Blessings From the God Family

Thank you very much for the special music that we've had, both the operatory music, which is a beautiful piece, very, very beautiful, and also for the choir. Those pieces go by so quickly and they rehearse so carefully and take so much time. Music is an important part of the feast, including the music that you and I sing to God. So it is really a compliment to this feast and our expression of appreciation to God. When we think about the Feast of Tabernacles, it's all good. I've been pondering this for weeks. Everything about the Feast of Tabernacles is positive in our minds from the very time the feast planner comes out. We're excited!

The feast! We even call it the feast. There are seven feasts and we call one the feast.

Why is that? Because it's so enjoyable. It's so filled with blessings. Everything about it is good and it's great. In Deuteronomy 28, verse 2, it says, And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you.

That's great. That's what we humans like. All these blessings shall come upon you and, like a tsunami, will overtake you. They'll overwhelm you. Our God is the God that says, I will rain down so many blessings from heaven you won't be able to receive them all.

But there's a connection with that. And there's a connection with this feast that we are celebrating that's in the next phrase of Deuteronomy 28, too.

These will come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. That's the key. That's the key to the millennium.

That's the key to the eighth day, second resurrection. That's the key to all of God's blessings for you and me now as those who will be first fruits in his kingdom.

It's all conditional right there because, cause and effect, you obey the voice of the Lord your God. In reflecting on all the blessings and the positives of this way of life, sometimes we're surprised by some negatives that pop up in our life, by what we call trials. And they tend to hit us out of nowhere.

Let me ask you a question. How many of you have been associated with or directly involved with a trial since last feast? See what I'm saying?

It may be ourself, our health. It might be our bank account. It might be our job. It might be a loved one, a friend, a catastrophe, an accident, whatever it is. We then say, why this? It's a little out of character, isn't it?

This isn't what I expect as a child of God and one who is obeying the voice of the Lord my God. Why is this not a blessing? That's a good question and one that I ponder a lot.

When something happens, it can even be small. Sometimes if I'm racing to something, I'm a little behind and all the lights turn red. I start wondering, what am I doing wrong in life? That I'm getting all these red lights. Sometimes the check bounces at the bank and I think, oh no! I start examining myself. My ties are sent in on autopilot, but did they make it? I don't know. I haven't checked. Am I out of sorts? We start wondering, what's going wrong? If health all of a sudden, an illness, it's like, why this? Why now? We examine ourselves with trials and challenges, family sufferings. Why? We want to retain God's blessings and if we lose them, we want to regain them. We want to repent, don't we?

We want to get back in sync with God so those blessings will keep coming. And that is why we are children of God. The fact that we stop and consider what might be out of sync in my life with God's directions is an excellent thing for you and me to ponder because that would be God's Spirit prompting us. It shows a desire for us to be right in God's eyes.

I don't know how many people that walked through the door this morning that were perfectly right in God's eyes, but I know I wasn't one of them, but I'm striving to be. And every time I have an opportunity to readjust and do better, I'm excited about that. And God does bless us with that attitude. In contrast, obedience to God is rather a rare occurrence in this society and this age because there's a different God, there's a different mindset and it runs contrary to God. And thus, our news and our world is filled with the opposite of God's blessings. We don't want to be part of this world. And this Feast pictures everyone coming out of the world, having put Satan behind after the Feast of the Day of Atonement and moving now in a time where the knowledge of God covers the earth and people are beginning to come on board and doing His commandments. This Feast is the first festival in the Feast season where God's blessings roll in for all humanity. This is the start of God blessing the whole world. And what a difference it will make. In the coming Kingdom of God on earth, led by Jesus Christ, there is a difference between today and then. And I'd like to examine today in this message the underlying key to the good that will be in that age, to that which we so readily celebrate. For that, we came and we've spent our energies, time and money to come here and assemble for seven and then an eighth day. Let me ask this question.

Do you realize that the family of God, the God family, is the embodiment of blessings?

There's no other source of true blessings other than God. They don't come from Satan.

They don't come from the world. They don't come from your and my carnality. Blessings actually come from a single source, and that is the God family. If you really understand that, then do you understand that as a son or daughter of God now, and as a future member of the God family, you are to be part of the blessings that come? You are to be part.

