The Hour of Judgement Has Come

Thank you very, very much. I often repeat myself when I write letters to the Church anymore, but repetition is the best form of emphasis, and to remind us of what and why we are about, that the United Church of God, as an instrument within the body of Christ, is here to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. It is here to make disciples, and it is also here to care for those disciples that come into our midst. So what you offer today in faith before our God, and then give into custodianship for the United Church of God, we will try and strive the very best that we can to put it towards that mission statement that we strive to uphold every day of our life. I do want to mention we're going to be seeing many of you in the Oceanside. Hopefully not too many. Not sure. It's a work of faith right now. I keep on hearing everybody's coming to Oceanside, and it could be one little crowded goldfish bowl. We'll find out. And if not, we'll have fun. But I do want to mention, I believe Mr. Seagly is gone this weekend, but I was able to get it to another source, and we're going to be getting information out to you about the Oceanside feast site more than you've even received. You're going to be getting a couple more attachments this weekend, both here in Garden Grove and in Los Angeles, and actually all of our Southwest congregations. And how exciting that many of us are going to be able to go where God has placed His name. There's nothing like a new feast site, a new place, a new locale. I keep on telling the staff at the convention center where we're going to be meeting, I cannot wait for you to meet our people. Because all they hear about is the feast, and you don't really know what the feast is about until it's like a tsunami coming your way with you, the loving hearts of God's people. And how you fill up a room with God's Spirit, and how you fill up a locale with God's Spirit. So that's just a couple of weeks away, and whether it's an Oceanside or Bend or a steamboat, I was about to say, Steampot, Steamboat Springs, I have to be nicer to Mr. Charles Millier on that one up in Colorado. Wherever you are internationally, what a blessing that you and I are going to have. Well, it is always an honor to be able to speak on one of God's holy days, and look forward to bringing this message to you, which is, I think, one that hopefully God has inspired, and one that will be a blessing to each and every one of you, no matter your age, no matter your stage within the Church of God. I understand I met a gentleman here who's just been attending Garden Grove for about three weeks, and that's really exciting to begin to experience all the festivals and what they are about. And that's what we're about. That here we are, whether in Garden Grove or Los Angeles, it's not our job to choose God's family, but it's our job and our role to accept the family that comes in through those doors. I'd like to begin the message this afternoon by sharing a story that will come to point, and hopefully one that you will be able to take home with you.

There was a young man who had fallen into a river, and he was drowning. There seemingly was no ability to get out and no way of escape, and basically, you might say, he was a dead duck. He cried out for help, and there was a man that was driving nearby and looking over the bridge, saw the young man down there flailing and wailing and screaming and not knowing what to do and about to go under. And the man jumped off the bridge into the water, and he rescued the young man from a sure death. Several years later, this same young man, a man that was given life anew, steadily became involved in a wrong lifestyle. He became a rotten character. He stole a car, and the young man was caught, and he was convicted, and he was brought to court. He was, when he came into the courtroom, he got a big smile on his face. That's not normally what you do when you're convicted and you're about to go on trial, and you walk into a courtroom, and he got this big smile on his face. Because he looked down the aisle, and there behind the judge's bench was the very same man that had jumped off the bridge, jumped into the river, and saved that young man from a certain death. He said, oh, he will save me again. I'm just sure of that. At least, at least he thought so. Well, the trial came to an end, and the judge, in giving the verdict, said, you are guilty, and I must condemn you. The young man blurted out from behind the desk where he was at. He said, you can't do that. You are the very same man that saved my life at one time. You were there before, and you rescued me.

The judge replied, young man, one day I was your savior, but now I am your judge. Your day of grace has come to an end. This is somewhat of a jolting story, and it's a telling story that speaks to this day that we are commemorating the Feast of Trumpets.

It brings all of us into remembrance that each and every one of us in this room has been rescued and has been delivered from death.

It also is to remind us and allows us to contemplate what have you and I done since that time when we were rescued by God's grace. See, that's what grace is about, is to understand that there was nothing that we could do on our own. All of our ability basically came to a sinking into a pool of our own sin. There was no way out. And then an arm from somewhere came and reached us and brought us to a sure shore of freedom and to a new life and to a new existence, free from the past, free from sin, free from guilt, with a road ahead and a future, and one that we would not walk alone, but we would follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

This day, today, brings us into full reality of something that Jesus Christ and the Judge have in common.

