First Day of Forever

Well, good afternoon, everyone. Very good to see all of you and to be here at the Feast. Let me compliment the special music. God has certainly been good to us, and it was wonderful to hear that in a beautiful song and a beautiful rendition of that. So thank you very much. You know, it was the first time we've been in this area of Maryland in Ocean City. I'll have to say it's a beautiful feast site, beautiful surroundings and accommodations that we have here. You're wonderful people, and we're looking forward to getting to meet all of you. It's been everywhere you go for the feast. It's amazing the places that God puts His name for us to be. I hope you all will enjoy the time here, but most of all, enjoy the time that you have to spend with each other, because we are here to learn of God's way, to enjoy each other's company, and to become that family that He wants us all to become. So we're here to enjoy this feast of tabernacles. We've had beautiful weather. It's going to be a wonderful feast. I know.

As we're here on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, this picture is a unique time in history, maybe in the history of all infinity. If we spend the time and think about what these holy days mean, rather than just observing them every year in the way that we always have, and we think about what this day pictures, we know that all of creation, God tells us, is waiting for this time.

When the time with Jesus Christ returns to earth, at the time that His saints are revealed, the sons of God, and all of creation and all of man can become who God wants us to become. You know, as we are here in 2022, we also live in unique times. We see the world around us is so different from the time, three and four years ago. Things have happened so quickly and so unexpectedly in a way, that we live in a different land that we live in now. We live in different times. We've had things happen that we never saw would happen. And as we look at the time around us and we look at the time ahead of us, we know that it will never go back to the way it was, three and four or five years ago. This is a unique time in history. This is a time for you and I to be focusing in on the kingdom of God and to be making sure that we are prepared for the time that God will, that Jesus Christ will return and we will be with Him during that kingdom.

You know, Jesus Christ, when He was on earth, He talked about the kingdom really from the very beginning. In Mark 1, some of His first words that are recorded are, are, repent. For the kingdom of God is at hand.

When you read His words and when you look at what He did, He was there to, yes, live His life perfectly.

Yes, sacrifice His life that we might have the payment for our sins paid by Him. Yes, so that He would become our Savior. But also that He would announce the time that He would return again and become, and become the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, introducing the kingdom that will last forever and ever. And so as, excuse me, and so as we are here today, I hope we can, we can capture a vision of that kingdom. But it takes some time and it takes some focus in order for us to do that.

You know, the apostles, when they walked with Jesus Christ, they had a unique opportunity to get a vision of the kingdom. If you'll turn with me to Matthew 17, as God was working with them and preparing them, just as He prepares us for what He wanted them to do, He gave them the opportunity to be in vision in that kingdom. So let's look at that for a moment in Matthew 17. And beginning in verse 1, it says, after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it's good for us to be here. Do we think about the kingdom? Do we take that vision? Do we take the time to envision what it will be like when this day is fulfilled, when Christ has returned, when you and I, as long as we continue to follow God, as long as we continue to yield to Him and allow Him to mold us into who He wants us to become?

Do we ever take the time to envision what that kingdom will be like? And when we do, do we say, God, how great that will be when that day finally comes? And it is revealed what your plan has always been for mankind in this physical earth. Peter says, Lord, it's good for us to be here. If you wish, let us make here three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and the voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him. Words for all of us to remember as we go through life. Hear Him. Listen to Him. Be guided by that Spirit that God has put all of us when we listened to God, when we committed to God our lives and our purpose to Him, that we would let Him lead us and mold us into whoever He wants us to be, to change us from people who were going nowhere, to people that have a purpose and a meaning for not just this life, but for all of eternity. When the disciples heard at verse 6, they fell on their faces and they were greatly afraid, but Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, don't be afraid. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. They had had a unique experience.

They knew what it was like to be in that kingdom and feel the excitement, to feel the peace, to know this is where they were meant to be. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.

That vision, the things that they were being prepared for, they got a vision of the kingdom and they talked about the kingdom. That vision motivated them through life. They kept it clear in their minds. As they suffered things that you and I haven't suffered yet, they kept that vision in mind and it motivated them. And no matter what the trauma, no matter what the pain, no matter what the persecution, they kept going. And that vision of the kingdom, why we were called, why we're even here today will motivate us as well. And as times get tougher in this land that we live in, it will be the thing. That vision in God's Spirit and our faith and trust in Him will motivate us.

