How Can I Prepare for What Lies Ahead?

In Part 1 of our two-part seminar today, we ask and we answer two vital questions. Why don't we have world peace? And why is the Kingdom of God the solution to this world's huge problems? Again, the overall topic is, how can you prepare for what lies ahead? Again, the Bible does warn us of some very difficult times that are coming on this earth because of our sins, because of our refusal to repent of our sins.

What can you do to prepare for what lies ahead? We talked about a major underlying crisis of our time. That's the first question that we'll answer in this part of the session. What is a major underlying crisis of our time that many people just don't recognize? They don't realize, they don't see it. And also, we're going to talk about what Jesus Christ planned for your success and future is in regard to God's Kingdom.

We hope that understanding the answers to these questions from the Bible and the magnificent news about the Kingdom of God will help educate all of us and help edify us and help us encourage us that we will survive the times ahead. God will be with us. If God is for us, who can be against us? But there are certain things that God expects us to be doing in the meantime. In Deuteronomy 28, verse 37, God says, "...to the children of Israel, you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you." This is what He said about ancient Israel, because He knew that they would not continue to obey Him and to serve Him, that they would turn against Him, that they would break His laws.

So we're going to go back into biblical history a little bit to begin with. In the fulfillment of His promises to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, God established Israel as a nation for the purpose of bringing blessings to other nations. They were to be a model nation above all others. They were to be God's nation, a people that were yielded to God and obeying Him and following Him. From their earliest days, God expected the Israelites to be an example to all the nations around them. And as a result, He would pour out upon them divine blessings as they worshipped Him and obeyed Him, and people would see that God's way really does work.

So if the Israelites would fulfill their part of the covenant agreement that they made with God, God said He would make Israel the premier nation of the world, that they would rise above all other nations. But at the same time, He said if they broke His covenant, His commandments, and if they disobeyed Him, they would suffer the consequences of their unfaithfulness and their disobedience. God even told them that other nations would take them captive. And history tells us of a horrible captivity that the house of Israel and the house of Judah went into anciently because of their sins against God, because of their refusal to keep His commandments.

And as it says here in Deuteronomy 28, Israel became an astonishment. They became a proverb and a byword among all the nations. They were mocked, and they were ridiculed, and frankly, they've been ridiculed throughout history because of their unfaithfulness toward God. Nearly 3,500 years ago, God told ancient Israel in Deuteronomy 4, He said, Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you.

For the Lord your God is a consuming fire. He is a jealous God. In the very best sense, God is a jealous God. He wants us to obey Him because He knows that when we do, we will be the most blessed people on the earth. But when we refuse to obey Him, again, we will pay the consequences for that. He says, continuing on here in Deuteronomy 4, When you beget children and grandchildren, and have grown old in the land, act corruptly, and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the Lord your God to revoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you that the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you.

And frankly, that's exactly what happened. The Lost Tribes of Israel. You've heard of that. The Bible speaks of the Ten Lost Tribes. Well, we have a booklet on our table entitled, The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. This booklet shows that these nations are indeed the descendants of the house of Israel, those who were scattered, those who became unknown and scattered throughout the earth.

So we have a booklet that is free for the taking.

So just help yourself to the United States and Britain in Bible prophecy, because it will open up your mind to who we are and what God is doing here on this earth.

Now, with the restoration of Joseph's birthright promises to his descendants, Britain and the United States, the people of these nations have enjoyed unprecedented prosperity.

It's because of Abraham's faithfulness that we are so blessed and have been so blessed for the last few hundred years.

Britain had the opportunity to spread ethical, godly civilization to much of the world.

They really had a huge impact in the world.

At the height of their empire, the British people took the Bible into far-flung corners of the earth.

Many missionaries came from Britain.

A large majority of the British people today, however, showed very little interest in the teachings of the Bible.

They are becoming increasingly more agnostic and atheistic.

In a similar way, the United States was founded through leaders who for the most part held great respect for the Bible. Our forefathers, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and various other leaders, John Adams, but in recent times a large person of our nation has likewise ignored the teachings of the Bible.

