The Great Un-Veiling

Many things have changed since we last attended the Feast of Tabernacles. Of course, we're all wearing face masks, face coverings. And we are having to grow accustomed to those masks, faces being hidden by scarves and all sorts of different coverings. And I will agree with all of you that we all look forward to the time when we're no longer masking our faces from one another. But do you know that we and every other human being have been wearing a mask, or rather a veil, not upon our faces, but over our hearts and minds? And we didn't even know it until God called us. And the world doesn't know it right now, but one day they will. And did you know that Jesus Christ will remove that veil upon His return? In Isaiah 25, verses 6-7, we can read about that time in God's kingdom when that veil is finally destroyed. And you can turn there with me now, and we'll be looking at it again a second time in a little bit. But it reads about a time in God's kingdom, just as it begins, when the veil is finally destroyed. Isaiah 25, verses 6-7. And it reads, And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the leaves, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the leaves. And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. This is the mask veil, mask or veil that we must especially yearn to be rid of for ourselves and for every human being. And so it shall be no more masks or veils in the kingdom of God. This afternoon we will consider this veil that lies darkly upon all humanity, its nature and source, and how it shall be destroyed. And for those called to be first fruits in God's kingdom, we will also be reminded how we are to be ridding ourselves of this veil even now by living unveiled lives. The title of this sermon is, The Great Unveiling. The Great Unveiling. To understand the nature of this veil, I'd like to start in Exodus 34. Would you turn there with me, please? Back to Exodus chapter 34. In Exodus 34, a little backstory here, in Exodus 34 describes Moses' second meeting with God on Mount Sinai to receive a second set of stone tablets on which God wrote the Ten Commandments. Now, Moses, we recall, had broken the first set when he saw the children of Israel worshipping the golden calf Aaron had made. Moses was so upset that he threw down that first tablet and they shattered. Now, in verses 29 through 30 of Exodus 34, we learn something peculiar about Moses' face. And it reads, verse 29, It did not simply glow, which had been, I think, disturbing enough. His face, according to the Hebrew words, his face shone with rays of light, sort of like the sunlight shining through the clouds there about us a little bit today. His face shone with the reflection of God's glory. And so Moses frightened everybody. Verse 31, So it seems after he calmed the people down and he instructed them in God's commands, Moses covered his face to ease their fear. However, it's important to note that he did not wear the veil all the time. Let's look at verse 34 now.

And he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again until he went in to speak with him. Speak with God. Now, notice, Moses did not wear the veil when speaking with God. We might see reflected in his action that special relationship described in Exodus 33 that says that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. It's a metaphor, face to face, friend to friend. And so we can see that Moses had a very close and personal relationship with God. It was one of sincerity and of truth. God wanted and still wants a close and personal relationship with Israel. And God will one day have that, and he's going to have that close and personal relationship with all people as well. But at that time, that's really not what the children of Israel wanted. They did not want to see that glory of God so frightening to their eyes. For although Moses did not wear a veil when he first came down from the mountain and spoke with the people, thereafter he did because the people preferred the veil. They preferred the veil rather than seeing God's glory shining from his face. Now, the history of the children of Israel would be one of turning away from God. Israel would only know short-lived times of repentance and loyalty to God. And the problem was, as Deuteronomy 5.29 tells us, the problem was not with God's laws. The problem was not with God's commandments. The problem was with God's people. Deuteronomy 5.29 says, "'Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me,' God said, "'and always keep all my commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.'" Israel preferred the darkening veil rather than God's glory in a close relationship with him. But was the resistance to God merely rebellious human nature? Or was there something far more sinister at play in their hearts? For the answer, let's be turning now to 2 Corinthians chapter 3. 2 Corinthians chapter 3. What we find is that centuries later, the apostle Paul referred to the veil of Moses in explaining why many of his fellow Jews rejected Christ's glorious gospel concerning the hope of eternal life. And even though Paul preached the gospel with boldness, with clarity, they rejected it due to a veil that covered their minds and understanding. And here, Moses' veil becomes a symbol for their spiritual blindness or hardness of heart. So just as the children of Israel preferred the veil on Moses' face, so did those Jews who opposed Paul prefer to be blind to Jesus Christ and his gospel, about which the Scriptures foretold. So let's read now what Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 12-16. Paul wrote, Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech, meaning clarity, unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds, referring to the children of Israel, were blinded. The word there means also blinded or hardened or calloused. For until this day the same veil remains unlisted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Paul repeats himself on purpose. He's emphasizing a point there. Paul reveals that this blindness or hardness of heart and mind is a spiritual matter, and it can be removed only through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul underscores that he and other ministers, God's ministers, always spoke of God's truth of boldness. He says they place no veil upon their preaching of the glorious truth of Christ's gospel.

