God's Important Sons

Society today does not acknowledge God largely around the world. My wife and I have been to over 70 countries around the world, and we've circled the globe in the last year again. It's a world that God just doesn't seem to be in anybody's mind. Society ignores its Creator, ignores its life-giver, its sustainer, its law-giver, and its judge of how we obey those laws. And as we heard in the special music, God is watching humanity.

And yet at this time, there's a different God that is rolling out a deceptive mindset, a deceptive, self-centered, ungodly way of living that has become, I don't know, very popular to the point where humanity is drunk on this humanism, self-egotistic kind of a goal and drive that nobody else matters but me. And that's taking us to very dangerous places. In Psalm, the 10th chapter, in verse 3, a Psalm is a book that people like to go to for solace when they feel bad or they're in trouble.

I'll go there and it'll help me feel better. But the book of Psalms, written by several individuals, actually contains a lot of instruction, a lot of prophecy, a lot of teaching, along with some solace for those who are living God's way to get persecuted because of it. And that's a constant theme throughout Scripture.

So here in Psalm chapter 10, beginning in verse 3, it says, For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire. We see a boasting of those who actually can't stand God and hate God. In the recent Emmy Awards, an individual took an award and defamed God at the same time, just outrightly, blatantly, and made a point of doing so. And that is celebrated. And this person has done it before in receiving awards and keeps getting awards and defames God. So going on here in Psalm chapter 10 verse 3, he blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.

You see, blessing the greedy. Sort of in society, we note those who have taken so much for themselves, grabbed up, you know, even taking companies, shredding the retirement benefits, and who cares about the employees and laying them off. But these companies get bigger and bigger and richer and richer. Then we hold those individuals up and say, Wow! Those are society's great ones. And you can walk through American history and see these great icons who got wealth on the backs of sometimes even children working in sweatshops.

But we hold them up in this world as being the ideal because maybe their company is doing well on the stock market as it is, you know, making goods and services to where shareholders will benefit, but not the consumers, not the employees, not the real people out there. And they, as it says here, bless the greedy and renounce the Lord. The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts. Now I want to focus on this today because this is where society is heading off in one direction, where we are going in the exact opposite direction of doing the opposite of these things.

And we're going to see in our lifetime that there is going to be some pushback from one group against the other. Now whether it's of guilt or they don't want to feel bad or whether there's another spiritual force influencing them to fulfill biblical prophecy, we can't always say. But nevertheless, there is pushback. There always has been down through time. You'll recall that the Bible talks about those who killed the prophets, killed Jesus Christ, they killed the apostles.

At the end time, there's going to be a rising force that may be actually influenced by something nobody ever has, some sort of a generative AI that's brighter than humans, that sort of requires some other way of thinking that is more tolerant of any devious mindset and sexual appetite that people have in greed and lust. That this concept is rolled out as being greater than the true God, a new Bible written by it or by them, those involved in it. And you will live this way, otherwise you will not be able to use your electronic bank account. You will not be able to buy or sell.

We know who you are, and you will either do this and worship this way or be killed, because there's too many people on the earth anyway. You know, and that it just goes that direction. And so you see here, verse 5, his ways are always prospering. Your judgments are far above out of his sight. You know, in verse 7, his mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression and under his tongue is trouble and inequity.

That's where this is going. That's where society is going. People think this is great. But God called some people to be his people during this age of Satan's rule, but he had to remind them of who he was in relationship to them.

Because as we go through society, we get affected by society. We get influenced by it. We pick up on it. Gradually, it sort of affects us in some ways. We like to think we're in the church, but we're not always in a church circumstance, situation, assembly. We're scattered like salt out in society. Like you take salt on your meal. We live here. We live there. We live there. We come together on the Sabbath and on the Holy Days, but the rest of the time we are out there.

And God has to remind us, as he did the ancient Israelites, that he called out of Egypt. Let's go to Exodus chapter 20 right in the chapter with the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments that often people will put on their their wall.

But at the same time, they miss the words. Let's just focus on a couple of phrases that God uses for those he calls in this age. Exodus 2. Exodus 20 verse 2. I am the Lord your God.