Paradoxically, the United States is one of the most prosperous nations of the world, and yet it is also one of the most immortal nations.

As a nation, we do need to repent of our sins against God and against His holy ways, His laws.

As an ancient Israel, immorality does run rampant in the United States and the nations that once formed the British Empire.

The number of broken homes and fatherless households has continued to skyrocket, even as national prosperity has increased. Illigitimacy and the abortions of millions of innocent babies and epidemics of sexually transmitted diseases have all been the hallmarks of a broken society.

We don't have to talk about these things, but nevertheless they still exist.

There's still very, very evident in this nation today.

Many cities in this nation have become cesspools of crime, of gang violence, of poverty, of illiteracy.

Things aren't all that great, really, here in the United States as a whole.

Greed and materialism have become the national religion in countries that have long prided themselves on being Christian nations. As a result of these and other sins, many now view the United States and Britain, nations that were once respected throughout much of the world, now they view the United States and Britain with ill-disguised contempt. The ugly Americans, we can see how so many people look at us in that way, and even more so today. So, what is a major underlying crisis of our time? What am I talking about here? Frankly, it's the contempt for the rule of God's law in the life of individuals and in our nations. It's a simple thing. It's just that we hold God in contempt.

This nation holds God in contempt, and many people individually hold God in contempt.

They profess to know God, but in their ways they deny Him. And even the mainstream Christianity, in many respects, have denied God. They have denied His truth. They have denied His ways. And God isn't happy because of that. So, it's contempt for the rule of God in the lives of individuals and nations.

The disregard and neglect for God's commandments causes significant suffering, pain, and distress throughout our society. So, we need to stop being so blinded and so nonchalant, frankly, about what's going on in the world today and in our nation. This is a monumental problem today, just as it was for ancient Israel. They mocked the prophets back then, didn't they?

They laughed at them. They threw them in dungeons in Jeremiah's case. They scorned them. They didn't believe what they said. But what the prophets spoke was true. They did go into captivity, and they suffered greatly, and millions of people died. And the Bible speaks of not just millions, but billions of people who will die before Christ returns because of their Christ.

Because of their contempt for God, and because of their contempt for God's laws and God's ways. So, it is a monumental problem, not one we should sweep under the rug and think that all is well here on planet earth. So, let's go back in history, once again, to the time of ancient Israel to learn more about the iniquities that caused the nation's ultimate downfall. Among the most serious sins of the ancient house of Israel were, number one, idolatry, breaking the first commandment. You shall have no other gods before Me. They even bowed down the graven images, breaking the second commandment. Certainly, today we break the first commandment in so many different ways, putting other issues before God, other things before God.

But there was another very serious sin that brought the children of Israel into captivity, and that was Sabbath breaking. It was breaking the Sabbath day. It was trampling all over the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. It's not the first day of the week, as is taught by so many today. It is the seventh day of the week. It always has been.

Since creation, the seventh day was the day that was sanctified, and set apart, and created by God to be holy time. Man cannot change that. The Catholic Church didn't have the authority to change that. The Protestants didn't have the authority to go along with it. The seventh day is the true Sabbath. Today, we meet on the Sabbath. We meet on the seventh day of the week, because we believe this is time that God is sanctified and made holy. It is a time to worship Him. It is a time to not work, but to show honor toward God by fellowshiping and worshiping together.

Notice in Ezekiel 20 what God says about ancient Israel and why they were taken into captivity. Speaking about the children of Israel, Moreover, I also gave them my Sabbath. And He wasn't just talking about the weekly Sabbath. He was talking about the annual Sabbath. And we have a booklet that outlines the annual Sabbath.

It's called God's Holy Day Plan. And it speaks about the meaning of each and every one of the annual holy days, as well as the weekly Sabbath. Moreover, I also gave them my Sabbath to be a sign between them and me.

And remember, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He doesn't change. The Bible says, I change not in regard to God. So it is to be a sign between God and His people that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. Yet the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes. And again, the holy days were the statutes of God. They despise my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them.

