Blessed are the People who know the Joyful Sound of the Trumpet

Depending on your watch, it's either good afternoon or good morning. Two minutes early, two minutes fast. I'm not sure. But it is a wonderful day to be here, again in Kentucky, with a full house. I think I see one open chair, and I see people crowded around other tables, so it is a full house. It's a wonderful day to be here on God's Holy Day, the fourth festival season of the year, and we're quickly into it already. It's an exciting time of the year with these Holy Days, where they represent the plan of God and the purpose and our future, and the future for all of humanity.

And so it is an exciting time to be with you today. As we know from our study and in keeping God's Holy Days, each of these festivals represent an important aspect of God's plan for all of humanity. The Feast of Trumpets pictures two vital steps in this plan. First, the triumphant return, as we heard in the sermon of Jesus Christ, to put down the kingdoms of this world and to establish the kingdom of God on this earth. And the second aspect, the resurrection of God's first fruits, those who committed their lives to God's way and faithfully endured to the end of their lives.

Intertwined with the symbolism of this day is a wonderful aspect of the deep relationship that God has with his people. As mentioned previously, on the day of Christ's return, God's people who have diligently followed him will be resurrected in the first resurrection. And this isn't a resurrection to join him in the third heaven for all of eternity, sitting on clouds, playing harps. No? This is a resurrection to Jesus Christ establishing the kingdom of God on this earth, and that we have a part and are invited to have a part to play in that.

We will have jobs and roles given to us to help in the establishment of this kingdom and to spread God's laws and teachings, which have never been fully implemented in this world. As Revelation 20 states, we will be given roles as kings and priests to serve and teaching those living, those desiring to live God's way of life. And as described in God's Word, those still living will enter the Millennial period, a thousand years of life without Satan's influence.

But I'm skipping over a little bit of an important part, aren't I? What will have happened just prior to Christ's return on this earth? Mankind will just have lived through the worst time in humanity's history on this planet, a truly indescribable time of death, destruction, and hurt. And all of this because of Satan's strong influence and man's endless desire to follow his own way. We are all living in a world that is heavily influenced by Satan, and we are fish swimming upstream against the flood of Satan's way of life.

But we swim daily because of the hope that lives within us. We fight the good fight because we have seen the way that leads to death, and we have placed our hope on something much, much greater. This hope and desire to be in the resurrection is something that each of us looks forward to. It's what makes the bruises and the bumps that we get in living this life okay.

We get back up when we get knocked down because our lives were bought and paid for by the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He gives us the power. He gives us the strength. So today, through this day, we can be confident and joyful that in His workmanship, God will prepare us to receive the blessing of the first resurrection when Christ returns.

This is what we're going to focus on today with this message, that we can be confident and joyful that as His workmanship, God will prepare us to receive the blessing of the first resurrection when Christ returns. It's always good to start off this day with what it pictures and what we're commanded in a review of the Scriptures speaking of the Feast of Trumpets. Let's start off in Leviticus 23. We haven't read this yet, so I'll go ahead and read it for today. Leviticus 23. Leviticus 23, and we'll read verse 23.

This is speaking to what we are here today and what is commanded by God. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. Let's go ahead to Numbers. We'll read another aspect about this day. This is in Numbers 29.

Numbers 29 and verse 1.

Numbers 29 and verse 1. And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work for you. You shall do no customary work for you. It is a day of blowing the trumpets.

In both of these verses, the words blowing of trumpets from the Hebrew, if we looked into the Hebrew, it's from the word, and my Hebrew is worse than Mr. De Campo's, so please forgive me. But it's the Hebrew word teruah.

And the definitions that we can pull from this word is a clamor, or an acclamation of joy, or a battle cry. Especially a clamor of trumpets, as an alarm, or blowing of the trumpets, joy, jubilee, loud noise, rejoicing, shouting, or a high, joyful sound.