It's not everybody's God. Not everybody today looks at God. Not everybody in Egypt. Nobody in Egypt. And said, oh, that's our God. Even the Israelites didn't see him as their God at first. God has to remind us, I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Let's drop down now to verse 5. Don't bow down and serve any other God or put anything else before him. For I the Lord your God, am a jealous God.

Now you might think that I'm picking out some phrases here that are, well, that's kind of curious. Do you realize that this phrase, the Lord your God, or our God, or our Lord Jesus Christ, or our Savior, is used 300 times in Scripture. This Bible was not written to the world. It's written to the people of God, who God is their God. He's our God. And we need to have a close relationship with our God and cling to that relationship and be one with our God. At the same time, God calls us His children. You look up the number of references. My sons, my daughters, my children, my church. See, this is what we have, and this is a relationship that Satan wants to sever. He wants to break it. You tear it apart. Wants to tear apart families, and especially the family relationships within the God family. So here we come down now to verse 7. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Everybody else does, from OMG to any little, you know, version, twist, or just blatantly yell it out. You know, stick the word holy with any horrible rotten thing. Stick the name Jesus or God with any awful, terrible thing, and out it rolls. But, you see, it's not their God. God says, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Dropping down now to verse 10. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. It's not the Sabbath of those who do not look to God. That's why it's a sign. It's a sign of God's people because it's the Sabbath of the Lord your God. Now, this is not in any way to make us seem somehow better than others or exclusive other than God chooses to call some at certain times in this plan of salvation. And this is our time. This is an opportunity. Jesus said, none can come to the Father unless he calls. Right? So, while we're nobody special, and is the last hymn we just sang was, compared to this world or in the eyes of this world, you're nothing special. You know, there's nothing at all about us that's better than anybody else. In fact, we're a little less physically, mentally, prosperity, whatever you want to say. But because of our relationship with God, we are special in his eyes and not in the eyes of this world. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3, Ephesians chapter 1 and verses 3 through 14, we could just skim that real briefly. Let's look at this special calling, be reminded of that opportunity that you and I have been given in this present evil age. This is not a put-down of society around us. They can't understand.

They don't understand. They won't understand, except for the very few that God will call and who respond. So Ephesians chapter 1, beginning in verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, I'm not just picking out the few places in Scripture where these terms, it's all through the Bible, it's all through the New Testament, all through the Old Testament.

The Lord and God are our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He's blessed us now. Just as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

Having predestined us to adoption, that Roman form or sonship, as sons by Jesus Christ to himself. Oh, he is doing this. And he has chosen you for sonship as sons by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure.

What that means is he's excited about that. It pleases him of his will.

In verse 7, in him we have redemption through his blood. Who has redemption? We have redemption at this time. We're going through the spring holy day season right now. It began with Passover, and that Passover relates to those who are being called at this time, who have had sin put out of their life by the blood of Jesus Christ at baptism, and who are now walking a sinless way of life, eating that bread of life. God's Holy Spirit comes through Jesus Christ from God the Father. We are walking without leaven. We are an unleavened lump. Yes, we pick up dirt on our feet. We have to have our feet washed, but overall God looks at us as his sons and daughters who are right, doing righteous things in his eyes. He's very pleased with that, and as we grow, we are looking forward to a harvest. Jesus was harvested during unleavened bread as an example of a human who lived right. He bore the righteous fruit of God, and he was sinless, and he went to heaven, was accepted by God as the first fruit. And here we are now four sabbaths, four weeks from that event that took place back during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And we have a few more to go until the next harvest festival of Pentecost, or it's called the Feast of Harvest of First Fruits. And that's when that's the celebration of us, of those who have been called in this challenging time, and we get harvested, and then we will stand before God as first fruits, harvested. Just like Christ was harvested and presented to the Father, we will be harvested, and we will be before the throne of God, as we'll see in Revelation. These are wonderful opportunities.

