hebrew name, and the word kippur. The name of the day of atonement, which means, actually kippur, means atomates. It doesn't mean just atonement. You know, it's not as though when we are forgiven of our sins prior to our baptism, we stop asking God for forgiveness.

We have to keep on. In fact, the word repentance means to keep on repenting. You know, when we repent, the idea is that we keep repenting through our life until the return of Jesus Christ. And so atonement for each of us, brethren, is a cleansing, a covering of our sins so that we can have a brand new start. And I think what, of course, Mr. Kalinius was talking about, too, is that this broad place is that the world is going to have a brand new beginning. Everybody needs a new start, a new beginning. When you and I were called, we had a new beginning.

And frankly, we're going to have a new beginning when we enter into the Kingdom, because we're going to have all new bodies and new minds. It'll be a brand new start, won't it, in every sense of the word. Let's go over to read in Acts chapter 3 some of the most inspiring words, again, about the purpose of why Jesus Christ came and died for us, why he was sent by his Father. But here in Acts chapter 3 and down to verse 19, let's notice this.

And this is what we did, and what we did is we were commanded to do. It says, repent therefore and be converted or be changed. You've got to be changed from what you were before to something else, that your sins may be blotted out so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. And then he may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom the heavens must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all of the holy prophets since the world began. So from the very beginning, and from the beginning he's talking about here, I think it's very clear as to what he's talking about here. But we know that the world needs to be refreshed. Frankly, it is as needed to be refreshed for the last 6,000 years. It needs to be restored. And of course, in order for that to happen, there's going to have to be something very great that's going to have to occur.

When we look in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve agreed with God, at least for a short period of time. You might say that for one day we don't really know more than that. Maybe it was more than that, but at least for what we read in the book of Genesis, it was for one day they agreed with God, and then they send. And this put man enmity with God. He was out of step with God. And immediately, immediately, we see a different change of heart. They ran and they hid from God.

And God had put them in the Garden, and, you know, of course, he had expected them to eat, and he told them they could eat of any tree, and they took of the wrong tree. And when they took of that wrong tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they ran and hid. And so God had to put them out of Eden.

And from that point in time, they began to be separated from God more and more over time, more the last 6,000 years, in fact. And what has ensued has been the chaos that we see in the world today that grows worse and worse. You know, the rocket man, of course, this week, again, announced he was going to explode in a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

That's the world we live in today. It's the world that Satan, in fact, has led us into. From the time of Adam. But atonement pictures a reconciliation in the world, and the only way for that to occur is if the author of sin is put away.

He's put in prison, and he is going to be put into prison. Let's go to 1 Peter chapter 1 over here. 1 Peter chapter 1. He has a long overdue prison date. You know, that he's going to be thrown in the clink. And, of course, along with him is Cole Hurts, his demons who have wreaked havoc upon this world, and chiefly through religion, interestingly. It's amazing how, in fact, demons love to be worshiped. And that's why there are all the different religions that exist in the world.

I firmly believe that the Hindus have their demonic God, little G.O.D., and other religions as well. You know, we could go out and name the major religions. Not my purpose, but let's go to 1 Peter chapter 1 and down in verse 17.

Well, God has pulled us out of this world, brethren, and allowed us to stand on that level place, as it were, to have a new beginning in our lives. But notice here in verse 17 of chapter 1 of 1 Peter. Chapter 1 in verse 17, it says, And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves through the time of your stay here in fear, knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptible things.

You know, God didn't buy you out of the hand of this world and the devil, you know, with coin. He didn't use gold. He didn't use the things that men prize upon this earth. He says, Like silver or gold, or from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot, a perfect being that Jesus Christ was, he indeed was for a day before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who through him believed in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God.

And so, brethren, Jesus Christ's sacrifice was for our atonement and for our reconciliation. His sacrifice was so that we could get the devil out of our hair, meddling in our lives if we choose to go God's way of life and look to him and to walk in his way. It was a great, expensive price, brethren, that the father gave since it was his only son.

You imagine, you know, you, if you have children, and think about your firstborn. How important is your firstborn to you? I think we could magnify that with the father and what Jesus Christ meant to him, but he gave Jesus Christ, brethren, for us.

