Keeping a Positive Outlook on the Work of God

As I reflect on the past 40 years of the Church, what I distinctly remember is that we've had quite a number of trials. Now, I hate to tell you that, but that is the case. Look back to when I came into the Church, it seems like that it's been regularly a trial here or there. Some of you've been around for a while. Remember this, and this is one thing that sticks in my mind. One thing that impressed me about Mr. Herbert Armstrong was that he seemed always to take a very positive approach, even during those times of crisis that we've faced in the Church.

If you look, reflect back on him, and the way he was as a person. Again, he was one who took a very positive approach when he was faced with a serious crisis. You may remember he would say, every setback means that the work is going to be propelled forward. You see, he didn't look at a trial as a setback, but as an opportunity to go forward. And, you know, he said that on many occasions. And remember, he said it's like the cocking of a gun for the work he said was going to shoot ahead.

And as surely as he said it, brethren, God would bless the work of the Church each time, and we would find that we would be better off after the trial than we were before the trial. Because the work, brethren, the work of God is a work of faith. And we must look through spiritual eyes to keep from becoming discouraged when we hit snags in the Church. And unfortunately, sometimes we look at it through physical eyes. We don't look at it through spiritual eyes. You know, in order to look at things the way that Mr. Armstrong looked at them, we need to look through them with spiritual eyes, brethren, and to realize that a setback is just an opportunity to propel forward and to do better within the work.

You know, we need, brethren, and I want to talk about this the remainder of the sermon here today, we need to learn to view the work of God from a positive perspective always, you know, when we go through trials and difficulties. In other words, let's not get down and out and woe is me, you know, a kind of mentality as people can do when they get into trials. But let's realize again that God is about ready to propel us ahead.

You know, we look in Matthew chapter 15. I'm not going to turn there, but it talks about how that the Father is the vine dresser and that Jesus Christ is the vine. And sometimes within the church we find that God does trim the vine. And what happens after the vine is trimmed. And of course, this is merely, again, an analogy here. Well, when you prune a tree, it grows out more robustly later. It actually grows faster, and that's the way Mr. Armstrong viewed setbacks within the church. Let's go to Matthew chapter 13, though, in verse 31. And remember what Jesus Christ said here in this particular chapter.

He talks about a number of parables. He talked about the parable of leaven in verse 33 of how the King of God is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leaven. You know, the eventuality is that God is going to, you know, in fact, have His way of life throughout the entire world. But let's notice in verse 31. And it says in another parable, He put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds.

And you probably have seen mustard seeds. It's very, very tiny. And it says, which indeed is the least of all the seeds, but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. You know, sometimes you get a chance to look on the Internet, just punch in what it mentions here about this mustard seed and look up about a mustard tree and how large they can be. Some of them can be very huge, very tall trees with branches that again stretch out. Well, that's what God intended to show us, that although we are small, brethren, as God's people upon the face of the earth, we are probably next to nothing compared to six to seven billion people upon this planet.

You know, we're just a miniscule group of people. But eventually, God's church, brethren, will ultimately encompass the entire world in the kingdom of God. You know, God, brethren, will make it grow. Now, He's not going to make it grow all at once, brethren, but He's going to make it grow. You know, sometimes there will be trials, and we should not despair or become discouraged. You know, the work does take three steps forward. Remember Mr. Armstrong talking about this as well, and sometimes one or two steps backward. But always, brethren, we are progressing. Always, we are going forward. You know, our job, brethren, is to preach the gospel to the whole world, and brethren, that is a big job, and we've got to keep after it as God's people.

You know, when I ask you the question here, do you think God is ever discouraged with His work that He's doing? No. You think God is ever discouraged? No, probably we would say, well, no, He's never discouraged.

No, I think sometimes God can be disappointed in us. I don't think He's discouraged in the work that He does at all, but He can be disappointed with us. But, you know, you get discouraged in your life. Have you ever become so discouraged that you quit something? That you stop doing something, even though you knew it was a worthy thing for you to do? Well, what if God was like us?

What if He was like us? You know, if God got discouraged, and He threw in the towel, and He said, I'm finished with this. You know, if so, at what point would you like God to give up?

When would you have liked Him to give up? You know, God lost, as it were, the first two human beings He placed upon the earth, Adam and Eve. Would you want Him to give up working with humans because of that? And so God says, okay, forget that. You know, that didn't work. But, no, God did not do that. He didn't become discouraged by that, but He continued on. You know, God's word was preached in the time before the Flood. But by Genesis 6, we read how Noah was the only one that was righteous upon the face of the earth. And he was called the eighth preacher of righteousness.

And that says to me, brethren, that there were seven others who preached as well.