If we just skim on down here a little bit, in verse 9, having made known to us the mystery of His will. This group right now of individuals, and since God has been calling them down through time from Abraham, David, some of the prophets, the apostles, the New Testament Church, and the church coming down to today, and all the way to the seventh trumpet, He's made known to us the mystery of His will. You know, the revealing of the mystery of His will actually came through the observance of the Holy Days. Mr. Armstrong started keeping those in the late 30s, I believe it was, and had no idea what they meant. And the church he was attending said, don't keep those, they're meaningless in the New Covenant, forget it. But he and Loma just kept keeping those Holy Days. And after seven years, suddenly, ding! God made known to Him the mystery of His will. Oh, Passover rolls into those firstfruits being called, cleaning their lives up, the bride getting herself ready. Pentecost celebrates the victory that she has. Trumpets is the return of Christ, where He's given rulership. She is raised at that time from the dead and reigns with Him over the millennial children that begin to come into relationship with God. And then the second resurrection, the great harvest that we celebrate at the eighth day following the Feast of Tabernacles. And there you have it, the mystery of God's will. And all the scriptures in the Bible then start to flow into this concept and we understand the plan of salvation. We look on down here. It says here, verse 12, that we who first trusted in Christ, the rest of the world does not, but we are those who are given the opportunity to first trust or have faith in Christ should be to the praise of His glory, in whom you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchase possession to the praise of His glory. We will be glorified. And that is our calling right now. That is our future right now. If we continue on this path and remain faithful. Again, our Lord, our God, the children of God, we are throughout scripture the ones who are in a relationship at this time with God. And at the same time, we become, as it were, the opposition for those who are not in that relationship. I'd like to examine this special relationship between God and His children today. He calls us sons and daughters now. We're not waiting to be sons and daughters. Oh, we are in a second sense. There's two types of sons. Let's look at that. There's sons that are fleshly and there are sons that are divine. And we begin as one, but God really wants us to reach that second phase of sonship. Just like Jesus Christ was declared the Son of God when He was on earth. He was the Son of Man, but God said, this is my Son in whom I'm well pleased following His baptism. And then yet, He was raised up to be the Son to sit on the throne of God. So let's look at this briefly.

Society, again, will elevate its own, comparing itself among itself and award the nobility that's out there. But you won't find godliness in any assessment that is branded, celebrated, given an award by humanity. You'll never see godliness as the quality for that.

Godliness is something that people who are in a relationship with God develop. And this godliness is what the Bible is referring to when it uses the term sons of God or son of God or children of God.

It's not just genetic. It's talking about mindset. The word father, for instance, is the Greek word pater. And father can mean, like my wife and I have children, I am the father of three children, yes, so there's the paternity. But our children think like us. And so they are sort of daughters of ours in the physical lineage sense, but they're also daughters of us because they think they're in the church. They serve, they love, they're growing in godliness.

So there's a behavior element there. So when the Bible talks about sons of God, it's generally talking about the mindset that humans have adopted. Let's look at an example in Job chapter 2 in verse 1. This regards the angels. We know in heaven there are different angels, different types of angels. In Job chapter 2, it references those who are godly angels, not the third that went away with Satan. Job chapter 2 verse 1, we're going to just break into the verse, it says, there was a day when the sons of God, are angels, lineage somehow of God?

No. But these angels, you see, were godly angels, and they came to present themselves before the Lord. But notice the contrast here in other angels. And it says, in addition to these sons of God, or these godly angels, Satan came also. So we can see this is definitely not some lineage, but really a mindset. Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

So this is just an example of the term being applied to anyone or anything that is of the mind of God. And here it's speaking of angels. Let's look next at godly humans back in Genesis chapter 6 in verse 2. Genesis 6 and verse 2. Not of the covenant that you and I are in, but there were descendants of Adam. We know Abel. There was Seth. There was Enos and various ones. The Bible doesn't really tell us a lot of individuals there that were true to God, but they had kids, and kids had kids, and not all those kids stayed with it. It says here in Genesis chapter 2, the sons of God saw the daughters of men. So these who had been living an essentially godly life looked over and saw women from other cultures. They were really good-looking, of different mindsets. They saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the next thing we read is humanity has become so evil and so godless that God is going to bring the flood and kill everybody except one family, Noah and his sons. Now, when it says his sons, it might just mean those individuals who were his children who thought like him. In other words, they were godly. He may have had a lot more sons that weren't. We don't know. But you see how this can work both ways. Let's look at another individual in Luke chapter 3 and verse 22. This is a human on earth who is godly. In fact, he is our example of a human godly individual, Jesus Christ. In Luke 3 and verse 22, it says, And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased. Now, in this sense, he's both.