You know, there are some people that think that they're pretty good in this world. I hope that you're not one of those that think you're pretty good. There are some I have talked to and counseled with, and I'm sure Mr. Zimmerman and us as well. You can't help but bump into people like this when you go out visiting with dozens and dozens of people. I've met people that have never, ever thought that they were separate from God. They always thought that they, you know, that basically they were the apple in the eye of God. You know, they were special to God from the day of birth. I bumped into people that, frankly, have thought that they really haven't sinned all that much. You ask them, you know, what sins have you committed? You know, they'd have to sit there for a while. And, well, you know, I think I may have... No, I didn't do that. Oh, I could have done this. No, I didn't do that either. But they think that they just have always been right with God. And sometimes it can be a real difficulty trying to convince them that they got problems, that they got a little thing called human nature. And if you push people enough, no matter who it is, even if it's little Miss McGillicuddy who never sinned, if you push them hard enough, they'll show their human nature to you. You know, they'll wallop you aside the head with their handbag, you know, and let you know. They're not going to put up with that. But God reconciled you and me who certainly, hopefully understand pretty easily we've got... We had some problems.

It's like Herbert Armstrong said when... before he was baptized, he thought... He said, God, if you could take this worthless hunk of junk, it's yours. If you could make something out of it. And God, of course, used him in a very powerful way. It takes that mind, brethren, at the beginning, to realize that we have been forgiven of much. And those that have been forgiven much and know that they've been forgiven much, Jesus Christ said they love much. They can love much. They can love people in a grander way. And I hope all of us realize, again, how much God truly has forgiven us. But it's the sin that separated Adam and Eve from God. And over here in Isaiah chapter 59, let's go over here in chapter 59. In the prophet Isaiah's book, Isaiah records herefore as God's inspired words for us so that we can understand and know what sin does to us in our life. Here it says, Behold, the eternal hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor is ear heavy, that it cannot hear. You know, sometimes when people pray, they somehow think God has gone deaf, that he can't hear us. No, he could hear us. If he wanted to, he could hear anyone. But notice the reason why he sometimes doesn't hear. He doesn't listen. But your iniquities have separated you from your God. So sin separates us from God, and your sin has hidden his face from you so that he will not hear. And so sin gets between us and God. That's what happened, of course, to Adam and Eve. Sin cuts us off from God. It erects barriers between us and God. And of course, the reason why that this is being said here in Isaiah 59 is because it stems, brethren, from the fact that the Jews wondered why God did not hear them. They wondered. In ancient times, when they were in trouble, why, God, have you not heard us? Why aren't you listening to our cries?

Because they had a form, brethren. And let's be aware we can too. We can be that way too. We're all here observing the Day of Atonement. We got that right. We should be here. God commands us to be here. We're all here, I would presume, fasting.

Sent sun down last night, you know, without food or water.

And maybe we do have the cottonmouth by the afternoon.

But how has it impacted your life? It's like I said on the last sermon I gave. The most important thing you and I have to watch is ourselves. Look at ourselves. Our spiritual condition. That was the problem with the Jews of ancient times. They wondered why God did not hear them. And they had a form of religion. They went through the motions. They did all of the ceremonies, the way that maybe they had always done them. And when God did not answer them, they thought perhaps God somehow couldn't hear that maybe in his old age he'd gotten deaf. No, it wasn't that at all. Over in chapter 58, let's notice this. Over in chapter 58, let's notice what he says. In Isaiah, chapter 58, verse 1, here it says, Cry aloud and spare not. Well, we read this on the Feast of Trumpets, didn't we? Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Tell my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily. He's talking about, again, the Jews of ancient times. And they delight to know my ways and as a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of me the ordinance of justice. They take delight in approaching God. They love doing that. Coming before God. Then let's read a little bit of the nitty-gritty of why this is being spoken of here. Why have we fasted, they say?

And you have not seen. Why have we afflicted our souls? And you take no notice. God, we're doing all these things. We're going through the motions. But then Isaiah says, in fact, in the day of your fast, you find pleasure and exploit your labors. This is the problem, you see. Indeed, you fast for strife, for violence and debate, and to strike with a fist of wickedness. And it says, you will not fast as you do this day and make your voice heard on high. You see, yes, God commanded them to fast, just as we're commanded to be here today, brethren. But they were trampling over the Sabbath. They were very violent. In some cases with people, they were judging others. They were pointing their finger at other people, and they were not changing themselves.

You know, they were accusing other people. They missed the whole point of fasting. We can do the same thing, brethren. We've got to overcome, and we have to change.