Jesus Christ is our Savior, and Jesus Christ is coming back to be your Judge. He's going to make a judgment on you. He's going to make a judgment on me as to how we responded from that moment when He delivered us from the grave and that destiny and gave you and me an opportunity to be delivered and to be given a life. And He's going to judge us, not based upon saving ourselves, but because the Savior has come into our life. How have we responded since that time when He came into our life and rescued us?

The Jews have a saying related to this day, the Feast of Trumpets. They call it Rosh Hashanah. And it is simply a saying that you may be familiar with, but we're going to, hopefully in the course of this message, pound it home again and again. Allow me to share it with you. And simply this, may your name be found written in the book of life.

Allow me to share it again. May your name and may my name be found written in the book of life. This expression, when spoken from one Jew to another, has a dual purpose. Allow me to share it with you. You may want to write it down. It's an interesting phrase. May your name be found written in the book of life.

Number one, it is shared as a blessing. It's a blessing, like Shalom, peace. It's a blessing. But number two, it's a warning. It's a warning. You see, the faith community of Jews have always looked at this day as a day of a wake-up call. It's a day of awareness. It's a day of awakening. It is what is considered the first day of what are called the ten days of awe that go from the Feast of Trumpets to the Day of Atonement. That's why a trumpet sounds interesting. And thank you so very much, Dr. Hoover, for blowing this so far today. And on Rosh Hashanah in a Jewish synagogue during that time, they will actually sound the trumpet one hundred times. Because we have to be woken up. We have to come to attention. There has to be something that literally moves into our minds and our hearts and our soul as to what our God has done for us and how to respond to that grace and how to surrender our lives to Him and to allow the Master to walk in us in thought and word and in deed. And that's why we're here. I have a question for you this afternoon, brethren of Garden Grove in Los Angeles and those that are listening to this message over the Internet. Will your name be written in the Book of Life? Then say the Garden Grove Church roster. That may be the preliminary Book of Life, just teasing. I didn't say the Los Angeles roster. I didn't talk about a corporate roster. I'm talking about that book which is referred to both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, a book that has your name in it, that is already in there by God's hand. That only you and you alone, by your response, can have it removed. Will your name be in the Book of Life? Do you recognize that Jesus Christ is not only our Savior, but He's also our Judge? And that God, and this is the point I wanted to get across to you this afternoon, friends, is that God has expectations of you. Join me, if you would, in Revelation 14 to find out what those expectations are. In Revelation 14, and if you'll join me, please, in verse 6. In Revelation 14 and verse 6, sometimes people say, well, what is the gospel about? How do you define the gospel? This is a very easy way to go to just a couple of verses and get a quick bird's eye view, as it were, of what the gospel is. And it kind of divided up just like a piece of pie. Now, of course, this is expanded elsewhere, but God plays no secrets here. It's very clear as to what He expects from those whom He has rescued and who come into the awareness of His existence and want that existence to be in them. Revelation 14, then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. This is an everlasting gospel. It didn't just start in 31 A.D. This has been always God's purpose. This has always been God's modus operandi. This is what His kingdom, in essence, is. Saying with a loud voice, Fear God.

Number one, Give glory to Him.

Number two, For the hour of His judgment has come. Number three, And worship Him, who made heaven and earth the sea and springs of water.

Fear God.

Number one, We notice that. We're to glorify Him.

And we're to worship Him. And it says, For the hour of His judgment has come.

I'd like to talk about that this afternoon. For those of you that are ones that like to have a title for a message to keep us focused, That's the title of the message. And it's simply this, The hour of His judgment has come. The hour of His judgment has come. We often associate this festival with the blowing of trumpets, With the prophecies that Christ is going to return to rescue a world from itself. And I know that we all rejoice, and we look forward to that time. I think of what's going on in the world right now. What's affecting the Middle East and what's affecting the nations of the West. As they look at just one little corner of the Middle East, Where some of you have relatives, and living there. And you just look at that conundrum of and by itself. And how really when you say the word Syria, It really is a poster child of what's wrong with this world. And to recognize how confusing it is when laws are broken. And to recognize that all of the king's horses, And all of the king's men, And all of the United States tomahawk missiles, If they do fly, Cannot put Humpty Dumpty back together again. And thus, you and I as people of love and concern, And seeing God's children killed around this world, And some that have been gassed, And not even knowing that that was going to be the last moment of their life. We long for that coming. It's real to us that are Christians. It's not just simply in stained glass. It is our reality that on this time in the future, With this blowing of trumpets that will ultimately raise the dead, And we the living will join them as our Lord comes back. What an incredible time that will be to share that with the nations, And a new way of life.

