The Future of the Church

Before the Canadian Ministerial Conference, Mr. Wasilkoff, the director there, assigned me a talk to give to the Canadian Ministry on the future of the Church. So I gave that talk and then I enlarged that into more of a sermon-type talk, sermon, Future of the Church. I am not a prophet, so it's difficult to say what is the future of the Church. We're all very familiar with the words of Christ, who stated in Matthew 16-18, I say unto you that you are Peter, Petrow's little rock, but upon this rock, Peter a big rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So Jesus Christ speaking, saying that the Church would not be destroyed, that He would build the Church upon Himself. The Apostle Paul writing in 1 Corinthians 3 writes, What other foundation can be laid than that which is slain and that is Jesus Christ? So we know that the Church is not going to be destroyed. In Matthew 28 and verse 20, if you want to turn there, we're all familiar with what we call the Great Commission. Matthew 28 and 20 will start in verse 19. Go, you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you all the way, even unto the end of the age, the Aeon, the age. As the world talks about, the world is not going to end, but this age is going to end. But the Church will not be destroyed. So up front, we should be comforted with these precious promises of Christ. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Lo, I am with you even unto the end of the age.

As we know so well, God and Christ do not force us to do what we need to do. They do not hold the proverbial gun to our head. They do not make us do what they called us to do. It's up to us. God and Christ have commissioned us and charged us with the preaching of the gospel to the world and feeding the flock. And that is what we would call the motto of the United Church of God. That is, preaching the gospel and preparing a people. To some degree, the future of the Church will depend on how well we carry out God and Christ's instructions to us. God and Christ inspired the prophets and the apostles to give us insight into the many challenges that we'll be facing at the end of this age. There are many reasons given as to why it would be difficult to reach the hearts and minds of people at the end of this age. One of the greatest challenges would be what the Germans call the zeitgeist, that is, the spirit of the times. So let's note what God has to say about the spirit of the times at the end of the age. Look at Matthew 24, back a few pages. In Matthew 24 and verse 10, of course, this is in reply to the question that the disciples posed to him. That is, what is the sign of your coming and the end of the age? And Jesus replied that with these signs that he gives in Matthew 24, remember there are two questions, the sign of your coming and the end of the age. And through verse 9 we find several signs that are given and then there are more, but we want to read here verse 10. Matthew 24, 10. Oh, gravity is working there. Matthew 24, 10. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. People in the church, people who have claimed to be Christians, shall betray one another, shall hate one another. Why would that be? Of course, you had somewhat of a similar situation in Germany during leading up to and during World War II, of tracking down all the Jews, loading them up as much as they could on the boxcars, taking them off to death camps in various parts of Germany. And of course, some people risk their lives to save their kinsfolk. And some people turn their kinsfolk into so-called saved their own lives. That's more of a physical type, but what is coming will be far greater than anything like that. That might be called a type, and I'm sure that's happened historically in ages past. Many false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity, lawlessness, shall abound, the love of many shall wax coal. That is what is the spirit of the times. The spirit of the times is lawlessness. There are no absolutes. And almost every day and every week you hear of a new kind of thing that you thought you would never hear regarding what is to be and what is to be tolerated and not tolerated. So because lawlessness shall abound, the love of many shall wax coal. But he that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved. So endurance is going to be a part of it. We know clearly from Isaiah 61 that the church will be in mourning during this time. We'll read there a few verses. This is where Christ quoted after he was baptized in the River Jordan, went back to the home area in Nazareth, and he stood up in the synagogue to read. This is recorded in Luke, I think it's chapter 4. But anyhow, we're reading here from Isaiah 61 with regard to what the church will be doing at the end of the age.

Isaiah 61, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, and this Christ spoke this of himself after he was baptized back in the synagogue in Nazareth, because the eternal has anointed me to preach good tidings under the meek. He has sent me to build up the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn.

And one of the songs that Mary Beth has written and sung is this next verse, basically, which shows the state of the church during the end of the age, those years leading up to the end of the age, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, remember Hebrews 12, 22, 23 says, that you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to the general assembly of the church of the firstborn.

So Zion is a type of the church, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the Spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Eternal, that he might be glorified. So we see that some very difficult times lies ahead. The Spirit of the times will be basically that of lawlessness, and it will be persecution of those who cry aloud and spare not.

