Honor, Character, and Responsibility

Many times I've asked God why did He call me. He probably asked the same thing. I was just the widow's kid. My dad died when I was four. I didn't have anything to offer God, I thought. Turn to John 14, if you would, though, because we celebrate this Feast of Pentecost. And today I turned, if I knew you, with the graduation baccalaureate. To the day I turned my baccalaureate into a sermon for you, because I think it fits for this day as well. And lengthened it a little bit, although I'll still try to get you out in time for lunch. John 14. It was interesting to see what the disciples thought and what happened to them, as they were with Christ and saw the miracles, saw the things.

And He told them in John 14, verse 16, and I suppose this was no different than the disciples when Jesus died, He had told them what was going to happen. In John 14, 16, He said, I'm going to pray to the Father. He shall give you another Comforter that He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it sees Him not. Neither knows Him, but you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you.

So they heard Him say that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, was going to come. Verse 20. That day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. That day, in the future. Verse 26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, it shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said to you. They were waiting for it.

Chapter 15, verse 26. But when the Comforters come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceeds from the Father, it shall testify of me. Again, telling them over and over, the Holy Spirit is going to come. Chapter 16, verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you.

But if I depart, I will send it to you. And when it is come, you will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, of sin, because they believe not on me. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more, and of judgment, because the Prince of this world is judged. When Christ died, a sinless life, that was when He qualified, and was going to take Satan out of this world when his time was done, which we celebrate on the Day of Atonement, another holy day.

But when Christ died, His disciples felt it was over. He told them, this is coming, but they didn't believe Him, necessarily. They did, and they didn't. What did they do? They went fishing. Now, I'm going fishing. He's gone. That's all we should do. In Acts 1, when we turn there, again, Jesus had to come back and physically present Himself in a physical form, although He was a spirit, to prove to them, hey, wait a minute, guys, I told you this was going to happen.

Come on. In Acts 1, verse 2, it says, Which said, He, you have heard of Me. Again, why did He make them wait? Why not give it to them now? People who want to do away with the holy days, I would say, hey, you guys need this right now. Come on, let's get going. But He didn't. He said, wait. In verse 6, when they were come together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

That's what they wanted. They expected Christ to come and restore the kingdom of the Messiah. And He said, It's not for you to know the time of the season which the Father has put in His own power, but you shall receive power. After the Holy Spirit has come to you, you shall be witnesses unto Me, both in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

The Church has been trying to do that for nearly 2,000 years now. And when He had spoken these things, He was taken up in a cloud out of sight.

Again, an endorsement of Pentecost. For people who want to say the Holy Days are done away, that Christ died and nailed them to the cross. Why did He make them wait until Pentecost, which pictures the coming of the Holy Spirit, the start of the Church, to do it? And indeed, that Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. But why does God give you His Holy Spirit? What's His purpose? What's part of His plan for you, for me, and eventually for all mankind, which is pictured through those Holy Days? Again, I'm here today with you and with people that God has chosen.

And we're here as He gave them the Holy Spirit. His desire for them is the same as His desire for you and for me. He wants you to be a king in His kingdom. The Holy Spirit was given to help you get there.

In the spring of 1985, I was asked a question that I think will relate to you.

I was asked, how do I raise my son to be a good king? This was the question Queen Seriket of Thailand asked me when she visited Pasadena. I was to escort her around for the ten days that she was there. Her son at that time was having some difficulties. It caught me off guard because I was 32 years old. The crown prince, now the current king, is one and a half months older than I am.

Kind of a little late to raise your son, you think. But she wasn't asking a rhetorical question. I had met the crown prince in the northern palace. He was up there being my age. Usually you don't meet your own age in those circles. But he met me and we hit it off. He asked me to fly around the country and have 14 with him. He was an Air Force pilot. But she wanted to know, how do I raise my son to be a good king?

