The Enemy Is Us

Thank you very much, Donna. I certainly appreciate the special music. Beautiful. Thank you very much. And good morning, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath Services on this special double Sabbath weekend with Pentecost tomorrow. Just give you a quick media update before I get into the sermon this morning. As some of you know, we've been running 30-second television commercials in 18 cities across the United States. The last four weeks, almost five weeks now. It's 18 cities altogether, including Cincinnati. I don't know if anybody's seen the commercials here in Cincinnati or not. Okay, so Ray has. Good. All right, so Rose has. That's good to know. The commercials are being seen by about a million people a week, three times. With the various Nielsen statistics, you want to have the ads seen three times to have some kind of an impact. So about a million people a week seeing the ads three times. So the last four weeks, that's four million people in these 18 cities. So tomorrow morning starts a new ad. The first five weeks was for Daris McNeely's series on Joseph's birthright, the coronation and things like that. Of course, ultimately leading to Jesus Christ taking David's throne when he returns. Tomorrow morning starts a series called Unmasked by Steve Myers for five weeks, exposing Satan the devil's work in our world and even in people's churches today. Is the devil in your church? Is tomorrow morning's program. Or Satan in your church? I think it might be. So for five weeks, a new ad, and then five weeks from tomorrow is the final five-week series by Gary Petty on the Unknown Jesus. One of the programs focuses on the fact of the Sabbath being an important commandment today. So I certainly appreciate your prayers for the success of this. We bring awareness to the church, to the Beyond Today media elements that we have, the magazine, the TV program, just to build awareness of the church and even get people to our website to start to read and study more, watch the programs. So keep us in your prayers as we continue this advertising series. We ask you a question. What is the solution to humanity's greatest problem?

Secondly, who is our greatest enemy? Now think about that for a moment. Who is our greatest enemy?

God intends to have the entire world as part of his family.

But as we learn from the Feast of Pentecost, and as we heard during the sermon at, he's starting with a small portion to begin with, with the firstfruits, with us. But Pentecost is also a festival where we focus on the Holy Spirit. And tomorrow we are going to observe that exciting day when so much happened soon after Jesus' resurrection. God gave his church a jump start on Pentecost in A.D. 31 with the gift of the Holy Spirit that came in a very visible way. The New Covenant came into effect in an official way on that day of Pentecost. We find seven miracles listed in Acts chapter 2 alone.

The church began in earnest on Pentecost when those 120 disciples were multiplied 25 times to 3,000 disciples in just one day, through the power of the Holy Spirit. The day of Pentecost reminds us about the importance of the New Covenant.

So what is humanity's greatest problem? Who is our greatest enemy? I've divided the sermon into two easy parts. What is the problem and what is the solution?

So what is the problem? What is humanity's most serious problem?

In the War of 1812, Oliver Hazard Perry won a great victory on Lake Erie. Perry was an American naval commander, born in South Kingston, Rhode Island, in August of 1785. He is most known for his heroic role in the War of 1812 during the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie. He is remembered for the words on his battle flag, Don't give up the ship. That's still used today. He's also known for his message to General William Henry Harrison, which read in part, We have met the enemy and they are ours. We've met the enemy and they are ours. In other words, we will make the enemy ours. We will win.

Skip forward a couple hundred years. During the 1950s, cartoonist Walt Kelly created the most popular comic strip in the United States.

His strip was about an opossum named Pogo and his swamp-dwelling friends. It was also the most controversial and censored cartoon of its time. I guess he cut to the chase on many issues. It reached its peak readership of about 37 million readers in the mid-1950s when it was carried by 450 newspapers.

So in one of his cartoon strips, Kelly parodied the famous battle on Lake Erie perfectly. He summarized mankind's tendency to create our own problems. He changed the famous quote to, we have met the enemy and he is us.

He's saying we have only ourselves to blame for the pollution and destruction of our planet.

This is the problem.

We human beings tend to have a great tendency to sin.