You know, through the Bible, I know as we've gone through the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, we've read many scriptures and what I want to turn to is back in Revelation 9.

Perhaps you read this on the Feast of Trumpets, wherever you were, and as you did your own personal Bible study. But buried into the scriptures are often the time of some other things that we can learn besides just those trumpets and how God works with us.

We know when Jesus Christ worked with the Twelve Apostles, He was preparing them. They were with Him every day. They learned Him. They saw how He acted. They learned how to deal with people. They developed a trust. They were being prepared for what they would be doing for the rest of their physical lives and then for eternity as well.

God works the same thing with us. In Revelation 9, verse 13, talks about the sixth angel sounding. So as the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. They were prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year.

God is preparing us for the hour, the month, the day, the year, for all the things that He wants us to do. Never forget that. Always remember your commitment to God. Always allow Him, always yield to Him, to allow Him to show you the changes we need to make in our lives, to take the opportunities He gives, to grow, to develop, to overcome, to become who He wants you to be. He is preparing us every minute that we are alive. And if we keep that vision of the Kingdom, and what is important in our lives, and why we're even here on this first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, I'm going to title this the first day of forever. Because when Christ returns, He will establish His Kingdom, and He will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords forever and ever. And so when this Feast of Tabernacles begins, it's forever. And this is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, we could say our first day of forever happened back when we committed to God at baptism, because He began working with us at that time. We chose to follow Him. We committed to Him. But the fulfillment of all those days and all these Feasts of Tabernacles that we have celebrated is pictured in this time. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were able to be transfigured into the Kingdom and have that vision that Peter, James, and John had? That would only be Christ who could do that and give us that vision. But today, I'm going to ask you to come along with me, and let's get a vision of the Kingdom as God shows us what that time will be like for you and me, as we're here on this first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. We're going to use His Word.

His Word to do that, so that I hope that we have a picture of the Kingdom of what you and I will be doing at that time, what life will be like. Because we have a lot that we've learned, if you think back from the time that you first were baptized, we've learned a lot in our lives. We have a lot yet to learn more than we even realize we have yet to learn.

You know Jesus Christ, it says in Hebrews 2, verse 10, He was made perfect through sufferings. And sometimes we think, well, Jesus Christ was always perfect. But you know Jesus Christ was learning. He's been perfect. He lived a perfect life. But even through those sufferings, when He was on earth, that was a new experience. And He was made perfect through sufferings. He became our perfect Savior through that. And so no matter how good we think we are, and if we think we're really good, boy, we need to think again because we need to become, excuse me again, who God wants us to be.

We have a lot of overcoming to do. We have a lot of vision to do. We have a lot of God's Spirit that needs to fill the cracks and crevices of our lives. And as long as we're living and breathing, God grows us. God teaches us. And we will, and we will learn. Let's turn back just for a moment to Psalm 92. Psalm 92 and verse 14. I guess it's verse 12, I'll start in. Psalm 92, verse 12, I know, you know, looking around, some of us, this is our first Feast of Tabernacles, some 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, maybe even 60 or more years, people have kept the Feast of Tabernacles.

As long as we're alive, there's things we learn, we keep growing. Verse 12, Psalm 92 says, the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the eternal shall flourish in the courts of our God. Flourish, grow, thrive. They shall still bear fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing to declare that the eternal is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

As long as we're alive, no matter how long, no matter how long we've been in the church, no matter how long, how many Feasts of Tabernacles we've kept, there will always be things that we learn, always be things that God equips us with so that we can serve him in the way that he chooses for us to serve him. So let's go back and let's, for a moment, think about where we are on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles when the millennium begins, Jesus Christ is there, and you and I, his saints, are with him.

Just take your mind to that place, no longer 2022, but a time in the future. We talk about Christ coming all the time. Every year we keep the Feast of Tabernacles. There is a time when this day will be fulfilled, and you and I will be there if we have committed to God, if we continue to follow him with all our hearts, minds, and soul. But let's go back just a few days to where we've been in the past, holy days, and the fulfillment of those. Let's go back to the Book of Revelation again for just a few minutes and see where we've been, because as we're here on the beginning of the millennium, after all those events of the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement have occurred, we are people who have learned a lot more.