She asked it in a way that wasn't a rhetorical question. She was concerned for her son. I knew the answer as you do. The answer is right here in this book. But it wasn't a time to convert him. What he needed was the knowledge of God, the plan of salvation, all the things that you and I have. But they're the protectors of the Buddha of faith. They're not going to become Christians. God eventually, I think we'll call them, they're wonderful people. And again, I had met with them numerous times in three of their four palaces and even flown with the queen in her helicopter up to one of our projects we had done in Thailand. I knew their history. She would sincere, and so I prayed silently, quickly, and asked God to give me an answer.

I knew it wasn't time to make a convert, so I answered it this way. I said, you should raise your son the same way you were raised.

You see, the king and queen, the crown prince, they had four children, one son, three daughters. He was born to be a king. He knew it from the time he was born. But the king and queen had not seen this in their future. They were not scheduled or ever expected to be the king and queen of Thailand. King Pumipan, who became ram of the ninth, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Surprisingly, his father was in college there when he was born. And although he was privileged, he was the second son, not the firstborn son. He was not the crown prince. And he never expected to be king. He would live in the wings. It's like some of the other royal families for the second and third sons. Don't get to be king. Don't expect that. Queen Siriket, her story is even farther removed from being king. She was born in 1932. Her father was the great-grandson of ram of the fifth. He was the king who was in the king and I, if you've ever saw that play or the movie. But he was not in direct line from the throne. Because if you remember that, he had lots of wives and lots of kids. And so she had no idea what her future would be, being five generations down from the king. And in her childhood came the Japanese invasion and the occupation of Thailand, World War II. Although they had land and servants, they had very little money. And as a small child, she actually carried water from the well with the pole and the two buckets on each end. From out from the river and from the well. And she took care of parts of the farm along with the servants that they had. She saw people, when the bombs were falling, die. She understood hardship. It was very difficult for her. But the war did end, about age 16. She was invited to the royal palace for a royal party. The crown prince was 24 and his younger brother Pumipan was 21. Both were single. And all the eligible ladies were invited. And being a royal blood, little Siriket was invited as well. At 16.

It seemed like a true Cinderella story to her. A glorious setting with people coming in luxury cars and beautiful clothing, exquisite jewelry. So young Siriket went to her father. Daddy, can I have a new dress to go to the palace for the wall? He said, no, Siriket. But it's so important. He said, no. He says, I can't do that. He says, we have no money for a dress. And she said, please, can't we sell some land and then I can... This is important. He said, no. He said, with the war, if we sold some land, the only people that had any money and could buy it were corrupt. They would throw the people that have served us off the land and they would starve and be out of any work. He said, honor, character and responsibility are more important than a new dress. So she said, Father, can I at least have some new shoes? Shoes are important to ladies. And he said the same thing. No, Siriket. We don't have any money for shoes. Honor, character, responsibility are more important than a dress or a pair of shoes. He says, Father, can I at least have some money to take a taxi to the palace? Honor, character, responsibility are more important than a taxi.

It was difficult for her, but her father knew something we know from God's word. It's not about things. It's about people. Siriket went to that party wearing her school uniform, a pair of tennis shoes, on a bus.

I'm sure she stood out, but not like the others.

When you think or don't think you're going to be a king, you often do your best. None of us grew up expecting to be kings or queens, and yet that's a role that God talks about for us. And this was the case with the king and queen of Thailand. They did not expect. They had humility without expectations of power. Power has hurt a lot of people, good people. Simon Magus, the magician, when he saw them lay hands on people and heal people, he wanted to pay to have that spirit, that power, to be able to be in front of them. That's why he wanted to get in front of them. But that's not what it's about. When Christ had power, he said he could call down legions of angels. But he didn't, because it wasn't God's will that he used power that way. He didn't use it for his own will. You've learned from the Scriptures and also from God's inspiration, the Holy Spirit, to have honor, character, responsibility, and respect for God's authority, not your own. Do we fail at times? Yes. Even Moses, the meekest man on earth, failed once when he said, Do I have to bring water out of this rock for you? He used the wrong... He said, I. And God said, No, it's not you. It's me. God did it. Not Moses. In our lives, that's what we have to see, too. We have to see God doing it, not us. Figuratively, I've struck the rock a few times. More times than I'd wish. Once is too many. And I've watched others strike the rock. And thankfully, the examples I've witnessed and learned from have kept me from striking the rock even more. And I pray that you don't strike the rock, but you will. But we have repentance. God grants that. And if you love Him and you try to change, He wipes your sin from the slate. He does it through the Holy Spirit and through your seeking Him and asking Him. We have to use this Holy Spirit to repent, to qualify for what He wants us to be. And again, you have to be willing to give your life, choosing. You may not have to give your life physically this time, but you must be willing and dedicating your life to God. That's what His Holy Days are about. Dedicating your life to Him and the things of God. Again, I would say to develop honor, character, and responsibility through obedience and service.