Sinful behavior is self-destructive. And unfortunately, we human beings are sinful. That is really the root of unethical immoral behavior. Sinning in word, in thought, in deed, is really what causes the kind of mixed-up world we now have. We are the problem. The enemy is us. There are a lot of wonderful things in the world, but it's a mixed bag of good and evil. And we know why. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil has been partaken of by all of us. Sadly, there is too much negative and the sinful environment which mankind has created is the source of that instability. We have human nature that causes us to be vulnerable to sin. We were created with free will. And so if you have free will, you have the tendency to do wrong if you don't check yourself. And so we're going to look at the solution to humanity's greatest problem, us. The title of today's message, The Enemy is Us.

Humanity's most serious problem is us. Not just you and me, right? But everyone here on our planet.

So that was point one real quick. What is the problem? So now, what is the solution? Secondly, what is the solution? We need to understand and make the point very clear. The New Covenant solves the problem we just posed. The fact that we tend to be overly sinful. Our biggest problem is us. The New Covenant, though, completes us as human beings. We have five senses. We can see, hear, taste, touch and smell. And beyond that, we have reason in our mind. That's what makes us human, not animal. It's like having a sixth sense, our reason. But our reason is incomplete until we receive the Holy Spirit. Until we receive the Holy Spirit. That's what completes us as human beings.

We're created in the image of God, but at present, humanity does not share in the mind of God.

We do not directly link in with the mind of God until we receive the Holy Spirit. Our spirit, our human spirit, must be joined with God's spirit.

It's the joining of the essence of two spirits. It gives us a greater understanding of His will and a greater ability to fulfill it. This is God's solution to us and our shortcomings. Look at Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18 for a minute, if you would. Matthew chapter 5, we read how Jesus came to bring the new covenant. So if you take a look at Matthew 5 verse 17, Jesus says, Do not think that I came to destroy the law of the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. There's more to it. There's more to it that we're going to complete and fulfill. Verse 18, For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Not a little jot, not a stroke, not one iota.

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ did not change the nature of sin or change God's law, despite what many other churches teach today.

God, for example, set apart appointed times, like the Sabbath. That hasn't changed. Leviticus chapter 23 tells us these are his appointed times. He gave us the Ten Commandments, including the fourth one regarding this very day, the Sabbath. Why would Christ's death and resurrection change that? It didn't.

And then the word of God totals how certain animals were created to be eaten. They have other functions in nature, but not all are to be eaten. God took the trouble to give us two chapters, Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, guiding and directing our eating habits. And of course, there's a lot to say about our sexual activity in Leviticus chapter 18. He begins in the book of Genesis, and then in the book of Matthew, the Gospel of Matthew, he speaks of the ideal marriage, one man, one woman for life. You see, there are standards in the Bible from cover to cover that have not changed. God's law still stands. Christ came to fulfill the law.

What human beings lack is the ability to fully understand and appreciate God's law and understand the spirit, the essence of it. We have to have the discipline, the character, to do it. It's receiving God's spirit that gives us the opportunity to fully please God and therefore to prepare for the future He has in store for us, that future being His spirit-born sons and daughters. Notice John chapter 20 for a moment. The books of John are probably the last writings of the New Testament, and they tie in very closely with the book of Revelation, showing how the Bible is one seamless account from Genesis to Revelation. One commentator found 30 parallels between Genesis and Revelation.

Let's look at John chapter 20 when Jesus is with his apostles after his resurrection, verses 21 through 23 of John 20. So Jesus said to them again, "'Peace to you, as the Father has sent me, I also send you.' And verse 22, when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. And if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. The Holy Spirit is the power they have to fulfill God's will for them." Here in this story in John chapter 20. Now, looking at verse 22, what comes to mind is Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7, back when the first human was created. Notice Genesis 2 verse 7. I'll read it to you. Maybe jot it down in your notes. Genesis 2 verse 7, "'The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.'" So in John chapter 20, Jesus breathed on them. Genesis chapter 2, actually the same being, the word, breathed into them. But today in the church, we have the human spirit being joined with the Holy Spirit, something that is not found in the world as a whole right now. In the church, we have our human spirit being joined with the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, the second Adam, breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life, just as he breathed on the disciples.