They preached during that whole time, and here Noah was the eighth preacher, and no one listened to them, and no one listened to Noah. And we know the story about how God sealed up eight people in that ark in the flood chain. Would you want God, brethren, then to stop working with human beings at that time? Okay, Noah, once you guys are gone, I'm finished with human beings. I don't want to work with you guys anymore. Would we want him to stop? Would we want him to say, okay, Noah was the only one righteous on the earth? Why don't you go ahead and let him drown, too? You know, God called Israel, and they were a couple of million people upon the face of the whole earth. And even then, God lost most of them as he contended with them in the wilderness. And God called them stiff-necked Israelites. Well, brethren, then, would you want God to stop working with humans?

No, I don't think so. I don't think any step along the way, particularly with Adam and Eve, we wouldn't want that to happen, would we? Because we wouldn't exist today. We wouldn't be here today if God got so discouraged with human beings that he stopped working with human beings.

Well, brethren, when God has worked with mankind, he always has used human instrumentality.

That's hard to believe, isn't it? You know, God was not able to get Adam and Eve to obey him.

You know, in the case of Noah, only the eight boarded that ark. And with Israel, who knows if those were really ever converted. I suspect it was probably just a tiny handful. Of course, Moses and Aaron and Joshua, we know, and Caleb. But who else? Who were some of the others? We don't know. Probably a few people that were involved with that. And so, despite that, God continued to use human instrumentality. And he's always, brethren, sent someone to preach or teach. And, you know, God has been patient with mankind. And I have to ask myself this question. I won't ask you of it, but you can join in if you'd like. What right do we have to get? What right do I have to get discouraged, brethren, and give up?

If God has been so patient with human beings. You know, I don't think I have a right. I don't think we have a right. I think since God has given of himself, not only by being patient with mankind, but by sending his, the Father sending his only begotten Son to die for us, we don't have a right to get discouraged and to give up as God's people. You know, sometimes I think, you know, in this world that we live in, the earth is filled with a bunch of complainers. You ever felt that way about the way people are? They complain about everything. You know, think about it. It wasn't that long ago when nobody had air conditioning.

It wasn't that long ago when very few people had cars. You know, it wasn't that long. I remember riding in an old Buick one time, and boy, that car was as hot as a firecracker. You know, it had these chrome on it, and the inside was beautiful, but the only way you got air conditioning was to go 60 miles an hour with all four windows down. But, you know, we complain so much, don't we?

You know, I look at people, you know, back in the 1800s, and those people, you know, they rest, I think, better than we do. And when I look at some of the period pieces about, you know, the Old West days, you know, some of these fellows wearing suits, and of course, having a gun on each hip as well, I think, man, you must be really hot. But, you know, this is the way people were back then, you know. But sometimes, I think, we again have it too soft, and we complain too easily. What if you were Elijah, and God gave you a job? You know, like I said, God uses human instrumentality, and God used Elijah. Let's go to 1 Kings 16 and notice some of the things that it mentions over here about Elijah. But in 1 Kings 16 and on down here to verse 29, it says, in the 38th year of Asa, king of Judah, Ahab, the son of Amri, became king over Israel, and Ahab reigned over Israel and Samaria 22 years. Now, Ahab here was a very wicked king. And it says, now, Ahab, the son of Amri, did evil in the sight of the Eternal more than all who were before him. Very wicked individual. And it came to pass as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Bebak, that he took as wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethebo, king of the Sidonians, and he went and served Baal and worshipped him. And then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the eternal God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. What a reputation! He did more than all that were before him. And he was, again, a very wicked person. And King Ahab, by the way, and Israel at the time, unfortunately, are typical of how people reject God today. You know, they were no different than our people today in that sense. They rejected God.

And Elijah, by the way, was the prophet, God's prophet then. Let's go to chapter 18 in verses 1 through 4. I won't read all of this, but I want to show you the things that, again, Elijah had to go through. And in verses 1 through 4, it says, It came to pass, after many days, that the word of the eternal king to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I'll send rain on the earth. And so Elijah went to present himself to Ahab, and there was a sephiric famine in Samaria. Remember, Elijah had told Ahab it wasn't going to rain anymore, except by his word. In Ahab, it says, it had called Obadiah, who was in charge of this house. Now Obadiah feared the eternal greatly. For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the eternal. So she had launched a wholesale attack on the ministers of God, if you will. And she was slaying the priests of the prophets of Israel. And it says that Obadiah had taken 100 prophets and hidden them, 50 to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water. And so here, you know, the true prophets of God at that time were in the position of being put to death, if they were to show their faces. And they were hiding out in a cave and eating bread and water. You can imagine again, if you'd been one of those prophets at that time. You're doing the work of God and your reward is you end up in a cave, eating bread and water, and basically running for your life. And so here, only a hundred prophets of all Israel remain because most of the people had turned to Baal worship. And you know what? They weren't listening to Elijah. They weren't listening to what Elijah had to say, who was the prophet of God to Israel. In verse 21, he came to them, and Elijah came to all the people and said, how long will you falter between two opinions? If the eternal is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him. But the people answered him, not a word.