We've been through an awfully lot. Things that we have pictured, things that we've thought about, but we have become different people literally, no longer in these physical bodies that we inhabit. Now with spirit bodies, when Jesus Christ returns, and those who have died in the faith, and those who are alive at his return, these physical bodies are shed. Spirit bodies. Can you imagine what that would even be like? It's going to happen. It's going to happen.

This is what we talk about. This is what we believe. This is what we should be here for, realizing these times will happen, and also to feel the weight of the responsibility that's on us, as we have determined and committed to God. So let's look at Revelation 11, verse 15.

It says, And the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. He's returned.

At the seventh trump—we don't have to go back to those verses you know in 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4—at the seventh trump, the dead in Christ rise.

Those who are still alive at that time, they become people with incorruptible bodies.

God judges us. What have we done with our lives? Have we let him prepare us? Have we yielded to that preparation? Have we embraced that preparation? Have we really and truly come out of the world? Or are we still clinging to it? Because God is going to entrust his kingdom to people who have fully committed to him. There will be no doubt in his mind, by the way we've lived our lives, the choices we've made, the things that we've done, that we choose him, that we rely on him, that we trust him, that we will obey him in every single word that God records in the Bible. He'll give us every single opportunity along the way to do that.

We just have to take those opportunities, be aware of the opportunities, live our life in this world, working hard, doing the things, obeying the laws of the land, but always remembering it's not of this world—God's kingdom. It's his kingdom that we are living for. And our job, while we live in the world, is to be coming out of the world citizens of that new kingdom, of that country.

Just as the people mentioned in Hebrews 12 verse 1, that great cloud of witnesses have gone before us, that should encourage us, and that should give us the motivation to go on.

So at the seventh trump you have the resurrection of the saints. That's you and me. That time will occur. You don't think that's going to be an experience?

That all of a sudden, physical bodies gone, all the aches and pains and all the other things that we experience in life—gone. Now, perfect, incorruptible bodies, waking up in a resurrection and realizing Christ has returned. The things that have what we've waited for, the things that we've talked about, have happened. If we go a few chapters forward in Revelation in chapter 14, it says, I looked in verse 1. Revelation 14, I looked, and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 having his father's name written on their foreheads. Jesus Christ has returned. As it says in Zechariah, and also in chapter 14, he returns. His feet are on the Mount, on the Mount of Olives, and there it says his saints are with him. I saw him on Mount Zion with 144,000 having his father's name written on their foreheads, and I heard a voice from heaven like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder, and I heard the hot sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne. Notice that, before the throne. 144,000. Those who are standing with Christ. Those firstfruits that it tells us.

You and me, the saints, standing before the throne, or they sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders who we read about, and we read those prayers that they offer up as the time grows closer for Jesus Christ to return. Praise and honor to you, God. All glory to you, Jesus Christ, you, who will come to earth and save the world from those who would destroy it. Before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. That's you and me. No one else could learn that song. Do we get how special that is? Do we see how special the calling that God has given us? What in this earth could ever compare to what God has called us to? What possibly could this earth, or our own desires, or anything be to compare to what God has given us the opportunity to experience, to live, and to have that eternal life working with Him? These are the ones, verse 4, who were not defiled with women. They are virgins. They are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Things that we learn in this life, not just later on. In this life, we have to be learning and following God wherever He goes. Aware of what His will is. Aware of what His Word is. Aware when He makes us aware or others make us aware. You're not walking in exactly the path you should be. And then making those adjustments because the most important thing in our lives is ready for the Kingdom. Ready for the Feast of Tabernacles and the fulfillment of it so that we can be there with Him. Those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit or no falsehood. In them was truth. What does God say in Psalm 51? I desire truth in the inward parts. Truth that we learn during this lifetime. What we do now. The people that are here, that are standing before this throne and learning this new song, they have committed to God and they've worked on these things during their life. In their mouth was found no deceit, no falsehood, for they are without fault. Isn't that amazing? They are without fault. Not one of us today can say that we are without fault or even close to without fault. We have a lot of work to do between now and the time that Jesus Christ returns. And it's not our work, it's God who works in us.