When Adam came to life, it seemed that Adam and Eve began sharing God's mind, having access to God's Spirit when they were first created. And that's why their act of rebellion was such a major, major sin. It's like they were members of the church who rebelled and became disfellowshipped, given out of the garden, no longer able to have the Holy Spirit of that gift to be eternal life with them. Yes, just like in the Garden of Eden, the Holy Spirit can be lost.

We can be disfellowshipped from the garden, so to speak. Even if one is converted, he or she can lose the Spirit. People can become bitter and incorrigible when the Spirit may leave them. We do not know what ultimately will happen to Adam and Eve. That's for another day. But as far as we are concerned, God's Spirit can leave a person, even if the person is being converted. The Bible says, he who shall endure to the end shall be saved.

That's in Matthew chapter 24. You have to endure to the end to be saved, even though we have a down payment on that eternal life right now through the Holy Spirit. Let's read 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 24 through 27, if you would. Let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. This is where the Apostle Paul is urging the Corinthians to run the race of life in a righteous manner.

1 Corinthians 9 verse 24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. So this is implying that you may not obtain it if you don't run the race properly.

Verse 25, and everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. You know, you check yourself, right, as you live your life. Now they do to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus not with uncertainty, thus I fight not as one who beats the air. Verse 27, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. So Paul is saying, yes, we can disqualify ourselves. To put it another way, listen to what was written in Hebrews 12 verses 28 and 29. I read to you Hebrews 12 verses 28 and 29.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we serve God acceptably, serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Verse 29, for our God is a consuming fire. So His mercy will not last forever if we continue to sin. Our God is a consuming fire. We want to serve God acceptably, as is written in Hebrews 12 verse 28. Not be consumed! We know how God guided the Israelites by day with a pillar of cloud and by night with a pillar of fire.

Think of that analogy for us today. We can carefully feed a fire with fuel to cook and to warm ourselves. We can protect the fire from wind and rain to ensure it's not put out. But rain can come and quench the fire. Wind can come and blow the fire out. We can run out of fuel for the fire.

Think of the Holy Spirit as that flame, that fire within you that we are following, just like the Israelites. It needs to be fueled. We need to be praying and studying and living a righteous life. We need to be reinforcing the Spirit of God within us. God gives us His power, but we need to be reinforcing the Spirit's presence by responding to it leading us. If a fire runs out, a fuel, it burns out. If the wind blows too strongly, it goes out.

If the fuel becomes wet or it rains, the fire goes out. It's quenched. And we're told not to quench the fire, not to quench the Spirit. I'm going to read 1 Thessalonians 5 verses 19-22 if you want to turn there for a moment. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 19, where Paul said to the Thessalonians, Do not quench the Spirit. So that implies, yes, it can be quenched. Do not quench the Spirit. Verse 20, do not despise prophecies. Verse 21, test all things, hold fast what is good. And verse 22, abstain from every form of evil. So we abstain from evil, hold fast what is good, and we don't quench the Spirit.

Human beings, because of our ancestors' rebellion, caused a separation between humanity and God. It began in the Garden of Eden.

And now we've also come under the influence of Satan and his demons. It's a great downward pull that we have to overcome. We have to abstain from every form of evil. And along with that, our biggest enemy is ourselves. We call it human nature. But it's not just whatever inherent difficulties we may have in life, but also the additional influence of evil beings upon us in this world. And so we have a selfish, darker side we have to overcome, and it can be overcome. Enough people in the world can generally be okay sufficiently for society to hold together in a worldly way. But we need to be more than okay. We have to be living God's way of life in a virtuous manner. And we have to have a relationship with God in such a way that we're developing the character and understanding of the mind of God. And he will then ultimately make us immortal, to fully live his way of life after our resurrection as spirit beings. To cease from sinning, both in word and thought and deed, we need to have the Holy Spirit come into our lives in a very direct way. It begins with us repenting of the worldly mentality we had before baptism, which is repenting of us, our biggest problem. Because as humans we tend to sin. We have to repent of that and make a commitment to accept for ourselves the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for forgiveness. But after that comes the receiving of the Holy Spirit. We then share in the very mind of God.