Which is as though they should have known, and I think that, you know, certainly they should have known that they shouldn't be halting between two opinions when the other opinion had to do with Baal worship. I mean, what decision is there? It's amazing, again, what he faced here in working with ancient Israel. And in verse 22, Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet of the eternal. But Baal's prophets are 450 men. You know, I'm sure he felt quite intimidated, you know, being in the midst of, you know, Israel like that, that circumstance, that he's a lone wolf, as it were, in Israel all by himself. But, you know, that's what prophets do, right? Prophets are born to be able to stand up under such pressure. Are they born that way, brethren? No, they're not. Elijah was a human being, too. And it wasn't easy for him to stand alone. It wasn't easy at all. In verse 23, therefore, let them give us two bulls, Elijah said, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it, and I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. And so this is what they were going to do. And then you call on the name of your gods, and I'll call on the name of the eternal, and the god who answers by fire, he is God. So all the people answered and said it is well spoken. I wonder how many of them had confidence that Baal was going to answer them. You know, they were the establishment religion of their day. And Elijah was challenging them. And you know the story. They laid their bullet on the altar, and they wailed, and they cried out. You know, they cut themselves, they threw themselves on the altar. They shouted to Baal for Baal to hear them. They, in fact, were so, you know, excited, and their worship of Baal that they tore down the altar, and nothing happened.

And Elijah actually had to repair the altar, and then he had them put, again, you know, his bullock on the altar. They poured, he had them pour water over the sacrifice, over the wood of the altar, and there was a trench that was around it that was filled up with water. And it was done three times. Let's go on down here to verse 36. And it says, it came to pass. At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God and Israel, and I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. And hear me, O Eternal, hear me, that this people may know that you are the Eternal God, and that you have turned their hearts back to you again. And then the fire of the Eternal fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones with the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, the Eternal, he is God. The Eternal, he is God. And you know the story about how that Elijah commanded them to seize these prophets of Baal, and he put all of them to death. You know, what a tremendous victory that day for Elijah. And you know, we know that after this, in verse 41 on down, where the drought ends, where Elijah prays for rain, and rain comes to Israel. But this was a tremendous miracle that happened to convince these people. And when Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done, how he killed all the prophets, she sent a messenger to Elijah and said, you know, Elijah, you're a dead man. And you know, in this particular case, Elijah, I guess, believed Jezebel more than she believed Ahab, or he believed Ahab. He was fearful of Jezebel. And you remember the story about how he ran to Beersheba. He tried to get as far away from that place as he could. Now, let's go over to chapter 19. Chapter 19. In verse 1, Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had executed all the prophets with a sword.

And, of course, again, she sent the messenger, you know, as we mentioned. And this, of course, caused Elijah to be fearful. And he ran. In verse 4, it says, But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree, and he prayed that he might die. And he said, It is enough. Now eternal take my life, for I am no better than my father's.

And so, you know, here he is. He runs, you know, out to this wilderness place, brethren, exhausted.

Imagine how it would be if we had such a battle, you know, here in the United States with the religions of this world and society to witness this day of heaviness in terms of his duty.

He was probably discouraged beyond nature, too. He didn't have anybody to pat him on the back and say, Well done, Elijah. You had a good day today. But he ran, as we know. And he basically collapsed from what we see here, and he fell asleep. And an angel came to him and fed him, took care of him. That shows how God does see what is done here upon the earth. Human beings do not always see, you know, but God sees, and God took care of Elijah. In a way, we see he was very tender with Elijah, even though he was going to say something to him later that was corrective. You read on down here in this account, remember that on three occasions, God says to Elijah, What are you doing here? What are you doing here?

You know, Elijah's work was not in the wilderness. Elijah's work was in Israel. Elijah's work was not with lizards and scorpions. Elijah's work was with the people of Israel. And God says, What are you doing here?

And in verse 18, let's go on down here to verse 18.