In 2 Corinthians 4, perhaps a page over from where you're at, 2 Corinthians 4, verse 3-4 now, 2 Corinthians 4, 3-4, Paul clearly states that the spiritual veil that blinds is of Satan's doing. That's what this veil is all about. In verse 3, Paul wrote, But even if our gospel is veiled, it's not veiled by Paul, even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

Satan. Satan is the God of this age, who blinds those not yet called of God, not yet called of God to understand the fullness of Christ's gospel. Satan, we know from various places in Scripture, Satan is the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. In him there is no truth, and he is the father of lies.

He is the one who deceives the whole world.

Satan is the source and cause of the veil that lies upon the hearts and minds of humanity, and he's been deceiving humanity ever since Adam and Eve. Ever since Adam and Eve yield to his cunning lies and disobeyed God's instruction. And by choosing to reject God, Adam and Eve allowed Satan's veil to cover their hearts and minds, even as was reflected by their actions. If you jot down and look at this in Genesis 3, 7, and 8, it tells how Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together. They sewed fig leaves together. Why? For coverings. They're already busy covering. And we read how they hid from the presence of God among the trees in the garden. They hid in the shadows of the trees, reflecting again that veil that had come upon them from Satan. And though humanity has been in spiritual darkness ever since, John 1, and we're going to turn there now, John 1 reveals that the Word of God, Jesus Christ, came as a light, the light, into this darkened world. Please turn with me there to John 1.

And let's read John 1, verse 4-5. John 1, verse 4-5, we read, In hymns, referring to the Word of God, Christ with us, in him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. And now down to verses 9-10, it says, that, referring to Christ, that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. And then verse 12, verse 12 says, But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. And so we find that these true believers are God's elect. They are God's elect. They are the first fruits. The world, veiled in spiritual darkness, could not comprehend the true light in its Savior, Jesus Christ. And so it remains true to this day. But soon, and this is good news, but soon God's true light will shine mightily before all humanity. After thousands of years of human misery and despair, the day of the Lord will arrive, and as Revelation 20, verse 3 reveals, Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit, so that he should deceive the nations, no more to the thousand years are finished. And that's part of what we recall on the Day of Atonement. With the influence of Satan removed at that time, the world will have been destroyed, its structure will have been raised to the ground.

Jesus Christ and his elect then resurrected to immortality and ready to serve under Christ as kings and priests. They will begin a new civilization, a new civilization, and as by far superior to all past civilizations, as his light is to darkness, and it will be called the kingdom of God.

Now, the nations and peoples of the world that survived the Great Tribulation, as we heard this morning, will be desperate for deliverance. They'll be desperate for hope. They will have seen things that even the best science fiction movies can't quite portray accurately, as what the Bible says is about to happen.

They will be desperate for deliverance from all the horrendous destruction, all the terrible death. And they will seek for hope from its seeming hopelessness, all brought upon them because of Satan's deception, because of his lies, because of his veil that lies upon the hearts of men. People will be eager for that true hope and that true way of life, which Jesus Christ will bring and establish throughout the earth. And with the veil that blinds removed, God will open the hearts and minds of all people. He will give them the ability with that new heart and mind through His Holy Spirit. And then they will finally be able to comprehend that true light. They will then finally be able to comprehend what God has so richly blessed us with being able to comprehend. And we're still learning, and we are still learning to comprehend that beautiful light of God. And this and that future time is when prophecy talks about a great unveiling. And we read it earlier, Isaiah 25, verse 6 through 7. Again, it reads, In this mountain the kingdom of God is what the mountain represents. The Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces. It will be the best things, both physical and spiritual. A feast of wine on the leaves, of fat things full of morrow, rich and healthy and beneficial, of well-refined wines and leaves. And He will destroy on this mountain that surface of the covering cast over all people and the veil that is spread over all nations.