His Spirit leads us. He will make known what we need to do. We have to have our ears in tune to Him and not to the world. We have to realize that all the powers that be in the world will tell us you're okay, it's good enough, you're keeping most of God's commandments, you're doing most of what He says and that's good enough. No, it's not. It's every word of God that we have to come to live by and to understand and to follow. And so we see this 144,000. In Revelation 16, we see the saints who have been resurrected at the seventh trump and then in Revelation 16, the seven bowls begin to be poured out. We'll be there to see that happen when God makes that judgment on the earth. And you know what? We will see power and develop a fear of God and respect for Him that we may not see in this life as we see the power of God poured out on earth, His vengeance on earth as He brings them to their knees so He can begin to work with them in the millennium. That'll be an awesome thing to see. We'll mourn for the world that it had to come to that, that they just wouldn't yield to God. We'll mourn for those of us who wouldn't yield to God and weren't there to see it. You know, one of the things as I was growing up in the church that always struck me whenever the minister would talk about it is the weeping and gnashing of teeth. And I can only imagine when all those things happen if we spent our life thinking we were good enough, that we didn't commit our whole minds, hearts, and souls to God, what that weeping and gnashing of teeth meant. To know that we had the opportunity, such an understatement, the opportunity of a lifetime, and then just squandered it because this was more important, or that was more important, or what I wanted was more important, or my idea was more important than what God's idea was. What a devastating time that will be for people who come to that realization. None of us, I hope. I hope we embrace. I hope we go forward, and I hope we look at the kingdom of God, keep it in front of our minds, and through this feast, let it be a motivator for us to follow, to follow, you know, as we leave from here eight days from now. In Revelation 19, we read about the marriage supper of the Lamb. Can you imagine that?

That one time that our calling is to be that one day we would be wed to Jesus Christ, servants of Him, working with Him through eternity, an amazing future, an amazing future that God has with us. And as you read down, I won't take the time to read through Revelation 19 at all, but there you can read through the marriage supper and then Christ returning to earth and all those armies, all that mass weaponry.

This accumulated before Him at Arvaguet, and He decimates the world and all the things, the forces against Him in an instant. The power of God. The power of God.

We see before us, as we look at the people at that time, we see a world that is completely, completely broken. A world that is completely in a people that are completely humbled.

Everything they ever relied on, everything they ever thought, everything they'd ever been told, has just been absolutely destroyed. And they're looking at Jesus Christ as He's returned to earth.

They're looking at you and me and wondering what is going to happen.

What is this all about? Now, perhaps they will understand, but they still don't know.

We'll come to the time where whatever Christ says between the time of His return and the decimation of the world and the humbling of the world and the few who remain to live over into the kingdom come. And then we'll see the binding of Satan. Whatever Christ says at that time as He explains to the world, this is the one. This is the one. I'm laying His blame. I'm putting the blame on Him just like He did in Leviticus 16, that is Ozilgo. I put the blame on Him, but it's still us who does it. It's still us who chooses to follow that way.

Satan is bound, but human nature is still there. It doesn't disappear just when Satan is bound.

No more than our human nature disappeared or changed the moment that we were baptized and chose God. We had His Holy Spirit. He gives us the tools to work with, and so there will be the tools as the kingdom begins that people work with, that God gives them.