But this afternoon, I want to, if I can find my notes there, they're blowing away. This afternoon, I want to blow the trumpet in a little bit different regard from Scriptures, To remind you of your personal responsibility. Your personal responsibility. So that your name will be written in the Book of Life. Oftentimes, may I speak bluntly, as I want to do? That in our culture, in the Church of God culture, sometimes we are worried about others. We're concerned about others. And we begin to focus on others and others and others and others and others, And what they're doing.

But we lose focus that we have a responsibility. We look at what everybody else is perhaps doing wrong or where they're falling short. But we do not ask ourselves, will our names be written in the Book of Life by our response to God's grace? And that's what I want to talk to you about this afternoon. Let's go to point number one. There's just going to be three points in this message this afternoon. And the first thing that I want to remind all of us of is point number one. Judgment is upon the household of God. Judgment is upon the household of God. Now. We need to understand that this is not just simply a Biblical knowledge factory.

This is not just simply a scripture reading society. We are not in it just for the information. We are not in it just for the inspiration. We are in it by God's grace, by Christ living in us, to be transformed into His image. And that judgment is upon us now. Join me if you would in Zachariah 14. In Zachariah 14, and let's pick up the thought if we could together as a congregation. Let's look at verse 4. Zachariah 14, verse 4. The blowing of trumpets that was done on and is done on this day for nearly 3,500 years portrays this time in the future when Christ, by His timetable, as Mr.

Salcedo said, comes to this earth. Let's take a look at it for a moment, verse 4. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west, making it a very large valley. And a half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and a half of it towards the south. And then ye shall flee through my mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.

And ye shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. And then the Lord my God will come and all the saints with you. And it shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light, the lights will diminish. It shall be one day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light. And in that day, that means not today, that means that day always means in the future, it shall be that living water shall flow from Jerusalem. Half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea.

And in both summer and winter it shall occur, and the Lord shall be king over the earth. No more United Nations, no more NATO, no more alliances with other nations that are out there, pitted against NATO, pitted against the United States. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. And in that day it shall be, the Lord is one, and His name one. Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth. And I firmly believe in the literality of that. And I believe that His feet are going to stand on the Mount of Olives, as this world ultimately will crumble before Him and His army.

And there will be unconditional surrender. There will be nothing left as they fight that army from heaven. The wall of deception is going to be torn down. And a new civilization, a new society, a new way of thinking, not based upon confrontation, not based on aggression, not based upon competition, but a new way of love and outflowing and outgoing concern away from self is going to develop. There's going to be a new cosmos, a new culture, a new world. For those of you that are just beginning to awaken to the Scriptures, you've been here for a few weeks, you're studying about prophecy, this period is called the Thousand Year Period, as revealed in Revelation 20.

There's a word that we often use as Christians that you don't really find in the Bible. It's millennium. That means a thousand year period in which Jesus Christ is going to set up shop here on earth. Now that is... are you with me? That is in the future. But let's talk about now. But now, as members... Now we're going to get up close and personal with all of you, okay? But now, as members of the Body of Christ, we are already experiencing these future days in our lives, right now. For us, the spiritual meaning of this festival is now realized.

Christ has already intervened in our life, not by a heavenly invasion, as we go through the seals and we go through the woes and we go through the different chapters in the book of Revelation. It's not an invasion into our life, but we responded to an invitation by God the Father. And He gave us His Son Jesus Christ. His Son Jesus Christ, when we understand the reality of the Christian experience, has landed and taken up a residency in our life. Join me if you would in Mark 1. Mark 1.