These are all the ways that this blowing of trumpets is described as the death of the Hebrew word for the different meanings behind it. In ancient days, a shofar, or trumpet, was used to produce a loud, piercing type of sound. The shofar was a hollow's ram's horn. Many of us have seen pictures. If you haven't, googled it. It's a unique instrument.

Unlike the trumpet that we saw here today, this would be used as a ram's horn that was tapered on one end, and many times it kind of spiraled around. Or they had shorter ram's horns that could be blown. But the noise is specific, and the way that the handler would blow this shofar would alert the camp of Israel, or God's people, for different reasons.

It could be it was a call to war, or a call for leaders only. Only leaders together together. Or maybe a call for the entire group of Israel, the entire nation together. Or it could be a warning of alarm or danger. Or it could also be a cheer, or to applaud, a shout of triumph, or blown for joy.

And this last aspect of how the trumpet or shofar was used is what I'd like to focus on today.

We are in truly an exciting time, wonderful and exciting time of the year. A time when we have reviewed, picturing the triumphant return of our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we can be excited and cheer and be joyful for the return of Christ as the trumpet is blown on this feast day. As we begin into the body of this message, let's consider some of the mighty works that God the Father and His Son are doing in each of our lives. It's through these works that we can rejoice in this day that God is preparing each one of us to receive the blessing of the first resurrection when Christ returns. So the first point in how God is preparing each of us is that one, we are His workmanship. We are His workmanship. There's a great analogy that the prophet Isaiah was inspired to use that really helps us to understand how God is working in our lives. Let's turn to Isaiah 64 and look at the analogy of the potter and the clay.

This is in Isaiah 64, verse 8. This is a beautiful analogy that we can all picture. We've seen potters working with clay to build a base or to build a bowl. This intimate relationship that the artist has with the clay, and they're working it with their hands and they're massaging this clay to turn it into something that they desire to become. Sometimes they get down near the bottom of it as they're working it and they're checking the shapes as it's coming out to see if it's even and to see if it's what they want. And then sometimes they're actually on their feet standing, looking down and working it from above this clay because they're working. They have a desire, a goal in mind, to turn this lump of clay that is really useless. It's not really serving a purpose, but they have an idea in their head, a desire. They have a joy, a love for working with this clay to turn it into something beautiful, something that can be used, something that serves the purpose. And it's a beautiful example because that is what God is doing in each and every one of our lives. As the prophet was inspired to write, we are that clay that God is molding into something beautiful and something useful. We see other scriptures describing this aspect of God working with each of us in his own ways. In 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17, it reads, Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. That is in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17. This lump of clay becomes something new. Us as humans have the potential to become something new. As that clay bowl or vase is being created, there is an intention of it being used in certain ways by the Creator. A vase to hold flowers. Or a bowl, maybe, to hold fruit. God intends that we also do something based on the workmanship he is doing in our lives. Ephesians 2 verse 10. Let's go ahead and turn to Ephesians 2 verse 10.

As we continue to consider this aspect that we are his workmanship, let's read Ephesians 2 verse 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Created for good works. We can see from God's Word, and we know from him working in our lives, that we were created for good works. These are the many things that we do in service to God. We're service to each other. We're service to our communities. These are the things he has created us for. We can really rejoice in this Feast of Trumpets, knowing that God will transform our hearts. He will form the clay that is our lives so that we can believe we have a place in the first resurrection. In Philippians 1 verse 6, we read, God wants us to be confident. Not overly confident. That's a sermon for another day. But God does want us to be confident. But he wants us to be confident that he will remain active in our lives and involved until the end of our lives or until the return of Jesus Christ. This is a promise that as the saying goes, we can surely hang our hat on. That he will finish this work that he started in us.

The second point in how God is preparing each of us is that he will not forsake us or forget us. He will not forsake us or forget us. The definition, one of the definitions for forsake is to renounce or to give up something valued or pleasant. To renounce or give up something that is valued or pleasant.

Let's look at 1 Samuel 22. Some of these scriptures are short nuggets, but they're important for us to go over on this day. Because we could just skim over them or read them quickly. But we need to remember how important all of these are because these are promises from God.