You know, if we look at the new world, as we look at the kingdom of God, there's a physical part of it, and there's a spiritual part of it, just like there's a physical part and a spiritual part of our lives today. Today I'm going to talk about the physical parts of what we will be doing in the kingdom. On Sabbath, you'll hear more about the spiritual parts as we talk about that at that time, but let's look at some of the things that God will do at that time. When Satan is bound, there'll be God's decision when or whenever this is mentioned, but he will introduce his government. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. We all know that. It tells us in Ezekiel 37 that David, who will be alive at that point—you and I will meet David and Peter and Paul and all those men that we have and women that we've read about in the Bible—they'll be there. As part of the firstfruits, we'll see them. We'll work with them. Look at the learning. Look at the recognition. Look how much we will grow. Look at the joy that will be there when we see all these things that will be fulfilled. David will be King over Israel. Christ tells the 12 apostles in Matthew and Luke, you will be there ruling over the 12 tribes of Israel. And the government is introduced. Here's who will be the rulers in that new government in that kingdom that will last forever and ever, or through that millennium, during that thousand-year period. Back in Luke 19, we see that we have a part in that government as well. It's all based on what we do today, not based on what we do in the kingdom, not based on just the fact that at some time in our life we chose to be baptized, but what we do with the time that God has given us. In Luke 19, we have the familiar parable of the minas that are given to servants. And as Christ is talking, and he's talking about as money has been passed out, we read through what the results of that are, beginning in Luke 19 and verse 15. So, so it was when the master returned, having received the kingdom, of course, this is speaking of Jesus Christ, God will be the one to send him back to receive the kingdom. And so it was when he returned, having received the kingdom, he the king commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. And the first came saying, master, your mina has earned 10 minas.

When did it earn 10 minas? Now, during this lifetime, during what you and I are doing now, and what we do between now and the return of Jesus Christ.

Master, your mina has earned 10 minas. And he said to him, well done, good servant, because you were faithful and very little, have authority over 10 cities.

Oh, what you do in this slide time, following God, understanding that everything we do, we owe to him and he gives us every tool. It's never about us. It's always about him as he leads and guides us and as we yield to him and his spirit. You have authority over 10 cities. You've got some responsibility, because I've seen what you've done with what I gave you in this physical lifetime. Now I know I can completely trust you. Now I know that whatever I go or whatever I say, you will do.

I know that you understand my law. I know that you understand my principles. I've seen you apply them in your life as you have lived from the time that the Holy Spirit was put in you.

It was important to you. You did it. You yielded to me. Have authority over 10 cities. And the second one came saying, your miners earned five miners. And so he said to him, have authority over five cities. But then there was another one, in verse 20, who came saying, Master, here's your miner, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are in a steerer man. You collect what you didn't deposit. You reap what you didn't sow.

And he said to him, out of your own mouth, I will judge you. I expected growth. I expected you to develop. I expected you to apply what you know and what you have learned. I expected you to use the tools of the Holy Spirit, the truth that it would lead you into, the comfort that it would give you. I expected you to use the tools I gave you as you bound together and as assembled together with one another, as you heard my teachings, as you became one, as truth became in your inwards parts, and as you developed the agape that I wanted my church to have, my body to have. I saw you do that. But you did nothing. You just came and you just expected that just by the fact that you knew it was enough. It wasn't enough. Growth has to happen. As we're here on the first day of Feast of Tabernacles, the first day of forever, it will be those who use the time in this life to visualize the kingdom, to keep it in their minds, to live, to grow, to become who God wants us to be, completely different people than we were when we were baptized, yielding to Him, grasping what it is that He wants us to become. And so we see those things. And that all happens pretty quickly. On the first day of forever, when that first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is fulfilled and the millennium begins, Satan has been put away. The world is sitting there. There's these people who have to be taught, these people who have to do some physical building in life as well. I've got a lot of spiritual building to do. We'll talk about that, as I said, later on this week. But when we look at Acts 3, let's turn to Acts 3. We see it as that kingdom begins. Everything will be restored. Acts 3 verse 19.

19 says what we must do, not repent just once in our life, but repent often in our lives whenever we have sinned and fallen short. It says, repent therefore and be converted. And be converted.

New people. Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus Christ who was preached to you before, who has been preached to us ever since God has called us. That he may send him when that time comes that God sends him back. That he may send Jesus Christ who was preached to you before whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. That time begins during the millennium.

The restoration of all things. Physical life continues. There will be physical man that continue on earth. Mankind will learn that God's way works. They'll have 6,000 years of doing things their own way, Satan's way, under the influence, maybe thinking they were good but not living by every word of God and they will see their entire world turn to ashes. All blown up. God will restore.