And so the people will be given a heart and mind, which will then enable them, finally, to begin to comprehend. And they will finally begin to be able to keep God's laws, just as God has always intended. And though people will still need to resist the weakness of their human nature, they still have some struggling to do within themselves. We understand from Scripture that they will not have to contend with Satan's dark and devious influences. And I'm not sure if we can understand what that will be like, not to have that constant influence pulsating, pushing upon them day in and day out.

And this wonderful time is also spoken of. Let's look at Isaiah 29. In Isaiah 29, verses 18-20.

Isaiah 29, 18-20.

Isaiah is inspired to write, In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, Scripture. And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness, this spiritual darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nothing. The scornful one is consumed, and all who watch for iniquity are cut off. All of that will be in the past. It will be gone. Let's also read at that time in the book of Joel. Joel 2, verses 28-29.

We have Daniel, Hosea, Joel.

Daniel, Hosea, Joel. It's Joel 2, verses 28-9.

And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams. Your young men shall see visions. And also on my men servants and on my maid servants, I will pour out my spirit in those days. In that future time. Just imagine that time. It's good to try. Imagine that time nearer than when we first believed, when people everywhere will finally be able to comprehend the light of the Word. People everywhere will want to know God. They'll actually want to know God in a very true and profound sense.

They'll want to know how to live His way of life. How to go about doing it. Is it okay to do this on the Sabbath? Is it okay to do that? They'll want to know all the deep and profound things of God. And it will be our shared responsibility to teach them, to help them. And I believe that they will be very quick learners. But probably much faster on the uptake, we might say, than we were or we are. Because they won't have that dark veil over their hearts and minds.

They won't have that hard heart, that callous, thick-skinned heart, making it difficult to understand God. What a wonderful time that will be. What a joyous time. That time of the great unveiling when all people will see the light of God. Now, let's turn back again. Let's turn back to 2 Corinthians chapter 3.

Back to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and let's pick up with verse 16 through 17. In 2 Corinthians 3, 16 through 17, I'd like for us to consider this question. The question is, do we and those whom God calls prior to Christ's return, do we, sitting here, do we need to wait until the Kingdom to have Satan's veil removed from our hearts and minds? Prophecy talks of this great unveiling in the future. Do we have to wait that long? I think you know the answer. Of course, the answer is no.

Just make sure we're clear. The answer is no. We don't have to wait that long. Paul explains why in 2 Corinthians 3 verses 16 through 17. He writes, Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Now Paul is referring to what we call the process of conversion. That's what we undergo.

God the Father begins the process by calling the individual to Christ and to salvation. John 6, 44. And then if the person welcomes God's calling, it's a choice whether to welcome that calling, to receive it, or to reject it. But if the person welcomes God's calling, he or she will become convicted of sin and repent.

He will be baptized. He or she will be baptized and receive God's Holy Spirit with a laying on of hands, and then continue on to perfection by living a life devoted, a life of faith to Christ, to the Father, and to continually repenting from sin and seeking God's forgiveness. Now here in verse 17, it's important for us to understand what this word liberty is about. The word liberty we receive through Christ does not mean we get to do whatever we please.

I think we know where that ends up. Eventually ends up in sin. Instead, the liberty we have in Christ is a true liberty to choose to live life God's way so that we may be found worthy of receiving God's glorious gift of eternal life. The result of having the veil removed through Christ and the working of God's Holy Spirit with us and then in us, the laying on of hands, is so that we gain true freedom, true freedom, the freedom from spiritual darkness, from spiritual blindness, from sin, and from death.

Finally, here in verse 18, verse 18 gives to those called to be first fruits of God's kingdom purpose. Verse 18 gives us direction as we go on to perfection. It reads, Paul wrote, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as any mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed, or to be transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. So, the more we surrender ourselves to God, being led by His Holy Scripture and yielding to His Holy Spirit, the more we will comprehend, and the more the veil will be uplifted, that dark veil will be uplifted from our hearts and minds even now.