Notice John's final words to his disciples in John 16.7. John 16 verse 7. This is a passage we often read at the time of the Passover service. John 16 verse 7. Jesus says, Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, because the disciples were not happy that he was leaving. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. That Helper, of course, being the Holy Spirit. But if I depart, I will send it to you. And of course, it was not long after this, after his resurrection, he returned and breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit, the Helper. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate who goes along with us, accompanies us through life. Our Helper, our Comforter, our Advocate, as we read in John, proceeds from the Father. The Word of God, Jesus Christ, sends the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit helps us to obey more effectively. It helps us to get beyond ourselves and have a different perspective on life, spiritually. Look at Acts 5. Note the words of the Apostle Peter and his words to the Jewish council after being miraculously freed from prison by an angel of the Lord. Acts 5, verses 31 and 32.

This is the Apostle Peter. He'd just been freed from prison miraculously. Acts 5, verse 31, him, Jesus, Jesus God has exalted to his right hand to be prince and savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And he tells the Jewish council, and we are his witnesses to all these things. And so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. Receiving and keeping the Holy Spirit, making sure that Spirit is not quenched, requires ongoing obedience. When the Ten Commandments were given to the children of Israel, they were not a nation converted, shall we say, en masse. There were a few, but generally speaking they were a carnal nation. So they were dealt with under the terms of the Old Covenant. We are now under the New Covenant. The Old Covenant defined sin, but it also defined enforcement procedures. And those enforcement procedures were to keep people on the straight and narrow. There was a sacrificial system, which served as a discipline, but it also served to teach the nation, and even us, the ultimate necessity for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all sins. But even that was part of an enforcement procedure. Now under the New Covenant, the Church doesn't have the same power to punish you, or fine you, or to stone you, or execute you like under the Old Covenant. What the Church can do is tell you, you're out of here. You can't be with us anymore, what we might call disfellowshipment. That's a discipline the Church can exercise as you read in the New Testament. The Church is not a secular authority as under the Old Covenant. That was a theocracy, church and state, together. We're not a state, we're a church under the New Covenant. And so you and I have a relationship with God, and when we sin we repent and are dealt with under the New Covenant enforcement procedures. We don't have to offer sacrifices for our sin with our repentance, because we have the one sacrifice that obviates the need for all the others of the past. That's the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So much of this is explained in the book of Hebrews and elsewhere. The limitations of the people under the Old Covenant, the problem with the people, is covered very well in Hebrews. The enemy was themselves. Look at Deuteronomy 5 verse 29, just one verse from Deuteronomy chapter 5, because it's all a matter of the heart and God's calling and the need for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Deuteronomy 5 verse 29, God says, The problem under the Old Covenant was the people and their heart. We know, unfortunately, the history which shows they didn't generally have that heart that God desired. The overall choice was given to Israel. They had God's law. Look at Deuteronomy chapter 30 verse 19. Here's what God said to Israel as Moses was nearing the end of his life. Deuteronomy 30 verse 19, And we know of the blessing and cursing chapters. Therefore, choose life that both you and your descendants may live. God gave them his law. He wanted them to have that heart to follow him. He wanted them to choose life. God warned Israel in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, if you disobey, then cursing will come. Calamity will come. And they disobeyed. The calamities came. But God also promised that ultimately he would reconcile with them.