And they will learn during that time God's way works. There is only one way to salvation. There's only one way to joy. There is only one way to peace. There is only one way to everything good that every single man who understood or even thought about what he would want in life, it could happen. Only one way. And it's God's way and that will be taught in the kingdom. But there will be a physical building that goes on as well. Let's turn back to Ezekiel 36 and just focus on that today, that element of it, to see what life will be like in the kingdom. Sometimes I think, and I don't know if I just have this misperception or whatever, that people think when Jesus Christ returns, he's going to just like flip a switch and instantaneously everything becomes good. All the wasteland, every city that's been devastated, everything that's been blown up, the world is in a mess. When Jesus Christ returns, instantaneously deserts will bloom, instantaneously cities will be rebuilt, instantaneously things will change, instantaneously human nature will change.

Now, there's some building. There's things that the people who live over are going to have to learn as they go through this. And as we read in Ezekiel 36, beginning in verse 1, it says, In you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Now, we remember that Ezekiel, Israel at the time Ezekiel was writing, had already been taken into captivity, so that we know that these are future verses, future prophecies for all the tribes of Israel. You, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says he, because the enemy has said of you, Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.

We know about the time of Jacob's trouble. We know about the time of captivity. We know what the world is. You've talked about that over the last several holy days and for many of the years of our lives. We know what the fate of this world and modern day Israel is. And at the time of Christ's return, there is no America. There are no Western powers. It's all vested in other places.

Verse 3, Therefore, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord God, Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people. They hate Israel.

Satan hates the people of God, the physical people of God, as well as the spiritual people of God. Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus he says to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around, all laid waste. Nothing left of any value. Let's drop down to verse 7. Therefore, Thus says the Lord God, I've raised my hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame, but you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they are about to come. They are about to return to the land that I had promised them, for indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.

Will it be Christ who tills and sows them, or will it be the people who live over in that time, the till, and sow them? They will have to learn the way of God. They'll have to learn of the agricultural laws that maybe we are unfamiliar with. Probably have some people who work in fields and in agriculture here among us that could probably educate some of us on what the laws of God are. But those will be followed in the kingdom, and as those are followed, the land will be productive. God built the physical earth so that we learn spiritual lessons from it. When we follow what he says even in that time, it will become productive again.

As those laws are followed and as people learn, follow God. He has the answers. Why am I trying to do things my own way? Why am I trying to do it a different way? Just do it God's way.

It seems so simple, and yet so many don't do it. We're told in Amos 9 that after a while, the harvest will be so plentiful that it'll be that the one who is harvesting, the one who is sowing, they overtake each other because there's this constant bounty on the earth, a earth that has become a place of joy, a place of peace, a place of abundance and blessings for everyone as they follow God's way. When we do things God's way, it makes a big difference. If we go forward to verse 33 in Ezekiel 36, God says this, On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt.

Will Christ just snap his fingers and say, buildings appear?

Or will they be rebuilt by the people who are there? Will they rework in the kingdom?

Physical people learning to work. You know, Bible tells us that God works until now. Jesus Christ works until now. You and I work. And we learn valuable lessons by working hard, working in our employment, seeing God's blessing when we do the things that he said. Giving a good day's work for a good day's wages. Praying for the blessing of our employer. Doing things honestly, legally. People that can be trusted by their employers who look and say, there's something different about him or her. They do things well. I trust them. All our employers should say about us, if we're really living God's way of life and allowing him to guide us and lead us 24 hours a day and seven days a week, the desolate land in verse 34, the desolate land will be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they'll say, this land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden. Who had ever thought those deserts could bloom, as it says in Isaiah 35. Whoever thought that those cities that have been laced waste could ever amount to anything again. They looked uninhabitable. What has happened? One thing we learn in life. Satan destroys. Satan tears down. God always builds. Satan will do whatever he can to tear down our lives, to tear down everything about us. God always builds. And when we follow him, good results. But when we don't, desolation and other things result. Let's go back to Isaiah. Isaiah 60... Isaiah 61.

These are words that Christ said. The first word is recorded of his in Luke after the Great Temptation. Well, let's drop down to verse 4. Isaiah 61 verse 4. It says, they... notice the word they...they shall rebuild the old ruins. They shall raise up the former desolations. They shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. All that building, all that as society or as civilization under God's way is being rebuilt. And who's directing that?

Yes, Jesus Christ. Yes, David. Yes, the people over...the apostles over the 12 tribes of Israel. Yes, the other members of God's government that he has...that he has appointed. This will be people, physical people, but it'll be you and me. Rulers over five cities. Rulers over 10 cities.