You have to practice giving and serving. And you have to do this unselfishly, surrendering your will to His will, your mind to Christ's mind. That's what it takes to be a king with Jesus Christ.

So how did this second-born prince, who never expected to be king, and this young lady who went to the party in her school uniform, in her tennis shoes on a bus, get to be king and queen of Thailand?

With the war over, Thailand was actually a constitutional monarchy. The government decided they wanted to send an ambassador to Europe. And they picked somebody, like politicians do. It was not really a good choice, but that's who they wanted to send. I'm not sure how that worked out. But the British, when they heard who they were sending, they said, we will not accept Him as our ambassador. We refuse it. And they said, who would you accept? And they listed a man named Nakhatra Mangal of Shandaburi, Queen Serk's father. And so they became the ambassador to Europe. And the family picked up and moved to Europe, where they started studying. The young second-born prince saw that his brother would be king, and he wanted to get an education. He saw the damage in his country. The ward ravaged it. And he chose fields of study where he could help his people. He wanted to serve and do something when his brother became king that he could still help. In effect, he was practicing what Serk's father had taught her, honor, character, responsibility, and service to others. So he began his studies. While in school, his father, King Rama VII, abdicated, for some reason. And his brother was crowned king, King Rama VIII. Meanwhile, Boonpon just continued his studies.

During the school break, he was nearing completion of his career at college in Europe, he was in Switzerland. He decided to go skiing. At the same time, the ambassador from Thailand decided to take a circuit in the family skiing in Switzerland as well, and they ended up in the same ski resort.

While he was there, in Switzerland, the young prince saw a beautiful young circuit, spent time with her, and fell in love with the ambassador's daughter. He hadn't noticed her, I'm sure, at the party, although if he would have, it would have been because of what she was wearing. And not the elegance, not the Cinderella gown, not the euro coach, or exquisite jewelry. Those are the physical accruments of rich people that often people look at. But he saw a young woman of character and beauty, and he asked her to marry him. And she accepted. Revelation 19.7 shows that God is preparing you spiritually to be His Son's bride. God saw something in you with your accepting God, and He chose to give you His Holy Spirit, and give you a chance to marry into royalty.

Revelation 19.7 says, You are here, celebrating these days, in your studies, to be ready to be His bride when He returns. And you only do that through God's Holy Spirit, the Comforter that Christ said would come to the disciples, the apostles, the church, to you, and to me. Pumipan became engaged to Surikut, and they continued their studies. His older brother, King Ram of the Eighth, was on the throne for two years. He tried to fight the corruption in the government, and he died unexpectedly. The paper said it was something, and really what happened is he was killed for fighting government corruption. So all of a sudden, Pumipan now was crowned Ram of the Ninth. He didn't expect that.