So some of these we'll turn to and read kind of briefly, but put them in your notes and think about them as we go through this week and through the holiday season. 1 Samuel 12. I might have said that wrong. It's 1 Samuel 12 verse 22.

1 Samuel, if I did say it wrong because I can hear so many pages turning on. Excuse me for that.

1 Samuel 12 verse 22.

God's people are something of huge value and importance to God.

The scripture was expressed by Samuel after Israel had requested a king. And we all know that God was not happy that they didn't want him to be their king and him to be their guide. He was disappointed, yet he said it was okay. Don't be upset, Samuel. They haven't rejected you. They've rejected me. It's what God said.

He was disappointed, but he did not turn his back on them.

We must never forget that we have been called by God the Father himself. No other being, no other person extended this invitation. If we have accepted the invitation and through baptism accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, then we are truly God's. He called. He made us his people. He will never forsake us. Does this make us perfect?

Do we now live sin-free lives? There's another section in Isaiah where he, again, goes back to the potter and the clay analogy, but then he adds to it. Let's look back at Isaiah 49. Isaiah 49.

Here, Isaiah turns the analogy around a bit to make a very important point. This is going to differ from your translation most likely. I'm going to read from the New Living Translation. It adds some unique words that really paint the picture, I feel, of what Isaiah and what God had inspired Isaiah to write. This is Isaiah 45 verse 9, and we'll read through 12.

If mine's a little bit different, you can either listen or read along. Isaiah 45 verse 9. What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator? Does a clay pot argue with its Maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, Stop! You're doing it wrong! Does the pot explain, How clumsy can you be? How terrible would it be if a newborn baby said to its father, Why was I born? Or said to its mother, Why did you make me this way? This is what the Lord says, The Holy One of Israel and your Creator, Do you question what I do for my children?

Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? I am the one who made the earth and created people to live in it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command.

I love, in reading through this, I love the descriptive words used here, because it paints the perfect picture. And God could have just inspired Isaiah to say something like, Don't you know who I am? I mean, it would have got the same coin across. But no, Isaiah was inspired to get into details and to really make this clay come alive. Really make this newborn baby speak to its father and to its mother. And it's really neat, because the perfect words, it's the perfectly worded discourse that we've heard other people give at times, that brings to an end a discussion.

We've heard where somebody just makes a statement. There's nothing else to say, is there? No rebuttal could come back that. And this is what I feel like we read right through here. It's kind of like when I see something crazy happen in the world. This is me, so don't follow this one. But when you see something crazy in the world or something unexpected, and I say to myself, Seriously? Seriously? And sometimes there's a little bit of a head nod. That's me. You don't have to follow that example.

But that's kind of what I feel like Isaiah is saying here. Seriously? Seriously? Seriously? God inspired Isaiah to write the perfect response to those that question the way that God works with us humans. We are not perfect. We do at times sin. But like Israel, God remembers those He calls His. He is the perfect, ever-loving Father, always extending mercy to those who come to Him. Let's look at Isaiah 44, flip back a few chapters. Isaiah 44, and we'll read verse 21. Isaiah 44, and we'll read 21 and 22.

Remember these, O Jacob and Israel, for you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant. O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out like a thick cloud your transgressions, like a cloud your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. We are reminded again that God has formed you, and He has formed me. He has turned us into a new person, renewed and alive again, because Jesus is inside of us. We are not the old man. We are a new formed person. And with so many of these passages, God is extending His hand and His mercy back to His people.

He wanted them and us to always remember that He will not forsake those who are His. As with so many of these passages, He's asking us to turn back to Him when we stray from the way that leads to eternal life. He doesn't say, oh, it's okay. Just go on. Keep doing what you want to do. I'll be here when you're ready. If you never come back, don't worry. Just do what you want. He's not saying these things. He's asking that we come back to Him, and He's expressing that He will always remember us.