Look at Ezekiel 22 forward. There, past Jeremiah 2, Ezekiel 22, verse 23, one of the things that the young man that introduced me to speak in Canada, he was a student and ambassador back in the early 80s in Pasadena, when I was teaching minor prophets and other classes there. He said, well, he's not going to speak about the three C's today.

He's not going to speak about standing in the gap. He's not going to speak about the four enemies of faith. He named two or three other things. But this is about the gap. In Ezekiel 22, chapter 22, verse 23, there is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion, ravening the prey. They have devoured souls. They've taken the treasure and precious things. They have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Of course, one of the main ways that you can make widows is sending the young men to war.

Of course, now we're sending the young women as well. A priest who violated my law have profaned my holy things. They've made no difference between the holy and profaned. Profaned things are things of the world. They are secular things. They are things that are not of God. Neither have they showed difference between the unclean and clean. And I have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

It goes on talking about the various behaviors that will be extant in the land there in that time. You come down to verse 30. This is the stand-in-the-gap part. And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. What a sad commentary. That must not be said of us. Of course, we know from the verses that have already read that the gates of hell should not prevail against the church, and that there will be some faithful, even though they are in mourning, as we have read from Isaiah 61.

And we remember Luke 12, 32, where it says, and it's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. So we know that many are going to make it. God not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. I look for someone to stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.

Therefore, have I poured out mine indignation upon them? I have consumed them with a face or the fire of my wrath. Their own way have I recompensed upon their head, says the eternal God. So let's go back now to Matthew 24. We left off with verse 13, He that endures to the end shall be saved. So we get a glimpse thereof, enduring to the end and those that might be saved. So now we're at verse 14, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.

And then shall the end come? When? When the gospel is preached to all nations. Then shall the end come. So we know that the work of God is going to be done. The question is, will we be there? Will we be a part of it?

Now, Matthew 25 is a part of this Olivet prophecy, and most of us, we know basically what it says. We're sobered by it. The ten virgins, five wise, five foolish. Five have their lamps filled with oil, five do not. So when the great heresies began to hit in the worldwide Church of God in the 90s, who would have ever thought, I would not have thought, I would estimate now somewhere between 70-80% departed.

In the 80s, we had at one point 146,000 people attending the Feast of Tabernacles around the world. 146,000. Maybe it was 144,000. Some people like 144,000.

I think it was 146,000. That's men, women, children. Some, of course, converted, some not converted. But if you take all of the Churches of God today in the various splinter groups, I think you'd be hard-pressed to get over 50,000 worldwide of that.

So we know that Satan and the demons, their agents, will try to thwart our efforts all along the way. By their agents, I mean those whom they deceive. Perhaps the most vivid and relevant description of the Spirit of the Times is given in 2 Timothy, which I read two weeks ago. But let's turn there to 2 Timothy 3. Many of you are not hearing this bit with what I'm talking about today. In 2 Timothy 3, there's hardly any more vivid and apt, applicable description than what we have here in 2 Timothy 3 and verse 1. This know also that in the last days, perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, narcissistic thinking of self first and foremost, praising self, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, there's a lot of part about natural affection, which we'll touch on later, has to do with the way that people are reared. Are they reared, nurtured in a loving home? And when parents love their children, teach them right from wrong, they make a difference between the sacred and profane, and they continually nurture them in the discipline and the feared admonition of God. Truce breakers, oh yeah, they're skilled liars. Skilled liars.

Some of the stories that can be made up would devise almost imagination. False accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. We sure don't want to be labeled a goody-two-shoes. We don't want to be labeled a PK, a preacher's kid. If we're a preacher's kid, we've got to show that we're just as bad as anybody else. Of course, there are some that don't do that, thankfully, but there's just something about peer pressure that gets to virtually everybody. Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than of God. Having a form of godliness, what is form? Well, you go through the motions. You are a church. Ten virgins, five wise, five foolish. When the bridegroom knocked on the door, all ten rose up and got their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. But five of them, the oil was low, the light was going out. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such, they turned away. For of this sort of they which creep into houses and lead captive, silly women, laden with sins, led away with different lust. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Oh, yeah, we know a lot. We know a lot. We can clone. We can do all kinds of things. We can explore outer space.