Like Moses, we must have a close and personal relationship with God with unveiled face.

And the more time we spend with God, the more we should reflect His glory. Now, I don't necessarily believe our faces will start to shine, but the reflection of God's glory in us and through us should be seen in the good works we do, the praying we do for others. The encouraging those acts of love and kindness and help. That kind of reflection of glory. And like Paul, we must speak and live out the glory of Christ's gospel and our hope with boldness.

The boldness especially refers to clarity, to be able to express why we believe what we believe, to not have doubt. And if we do have doubt, to go to God and ask Him for clarity, ask God for help to believe, help to have stronger faith.

And as we persevere with God ultimately upon our resurrection as immortal spirit beings, we will literally share God's glory as sons and daughters of God from glory to glory. And we look forward to that day.

We must be striving to live the unveiled life now. Now. We have no time to waste. Time is precious. We are God's people now. People whom God is called to believe and to comprehend that true light. We are to be a living reflection of God's glory now in how we live and through the good works we do. It's a precious opportunity, a rare opportunity that God has given to some few in this world populated now with billions and to people before us and people are still being called now and in the future. And so I say, what better time to practice living God's way of life and to grow in His grace and knowledge than now, right now, this week at the Feast of Tabernacles. This is a time to practice what we're learning. And with that goal in mind, I want to encourage us to be doing three things this week at the Feast, not just at the Feast, but always and forever. I'd like to give us three things that we should be doing this week at the Feast and always. First is, keep God's commandments. The youngest of us and the oldest of us could be working on this. Keep God's commandments. We must keep God's commandments, but not with the intent of earning salvation. Salvation cannot be earned. It is the gift of God. We keep God's commandments, then, because we love God. We love God, and we want to please Him. Every child should want to please his or her father. We keep the commandments because we want to be like Him. And we really do want to love our neighbor, even as God loves us. However, in keeping the commandments, we must be careful. We must watch and be alert. We must not be deceived into believing that we are keeping God's commandments just fine, when, in fact, we may have a little more progress to do. And that's a lesson to be learned, as we can see. Let's turn there. Matthew 19. Matthew 19, verses 16-17.

And this is the incident about the rich young man who approached Jesus Christ one day when he was teaching. And he asked Jesus Christ a question. Matthew 19. He asked Christ, What good things shall I do that I may have eternal life? He was a doer, just like us. He wanted to do the right thing. And if we turn there, if you're there, you will see Christ's response. Part of what Christ said here, verse 17. He said, if you want to enter into life, eternal life, Christ said, well, keep the commandments. In verse 18, the young man said to Jesus, he said, well, which ones?

Well, again, Jesus spoke to him. He said, well, you shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother. And you shall love your neighbor yourself. And the young man's thinking, oh, those commandments. And the young man said to him, well, all these things I have kept from my youth since I was a little boy.

What do I still lack? And Jesus said to him, if you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me. Come, follow me.

But the young man, when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions.

This is a cautionary lesson for us. The young man had kept the commandments all his life, just like many of us have. And so he thought, it seems, that he was all set ready to go for eternal life. But Jesus knew just how to lift up the veil from over his heart to help him see what he yet lacked.

And it seems that he had some work to do in the area of, you shall have no other gods before me. He had a problem, and he was sorrowful because it seems he wasn't ready to give away all he had and to put God's kingdom in his righteousness first in his life. He thought even keeping the commandments until Christ helped him to see he had more to work on. Now, we should always be asking God to lift the veil from our own eyes to see what we lack, to see how we might be better keeping his commandments. And we can take action starting now, now at the feast, and keep at it the rest of our lives to make sure that we keep God first and foremost in our lives, that we let nothing get between us and God, not our riches, not our wealth, not anything. And so this would certainly mean that we need to keep up our daily prayers, yes, especially at the feast. We must continue to be studying and learning from God's scriptures. We must constantly be turning our thoughts to God in his ways. We must continue to be striving harder to repent. And we must continue to be sharing and giving and encouraging and doing all sorts of those good and wonderful great works we can do.