This concept of God not forsaking or forgetting His people is a concept that King David understood very clearly. In many of the Psalms, he references this concept, and he praises God for this very act. I'll read through quickly some of these Psalms. You can put them in your notes. But it's just beautiful to see how many times King David repeats this concept. One is in Psalms 106, verse 4. Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you have towards your people.

O, visit me with your salvation, that I may see the benefit of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. Also in Psalms 94, 14, For the Lord will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance. Psalms 9, verse 10, And those who know your name will put their trust in you.

For you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalms 37, 28, For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. So many times King David says that God will never forsake us. He will not forsake His people. And this is a promise that we can live our lives by. Many years prior to David, a similar promise was handed down to Joshua from Moses and later from the Lord Himself to Joshua. Let's turn to Deuteronomy 31 as we review this a little bit.

Deuteronomy 31, and then we'll start in verse 1. Deuteronomy 31, in verse 1, Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. And in verse 6, Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them. For the Lord your God, He is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you. Nor forsake you. Do not fear, do not fear nor be dismayed. And now let's flip to Joshua 1. Just a few pages forward to Joshua 1. So those were Moses' words to Israel and to Joshua. Here we actually see the Lord speaking with Joshua here in verses 1-9. We'll read verse 1 and verse 5. Joshua 1 verse 1. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying... Let's skip to verse 5. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.

I love reading through the book of Joshua because so many times I think through how difficult it would be to now have Moses and Aaron, who you were serving underneath and you were watching and you were being guided by them and you were seeing their interactions with the Lord, and now that mantle has been handed off to you, to Joshua. And to think, wow, Moses is now gone, Aaron's gone, I've got these people, we're going into a new land, to take it, to take control of it, to go and follow the Lord's command, and yet, all this is on me, all this was on Joshua. And how many times he was encouraged by Moses and then by the Lord himself. He's strong and courageous, saying he'll never be forsaken. That had to be exactly the words that he needed to hear. And I just personally, I love reading through that because I put myself in his shoes, in Joshua's shoes, and I'm like, whew, better Joshua than it was me. That's what I think so many times. But I know God is the one who puts people in these positions, and when those times come, he gives them that encouragement, that support, as he did with Joshua. God understands the great calling to which we have been called. He understands the world we live in and how its ruler today is Satan the devil. As the Israelites, we're encouraged to go forth into the Promised Land with strength and courage. We are encouraged to continue through this life with the same strength and the same courage. And we can only do this because of the power that comes from knowing God will never leave us nor forsake us. The third point in how God is preparing each of us is that he is our righteousness and salvation. He is our righteousness and salvation. We're going to spend some more time in the New Testament now. We've spent quite a few in the Old Testament. But let's flip to the New Testament in 1 Corinthians, verse 1. 1 Corinthians 1 Did you see the icicles hanging from my nose? Hey, it keeps the speaker on his toes, that's for sure. You think it's just nerves, right? No, it's great. It's great for me anyway. Now, 1 Corinthians 1, and let's start reading in verse 26.

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, that not many mighty, not many noble or called, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence, but of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, that as it is written, he who glories, put him glory in the Lord. There's a couple of different ways that I feel we can apply this scripture. There may be more. This is Mike's version. The first is everyone knows the phrase, too big for your britches. It's one that I try to remind myself and give my life by, because it reminds me where I stand in relationship to God and to fellow man. Sometimes we can go to life feeling pretty good about ourselves, pretty good at how we do at work, pretty good at how things are going in our lives, and what we are accomplishing by our own hand. And then we come to passage like 1 Corinthians 1, and I'm personally instantly reminded of my place in the world, that I am not the mighty. I am not the strong. The second way we can apply this scripture is to remember that God has chosen to work through man to do much of his work on the earth with all of our flaws and all of our weaknesses. He still is using each of us to be a light to this world and to show the world that this way works. People see that we aren't the mighty. We aren't the rich. When we look at the two presidential candidates who are the mighty and who are the rich, I don't want to be in their shoes. I don't want to be where they are. They don't look that great, do they? God doesn't need the mighty or the rich to spread his gospel message. In fact, as the verse says, he uses the weak and the foolish to put to shame the mighty and the wise. And as we know, it's not our wisdom that separates us, but God in us that separates us from the world around us. It's his wisdom. It's his words. His truths that we have shared with us and that he has shared with us and that we have put into our hearts. And it's the gospel message that we desire so desperately be shared with the world, wanting all who hear it to come to repentance before our Father.