We can now develop robots that can, they think the hamburger flippers are going to be put out of business because they have robots making the hamburgers. Robots making the cars. Robots on the battlefield. Robots everywhere. I don't know what humans will be doing. Hiding from the robots, probably. In Proverbs 30, we also see the Spirit of the times, the perfect storm. In Proverbs 30, verse 11, where all these social kind of events come together at one time. The so-called social media of the day. We've never seen anything like that. We've never seen anything remotely like what we have today. You go to restaurants, you go to various public places, you see crowds on television, you see people walking the street, and they have that smartphone in their face. There is a generation that curses their father, does not bless their mother. There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation of how lofty are their eyes, and their lids, eyelids, are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. We have all of those manifest in our society today of those various generations. In the future, the church will depend to a large degree on how well then we bring up our children, in view of the spirit of the times. The Bible is quite clear on what you will be facing. Thus, the importance of the family structure will be one of the great keys to the future of the church. One of the articles I read in the last week or so said that, and I forgot exactly what the date is. I think it's like 20, 25, or somewhere along in there, that males will no longer be necessary to propagate the human race. In Ephesians 6, and of course, these verses here that we're going to read from Ephesians 6 are based on verses out of the Pentateuch, the first five books, the book of the law. In Ephesians 6, children, obey your parents. Obey your parents. One of the things that I could say about my life, and I may have made many mistakes and many wrong decisions, but those mistakes and wrong decisions were not made out of, Well, I'm going to rebel against my parents. I'm going to rebel against God, and I'm just going to show them I can do it on my own. Who cares? Of course, one of the things that youth today are facing is this thing of, I don't care. I don't care. And when people get into that situation, I think of all of the attitudes that people can get in as this one of, I don't care. I don't care what happens to me. I don't care if I live or die. You talk about eternal life. That doesn't mean anything to me. Who wants to live forever? Anyhow. That kind of attitude is of Satan the devil straight out of his book, because he knows his fate. Have you come to torment us before the times? The demons ask Christ? Yes, they know their fate, and they want you in the same state of mind. So when you start doing things out of rebellion, I believe it's in 1 Samuel where Saul went and he didn't kill every king, agag, and all the cattle and all of that. Samuel came to him and he said, the spirit of rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. And so, that is one of the last things in the state of mind that you want to be in, is this thing of rebellion. I'm going to show you how bad I am. I'm going to show you that I don't have to listen to you or whatever the verbiage is that follows.

Obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. And you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The Greek word that is translated nurture is paedia. Paedia. The whole training and education of children, which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals and employs of this person instructions, admonitions, reproof. And if you break the discipline, the punishment.

In other words, it is a complete education of mind, body, spirit, everything that makes human beings a human being. So, you look at that word once again, nurture. It's every facet of human being. And admonition, this word admonition in the Greek is nauthesia. It's a word that means intellect, the faculties of mind that deal with understanding and to put them in place, to set them forth. In other words, to teach people to think correctly.

And one of the great things that is lacking is common sense, wisdom. Because our youth, how many youth today are reared on the couch with a smartphone? At the age of 10, I was going into the stall facing this big old mule and putting on a bridle and harnessing her all by myself. Nobody there. The barn was a quarter of a mile from the house. My dad was at work at 7 o'clock in town, and I was there plowing by myself. I mean, what you learn, the common sense kind of things that we learn growing up, no longer exist. It's not there. It is a different world. This world that we are in is so much different than the world of the 1980s even. You talk about, people talk about Mr. Armstrong. Well, Mr. Armstrong died January 16, 1986, 31 years ago. We have a generation and a half since then. The world is so different. The internet was not there then, as it is now. It was in the very infant stages kind of thing compared to now.

And so many other things that we could name.

So, parents must teach the mind of a child and set in place the things of God. The future of the church will depend to a large degree on how well we educate parents and then how well they follow God's instructions on child rearing. Not what you read in the books today, not from Dr. Spock or any of the ones that are present in today's world. Spock is decades old now. And it seems that we have lost and let some of these things slip in recent years. How many sermons? And I could say there's been very few that I've given in the past decade with regard to family, marriage and family, child rearing. The importance of the family structure that is revealed in the Bible must need to be emphasized. It is of paramount importance. We are begotten sons and daughters of God's family, and God continually puts in place the things that will keep us on the right path. It's all in the Word of God. Look at Hebrews 12. And what God does with us? We are His children. We are His begotten children. He loves us. He cares for us. He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son. The Son loved us so much that He willingly gave His life. In Hebrews 12, verse 6, For whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is He whom the Father chastens not? But if you would be without chastisement, wherefore all are partakers, then are you illegitimate and not sons. There is no human being that is perfect. There is no human being that does not need correction. There is no human being that does not need to have things set in order from time to time. And if that does not take place, then in God's eyes you are viewed as illegitimate. You are not loved. You are not cared for. You are not nurtured. You are not admonished. You are left on your own.

