The Full Gospel

...correction. That was Governor DeSantis that flew them up there, not Abbott. I think Abbott dropped them at Kamala's front door or something. But anyway...

You know, if you ask any person who claims to be a Christian, if they believe the Gospel, what do you think their answer would be?

Sir, you're a Christian. Yes, I am. Ma'am, you're a Christian. Yes, I am.

Do you believe the Gospel? Oh, yes, yes, absolutely. I believe the Gospel. So, it's no surprise when they say yes. But if you ask that same person to explain what that Gospel truly is...what that Gospel truly is...how many are able to fully and accurately do so?

You know, Jesus Christ commanded that true Christians repent and believe the Gospel. I want to turn and read Mark 1, verses 14 and 15. Mark 1, verses 14 and 15. Some of the scriptures that I will read, I will later refer back to. But here in Mark 1, verses 14 and 15. Now, after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee.

It was time for Christ to really get in, really get in to His official ministry.

Now, after that John, John the Baptist, was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God. Preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God.

And then verse 15, and saying, the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand.

Of course, Christ, as the prime representative, was there, is at hand, repent you and believe the Gospel. And Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to preach the Gospel to the whole world. It's an interesting point. I'm going to turn over here to Mark 16, verse 15. Mark 16 and verse 15. It's interesting that He commanded His disciples to preach the Gospel to the whole world. A pretty good assignment, a pretty tall assignment.

Now, it's interesting that He didn't tell them to go convert the whole world, but He did tell them to preach the Gospel to the whole world. And He said to them, here in verse 15, chapter 16, Mark, He said to them, Go, you into all the world.

You've got to be making the efforts to go into all the world, okay? And preach the Gospel to every creature, to every person. Again, that is a tall assignment. We've not yet come to the point where we're against faith. Well, we have done that. No, we're trying to do that. But how could they, the disciples, how could they truly and accurately and fully teach the Gospel message unless they truly and fully understood it? Well, that's kind of a rhetorical question because they did truly and fully understand it, and they did truly and fully teach it.

But so many today do not. If you want to hang a title on this sermon, the full Gospel, the full Gospel. So many today do not truly and fully understand the full Gospel. And therefore, what you don't understand, how can you teach it? If you don't know something, you can't teach it.

If they don't know the full Gospel, they can't teach it. What do you find when you go out and about in the Christian world? You find misunderstandings. You find half-truths. You find a mix of truth and error. You know, I'll never argue with anybody. I don't care if they are Baptist, Methodist, whatever Protestant denomination, Catholic, if they say, Jesus is the Son of God. I'm not going to argue with that because that's a true statement. He is the Son of God. I wouldn't argue with the devil if the devil said he's the Son of God. I wouldn't argue with that because that is a true statement. You find half-truths. You find a mix of truth and error. Now, the Jesus that is the real Jesus did not look like the way that most of them picture him.

But you find a mix of truth and error, and what you find is corruption and compromise and deceptions. And all in all, what happens to the true gospel? Well, it gets short-changed.

And I'm talking about the full gospel. It gets neglected. It gets twisted. It gets perverted. It gets hidden. It's an interesting thing. If you go with me to Galatians 1, it's an interesting thing that just a few, just two or three decades after the church was founded in Acts 2, just a couple of decades or so later, the church is having to deal with what it's always had to deal with as far as the full gospel or the true gospel, getting twisted or perverted or hidden or neglected or short-changed. Paul said to the Galatians here in Galatians 8 and 9, he says, but though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel, of course, he's referencing the gospel they preached is what they were given from Christ.

Unto you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. Let him conjure a curse for altering, for twisting, for perverting, or hiding, or short-changing. Verse 9, as we said before, and he's repeating it in the letter in order to emphasize, so say, and again, if any man freaks any other gospel unto you, then you have received, let him be accursed. Let him conjure a curse. Verse 6 and 7, he said, I marvel, I'm amazed that you're so soon removed. You're being turned away from him that called you into the grace of Christ, into another gospel. They were having to deal with compromises and deceptions and twistings and perversions in short time after the church began, which is not another. There's not another gospel. Not really. I mean, there's false gospels, yes, but there's only one true gospel. But there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. In our day and age, the full gospel has been lost in Christendom, except for wherever God has his true church, the greater church of God. That's the only place you're going to find the gospel truly understood and truly being taught. You know, since we know that the world lies in deception to begin with, and it's in a cut-off position from God and has been since Genesis 3, and that only those called of God now, only those called of God now at this time truly have opportunity. Now, I want you to think about this from a very specific angle. Since we know the world, the world lies in deception to begin with, and it's in a cut-off position from God, and only those called of God at this time truly have opportunity to understand the full gospel.