He married Surikut, and she became queen. Honor, character, and responsibility would be the hallmark of their seventy-year reign. Pumipan ruled for seventy years. He was the longest-ruling king in the world. He was crowned the same year Queen Elizabeth was, a few months ahead of her. She ended up living longer and beat his record, but seventy years is a long time. It must be the hallmark of your reign when Christ returns. Honor, character, and responsibility, not for seventy years, but for eternity. That's what he expects of us. The king decided not to fight the corruption directly, but to serve the people. He worked up in the hill tribes. The palace in Bangkok had an eighteen-hole golf course, and he said, I don't need a golf course. He started taking the fairways and the grains one by one and turning them into projects. He started growing different kinds of rice. Shrampjna actually gave him some wild rice to try to grow there to see if they could grow that. He gave the rice to the poor people. They took the hauls. They were cutting down the beautiful teakwood trees, and he didn't want them to do that. He made a compression thing where he compacted it and made charcoal out of the rice holes and gave that to them. He got some cows from the king of Denmark. Because they needed calcium, they don't really drink a lot of milk. He made a powder milk factory in one of the fairways and gave the powder pills to the children of schools to have calcium. One by one, the time I saw the palace, he had one potting grain left. All of them were projects. He wanted to help his people as much as he could.

God's going to want us to help his people that haven't had the Spirit yet in their resurrection when all are resurrected. Again, they've kept the promise they made at the coronation when they said, We'll reign with righteousness and the benefit of the Thai people and for their happiness. A short form of honor, character, and responsibility. People recognize the value of character. The Thais love their king and queen. If you go to a Thai restaurant, you still see pictures of them. The king died over ten years ago. The queen died last year. There are pictures still on the wall of the restaurants because they were honored. They expected that. Like you, the spiritual body of Jesus Christ, they were prepared by not knowing or thinking they would be king and queen. But they did have people around them that taught them honor, character, and responsibility.

I hope, in addition to knowledge, that we as ministers have taught you honor, character, and responsibility in preparing for God in the service you'll give throughout your lives and into the future. That's why he called you. It's not for you. It's to help others as Christ came to help us. 1 Thessalonians 4, 16, we know what our destiny is. It's to become king and queens and priests at Christ's return. 1 Thessalonians 4, 16, it says, The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet of God, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then those which are alive and remain shall be caught up in the air together with them to beat the Lord. So we shall ever be with Him. Comfort one another with these words. Comfort because it's a hard row. We're fighting Satan and the world and the reality, selfishness, prejudice, pride, those things. But the hard reality, if you accept it, is to be part of that. We see that in 1 Corinthians 15 again. Part of that was read today. Verse 52, at the moment in a twinkling of an eye, it says, The last trump, that's when it happens. The trumpets shall sound, the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The first three feast days, Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost, are part of Christ's first coming. The last four are part of His second coming.

There are people out there who think that we'll rise to meet Christ at Pentecost, but it really doesn't fit, because when the wave-shift reference went up, Christ was resurrected the day before. The wave-shift didn't represent Him being resurrected. But trumpets represents our resurrection when we meet Christ.

How does the world see you? 1 Corinthians 1, 26 shows, if you turn there, what the people that He calls out of the world, and why He calls us out of the world. In verse 26, 1 Corinthians, For you see your calling, brothers, sisters, How not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called, people who don't expect much. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world, things which are despised. And your spies, has God chosen, yes, and things which are not, to bring to naught, the things that are. Why, that no flesh should glory in His presence? It's about God, not us. But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. That according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord. It's God and His Spirit in you that's doing this.

And our description is people that are foolish, not so wise, not so mighty. But we get wise because we understand God, and we learn, we become respected. And people who have honor, character, and responsibility and learn that are respected by the world. They may not change, but they expect that. The world may not see you as kings and queens. I do, because God does. My first command, when I got asked to fly on the plane at 21 in 1974, Mr. Armstrong said, you treat everybody that gets on this plane like a king or a queen, because that's their future. And we did. Children came on the plane. They got silverware and crystal in China, and we served meals. Whoever was on that plane, because that was their destiny. And he wanted to feel that. Again, I see you as kings and queens. I know what your destiny is if you live up to it with God's Spirit. Christ revealed this to John. John writes in Revelation 1, and we'll read in verse 5. He says what that's going to be. Revelation, of course, it says, a revelation of Jesus Christ to John to show what will come. In verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Again, this allowed us to receive God's Holy Spirit by his death so that we could be kings. Plural. He's the king of kings. Verse 6, Chapter 5, verse 10, it's repeated again, where he says he's made us kings and priests unto God his Father, that we will reign on earth. Christ is coming back down to earth, and that's where we reign with him when that happens. Because Christ qualified, you get to be a king. A job like no other, and you don't earn it. It's a gift.