And they greatly defiled my Sabbath. Now, is that happening today? Are people greatly defiling God's Sabbath today? How many people are keeping the Sabbath today? Here in the Tulsa area? Out of a half a million people, there's very, very few who are not defiling the Sabbath.

They're not even thinking about it, though. And they're ignorant, for the most part. But nevertheless, they are defiling the Sabbath. They're doing their own thing. They're working today. They're playing ball. They're various activities that they're involved in. This is what brought ancient Israel into captivity. It's the same thing that will bring this nation into captivity. They despise my judgments. Again, which if a man does, he will live by them and will prosper by them. And they greatly defiled my Sabbaths.

They despised my judgments. They did not walk in my statutes. But profane my Sabbaths for their heart went after their idols. Things that they put before God. That's the problem with people today. They don't want to come to church on the Sabbath. They don't want to worship God on the Sabbath 24 hours a day. That's a long time, isn't it, for people? They'd rather go to church for a couple hours on Sunday and then do whatever they want to do the rest of the week. The rest of the day. But God hallowed the Sabbath day from sunset to sunset.

Friday evening to Saturday evening, this is a holy day. And when you defile the Sabbath, you defile yourselves. That's what the Bible teaches. They went after their idols. God was not pleased with them because of it.

He doesn't take it lightly. The fourth commandment is one of God's ten commandments. So what about the Sabbath day? What kind of an example did Jesus Christ set in regard to the Sabbath day? Look at Luke 4, verse 16. So he, Jesus, came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and asked his custom was... In other words, this was what he did on a weekly basis.

This was his custom. This was his course of living. He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Doesn't say he went in on Sunday or any other day, but he went in on the Sabbath day. And he stood up to read because he observed the Sabbath day. Should our nations be keeping the Sabbath just as God commanded ancient Israel? Should you be keeping the Sabbath day?

It's not enough just to come to a kingdom of God seminar once a year on the Sabbath. That's not enough. We meet here every Sabbath. We meet here at 10 o'clock in the morning every Sabbath. This is our custom. This is what we do because we believe God sanctified this day and set it apart for us. To understand about the Sabbath, we should examine how the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, how did he view the Sabbath day? Well, as I just showed you, he kept it. It was his custom. Among those who profess to follow Jesus, no biblical command has aroused as much controversy as this commandment, this fourth commandment, which is God's instruction to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Some people believe that Jesus came to earth the first time to do away with the law of God.

However, Christ clearly said in Matthew 5, Think not! Don't think that I've come to destroy the law or the prophets. And yet, some people say that he came to do away with the law of God and that he deliberately ignored or broke the fourth commandment, the Sabbath commandment. Others argue that Jesus annulled all of the Ten Commandments, but that nine were reinstituted in the New Testament. Have you ever heard that argument? That's what some people say. All except the Sabbath day. All the other nine were reinstituted, but the Sabbath was never reinstituted. Some others believe that Jesus replaced the Sabbath with himself, that he is now our rest, and so it's convenient for them. They no longer have to observe the Sabbath or think that they have to keep 24 hours holy, special time, because Christ did it all for them. But that isn't what the Bible teaches. That's what people think. Still others believe that no Sabbath at all is needed anymore, that a person can rest or worship on any day or at any time he chooses. And frankly, people twist what the Bible says to believe what they want to believe. That's dangerous. Regardless of the various arguments, an overwhelming portion of traditional Christianity believes that Sunday, again the first day of the week, has replaced the Sabbath. It's replaced the seventh day of the week. But can we find support for these views in Christ's own practice and in His instructions? In light of Jesus' clear teachings on the permanence of God's law, what do we find when it comes to His attitude toward the Sabbath day? Since the Gospels mentions the Sabbath nearly 50 times, we actually have an ample record of Christ's approach toward the day, toward the Sabbath day. So this is the first mention of the Sabbath in the life of Christ here in Luke chapter 4, verse 16, where we find that it was His custom to go into the synagogue on the Sabbath and to read, to worship. It was His normal activity. This is what He did normally because He believed in the sanctity of the Sabbath day. This was not an isolated incident. He would later continue to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath as well, and we could go to other scriptures like Mark 6, verse 2, or Luke 13, verse 10, and show that this was His practice. Immediately, Jesus began to use the Sabbath to proclaim the coming kingdom of God and to manifest His miraculous power as the Messiah. Notice here in verses 31 and 32 of Luke chapter 4, where it says, Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His Word was with authority. He spoke as one who knew what He was talking about.