He's both the lineage son of the Father because Mary was told that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and impregnate her. And that Holy Spirit comes from God the Father. But secondarily, he has been in a baptism ceremony with other people who are renouncing sin and wanting godliness, and he participates with them in that ceremony. And God says, You are my beloved Son, you think like me. You are doing good and right and godly. Jesus was always godly. He was always been the Word.

It says, From the beginning in John 1, it says, From the beginning he was the Word, the Logos, the spokesman. He always had that relationship with God the Father as far as what Scripture says. There's never a time when he was not the Logos or the spokesman. Okay? So, from the beginning, then we come up to his life and it says, The Word dwelt among us. So, he was the Word when he was here on earth. We go all the way forward to Revelation 19. When he returns and the bride is with him, his name is the Word of God. Right? So, he never changes. He's the same today and forever. And his mindset is that of a son or a godly individual like the Father. So, there's this second level of sonship, then, that at his death he ascended to. Let's look at that because, remember, he is a first fruit and he wants you to be part of the first fruits as well.

So, God's happy that you're a son or a daughter that thinks godliness as he does and does it, but that's not his goal for you. Let's go on here and look at Psalm chapter 2 and verse 6. This is a prophecy now. Psalm 2 and verse 6. Once he lived on earth and he completed his responsibilities here, we go on now to his future sonship. Psalm 2 and verse 6. This is the literal birth into the spirit, divine family of God where he sits at the right hand of God. Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree, the Lord has said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. That word begotten in the Hebrew means to birth.

Today I have birthed you. Jesus Christ, when he died, was in the grave three days and three nights, and then he was birthed. He was the first one to be born again from flesh in the divine sense and be with God the Father. Continuing on, you...

Today I have begotten you. I have birthed you. So continuing on, we're going to go to Acts chapter 13 now and see how this was fulfilled. Acts chapter 13 and verse 32.

Acts 13-32. This prophecy of his resurrection and his glorification as a son was fulfilled.

And in Acts 13 verse 32 it says, and we declare to you glad tidings. This has been fulfilled.

That the promise which was made to the fathers, that promise that was made.

Verse 33, God has fulfilled this for us, their children, in that he has raised up Jesus as it is also written in the second psalm which we just read. This is the fulfillment of the second psalm. He's raised up Jesus as it's written in the second psalm. You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Now he's speaking Greek. The same words in Greek and that word begotten means to procreate or birth you. So Jesus returned to glory in the Godhead. We find in verse 9, Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name.

Verse 10, notice these words carefully, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth. So this second level of being a son in the divine sense carries great glorification and authority. But let's notice something here, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. This proves that Jesus was part of the Godhead.

If we go back to Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 22, and this is going to involve you and me because like him we are following him and when he returns on the Feast of Trumpets, or I shouldn't say on, but that which is signified by the Feast of Trumpets at the seventh trump, those who have developed the first fruits ready to be harvested, like we'll celebrate at Pentecost, that's going to happen to them as well. And we're going to become like him and we're going to sit on his throne with him. So it says here that every knee should bow. In Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 22 it says, look to me and be saved. Who would say this? Well, Jesus Christ.

All you ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other. We're not counting gods here. There's only one Godhead. God the Father and Jesus Christ are one and currently there are two of them.

I am God and there is no other. I have sworn by myself the Word, he is the Word, has gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that to me every knee shall bow.

We just read that this was Jesus Christ. Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. Now, the exciting thing about this mystery that God reveals to us is God wants to expand that one Godhead. It'll still be one, but he wants more individuals in the Godhead, believe it or not. Now, many people think, oh, that's just, I don't know, that's just, that's terrible to think like that. That's what God wants. You don't want more angels. You want some real children, some real sons of God at the second dimension like Jesus Christ was a son of God in the flesh, like you are, and he's going to be, we're going to be sons of his like he is. John chapter 10, in verse 30, Jesus talks to us about this. John chapter 10, in verse 30, I and my father are one. Okay. I and my father are one. Why did Jesus come and give himself, why was he so excited about eating the last Passover and essentially going through his death, and suffering for us? Why was he excited about? Why was he energetic about it?

Well, we find in his prayer just before he died in John 17 and verse 21, we find the answer.

Why? He just said that God, the Father, and I are one. Now, in John 17 21, before he dies, and the reason for his death is that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us. That's why. God is very excited about the first resurrection.

