Highlights From The 2019 GCE

I'm happy to be able to bring you kind of a report on the general conference of elders that we were able to attend last weekend. Certainly Pat and I enjoyed being able to go to these year this year's meeting, 2019 GCE meetings in Cincinnati. And I want to explain a little bit. I know all of you are familiar with this function because we do it every year. It's an annual affair. And yet, there is importance to what is done whenever we gather together, whenever we meet in this way.

Of course, you know, I want to explain that purpose and review. I guess you could say the purpose of the meetings that we have every year is for the elders of the church because God gives the elders a responsibility to have to provide leadership as well as to provide direction as far as what it is that we feel we can do or that we should do. And so, if we were to have that type of leadership or oversight to the work of the church, then we've got to be able to get together to discuss that. Otherwise, we're kind of on our own out trying to do what we can in the local area. But each year, we do get together and discuss what has been accomplished over the past year, what do we plan as far as the upcoming years, and even what's the change in the conditions in the world. I think we could say that several of the sessions that we attended pointed out the difficulties that we have. And actually, the only way to describe them is that Satan creates challenges for the work of God. He would like to disrupt the work of God. He would like to counteract it. He would like to interrupt it. He would like to confuse it. And of course, we don't want that. We want for us to seek God's direction, seek His will, and then be about our Father's business. That's what we are intending to do. Of course, we're always studying or thinking about the mission of the Church. And I'm sure all of you know what that is. I'm going to read you at least a summary of that. But the mission of the Church is to involve the entirety of the membership of the Church, the members of the body, all of us here, those up in Fulton, in many other congregations around the United States, and even around the world, to involve everyone in the proclaiming of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

And of course, the Gospel is about Jesus Christ as the King of that Kingdom, and then to prepare people for service in the Kingdom. Now, we can certainly say, I mean, we write our mission and our vision for what do we want to do, what do we hope to achieve, and all of that is based on what we read in the Bible, what we read the Word of God says, what we see that either Jesus or the Apostles directed the Church to function in a certain way, not only what we look like, as far as what the Church looks like, but what the Church is to be doing. And clearly, that's an incredible task. And it's a task of taking the message of the Kingdom of God to the entire world. It's a task that is a work of faith. No matter how many plans we might make, you know, that's really not what the basis for everything is. You know, how much will God bless the efforts that we prepare, that we are involved in? You know, that's where it is a work of faith. And so, I want to keep that in my mind and certainly mention that to you so that you're able to be mindful of that as well. Of the 375 elders in the United Church of God, that's approximate. I know it's 375 to 400, kind of a fluid number there. About two-thirds of those elders were involved, either attending the conference in person or connecting via video connection from whatever location they happened to be in. There have been several years when I was not able to attend directly, but I could always listen to much of the meeting, even as it was going on, via a video connection. And apart from the Church service that all of you were able to share in, one way or the other, last week, apart from that, we were able on the Sabbath, we had a couple of Bible studies that were actually very informative. They were regarding, actually in a sense, reviewing the topic of the United States and Britain in prophecy. And certainly, it is good for us to go over that. That's something that we have understood for many decades. It's clearly something that God had shown the Church back in the 60s and the 70s, and clearly something that is still correct today. And you can actually trace the movements of the lost tribes of Israel, the lost 10 tribes. One of the lectures was about that. I'm not going to say I could actually present that real easily to you, but I could certainly make the information available if you would want to study that more fully. But one of the topics in regard to that subject was God's unfinished business with Israel. So, at times, this belief or this understanding could be under attack, attacked by others, calling us, well, you must be racist. You must be hateful toward others. You think that Israel is special. You think you are special. Well, we would have to say the Bible reveals something about Israel. It reveals, in a sense, God's unfinished business with Israel. That, of course, began with Abraham and later his son Isaac and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel and his sons. And, of course, the Old Testament is a testimony to the nation of Israel, the kingdom of Israel and of Judah, and ultimately going into captivity and only partially returning.