It feels good to help others. Jesus Christ, when he said, my joy I live with you, he knew that when he died, he was giving a gift to all of us, because he lived a sinless life. And again, you don't earn it. It's obvious in the messages in Revelation 2 and 3 of the churches that they all end with, to him that overcomes. I grant to see with my thorn, I'll give power, I'll give to me. That's what we're here for. That's what his Holy Spirit does for us. Again, it's not about works. We're indeed saved by grace. You can't earn it. When you look at the law, it's a perfect way of life. Often asking baptism counseling, would you keep these laws if there was no salvation?

Well, the answer is you should. If you don't kill people, they don't want to kill you. If you don't steal from them, they'll steal from you. The law is a perfect way of life if you keep it, but it doesn't save you. Every time Paul talks about the law in good terms, it's about the way of life. Every time he says it doesn't do anything, it's because it can't save you. It's always the way it is.

What makes him apply that grace to you to give you eternal life? It's how you live. Since baptism, perhaps before, God began working with you. In my wife's case, he started working with her before she even knew anything about God. In my case, I was a little kid. I've always known what the truth was. They didn't know exactly how it applied to me. I still set myself as the widow's kid. Why did I get the things that I had to do?

What is it about you that allows him to make you a king? I would suggest its honor, character, and responsibility in the service you give and practicing what you've been taught. It's about the heart. We know that in Acts 13, 21. It says, David was a man after God's own heart. He rejected Saul because Saul wouldn't follow. David sinned. He made some mistakes, but he repented. He wanted to be part of that. And he says in verse 22 of Acts 13, I found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, which shall fulfill my will. Are we fulfilling God's will? Where is your heart? It's also about your mind, Christ said. Paul wrote, Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus. Our standard is Him and the Father. That's our standard. Be careful of your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your character. And your character becomes your destiny. It's about humility. Numbers 12.3, it says, Moses is the meekest man on the face of the earth. What would I like to have that read about me? About you. But we should develop that the same way he did. And who does God look to? He says it in Isaiah 66.2. He probably memorized that when he says, I made all these things on the earth. And these things says the Lord, but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite heart and trembles at my word. Are we studying God's word to be like that? And that comes down to the two great commandments. Love God, love your neighbor. Like Christ said, this fulfills the whole law. Christ took ten commandments. He gave and turned them to ten and turns them into volumes. Nobody can even understand or read. It should be simple. It comes down to that.

Often, those that are good and become powerful change when they become leaders, kings, prime ministers, etc. The king and queen of Thailand kept their character. That's why I respected them. In the 1970s, we started our first project in Thailand. It was in the village of Angkang, somewhere in the northwest corner, next to the Burmese border. In fact, it was right on the border. It was a place, one of the poorest villages in all of Thailand. And the king chose it because it was the poorest village in Thailand. He said, if I can change that, the other people will see it. They'll say, if you can make them work, then they can help us. So the king went to see the chief in the little village. It was right on the drug route. The drug lords would come through and the trail, as they went to the village, they would kidnap some of the young men to be in the army, fight for them, and they'd kidnap some of the girls for prostitution. A terrible situation. It was sad. And the king wanted to stop the drug trade. He wanted to stop this. And he said, look, I want to stop. And the chief said, well, we'll starve if we don't grow the poppies for them. The king said, no, I'll teach you to grow vegetables. And that way you can sell those. Now, there was no road to Angkang. All they had was this trail at that time. And it was directly in the path, and they knew they would fight. And the chief said, they'll kill us. And the king said, I'll protect you. And the king had shown him what the poppies turned into narcotics did. He showed him pictures of people in the street that took that and were dying. And the chief said, okay, well, we'll stop. And he said, look, you won't starve. I'll buy your vegetables. And he did. He bought the vegetables from him later on and sent them to the villages on the different parts of the country. There's no way to take them to market at that place. And so he did. The king defended them. The people learned to grow vegetables and agriculture, and the project was a success. And he did have to fight off the drug lords.