Then I take it that these warnings are directed most directly to me and you, to us, to the church, to God's church. That is, we're warned not to fall for falseness, not to fall for insufficiency, not to fall for a mix of error and truth because a false gospel would be going forth.

You and I are interested. We have a vested interest, a concern about when is the end of this age? When is it going to wrap up? We know that we're living in the last days. We just don't know how many of those days are left, but we have a vested interest in it. And, of course, the early disciples, there was a lot they didn't understand about times and events and prophecies, especially at the time they came to Christ on the Mount of Olives there in Matthew 24. But in Matthew 24, they came to Christ, so to speak, or they were there with Him, I can put it that way, and they wanted to know in verse 3, Matthew 24 verse 3, it says, As He set upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, tell us, you know, privately, not the most two, it's not the others, but, you know, we're your disciples, we're here with you, tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world, or the end of the age?

A very legitimate concern. Our concern is a very legitimate concern.

And it's interesting, Christ knew what their concern was.

People say, what are the prophetic markers that tell us where we are along the way to the end?

What are the prophetic markers that guide us in the timing of things?

Well, notice in answering their question and their concern about what should be the sign of your coming and at the end of the age, notice the very first thing that Christ mentioned to them.

And frankly, it's a prophetic marker. People don't think of it as a prophetic marker, but it is because it's a prophetic marker of a condition that would exist and would increase as you get near the end of the age. Jesus answered and said to them, verse 4, Take heed that no man deceive you. Take heed that no man deceive you.

We have, especially in terms of some of our young people in the greater church of God today, we have some being pulled away, seduced away to another gospel.

Some of our young people who are not as deeply grounded don't connect the dots properly, maybe don't even see all of the dots. Some of them, some of them.

Christ says in verse 5, For many shall come in my name, claiming the authority of Christ, claiming to be working for Christ, claiming to be doing His will, speaking for Him, bringing His message, For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ. And that doesn't mean that you're going to have this long string of guys saying, Hey, look at me, I'm Jesus Christ.

No, I am Christ or I am of Christ. Now, you do have some nut jobs who will come along and say, I am Jesus Christ. You know, we run into that too. But it's primarily, I am Christ or I am of Christ, I belong to Him, I'm preaching Him, I'm teaching Him, I'm His. I'm doing His work, His will, I come in His name and His authority. But anyway, it says, And shall deceive many. I find it interesting that with all that was said in Matthew 24 here, that the very first thing that He starts off with is really what is the first seal of Revelation 6. I'm not going to Revelation 6, but that first seal of Revelation 6, the seals there of the seven, 6 verses 1 and 2, that first seal is religious deception, religious deception. And when Christ came, when He was crucified, when He was resurrected, when He wound up back in heaven, the spirit of this world didn't change, stayed the same. The spirit of this world is still here. The angel, the fallen angel, as He wrote to the Corinthians, and again, I'm not going to turn here either, but in 2 Corinthians 11, I'm going to stay right here in Matthew for a moment, but in 2 Corinthians 11, verses 11 through 15, He said, This fallen archangel has the power to come across as an angel of light. Light is symbolic of truths. He has the ability to appear good and right in an angel of light, and that fallen angel of light whose name meant Lucifer in the Latin, Hillel in the Hebrew, meant day star or light bringer. And this religious deception is promoted by that fallen angel of light. Well, here in Matthew 24, verses 23 and 24, Christ comes back to deceivers, false religion. Don't be pulled away, you know, by deceivers because obviously if you've been pulled away from by deceivers, you are losing the true gospel. You're losing the full gospel. You're being pulled away from it. Verse 23, Then if any man shall say to you, lo, here is Christ, here's where Christ is working, come over here, buddy, come over here, man, this is where He's at. Come here. Here is Christ, or there, don't believe it. For there shall arise false Christ. The Christ today, in the totality of how He is represented and how He looks, how He thinks, what He says you can do or can't do, His message, all of that, is a false Christ in Christianity. There shall arise false Christ and false prophets.

