The Message of the Kingdom of God

Well, good afternoon again, and it's good to see all of you today.

And happy we're able to again meet together in peace and safety.

And I mentioned here in our announcements, as we prepare for these Kingdom of God seminars, I thought I would just ask, why is it that we're doing this?

Why is it that we're having seminars of this type?

Why is it that we're having seminars about the Kingdom of God?

You, I'm sure, can answer those questions. Those are relatively easy questions, I believe.

We're having these seminars because we wish to be involved in preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

But, why are they called, and why has a format been developed and designed to cover as we're doing?

We did one three months ago, we're doing one now, we'll do another one in another three months.

And then, following, I guess, August or September, this next year, we'll have a fourth session regarding Kingdom of God seminars.

Why is it that we are focusing on that terminology, Kingdom of God?

Well, there's obviously very good reasons to do so.

Because what it is, it focuses on the real purpose of the church, of the mission that we have, the goal that we are trying to achieve of preaching and teaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

But it also focuses on the reason why Jesus Christ came to this earth.

The reason why He came, when He did in the past, why He went through what He went through during His lifetime, and why He was put to death in the way that He was, why He then ascended to the Father, and now awaits.

Awaits!

An intervention in this world, in the governments of this world, in the confusion of this world that's greatly needed.

See, in a sense, we're announcing a predicted event.

We're announcing what's going to happen.

We're saying and telling the world that the Kingdom of God is coming.

And yet, in many ways, people are not focused on that.

People are focused on all kinds of physical things.

They're focused, unfortunately, if you have to watch television at all, you're focused by the TV and the cable news on the election.

The election. That's going to happen in November, but that we've been going on about for the last two years, and are still going on day after day after day, all day long, with how many polls do they need to take?

I mean, they take several a day, it appears.

And of course, that's just simply the election process here in the United States.

And we're only dealing with a tiny fraction of the people on earth.

You know, what about all these other people?

You know, there are seven billion people on earth, close to seven billion.

It's kind of risen here over the last 15 years, from what used to be six billion to closer to seven billion.

And most of those people need a lot of help.

Now, here in this country, you know, we enjoy a great deal.

We enjoy a lifestyle. We enjoy a blessedness that God has allowed us to have.

And that, of course, He wants us to use in helping proclaim the message of the Kingdom of God. That's what we should feel, I think, as members of the church here living in the United States.

But when we look around the globe, you know, you find that at least half, maybe it's closer to three-quarters of the people on earth, live in very difficult situations. And they live in circumstances that none of us would exactly enjoy, if that's what we dealt with day in and day out.

They need help. They need the Kingdom of God. They need what Christ is going to bring whenever He returns.

And, of course, all of us, every human being on earth needs, whether they know it or not, on whether they even care about it.

They need the Kingdom of God. In a sense, I'm sure that's why we're having Kingdom of God seminars.

Because whether people know it or not, they all need to understand the Kingdom of God. Now, unfortunately, if you look up the phrase, Kingdom of God, if you look that up and on the internet at least, if you google it, you can get a fair amount of stuff. Thankfully, I did this just yesterday.

Thankfully, information about the Kingdom of God from the United Church of God comes up within the top two or three. That's great. That's good, because we know that we are striving to provide information that will focus people's attention on what the Kingdom of God is and how it can help you.

And yet, you also find, you know, you find several other churches of God who have some information about that, you also find a great deal of misinformation.

Information that may use the phrase Kingdom of God, but is not really talking about Christ intervention and the establishment of a Kingdom here on earth that will have a ruler that will be governed by just and righteous laws, that will be ruling over this this ball that we live on here, this earth, and that will have people who will benefit. They'll benefit from being under that setting. They'll benefit from learning about God. Because in essence, you learn about God. You learn about what God is like and what He, God the Father and the Son, the Word, how they coexist and how they work together and how they are growing a family, how they are causing individuals to take on the divine nature. You learn about that as you learn about the Kingdom of God.