It's not just God that we are to look forward to having blessings from, but as we are associated more and more with the family of God, it is you and I that need to take on that attribute of a family member of God, God's family, one who is blessing according to his rules, according to his laws, according to his mindset. So let's examine our relationship with God's blessings today and also throughout all eternity. The title of the sermon today is, Blessings from the Family of God. Notice how inclusive that is of you. Blessings from the family of God. What is God's will for you, for me, for everyone? In Deuteronomy chapter 5 and verse 29, here's what God says. Here's what defines God's will. Deuteronomy chapter 5 and verse 29. Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and always keep my commandments that it might be well with them and their children forever. That is God's will. That's not always my will. My will as a human being is, oh, this looks right for me or that sounds good for me, me, me, me, me, me, me. And so we get things in our lives and in our minds where we stumble over God's will. And therefore, Jesus encourages us every day to pray through a certain outline to put God and His kingdom, His will first, to put His source of mindset, the bread of life, and to pursue that and not be associated with deception, with deceit, or with the God of this world. God wants humans to have good lives now and forever. Jesus said in John chapter 10 and verse 10, I have come that they may have life and they may have it more abundantly. Everything about Jesus Christ is good. I want you to have life, have it more abundantly. In verse 11, He says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. So our very introduction to Jesus Christ as our Savior and God the Father is, they are about good.

They are only about blessings. And that is conditional on us developing that mindset of thinking and acting like they do. The annual festivals show us the order of God's plan of salvation. It gives us the order for all humanity. It begins with the Passover.

We see Jesus Christ, who was foreordained before the foundation of the world, had a specific role that He would function in. And also we read that before the foundation of the world, others would be called, represented by the Days of Unleavened Bread, who would grow and also become first fruits at the resurrection when Jesus Christ returns at the harvest of the first fruits, the festival we more often refer to as Pentecost. So that group then unites the Feast of Trumpets pictures, the resurrection, the reign of Jesus Christ beginning with His Bride, the removal of the God of unhappiness and cursing Satan the Devil, and then the establishment of what we're celebrating here today.

Here we are actually enjoying a picture of someone else's time on earth, the physical life that they will have as they come to know God, obey God, and be receiving the physical things. But at this time in the future, when the millennial reign is taking place, we will be with Christ. We will sit on His throne. We will teach. We will administer. We will be part of the blessings of God in spirit form. In 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 20, we see some of this order explained by the Apostle Paul.

1 Corinthians 15 verse 20, But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. And verse 23, But each one in his own order, Christ the first fruits afterward those who are Christ at His coming. Paul goes on to say we will be changed into spirit. And in 1 John chapter 3, we find that we will be like God. We will see Him as we are, and we will be like God.

So during the millennial realm, we will be part of that spirit divine God family. Let's notice some of the blessings associated with that. In Revelation chapter 19 and verse 9, here right at the end of the book of Revelation, we get glimpses forward of some exciting things.

Revelation chapter 19 and verse 9, right after the bride has made herself ready, it says, Then he said to me, Right, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. See, we'll be moving into that spirit form, that spirit relationship, the bride, the support, right with the Godhead. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. Blessings. That's what we are to receive going forward. In chapter 20 and verse 6, here we see the angel.

He's explaining what he's seeing. And he says here in verse 6, blessed. When we see this word blessed in the New Testament coming out of the Greek, it has a dynamic aspect to it. It means, Oh, how supremely blessed! That's this is really a blessing. Oh, how supremely blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Right now it is challenging because we're not in a kingdom on earth of God. We are in an evil age and we have to go through the things that Jesus Christ went through on earth.

And therefore we receive the better resurrection, the Bible says. But we also have the tougher road to hoe, as it were. But we will be God's family and we will be assisting Jesus Christ and God the Father blessing those throughout the millennial generations. It's hard to imagine how that will start and transform over time. We can only use our imagination because the Bible doesn't say. But right now we have God the Father and Jesus Christ who are creators.

