The Kingdom We Represent

Brethren, I hope all of you had wonderful Visa Tabernacles this year, and I know our family did. We went over to Montana, Glacier Country. A big treat there was that the weather was so mild and sunny and beautiful that the Glacier Park remained open. The highways of the sun remained open throughout the entirety of the feast.

And I know a number of you went to Utah as well, and I saw Facebook pictures everywhere. One of the joys of Facebook during the feast was it seemed like everybody was getting outdoors. Everybody was hiking. Everybody was enjoying nature and God's creation and time together and fellowship in that way.

So it really was a blessing. And didn't it just feel like a relief to make it to the feast this year? On opening night in Montana, David Jones got up and essentially said, ugh, we made it. And his opening night sermon was on peace.

What brings peace? And the peace of Christ and the peace of God that can take place, no matter what's going on in the world around you, you can have peace. And each day when he got up to do the announcements, he would just say, shalom, brethren.

Peace. And for us, the feast really felt that way this year for our family. It was a peaceful zone, you know, out of the world, out of all the turmoil and turbulence that's going on in the world around us. And I hope for those of you at home, even if you had to remain home this year and were on the hookup, I hope you fell a part of that peace as well, a part of the connection with the rest of your brethren who were assembling to worship God as he commanded and at a time that brings great hope and encouragement into our lives.

Because that's what the Feast of Tabernacles in the eighth day does. Indeed, that's what all of God's Holy Days do. They point us, and they're a shot in the arm of encouragement and hope for the future that God has in store for the world. There were roughly 400 of us assembled in Montana for the feast, and again, it was just an atmosphere of peace and rejoicing as God commands. And so for me this year, the fall Holy Days were like an oasis, and I really don't want to let that go. You know, I kind of like to live in that moment. But I'll say it was an oasis.

It's like you're trekking across the desert, which it seemed like we were through this long, smoky, dry summer of 2020, right? And there's COVID, there's all these things going on, and yet the Feast of Tabernacles and before the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Trumpets after the eighth day, this block of time was on the horizon sort of like, you know, an oasis in the desert. It was like a coconut-laden palm tree by a cool spring of water that when you arrived, it was, ah, peace and blessing. And I hope we can carry that with us even forward.

God's Feast Days are always the spiritual high point of the year. It's a time that reminds us clearly what God has purpose, not only for our lives, but for all of humanity as well. Because as holy days reflect, God's plan of salvation for all of mankind, and it shows the avenue by which God will bring those who are willing of all his children into his eternal family. And so these days, and keeping these days, reignite our vision on the awesome blessings that are one day going to flow out over the entire world as a result of the world living under the reign of the kingdom of God.

And so from that perspective, the Feast Days are exciting to us. They give us hope. They give us encouragement and strength. And I would say on a weekly level as well, we have a Feast Day. You know, when you read the Scriptures of, These are my feasts, says the Lord the Sabbath is in there, along with the others. And this is a weekly Feast Day as well. As the calendar moves away from the Feast of Tabernacles this year, brethren, don't let your attention move away with it. You know, don't let your focus on the important lessons that we were reminded of at the Feast be distracted by the cares of this world, you know, by all that's going on now that we're back to our job or back to school.

Because you see, we're living in a world that is competing for our focus right now. And if I go back in my mind a number of years, I remember Larry Walker at the Feast in Bend, Oregon, a number of years ago. He opened the Feast with this theme, and he closed it with this theme of reality, right? A lot of times we say, okay, the Feast is over, now back to reality. But I remember what stuck with me was he brought out the fact that, no, this Feast in God's Holy Days, those picture reality. What we're heading back to is temporary. You know, Satan's system and a world under his influence is not a permanent reality that God intends.

It is the things that we immerse ourselves in and learn about pictured by his Feast. That indeed is reality. So let's keep that reality with us. Let's cling to the focus that those days give us of a future and a hope. I'd even encourage us to take time over the coming weeks to go online and listen to other Feast messages that are posted at ucg.org.