In 1984, we went back to Thailand, and he had a visit scheduled with the queen. The king had quit going out because he had heart problems. He actually got heart-wormed for being out with the people trying to help them. And so she was taking care of the projects, and she asked her husband what she should do with Mr. Armstrong. The king said, why don't you show him a con where our project is? She said, he's 90 years old. He can't do that. The king said, well, you can say no. But Mr. Armstrong didn't say no. He said, yeah, let's go see it. So we got in the G2, and we flew up to Chiang Mai. And then from there, we got in the queen's pink helicopter with army helicopters around us, and flew up to the far corner of the village on the Burmese border. We landed on top of a hill where they'd kind of cleared off for the thing. Then we got in the jeep and started driving down this really narrow, steep, I mean, just like a cliff, with it kind of carved out. And my wife was on the edge, and she thought we were going to fall out, so she kind of was on my lap most of the time. And that was Mr. Armstrong's blind eye. He couldn't see out that side, or he'd have been on my lap, too.

But we made it to the bottom, and didn't fall off the cliff. When we sat and watched her, she got on her hands and knees, down with the people. And they pinned in English what was wrong, what they needed, whether they needed money or food or medicine or whatever, so that it wouldn't embarrass them. She didn't want to embarrass them. But she'd sit there and help them, and give them what they needed, and call her ladies in waiting, and have them deliver the things to them. And it was fun to watch her do that.

She treated them with respect, with honor, character, responsibility as she tried to help them. It was special. It was lunchtime. We were there all day with her, and at lunchtime, we went to this place that they had prepared some tables out of stone. It was kind of a Tahitian type thing. And it was interesting, because she had to help Mr. Armstrong. They decorated all the food. The napkin was like a swan. And all they said was, Mr. Armstrong, you can't separate the food from the other things. She's helping them unwrap it. Michelle asked one of the ladies in waiting where the restroom was. And so Michelle was told it's over there, about 25 yards or so away. And so she started walking to the restroom, and the queen saw her. And she jumps up, and she runs ahead of her. She gets there before Michelle does. She says, wait here. She went in and cleaned the restroom for Michelle.

She came out, and she said, here's some wipes. Be careful of the water. It was a special thing that she did. When everyone was there to serve her, she still practiced honor, character, responsibility, and service to others. Here was a queen who was doing something. Sometimes our best lessons come from other people. Sometimes, like Christ said, the children of the world are wiser than the children of light. And they do things like that. And I've learned something from everyone I've come in contact with. Some good, some bad. And I hope you've learned from each other. But in Anh Kong, here was a queen cleaning a restroom for my wife. She didn't need to do this. She could have sent one of her ladies in waiting to do it. She did it herself. When I think of this, I understand humility. I really understand Christ, who was full of the Holy Spirit.

He did the last thing he did before he was crucified, was wash the disciples' feet. He didn't have to. But he wanted to. He wanted to set an example for you and me. That we're all important to him. This act of humility. And that he was about three days away from being God again in spirit. He's washing feet. I've seen a lot of people wash feet. Because Christ's physical last act was one of honor, character, and responsibility to his father to finish the job. And you must do this. I hope in your life you never quit washing feet. I've seen many men wash feet really, really hard to get in a position where they never had to wash feet again.