And we see statements about almost a Garden of Eden type setting in the millennium. They are creators and now they bring 144,000 or more members like them into their family who, if God the Father gives us permission, would also be creators. What could we do with this earth as the millennium begins in creating a beautiful global environment that it's never been seen since the little patch of the Garden of Eden? We can just dream about those things, but it's going to be good. In Isaiah chapter 61 and verse 1, Isaiah 61 and verse 1, it says, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prisons to those who are bound. See, when God shows up, the God family shows up. Blessings take place. And we are to be agents of that then. Verse 7, Instead of your shame, you shall have double honor. Instead of confusion, they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore, in their land, they shall possess double. Everlasting joy shall be theirs. And breaking into verse 8, it says, All who see them shall acknowledge them, for they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.

Blessings, the millennium, the kingdom of God. Blessings, firstfruits, the saints in the age of Satan. It all works together. But the Feast of Tabernacles pictures this future time of blessings. Blessings for humanity. In Deuteronomy 28, 2, notice how this works. Deuteronomy 28, 2, Now it shall come to pass if we can't just expect God's blessings, they can't just expect God's blessings, because God is a blesser, and the God family brings blessings. There's always the if. Jesus Christ said, You are my friends, but there was a condition, if.

We need to understand that about God, and that's why we ask ourselves if things start going wrong. Hmm, am I doing the if part?

It shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to carefully observe all His commandments, which I command you today, that the Lord will set you high above all nations of the earth. And these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, blessed shall you be in the country, blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground, and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle, the offspring of your flocks. Verse 11, The Lord will grant you plenty of goods in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens to give you of rain, and will bless all the work of your hands. So we see once again blessings, feast of tabernacles, joy, blessings, God's kingdom on earth, joy, and blessings. God's family equals blessings for obedient children. Your family should be modeled accordingly. Your family should be blessings for obedient children. God is not daft. Parents should not be daft. What a man sows! That's what he will reap. My life, your life. We're in this together, brothers and sisters. And so are all humans throughout humanity. Dropping down to verse 15, But it shall come to pass if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. That just shows the principle throughout Scripture, all the way from the beginning to the end.

Blessings for obedience and not blessings for disobedience. We see two principles then from Scripture. Obedience brings blessings and lawlessness brings cursings. And those things are somewhat built in as well as divine. There is a natural response to a selfish, greedy individual who just blows through life and destroys relationships. We bring cursings upon ourselves. There is a blessing from those who go through loving and serving, humbly helping stitch people together and assisting them in life.

And that not only brings blessings from humans, but also God steps in and gives us harmony and more of his spirit. And he's pleased with our godly mindset. So we're striving to be more like God. And when we are, we're on track for current blessings in our life, as well as future blessings. Let's put this into context in Romans chapter 8 and verse 28. Romans chapter 8 and verse 28. See, we are now in a unique time because we have the God of this world that we must resist using the power of the armor and the tools that God provides us to successfully navigate the difficult trail, as it were, to the narrow door.

And we can be absolutely successful in doing it. But we must persevere and we must have our heart on that. Obedience will bring support from God on that. So it says in Romans chapter 8 and verse 28, and we know that all things work together for good. Even our trials now, even our challenges, even those speed bumps in life, you'll see that we get a little distracted, disoriented temporarily, we don't understand them, may be dismayed, and yet it begins to come together and we say, oh, there was good in this.

These things are working together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, for whom He foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. See, we become on the throne of Jesus Christ by being like Jesus Christ, by going through what He went through, buffeted by Satan from birth to death, all the challenges from society, and yet being focused on God and godliness and striving to walk the right path.

That He might be firstborn among many brethren or firstborn among many brothers and sisters, family, full family, co-heirs with Him. Verse 32, He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? See, we have a more challenging, sometimes convoluted route that we must take. But God wants to freely give us and bless us with all things. So that angel says, Wow! Those who have the first resurrection, it's amazing how blessed they are. No group will ever be like that group again.

No other group will be in the bride of Christ. No other group will be the first fruits reigning and sitting on the throne of Jesus Christ. No other group will have to be tested by Satan because Satan will not be the God of this world.

Do you always feel blessed? Well, sometimes we don't feel blessed when we go through these trials, even reading Jesus' own life and His own words. They can be perplexing at times, and yet we can be absolutely confident. We can be absolutely faithful, trusting as we endure and persevere to our end. It says in verse 35, Who then can separate out from us the love of Christ? Who can take that agape love out of us? Shall tribulation? See, for us, there's tribulation sometimes. Is that going to cause us to fail and quit? Or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness? These aren't the things that we hear about in the millennial generations or the second resurrection generations, but these are associated with us.