And, of course, before this age ends, we're going to see some tremendous signs and wonders that people will say, that couldn't be done if God's not behind it. That's God's power when really is the power from the dragon. And when that time comes, there are also going to be two men of God who are going to counter that. We know Him as the two witnesses, but anyway.

He's warning about this, verse 25. Notice what He says to them. He says, Behold, or look, take note. Mark this. I have warned you. That's what He's saying. I've told you before. Before these things happen, I've told you. How do you find the gospel defined today? Well, you find it defined in numerous ways out and about us. People sometimes speak of it as the social gospel, like it's some kind of huge giant social club, or the gospel of grace, or the gospel of wisdom, the gospel of Jesus, the gospel of heaven, the gospel of life, and a major growing gospel in our day and time. Not that it just came on the scene in our day and time. It's been around ever since I was a kid. It's been around before I was ever born. It's been around a long, long time. But it's really getting traction in our day and time. A major gospel, or definition of the gospel, that many are being so attracted to today is the health-wealth gospel, the prosperity gospel. That really appeals to people, the health-wealth gospel. And there are those out there, and I could name some of them who are pushing this, and they fill their auditoriums. They fill their stadiums, because that's what a lot of people want to hear. But take the gospel of grace. They may take the, you know, they say, okay, ours is the gospel of grace. So they take the gospel of grace, and they speak on the subject of law and grace from the standpoint that they're stressing how that you don't have to keep that old law anymore. You don't have to do it anymore. Oh, you may not go commit adultery. No, I didn't say that. Well, you just said I don't have to keep the law anymore.

Well, can I lie? Well, no, no, no, you're not supposed to lie. Well, can I have an idol? Can I have an idol? Something that means more to me than God. Can I have an idol before God? Oh, hold on, buddy. You're putting words in my mouth. No, you just got through saying I don't have to keep the law.

And the law is what tells me, don't commit adultery, don't murder, you know, don't have idols. So if you tell me all of this that you say is done away with that I've got to keep, except for that Sabbath, but they preach grace and the law done away with. Or they take the gospel of Jesus and they speak strictly about Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, only about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, His birth, His life, His death, that's the gospel message.

And that is not the fullness of the gospel. It's not even the fullness of His birth. We don't know all of the details. We know the most important details, but we don't know all of the details of His birth. We don't know all the details of His life. You know, from the time that He was 12 years old, for instance, at the temple asking questions, making points to comments, to the time He officially began His ministry when He was about age 30. That's 18 years. What do you know about those 18 years? Where can you turn in the Bible and read about those 18 years?

In one sense, you really can't. Although you can read between the lines some and you can just use some logical thinking, some, but my point is there's a lot about Him in terms of details of His life we don't know, but the things that are most important to know we do know.

And certainly His death, and of course, again, the whole purpose for why God the Word became a human being to live a human life and live without sin and die for us and be a Savior, we understand that. We understand, but I'll tell you, as far as just certain specific details, they can be plugged in at a future time when we're with Christ and the Father. Fill in whatever blanks there might be that probably more of a curiosity point than anything else.

But the Bible does not give a full account just like it doesn't really tell us what happened from age 12 to 30, although we can fill a lot of that in with just proper logical thinking and looking at certain points at all, certain scriptures. Yes, we can understand to a degree, but much of what is given even in the gospel about Christ, where they just focus on Jesus, is faults or corrupted.

The gospel is simply the good news that Jesus Christ brought and announced of the kingdom of God. It includes Him because, as I said with the Salvation Highway sermon, without Christ, without a Savior, there is no such thing as a Salvation Highway. There's no such thing as any of the plan of God of salvation that is pictured by the holy days that follow.

They could not be. So obviously, Christ is included and also it includes His law. And for those few whom God is calling down this age, that includes the knowledge of how we are to enter that promised kingdom. Even though it's not fully recognized by this world, the gospel message is pretty plain and easy to understand. The word gospel is just simply translated from a Greek word that simply means a good message or good news, as we so aptly say.

It used to be in the, of course, worldwide Church of God days and then up to a few years ago in United, we had our Beyond Today magazine titled, The Good News. And you can't copyright that. It's such a common term. And I have seen a magazine right here in Rome. I forget who puts it out. I've seen it in the hospital and other places titled, The Good News. So, you know, you can't copyright that term.