You know what? As you're turning to Mark 1, I can't see that clock, and for me, that's dangerous. Okay, now I see it. And we started at, what, at 3.30 this afternoon? Okay, here we go. Mark 1. I see where I'm at. See where I gotta go. Mark 1. Let's notice what it says here. Mark 1, verse 14. Now, after John was put in prison, Jesus Christ came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, the time is fulfilled. And notice the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Jesus Christ said that the kingdom of God is at hand.

He said that it's near. Wherever Christ is, wherever He resides, the kingdom of God is indeed at hand. As followers, we've expressed our desire to voluntarily surrender our lives and hand over our human kingdom to Him.

And at baptism, we were not just simply submerged into water, but we said that we would submerge our wills to the Father and to His Son. That would no longer be our will, but your will be done. We also did something else that I want to draw your attention to, may I? And that is simply this. As we submerged our will to His, and we surrendered our life to His, we submerged our will to Him not in fear of judgment, not in fear of judgment, but of faith in that judgment.

I want you to begin to wrap your minds around that thought. Do you have fear of God's judgment, or do you have faith in that judgment? How you live your life stems from that. As to whether or not you worship a loving God, or in your mind, our Maker is a dreadful being.

And He called us to sacred service to become a kingdom of priests in training. Now, not when we plop into the millennium, but now we're training to be that kingdom of priests. And He's going to judge us accordingly. That's why we're here today. To come to attention, to wake up, to be alert, and to be in awe of what God is performing.

I'd like to just listen to this for a moment out of Numbers 10.10, because I'm going to read it from a different translation. It's from the New Living Translation. But it speaks of these days, Blow the trumpet in times of gladness, too. Sound them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpet of your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpet will remind the Lord your God of His covenant with you. It will remind the Lord your God of His covenant with you. That's why the trumpet is blowing. Now, are we saying that God has a case of dementia?

Does He have Alzheimer's? Does He have to have a trumpet to somehow stir up His memory? Or is that really for you and for me? To remind us that we come back and do this covenant relationship, not a contract. Contracts demand lawyers. Covenants demand your life's energy and your life's devotion. It is to remind us of that. And because of that, we are reminded in 1 Peter 4.

Join me if you would for a moment in 1 Peter 4. That we are under that covenant. That in the epistle of Peter here in 1 Peter 4 verse 17, it says, For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the good news and or the gospel of God? I'm here this afternoon as God's servant to remind you that Jesus Christ is not only our Savior, but He is also our Judge.

Join me if you would in John 5. Let's go to John 5, please, in the gospel thereof. And let's pick up the thought if we could in verse 21. In John 5 and verse 21, For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them. We heard that from Mr. Garnet this morning. Even so, the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed, notice very interesting, all judgment to the Son. That all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. And He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

Most assuredly I say to you, He who hears My word and believes in Him, who sent Me, has everlasting life. That's a judgment. And that judgment is a blessing. And shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

But not only to hear that trumpet, but those that were listening to God all along, by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, by the conviction of reading God's Word. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him, that Him is Jesus Christ, authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man.

And do not marvel at this, for the hours coming, in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice, and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. I can of Myself do nothing, as I hear I judge, and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own, but the will of the Father who sent Me.

Jesus is a righteous judge. When we go through these verses, we need to understand, as members of the Body of Christ, we come to Him in faith, understanding not only who, but how He judges.

It's not only that He is a judge, but it's how He judges. Join me in what we often refer to as a Millennial Scripture over in Isaiah 11. In Isaiah 11, and let's pick up the thought, if we could, as a congregation, in verse 1. In Isaiah 11, in verse 1, There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And His delight is in the fear of the Lord. This is speaking of Messiah, speaking of Jesus, as He came, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor by the hearing of His ears, but with righteousness He shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the make of the earth.

And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist.

This is what the world, the entire world has to look forward to. When the meaning of these days is manifested like a grand capestry across this world.

We saw this displayed and personified, this kind of judgment when Jesus Christ was on this earth. The same judgment that would be visited upon that woman that was caught in the very act of adultery.

And the wisdom and the love, the adherence to the law, but the wisdom to move from the letter of the law, and then to be able to tell that woman, go and sin no more. See, Jesus Christ is for people. He loves people. And for the woman that washed and bathed His feet with her tears, and then made her hair a living human pal and rubbed those feet as everybody else's eyes. All the religious people, are you with me? All the religious folk?