As far as time has gone, since this was planned and you were planned before the foundation of the world somehow, God is that smart, he's been waiting a long time.

I mean, it's getting close. And we know that when it happens, finally all the heaven rejoices, and there's choruses of voices and noises and excitement of the time has come that you would reward your saints and seventh blowing of the trumpet. Everybody's excited, and the bride has made herself ready. This is exciting stuff to God. Very exciting. Now, sometimes you and I think I'm just really small. I just live out in my little place, unlike salt. There's nobody around.

Society doesn't respect me. I've learned to hear the sermons that tell me I'm bad, and I'm never good enough, and I'm always trying to overcome, and I wonder if I'll make it, and God's always, you know, telling me in the scriptures, you know, grow and overcome, and all. And that's good, and that's right, and we need to. We fail to stop and see this through God's eyes, how excited He is, how much He has poured into this and continues to pour into it. How pleased He is with you.

You are where you need to be today, not where you need to be tomorrow and next year. You'll get there. It's like a little child. You're pleased when your baby can crawl. You're so excited. You'll send out, you know, announcements. My baby crawled today. If I got out on the floor and crawled around, that wouldn't be the announcement that was sent out. But it was once upon a time when my mom, you know, saw that. We're expected to keep going, right? But God's very happy where you are.

They want us to ultimately be one with them. Now, in a spiritual sense, as sons and daughters of God, yes, be one and be called sons and daughters, that godly mindset, but ultimately become the literal thing. Let's go look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 23. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 23. Remember our example? Jesus Christ was the first verse. He's already raised. He's been harvested.

He's come before the throne of God. He's accepted. He's now given authority in heaven and earth. And at this time, He is the head of the church. He is our hit. He's our Lord, our Master, our King. He's our husband. He's our Savior. That's wonderful. 1 Corinthians 15, 23. He wants us to come up to that second level of sonship. But each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, that's happened already, afterward, those who are Christ at His coming. He comes at the seventh trumpet. Some people say, oh, He's going to come on Pentecost. Okay, well, let's just look at that for a second. It'll only take a second. If the last trumpet happens at Pentecost, then it's not that the last trumpet happens at Pentecost, and the saints are resurrected then, there can be no trumpets blown on the Feast of Trumpets. Sorry. Moving on.

We are here completing week four of the seventh Sabbath leading up to Pentecost.

And notice in Revelation chapter 14 and verse 1 that those who have lived their lives and died for the most part have been, in a sense, put away as Dead Sea. You know, when you do a wheat harvest, you're not harvesting anything that's living. It's been out in the field. It's shriveled up. It's brown.

It's dead. You know, the Bible talks about a seed isn't going to grow unless it's really, really dead. So you have these individuals who are stored, as it were, stored in the storehouse.

And now we come to Revelation chapter 14 and verse 1, and we find when those seeds are going to come to life. And of course, in Revelation 11 that precedes this, you have the blowing of the seventh trumpet. You have the preaching of the Gospel to everyone and everything on earth.

It skips forward now in context to chapter 14 and verse 1, I saw and looked to behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion. What does that lamb mean? That means he was a son of God. He was a godly son of God. He had the lamb mindset, the sheep mindset. What are you and I supposed to be? We're to be sheep, right? Lambs. And just like he stood on Mount Zion with him, or 144,000, having his father's name written on their foreheads, literally or symbolically, they're the thinkers, the doers of godliness. They're godlike.

And I heard a voice from heaven like the voice of... well, he's trying to describe this, how exciting it was in heaven, and he can only come up with human terms. So he says, it was kind of like all the biggest waterfalls you've ever seen. And that's not it. No, it was like the voice of all the thunderstorms at the same time. No, not quite. Okay, it's like the sound of harpets playing their harps. Lots of them. He can't describe the excitement and the sounds. And they sing, as it were, a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. Like Jesus Christ was redeemed, these are redeemed. And these are the ones who are not defiled with false religion. That's what that word means prophetically. For they are virgins. They are virgins to Christ spiritually, mentally. They have fully reserved themselves for their husband, Jesus Christ.

These are the ones who follow the Lamb, wherever He goes. They were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God. This is the first time you and I are ever called firstfruits in Scripture, is right here. Jesus was never called a firstfruit until you went out in the field and you cut, you harvested the dead grain of the barley harvest. We are called firstfruits.