You know, people want good things from God, but they don't want to obey God. You know, they want all the blessings. They want all the good stuff. You know, want to be in the kingdom, of course, in the world. Most people think they're going to go off to heaven, you know, head off to heaven, and you can sort of float on a cloud somewhere. And I guess God's going to give you a harp, teach you how to play harp. Most people can't play harp, but they, you know, they're going up to heaven, and it's going to be all nice for eternity. And it doesn't really matter how you live in their book, at least, but it does matter to God. God wants, brethren, us to overcome and to change. Hear a lot about that in the church, don't you? About overcoming and changing. And that's what they had a problem with. Israel of old had a problem with that. Hearing, but not doing. You can listen all day long, but what good does it do if we don't do anything with it? If we don't apply what we know. Let's go to Isaiah chapter one. Isaiah chapter one over here will stay in the same same book here. It's a big book, though. But this is a book we read during the Feast of Tabernacles, you know. But these things very much tie into the Day of Atonement as well. But Isaiah chapter one in verse four, here God says, "'Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corruptors, they have forsaken the eternal, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward.'" This is what God says about Israel of old and Judah as well. Verse 10, notice here, "'Hear the word of the eternal, you rulers of Sodom.'" Here he called them Sodom. What happened to the Sodom and Gomorrah? He destroyed them, didn't he? "'Give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah.'" Listen, in other words, apply what you are hearing here. Notice on down here in verse six of chapter one, "'From the sole of the foot, even to the head, there is no soundness in it. But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, they have not been closed or bound up or soothed with ointment.' In verse nine, "'Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.'" That's what God said about ancient Israel. There would be just nobody left. And who walked out of Sodom?

Just a lot in his two girls, basically. Three walked out of Sodom. Of course, his wife was with them, but she, of course, looked the wrong way and did not make it out. But very few made it out. There would be just a remnant, brethren. And you know, brethren, today God has a remnant, and God's people, the church, are the remnant. Hopefully all of us will be in that remnant, and we'll be able to be there. But our nation, brethren, this United States of America, which I love very, very dearly, and I know all of you do too, this country has done much good in the entire world. I think that all of us are aware of that. It troubles me when I hear people speaking disparagingly about this country. It really does, especially from other countries who are far worse, far, far worse. But even saying that, brethren, I have to say the United States has exported a lot of sin to the world. We have been so guilty of that. And I'm sure there has been the gratuitous violence that has occurred too. I don't doubt that with this nation through the years. But, you know, unless we get to the idea that somehow America is better than people say it is, a lot of times what people accuse us of is true. It really is true. And we do need as a nation, as a people, to repent. And we certainly pray that that happens, brethren, that that occurs for us. But God wants us, brethren, to change. He wanted Israel to change.

See, Atonement, brethren, is not just about what Jesus Christ does, but it's about what you do, what you and I are doing as a result of the Atonement that we've been given through Jesus Christ. So God didn't think too highly of what ancient Israel did. And, brethren, if we just go through the motions and we do those things that we're commanded to do and we don't make changes, how are we different than Israel of old? We're no different. Even though we have God's spirit, if we are not making bold changes in our lives, of overcoming, problems maybe that have been around for a long time, how are we different than ancient Israel? I trust, brethren, there are many who are different, who are walking in a newness of life, who are changing and growing, and have done so from the day that they've been brought into a relationship with God. You know, we can't feel close to God, brethren, if we're not obedient to God, if we're not walking His way, if we're not trying, brethren, to get in a position where we're doing those things that are pleasing to God in our life.

You know, people, it seems, in this world like to have on the cloak of righteousness, but they don't want to live righteously. You know, in Mario Pusio's book, the Godfather, I'm sure some of you have seen the movie.

The whole story about the Godfather is about a Sicilian.

His young boy comes to America. His name is Don Corleone. The story, you know, I'll just give you a synopsis of it. Don Corleone is a crime boss. He lies. He murders. Has people murdered. He steals. He deals in prostitution and gambling. He's a gangster. He's one of the top five, you know, of the criminal bosses in New York. He's an evil man. But if you look at the, again, the movie or the book, The Godfather, Don Corleone is cast as basically a decent guy. He's a family man.

I think you all know what I'm talking about. He's sort of portrayed as this family man. You know, I think in one of the scenes of the movie, Slaps is, you know, this professional singer and says, take care of your family. You know, watch after your family because he'd gotten involved in other things he should not have been doing. But isn't it interesting that, again, people like to appear to be decent. They like to appear, you know, as though they are family men, even if they are the worst criminals in the world. It reminds me about, you know, a gangster. Both he and his brother were gangsters, and they did the same thing that Don Corleone did.