And parents must not leave their children on their own. This introduces another vital component of the future of the Church, and that is the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. In order for the Church to survive, we must exercise judgment, mercy, and faith. We know that the Church is going to survive, so we know that some will exercise judgment, mercy, and faith. God has given us the keys to reconciliation. The exercise of judgment, mercy, and faith contains the vital steps necessary for us to be reconciled to God and Christ in each member of the body of Christ. To walk with God and Christ in each member of the body of Christ in a reconciled position. How can a man say that he loves God and loves not his neighbor? How can we love God whom we have not seen and hate our brother whom we have seen? The Bible is very clear. The last several verses there in 1 John 4 and a few verses of 1 John 5 make that very clear. The future of the Church will depend on renewing the inward man daily. The words I speak, they are spirit in their life, Jesus says. So are we feeding on the Word of God. Are we renewing the inward man? We're all familiar with Matthew 4. Man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So we need to keep in mind this John 6, 63, the words I speak, they are spirit and they are life. The renewing of the inward man is a vital key to having your lamps filled with oil. The parable of the talents revealed to us that we must make the best use possible of the gifts that God has given us. The parable of the separation of the sheep from goats reveals to us what we must do in serving one another. We have, I believe, the servingist, my word, church in the land. Perhaps one of the prayingness, prayingness with an A, not an E, one of the prayingist churches in the land, and we certainly want to keep it that way.

Many of you have been in the arena for over 50 years. The future of the church will depend to a large degree on how well we ground the next generation in the things of God. Let's look now at 1 Timothy 3.15. 1 Timothy 3.15 1 Timothy 3.15 But if I tarry along that you may know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. God has placed in sacred trust His truth, the pearl of great price with us, the church of God.

If we don't preserve it, who will? 2 Timothy 3.15 Let's note the admonition and exhortation that Paul gives Timothy in 2 Timothy. The church, the pillar and ground of the truth, and what are we to do with it? Those of us who are older, those of us who know the Word of God, Timothy was a young man, probably somewhere around 20 years of age. And here he was doing the work of an evangelist in the church of God.

This is 2 Timothy 2, verse 1. Therefore, my Son, be strong in the grace of the divine favor that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit you to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Now, this word commit literally means to place in sacred trust. Just like you might put your riches, your jewels, or your money, or whatever in the vault, you place it in sacred trust. God is committed to us, the pearl of great price, and we're to view it as something that is placed in sacred trust.

The things that we have talked about here today are some of the things that will shake the future of the church.

We know that Satan and the demons are going to wage war on every front, and they're going to pull out every stop possible. They're going to try to destroy the church of God.

We know that the battle of the great day of God Almighty, that all the nations will be gathered together at Armageddon to fight that battle against the returning Jesus Christ and the saints.

We know that we know what the Bible says. So the future of the church, to a large degree, is in our hands. But it must be more than in our hands in the physical sense. It must be in our hearts and minds to the point that we are willing to give God for it. Now let's look at Revelation 12. Revelation 12 really is a description from the birth of Jesus Christ to the return of Jesus Christ of Satan the devil waging war, first of all, trying to kill Christ as covered in the first few verses of Revelation 12.

As soon as he was born, that is, Christ was born, you look at verse 5, she brought forth a man-child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, Jesus Christ, and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne. Of course, in the interim there, Satan the devil tried to destroy it, verse 5 to verse 4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, did cast them to the earth, and the dragon stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. Herod made the decree that all the children under two years of age would be killed. Joseph and Mary and Jesus fled into Egypt. Then they came back. And from the time that he was born to the time that Satan inspired the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, he tried to kill Jesus Christ, tried to thwart the plan of God, and tried to thwart prophecy. And he is still on that obsessive mission, desiring to be worshipped. And eventually he will be worshipped, as it says in Revelation 13.8 that all of the world worship the beast, except those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life slain from the foundation of the world. Continuing here, of course, she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up unto God to his throne. And it says in Revelation 3.21 that he sits at the right hand of the Father. It says in Hebrews 7.25 that he ever lives to make intercession for us. Therefore he is able to save us to the uttermost. The woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared of God that she should be fed for 1260 days. And of course, the Church of God has been persecuted mightily through the ages, barely visible in the annals of human history.