Later on that same Sabbath day, Jesus went into Peter's house, where He healed Peter's mother-in-law of a fever. Let's see that as we drop down to verses 38 through 41. All those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Christ to Him. He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.

And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, You are the Christ, the Son of God. And He rebuking them did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

As the Savior, Jesus Christ understood the purpose of the Sabbath, that it was a perfectly appropriate time to bring His message of healing, of hope and redemption to humanity, and to live that message through His actions.

Interestingly, we later find there was also the Apostle Paul's custom to worship and teach in the synagogues on the Sabbath. And this was long after Christ had already died. The law wasn't nailed to the cross. It wasn't done away with, because in Acts 17, verses 2 and 3, we see that it was Paul's custom to worship and to teach in the synagogues on the Sabbath. And that was true of all of Christ's disciples. All of the apostles continued to keep the Sabbath day. Neither Paul nor Jesus ever so much as hinted to their listeners that they need not be there, or that they should worship on a different day. Where many people jump to wrong conclusions about Jesus and the Sabbath, it is in His confrontations with the scribes and the Pharisees. That's where they draw these wrong conclusions. These confrontations were never over whether or not to keep the Sabbath, only over on how the Sabbath should be kept. See, that's where the real controversy was in regard to the Pharisees and the Sadducees and Christ and the Sabbath day. It wasn't that the Sabbath should be kept or shouldn't be kept. It was how the Sabbath was to be observed. For example, Jesus boldly challenged the Jews concerning their interpretation of Sabbath observance by performing healings on the Sabbath. There are many scriptures in the Bible that we could turn to where Christ healed on the Sabbath. According to the Pharisees, rendering medical attention to someone, which would include healing someone, unless it was a life or death matter was prohibited on the Sabbath. So it would have been in their minds against God's law to heal the lame man on the Sabbath because it wasn't life or death. But again, it was their law. It was not God's law. Nowhere does God say it's prohibited to heal on the Sabbath day.

It's a wonderful thing to do good on the Sabbath. To heal someone is a beautiful thing and should be done on the Sabbath or any day, if one has the power to do that. In this regard, Jesus exposed their hypocrisy in that they saw nothing wrong with working to rescue an animal that fell into a pit on the Sabbath day. They didn't have a problem watering an animal on that day, yet they were condemning Him for helping a human being. And frankly, it was because they were jealous. They couldn't heal, but Christ could. And they were just looking for ways to incriminate Him. They were looking for ways to eventually kill Him, to murder Him.

Christ certainly realized that man is far greater than the worth of an animal. He would heal on the Sabbath day. He was rightfully angry at their inability to see that they placed their own traditions and interpretations over the true purpose of Sabbath observance. The Pharisees were so spiritually blind that they hated Christ for exposing their distortions of God's commands. On one occasion, you may remember how Jesus' disciples, as they walked through a field on the Sabbath day, picked handfuls of grain so that they would simply have something to eat. The disciples were not harvesting the field. They were merely grabbing a quick snack to take care of their hunger. That's all it was. And yet, the Pharisees insisted that what they did was unlawful, and that they were breaking the Sabbath. Jesus used an example from Scripture to show that the Spirit and the intent of the law were not broken, and that God's law allowed for mercy.