You know, not every Feast site recorded and posted up its messages, but there are several that did, and there's a number of Feast sermons that you probably hadn't heard because you were at a different site that were posted up. And I just recommend following those, listening to those, keeping that focus and that mindset of the kingdom of God. Soak up the spiritual intent because this is the kingdom we've been called to represent to this world around us today. And that's essentially my SPS, the kingdom we've been called to represent.

This is the kingdom. This is the reality. This is the life that God has given us and called us to represent to the world today. The months leading up to the Feast of Tabernacles this year was particularly difficult on a number of fronts. Again, there was the COVID pandemic and the fallout from that and the inconveniences that it caused in our lives and in the economies of the world.

It's still ongoing. There's been the civil and social unrest that erupted on multiple fronts. And in addition to that, we're facing now the politics of an election cycle, right? Presidential election season, other elections. That's really ramped up into a fever pitch. I think I get 10 or 12 emails a day from one candidate or another. And it seems like whatever direction we look in the world around us, it's not hard to find circumstances that are polarizing, that are separating people farther and farther apart than ever more than ever before.

And so if you feel like you staggered into the Feast of Tabernacles this year, maybe a bit more beat up than you have been in the past, I would just say, trust me, you're not alone. Because this world and the Bible would show, we went through these things on Trump, Feast of Trump, it says Bible would show that it's Satan's directive, it's his purpose to wear out the saints, to beat up righteousness in this world.

You and I are living in a world that's rapidly distancing itself from any agreement with the ways and the truth of God. So, you know, here today we're practicing social distancing. We've got space between us, and that's for health reasons. But this world is practicing spiritual distancing from the ways and the truths of God, and we see that distance increasing more and more each and every year. And what we're finding is that distancing yourself from the truths of the ways of God now brings increased tension, it brings the effects of what we see taking place.

Indeed, I would submit that disease, that war, that that contentions, that racial divides, all these things come as a result of distancing spiritually from the Word of God and the truth of God and what it is He has established for mankind, His children, to live by. And so our feasts are God's feasts. There are a reprieve from this world, and there are reprieve which reminds us that there is a better way of coming.

You know, the Sabbath day that we keep, this weekly feast, is a shadow of that millennial rest that has yet to come for all of mankind. And so it's almost like each Sabbath is a micro piece of what the Feast of Tabernacles portrays. It's a daily slice of what we observe for a week as we attend the Feast of Tabernacles. And for me, it's something that should be a marker every week to get our focus back to the kingdom that we represent.

Now, in the middle of all that the world is going through, and us too, because in a lot of ways we're along for the ride, right? You know, your phone rings, you pick it up, it's a political call, it's whatever it is. You can't just completely check out, but everything that's going on in the midst of that, we need to cling to these days of rejuvenation and spiritual grounding and encouragement.

And we need to do so more than ever before. It's why the Apostle Paul instructs us in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 25. He says, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, but what we're supposed to do, rather, exhort one another. And so much more as you see the day approaching, you know, a day with a capital D.

And I would say we hopefully all see the day approaching faster and nearer than it ever has before. And what it means is, as a body, spiritually and collectively, we need to seek to come together and exhort one another any way we can. Sometimes that's picking up the phone, okay? If you are at home and aren't able to assemble, the point is, though, we come together in spiritual unity to encourage each other.

We must be doing so, so much the more. God's feast days, including the Sabbath, are for the encouraging of one another, for the strengthening of one another, the lifting up of each other, and our common calling from God. And there are time to be clearly, for us to be clearly reminded, okay, to have it cemented in our mind that the best solution for this world's troubles lay yet ahead of us. And you and I have an important part to play in the solution that God has purpose for all of mankind. We will be the bride of Jesus Christ.

We will reign with Christ a thousand years. Upon the establishment of the kingdom of God, we will have opportunity to be a part of the best solution for this world's troubles. I'm not ready to let the feast focus go quite yet, so let's go to Isaiah chapter 11. You likely read this or had it read to you during the Feast of Tabernacles, and it's an important part of the focus of those days and of the Sabbath. Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 1, it says, There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall be upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.