You see, we need to remember that there are no spiritual vacations from doing good works. There are no spiritual vacations from doing good works.

The second thing we can be doing is be bold of faith. Be bold of faith. Unlike the children of Israel who did not want to see Moses' shining face, and unlike those Jews who rejected Paul in Christ's gospel that he taught, we must not hide ourselves away from God's calling or from our commitment to follow Christ and to endure to the end. God's people have always experienced unexpected and difficult times.

And absolutely, we've been experiencing many things, oh, we might say out of the ordinary, since the last time we met for God's Feast of Tabernacles. We've got the virus, we've got riots and looting in the city, political tension, unrest, many quarters, everywhere it seems. And as already we've heard, yet no matter what is happening now or ever will happen, we must be faithful because God is certainly faithful. He is faithful to help us. We must not be afraid of what the future may hold because in the end, we will receive God's gift of salvation, eternal life, and the reward of serving as kings and priests under the rulership of Jesus Christ our King. As long as we hold firm, as long as we hold firm and endure. We must believe God and do what He says. Like Paul, we must be bold and stand firm in God's truth. We must not compromise when it comes to keeping God's commandments. We must not compromise when it comes to how we live God's way of life. In the examples of godliness, people are to see when they look at us.

No matter the challenges God allows to come our way, we must not be hesitant but bold in living God's way. We need to follow Christ's instruction. Let's turn back a few pages, if you would please, to Matthew 5, Matthew 5, verses 14-16. We need to follow Christ's instruction and let the light of our unveiled lives shine. Jesus tells us, Matthew 5, verse 14, You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand.

And it gives light to all who are in the house.

Jesus said, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. We don't want people to glorify us. We want them to hear what we say, see what we do, and recognize that that is because they are followers of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. They are different. They see true light.

The third thing. We need to practice sincerity and truth. We need to practice sincerity and truth.

Now, we often speak of sincerity and truth. It's a phrase that we often consider in preparing ourselves for Passover in the days of Unleavened Bread. Paul mentions that phrase in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 8, where he said, Keep the feast, not with old leaven, which is a symbol for sin, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Those are very important words. It's an important concept that should be practiced every day. Certainly, we would be practicing that during the Feast of Tabernacles as well. Now, the actual words, the Greek words for those terms, add a little more meaning to them. Sincerity means to live with a purity of affections and conduct. Sincerity means to live with a purity of affections and conduct. Truth means being genuine. Or, I've learned in the South, they might say, genuine. You need to be genuine. That means, to help you understand what being genuine means, truth means being genuine. It means to be inwardly as well as outwardly what one professes to be. That would certainly mean we should not be hypocrites. We should not be acting one way and thinking and believing another way. There needs to be harmony in that. And so, then, to practice sincerity and truth means doing our best. It means to do our best with God's help to live a pure life with no shadow or darkness of falsehood or dishonesty. Or, self-deception in our lives. Let's turn back and look in James 1. In James 1, verses 16-18.

In James 1, verses 16-18.

And it reads...actually, I'm starting in verse 17. Well, let's go ahead and read verse 16. It's also a good one. Verse 16, Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Do not be deceived. That's what Satan likes to do with that veil. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Verse 17, Verse 18, And so, these words God inspired through James, these verses should help us to understand that to practice sincerity and truth means to become much more like our Father. There is no shadow of turning or darkness with our Father. There is none of that darkness either in Jesus Christ, the true light. And so, during the feast and always, we must again study God's Word of Truth. God's Word is Truth, John 17-17. We must yield ourselves to God's Holy Spirit in putting God's words into action. I've come across people that, not necessarily in recent years, I remember back in college years ago, these professors saying they had memorized the whole Bible and all of that. And I was always impressed by that. And that is a beautiful thing if you have done that. But far more beautiful is not that you memorize the Bible, it's that you put it into action. Knowledge alone is not good enough. You have to know and you have to do. You have to have faith, believe, and do.

And so, during the feast, we need to study God's Word and yield to God's Spirit. We must use Scripture as our spiritual mirror. And with humble and unveiled hearts, ask God. Ask God to help us see our sins and where we need to change our ways.