In this context, Jesus gives the true purpose of the Sabbath by stating here in Mark 2 that the Sabbath was made for man. The Sabbath was made for our benefit. And in this room, we have people who have observed the Sabbath for 40 and 50 years. Some of them, some a lot less, but some of the older ones here have been observing the Sabbath for many, many years. And there's been a great blessing in keeping the Sabbath. It has been a wonderful benefit to observe the Sabbath day. There are tremendous rewards in keeping God's Sabbath. I started observing the Sabbath in 1974, and I've been observing the Sabbath ever since. And it has truly been a delight for me personally. And I know that many others feel the same way here. It is possible to keep the Sabbath in today's society if you choose to do so. But it is a choice. It is a choice that you have to make, and you have to be willing to repent of breaking the Sabbath, of trampling on the Sabbath. In Isaiah 58, it says that if you will call the Sabbath a delight and honor God on this day, then He will respect and honor you. He will bless you. The Pharisees had reversed the priorities of the law of God. They had added so many meticulous regulations and traditions to the Sabbath commandment that trying to keep it as they demanded had become an enormous burden for people, rather than the blessing that God had intended it to be. Again, it is a great blessing. Jesus then claimed to have authority to say how the Sabbath should be observed. In verse 28, He said, therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. He shows us how to observe His Sabbath day. It is wonderful to do good on the Sabbath, but the Sabbath also is not to be a day of work. Six days shall you labor and do all of your work, the Scripture says. So people have to repent of working on the Sabbath. They have to stop their working on the Sabbath and begin to obey God. So it is clear by the biblical evidence that Jesus carefully observed the Sabbath as a day of rest and a day of worship. We, too, therefore, should carefully follow His example. For more information on the subject of the Sabbath, we do have a booklet entitled, Sunset to Sunset, God's Sabbath Rest. So it's at our booklet table. Feel free to pick up one of those booklets. It goes into a lot more detail than I have time to today and a lot more scriptures showing that the Sabbath really is something. It is a day that should be observed. We should honor God on this day. Now, what is Jesus Christ's plan for your success and future in the kingdom of God? That's an important question for us to ask. Does Christ have a plan for you? And if so, what is that plan for you?

So again, the question, what is Christ's plan for your success and future in God's kingdom? Salvation through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection is central to the gospel message. Jesus Christ died, was buried, and was resurrected so that we could inherit eternal life in the kingdom of God. Now, this astounding part of the gospel, the entering into the kingdom of God, is the aspect so few understand. And we covered this in other past kingdom of God seminars, what the kingdom of God is all about, what it means, how you can enter it, and so forth. But frankly, entering into the kingdom of God is synonymous with salvation. We all want to be saved, and that's what salvation is. It's entering into God's kingdom. If we do not enter into God's kingdom, then we will not be saved.

And of course, that's something yet future. Now, we can be sanctified and set apart by God now, but we're not yet saved until we enter the kingdom. We can have God's Spirit dwelling in us. We can be citizens of God's kingdom today, in a sense, but we are not fully born into the family of God and into the kingdom of God until we enter the kingdom of God. People need to understand that. That's sorely misunderstood in the world's religions today. Entering God's kingdom is synonymous with salvation. Without understanding this vital part of the gospel, one cannot understand what salvation is all about. So what will salvation, what will eternal life in the kingdom of God really mean to all those who receive it? Salvation is the transformation from a physical, mortal human to an immortal son of God.

This flesh must become spirit. We must be changed if we're going to enter into God's kingdom. Let's notice how the book of Hebrews expresses this. Hebrews chapter 2 verses 10 and 11, in bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Speaking of Christ, who suffered and died for us, both the one who makes men holy, speaking of Christ, and those who are made holy, speaking of repentant and converted human beings, they are of the same family. We are to enter into God's kingdom by literally being changed into spirit. No longer physical, no longer fleshly, but fully entering into God's kingdom by a transformation from flesh into spirit. Those who enter the kingdom of God are all of the same family, God's family. All are God's children. All are brought to glory a glorified state of immortal spirit, according to the scriptures.