Of course, we understand this is a prophecy of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who would come and did come and will come again. Verse 3, He shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

Take you back to the Feast of Trumpets, right, the establishment of the kingdom of God over the kingdoms of this earth. Verse 5, Righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, and faithfulness the belt of his waist.

You know, everything that Jesus Christ will do to establish the reign of the kingdom of God will be done in the righteousness and the faithfulness and the justice of the character of God. It will bring truth, it'll bring liberty, and let's notice the result of this solution in action. Verse 6, The wolf shall dwell with the lamb.

It says, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. This is talking millennium. Verse 7, The cow and the bear shall graze, the young one shall lie down together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole in the womb child, so put his hand in the viper's den. We're talking about a time of unparalleled peace and harmony that's going to permeate everything, all the world, God's creation, as it comes under the righteous reign of the kingdom of God.

You know, even the animals will be at peace. Animals that are traditionally mortal enemies, and you know what? They're not alone. Their peaceful condition will be a reflection of the fact that peoples are at peace. Nations are at peace. We won't turn there, but Isaiah 9 verse 24 talks about Israel in Egypt and Assyria being a blessing in the midst of the land. You know, a three-fold cord made out of people who have, through history, been mortal enemies, just like a lion lying down with its prey in peace. God says, this is what I will do, and this will be effects of the kingdom. You know, I like to joke that in the millennium, the skunks will spray potpourri.

Perkucine quills will be paint brushes. You know, it's, there's peace, there's harmony, there's healing in God's creation. Verse 9 says, they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, and I want you to know why. Let's be clear why this will be. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And so, just as there's not a dry place in the midst of the ocean, right, everything under the surface of that water is wet, just as there's not a dry place, there will not be a dry place on the face of the earth who does not know who God the Father is, who Jesus Christ is, what the plan and purpose is God has for them. The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and peace and harmony will break out. This is the effect of the reign of the kingdom of God.

Knowledge of the Lord will flow out over the entirety of the earth, permeating everything.

The call to repentance and reconciliation to God will go out to all of mankind, and the consequence of all the earth living according to the principles of the kingdom of God will change everything about human existence, about the interactions of man, about the way mankind lives and structures the very way. Peace will erupt, right? Harmony will erupt, tranquility will erupt, and blessings will flow out as a result. And so the Feast of Tabernacles and, again, the Sabbath, as well as a snapshot of that, represents a complete solution to the problems that mankind is facing. Complete and total solution. And it's not a vaccine, okay? It's not electing the right presidential candidate who will turn the tide of nations in humanity's struggle. You know, this world may be able to apply band-aids. This world may be able to put temporary patches to try and slow the bleeding in certain ways, all right? And mankind, in certain respects, does what they can, all right? But there are not real and lasting solutions such as this world needs. This world needs the kingdom of God. I recall back whenever I come up to the Feast, I start thinking of past Feast sermons, and I recall back a sermon that Mr. Imbs gave one time at the Feast talking about solutions and real solutions, and God's kingdom brings real solutions without side effects.

Because we've all seen the commercials, haven't we? You know, the sun is shining, the grass is green, men and women are riding their bike through the park, the air is clear, it's a beautiful day, and they say side effects may include, right? Liver failure, heart failure, stroke, death, but your complexion will be clear.

So you have a solution that's not really a solution, is it? It may be a patch. It may be something to slow the bleeding, and I'm not attacking or criticizing. I realize we are human beings in the flesh, and there are certain things that we do legitimately to try to help treat legitimate ailments that we have. So I'm not speaking against that. I'm just speaking to the point of the fact that mankind's solutions often come with side effects. They come with disclaimer. They come with the small print. And so in that sense, they're not real solutions, but the Bible reveals that the real solutions to this world's troubles will only come by the return of Jesus Christ, by the establishment of the kingdom of God, and the solutions that come as a result of living according to this way of life, according to God's Word.