We are called firstfruits when we are presented to God.

And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

These firstfruits then are today's godly children now, the sons of God, the daughters of God.

The Bible uses various references, including children of God. But it's the mindset.

Now, when you look back to unleavened bread, my wife and I were over in Asia during unleavened bread, and you could go in these bakeries during unleavened bread. You had to pass through them and like, wow, look at all this stuff. You know, and at that week of the year, there's a different meaning for unleavened bread. But the one thing that's missing in every bakery, and I kind of checked around as I went by, was unleavened bread. They didn't have any. The couple of ladies in the congregations we were at, one in Hong Kong and one in Singapore, had made unleavened bread. And it just wouldn't sell in that environment in that week, right? Because it was, it was, it was, it was humble. I mean, it was, it was just, wait. And it didn't have a form or a shape that was comely. There was nothing about it that made one desire it. We all kind of joked about it as, as we looked at it and ate it and kind of apologies, you know, sorry, I made it that way. Maybe it wasn't quite this or that. That's what it was, you see. But from the societal perspective, you and I, as unleavened bread, aren't, recognizes anything great. We're not desired by humanity.

We don't run with that crowd. We don't sort of aspire to the things that they would check off as being something they want or want to be associated with. And so consequently, where you live, you may feel yourself as a nobody. Satan wants that. You may even feel a little disenfranchised if someone in the church criticizes you or whatever you get out of sight. You may go, well, maybe I just, I won't go back, you know, or I won't, I won't hang around that. See, that's what he wants.

You can feel insignificant. You can say, I am short. I am poor. I am, I'm old. I, you know, I, I, and look at all these other smart people and talented people and everybody. And when I compare myself to others, maybe I'm insignificant. Is that how God sees you? The only ones he ever chose to call are the insignificant in the world's eyes. And he's waiting for this event, and we just heard all the noise that's going to transpire. And Jesus Christ has given himself for you and continues to. God is so excited. The Father needs a bride for his Son. They're about to roll out the most exciting event, one event that will ever happen in all times, and it'll only happen once. And if you think of nothing else from this message, think of this one event. It's going to be a marriage. There's going to be a wedding supper for the bride of Christ. And this has been planned before the foundation of the world. And it'll never happen again to anybody else throughout eternity. There'll be one bride that sits on the throne with Christ and reigns with him. Can you imagine what that wedding is going to be like? And that wedding feast? That wedding supper? The Bible doesn't even tell us anything about it other than they went in and the door was closed. And we see it from the outside. The door was closed. When you think of a wedding that's coming up, and there always seems to be somebody's engaged, and a wedding's coming up, oh, there's only a few months left to prepare, and there's all these preparations, and the people are all busy, and the people are excited, and coming up to this wedding, can you imagine what God the Father and Jesus Christ are excited about? What they've been planning for? Jesus said, I'm going to go and prepare a place for you, and I'll receive you to myself.

Whoo! Think of that. Think of how excited God is about you. Think of how important you are in God's eyes. In Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 19, we get a glimpse of how God thinks about you and me at this time. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 19, Now, therefore, now at this time, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Forget about what society thinks about you. You are a member of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. That just takes us way above anything going on in society, which is irrelevant. You are God's house. You are the temple of God. You're where God is dwelling. Jesus said, God and my Father dwell in you. And then he turns around and said, and you dwell in us.

We dwell in each other. That is our relationship. Strengthen that relationship. Pray about that relationship. When you pray to God, pray in that mindset. Instead of just getting on you, saying, Father, never go through your, you know, whatever. Take a little time. I'm learning to pause before I pray and think about who we are. And I am not coming before God. We are coming before God.

It says, our Father in heaven, you know, give us this day our daily bread. See?

So let's think about heaven for just a minute. How important are you? Well, here's how important you are. Heaven has a capital city. We call it Jerusalem above, right? That's the center city.

So throughout the heavenly realm, which we're not told much about, heaven, the third heaven must just be an invisible heavenly realm in which you have billions of angels and who knows what all goes on there. But we're coming to God. So we're going to go to, first of all, New Jerusalem. We're going to pass through there. If the earthly Jerusalem and the earthly temple was a type of what's in heaven, you have security in advance of even reaching the temple. You go back and read that in the Old Testament, how David set up. So many thousands of people were established for security. And as you approach that temple, you have to actually be worthy to come up to the temple. And then there are segments there or sections that only certain people can go so far. If you're an outsider, you can come here. If you're somebody else, you can go there. If you're a priest of this order, you can advance this far. If you're the high priest, you can go further. You see? If you're the high priest, you can actually go into where God is.