And so he arose, and he ate, and he drank, and he went in the strength of that food 40 days and 40 nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. Now, here he's over a month journey now away from Jezebel. You see, he was really, again, fearful of what was going to happen to him. And it says, And there he went into a cave and spent the night in that place. And behold, the word of the Eternal came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? And in verse 10, he said, I've been very zealous for the Lord, God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, killed your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life. They want to kill me as well, Elijah said. Now, let's go on down here in verse 18. You know, Elijah thought he was again alone. And that's the biggest mistake, brethren, we as human beings make. We're never alone. Christ, you know, said, remember when he was on the stake and he had given his life, he felt, you know, God, you know, regressing from him, as though God the Father walked off in the universe, you know, and he could not bear to see his Son having to bear the sins of the world. And yet, he had never felt that feeling before, that particular time that he had to go through. And so, brethren, God is always with us. God was with Elijah. And not only that, he was not the only one. And, you know, Elijah was irrational in this case because he was not thinking through what he was saying. Because down in verse 18, you know, God says, yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal in every mouth that has not kissed him. And so, there were seven thousand other people that were supportive of Elijah, that had not bowed their knee to Baal. And that God, in other words, in Israel, had preserved a remnant who were faithful. You know, it wasn't a lot of people. There were seven thousand, as it mentions here. And maybe there were more when it comes to children and that sort of thing. But very few compared to the millions that should have been following God in Israel. You'll think about, upon the earth today, how many are upon the earth that really, truly want to obey God now? Personally, I think it's probably, you know, not into the hundreds of thousands, but I believe it may be in the tens of thousands of people upon the earth that you might say haven't bowed their knee to Baal either. But Elijah had become discouraged. He became discouraged about what he was doing. He felt he was all by himself. You know, as we sometimes do when we do the work. And when we think people don't respond, people are not listening.

You know, let me tell you, rather than working with human beings and, you know, working with people is a difficult job because you can't always see the impact of what you do. And that's pretty difficult sometimes. And it's hard to carry you through thinking, well, I'll see it later, especially when you're going through some heavy duty difficulties and trials. But, brethren, we need to realize that God always has a remnant.

He always has a remnant. And with Israel, he said, look, I've got 7,000. This remnant over here, they haven't bowed their knees to Baal. And, brethren, there are people in the world today, even though we may think no one wants to obey God and no one wants to respond, there are people in the world today that will respond to the gospel. But we have to preach it. We have to get out there and do our part. You know, how would you like to be, brethren, in the shoes of Elijah, though?

He had to do pretty hard work, didn't he? Wasn't easy for him.

Remember, God performed the miracles for Elijah. And, you know, Elijah, though, allowed himself to waver. He allowed himself to doubt. And, brethren, we need to catch hold of ourselves, lest we doubt as well. I know Mr. Armstrong used to talk about how we need to give sermons in the local church areas about not doubting, but to keep the faith, brethren.

You remember the account here? I won't go through it, but it shows how God was forced, you might say, with what happened to Elijah to choose Elisha to replace him.

And, you know, quite frankly, God would have backed Elijah if Elijah had continued on.

But we know, eventually, Elijah was taken up and deposited somewhere else, and Elijah's work began. His responsibility began. So, brethren, we are sent to preach the gospel in this modern world, and we can use television, we can use the printed words, we can use the internet. You and I can preach the gospel and never even leave our house and think about that.

You and I can have an impact, you know, by not having to go through these things that Elijah went through. Elijah had to deal with flesh and blood human beings face to face.

You and I don't have to do that. But how'd you like to, again, be in Elijah's shoes and be given a work of God to do? Well, brethren, we have a work of God to do ourselves right now. And, you know, God could require things of us as he did of Elijah, but he isn't at this particular time doing that. Let's go and notice another prophet, Micaiah the prophet, over here in 1 Kings 22, verse 7. You know, this was a time when the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, went down to the king of Israel, who was Ahab, and he wanted to take Ramaph Gillian from the king of Syria because it belonged to him. And he consulted with their 400 prophets of Baal, and all of those prophets told them, go up to the battle because, you know, Ramaph Gillian is going to be delivered into your hands. You know, they, of course, were much like the prophets, the seers of the time of Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar conferred with in terms of more or less being yes men. They were afraid to say something negative to King Nebuchadnezzar. Well, these were yes men that were surrounding, you know, King Ahab at that particular time. And they all said, yeah, go up to battle. You're going to win this. There's no way you can't win this. Well, let's go down here to verse 7 of 1 Kings, chapter 22. It says, and Jehoshaphat said, is there not still a prophet of the Eternal here that we may inquire of him? You know, this is after, again, the prophets of Baal are consulted. They say, yeah, go on and go up. And so the King of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is still one man, Micaiah, the son of Imla, by whom we may inquire of the Eternal, but I hate him because he does not prophesy good concerning me but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, let not the king say such things. You know, don't say such things. Well, you know, with Ahab, obviously his level of righteousness was nil. Absolutely nothing. You know, isn't that the truth about God's servants, though, when people don't want to hear what they have to say?

You know, sometimes when people go and they seek counsel, oftentimes they go and talk to the person that agrees with them. Is that counsel, brethren? No, that's not really counsel. If you find somebody that you know agrees with you, you know, you better consider what you're being told.