That is sad. It's selfish service. It's not the Holy Spirit. The act is good, but the motive is not honor, character, and responsibility. It's selfish service. Indeed, those people who've come into the church at times, throughout history, they did it in the first century, they've done it every century since. Jesus condemns those who put on a display of righteousness. People who cast their money into your sermonette so that everybody would hear all the coins going in and know, boy, they gave a lot of money. They're really important. No, it's not about that. It never is. It has to be from the heart. Will you display service in humility? You must. If you want to be a king, that's what it takes. The king died in 2016, the queen died last year. I lost a couple of friends. Again, the homes and businesses still display their pictures on the wall. You spent time learning God's Word. For however many years you've been attending church and learning since God's called you. He's teaching you how to be a good king. And I hope you hang that on the wall of your mind, because they're permanently. When I teach at ABC or preach in church, I try to reach the heart. Because the heart and the mind is what's important. I'm trying to make you a good king. And each other, we should be helping each other become good kings. It's up to you to continue your education, to give that unselfish service to God, to your family, to your church, and even to all humanity. A different time, a different place. On the last day of the queen's visit, I was with her the ten days that she did several functions with all the different people there, she asked another question and made a statement that was equally unusual to me. I didn't understand what she said. But what she said that last day, she said, I am so tired. This has been so difficult. It's so hard. No matter how much we try to solve Thailand's problems, there are just too many people against us. We can't do it. Then she finished with this saying. She said, when I die, I want to be like an angel, just sitting on a cloud, just relaxing, not facing all these problems. But my husband, he wants to come back as a being that can really make a difference.

He wants what God has in store for you.

But you learn the power to teach people God's way of life. That's what's important. God gave his spirit on the day of Pentecost to help you grow into the job. That's your life, the true reality when Christ returns as King of Kings, which we'll celebrate on the next feast, Trumpets. You need to desire it now, fervently desire it, because that is your future. Pumapan realized that no human king could solve the problems. He had a lot of power, but he couldn't solve the problems, and he knew it. Your works of service show your heart, mind, your character, and your love of God. That's what it's about. Honor, character, and responsibility that you've shown in this life can be rewarded when Christ returns. Do you work with the Holy Spirit? As hard as you can to think like Christ, like our King. Some stumble onto these things around them, but God called you. There's physical wisdom in the world, but again, He didn't stumble on God's truth. He decided somehow, for some reason, you fit. He could use you. Unlike me, I didn't know where I fit. God has a trillion-piece puzzle, and He knows exactly where you fit, and often we're trying to put ourselves in a spot. Puzzle pieces tend to kind of fit, but God said, no, no, that's not where you fit. He knows where you fit. He's called you to a greater purpose, and you and me are beginning to a new life. Our crown comes at the spiritual birth when Christ returns as King of Kings, Lord of Lords.

God wants you to be that King, those who have developed the love of God and the love of people. Knowledge alone does nothing. Knowledge, a lot of people are smart. It doesn't do anything unless you use it.

You've been in the church any length of time at all. You were given the knowledge. You know what it is. A lot of people have memorized things. You have people that have left us because they memorized it mechanically, but it never reached the heart or the head. And that's where it must be. To show honor to God, that's why He gave you the Spirit. The actions you take because of His Spirit are for service. Your motives must be pure. Again, not to make a name for yourself, not to be important, but to show honor to God, to build righteous character, to be responsible in humility and service to others. Matthew 25, you're familiar with that? It shows who gets it. The meek, the humble, who get rid of pride. Pride pushes people down so that you can look taller. Humility helps people up. That's what Christ did. He took a step up and He wants to bring you with Him. Satan pushes everybody down. He can look taller. And that's sad. Humility puts others forward, raises them up.

Separating the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, verse 35. You know what it says, I was hungry, you gave me meat, I was thirsty, you gave me drink. I was a stranger, you took me in, I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me, and in prison you came to me. And the righteous ones, they said, well, these are people that use the Holy Spirit.

Well, when did we do that to you? We never saw you hungry. We didn't do this. And He said, verse 40, the King shall answer and say, I say to you this, inasmuch as you've done it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you've done it to me.

It's a way of life. And the other people, He tells them, you didn't do it to any of these, you didn't do it to me. That's what it's about. It must be a way of life. It's a spiritual memory muscle. Many of you have played sports and you haven't played it for a year or two, and they come right back.

Now, you're sore the next day, but your muscles, remember, you have to have spiritual memory muscles, not to miss the opportunities you have to serve, and to qualify to become king, you have to have the heart and the mind and the humility of Christ. These reflect honor, character, and responsibility. Why did God love Moses? Why did David a man after God's own heart?