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the devil. And the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not. Neither was there place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast out unto the earth, and the angels were cast out with him. His angels, the demons, were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying, In heaven now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. For the accuser of the brethren is cast down, who accuses them before the throne of God night and day.

And of course, we have from time to time those who fall into that trap. You hold your place there, you look at Matthew 24 again, and a dire warning about those who try to devour one another.

In Matthew 24, beginning in verse 46, Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he comes, shall find so doing. He doesn't slack up, he doesn't try to coast, he doesn't try to tread water.

Rarely I say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays his coming. Oh, we've heard all of this before. We've heard it for a hundred years almost.

We've heard it. Mr. Armstrong was writing in the late 30s and early 40s, thinking that World War II was the end of this age.

Of course, as things were unveiled and revealed, he came to understand that that was not the end of the age. And various ones have come and gone over the decades. But for us, no matter how old we are or whenever Jesus Christ might return, this is it for us. Judgment is now on the house of God. And to whom is God looking? We'll read a verse and answer that in just a moment. But if that evil servant shall say, My Lord delays his coming and shall begin to smite his fellow servants. To eat and drink with the drunken. Why would you smite your fellow servants? To smite your fellow servants is to smite yourself if you are in the faith. Because Romans 12.5 clearly says we are members of one another.

The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of. And shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. And there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now look quickly at Isaiah 66. Very sobering, Isaiah 66. Isaiah 66 is a chapter dealing with the end of this age. In verse 1, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you build unto me, and where is the place of my rest? As it says in Acts 7 and other places, God does not dwell in buildings made by hands. Today he dwells in the church, in each one of us. For all these things hath my hand made, and all things have been, says the Eternal. But to this man will I look. Who is God going to look to? Will he be looking to you or to me?

To this man will I look to, even to him that is poor and contrite of spirit, and trembles at my word.

He that kills an ox is as if they slew a man. In other words, if you think some kind of sacrifice is going to do it. He that sacrifices a lamb is as if he cut off a dog's neck. He that offers an oblation is as if he offered swine's blood. In other words, God is sick of hypocritical kind of offerings. He that burns incense is as if he blessed an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations. God is just interested in, where do you stand with him? Where do you stand with him? I also would choose their delusions and will bring their fears upon them, because when I called, none did answer. When I spoke, they did not hear. But they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. Hear the word of the eternal you that tremble at his word. Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out of mine, for my name's sake, said, Let the eternal be glorified. But he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. God is not playing church. He's not playing games. This, of course, is for keeps. Now back to Revelation 12.

Revelation 12, verse 10 again, And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now has come salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ, and the accuser of the brethren is cast down, which accuses them before our God day and night.

And they overcame him. And they overcame him, that is, the devil, how, by the blood of the Lamb. See, they repented of their sins, and they had faith in the sacrifice of Christ for their mission of sin, by the word of their testimony, the word of God, and they loved not their lives until the death.

And you remember Isaiah 61. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea, for the devil has come down unto you having great wrath, because he knows he has but a short time. So the devil is going to go about trying to destroy both physical Israel and spiritual Israel. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time and time and half a times from the face of the serpent. Not everyone is going there, but some will. Some will die and martyr them, and they love not their lives until the death. And the serpent cast out his mouth of water as a flood, an army, after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away with the flood, the army. Try to kill them, wipe them out. And the dragon was mad with the woman, very angry with the church, and went and made war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God. Now, if you want to talk about whether or not the law has been away with, you'd have to get past this scripture. Most people never get to Revelation in the first place. They get to John 3, 16, and close the book.

That's a part of it. But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.

And the dragon was mad with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

So, brethren, we've looked at some of the key things that will shape the future here this afternoon.

We must ask ourselves, are we prepared to meet the challenges that are before us? The challenges are many. The faithful are few. And I hope and pray that each one of us remains among the faithful. And that when Jesus Christ does return, that he can say, as the Apostle Paul said, I have fought the good fight, I've kept the faith, and therefore I'm ready.