And these things have separations. So before we just say, our Father in heaven, I like to think, wow, look at who God considers me. I'm a son. I'm a daughter. I'm a child of God. And the Bible says, come boldly before the throne of grace. Through our relationship of oneness with God and being godly children, we get to pass through the city, up to the temple, through where maybe angels and others are. We get to come right into the holy of holies, where God the Father is, and Jesus Christ is our advocate. Maybe the sea of glass. And what do we have there? The 24 elders, the beauty of the throne, the brightness of God the Father, and Jesus Christ. Wow, what an opportunity! And guess what? I used to think of myself as alone on this on the sea of glass. No. How many people at any given time are God's children praying at the same time? We're there as we are there, our Father in heaven. Holy is your name. We start thinking about holy is your... He told us to pray that. Now we begin to think about Him and all that that name represents from all He is and all His creation, all the plan of salvation, and all that. I mean, there's a lot to be thankful for, and we're just getting started. If you pray with a concept of, you are that important to God, and He is so excited to have you there, and yes, you might come and say, you know, I can't even hardly keep my thoughts straight. Maybe I'm getting older, or I've got something on my mind, but I'm here. I'm trying.

It says the Spirit bears witness with our spirit. We're sons of God, and it also said the Spirit can help know and express through Jesus Christ our Advocate what it is we're trying to say, or should be saying. What a wonderful opportunity it is to come into that environment whenever we pray. You think sometimes that you're insignificant, not in God's eyes.

You are the most significant individual. Think of how far a person who is not called doesn't accept God, doesn't want to know God, doesn't obey God, or is like one of the fallen angels. Think about how far that individual you're feeling insignificant compared to gets in that same scenario at this time.

This is a wonderful opportunity we have, is all I'm trying to point out, and we need to maximize it. Let's go to 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3.

Blessed, O how supremely blessed is what the Greek word means.

O how supremely blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us, remember that, gendered us, again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He's done it.

We're following along, and we're coming to an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, that does not fade away, reserved in heaven or you, in the heavenly realm.

Oftentimes we want to differentiate that, well, we're not really going to heaven. Well, yes, you are.

You are going into the spirit heavenly realm, and you're going to be with Jesus Christ at all times, and will reign on earth for a thousand years, but I imagine spirit beings come and go within the physical and the heavenly realm. We just are not told about the spiritics or the physics of the two.

But anyway, who are kept by the power of God, we are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you've been grieved by various trials.

You know, we see these things, we understand these things, but in verse 8, Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. How does that take place? Though now you do not see Him yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Wow, this is really good stuff.

We are sons now, and we are very, very important to God and to the kingdom of God. I want to read some words from Jesus Christ here as we begin to wrap this up. John 15 and verse 11. We often read this at Passover time, but let's just look here. John 15 verses 11 through 21. Jesus said, These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. We just read in 1 Peter about having joy inexpressible.

Jesus has joy. We are to have joy. And this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Be sons of God like me. Have that agape mindset growing in you.

Dropping down. Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for his friends.

You are my friends. Who else has said those words to? Besides you. You are my friends. If you do whatever I command you, and you are doing what he commands you, you are a personal friend of Jesus Christ. Dropping down, verse 16. How did you get here? You did not choose me, but I chose you, and I anointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain. That is why we are here. That's why Jesus is so excited. Now, coming along with that, let's go back to what we started with in verse 18. If the world hates you, or loves you less by comparison, or whatever degree it is, you know that it hated me before it hated you. This is what comes along with being a godly-minded individual. If you were of society, which is the word cosmos, society would love its own. Yet because you're not of the world, but I chose you. That's how we got here. I chose you out of the world. Therefore, the world hates you. Remember the word I said? Asserts not greater than is mastery. If they persecuted me, they'll persecute you. Okay, let's just realize that's the way it is. It's part of being a child in the family of God.