Why did Peter say, rise up and walk? I have no gold and silver, but I'll give you what I have. Because it wasn't about them. It was about God, about service. If you practice humility and service now, you'll be able to serve millions, even billions in the future, sharing your story, to encourage them. Yeah, I was the widow's kid.

I can make it, you can make it. It's not that hard. It's the right way to live. You'll be able to teach them that. And it's service that you give, not for your glory, but for God's. I've seen selfish service. It works in this life for a while.

People can get away with it. And people have left the church for other men to follow them because he was such a good pastor back then. But I always ask, was he a good pastor for you or for them? I saw men rise in the organization. They did all the things they could do to get to the top. So they don't have to serve anymore. That's selfish service. Do you follow Jesus Christ in His word, or do you follow men? Spiritually, you may be in your school uniform. Maybe spiritually, all you have is tennis shoes. Maybe you've got to take the bus spiritually. But God invited you to the party.

You have a chance to go. When Christ returns, you and I will be kings and queens. Not because of us, though we do our minuscule part as much as we can. But through Him, through the Holy Spirit, which is saying what you gave, which He said, wait, it's coming.

And they had the power. And Peter was able to, his shadow, heal people because of Jesus Christ. It wasn't Him. He said in the name of Jesus Christ, that's how He did it. And that Holy Spirit, God gives you the opportunity to have honor, to build character, and to prove that you showed responsibility to His word and His law. When you were called in the church, you were an individual searching for your place. You began a journey. You became part of a spiritual body, His team, the church. I can't make you honorable. I can't give you character.

I can't make you responsible. You have to do that. But you have God's Spirit to help you. And I ask you to take on spiritual opportunities when they come to you. Service. Never fear to take those opportunities because God will be with you. You have His Holy Spirit. But He gave you. For you, it will be about honor, honoring God and your fellow man. For you, it will be about character, knowing the right thing to do and actually doing it, no matter what. And it's about taking responsibility to practice what you've learned through God's Word.

It's a special thing. You are fellow royals, and you should consider it a great honor that He called you to His way of life. He calls you. He wants you. No matter what your state is. It's a hard life going against Satan. No question. The world is going one way, and we're swimming upstream. That's difficult. It's not an easy road. But that's why God gave you His Spirit, so you can understand that.

And He helps you. But you have to make those choices. He gave it on Pentecost 31 A.D. and for all of us who would come afterwards. Again, I'm proud to be among those that get a chance to teach you. And I hope you do the same thing in teaching each other and teaching your children.

That's what it's about. And I'll gladly serve alongside all of you when Christ returns. As brothers and sisters, as fellow kings and queens. Continue your example in prayer and study and learning. God made no mistake when He called you.

He knows you can make it. He wouldn't have called you. But you have to do your part. There's no question there. You've been taught to surrender to God. You don't have a royal scepter because you're not a king yet. But you have a scepter of sorts. This is it right here. It's your Bible. It's God's Word. And with that, you need to use your scepter every day. Not for yourselves, but for other people to help them in their lives. Increase your knowledge of God through that gift of the Holy Spirit that God gave you.

And you read it every day to learn honor, character, and responsibility. And you do it to harden yourself spiritually for strength and further service. You do it to live up to the image of your older brother and mine, our soon-coming King, Jesus Christ. And you do it to be like our Father in Heaven, as Jesus said. I hope you're never afraid of what you might suffer for standing up for God.

It's part of your test. Like with Abraham, when God said, well, after 25 years, he has a kid, raises a kid, about to kill him. And God said, okay, now I know. It's a whole lifetime. It's not just an event. That's what it is. I challenge you to rise to the majesty and the glory that God holds in store for you, that you use His Holy Spirit and face the challenges in life that come to you with honor, with character, and responsibility, ready to be kings in God's service.

May it be written of you, each of you, as members of the spiritual body, that you lived with honor, that you built character, that you carried out the responsibility and service to all the lives you touched. And for this, God made you a king and queen in His kingdom.