This is what salvation is all about. Those who enter the kingdom of God will share even God's divine nature. The scripture tells us, for all eternity, we will become like God. God cannot sin. And when we are saved, we will no longer be able to sin either. We won't have any desire to sin. We will be born into God's family. We will be the children of God fully, and we will no longer sin. We will share God's divine nature, and God does not sin.

God will make those who enter His kingdom fully like His Son, Jesus Christ. Notice this in 1 John 3. John is explicit in this, where he says, Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, when Christ is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is, and we are to be like Him, the glorified Christ. That's what the Scripture teaches us. Yes, human beings who enter the kingdom of God will be given the glorious honor of being like the resurrected, like the glorified Jesus Christ. Notice here in Romans chapter 8, the Spirit itself bears witness with our Spirit, speaking of the Spirit in man, that we are the children of God. And if children, then we are heirs, we are heirs of God, and we are joint heirs with Christ. In other words, we will share with Christ the inheritance that He has. We will have that same inheritance as we will be born into the family of God. Christ was flesh here on this earth. He was resurrected and changed into spirit and is now at the right hand of God. And we will become like Him. We will all be glorified together at Christ's return. Those who are the called ones now, the firstfruits will be glorified at Christ's return. This is the awesome potential of all who receive eternal life as members of the family of God. This is the family that God is in the process of creating.

Now, this takes place when Christ returns at the last trumpet, and the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ in Revelation 11 verse 15. Those who are resurrected from mortal life to immortality will enter His kingdom and assist Christ in a 1,000-year reign on the earth.

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God reveals that Jesus Christ will set up His kingdom on the earth with His resurrected saints to give everyone the opportunity for eternal life. Some people will live over into the millennium. Some human beings will live into the millennium. Not all people will die, but billions of people will die. According to the book of Revelation, there will be billions of people that will die when God forces wrath out upon a sinning people that have not repented of their sins. Repentance just means to change. It means to stop. It means to stop breaking the Sabbath. It means to stop committing adultery. It means to stop lying. Stop stealing. Stop doing these things. That's what repentance is. And so, all must come to a state of repentance if they are to enter the kingdom of God.

God's desire is for you and for everyone to inherit the kingdom of God. The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, that everyone should repent and be born into the family of God. But God is not going to force people to repent. It's a choice. It's a choice that we have to make. And if you're being called now today, now is your day of salvation. Now is your time to repent. Many people are not being called now, but some are. And the Scripture clearly says many are called, but few are chosen. Because those who are called and don't respond will not be chosen. Only those who respond by obedience and by repentance will be saved at the return of Christ. So it is important that, again, that we do repent of our sins. God is desirous that we all enter His kingdom. The true gospel reveals that the saints, the faithful followers of Jesus Christ who are resurrected to eternal life at His return, will be actively involved in ruling with Christ in the kingdom of God when it is established. Revelation 5.10 shows that we will rule and reign with Christ. Prophecies in the book of Isaiah reveal that Christ will begin working with the human beings who are left alive after His return to teach them His ways. Isaiah shows that God's way will go forth throughout the whole earth, and everyone will come to know the true God at that time. The resurrected saints will assist Christ in bringing about complete spiritual and physical healing of all the nations. Jesus Christ's faithful followers, now given eternal life, changed in the Spirit, will assist Him as kings and priests in the kingdom of God. They will become Spirit. They will live forever with God. You can go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and read all about that. It's the resurrection chapter. This is God's incredible promise to us who are being called today. Revelation 21 verse 7, He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God, and He shall be My Son. Again, we will be born into the family of God, into the glorious kingdom of God. So what does this inheritance include? Hebrews chapter 2 verses 6 through 8 indicates that our ultimate destiny is to participate in rulership over the entire universe as glorified, immortal sons of God. It doesn't get any better than that, does it? When we hear and understand the gospel of the kingdom of God, what does Jesus Christ expect us to do? Again, He wants us to repent and believe the good news about His kingdom. This is a group of people that have humbled themselves and yielded themselves. They're not perfect human beings. We're still in the flesh. When we talk about human nature and how carnal and how corrupt it is, none of us here profess to be perfect, but we are striving to be repentant. God grants repentance to His children. We meet here every Sabbath, every Saturday at 10 a.m. and anyone here is certainly welcome to join us. We would love to have you here, each Sabbath, with us as we strive to draw closer to God.