What you really need—okay, another sermon from Mr. Imes. I remember he got up in Bend and brought the yellow pages with him, and he just started ripping out pages. Well, won't need this in the millennium. Rip, throw the page out. There wasn't much left of the yellow pages by the end of the sermon. If you're going to live God's way and his blessing as a result is going to be poured out, those are real solutions which come from God. No disclaimers, no side effects, no get out the magnifying glass and read the small print to see if you really want to sign up on the dotted line. No, just true solutions. And this is the kingdom we've been called to represent today, brethren. It's the solution that must be evident in the way that we live our lives by example to the world around us, that we have submitted ourselves to the reign and the authority of the kingdom of God today. And that kingdom reigns in our lives now. It guides and directs our steps, and the effect of that kingdom is evident in us today. It is the kingdom that we represent.

If you've come into a covenant relationship with God through baptism, you've been placed under the reign of the kingdom of God today. And you've accepted the authority of that kingdom over your life. And you have said, yes, I commit to a covenant with my heavenly Father by which I will live according to the terms of His Word. And I will represent the kingdom that rules my life.

Clause in chapter 1 and verse 12.

Apostle Paul actually had a lot to say about the concept of reflecting God's kingdom in our lives.

Clause in chapter 1 and verse 12.

Our life must be a reflection of this perfect kingdom in action today. Clause in 1 and verse 12. Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. Okay, who qualifies us? It's God the Father who says, I give my spirit, this is my child.

And if we are faithful to the end, we will be in the kingdom.

Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. Verse 13.

And so what God has done for us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, brethren, is he's redeemed us from a kingdom of slavery, a kingdom of darkness, a kingdom ruled over by the reigns of Satan the devil. It's a counterfeit kingdom.

It's not the true solution, but God has bought us out of that through the sacrifice of his dear son, and he's established us under the authority of his soon-coming kingdom.

God's kingdom isn't literally here yet. When we keep the feast, we're looking forward, right? And we anticipate that fulfillment. It's not literally established here yet, but brethren, it is reigning in our lives. We've been called to submit ourself to its lead.

2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17.

There will be a living reflection of this kingdom. Here Paul says in verse 17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. He said, All things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. And so we take on new standards, right, when we come under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and we align ourselves with the kingdom of God, new standards, new priorities, new ways of doing things, new allegiances when we become a new creation. What we represent is new. Verse 18. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

As those who have been reconciled to God today, we've been given the responsibility to continue this message, to continue to teach about the same reconciliation that we've received to others, to minister to others in this way regarding the healing of the relationship that God has to offer and the blessing that it can be in their lives. Verse 20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. I was reading this this morning and I thought, that's, that's a profound statement. As though God were pleading through us. Does God plead through your life? You know, is your example a reflection of God calling out through you? Do our words reflect God? Do our actions reflect God in us, calling the world to repentance in a new way of life? That is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We employ you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us in our place, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

So Paul tells us that we're ambassadors for Christ, and that's a very high calling, brethren, very high standard with high levels of accountability. An ambassador is a representative, right? And it's somebody who's been given the responsibility to represent a kingdom or a government or an individual within the midst of another nation. And so it's not like this is our nation and we're representing this nation. No, we live here, but we're representing the kingdom of God.

Recall, Jesus Christ said, you know, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight. He said I would not be delivered to the Jews. Right? He submitted himself to what he lived under in the flesh in that rulership. But the fact was, he says, my kingdom is the kingdom of God, and the day will come when he will fight and we will fight, and we will fight, okay, but it will be for that kingdom. And so when the world looks at us, do they see a people who are reflecting the attributes of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God? Right? As ambassadors. That's what we need to be reflecting. People need to see peace and harmony. They need to see spiritual prosperity. Right? Not necessarily physical, but the fact that you are growing, you are increasing in your love for each other and your knowledge of God and your spiritual perspectives, and the fact that we are awash in the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Do people see that when they look at us the people of God? Or are we kind of like a dry place in the midst of the ocean that, well, you know, it's we're an island, you know, it's all around, but we haven't allowed the way of God to really touch us in the way that it should.