It's like trying to copyright the term, the Bible. And because our TV program is beyond today and we decided, okay, the decision was made, we'll take the magazine and we'll retitle it beyond today. And we could copyright that. So, you know, it made sense and preaching the same thing in it, but just changing the name. But good news, that's commonly understood by all.

But it's good news of what? It's good news of what? Well, remember what we read back in Mark 1, verse 14? The good news of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God.

When a person comes to understand what the kingdom of God really is, there is no better news. It's the best news that you could have. There is no better good news. The most basic definition of the kingdom is that it has four parts. Now, you and I both know because we run into it, we've heard it preached. Not talking about in the church. We've heard it preached out there. Some of us have come out of churches where it was preached, that the kingdom of God is in your heart. When Christ looked at a group of corrupt, religious leaders and said, the kingdom of God is as it should be rendered among you. And people want to say, well, He was saying the kingdom of God is in their heart.

How does that make sense? Now, He was the representative of the kingdom and He was there among them. But a kingdom has to have four parts. And if any one of these four parts is missing, it's not a kingdom. When it says preaching the good news of the gospel, the good news of the kingdom of God, it's a literal kingdom. And if it's literal kingdom, it has to have four parts. And if anyone's missing, it's not a kingdom. The first part, obviously, is a king. You've got to have a king. You've got a kingdom, but no king? Oh, wait a minute. It's not a king-dom. Number two, you've got to have subjects. He's a king of who? He's got to have subjects.

Okay. He's a king. He has a kingdom. He's a king with subjects. How do those subjects order their lives? How do they live their lives? What guides them? What is the order of things?

Number three, you have to have law. You have to have law.

And obviously, number four, you've got to have territories.

You've got kings, subjects, law, and territory.

And the coming kingdom of God will incorporate all four of those.

The kingdom of God is spoken of in both the Old Testament, I'm going to go to Daniel 2, it's spoken in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. You know, it really is a shame, and it's such a personal disservice to oneself to say, as too many, quote, Christians do, well, you want to see my Bible? It's just the New Testament.

Oh, it's got Proverbs and Psalms in there because it's good to have Proverbs and Psalms.

But here's my Bible. You know, the Old Testament's gone away with how much knowledge and understanding one denies oneself by throwing away the Old Testament.

And the Word who became Jesus was the one who wrote the Old Testament and the New Testament, and I think he would be unified in his thinking and not have cognitive dissonance going on in his own mind.

Daniel 2 and verse 44, talking about the final set of kings of a beast power that will arise in the days times were in and what the outcome is going to ultimately be in Daniel 2, verses 44, says, and in the days of these kings, these final ones, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. Because every kingdom in this world, because it's physically based with physical leaders, it winds up eventually being destroyed or fading away.

But the God of heaven is going to set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It's not going to be set up and then turned over to other folks to do what you will. But it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever. One of the things God gave Daniel to do was to write about the world's great empires and the kingdom that would destroy them. The Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Macedonian Grecian, and finally, the Roman one.

That would have resurrections and come down to the time of the final ten toes.

Iron and clay mixed together. One of the things God gave Daniel to do was to write about the world's great empires and the kingdom that would terminate them. And that's what it's talking about in Daniel 2, verse 44, how those kingdoms will be terminated, crushed. It says, shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms when God's kingdom is set up.

That is not something that's in your heart. It is a real kingdom with king and subjects and law and territory. And Isaiah speaks of it in Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7. Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7. For unto us a child is born, and to us the Son is given. Christ first came, He first came, the Word, the Logos, as flesh and blood, as a human being formed in the womb of Mary.

And to us a child is born, to us a Son is given.

And of course, He had a destiny, a purpose, which included obviously the most important factor of being a Savior, but also a ruler, a lion, a king.

And the government, the rulership shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, of the increase of His government and peace. There shall be no end upon the throne of David, upon His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever. The zeal. Talk about God getting excited, you getting excited, me getting excited.

God gets excited. And a lot of times we get excited because God is sharing His excitement with us.

The zeal, the excitement, the energy, the adrenaline, so to speak, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

You're familiar with Isaiah 2 in verses 1 through 4. And in verse 2, it'll come to pass in the last days that the mountain or the kingdom of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains above all the kingdoms, shall be exalted above all the hills, all the governments. And notice all nations, all nations, all nations on this globe shall flow to it. And many people shall go and say, Come, let's go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us of His ways. We will walk in His paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law. You've got a king, you've got subjects, you've got law, you've got territory.