The Apostle Paul went through a lot of that. David went through a lot of that. Famine or nakedness or peril or sword. Verse 37, Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. So we have a mature mind that's given to us by God through His Spirit and a pursuit of godliness. And the result is the opportunity to be part of the God family from which blessings will come.

And we in part are qualifying for that, if you want to use that term, or we're showing God that we want to be part of God's blessings for humanity. And we're here celebrating the time when we will be part of that blessing.

We will help and encourage and we will bless and even give divine blessings as God will allow as spirit beings assisting Christ to humans.

When we think about blessings, when we think about good, there are so many applications of good and blessed and blessings in the Bible. The word good is used 700 times in God's word. 700 times.

That's what God is about. The source of good is always the God family. And the key Jesus gives in Matthew chapter 19 and verse 7 is this. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.

You know, it just keeps being restored and restated throughout Scripture. About 60 years, two generations after Christ died, John stating again in 1st, 2nd, 3rd John how important it is to be keeping God's commandments, the same commandments that have always been taught.

And that's the key to knowing who God's children are, John says.

Lawful according to God's commandments. Right or righteous just means right according to God's commandments and right in God's eyes. These come from God's Spirit, which is love, joy, peace. The Greek word for peace is irane. It means stitch together. It's relationships coming together. And wherever God is involved, things come together. And when people and things start breaking apart, you know there's some other source involved in that because God is love, joy, and healing, stitching together. When we look at joy and glad and the roots of joy and glad and gladness, 300 times in the Bible that is used. In Revelation chapter 22 and verse 14, go right to the end of the Bible. Blessed again, that same word with a dynamic attribute. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they might have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. Let's notice the complex interrelationship of this to all who are living godly lives. Let's go to Psalm chapter 16 and verse 5. Psalm chapter 16, and we'll read parts of verses 5 through 11. Psalm 16 verse 5.

This can be partially attributed to David and partially attributed to Jesus Christ as a prophecy.

O Lord, you are the portion of my inheritance and my cup. You maintain my lot. Verse 6, the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance. Verse 9, therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also will rest in hope. Verse 11, you will show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

That is what we look for. That is what God wants for us. And did Jesus at the same time have trials in his life? Oh, yes, he did. Yes, he did. Always. Did David, the other one associated with this passage?

Yes, he did. What about you? Do you and I? Well, we raised our hands, didn't we?

So we are in the same group, and that is not in any way to justify any time that we are out of sync with God. But that is to say that just because some things befall us that take our take us by surprise at times, they befall all the righteous people in this age.

When godly living is applied, then good things result. David suffered so many challenges, and yet he concluded, remember, in Psalm 23, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

We look forward to that. We are blessed by the God family right now, by God the Father and Jesus Christ. People's lives are incredibly blessed. If and when we make right choices. When we looked at blessed and its compounds throughout Scripture, we find 490 times blessed, blessings, blessed.

490 times these are used in Scripture. The word lucky is used zero times.

It is cause and effect, isn't it? In James chapter 1 and verse 25, you may remember this statement that James makes. James 1.25, He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it. And it's not a forgetful hearer, but as a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. We hold to that, don't we? And we look for God's blessings and we thank God for his blessings. In my life, I have come to stop asking God for blessings and start asking God for direction daily, to direct my life, direct my thoughts, put his thoughts in my mind, put his will in my mind, because God is associated with blessings. If you do what God says and you do his will and you and you're inspired by him and you're seeking to to actually live his way, it is a blessing. The last thing I really want is for God to bless what I'm doing. See, somehow bless me if I'm out of sync with him. He will automatically be a blessing to those who are in sync with him, because it says this one will be blessed in what he does. I think I've spent too much of my life trying to get God to say, oh, I want to do this. Bless me. Instead, I get up now and I pray and say, oh, you want me to do this? Help me. And life becomes a real big blessing for the day.

So God and his family are associated with doing good and blessings across time.

We want to be associated with that. We're to become agents of that, in fact, to those who obey God.