Ambassadorship is actually something that places a high accountability on us all, both individually and collectively as a body, because it means our house must be in order right here, and it must be a reflection right here of what God intends to do on a global scale. That his spirit is here, that his people are here, and that, you know, we reflect the attributes of the kingdom of God reigning in our lives today. It's not enough to simply preach the gospel of the kingdom to the world and tell people God's way works, because you could say it all day long, right? God's way works. Try it. God's way works. Try it. But we need to be an example, because people need to see that God's way really does work and that it's evidenced in us. Right? Actions speak louder than words, and if we claim to live by these words, we need to show that these words are working and that the effect of them in our life brings something that is of value to all of creation. Others have to see God's way works, because it's working in our marriages, in our families, in our relationships among one another as the people of God. And so we're called to be a living gospel, right? By very actions that confirms that there truly is a better way, and that better way is coming, but that is also established here among us. As ambassadors for Jesus Christ, we're not called to simply keep our heads down when society turns away from God. We're not called to just try to, you know, slip through unnoticed, you know, not make waves, not stand out, because, you know, we might lose something as a result.

You know, we're not... Jesus Christ said that those who deny me before men, I will deny before my Father in heaven, and that scares me a bit. You know, that puts the fear in my heart. Hopefully it causes me to respond in a right and proper way, but Christ said, if you're going to deny me before men, I'm going to deny you before my Father. The day is coming, brethren, where we will have to stand up boldly and directly and openly for the truth of God in a world that is going completely the opposite direction, and we should be and must be standing up today as well. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9. 1 Peter 2, 9. Let's see what our responsibility is.

Verse Peter 2, 9. This describes the Church of God, the people with His Spirit.

Peter says, But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people. Notice that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. This is part of the reason we've been called into the Church to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, is to tell people in this age about God the Father, Jesus Christ, what He has purposed for the world, that there is a better way coming, that there is a solution to mankind's troubles, that really is a solution, and we're called to represent that solution in our lives today. You recall that God established ancient Israel in the Promised Land to be a model nation to the world of that day. So that when the nations around them looked at them, they saw a prosperous nation, a blessed nation, a nation who had Yahweh as their God, and it was a blessing, and people would say, teach us about your God. You know, how is it you have these blessings? How is it your life is in order? How is it your children are blessed? You mean that's your grandparents' grandparents' farm and you still live on it? How is it even in your family? Well, have you heard of the Jubilee? You know, Israel was to be a model nation to the world to shine forth the truth in the way of God so that the world would look and say, we want to be blessed by your God just as you are.

But unfortunately, they failed. Right? Unfortunately, they didn't fulfill what it is that God intended for them, and they paid the price for their unfaithfulness. But brethren, you and I must not fail. Right? We're a spiritual model nation. As holy people who have been called to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, that people might say, why is your family working? Right? You think blessed? Maybe not in terms of all the greatest financial riches, but your life seems in order. How can you be at peace with all that's happening in the world around us? Well, if God our Father is our God, we will be, and we will have the opportunity to shine forth. Many people in this world are lost. And again, they're lost because they are spiritually distancing themselves from the truth and the Word of God. And they're taking a path that is taking them in completely the opposite direction, and they're lost. So then, when something comes up like a crisis like COVID, not only are they lost, they are afraid.

And they live in fear. Because what will the result of this be? What will the outcome be? Where will this lead? And it doesn't mean that we don't take precautions, okay? But we should not live in fear.

And it was interesting to me to watch in January, February, March how this wave of fear seemed to go before the virus. Before the virus even got there, the fear was there. Okay? So God has not called us to live in fear. And if Yahweh is our God, we will not. If we submit to the Father and love the Son Jesus Christ and are reconciled to Him, then fear will not govern our lives. But the world is lost. They are now afraid, and they're looking for the solution that will set it straight. And brethren, we have the answers. And we can't ever take that for granted.

God's Word is the answer. What God has purposed. His coming Kingdom is the answer. The principles we live by is the answer. And so we can't ever take it for granted the fact that we have the answer to what this world needs. Our children grow up knowing things that world leaders don't understand because they're immersed in the truth in the ways of God. And we must never take that for granted.