And then we find in the New Testament, the New Testament church being called spiritual Israel, the Israel of God. And so there's a connection there. And in Romans, you see a connection that God is not finished in dealing with Israel. And, ultimately, as we see what's going to be in the thousand years that will begin when Christ returns, you find that God's going to use Israel at that time. He's going to use Israel as a model. He's going to use it as a pattern for other nations to follow. And so I point that out, and we probably will go over that at some point as far as the United States and Britain and prophecy. It's a large topic. There are many, many verses that you could go to throughout the Old and the New Testament. But nonetheless, I think it was very good for it to be brought up to us, for us to think about that, to remind us, perhaps, many new people, if there are people in a congregation that are newer here in the last five or ten, twenty years, even, might not be as familiar with that than perhaps many of you would be. So I wanted to mention that that was part of what was presented on the Sabbath, more or less in Bible study format, so that we could attend that if we would like. I do want to point out one thing to you, though. Here in John 14, the book of John, as I've mentioned to you before, is an incredibly important book. It's an incredibly revealing book about the relationship that the Father and the Son have. The relationship that the Great God and the Eternal Word have always had, that relationship is based on love. It's based on harmony, on cooperation, on peace, on unity. It's based on love, because we can read and it says, God is love. But here in John 14, where Jesus is telling his disciples, I'm going to leave, but I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit. What is it that he says? John 14, verse 25, verse 26, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.

Sarah mentions a couple of things that the Holy Spirit, the coming of the Holy Spirit, will help us with. One of them is help us in understanding, help us in being able to be taught, help us in learning and growing. And I think if we're attuned to what God is presenting in the church today, that we should be learning things that perhaps we knew in part in the past, and that we should be even more focused on today. But it mentions the Holy Spirit guiding us in learning and in teaching, but it also says and will remind us of all that I have said to you. Now, I think I've mentioned this before. That's certainly something that I benefit from, being reminded. You know, because you go along and you find that, well, I don't remember exactly what we covered even last week or the week before. It's something I do know, but just to recall exactly what it was, well, you know, it points out how the Holy Spirit is able to be a reminder. And I think we could clearly say that all of us benefit from reminders from year to year. And in a sense, that's what I'm going to say about this conference. I would title this Highlights from the 2019 GCE, because, you know, was there anything presented that I'd never heard before at all? No. Were there things presented again that I needed to hear again? Very, very much so. And so I can point out regarding this conference that the focus was on the mission that we have as a church. The mission that each one of us have as a son or daughter of God, because that's what's important. That's what's significant. I think we could say sometimes we have at our conference, we've used different verses, different psalms or different proverbs, I guess, at times where we've had a theme that we focused on and kind of discussed and used. We didn't have a theme this time. It was just the conference. But clearly what evolved was a focus on our mission, focus on our being the children of God. And so I'm going to break down the primary reminders into three categories. The first one is, in my mind, one of the most important and perhaps the most important being what is the big picture? What is the trunk of the tree? Now, we don't always go over that at the conference, but this year we did. We went over that in a couple of different ways, and I am pretty sure that we're going to be able to play at least one of the messages that were given regarding this topic because it was incredibly uplifting, incredibly moving. And in a sense, as I recall the hour or so that we were listening to this presentation, it would seem that everybody is just paying attention. Everybody, I mean, I don't remember anybody dropping their books or, you know, kicking the chair in front of them or anything. Everybody was focused on what was being presented because, you know, it really is an incredible topic. So the first thing I'll talk about is the big picture and the trunk of the tree. Anyway, we would define that or describe it. The second thing that I will also focus on is on, you know, we have within probably it says on our seal down here that the focus and mission of the church is to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. You know, that is important. That's important for us not only to be aware of and to benefit from, but to be engaged in because each of us have to have that as a focus in our lives. And then thirdly, again, I'm pretty sure on our seal down here, apart from proclaiming the gospel, God requires us to be preparing a people.

Do you know, that's kind of the motto or kind of a insignia that we use. Preach the gospel and prepare a people. And we can say that and maybe that doesn't mean very much to us, but it really should. Because we were reminded, first of all, of the big picture then of how that directs us to do our job preaching the gospel and also guides us in preparing the beloved brethren to prepare the membership and the ministry for the works that God is preparing us for. That's our job. That's a part of the mission that we have. So I'll go back to the first point about the big picture.