Now, you may be right. I'm not saying that you wouldn't be, but on the same token, you better be careful about sort of caressing someone who is going to counsel you to do the thing that you want to do because it might be wrong. But he thought of Micaiah, look, he always prophesies things bad about me that are going to happen. I don't like him because he doesn't tell me what I want to hear. On down here to verse 15, it says, Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramath-Gilead, or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Go and prosper, for the eternal will deliver it into the hand of the king. But Micaiah was just telling him what he wanted to hear. Anyway, and you can go down and read some of the things that it says about a lying spirit and all of that. But, you know, as we go on further, it says, So the king said to him, How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth and the name of the eternal? And then he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep. They had no shepherd, and the eternal said, These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me but evil? And so he, of course, rightly predicted what he would say about him.

You know, Ahab didn't want to obey God. It's the rare person upon the face of the earth who truly wants to obey God, even if the truth goes against what they want to do. It's rare.

So, brethren, as I look in this audience, you are rare birds in this world. There are not many people like you who want to obey God. No matter what the consequences may be in this world, you're willing to again swim against the tide of this world, the liberalism of this world. You know, you are a rare people and a very prized people in the eyes of God. But, you know, here, look at Micaiah, brethren. He's talking to the king of Israel and the king of Judah, and they are not responding. They're not listening to the prophet of God here in this particular manner. Now, to verse 26. And so the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and return him to Ammon, the governor of the city, and to Joash the king of King's son, and set him up in the Hyatt Regency. Doesn't say that, does it? And say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread, the bread of affliction, and the water of affliction, until I come in peace. And then Micaiah said, If you ever return in peace, the eternal has not spoken by me, and he said, Take heed, all you people. Listen to what I'm saying.

So, brethren, how would you like to be Micaiah the prophet, having to go preach the gospel?

Yeah, but king, I was sent of God to preach this to you. Yeah. Put him in prison. You see, I think we have it easier today, don't you think, as God's people? Let's go to Ezekiel 2. Ezekiel 2. Remember this, brethren.

Before God punishes a people, He always warns them. He always warns them.

He did so, remember, with Cain, when he slew Abel. Before that, he warned them. Look, sin lies at the door. He did that with the world through Noah. And you can look at, again, through the ages from the time of Adam onward, that God has always had somebody there to warn people that the way that they were going was going to lead to destruction.

Ezekiel 2, verse 1, it says, And he said to me, talking to Elijah, Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.

And then the Spirit entered me when he spoke to me, and sent me on my feet. And I heard him, who spoke to me. And he said to me, Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that is rebelled against me, and they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, Thus says the eternal God. In other words, God is sending them to a rebellious people that are not going to hear what he says, and are not going to put into practice what he says. They were rebellious people. I don't know about this time, brethren, that we're living in right now, but it talks about sometimes the scriptures about how Satan is the prince of the power of the air. And, you know, at different times in the history of the world, it seems that there's a time of eruption of rebellion around the world. And I don't know if this is a pattern here that we're seeing in Egypt, but it very well could be. A time of conflict. A time which must come before World War III comes. In order to have a World War III, you have to have people having the wrong attitudes and battling with one another. And here in Egypt now, the Egyptians are battling against one another. Same is true in other countries in the Middle East at this time. Rebellion, as it were, is in the air. And, you know, we've got to be careful and guard against the spirit that does work, brethren, in the children of disobedience, and that is the spirit of Satan the devil. So God says, I'm going to send you to rebellious people. Verse 5, as for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are a rebellious house. Now, do you think God thinks they're rebellious? I mean, He keeps saying it all the time, doesn't He? They're a rebellious house. And it says, yet they will know that a prophet has been among them. I want them to know a prophet has been among them. And it says, and you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or be afraid of their words, though briars of thorns are with you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak my words to them, and whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious, like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you. And now, when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of book was in it. And He spread it before me, and there was writing on the inside and the outside, and written on it were lamentations, and mourning and woe were the problems that were going to happen to ancient Israel.

So, brethren, what do we see here? God gave Ezekiel the task of going to teach, to preach to, if you want to call it that, prophesy to people that God knew were rebellious. And He said, I want you to do this whether they listen or not. And what I do want them to know is that, when you're done, a prophet has been among them. And so, that was the job that He had.

And, like Ezekiel, had to do a lot of things, brethren. You know, sometimes we are discouraged when we don't see new people come to the church, brethren. Well, brethren, we're not in charge of the roster in the church. You and I aren't. We can't add one person to the church. We can't convert one person. Only God can do that. God takes care of that. What we have the job of doing, brethren, is preaching in season and out of season. What we have is the job of preaching the gospel of the kingdom to this world. And, you know, there's a lot of scriptures I could go through to show what, you know, Ezekiel went through. There are many, in fact, throughout the book of Ezekiel here showing, again, he went to an impudent, rebellious people. But all that shows, brethren, that his job of preaching the gospel was very difficult, very hard. And talk about feeling like you're alone. He was alone. He was alone. And so, brethren, let's look at what God required of Ezekiel here and let's realize that, in a way, we have it soft. So let's appreciate the work that we have to do and go forward with a great deal of positiveness.