The blessing of little children today and the blessing of what God can pour out into their minds at a very young age is a solution for as long as they live this physical life. And it is the same solution that this whole world desperately needs. It is what you and I have been called to represent. Indeed, the Bible shows that following the return of Jesus Christ, God will once again establish a remnant of the physical Israelites back into the land. Right? I talked about this on the Day of Atonement that there will be a jubilee-like restoration of the remnant who God brought through the Day of the Lord through the Great Tribulation, and He will bring them out of four corners of the earth where they were scattered, settled them in the land, and they again will be a model nation to the world. And I want you to notice how their identity is going to be seen by others who are seeking God in that day, because they will be a model nation. Zechariah chapter 8 verse 20.

This is a millennial prophecy.

Zechariah chapter 8 and verse 20, It says, You know, these people are, you know, they're coming out of the city and the nation they inhabit, and they're traveling up to Jerusalem, and they stop at the next city. We're going to see the Lord of the Hosts, and they say, we also will go. We've heard about Him. We understand that He is God. He reigns from Zion, and the Word of the Lord goes out of Jerusalem. We will go as well. We will learn of His ways, and they will want to get there for themselves to establish a personal relationship with God. Verse 23, You know, a Jewish man will be identified as one of the covenant people of God, and they're going to say, take us with you. You know the way. Introduce us, in that sense, to your God. We want to know what it is about how you live that can work in our life as well. You're one of His. Take us with you.

And, brethren, you and I have the opportunity to be the same kinds of representatives to this world today. Right? A covenant people of God that carries a message of hope and reconciliation to all that would hear it. You know, don't put it under a basket. Set that light on a table where it gives light to the entire house, where it can be a blessing to those who come in contact with you. And they can say, tell us about this God who is your God, who allows your life to work as well. You know, we don't want to be those...

You know, I've heard it said, well, you know, God can raise up stones if He wants the gospel preached.

And my response to that is, I don't ever want to stand before a God and say, well, you know, God say, why did I have to raise up a stone to do something that someone with my Holy Spirit would not do? That would not be a compliment. I think I would quake in fear having to respond to that charge. Brethren, we have an opportunity to stand as representatives of this kingdom in the world today as the covenant people of God to express hope, to express a future that is coming and a reconciliation that will be possible and is possible for some yet even today. Don't put that light under a basket. Being representatives of the kingdom of God means oftentimes we will have choices to make and personal decisions to make in our lives as well. When I was a boy, and I think I've maybe told this before, but when I was a boy growing up, God called my mom into the church when I was five, six years old. But my mom was in the church and my dad was in the Navy. And for a young kid, it was a pretty exciting life to grow up in a family, a Navy family. We moved place to place every year and a half to three years. It was always a transition and oftentimes all the way across the country. And as I grew up, I found that I had choices to make because I was kind of attracted to the Navy. I kind of liked what it seemed to offer. It was appealing to me and I took every opportunity I could to go and tour my dad's ship whenever it was in port and it could be open for a tour or there were occasions I could actually go to work with him. I hang out in the officer's mess during the day while he was working. But any chance I could, I'd get on that ship. And to me, there was just something that was a draw to me. I was attracted to the concepts of duty, of service, of world travel, and adventure, and the fact that the Navy stood for things that I seemed to me to be honorable. And I say they are honorable in the ways of man, okay? But these were things that attracted me to the Navy. But right alongside that as well, God was calling me and he called my mom into the church. And I was growing up in the church and attending services. And eventually, I began to recognize that what God was calling me to was in conflict with what I thought I was attracted to and wanted to pursue if I went into the Navy. Right? So I came to recognize that God's way would take me in a different direction and I had a choice to make. And so fast forward a number of decades, and now I stand before you as a minister of Jesus Christ, a trajectory that was never on my radar as a young person. I was like, how did I get here? Okay. But God, by blessing, has allowed me the opportunity to be here. And I'll just say, as you know, part of my responsibility with the church today is I get to travel to West Africa, Nigeria, Ghana three or four times a year.