See, all of you, if you heard the sermon last weekend, heard at least part of the sermon. One of them that was presented was about the pearl of great price. You know, we're all familiar with Matthew 13. I think it's verse 45 and 46. And of course, that pearl is likened unto the kingdom of God. And so you can see that even at that point, at the very beginning of our sessions, our focus was going to be on, you know, what is God's purpose in dealing with men? We also had the chairman's report given by Dr. Ward, you know, where he focused on the topic of why we exist. Why were you born? What is your reason for living? See, that's something he almost always talks about, at least in some form. And yet, that's clearly the most important topic any of us could ever discuss.

And then, as I said, our keynote address was given by Mr. Bradford. The title of that address was The Compact. The Compact. And, like I said, I hope to play that here in services here in the next few weeks, perhaps, because it was an incredibly excellent overview of the plan of God. Of what the Father and the Son at this time, what they are doing, how it is. We're not just coming to church.

Now, all of us had to come to church. We had to get in our car. We had to drive here. We had to come in. We had to sit down. We had to, you know, get some refreshments. Whatever we did when we came, but it's far more, as far as what God is doing, than just us coming to church and even coming to church on the Sabbath, which, of course, he directs us to do. But, see, the plan of God involves an understanding of the Father and the Son who live in complete unity. Complete unity of love. You know, I've understood that to mean that they are cooperative, that they are in harmony. I can clearly see, and we'll go through verses that talk about being united, being in unity.

But if we're in love, like God and the Son are in love, then we are, we have achieved the ultimate in existence. And that, of course, is what they project. The Father, in the Word, or in complete agreement. And how long has that been the case?

That's the case right now. That's going to be the case in the future. That was the case in the, as we read the history of man in the Old Testament, back to coming of Adam. That was the case before them, before time began, before the foundation of the world. The Father and the Son existed in the unity of the love of God. And see, He wants us. They want us to exist in that love.

And so, you know, it was really a blessing to, in a sense, have that as a beginning kind of focus, because it lays the groundwork for anything else. You know, you can talk all you want about doing the work. We can talk all we want about our mission. But if we don't fully understand what God's purpose is, and what He wants for all of us as His children, well then we might be just spinning our wheels. I want us to look in John 17, because this is a focus verse, for understanding that message about the Father and the Son existing forever for all eternity. You know, what does it mean to inhabit eternity? Now, we've talked about that before. That's really hard for me to explain. I can understand a little bit about now. I can understand some about the future. I can understand a little bit of the past, but to have no beginning? You know, to inhabit eternity, to always have existed, and to always have existed in love. See, we even read John 3 16 says, God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son. See, He really is concerned about us. He's concerned about people. He's concerned about His sons and daughters who He wants to be in His family. But here in John 17, again, a verse many of us have read over the last several weeks leading up to the Passover, and during that time, you see Jesus praying to the Father, and yet explaining what needs to be known. Here in verse 23, John 17 verse 23, talking about those of us who would believe the words of the apostles. See, that's what all of us believe. We believe the Bible. We believe what's written in the Gospels. In Paul's writings, we read what the apostles have written down for us to read. You know, we bathe our mind in the Word of God. And yet it says in talking of those who would believe and that they would become united and be at one. Verse 23, Jesus said, I and them and you and me that they may become perfectly or completely one so that the world may know that you have sent me and that you, the Father, have loved them even as you have loved me. See, what does that say about the existence of the Father and the Son? Well, they exist in love. They exist. Now, as Jesus was speaking this, he clearly was a human being. He was still existing in a human form. He was going to be put to death. But he says, you've always loved me. You loved me before the beginning, even as he goes on in verse 24, Father, I desire that those whom you have given me. And so here he talks about how that we don't just join the church. That's not something we do end up responding to and seeing the significance of and importance, but God has to draw us to Jesus Christ. And he says, Father, I desire that those whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory. Those which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

See, that was the state that they existed in. That was their form of life. Now, again, to be eternal and to have all capacity, to be all-knowing, to be almighty, to be always present, which they are, they exist in love. And of course, that's what we need to learn to be able to understand how they want us to exist.