And with them, God gave the covenant at Mount Sinai, the Sinaitic covenant, which was effective up to a point, but it didn't change their nature. Their nature had to be changed through the Holy Spirit. That's why Jesus told Nicodemus, You may be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which the Jews thought that's all you needed, was to be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But Jesus told Nicodemus, but now you need to be born again. You need a change of heart and mind. And that's what's being given to us under the new covenant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's go back to Jeremiah 31 and read about the new covenant. Jeremiah 31, verses 31 through 33. Jeremiah 31, verse 31, it's a prophecy for our time, the new covenant times. Behold, the days of coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, which is the church today. But this is promising a new covenant for all of Israel and Judah at some point in the future. The days of coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this, verse 33, is a covenant they will make with the house of Israel after those days. Later in history, says the Lord, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Humankind must have God's law within their nature, a different relationship with him than they had up until then. Acts 15 shows how this actually goes beyond Israel and Judah. It starts with them upon Christ's return, but ultimately it's intended for the whole human race. The problem isn't with the law. The problem is with the people who have a tendency to break the law. We're our own worst enemy. The enemy is us. Think of your own struggles and sins. Whose fault is it? Who can you blame for your shortcomings? No one but yourself. The enemy is us. To quote Walt Kelly again, we have met the enemy, and he is us. Who will stand with you before Jesus' throne when you're judged? Who else can prop you up? No one. It's between ourselves and God alone. We have to overcome ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit. And then Jeremiah 31 verse 34, the very next verse, No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me. From the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin, I will remember no more. So here's the point. Not only will you and I and all mankind through the Holy Spirit have a better understanding of God's law and the ability to keep it, but also through Jesus Christ's sacrifice, Jeremiah tells us, we will have forgiveness of sins. And if we live a life of repentance, we can maintain that relationship. Remember what King David said? He sinned greatly, but begged God, Don't take your Holy Spirit from me. Yes, the Spirit can be quenched. It can be lost. We need to remember that. David repented bitterly, as we read in Psalm 51, and his relationship with God was restored. Note, though, that King David did have a lot of suffering to endure for what he did, for his great sin. He had a very difficult life after that, but he was forgiven, and he's going to be in the resurrection as king over all of the tribes of Israel under Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 31 verse 34 here tells us, God will remember our sins no more. So the New Covenant covers everything. It gives us the ability to please God, and it gives us forgiveness for the, hopefully, not too many times we displease him in the future.

The New Covenant helps us be more obedient than we've ever been. The Old Covenant enforcement procedure is not there, but the law is defined even down to the level of our heart and motive. Not what you do, but what you even think. And the commandments of God remain, as before. Let's look at the book of Hebrews chapter 8, which explains this so well. Hebrews chapter 8 will see how the New Covenant gives us the opportunity to have a relationship with God, which the average Israelite didn't have. Hebrews chapter 8 is also an echo of Jeremiah chapter 31. Hebrews 8 verse 7. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Verse 8, because finding fault with them... The fault was with the people. In other words, finding fault with them... You know, with us, in other words, he says, quote... And this is mostly from Jeremiah chapter 31.

Because they did not continue in my covenant. Once again, the enemy is us. And I disregarded them, says the Lord. Verse 10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind, write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbour, and none his brother, saying, No, the Lord.

For all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. End of quote. And then verse 13 then says, So, now, in that he says a new covenant, he's made the first obsolete. Now, what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. So, now we're under the new covenant, that time when the Holy Spirit can open our hearts and minds to God's will in his way.

The old covenant set up Israel as a model nation to be blessed. And as a nation, they could have moved forward to the next stage. But most of them didn't get that far because of their sin, and slid into idolatry and disobedience. A few did. There are going to be some Old Testament people in the resurrection. In the New Testament, we read about some of those personalities that will be in the resurrection.

But generally speaking, it was a carnal nation. They failed in their marriage covenant with God. They had a relationship with God to be a chosen people, but unfortunately, they fumbled the ball in a serious way. They slid into serious sin and idolatry and disobedience. As we know from the festival of the eighth day, God isn't through with them yet, though, is he? There is a plan for everyone. God is going to reconcile with Israel, with Judah, and with all the nations of the world.