And the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and He shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Truly, world peace brought about because of what the full gospel is all about. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. There won't be any Annapolises. There won't be any West Points. There won't be any academies or schools for teaching how to war. And if you go to the... I mean, we read this in the second chapter, and if you go to the last chapter in this book of Isaiah to Isaiah 66, I mean, you want to talk about globalization? How about a global kingdom? One world-ruling government that is the kingdom of God ruling on this earth. The only one that can and will do it the right way. And it shall come to pass, in this chapter 66, verse 23, it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, one month to another, and from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh, picture it, on the Sabbath day. No businesses open, no stations open anywhere, no hustle and bustle with what is in our day and time, this age, the busiest business day of the week, frankly.

But quietness and peace, tranquility, and people gathering in the various points and places where they assemble for services. And from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before me like we're doing today, says the Lord. There's no doubt that a literal kingdom is being spoken of with the king, subjects, law, territory. Jesus Christ will rule through His great eternal law and spirit, and there will be peace and prosperity for all, won't there?

We could read again, Isaiah 11. We could read the conditions of that world. The conditions of that world, verses 1 through 10, it talks about righteous rulership. It talks about fairness. It talks about predator and prey.

Lying down together, grazing together, browsing together. It talks about a little child leading them. It signifies the kind of peace there will be planet-wide. And verse 9 talks about, They shall not hurt nor destroy, and all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. It isn't now, and it shall not be until that kingdom is set up. But the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And you know, correspondingly to this, I'm not going to turn over there, but correspondingly to this is Micah 4, verses 1 through 5, Micah 4 verses 1 through 5, about going up to the house of Jacob, going up to Jerusalem. The God of Jacob will teach us of His ways, and every man will sit under His own vine and fig tree, and no one will make Him afraid. Look at our world right now, even in these United States. We've got people concerned about how are they going to have enough heat this winter? How are they going to be able to afford heat, even if they can get the energy for heat? How are they going to afford to keep buying groceries if inflation keeps on? You can keep cutting back and cutting back, but you can only cut back so far. Then you go into where your nutrition takes the heat. And everybody knows that when you start getting malnourished, it starts devastating your immune system. You start becoming more susceptible to sickness and disease. How many people right now in what has been, and still is for the most part the greatest nation on earth, how many people are rising in uncertainty each morning, living the day with uncertainty, going to bed with uncertainty? How many people are having their sleep bothered by the anxieties they're feeling, their fears, their concerns?

Think about a time coming when that would be historic, because things won't be in the hands of corruption, or fallible man, won't be influenced by the spirit of this world because it'll be removed.

Satan and his will be removed. But, assurity in the full gospel is about the kingdom of God, and all that that translates into. And those of us who are saved in this age, who are given our salvation in this age, so that when Christ returns, we can receive the absolute fullness of salvation by being born into the very kingdom of God as spirit beings to be with Christ. We're going to rule with Him. Turn with me to Revelation 3. In the messages to the church, two in particular here in those messages, Revelation 3.21.

Revelation 3 and verse 21. Christ said to Him, or to her, that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne. That's rulership.

Even as I also overcame and I was set down with My Father in His throne.

And then if you look at chapter 2 in verse 26, and He that overcomes and keeps My works to the end, to Him will I give power over the nations. I look forward. It excites me to know that someday, as a spirit being able to manifest Myself to human beings, to sit with Christ, to have perfect control over every thought, every word, every action, to know what is good and right and just, to have powerfully accurate and objective judgment, to be able to guide and direct and lead people in the ways to where they smile and say, boy, I'm happy. This is great. This way of life, this is wonderful. And to stop, I just told Angela the other day, this world, in My 71 years, I have seen so much pain and so much suffering and so much heartache and headache and misery.

I'm tired of it. I'm really tired of it. And yet, I know there's a lot more still yet to come. But that's the story of mankind. And someday, to be part of making the world be a whole lot different, such a different place than what it is today, it's like the difference between day and night, light and darkness. And so, when I read here in Revelation 5 and verse 10, this speaks to both my heart and my mind, has made us to our God, kings and priests, rulers and educators, and we shall rule on the earth. And I have to turn back to Daniel. I've got to go back to Daniel, this time chapter 7, and I've got to read verse 18. Daniel 7 and verse 18.