I will also point out that in Ephesians 1, again, this is in connection with this first point of the big picture, the trunk of the tree. That has to be our focus in order to achieve the mission, in order to achieve what God wants done. Here in Ephesians chapter 1, you see, in this case, the apostle Paul writing about writing to a congregation that he had been involved in settling and beginning. He had stayed there at times. It was a central area in Ephesus. But what did he say here in the very beginning of this book? Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3, Bless me, the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us. See, Paul could say that because he clearly knew that he wasn't looking for God. He wasn't looking for Jesus when he was struck down on the road to Damascus. He was looking for church members to put to death. He wasn't looking for God. And certainly he wanted the members of the congregation there to understand. You know, God is the one who draws us. But he says here in verse 4, just as he chose us in Christ before, when did he do this? Before the foundation of the world. See, what is his intent? What is his plan? What is his purpose? Why would he put human beings here on the earth? Well, it's so that we can learn to become like God. He says just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, and here he shows what we're to become. We're to become like he is, but to be holy and blameless before him in love. See, that's the plan. That's his intent. And as we know, in this world, that is a mystery. It is a secret. It is not well known. It is not well known by many people who are perhaps very sincere, very religious.

It's not known because Satan has deceived the whole world. But here Paul is talking to saints who had been recipients of that message and who were responding and who were obeying and who were recipients of the Holy Spirit. But he says in verse 5, he destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ. According to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the beloved through Jesus Christ. See, Christ is the only way to eternal life. It's the only way to salvation. You can't get there through any other means. He is the path. He is the way that we are going to have to do that. But in him, it says in verse 7, we have redemption and we have forgiveness according to the riches of his grace.

In verse 9, he says he has made known to us the mystery of his will. Verse 10 is a plan or dispensation for the fullness of time. In verse 10, as a plan for the fullness of time to gather up all things in him, things in heaven, and things on earth and in Christ, we have obtained an inheritance having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will so that we who were the first to set our hope on Christ might live for the praise of his glory. To hear Paul summarizes, he had a grasp and an understanding of God's plan, of God's purpose. Now, this is not the apostle John writing what he did in John chapter 1. This is a different apostle that God would use to give an understanding of how it is that we have been drawn to be a part of the church of God, how we have been redeemed and forgiven, and how we are, through Christ, going to take on a divine nature which you can define in one word, which is a summary word of love. And, of course, John even points that out. And in the first epistle of John, that God is love. He says that two different times. He refers to that many different times. So, being reminded of the trunk of the tree was a very, very important aspect of this conference, and I think it should be something that we not only teach and preach about in the congregations, but that we talk about, we share thinking about, because that's the most incredible thing we could ever, ever focus on. And, certainly, there are interesting things going on in the world. There are prophecies that you can read throughout the Bible. It shows what the answer is. Whether I understand every reference to a prophecy or not, understanding the trunk of the tree is more important. Understanding what God is doing with me and with you is the most important thing. It's why we exist. And so, I point that out as simply a focus of our conference that we had there for several days last week. The other two things, of course, proclaiming the gospel and preparing the people kind of fall in line after that. So, to move on to the second thing, obviously, the Church has been given a commission. We're going to take the message of the kingdom of God to the world. We read in Matthew 24 the gospel of the kingdom. See, it's not just a gospel, whatever people might think that is. It is the message that Jesus brought of the kingdom of God. It's a message of His government, of His rule, and of how He's going to install that on the earth. How the people, in a sense, may begin, at least at the beginning, need to be encouraged to recognize the rule of God in their lives.

But see, that's the blessing that we have today. We can recognize the rule of God in our lives, and we can be excited about that and thankful for that and proclaim that as the message.