But when one of the guys, his brother, died, both of them had been evil all of their life, somehow he wanted to have a preacher to preach a message about his brother that he was a saint.

And so anyway, he found a preacher who agreed. And so the day of the funeral, you know, he's here the casket up front and the preacher starts preaching. He said, I wanted to tell you here that this man that is in this casket, you know, he's a thief. He is a murderer. You know, he peddled drugs. He did every sin in the book, but compared to his brother down here on this front row, he's a saint. But, you know, he wanted his brother to appear to be a saint. And that's about how it would work out, wouldn't it?

But reconciliation, brethren, means we have the responsibility to change our lives, to overcome. It's a gift that God gives to us. Frankly, it's a once-in-a-lifetime gift that God gives to us. God has given us that chance in this life, and frankly, once he's given that to us and we see it and we understand it and we grasp it, it doesn't come this way again. So make sure you avail yourself of what gift God has given to you. Let's go to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5.

In Romans 5 and down to verse 10, it says, For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by his life. See, we're saved by the life of Christ, by his example.

And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus through whom we have received the reconciliation. We've received the reconciliation he's talking about here, brethren, in Romans. Now reconciliation, by the way, here, if you have a King James, it says, Atonement there. We've received the Atonement, you know, from God as a result of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And down in verse 12, Therefore just as through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned, everyone's gone that route and chosen to go that way.

But it says, For in turn the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no law.

And so the law shows us again what sin is, what we must do, in fact, to overcome and to get in line with God's way of life. And God wants us to, again, to live by His laws and by His commandments and statutes, brethren. But it's a process, you know, when we are baptized, we, we're like an estranged party that's been reconciled to God, and we're brought together. We were estranged from God, and we've been brought into a relationship with Him. But it's a process, brethren, for the time that we're baptized, so that we can utilize the example and the life of Jesus Christ, and we can be formed in His image. We're all being remade, as it were, you know, in the image of Christ, because He's living in us now, because our old person is gone. It's dead. You know, God has started rebuilding Jesus Christ in us. And how healthy is He, brethren, in us. How strong is Jesus Christ in us, and how we live, and how we speak, and how we do. We have to do these things, brethren, to have eternal life. It's what saves us. It's what gives us, gives us salvation. And during the days of Unleavened Bread, we learn that sin has a quality about itself that it puffs us up, doesn't it? It does something to us. Sin makes us unyielding. Sin makes us post-minded. It's like a little kid. If a small child doesn't want to do something, what do they do? You hold in a small child, and you want them to do something, and you try to convince them to do it, what do they do? Don't they stiffen up into your arms? You pursue, you can't even hold them. They're slipping through, you know, they're falling through. That's what we do when we sin. We sort of stiffen up. We stop being receptive to God. That's what happened to Adam and Eve in the garden.

When Adam and Eve sinned, the way they thought changed. They begin to think differently almost immediately.

And often when someone sins, brethren, they are no longer receptive. Remember what Paul said to the Galatians? He said, who has bewitched you? What happened to you people? They even turn to another gospel. What's got a hold of you? What made you so different? You know, Adam and Eve became resistant to God. They wouldn't accept the blame even when it was pointed out to them.

You know, when they ran and hid, God, you know, they said they were naked, and God says, who told you? You were naked. Well, it was the devil that you, you know, you did this, God, not me, not us.

You know, the blame game, the pointing of the finger. I know I've heard it many times, and oftentimes when we point our fingers at other people about their sins, usually we're the guilty parties. Usually the person that's doing the pointing has the same sense. If they're trying to point it out to someone else.

So this is what Adam and Eve did. They wanted to blame the devil. And, of course, when they blamed the devil, the devil didn't have a leg to stand on. So he, you know, couldn't blame anybody.

But anyway, well, that was a joke, but I'm guessing you're fasting you didn't get it.

You did, but it just wasn't funny, huh? Not especially when you haven't had your coffee.

Think about also about Cain. You know, Cain, when his offering was not accepted, he became angry.