Let's turn to 2 Corinthians 5. Look to the next book in the Bible. 2 Corinthians 5. And we'll read in verse 20. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf. Be reconciled to God, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

It's only through the righteous sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we can become righteous before God ourselves. There is no other way. Paul reinforces this concept in Philippians 3, verse 9. Let's turn to Philippians 3 and verse 9.

Philippians 3, verse 9. We're cutting into the concept, and we're going to hop around a little bit here. But, Philippians 3, verse 9. And be found in him, not having my own righteousness, this is Paul speaking here, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. Why was Paul saying that his righteousness in the law wasn't true righteousness? Why was he saying these things? Let's skip back up to chapter 3, verse 3, and we'll understand where he's coming from here to get to that point.

Check out these next verses, verse 5. This is Paul speaking of himself.

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Concerning the zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is from the law, blameless.

And be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from them all, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. So, Paul was pretty much hanging out there, I am not righteous on my own works. Because then he goes back and recounts with them, hey, if I was to feel like I was righteous, look at all these things! Look at my pedigree, look at who, where I was born, look at what I did, look at what I knew, look at what I taught, look at the works I did. Persecuting the church? That was pretty good, wasn't it? I'm pretty righteous. But no, Paul saw that that was the old man. That was his old righteousness that he felt was righteous, but it was wrong. And he recognized that when God was working with him and opened his heart, and Christ taught him that righteousness only comes through Christ. It doesn't come through anything that we do. It's only through Christ.

We can see clearly that Jesus Christ is our righteousness, and that we achieve this only through him. This is just so encouraging to me, because if I had to achieve the level of righteousness on my own to be counted worthy before God, I might as well just quit.

I've seen my past. I've seen the choices I make still today at times. My righteousness could never make it where I could come before God. I'm in the same boat as so many people, so everybody else. Our righteousness just doesn't cut it on our own. But that's why having Christ's righteousness does cut it. And that when we accept his way of life, and we give our old man the boot, and we say we're going a new direction, that we can have faith and confidence that he is working mightily within us. So it's with this that we can rejoice in the sounding of the trumpet, knowing that through God, he is our righteousness. And what about the second part of this third point? Let's now look at how God is our salvation. Let's turn to Isaiah 12.

Isaiah 12.

And in verse 1.

We'll read verses 1-3, and Isaiah 12, verse 1-3. And in that day you will say, O Lord, I will please you, though you were angry with me, your anger is turned away, and you comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song. He also has become my salvation. Therefore, with joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Matthew Henry Commentary has this to say about these scriptures. This is from Matthew Henry Commentary. Those that have God for their salvation may enjoy themselves with the holy security and serenity of mind. Let faith in God as our salvation be effectual, for one, to silence our fears. We must trust and not be afraid. Not be afraid that the God we trust will fail us. No, there is no danger of that. Not to be afraid of any creature, though ever so formidable and threatening.

Two, to support our hopes. Is the Lord Jesus Christ our salvation? Then He will be our strength and song. We have work to do and temptations to resist. And we may depend on Him to enable us for both. That was from Matthew Henry's commentary on these verses. I really like when it encapsulated a lot of what I was feeling and sometimes better words.

Let's go get verse 3 again in Isaiah 12 verse 3.

Jesus is speaking with the woman at the well in John. We're going to flip forward to John 4. John 4 verse 13. Since we're moving to John, I'm going to repeat Isaiah 12 verse 3 because I want to flow into the verse of John. So go ahead and turn to John 4, and I'm going to read Isaiah 12 verse 3 one more time.

Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. What does this remind you of? I'll tell you what it reminded me of John 4 because here in John 4, Jesus is speaking with the woman at the well. And in John 4 verse 13, Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will be calm in him, a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. It's with joy that we draw from these waters that lead to everlasting life. And God the Father desires that we rejoice before him and in his Son. The desire that we partake in these living waters that lead to eternal life and that we allow them to be our sustenance. In Hebrews 5 verse 9, we read this of Jesus Christ. And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him.

We have before us our Savior through whom we receive salvation. In no other being, in no other way, can salvation be secured, only through Jesus Christ. So it's with us again that we can rejoice in the sounding of the trumpet, knowing that through Christ, he is our salvation. The fourth point in how God is preparing each of us is that he is our confidence and hope.

He is our confidence and hope.

We have within us a deeply seated confidence and hope in all that God has shared with us and in all his promises. This hope is strong, and this hope is secure.

Let's start out in Psalms 31 verse 24.

As we consider this point, about he is our confidence and our hope.

Psalms 31 verse 24. Psalms 31 verse 24. Psalms 31 verse 24. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Be of good courage, and he will strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Let's break this verse down a little bit, if you will, with me. Be of good courage. We have each seen and experienced the goodness of God in our lives, and it's through this personalized experience that we can be encouraged that God is with us. God is for us. He is with us. And we, as we covered earlier, he will never leave us nor forsake us. So be of good courage. And then the second part of this verse, and he shall strengthen your heart. God will give us what we need to endure through life all the way to the end. He will grant us strength during trials and those times when life just gets too difficult. And it feels like the world is stacked up against us. He will be there. He will grant us encouragement to keep us from reaching the bottomless pit of despair.

He won't allow us to go that low. He will strengthen our hearts. And then the third aspect, all you who hope in the Lord. We have each learned firsthand from this life that there is only one solid foundation that we can build upon. All you have to do is look around and see people wandering through life. We just see them because wondering, looking for hope, looking for something that they can trust. And we hear different news articles, stories we read, TV shows, like the news that we watch. Do you see hope anywhere in the world? Our politicians, they speak of hope, but their hope is empty. There is nothing it comes to from their hope. Nobody in this world has hope, except for those who trust and rely on God.

He is our source of hope. There is only one true source. And we have found it. It's through this hope that we can rest assured that our future is with God, the provider and source of true hope. True hope. And it's in this hope that we can find peace when we experience physical death in this world. It's another aspect of this Holy Day that we picture today. There's an aspect of physical death tied into it. Death is not the end to those who believe in God. We can have peace knowing that death is not the end. Many in this world have a real fright of what happens after death. We've had a personal family member in the glorious side of the family, a grandmother who trembled as her life came to an end, because she didn't feel she was worthy to be in heaven, to be with God and those types of things. And she feared death, and it consumed her thoughts, and she cried a lot through it. It was difficult to see. What are the two things that people are most scared of in this world? Public speaking and death. Public speaking and death. I believe those are still the top two. People wonder what will happen to me, what will happen to my loved ones. But God has a plan. God has a plan, doesn't he? And it's through this plan that we know and understand that this life isn't the end. That we won't just die and that be the end of it. Or as some other religions believe, that there's heaven and there's hell, you have a 50-50. There's only one way or the other. You either get to be at peace and enjoy or tormented forever. Some religions teach that. Or reincarnation, you become a tree. Yay, become a tree. And depending on if you're one of those trees out in California, you could be a tree for a really long time. No, we don't believe in any of those. We have recorded in Scripture for us that God has a plan, not just for those called and baptized now. But He has a plan for all humanity who has ever lived. It's through this promise that we can have peace and hope in our lives and for those that we love. And yes, it is sad when death comes to those that are near to us. It's sad because we're going to miss seeing them or talking with them, hugging them, gaining encouragement from them, catching up with them. But we know it's a temporary goodbye, not permanent. It's this plan from God that gives each of us peace, knowing what really happens at death. A real encouraging Scripture is in Romans 15 verse 13. You'll turn with me. Romans 15 and verse 13. Romans 15 verse 13. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of His Holy Spirit. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. We must believe to have hope. Without belief, there can be no hope. And it's through the Holy Spirit living inside of us that this hope comes to life. We feel it. We believe it. We come to trust and depend on this hope to help us deal with our daily struggles and difficult times in life. It's the reason we continue to press on. It's the reason we continue to endure our race to the finish. Our hope is alive, and our hope is certain. Let's turn to Titus 2.