Verse 21, but all these things they will do to you for my name's sake. In other words, the association there will be for not the word Jesus, but who he is, my namesake, the name of God. That is more than just G-O-D or Joshua, which was Jesus's name in his time. But it's who they were, what they represented, all that they are. And society does not like that. Doesn't like God. Doesn't like godliness. If we look in 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 9, now we can begin to understand how these words are said by God. They're not some anomaly. 1 Peter 2 and verse 9 is not some one-off anomaly that God is, I don't know, he must have made a mistake here.

1 Peter 2 verse 9, but you are a chosen generation. God chose you, a royal priesthood, royalty, a holy nation, because God's Spirit is in you, and he is holy, his own special people.

I don't know who's special to God. You are. That you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who were once not a people, notice, but are now the people of God. We are now the people of God. Remember the statement, the Lord your God, children of God, we are now the people of God. Not that everybody someday will not be. They have their opportunities, even in second resurrection, but this is the time to now be the people of God.

James chapter 1 18 says, of his own will he begat us with the word of truth. That's Jesus Christ.

That we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. First fruits means the first ones.

This is a special opportunity. The first fruits will be the bride of Christ. First fruits is a small sampling of the greater crop, and the greater crop, the good news is that all the hundred billion people who've ever lived will also have an opportunity to live in God's kingdom, but they will never be the first fruits, never be the bride of Christ, will never sit on the throne with Jesus Christ. I'd like to wrap this up with two scriptures. Revelation 19 verse 7, Revelation 19 verse 7. When you think some days that, you know, I'm not really accomplishing much, I'm really not that important, we all feel that way, believe me. I remember pastoring in this rather remote area back in the late 70s and 80s, and headquarters didn't even seem to know I was out here. I mean, us and the few brethren that were scattered around from Missouri to Texas along this two-state region, we were spread out and sprinkled, you know, and you just sort of felt insignificant or certainly alone, as it were, as the six days of the weeks went along and you were bouncing around society, and then we came together on the Sabbath.

This is a wonderful thing that we should treasure and never let go, but it can be mentally speaking, it can be a thought that I am insignificant, but let's see it from God's eyes one more time. Revelation chapter 19 and verse 7. Let us be glad and rejoice. This isn't heaven saying this, all right? These are the throngs of angels, God the Father, Jesus Christ, the 24 elders, the Caribbean, the cover. Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory for the marriage of the Lamb has finally come. That's an editor's I put in finally. This wedding has been waited for for a long time, and you know, in verse 6, the voice of multitude, many waters, mighty thunderings, the Lord omnipotent reigns, right? Let us be glad and rejoice, give Him glory the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready. They are so excited about that, and to her it was granted to be a raid in fine linen. You think about fine linen from God's creative, you know, perspective. I know all this is in symbolic language, but still it wasn't just linen. I remember when my wife walked down the aisle and I see other husbands see their bride pop out. They haven't seen them yet in a hidden room. You know, they come out and it's like, oh, wow! To her was granted this special, which is the righteous acts of the saints.

That's what's beauty. It's not some linen material is beauty. It's the the righteous acts of the saints, that godly mindset that is so beautiful. And He said to me, right, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. That's the party. That's the celebration. And He said to me, these are the true sayings of God.

So if you're led by God's Spirit in conclusion, and you live God's truth, and God dwells in you, and you and Him, you are so important to Him. He's got everything hanging on the fact that He needs a bride of a great multitude. It's actually a small multitude. The numbers sound pretty big.

To be ruling and assisting Jesus Christ with the future harvests. And that is so important to God.

I'd like to conclude by reading just three verses in Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. This brings this whole topic together. Romans chapter 8 verses 14 through 17.

Romans chapter 8 verse 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. See how this works. If you're led by God's Spirit coming from the Father through Jesus Christ into you, and you're led by that, and you're godly, you are spiritual Son of God. Verse 16. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Verse 17. And if children, now physically, then we are heirs. Heirs of what? Heirs of God.

The Godhead. The one Godhead. We are heirs of. And joint heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with him, just as he suffered and was glorified, if indeed we suffer with him, that we also may be glorified together.

So, brethren, you are very important to God. This calling that you have needs to be appreciated. It needs to be celebrated. It needs to be understood that you are betrothed to a husband who is so waiting for you, so waiting for you, and he's preparing a place for you and the royal family.

So, be of good courage. You are very important to God.