You know, here in Matthew 28, the last two verses of Matthew, you see, after Jesus had risen from the dead and He reappeared to the disciples, He said in verse 18 of Matthew 28, He came and said to them, now again, He's going to give them a message or a mission, but really He reveals more about Himself and about how He and the Father function, about how they are in unison and harmony. He says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Who does Jesus rule over? Everybody, everything, everywhere, not only here on this earth, but throughout the angelic realm. He rules over everything. And of course, He says He's in subjection to the Father. But He goes on to say to His disciples, since I've been given all authority, I'm going to give you a job. I'm going to give you a mission. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded you and remember the one who has been given all authority in heaven and earth. I am with you always, even until the end of the age.

Do we have access to an incredible power to be able to do the job that God has given us? That's why I mentioned earlier the work of the church is a work of faith. It's not just, you know, how many people are there? How much money do we have? How much money can we give? It's a matter of the power that comes through faith in God, through achieving the job, the work of proclaiming the gospel of making disciples, of teaching disciples the truth and of doing the work. We can read in Revelation 3 again in the messages to the churches here in Revelation 2 and 3. And Mr. Kubik actually went over this in one of his addresses about how God has to open the door. We can try to do lots of things, but God has to open the door to cause that to be blessed or to cause it to produce fruit. Here in Revelation 3, to the message to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, right in verse 8, I know your works. Look, I have said before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power. See, we can be frustrated that we're not bigger than we are. We can be frustrated that we don't have a church of several hundred, as we have had at times in the past. We can be frustrated by that, but he says, you know, you're not the power. I'm the power. I've given you power. He says, I've said before you an open door where no one can shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word. You have not denied my name. That's what we're supposed to do. And I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not but are lying, I will make them come and bow down before you. And they will learn that I have loved you because you have kept my word of patient endurance. I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

I am coming soon, so hold fast to what you have so that no one seizes your crown.

Now, there are a lot of different parts to that statement, obviously. But not only focusing on the fact that we have to kind of test the doors to see sometimes what can actually be done. What does God provide? How is He going to make a way for us to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to proclaim the big picture? You know, what God is really doing? Why He created humans to begin with? And how it is He wants us to be His divine children? How He wants us to have an incredible role in achieving the work, not only now but even into the future as we look into the world tomorrow? Mr. Eddington is the media operations manager, and he went through a number of things. He pointed out how we attempt to preach the gospel, whether it's through television, through the internet, through print in many different ways, through magazines.

And yet, amazingly, as he is obviously having to be focused on how can you do that? How do you, what are the things that you can do? What are the things that you can't do?

He pointed out how it's a privilege to do the work of God. It is a privilege to be involved in doing the most important work on earth. And again, I know he understands that and believes that. The new video recording studio is now functional. They had tours of it. We were able to take a look at it to see how it, you know, it has expanded the size of the home office quite a bit, at least another, I don't know, third or so, I guess, as far as just size. And yet, you know, the more things that we're able to do, we end up proclaiming, I will give you a few numbers if you're interested in those. The income of the church is 18 to 19 million dollars. I can, you can, you can study the brochure. It's all in there. We spend about 18 or so million dollars, about 14 million dollars, either proclaiming the gospel or caring for the congregations.

14 of the 18 million dollars is used to achieve the work of the church, proclaiming the gospel or caring for the congregations, caring for the people that God is developing and causing to grow. You know, I think that's incredible as far as when I look at it and study it, and I could have, I did read it and knew, you know, what they would say or could say about that. But, you know, they want to, you know, they have to balance all of that. And of course, the Council of Elders has to, in a sense, guide what is done and what is not done, what is, are we focused on. And yet, it's amazing to me to see, you know, the way that we are able to focus a large, and of course the reason for the function of proclaiming the gospel and caring for the congregation, that's why we exist. And so obviously that's what the money that we might send in, and where we are contributing, where we are involved, that's what it's being spent to do.

Now, Mr. Eddington also did point out that we have a few challenges.

A few challenges here in the end of the age, you know, we're not all that incredibly big. You know, we don't have, you know, a limitless amount of money.