And you can find this mentioned, this which I'll read, you can find it mentioned three times in this chapter, but I'll just read verse 18. Daniel 7 and verse 18. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom, own the kingdom. It's given to us. We're co-heirs with Christ, as Romans 8 says, forever and ever and ever and ever. That's what it's saying. Forever, even forever and ever. And we will rule as spirit beings, actual spirit-born sons and daughters of God the Father, actual younger brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, in an actual and ultimate sense, the kingdom of God is the family of God administering the government of God. In the ultimate sense, and the final analysis, in the spiritual, say the kingdom of God will rule over flesh and blood human beings who will be given opportunity to join us in due time through resurrection or change. But the ultimate kingdom of God in the truest sense of the meaning of the kingdom of God, in the ultimate sense, is the family of God, the eternal family of God administering the government of God throughout all existence and whatever plans and purposes God has in the future. And eventually what will remain when all is said and done will be an eternal family of spirit beings ruling and reigning throughout the universe in peace and harmony, likeness of mind, in a way that we don't fully understand yet. But when Christ said in John 10.30, He said, the Father and I are one. That's a unity statement. They're two distinct beings, but they're so unified, He said, we are one and it's a unity statement and we will be joined into that unity. It's going to be wonderful to be there. I can only imagine what that aspect will be like.

But operating by God's pure law of love and the Father will have this eternal kingdom with Christ at His side, but we're a good ways yet from that final completion, aren't we? But in the meantime, we're waiting for that kingdom to be set up on this earth and waiting is the operative word because guess what? Look around. All the proofs we need, it's not here. It's not here. Did the sun rise this morning? You betcha. Will it set today? Yeah. Will it rise again in the morning? Yeah. Will the kingdom come? Yes. It's coming. Will my life go on for a time? Yes. Will my life go on to the time the kingdom comes and I'm alive on my feet when Jesus returns? Possibly.

Will I be in the grave awaiting that seventh trumpet and rise out of the grave? Possibly. Don't know. Don't know those details. I know that I'm alive today and if I get up in the morning, I'll check the obituaries and the papers to see if I'm still alive. I had a friend that used to do that jokingly, he said, but I'll take each day. I'll go forward, keep going forward because however long I live, it's insignificant to the fact that the kingdom is coming. It's not dependent on me, but I want to be a part of that kingdom. It's because I'm going to deal with myself and away with God, yielding to God, so that I can be in that kingdom. It's coming. Now we're having to wait on it, but while we're waiting on it, what are we doing? We're doing what Christ said, preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. We're preaching it, but what are we also doing while we're announcing it or preaching it? We're busy preparing ourselves for it. We have ourselves to take personal responsibility of, with God's light and guidance and direction, and work on ourselves. Not all of our perspectives are good or honest or accurate. They're not all wrong, either. Not all of our concepts are right on like they should be. Not all of them are off base.

You know, we're a mix. We're growing. We examine ourselves. We push ourselves. We continue to humble ourselves before God. We continue to work on ourselves. There's a lot of work that's got to be done, and we look to God and say, God, thank You. Thank You for the tremendous mercies You show me. Thank You for Your loving kindness. Thank You for being patient with me. Thank You for preserving me in that situation. Thank You for delivering me from that. Thank You for continuing to strengthen me and encourage me. We continue to prepare ourselves for that kingdom.

Something that is interesting. Jesus Christ, the King of that kingdom, in Malachi 3.1, and you might read that sometime and think about it, Jesus Christ, the King of that kingdom, was also the messenger of the coming kingdom. And Malachi, when you look at Malachi 3 and in verse 1, Malachi spoke of Him as the messenger. He's the King, but the King is also the messenger. And in Christ's earthly ministry, when He was here, turn with Him in Matthew 9.35, please, Matthew 9.35. The prophet Malachi was inspired to write that He's the messenger of that coming kingdom. He has a message, He's the messenger, and you find in Matthew 9.35, He preached that message wherever He went. And Jesus went about, verse 35, and Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom. Preaching the good news of the kingdom, what that kingdom is, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. And if you recall where we read in Mark 1.14, He started His official ministry by preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. And the apostles preached the same message. They knew that they must first preach to the crowds who Jesus was.