Are there any religious folk in here? Am I talking to the right group?

All the religious... What's she doing in here? She's not dressed right.

She doesn't look like one of us. Oh, I remember her.

I bet some of them did.

And Jesus said, Your sins are forgiven, sister. Your sins are forgiven. And because you have loved much, you are indeed forgiven much. That's the kind of judgment that you and I, as priests in training, in sacred service to God, in covenant relationship, are to be exercising now to our fellow human beings. I have a question for you.

Would you make a good judge? Are you a good judge?

How do you look at people? How do you look at people? That's very, very important because let's notice Romans 14, verse 9. Romans 14 and verse 9.

Rather, we need to be a loving people.

We need to be a humble people.

We need not look at others. We have so much homework and hard work amongst ourselves, encapsulated in this human flesh, even with God's Spirit, that I have so many courses to go to work on myself that I don't need to really worry about anybody else. Who have you been working? Who have you been worrying about recently? Who have you been judging recently? Do you have the same kind of judgment that is mentioned in the book of Isaiah? No, the Apostle Paul says something here in Romans 14. Join me if you would in verse 9. Romans 14 and verse 9. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and living. But why do you judge your brother, or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. You might just jot down Matthew 7, 1 through 5. We're not going to go there. Jesus the Rabbi said this, the teacher said this, By the judgment that you judge by is by the judgment that you will be judged by. 1 plus 1 equals 2. This is so very important, brethren, as members of the Body of Christ and the Garden Grove congregation, the Los Angeles congregation. As we grow in this love, as we grow in this humility, as we focus on where we need to be, where we're working on ourselves, and then allowing God to work on others, recognizing that we have a full-time job, brethren, just responding to God's Spirit in our life, just reading the Word in our life, learning to be humble and caring and loving and gentle, that it creates an environment that is so much different than that world that is outside that. We become that light that Jesus spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount, that light that is seen, that is on top of that hill that beckons, that same light that attracted so many people to Jesus Christ, who was such a magnetic personality. He just drew people. Nobody had ever quite seen anything like Him, this man that was conservative with God's law, but liberal with His love.

And just when you think you had Him figure it out, He moved over here. He had everybody guessing because they'd seen nothing like it before. You know why? Because that man had come down from above. He was God in the flesh, and He lived to show us what we ought to be like. Allow me to take you to point number two. Point number two, God's judgments. God's judgments are unavoidable. God's judgments are unavoidable. But they are going to happen. Join me if you would in Ecclesiastes 8, Book of Wisdom.

Let's pick up the thought if we could. It's a congregation in verse 11. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. And though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.

But it will not be well with the wicked, nor will he prolong his days, which are as the shadow, because he does not fear God. I know sometimes this can happen to us in our lives, whether at work, or whether in our neighborhood community, or even in the congregation. That sometimes we can say, well, you know, God, I'm really trying. I'm really striving to abide in your righteousness.

I'm trying to allow Christ to live in me. I'm trying to allow Him to reign in my heart, that my heart is His throne, that He lives in me. I ask that He guides my ways. I'm striving to do all that I can. I read that sermon on the mountain. I'm trying to do everything I can, Lord. And I don't seem to be going anywhere. And this guy right next to me, well, he's a... I better not say that after everything I've said here today about judging.

But sometimes, you know, there are just certain words that come to mind about people. And you say, you know, I'm... And look, it looks like he's getting away with something. And God, I'm doing the very best I can. Why? Here I am. I love God. I'm abiding by the Word. I'm trying to do the best I can. I attend the same way of life, the same days that Jesus Christ did. And yet, why is it that my neighbor seems to be more successful than me? And I know what he's like. And God says he will not be mocked.

And though it seems that it is for a while that judgment will come, indeed, to one and all. I'd like to share an interesting story here with you for a moment in 1 Kings 22. 1 Kings 22. Join me if you would there for a moment. 1 Kings. This is the story of Ahab. 1 Kings 22. And it's the story of Ahab. We pick it up in verse 29. We pick it up in verse 16. Ahab and Jeroboam... not Jeroboam. Jeho is the fact we're planning to go to war. So the king said, How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?