There is in general a decline in interest in church, in Christianity, in our world today. Of course, Satan is the one who is creating this debacle at the end of the age. We still have the mission proclaiming the kingdom of God. We still have that job. That's certainly interest that people have in church issues or in Christianity in general is declining. That's something that other churches experience, and yet we see that to a degree ourselves. There also is an acknowledge explosion. Today we have more information available than at any other time in the past. Certainly that we could understand. You could see over many centuries now that we have clearly far more information available. And so whenever there's a knowledge explosion, which Daniel predicted, he said he was inspired to write that knowledge would be increased. It's harder to attract attention to the truth. It's harder when you have so much out there and so much available, whether it is on TV or in print or on the internet, and you can have an even incredibly good website, which we do have, which I think he said was the 13th largest religious denomination website in the world. Now we're not certainly not the 13th largest church in the world, but we have a website that is incredibly effective for what we're able to do. But as he said, with a knowledge explosion as we face, it's harder to get people to pay attention to even what we're presenting, which is the truth of God. And I see even more so that people seemingly who have in the past in a somewhat of a way taken God for granted, or at least thought at least they believed in God or thought they were Christian, you know, there are many people who are just rejecting the fact that God even exists. They're not focused on, because of, again, so many, many distractions.

You know, we have, you know, we have much to do. We have to be about our Father's business. We just have to be focused on that, and in proclaiming the gospel to the world, we have to be focused in that. I want to read in Ephesians 6, just again, why is it that it's important that we talk about and that we focus on the job that church is doing of proclaiming the kingdom of God?

Why is, what is, what difference does it make whether Mr. Cubic travels to Africa or whether Daris McNeely as goes and tries to reach people in different parts of Africa or other parts of what difference does it make? Well, you know, I think it's important for all of us to have some idea of where the church is working, what it is that we're doing. And here in Ephesians chapter 6, you see Paul concluding the book in just discussing how important it is to kind of be up on what the work is doing. You know, Jesus said, I have food that you don't know about. It's, it's what sustains me. It's the work of God. And of course, that's the mission that he has given us as well. But here in Ephesians 6, pretty much in the conclusion of this book, he says in verse 18, I want you to pray at all times in every prayer and supplication.

To that end, keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints, but pray also for me. So Paul was directing this so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare boldly what I must speak. See, that's what we have to strive to do. You know, we have to be encouraged to do that. We need to be supported to do that. Clearly, you know, the message that the church has can be viewed as well. That's just another religious teaching. Well, no, it's far more than that. It's far more important than that. It's the truth of God. It's the truth that we not only believe, but that we're in love with. We better be, because we're told that if you're not believing the truth and living the truth and loving the truth, then you can be deceived. But here, Paul points out, and you know, I want you to be aware of what I'm doing. And, of course, he was at a part of the work at that time, because others of the apostles were also covering other areas, and they were doing a part of the work, but his job was toward the Gentile world. He goes on to say, so that you may know, in verse 21, so that you may know how I am and what I'm doing, Ticacos will tell you everything. So he was sending a servant or an assistant to be able to go to Ephesus to tell them everything that's going on with Paul. I'm in jail. I'm out of jail. I'm in jail again. I'm out of jail. I'm in jail. You know, he went in and out of jail, or he was shipwrecked, or whatever it was that he might have been going through. But see, it's clearly, I think, important for us to have an awareness of the work of the church, of what it's doing. He says, I want you to know how I'm doing, what I'm doing. Ticacos is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord. I'm sending him to you for this very purpose to let you know in verse 22 how we are, and in doing that, encourage your heart.

See, we have a job that God expects us to be achieving, and he wants us to be doing that, even as he points out in Matthew, in Matthew 26, 25, excuse me, he talks about our mission and purpose, Matthew 25 verse 45. Matthew 25, he talks about those who are doing the job, doing the work, who want to be a faithful servant. Excuse me, it's Matthew 24 verse 45. Matthew 24 verse 45, who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master will put in charge of his household to give the other servants their allowance of food at the proper time. Blessed is that servant whom his master will find at work when he arrives. See, that's what we intend. That's what we purpose.