Titus 2. We'll start in verse 11 through 14. Titus 2 and verse 11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed, hope, and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works. And then let's look at the fifth point. This will be the final point today. The fifth point in how God is preparing each of us. God is preparing each of us that he is our victory and triumph. He is our victory and our triumph. It's through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that our victory is secured. And it's through the fulfillment of this Feast of Trumpets and the return of Jesus Christ through this earth that we triumph over death. Let's look at 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, and we'll read in verse 57 and verse 58. 1 Corinthians 15, 57.

The Father formed the plan and executed the plan through the giving of his only Son. Victory is in front of us. Victory is secured and established. It won't go away and it will not change. And as the Scripture says, this is why our labor is not in vain. Because our victory is secure. I'll reference 1 Corinthians 29 verse 11. 1 Corinthians 29 verse 11. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, and the glory, the victory, and the majesty. For all that is in heaven and in earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head overall. In the victory of Jesus Christ comes triumph over death for the saints of God. On this great piece of trumpets, let us remember the promise that awaits those who finish their race. Let's turn to Matthew 24 verse 30. I feel like I'm going to owe Mr. DeCampo some apologies, so I'll just publicly say it. The first speaker always gets to use all the great verses and use up all their notes and things.

I'm going to borrow from God's word the scriptures that talk about this resurrection of Christ's return and the saints being resurrected. We're going to go through several of these because they paint a beautiful picture of what this day represents and why we're not at work today, why we're not at school today, why we're here, His people, gathered together. This is what it pictures at the second coming of Jesus Christ, Matthew 24 verse 30.

The first thing that's going to happen on this day is going to happen on this day. Let's look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13. 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 13.

The subheading here in my Bible says, The Comfort of Christ's Coming. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 13. But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who've fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

This is going back to that aspect of death that I was talking about a little bit ago, and how the world has this fear, this unknown idea of what happens after death. Verse 14, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sweep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means proceed those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. And let's turn to Revelation 20. I said I'd use them all. Revelation 20. There's nothing wrong with repetition, so if He uses them again, great. Nothing wrong with repetition on this day. Revelation 20, verse 4.

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus, and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. We can't skip over these scriptures on this day of trumpets.

This is our promise. This is our guarantee. Not just for us, for all those who have wore huge shoes in the past, who've ministered to God's people, who served in the church, who did their part in their lives to be followers of Jesus Christ. This is their promise, too, to be resurrected on this day of trumpets, to be with Christ in the sky, and then to come down as he plants his feet on this earth, for the saints to also plant their feet on this earth again, and to serve and to work with him. This is a great day. Jesus Christ is returning with the triumphant blast of a trumpet, and this will usher in an amazing new time that the earth has never experienced before.

One last scripture we'll look at in Psalm 89.

Psalm 89.

In preparing for this message, I was doing a word study, and one of the words led me here. And reading through this, I just said to me, this is beautiful to end this message with. Psalm 89, verse 11, we'll read through verse 18.

In high is your right hand.

In our King to the Holy One of Israel, our great God is sending back his Son to this earth to establish his kingdom and to spread his way of life throughout the earth. While we have our part to play in following God and enduring to the end, we can rely that God will complete the work he has started in each one of us. His love and his mercy is unmeasurable and without end.

Once again, Psalms 89, 15, and 16, blessed are the people who know the joyful sound. They walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance. In your name they rejoice all day long, and in your righteousness they are exalted.