And they said, I saw all Israel... this is the prophet speaking... scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord God said, These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace. And the king said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but would speak of evil? And so what happened here is Ahab tried to disguise himself.

God knew his heart. God knew that he was a wicked king and that his time had come, the judgment had come. And so, notice verse 29. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king and Judah went up to Ramath-Gilead, and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.

So it was when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it happened when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. Now God had made a judgment on Ahab, and Ahab was in a disguise and running away. Now a certain man drew a bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor.

And so he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded. The battle increased that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians and died that evening. The blood ran out from the wound into the floor of the chariot. Thus, then as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, Every man near the city and every man into his own country. So the king died and was brought to Samaria. A man tried to outrun the judgment of God. God will not be mocked.

And even though it seems well that the sinner goes on and on and on, we're reminded at times of the words of Jesus Christ that it reigns on the just and on the unjust. And yet to recognize that ultimately God will not be mocked, that his judgments will be. We need to understand that. We need to also understand. Join me, if you would, in Matthew 13, 36.

Regarding God's judgments. Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house, and his disciples came saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. And he answered and said to them, He who sows the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom. But the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burnt into the fire, so will be at the end of this age. The Son of man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all the things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness. And will cast them into the furnace of fire, and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. And then the righteous will shine forth as the Son in the kingdom of their Father. And he who has ears will let him hear. Now, it's very interesting when you think of wheat and tares, you know, from a distance, it all looks the same. Are you aware of that? It's very, very difficult to differentiate between that which is wheat and that which is tares. You have to really know what it looks like. And for you and I on this day of awakening, on this day of where we are reminded, may our name be written in the book of life. Sometimes a lot of people in a room can look alike. There can be people that are simply going to church. And then there are people that are allowing the Lord Savior, Jesus Christ, to live in their life, to unconditionally surrender their thoughts, their words, and their deeds by what they think, by what they focus on, by how we address one another, by what we allow to come into our lives, by what we allow to take up our lives' oxygen. Sometimes brethren, I talk to fellow brethren, people that I love, and I find what they discuss, I find what they talk about, are things that are not really their business. They trespass into other people's lives. They deal with things that they're not going to be able to deal with in this lifetime or that lifetime, and people that have made their own choices, and that judgment will come upon them. And yet somehow it titillates our mind, it titillates our thoughts, what everybody else is doing, rather than what God Almighty has asked us to do, to filter our hearts, to tame our tongues, to be custodians of our minds, and to remember what the Apostle Paul said, whatsoever things are true and just and pure and honest. Think on these things. If we do, there's nothing that we can do oven by ourselves, but God will see our response to His grace, and He'll know that we are serious, that when there is the blowing of the trumpet, these words that come out of Scripture, the words that come out of God's servant's mouth, the words of wisdom that come from fellow brethren, and we respond and we draw to an alert, that trumpet which is an instrument of war, that when it sounds, it stirs our heart. We know that we are in this battle. We know that the victory is won, but the details have to be worked out yet here below, and God really wants to know whether or not we have been rescued, that we are in the process of salvation, and how grateful we are by allowing ourselves to unconditionally surrender ourselves, and to love like Christ, to think like Christ, to be like Christ, to do like Christ, to speak of others like Christ, and allow the judging of others to be to Him. For it is only one set of hands that have the holes in them.

Only one set of hands that are behind that desk, that have the ability to look beyond the skin of a person, look beyond the DNA that might be on the evidence, and look at the heart of an individual, and say, I want that individual to be written in my book of life. When we come to that grasp of the high calling and the sacred service that God is calling us to, everything else will melt away. Everything else will seem insignificant. When we recognize that judgment is upon us, that's a full-time job just of and by itself. Which leads me to point three in conclusion. Point number three. And that is simply that we are going to be judged individually. We are going to be judged individually. In Hebrews 9, verse 27.

Notice what it states. As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment. All men die. And by the way, all women die also because we are in an equal opportunity society today. All people will die. And we need to understand that. But we also need to understand something much more important.

You know, sometimes people will say that Bible speaks about judgment. Why didn't Mr. Weber today speak about something kind of more gentle? Kinder. After all, it's the afternoon. Why didn't he speak about 1 Corinthians 15 and what we're going to be like at the resurrection and with the glorified bard? Because if we don't learn these lessons now with the blowing of the trumpet, that reminds us of the covenant of God.