And this is something that hopefully doesn't escape our attention. They knew that they must first preach to the crowds who Jesus was when they went forth, because in the first century, Jesus' identity was not taken for granted as it is today.

He says, taken for granted today, but it wasn't then. They practiced their preaching with the explanation that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. Set yourself back in that time for a moment. If you use the word Messiah, you know what that meant to the average Jew?

You know what that meant to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, to the crowd? It meant a physical king, a human being, a physical king who was going to be set up over all Israel and that God was going to use Him in Israel to basically rule the world. There was nothing in it about a spiritual Messiah. There was nothing about Him as a sacrifice for sin that was not in their thinking. They did not need a spiritual sacrifice for sin. They had their sacrifices. They had the temple, they had their sacrifices, and for those who misunderstood that the law is the way of life were to obey, but to where they thought they could keep it perfectly without sin or whatever, they could use it even as a Savior. But there was no concept in their minds. And when they would read in Isaiah, when they pulled the scrolls down in the synagogues and they would read Isaiah 53, for instance, they would read the sections in Isaiah about the Messiah, where He would be tortured and suffering. They didn't say, that's the Messiah, that's the suffering servant. So they had a major blind spot. And so when the apostles went forth, they had to put in quite a bit of time and effort on the king of the kingdom. And the fact that He came first as a spiritual Savior, but He would come the second time as a world ruler. And they used the reality of the resurrection to prove it. They knew the gospel was not merely who Christ was, but also what He said, and they preached the fullness of the gospel.

I travel, been traveling my whole lifetime. It's interesting how many places I have seen the full gospel church of God, or the full gospel this, or the full gospel that, or come hear the full gospel. I was somewhere the other day and I looked off in a field and there was a tent meeting going to be going on. Big tent, not a huge tent, small tent, but tents set up. They had to find Jesus on the side, so I knew this was revival. You know, they're doing a revival. And don't get me wrong, folks, I don't take away from the sincerity of a lot of folks. I really don't. It's just they don't know. They don't understand. But I can't join in the misunderstanding with them and someday, someday they shall know. See, laying claim to the full gospel, again, as I wrap this up, you can't leave out the king, the subjects, the law, the territory. You have to bring those all into play. And if I go to the book of Acts, just a couple of more scriptures here.

Book of Acts, the last chapter, chapter 28, verse 30.

They had to preach who Jesus was, who the king was, and so, as well as what he taught.

And so, here's Paul, end of the book of Acts, chapter 28, verse 30.

Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, rented house, and he received all that came to him for two long years.

And verse 31 tells you both the theme of Acts and what Paul was teaching for two years to anybody that came to him. Preaching the kingdom of God. And teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

And then, probably the last scripture, I'll turn to Matthew 28, 20.

Matthew 28, in verse 20.

You know, he's commissioning them to go forth to the nations, verse 20, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the world. And the two men that will eventually finish the job, the two witnesses, will be teaching exactly what the disciples, the apostles taught, and what we teach today to the whole world at that point in particular. They'll be finishing the job. They'll finish it. And they can't be shut up for three and a half years until their testimony is finished. But the full gospel has to include all, and at this time the world neither knows nor can it receive the full gospel. You usually can't get past the fact, man, I'm sorry, but you're not going to heaven when you die. You usually can't even get past that. But for those whom God will call and who will yield, a fullness can begin to take place, and for such ones there is no greater hope and comfort. It's the only hope any of us have when you think about it. It's the only hope this old earth has. And I mentioned earlier we're waiting, waiting for the kingdom to be set up, and while we wait, while we wait for the kingdom to be set up, sadly, the world's temporary ignorance of the meaning of the true gospel stands out more and more clearly to us as time goes on. And I speak for all of us, don't I, when I say, we see things that's sadness. We see things that hurt us. We see things that hurt our hearts. We see things that hurt our heads. We see things that's sadness and sickness, and it's only going to get worse. And I've got grandkids, little ones, about to have a third one here shortly, that are having to grow up in this world, which is so much worse than when my children were growing up, and so much worse than when I was growing up in it. It's only going to get worse. But I tell you something, as I see the world descending, our nation and the world descending more and more into the abyss of darkness and all of that, my grip on what God has given me gets tighter and tighter and tighter. The full gospel, I will not give up one little bit of it. It is my hope and my salvation, and it's the hope and salvation of my planet.