We are striving to truly live by every word of God. We believe in the good news of His coming kingdom. The kingdom is something that we must enter. It's a literal kingdom, accepting Jesus' command to repent and believe this message. This good news is the first step.

We must turn to God for forgiveness and reconciliation through Christ and begin to live by the laws of the kingdom of God as they were taught by Jesus Christ. Those who refuse to live God's holy way of life will be refused entrance into the kingdom of God. They will not be given eternal life. If now is your day of salvation, now is your time to repent. If God is drawing you now, now is your time to respond to Him and obey Him and become like Him. To enter the kingdom, we must gain a proper outlook, a humble, teachable, childlike attitude accompanied by real repentance, by baptism, by the receiving of God's Holy Spirit. We have a booklet entitled The Road to Eternal Life. The road to eternal life that goes into this subject in greater detail. Seeking God's kingdom must become our highest priority no matter what the difficulties that we face. Sometimes it's our own families. No, they don't want us to keep God's laws. They just simply don't want us to. The Bible says in Acts 14 verse 22 that we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. There will be trials. There will be tribulations in this life. Jesus encourages us to overcome these difficulties by keeping the kingdom of God. As our primary goal, He says, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all these things will be added unto you. Christ urges us to pray for God's kingdom to come. We should pray daily, thy kingdom come. When our lives are devoted to seeking God's kingdom, our outlook will be like that of the patriarchs. As recorded in Hebrews chapter 11, notice these inspiring words about their orientation here in Hebrews chapter 11. These all died in faith, not having received the promises. That is, the promises of the kingdom of God. They haven't yet received them. They await in the grave. They're awaiting a resurrection to life. But having been seen from afar off, we're assured of them. They embrace them. They embrace these promises. Like so many have embraced these promises here today. They've confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. You have to be different to obey and follow God. You can't be just like everyone else. We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. The patriarchs considered themselves strangers and pilgrims because they looked forward to God's kingdom and they were willing to be different. They were willing to stand out. Their lives were centered on that kingdom, not on their physical material life. God reveals His wonderful truth to those He is calling now. Jesus Christ said His message would be preached at the end time before His Second Coming. Frankly, today you are hearing this message preached. The Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Matthew 24, verse 14, in this Gospel, this Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come. So the United Church of God is committed to preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to this world. You know, we're a small group. We're trying the best we can. We have little power. But God, through His Spirit, can give us all the power we need to fulfill this, along with other true believers who are also preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Again, I mentioned Matthew 6, 33. It is our desire to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, to become like God, to reflect His character in the way we live our lives.

So if we seek God with all of our heart, soul, and might, it will be God's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. It is a promise from God's holy Word. Now, today we sincerely hope the information that we presented has been educational, that it's been inspiring to you. Furthermore, we hope that you take the necessary steps to follow up on God's wonderful calling. We've taught some things today that mainstream Christianity doesn't teach. We believe it does make a difference which day we observe, which day is sanctified and made holy.

If you need more information about anything that was presented today, I'll be glad to answer your questions. I'll be around here for about an hour to answer your questions. Additionally, the booklets I mentioned and many more are available on our information table. You can also go to our website at ucg.org and you can find all of these booklets. You can download them on your mobile device. We have them in many different forms. Finally, you are very welcome to join us each week right here for our regular weekly Sabbath service. So, I'd like to thank all of you for attending today. It does tell me something that you're willing to do something different. You know, most people we sent these invitations to didn't come. Most of them did not come here today, but you're here today. Perhaps God is calling you to a closer relationship with Him. If I can be a help in that relationship, please by all means contact me. If you'd like me to visit you at your home, I'll be glad to do that. I do make house calls and I'd be glad to come by and visit. So, again, thank you so much for visiting today. So, now I'd like to ask Mr. Hopper to close our seminar today.