How about Jeremiah? What about Jeremiah? Let's go to the book of Jeremiah here in verse 5 of chapter 1, the first part of Jeremiah over here that God, you know, gives to this young man, Jeremiah, probably about 17 or 18 years of age when God began to work with him. Kind of hard to believe, isn't it? Well, some of you that are 17 or 18 years of age, maybe 20 or 21, imagine if this was dropped in your lap. It would be a pretty heady thing. I would imagine that you weren't careful. But on the other hand, it would be a very humbling thing, a very difficult thing. In first chapter of Jeremiah, it says, God says to Jeremiah, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I ordained you a prophet to the nations.

And then said I, Ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.

But the eternal said to me, Do not say, I am a youth. For you shall go to all through whom I send you. And whatever I command you in you shall speak. And do not be afraid of their faces.

For I am with you to deliver you, says the eternal. Then the eternal put forth his hand, he touched my mouth. And the eternal said to me, Behold, I put my words in your mouth.

And so God worked very directly with Jeremiah here, down in verse 17. It says, Therefore, prepare yourself and arise, and speak to them. All I command you, do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them. You know, God was saying, basically, you better buck up, Jeremiah. Don't look fearful before these people, lest I, you know, get dismayed by you. You know, and what you do. On down to verse 19, it says, They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the eternal, to deliver you. And again, you can read in the book of Jeremiah what Jeremiah ended up happening to him. You know, he was, he faced many of the same things that Micaiah, the prophet, faced. And yet, God gave it here to a young man to do it. You know, an opportunity here that was a very difficult job. But God knew about those that Jeremiah were going to preach to, that they wouldn't listen to him either. And he told Jeremiah, look, you get ahead like a flint. It doesn't, things bounce off of you. You don't let things affect you. You don't let things discourage you. You know, Jeremiah, you know, was going to have to fight every step along the way, but God was going to help him and fight for him. You know, in spite of what they face, brethren, these men like, you know, Ezekiel and Jeremiah are in this book, brethren. All the minor prophets are in this book because they move forward in spite of the difficulties that they face every step along the way. They never stop.

You know, someday there may be a book in this that could very well be written about us.

We've often thought about the book of Acts, you know, how the book of Acts might be expanded to include this time of the church in the kingdom, and we'll be able to read about, you know, the Acts of God's people through the ages. Now, that's probably going to be a pretty big book if it's finished, but it would be an interesting read, wouldn't it, to go through and see what God's people had to go through. So, brethren, God expected his servants to go and do the work no matter what. No matter what. There was no time to weep. There was no time to cry, but they had to go forth, brethren, and do the work.

You know, God expected Elijah to go forward as we read about his account. God expected John the Baptist to go forward. You know, John the Baptist walked around in camel's hair and ate locusts in the wilderness, and they called him a wild man. That's what he did.

And, you know, Jesus said there was no one more righteous than John the Baptist, that he was a great man, no one greater than him. Ezekiel had to eat a scroll. Ezekiel had to lay on his left thigh for 390 days and 40 days on his right side for the sin of Israel. He had to shave his head and his beard and divide his hair as a prophecy concerning the last days in Ezekiel 5.

I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd want to lay on my side for 390 days.

I wouldn't even choose the 40 days, quite frankly. I wouldn't want to have to go through that.

God hasn't asked us to do that, has he? He's asked us to support the work through our substance and to help to get the work done, to go out and do the work. Hosea had to marry a prostitute, symbolizing Israel had been unfaithful to God. I don't know about you, but I'm glad I'm not required to do that. That would be a very hard thing. Daniel had to endure being cast into the alliance den for his work. I haven't really fallen into any alliance dens in the last 40 years.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were cast into a fiery furnace as a part of the work they did.

Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, and God delivered him out of the mouth of the great fish so he could go and preach in Nineveh. God hasn't required that of us, either. And, you know, Jonah's story will never be forgotten. You know, the world out there is oftentimes like a barrier to us in going and trying to preach the gospel. And, you know, if you look at all those barriers out there, eventually, you know, you say, well, I can't do this or I can't do that. You know, some people have the can't-dos, you know, as though everything's an obstacle in front of them. You know, sometimes you talk about doing something and somebody says, well, we can't do that because of this. We can't do that because of that. You can't do, you know, the other thing you suggest because of this. You know, if we continue to make excuses for why we can't do something, well, we'll never do anything. Ecclesiastes 11, verses 4-6, says, "...he who observes the wind will not sow." You know, if you're a farmer, you're going to look at the wind all the time and say, well, there's a breeze out there. I'd better not go out there and be throwing my grain around. "...he who regards the clouds will not reap." You know, I'd better not go out and do any harvest because, I mean, the clouds are coming, it might rain. And in verse 5, "...as you do not know what is the way of the wind." And it says, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child. So, you do not know the works of God who makes everything. In the morning, it says, "...sow your seed. In the evening do not withhold your hand. For you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good." In other words, brethren, as we apply this principle to the preaching of the gospel, let's just simply go do it. Let's go do it. Let's go out and let's preach the gospel in whatever way we can to this world, this dying world that is out there. We must keep doing the work no matter what it looks like, no matter how hard it may seem or be even. We must do the work even if people don't respond to us. You know, the story of the prophets, most of the prophets is not only did the people not respond to them, but they put them to death. Jesus said to the scribes of the Pharisees, "...woe to you, for you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them." And he in fact said that because they built the tombs of the prophets, that they were like their fathers, that they killed the prophets. You know, when Jesus Christ came preaching the creator of all mankind, the creator of all perfection that exists, did they listen to him? Let's go to John 6, John 6 and verse 41. It says, "...the Jews then complained about him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven." And so they're complaining against Jesus. And they said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, and whose father and mother we know? They began to put him down. How has it been that he says, I have come down from heaven? And Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Do not murmur among yourselves.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. In other words, the murmurs of those who had not been drawn to Christ by the Father.

And so they murmured against Jesus down in verse 64. And it says, "...but there were some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were, who did not believe, and who would betray him. And he said, Therefore I have said to you that no one could come to me unless it has been granted to him by my Father. And it says, From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. And then Jesus said to the twelve, Do you also want to go away? Do you want to go away too? So people didn't listen to Christ either. And some forsook him. And at the end, all of them forsook Jesus Christ. All of them did. None of the future apostles, brethren, were at the tomb. But they, remember, were afraid. You know, they were afraid that they would be lumped in with Jesus Christ. You know, at the end of Jesus Christ's ministry, brethren, there were altogether, as it says in the book of Acts, 120 people. All the miracles, the healings, the demons being cast out, people being raised from the dead, you know, feeding of the masses on two occasions, there were only 120 who believed enough to be there on Pentecost that day. At that point, of course, the disciples, when they were gathered, those 120 that were there, didn't have a concept of really what was going to happen. Christ told them to stay in Jerusalem until power came from on high, but, you know, they didn't really, probably, fully know what that meant and what it entailed. But this small, fledgling group of people gathered on Pentecost, and God sent His Holy Spirit to them, and then the church began to blossom and grow very rapidly. In other words, there was a period of time where it begins to grow, it begins to increase, and things begin to go forward in terms of growth. And rather than I've seen these things also through the years in the church, sometimes we'll have periods of dearth, but then there'll be a burst of growth that will take place. And so we have those transition times where the work of God goes forward, and God's work will go forward. There's no doubt about that. I think we are reaching a level of saturation now where we're going to start hearing from more people that are responding to the gospel. I'm seeing that happen, by the way, in the different areas here, where people are making contact with us and trying to establish some sort of relationship with us. We need to be aware, brethren, though, that God doesn't play the numbers game. God doesn't play the numbers game like carnal-minded people. If we go by the numbers, brethren, the church of God hasn't got a chance. We can be stamped out just like that. We're vastly outnumbered. And in the end, remember, the church ends up fleeing into the wilderness, pursued by the devil, trying to stamp the church out, and then goes to make war with the remnant of her seed. We need to remember the example of Gideon's army.

You know, God doesn't need tens of thousands to do his work. He really doesn't. And if there are, though, tens of thousands, brethren, be thankful that you're involved in it. I'm thankful. You know, one of the things I said to many of the ministers when we were there in Cincinnati is that, you know, everybody says, said, well, I'm glad to see you. Well, I said it's good to be seen anywhere, isn't it? It was good to see so many of the men and the women that we have known through the years. My wife and I have many friendships that, but as you know, we're all scattered out and we don't see each other very much. I wish we did. But, brethren, let's not again play the numbers game. We need to hold fast even if the numbers were to become reduced.

You know, we have lost some of our ministers by a third, but God can still do the work with two-thirds of the ministry. You know, we've lost some of our membership, but God can strengthen the 70 percent that remain to be stronger and to be more dedicated. So, let's not despair, but let's be encouraged. Let's go to 2 Timothy chapter 4.