And God said to them, why has your countenance fallen? Cain, you know, why the horse face? Why the long face? If you do well, you will be accepted if not sin lies at the door. And he said, rule over it, Cain, or it will rule over you. Talking about the sin, the nature that he had. And it did not rule. And he ended up bludgeoning his own brother, Abel. So the attitude changes. When somebody is obedient to God, they change the way they think. They just change. They're different. Now, I know I've walked into people's houses and started talking to them, and they were pretty snippy at me, you know, at the very beginning, because here I was, you know, most people don't really, a lot of people, I should say, don't like ministers. And, you know, the reputation is not all that great as a profession. But I've dealt with people. You walk in, and they were pretty snippy and very coarse in conversation. But after the end of the conversation, a totally different attitude. More loving. People I had never met in my life. More loving, more encouraging. Just a change of heart that comes about. When people begin to think differently, they begin to obey God. They begin to walk in God's way of life.

Over in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, in verse 9, it says, It says, Incredible things are promised for those who truly love God. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things. Yes, the deep things of God. We can begin to understand the width and the depth and the breadth of God's way. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirited man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

These things we speak not in words which men's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. So God's way is foolish to sinners. People go in the wrong way. It looks foolish to them. You know, a fool has said in his heart, there is no God, though. So, in fact, it's the other way around. When people begin to think, brethren, that God's people are foolish for what they believe and what God's word says, it is them who are foolish in their thinking. Those using the Holy Spirit freely listen to and are reconciled to God. Adam and Eve got cut off from God and they changed their attitude and they rejected God. And the only way it could be corrected is if God healed the breach that took place. We know that time is going to come, brethren. It's going to occur. We know, brethren, that God has called us for that end in which this entire world is going to have an opportunity to come into relationship with God. And hopefully, brethren, we're going to be there. And, of course, the only reason we would not be there is if the reconciliation God has been giving us has been useless. In other words, we haven't put it into practice. We haven't done what we should be doing. We have not changed. We've not overcome or built godly character. Now, why do we need godly character, brethren? Computers have what is called a firewall in them in order to stop intruders from coming in and corrupting the data. And hackers can come in and they can bring a virus and they can corrupt in all of the data that is within a computer. You know what, brethren? Character, holy righteous characters like a firewall for you. It protects you. It doesn't allow Satan's wavelength to get in if you stop it. If you turn away from it, it prevents Satan from breaking through and corrupting your files, so to speak. And, you know, when people get corrupted, they don't know they're corrupted. That's the that is the sad thing about it. They don't know they're corrupted. It's though they never knew, in some cases, the truth. Well, they may know little vestiges of physical things that they did, but it's like they've lost it. Something's different in them. So, brethren, keep your firewall up. Make sure you do and protect the data that's being stored in you through the power of the Spirit and the truth of God. Now, what's the fasting about, brethren, that we do this day? Well, fasting, brethren, is merely a tool.

And the purpose of the tool is to draw you close to God.

Now, how is God... how are we being drawn close to God through fasting? Well, it changes how we think. It changes our attitude.

You know, it causes us to have a more humble attitude. Would we fast? And, you know, if you don't believe that fasting does this, do it one more day.

And if you still don't believe, just do it another day. And you will develop a different attitude altogether. Anybody with food will be like almost God to you. You know, if you have been fasting for a while, you change your tune. You change your attitude. Well, Jesus Christ came setting an example, brethren, for us of great humility, unparalleled, in fact, in the history of human beings. We know He came, and He gave us His very life for us. But let's do this here in Philippians 2, verse 5.

In Philippians, you know, here I turned to Ephesians. That won't do any good. But it says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, and be reminded what He did, brethren, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of a human being.

As you know, that means He emptied Himself of His divinity in terms of at least the power He could have taken advantage of. He was fully human, and He was fully God, but He did not avail Himself of that power that He once had.

God wants us, brethren, today to be humbled, because we'll be more receptive to what God has to say when we're humble.

But Jesus Christ's humility was to the death, brethren.

He could, I'm sure, have called legions of angels that would have rescued Him from the cross, from the stake. But He did not. He was humble to His death, brethren, for us.

Humility, brethren, is not a some-time thing, not just for today. It's an all-the-time thing.

Let's learn that through this day. It's an all-the-time thing to always be humble. Before our God. Let's go to Isaiah 66. Isaiah 66.

You know, God looks down on this earth. He created a beautiful world that we live on, that we take for granted. Majestic mountains, tremendous falls.