Who will feel the responsibility of, oh, they're looking to us. They're looking to us. How would God have us do this? Do you feel the weight of the responsibility that God has on us? Do you feel the weight of what we need to be learning today so that when we're there, we know God's way.

We know the answers. Yes, He will pour His Spirit out on all of them, but they will be looking for leadership and direction just like you and I do. It's what we learn today. Being close to God, looking to Him. While we don't know the answer, seeking the truth, taking the time to implore Him and ask Him, show us the way. He will. Back in Isaiah 30.

In Isaiah 30, we read about you and me.

In verse 20, Isaiah, which has an amazing amount of prophecies and detail in it, as you study through it to see what the kingdom will be like and what will even occur between now and then.

In verse 19, Isaiah 30 verse 19, For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. You will weep no more. God will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When He hears it, He will answer. He'll answer us today.

He says, whatever you ask in my name, if you're really, and I can see you're committed to living my way, whatever you ask, I'll give you the answer. We have to be living the way. He has to see what's in our hearts. It's not just a matter of knowing. It's a matter of what is in our hearts.

Because if it's not in our hearts, we're not going to be there. We're fooling ourselves. If we think it's just knowledge that's going to get us, that God is going to give us the reward that He would give us of being in the kingdom, it's what's in our hearts. It's what's changed today. It's not just the knowledge of being able to cite chapter and verse. It's the application of what we do.

When He hears, He will answer. And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore. Your eyes shall see your teachers. Today, we don't see Christ. We know He's our teacher. We know we have people who God works through, who teaches us. But your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, this is the way. Walk in it whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. Don't you wish every time that we turn to the left or turn to the right Christ or we would feel a little tap on our shoulder saying, uh-uh, uh-uh, not that way. This way. This is the way to go. The Holy Spirit will give us that if we are listening, if we're in tune to God closely, if He knows that we really are seeking His will, and if we really are in tune to God's way and word and everything, that'll happen. But then it'll be you and I saying, no, no, no, no, you're not doing this the right way. That may be the way you used to do it.

That may be the way your human nature wants you to go, but this is the way God says.

Through our lives, there are things that seem so logical, and with human reasoning, we can justify just about everything, right? And we have to train ourselves to realize, no, just because it's the natural thing to do, the human reasoning that we can fall prey to, no, what does God say? Because so often, it's different, and we have to train ourselves, train ourselves to do things God's way. Well, anyway, get off on a different subject here, but it says, your ears will hear a word behind you saying, this is the way. Walk in it. Whenever you turn to the right or whenever you turn to the left, that will be you and me.

We'll be the teachers, just like Peter, Paul, James, John, all those people we read who lived their lives, who lived God's way, we read their words, we see God's inspiration in them. It would be you and I who is this lifetime, just like they dedicated their lives to God, that they would follow, that they would follow Him.

You know, there will be a kingdom or a temple in the kingdom. I won't talk about that today, but let's go forward again to Ezekiel 43 and just see a few things that it talks about that would apply to us today. In Ezekiel 43, we can see the physical of what we'll be teaching. There's a difference, but they go hand in hand, the spiritual as well. And as we look at these things, we might ask ourselves, how are we doing? How are we doing? Are we ready today to be the people that God wants us to be?

Are we ready today? I think every one of us, if we were being honest with ourselves, would say no.

No, we've got work to do. Thank you, God, for giving us life. Thank you for giving us this time.

Thank you for your spirit. And please help us to recommit to doing things your way. In Isaiah 43 in verse 10, God says this about that temple that will be there during the millennial times. The Son of Man described the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities and let them measure the pattern. Describe the temple to them. You know, God is building a temple in you and me. Describe it to them. Let them be ashamed of their iniquities. Let them be ashamed that they didn't count it as important or dedicate the time to it that they should have. Let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, if they are ashamed of all that they have done, if they look at their lives, examine themselves, and say, I can't believe I've wasted this time. I can't believe I counted this, that, or whatever it is more important than what God has called us to. If they're ashamed of all they've done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design, and all its ordinances, and all its ordinances, make known to them. Teach them every word. Encourage them to live earnestly, carefully, completely, by every word of God. Doesn't happen overnight. Happens during our lifetimes as we're committed and as God continues to work with us. Teach them its ordinances, all its forms, and all its laws. Write it down in their sight so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances and perform them.