In verse 9, you'll hear Paul says, in verse 9, he says, Be diligent to come to me quickly, for Demas has forsaken me. And so here Paul is noting that Demas has forsaken him, having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica, the Crescans of Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me, he says, and get Mark and bring him with you. And so he wanted John Mark to be brought with him. Remember, you know, Paul had gotten into a tiff about that with Barnabas and did not want Mark to go, but now he's re-establishing that relationship with John Mark. He says he's useful for me in the ministry.

And Tychitos, I have sent to Ephesus, and it said, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come, and the books, especially the partmas. Down in verse 14, he said, Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. Now, we don't know what exactly Alexander the coppersmith did to the apostle Paul, but, you know, it sounds like he hindered Paul doing the work in some way or fashion. And it says, in verse 15, he warned here, Timothy, you must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. And he said, at my first offense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against him. So Paul had the attitude of when the brethren didn't support him and back him, had God not lay it to their charge. But Alexander, probably one of the elders of the church at that time, that withstood the apostle Paul in the doing the work. And he said he did much harm. But, you know, Paul felt alone. That's why he mentions, at first, nobody stood with me.

I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like that yourself, where you're, it's you and you against basically a whole group of people.

It's not a very comfortable feeling to be in. I've been in circumstances like that. And frankly, I hope I never am again, ever in that situation. But, you know, we see here, brethren, through Paul, we see through the Christ, we see through the prophets, the work that God intended them to do. But, brethren, what is our job again today? What is our job? Let's go to Matthew 28. In Matthew 28, this is our job, brethren, right here, that we have to do.

It says, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. That's what our job is, right there, brethren, to keep preaching to this world and teaching those that God is calling and baptizing them, you know, when they are taught God's way of life.

And, you know, Jesus said, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. You know, Jesus Christ also said, Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater work than these he will do because I go to my Father. And so Christ said that the greater works that he did are going to be done in our time. And I can only guess, brethren, that the miracles that are going to take place are going to come later, that God is going to begin to open up miracles to the church. But let's not look to miracles to convert people because they didn't do it in the first century, and they will do it in our time. But what they may do is give us an opportunity to witness to people the things that are going to happen. Remember, the important thing is to deliver the warning to people. And, you know, God wants us to do that as His people today. And even the work of the two witnesses is yet ahead of us, brethren. And so that has to be done. That has to be accomplished. And, you know, Jesus Christ made the statement over here in Matthew 9 that the fields are white in Matthew 9, and down to verse 35. And then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching the synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, Matthew 9, verse 35, and healing every sickness, every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep, having no shepherd. And then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is punty, and the labors are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into His harvest. So, brethren, that's the message Jesus Christ gave us here for this time that we're living in now. The fields are white.

You know, the harvest is punty, but the labors are few. I want you to think about that in regards to where we are right now in the work. The ministers are spread thinner than they ever have been to my remembrance in the last few decades. We find, again, in some cases ministers taking four and five and six churches, which is very difficult prospect. And so, brethren, we need to be praying that God will force out labors, that God will begin to call people that can be used in that way, that God will begin to, again, force them out so that those labors can be used in the work of preaching the gospel and taking care of God's people today. You know, we have people today that are doing double duty in some cases. Remember, we have the job of planting seeds as well. And we have a job also of harvesting. We're planting seeds, by the way, brethren, for the time when the tribulation occurs and when many people, the innumerable multitude, will be brought along then into the church and be called. And remember this, brethren, that when God sends His word forth, as it says in Isaiah 55 verse 11, He says, it shall not return unto me void. In other words, when God sends His message out, when God sends the gospel of the kingdom out to this world, it's not going to come back empty.

And so, brethren, the work that we're going to do is going to have an impact. And, you know, we need to set our hand to the plow, as the Bible tells us, and not look back. We look back, and we're not looking forward, brethren. We're not fit to be in the kingdom of God, the Bible says. Now, let's go over in conclusion to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew 24 and down here in verse 45.

It says, Who then is a faithful and wise servant? Who his master made ruler over his household to give them food in due season?

And it says, Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

And assuredly, I say to you, that he will make him ruler over all his goods.

And so, brethren, the important thing for us to do is to be doing. Obeying. Obeying God and doing the work of preaching the gospel to the world.

You know, the church certainly has experienced a great trial.

You might say we've taken a step back. But, brethren, let's be prepared. Let's believe God is going to bless us for a launch forward in the work.

And the impact will be even more effective than it is now. Let's be looking ahead to the time when the spiritual harvest is going to be abundant.

Let's put our shoulders to the plow and not look back.

Not getting discouraged, but rather encouraged to help move the work of the church ahead to greater works than have ever been before. Let's get a right perspective, brethren, and be positive about the work which is in our hands to do.

Above all, brethren, let's make sure when our Lord and our Master Jesus Christ returns, He finds us so dewy.