Our name will not be written in the book of life. Sometimes we think the word judgment in the Bible is like getting an envelope from the IRS. I'm sorry, Dave Delimator, wherever you are. He's one of the good IRS guys. I don't think he's working in Cincinnati. So, here's what I want to share with you. Maybe the most important thing. And that is simply that we need to have faith in the judgment that is set before us. See, Jesus Christ knows what it's like to be judged wrongfully. He knows what it's like to be judged when there is no evidence, when he was not guilty, when there was something that was beautiful in him that made all the rest of us ugly.

And yet he took our burden upon himself. And to recognize when he comes back as King of Kings, he's not only a Lord, as that sign says up there. He's a Savior. He's a high priest. He's an advocate. And we know that Satan seemingly has access to the heavens for one reason or another.

And Satan would like to have all of our sins piled before God. Look what Robin Weber is doing down there. Look at what he's doing. And this is even since you've called him. Look what he is doing. And the pile can get higher and higher and higher and higher and higher. And Satan would like to pile our sins before God. But Jesus Christ is our advocate, 1 John 2 and verse 1. He is our heavenly lawyer. He's our high priest. And he takes our prayers as the priest in heaven when they come up to heaven from you and me. And he takes that role as a priest and takes our petitions before God.

And he says, Father, please remember, I've been down there. I know what they're like. But I also know Robin's heart. I know Susan's heart. I know Roy's heart. I know Zach's heart. I know Karen's heart. I even know Dr. David Hoover's heart. And I know that they are striving. And what happens is that that pile looks pretty high of our sins and our misdeeds. And when we love God, but we still stumble. We're no longer running towards sin. We're running away from sin, but we'll still stumble.

And so that pile kind of goes up. And Satan thinks he has really made a closing case. And then Jesus Christ says, Father, remember this. And his sacrifice goes up through the heavens so high. And it is so meaningful that God looks at his Son and says, I understand. Satan, get out of here. These people are redeemed. This person is forgiven. This son, this daughter is my child. My son over here gave his life. He gave his life. He is their Savior. He is their high priest.

It is his blood. Not the blood of goats, rams, turtledoves, and or whatever. Bullocks. His blood. And he's petitioned for them. We have not always seen good cases, brethren, of righteous judgment here below. But I'm asking you to just consider this as I conclude today. That as we move forward out of Garden Grove this afternoon, that we approach that throne of judgment not in fear, but in faith. That there is a righteous judge, a loving father, a righteous son. And he loves us so much that he gave his only self, that we might be redeemed.

John spoke of redemption this morning. Redemption is a term that means can only be made by those that could never save themselves. Just like that young man that was drowning. Redemption was spoken of a gladiator or a slave or a criminal that never had any hope in this society. Of any future. Of any dream coming true. And that was our state. Until God the Father began to call us. And we accepted his son. The Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Lord because he is our king. Jesus because Jesus is Yeshua, which means Savior, salvation. And because he is the Christ. He is the anointed. He is God's answer. He is God's solution for this world. Brethren, are you ready to leave this afternoon?

Are you ready? And have you learned the lessons of this Feast of Trumpets? That God has a timetable. A timetable that is perfect. And in that timetable, his will hath full provision. We've learned this afternoon or this morning from John about a change that humanity has hoped for since the time of Job.

And that God is true to his promises. And that the judgment that you and I look forward to is not a judgment based upon fear. But in faith and who sits behind that table. But it's not only who sits behind the table, but what lays in our heart today, man, woman and child. That we have given our life over unconditionally ahead of this world. And allowed Jesus Christ to reign in our lives. Unconditionally, that it is his Father's will and his will.

That is the lesson. You are a walking and talking Mount of Olives here in Garden Grove today. God the Father has allowed Jesus Christ to touch down in your life. You are in preposition of that prophecy in Zechariah. You have said, Come Lord Jesus, come. Just like it says in the book of Revelation. As I conclude, as one that has known you for so many, many years, I just simply want to give you a blessing. And I want to remind you of something in sincere warning. May your name be written in the book of life.