Let's notice this in Ephesians chapter 6, verses 1 through 4. Ephesians chapter 6 looks back to the commandments and looks back to the earlier blessings that we read of in Deuteronomy to that period of time. And once again, Paul states, children obey your parents and the Lord.

Ephesians 6, 1. Children, obey your parents and the Lord. We never come to a permissive age or some self-directed time where we somehow know better than God and we can all become, you know, socialists in our mind doing things that feel good, etc., etc., and getting God to bless that.

No, children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right.

Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. And you fathers don't provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

So the children are to obey their parents. Parents are to teach the children what God says, and in doing so, all are blessed. You know, even attending this Feast of Tabernacles was dependent upon you obeying God and me. It really comes down to this. Let's notice in Deuteronomy 16, in verse 15. Here's a command for us to assemble for the Feast of Tabernacles, which we've done.

But notice what's part of this. Deuteronomy 16, verse 15. Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you.

We are here because God blessed us. He will bless you in all your produce, the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice. Now, if we didn't obey God and we didn't save our festival tithe, and we didn't do what he said, would we be blessed? No, we are here because the Lord your God has blessed you. So the foundation of the New Testament Church, the people in the millennial period, the people in the Second Resurrection period, the principle is God blesses the obedient.

You can see that. You can see how people during the millennial phase begin to keep his festivals.

They get rain and deuces, and if they don't, etc., etc. God is consistent. He doesn't change.

So for the millennium to be a blessing, people must obey. They must obey God. And so we're here to picture people obeying God. And so we assemble obeying God. And we are here to picture the blessings of those people obeying God. And so as we obey God, God has blessed us and brought us here.

In Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse 22, we are told to tithe to God. If you are earning an income or if you have some business or whatever, the increase, the profits we are to tithe on.

Chapter 14 verse 22, you shall truly tithe. Didn't say maybe tithe.

You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.

And you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place where he chooses, not where you choose, where he chooses, to make his name abide. The tithe of your grain and of your new wine, your oil, the firstborn of your herds and of your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.

That's what we're here for, to fear or respect God, his commandments. It talks about the journeys too long. You can convert it to money. Going on down into verse 24, when the Lord your God has blessed you and you go to the place which he chooses. Now a change happens. We've talked about God blessing us. Now there's a change in this instruction. We drop to verse 26.

It's your turn to join in being part of the God family blessing. Verse 26, And you shall spend that money. Ah, now you have the blessing from God. What are you going to do with that? You shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires. For oxen, sheep, wine, similar drink, whatever your heart desires, you shall eat there before the Lord your God and you shall rejoice. Notice you and your household. You are to be part of God's family blessing to your household.

Not only that, in Deuteronomy chapter 16 and verse 14. Deuteronomy 16, 14, you shall rejoice in your feast. You and your son and your daughter and your male servant and your female servant and the Levite and the stranger and the fathers and the widow. You're going to be a blessing to all these people at the feast. See how, as we mirror God the Father and Jesus Christ as their children, we are to join them in being part of that blessing from them to others.

All of God's family are called to become like God, and one aspect of the God family is being a blessing to others. In conclusion, during this festival, we celebrate blessings that will be coming to billions around the globe during the millennium and following that when all peoples are resurrected that never have had the chance to live and know God like you and I. We have the opportunity now to be preparing to serve them on a divine scale, assisting Jesus Christ as bride, serving with him as God directs. In the kingdom of God, we will have another unique opportunity because we have lived this way of life, because we have known God, and then we will see God the Father as he is, 1 John 3. And we will be like God the Father, and we will be with Christ on his throne. We will become witnesses of God, of the God family, and we will become agents of that family. Let's notice as we conclude in 1 John 1 and verse 1. 1 John 1 and verse 1, we will become agents of witnesses and agents of blessings from that family of God.

Here's what we will be able to say. Here's what we will be able to teach as eyewitnesses during the millennium. That which was from the beginning, 1 John 1, 1, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled concerning the Word of life. We will be the bride of Christ. We will have been to the wedding supper with him. We'll be seated on his throne. We'll be assisting him.

The life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us, that which we have seen and heard, we declare to you, people in the millennium, people in the Second Resurrection, that you may also have fellowship with us. And truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you, or we will say to you, that your joy may be full. You are blessed by God at this feast. Now, as his children, let's generate the blessings of the God family to those around us.