When Jesus Christ returns, then the rest of the world will follow Israel. And the example Israel sets properly this time. The fault was in and with the people, not with God or his covenants. The fault was with the people. Let's conclude with just three scriptural passages, starting with the book of Ephesians chapter 1. The letter Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus was speaking about the Holy Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we have the opportunity to fully please God.

And it's also our down payment on immortality. It allows us to have a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We become, upon conversion and receiving the Holy Spirit, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. Think about that. Brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. We are truly his disciples, following him. God can then look forward to making us complete members of his family. We're already his children, but we're going to eventually mature and we'll trade the physical for spirit. The physical for spirit will live in a different dimension.

We won't be in the physical realm anymore. We'll be immortal sons and daughters of God. The Holy Spirit, which comes now through the New Covenant and Christ's sacrifice, is a down payment on our immortality. We're not inherently immortal, like many teach. We're currently mortal. But through the Holy Spirit, through God, we then have the potential for being resurrected to immortal life. As we noted at the beginning of this message, the biggest problem people have is a tendency to sin.

The biggest problem the world has is a tendency to sin. But by receiving God's Holy Spirit, that can be solved. That's the solution to the problem, the solution to us and our own sin and selfishness. And so, as pictured by the Day of Pentecost, the firstfruits of His Kingdom will set the stage for God to bring the rest of humankind on board. God is calling firstfruits, whom Jesus Christ has chosen to be kings and priests and judges under Him in the millennium.

And we pray for that millennium to begin. We pray for God's Kingdom to come. The goal, then, is to convert humankind in that great fall harvest pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles.

But notice Ephesians 1 verses 13, actually 12 through 14. Ephesians 1, 12, breaking into the middle of the sentence, that we who first trusted in Christ, the firstfruits who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. And what is that seal that the Holy Spirit gives us? What is that promise that comes through receiving the Holy Spirit? Verse 14, which is a guarantee of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His glory. The Holy Spirit is our down payment to guarantee the sharing in the mind of God.

We become complete as our spirit joins with God's spirit. God intends us to be in that mind of His. We can then fulfill the prophecies spoken of us, spoken of the saints, and receive that inheritance. Let's just read one prophecy about us in Revelation 12. Because unfortunately receiving God's spirit in today's world also puts us in a situation where the world is marching to a different tune than we are.

We then become potentially objects of persecution. We know that ultimately in the very end time there will be persecution once the church gains global attention, especially at the time of the two witnesses. The church is stronger than the opposition, we know that. Notice what the saints are up against, outlined prophetically in Revelation 12 verse 17. The dragon was enraged with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Who are those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ? Yes, we are those who keep the commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. At some point in the future being the object of Satan's rage. We are now marching to a different tune than the rest of humanity.

We are a target in many ways. And finally, Revelation 14, couple pages over, Revelation 14 verses 12 and 13. Revelation 14, 12, here is the patience of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Said in just a slightly different way. Chapter 12 said, who have the testimony of Jesus Christ?

Here it says those who have the faith of Jesus. Verse 13 of Revelation 14, then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Right, blessed are the dead who lie in the Lord from now on, who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works follow them.

So ultimately, we are blessed for overcoming who we are, our own worst enemy, blessed through the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So we must, as it says in verse 12, be patient as one who keeps the commandments of God and has the testimony and faith of Jesus Christ. Because we will receive that inheritance upon Christ's return. So as we prepare for the Day of Pentecost tomorrow, let's be reminded that having received God's Spirit, we come under the New Covenant. We're able to keep God's commandments in a much more effective way than those in history from ancient Israel.

If preparing ourselves now for immortality, sharing immortality with God and God our Father and Jesus Christ as our elder brother, the New Covenant solves mankind's most serious problem. The greatest problem humanity has to face, which is our own sinful nature. That's the problem with humanity. We have overcome the greatest problem, which is ourselves. The enemy no longer has to be us. Through the Holy Spirit, we now overcome ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit ultimately, effectively, and powerfully. We look forward to the Day of Pentecost tomorrow, and we'll study this a little bit more in two services. Have a good rest of the Sabbath!