And apply them. Know God's law and apply it. Write it down before them. This is the law of the temple. The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

If we drop down to chapter 44 and verse 23, it says, they, they, whoever they are, right, they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the unholy and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

How good at we are discerning between the holy and the unholy. How good are we at discerning between the clean and unclean? When God says, come out of her, my people, don't even touch the unclean thing. When he says that in 2 Corinthians 6, do we know what that means?

Do we get where we're supposed to be going? Do we have the vision of where we need to be going in this life so that we will be there on that first day of forever when the millennium begins, is pictured by this day as we're here at this feast of tabernacles, picturing that time.

Do we have a vision of who we need to become, who God wants us to become? What we do, what we do with what God has given us means a lot. What we do with what we hear means a lot. It's not the hearers, God says, but the doers, the doers who will be justified.

I think everyone in this room and anyone who ever hears this sermon and everyone all over the world keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, as God has called us to, would pray for one another that every single one of us, grasp the vision, every single one of us be there when Christ returns.

That we pray for each other, that we encourage each other, that we fulfill Hebrews 10, 24, and 25, that talks about assembling together but exhorting one another, encouraging one another to be there, to do that, to don't let the trials and the cares and the carelessness and the lawlessness of this world that the Bible says will take so many away from His truth that that would never happen to any of us. And if we see it happening, that we would go there and we would encourage each other, don't let go of eternity. Don't let go of what God has given, as God has called you to. Don't let that happen. Remember the Feast of Tabernacles. Remember the temple. Remember the calling. Remember the promises that God has given. So we are here. We are here on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 15th of the seventh month of God. I didn't see the full moon last night. I don't know how I missed it. I'm sure it was out there, but you know I'm always comforted on the first night of the when the Feast begins to see that moon because I know that we are exactly where God wants us to be. And you and I are right where God wants us to be today. Physically, we will be exactly where God wants us to be spiritually if we allow Him to continue to guide. Well, let's go back and look at Leviticus 23, the command that we're all adhering to as we're here this afternoon.

Leviticus 23.

And in verse 26, I believe it is. Yep, 36. Leviticus 23 verse 36.

I'll begin in verse 34. Speak to the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of the seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Eternal. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. That's where we are right now. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Eternal. For seven days you shall make an offering to the Eternal. Every day during that Feast of Tabernacles they had God in mind. What sacrifices will we offer to God during this Feast of Tabernacle?

Will we offer Him every single day the sacrifice of praise? Will we offer the sacrifice of doing His will rather than ours? Will we put Him first? Will we put the activities of the Feast, the services, first? Will we sacrifice that when we see others who are in need that we make sure they are having a good Feast? If we see others who have the opportunity, who maybe need a friend, someone to take them to dinner, or who are short on cash, that we will contribute to make sure every single one of us have a good and productive Feast. That's the sacrifices that we make every single, every single day during the Feast. That's what they did. That's what God ordained. For seven days, offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. We have the opportunity to offer those offerings of praise, thanksgiving, gratitude, awareness of each other, helping each other, showing the Agape, developing the Agape, bonding together, putting God first, sacrificing our will for His will, or sacrificing what's good for us that maybe someone else can have a better Feast if we sacrifice our time to them. Tremendous opportunity, tremendous opportunity we have during the Feast of Tabernacles, tremendous opportunity that God has given us. Never, ever, ever forget it. And I pray, I pray that as we go through this Feast of Tabernacles and all the messages that you hear that will be wonderful messages that you hear, take them to heart. And I won't be with you at the end of the Feast, but I'll be with you for most of through the first half of the Feast. Please remember them. Please, please take them to heart. Please apply them to your heart. Put them in your mind and purpose in your mind that when you go back you will continue to live the way of the Feast of Tabernacles. You will continue to implore God. You will continue to seek Him and follow Him all the days of your life, all the way until the time of Jesus Christ's return when we can all be where He wants us to be at that time.