That's what we want to be doing. We want to be doing that up until a time when we can no longer do the job of proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God. And, of course, you know, I think all of us, even from what we read here in Ephesians 6, all of us want to be informed. We want to be aware of what it is that is being done in the church. And then the final thing I mentioned, the reminder, was that preparing a people is not just the job of the ministry. It is a job of the ministry, but it's also each one of us who have to be involved in being prepared. We have to be involved in drawing close to God. We have to be involved in following his instruction. As I mentioned, you know, 14 of the 18 million dollars that we may receive are used either in the proclamation effort or in the care of the churches.

And that's exactly what we are told that we're supposed to do. I read earlier, Matthew 28, about how that we are to make disciples and to teach them to observe the things I've commanded you to do. How would we know that we're supposed to take care of the churches? How would we know we're supposed to provide pastors or at least congregational support? That's something that we understand from what you see about the work of John the Baptist. And then what the Bible talks about is a work of Elijah that will be in the very end of the age. Be at a time when we proclaim the message of the kingdom of God. But then, you know, we are to be involved in promoting a unity, a oneness. Let me read a couple of verses here in regard to this. In Luke chapter 1, this is regarding John the Baptist. And actually, this is a section that was even prior to the birth of John the Baptist. What was John doing? He was preparing the way for Jesus. That was what he was to do. That he said, I'm not it. I'm just pointing to him. He's coming after me. He's greater than I am. I shouldn't even be taking off his sandals. I, you know, I am so insignificant compared to him. But here, even before John was born, his father Zacharias was told by the angel Gabriel, you're going to have a son. Don't be afraid, Zacharias. Your wife Elizabeth is going to have a son. You're going to name him John. That's in verse 13. You will have joy and gladness. Many will rejoice at his birth. It will be great in the sight of the Lord. This was kind of describing what John was going to do. And of course, ultimately, as we know, John would give his life in his service of preparing the way for Jesus to come. But down in verse 17, he would be, verse 15, he would have the Holy Spirit. Verse 17, with the Spirit and the power of Elijah, he would go, he will go before him to turn the hearts of the parents to the children, to turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready of people prepared for the Lord. To hear as a reference to what John was to do. He was to prepare people and point them to Jesus Christ. Now, of course, he's talked about here as a work of Elijah. And later, Jesus will say, yes, John did that. John did the work of Elijah at that time, again, at the coming, at the first coming of Jesus to the earth.

Let's see, we also read the last two verses in the Old Testament. In Malachi, chapter 4, you see, God says, I'll send a work of Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord.

And they are to also do a job that will be nurturing people in unity and in love.

Here in Malachi, chapter 4, verse 5, lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. See, that wasn't John. John was a work of Elijah, but, you know, his job was completed as Jesus came into the scene, and he would die before Jesus would ultimately give his life. But we see here in Malachi 4 that God predicted that he would send a work of Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the parents of the children, the hearts of the children of the parents, lest I not, I will, so that I will not come and strike the earth with a curse. See, the work that we have to do of preparing a people to grow in unity, to grow in the love of God. See, that's what we talked about here several weeks ago when we talk about what Jesus said about his disciples.

You know, they've got to be branches attached to the vine. They've got to be bearing fruit. They've got to be growing. And, of course, that's what all of us as members of the Church of God have to be. We have to be growing. We have to be growing spiritually. We have to be seeking to grow in unity and in love. Here in Ephesians 4, Ephesians chapter 4, you see a instruction in chapter 5 that talks about how the Church is to be pursuing. Paul was telling the Ephesians this and directly, but he's pointing this out to all of us that we need to make every effort to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. In verse 11, he says he gave some to be apostles and prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. Verse 12, why? Why would God provide a leadership, a ministry? Why would he provide a structure in the Church of God? Well, he says here's the reason in verse 12, to equip the saints.

To equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up each other, for building up the body of Christ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

Until we come to maturity. See, we don't start out already full grown. We start out as babes. We have to learn. We have to grow. We have to develop. We have to seek God's help. We have to utilize the work of the Spirit in us. We have to desire that. We have to yearn for that.