At least I did before they closed the borders. But you know, in that responsibility, I get to experience things like duty, like service, like adventure, world travel. I get to stand up for principles that are honorable, not in the eyes of man, but in the eyes of God. And I consider the fact that it's a blessing because I responded to God's calling in my life. He has allowed me to be fulfilled in those things that I thought I was attracted to by going in another direction altogether. And so whenever I have an opportunity, I try to pass that on to the young people.

Our online breakout sessions for camp this year, I tried to pass that on because I tried to tell the young people that, you know what, growing up in the church of God, you don't miss out. It's not like you have to sacrifice what your dream is in order to follow God. God can open the doors to allow you to pursue your dream in life, but in His service. And it's an incredible blessing. And it's something, though, that He gives to us if we respond according to His call. In Philippians chapter 3 verse 20, the apostle Paul states that our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what that means in a nutshell is that the kingdom of God reigns supreme in our lives today. And when your citizenship is in heaven, you submit yourself first and foremost to the authority of that kingdom because that is what reigns over your life.

And as a result, you demonstrate to the world the blessings of living under the reign of the kingdom of God today. Let's conclude in one more millennial prophecy, Micah chapter 4, in verse 1.

Micah chapter 4 and verse 1, another encouraging, hope-filled snapshot of the future.

Micah 4 verse 1 says, Now it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on top of the mountains, shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow to it. You know, when the Bible describes mountains and hills, they're symbols of governments and nations, mountains being larger governments, hills being smaller governments, and the kingdom of God will be established over all the governments of the earth. Right? The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. That's what this is saying. Verse 2, Many nations shall come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion the law shall go forth, in the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And so the words of God and the words of the Lord will flow out over all the world as the standard for living. People will say, Let's go there. Let's find it. And if they don't know the way, they'll grab the sleeve of someone who they recognize as one of God's people and say, Show us the way. Take us there. And they will seek the way of God, they will learn of it, and they will live it. Verse 3, He shall judge between many peoples and re-spuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords and the plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. A change of heart is ultimately what it's describing. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all people, each walk in the name of his God, small g, okay, that's the ways of this world. But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. The millennial age at the feast and the Sabbath pictures will be such a wonderful time because God's kingdom will reign supreme. The peoples of the earth will submit themselves to its authority and its reign. They will live according to its standards, and as a result, the blessings of God will flow out over the whole earth. It's a cause of, it's a matter of cause and effect, right? You submit yourself to the reign of the kingdom of God, live righteously according to it, and the blessings will flow. I read these prophecies, brethren, to remind us that this is the kingdom we have been called to represent today. It's a kingdom of righteousness, a kingdom of justice, it's a kingdom of peace and true solutions for this world. It's a kingdom that will order men and women's lives in such a fashion that life will work because God is working there, and he will be their God, and they will be his people. By comparison, you and I today should be able to recognize that the way that will govern life in the millennium is the way that governs our spiritual lives today. The concepts of surrounding plowshares and pruning hooks, you know, grapevines and fig trees, walking in the name of the Lord our God, those aren't future concepts, only they are kingdom concepts, and they're concepts that must reign in our life today.

And they're concepts we must reflect to the world around us. As long as you and I are willing to go up to the mountain of the Lord spiritually, to seek his ways and to walk in his paths, then the fruit of the kingdom of God will be evident in us as well, and it will shine forth like a light shining out of the darkness. Again, brethren, don't take that lamp and put it under a basket. Put it on the table where it gives light to the entire house that all may see.

Brethren, as the calendar moves away from God's annual feast days for this year, don't allow your attention to move with it. Rather, keep the vision of the kingdom of God burning brightly in your mind at all times. Allow it to guide your words, to direct your steps each and every day, in all that you do, in your home, at your place of employment, at your school. After all, brethren, this is the kingdom we represent. It's nice to be back together. It's nice to see your faces after coming from so many different directions. It's truly a joy. Have a wonderful remainder to the Sabbath day.