Now, there's a bit of caution again, because sometimes we may catch ourselves because Satan loves to try to pull the veil down over our eyes. Sometimes we may think, well, I'm doing pretty good today. If we ever dare think that way, no sin in me. I don't think you want to think like that. I wouldn't.

The caution here is that sometimes we may have old habits. Sometimes we may have old habits and long, ingrained ways of seeing things. Sometimes we have very strong personal beliefs and opinions. And what I've found is sometimes our beliefs and opinions have been handed down to us from our grandparents and our parents and down to us. And it's just the way it is, we might say. Those long, ingrained ways of seeing things, those old habits, can so heavily lie upon our hearts and minds that we might not recognize some of those things as actually being sinful.

We don't see it without some help. We can be blind, then, to pride. We can be blind to prejudice. We can be blind to self-righteousness. And blind means you don't see it. Your heart's a little thick. You don't see it. For example, just a few examples of what I'm talking about to help us understand.

For example, what we call, well, that's just the way people are. I've said that. That's just the way people are. That may actually be prejudice, and we don't know it. We haven't thought about it that way.

What we call funny, oh, it's just a joke, well, that may actually be rather hurtful and cruel to people, to other people. We may not intend it that way, but that's how it's received. We may need to think about things like that. And also, here's another one. What we call my rights or our rights or freedom, that may actually be rebelliousness.

We need to look at some of these things. And these are just three things. There's other things that, again, I'm talking about long, ingrained ways of thinking and saying things. And we need to pull the veil back a little bit with God's help, Christ's help, and His Spirit, and look at these things and think it through.

And so when we do humbly turn to God with unveiled faces and sincerity and truth, trying to be pure, trying to be honest, trying to be on the outside, what we are on the inside, genuine. When we humbly turn to God with unveiled faces and sincerity and truth, God, through His word and by His Spirit, will help us. He will lift up the veil to help us see ourselves and to see what we need to change. And He will also share with us His strength of love. He will share with us His strength of faith to repent and to keep repenting as long as ever it takes. As long as ever it takes. We can ask God and He will help us to see better without that veil over our eyes, over our hearts and minds. And so we must be striving to live unveiled lives now and forever. And if we would keep God's commandments, if we would be bold of faith and practice sincerity and truth, then we will endure with God and be better prepared to serve all those millions of people at the beginning of the millennium, who will be yearning so desperately to comprehend what we comprehend now, who will be so willing and wanting to live God's true light as we are living God's true light and, frankly, as we're still learning to comprehend and is still learning to live in His true light. Conversion is a process. It's a journey, as we heard. It's a journey. And the journey, well, it ain't over till it's over. It ain't over till it's over. Now please turn with me to Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians chapter 5. Today, we have gathered in worship on the first day, the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, to praise our Father and Jesus Christ, His Son. And we rejoice. We rejoice. And we're going to be doing a lot of rejoicing this week. That's a commandment. And I know we like doing this one. This one seems a little easier than others with our nature. Rejoicing comes a little easily. A little easier. And we rejoice because our Father and Christ, His Son, have delivered us out from the darkness and unto light. Even as we can read here in Ephesians 5 verse 8. Ephesians 5 verse 8. Paul wrote, For you, that's us, for you were once darkness, but now, the emphasis on the word now, but now you are light in the Lord. And our directions walk as children of light. We are sincerely and profoundly grateful for God's immeasurable love, grace, and mercy to each of us and to all of us, the body of Christ. However, as we rejoice, by no means do we rejoice for ourselves alone. We should not. We also rejoice for God's promise that the veil that covers and blinds the nations and people will be removed, and all people will be able to understand and experience the hope and the joy found in comprehending that true light, Jesus Christ, and the joy of salvation. Just imagine and remember, have hope in this, that one day, all people will see His marvelous light. All people will see God's marvelous light. And so, this Feast, this Feast and always, this Feast and always, I encourage us to be building a close and personal relationship with God. Let us boldly live life God's way, so that one day soon, at Christ's return, we will see God face to face, and glory to glory, with our fully unveiled faces, hearts, and minds, as we serve under Christ as kings and priests in the kingdom of God.