But here he says, equipping the work of the saints for building up the body of Christ, until we all come to the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. None of us are there yet. You know, that's a goal that is beyond understanding, perhaps, to be like Jesus Christ. That's what we are seeking, but we are to come that way. He says we must not be children tossed to and froblown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by craftiness and deceiving schemes. We don't want to be picked off. See, that's what he's describing there. He talks about the devil. He talks about Satan's devices. He talks about things that would be divisive. You know, that's just completely wrong. Here he says, I want you to be united. Grow to the unity of the faith. Grow to be like Jesus Christ. Don't be children deceived by others, but, in verse 15, speaking the truth in love.

We must grow up in every way unto him who is the head unto Christ, from whom the whole body joined in it together by every ligament with which it is equipped. As each part is working properly, it promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love. See, that's preparing the people. That is the job of a local congregation. That is a job of all of us who make up the body of the United Church of God. That's what we're supposed to be doing.

And so we have an incredible opportunity, and of course it's really good to be reminded of the trunk of the tree, of the proclaiming of the gospel of the kingdom, and of how it is, as we are to prepare. See, in Hebrews 10, you see, in this case, Paul giving a warning.

This is as he's kind of concluding a section before he goes on into chapter 11, listing the people of faith. He says in chapter 10, verse 23, Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who is promised is faithful, and let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds. See, that's why we come together.

That's why we are to attend church services in order to build each other up, in order to encourage one another to love one another, and to do good works, to do good deeds. He goes on to say, Not neglecting to me together, as is the manner of some, but encouraging or exhorting one another, and all the more, as you see the day approaching. See, that sounds like an in-time prediction, as you see the day approaching.

More applicable in 2019, as we are today, than it was, you know, back in the time when Paul wrote it. He says, you know, and I know, you know, all of us realize that we can connect with our televisions at home, and that's a very good thing. We can connect to a sermon, and sometimes that's needed, because we're either sick or, you know, the weather is so bad, we've had several times.

But I hope we don't rely on that, because coming together is what God really wants us to do, if how are you going to provoke one another to good works and love if you're not together. We want to be and need to be together. And so, these reminders that we had at the conference were really good for me, and I think good for the others who were able to be there and able to attend and listen and be able to, in a sense, kind of soak in what it was that God provided during that time.

And, of course, you know, all of us, you know, have got to, you know, be firmly convicted of what God has called us to do and committed in achieving the job that He has given us. Here in Thessalonians 2, we'll conclude with this. Again, another writing of Paul, and he's contrasting those who would be deceived by the man of sin, the lawless one, and this is yet to be a false individual that will rise to power and prominence in our world. But starting in verse 9 of 2 Thessalonians 2, in verse 9, he says, The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all powers and signs and lying wonder in every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing.

Here he's describing people who are going to be deceived by a great power that's going to rise here in the end of the age. But he says these people are perishing because, why? Because they refuse to love the truth and in so doing be saved. See, that's how we can be recipients of salvation, is to love the truth. And as he goes on to say, for this reason, God allows a powerful illusion leading them to believe what is false so that all who have not believed the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness, will be condemned.

But we, see Paul continues that thought, but we must always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God chose you at the first, as the first fruits for salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. And for this purpose, in verse 14, he called you through our proclamation of the Gospel so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So then, brethren, stand firm. See, we have to be prepared. You know, we have to be engaged and involved in that preparation. The Church has to be involved in that preparation. But he tells us, as we believe the truth, as we love the truth, and we need to stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter. See, Paul wanted them to remain faithful. He wanted them, you know, to be diligent in the calling that they understood they had been given.

And so, you know, these are the reminders that I think that we cover during the conference. And I pass them on to you so that all of us are able to benefit from the type of focus that God has, and that he and the Word have always had and continue to have and will always have. And we want to be prepared, you know, to serve him throughout not only the millennium, but throughout time in the future.

So I encourage all of you to be not only knowledgeable of what we've just read, but to be motivated. Motivated to do what God has called us, all of us, to do.