Do you know any of you have ever been to Niagara Falls or Victoria Falls in Africa, or other places where tremendous bodies of water flow off, you know, into giant off-cliffs that create a thunder and a roar? That is deafening, frankly. I've got pictures of that and sound of that. And even just having that, it does not compare the reality of it.

But when God looks down at this earth, which is nothing but His footstool, it says in Isaiah 66 in verse 1, who trembles at My word. See, of all the beauty on the earth, God looks down and He sees these bright spots.

These luminaries that are upon the earth today, God's people, if they're humble before Him.

We want to impress God, brethren, this is how we do it. We humble ourselves before God. We obey Him. We do those things which are pleasing in His sight.

You know, God wants us to first and foremost love one another as well.

You know, Christ said, by this shall all men know that you are My disciples if you love one another.

And so, brethren, as God's people, if we are fasting and humble before God, we realize we are always dependent upon Him, and without food or water we die very quickly.

We learn where food comes from. We, of course, learn to love and adore God and appreciate spiritual sustenance for our survival. God wants us also to learn not only to love Him, but to love our brothers, all of your brothers right here in this room, every one of them, even the ones that irritate you, right? Even the ones that maybe seem like they don't like you.

We're supposed to love our brethren, brethren. Reconciliation, brethren, is this. It is agape love and action. That's what it is. Agape love and action. In other words, you and me actually doing something with that reconciliation that God has given to us. What are some of the other areas, brethren, where we need to reconcile in our lives besides our brothers here in this auditorium or wherever they may be? We need to reconcile with our parents. If there is a split there or if there's a separation, we need to recognize, reconcile with our children. You know, develop that relationship with our children. We need to reconcile, assimilate with our mates.

Or with our relatives.

Or, brother, we need to reconcile with ourselves with yourself. Have you learned, brethren, to forgive yourself so you can move forward in your life. Leave it behind, reconcile with yourself, and push forward, brethren. I used to sing a song when I was in Ambassador College entitled, Let There Be Peace on Earth. I always love this line of the lyrics. It says, Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. Let it begin with me.

So, reconcile with yourself, brethren.

God has given us the tremendous gift, brethren, of reconciliation.

This day pictures the time when Satan the devil is going to be bound. We all know that.

Leviticus 16 gives us the account of how that, in fact, the blood of the goat that was chosen for the Lord was used as a sprinkling on the mercy seat for the sins of the people of Israel. And then the other goat that was let go in the New King James is called the scapegoat.

But that implies innocence, doesn't it, to be called a scapegoat. And what it represents in no way is innocent. But the Azazel pictures the devil who is going to have the sins that he's been responsible for for the last 6,000 years placed right back on his head.

It talks about how this goat, you know, has the sins confessed on his head and it's let go in the wilderness. And that pictures the time, brethren, when the Satan the devil is going to have all of the sins that were ever committed. Christ is not going to have to bear those sins for all eternity for us, but all of those sins are going to be taken and put back on the head of the devil. And ultimately, Satan is going to be cast into outer darkness.

And it will begin at the return of Christ when he's bound for a thousand years. His imprisonment will happen. And then later on, after, of course, all flesh has been given the opportunity for eternal life. He's going to be cast into outer darkness completely apart from God for all eternity in the blackness and the darkness of whatever will exist outside of God's realm. That time is going to come. And that being, brethren, is going to be put away. He's been responsible for the problems that people have in this life. And God's going to end that. So, Atonement, brethren, is Reconciliation Day. When all is going to be brought into harmony with God, all things are going to be made right, all things are going to be made level, brethren, and that includes the whole world. And we're called, brethren, to be a part of the ministry of reconciliation. You and I are ambassadors for this reconciliation that's coming.

And let's make sure that we're reconciled to God, though. We can't be ambassadors unless we are reconciled with God. And, brethren, let's use that calling that God has given us in the ministry of reconciliation to be about the great mission that the Church of God has. And that is the reconciliation of all those that God calls into the Church. And eventually, the reconciliation of those are going to be called in the world tomorrow. So make sure, again, you're reconciled so you can help with the reconciliation of all things. Well, brethren, have a wonderful feast of tabernacles, whether you're going to be in, you know, Phoenix or whether you're going to go to Timbuktu or wherever it may be. We hope our brethren, wherever they are, those listening in, also you have a wonderful feast all of our shut-ins and all those that are unable to attend services, at least physically speaking. You're with us in spirit. And we certainly pray everybody has a safe journey to the feast and you can return home safely as well.