And so, even though there's a lot of misinformation, a lot of misunderstanding, I want to cover some information today that I think in many ways is certainly something that you're familiar with, but I hope to do this in a way that will be helpful to you again as we go into our second round of the Kingdom of God. We are our seminars on regarding the Kingdom of God. We are here to be representatives of that. We're here to represent a way of life. We're here to represent a reaching out to people in love, a reaching out in concern, a reaching out a desire to care and share in love. And that's the example that God wants us setting whenever He tells us to be ready always to give an answer of the hope that lives within us. See, what is that hope? Well, that hope is the Kingdom of God.

That hope is the intervention from God sending Christ to the earth.

I want to look here, beginning in John chapter 18, because in John 18 you find an interaction.

Oh, I just thought of something I needed to clarify about what Mr. Byer said.

Mr. Byer made a little bit of an unclear statement there.

He said that Bryce was the one who was screaming like a little girl, and it was really Mr. Byer. Bryce told me that that was the case.

So, I wanted to clarify that. I'm not sure what slide they were going down, probably a water slide, but Bryce was quite appalled at that misinformation.

Now, maybe it's both ways now. We're not going to know for sure.

Anyway, here in John 18, you've gotten an encounter with Jesus Christ and the Roman governor. Pilate, verse 33, Pilate entered the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said, what did he want to talk to him about? Well, he didn't know very much about Jesus.

He knew he had been brought to Jesus, and accusations had been made about him.

He knew that people were upset. He knew that they hated him.

They wanted to get rid of him. They knew they were trying to kill him.

But he asked him, are you the king of the Jews?

Are you the king of the Jews? That was the statement that Pilate made to Jesus, and he answered and said, are you speaking for yourself, or have others told you about me? And, of course, Jesus was very perceptive in what he knew. You know, that Pilate didn't really know all much about how this was coming about, but he had been told by others in Pilate Answers in verse 35, well, am I a Jew? Your own nation! The people, the chief priest, have delivered you to me. What have you done? So he's clearly already convicted in Pilate's mind. You know, you've got to have done something to create such an uproar and such anger for your own people to bring you to me to say that you're claiming that you're the king of the Jews, and then they're asking me to give you a death sentence. They're asking me to help them out by getting rid of you. So Jesus, in discussing this topic about are you a king, are you the king of the Jews? Because this, again, was the statement that was made about Jesus Christ by the chief priests.

And in verse 36, Jesus answers. He answers this question. He says, My kingdom is not of this world. The kingdom that Jesus Christ is the king of is a kingdom that is not of this world.

It's not coming from human beings. It's not coming from the United States or Canada or Mexico. It's not coming from anywhere in Europe or in Africa or in Asia. It's not coming anywhere out of Israel as Pilate was seated there in Jerusalem.

My kingdom, the kingdom that I am in charge of, the kingdom that I do declare to be the king of, is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight so that I would not be delivered to the Jews. See, if my kingdom was being installed right now, well then, my servants would be interfering with this affair and they would overthrow it.

And yet, that's not the case because my kingdom is not from here. See, he clearly stated that he was a king. He clearly stated that he was being acknowledged as the king of the Jews, and that was something that people had misunderstanding about because they didn't know whether he was going to do something right then or whether he was going to do something later. And yet, clearly, he said, that's not the case. I am a king. He goes on in verse 37, Pilate said to him, Are you a king then? See, since you say you have a kingdom and your kingdom is not of this world, it's out of this world. It's beyond this world. And he is a representative of the kingdom of God. He says, Are you a king? And he answers, You say rightly that I am a king. See, that's what Jesus said. I am a king.

You have been told correctly that I'm the king, and for this cause I was born, and for this cause I've come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. And so Jesus, in His own statement, explained about the kingdom of God. He explained that He was the king of the kingdom. He explained that His kingdom was not being installed right then. He explained that He had come to bear witness to this truth, that the kingdom of God is an answer.

It is a solution to the problems of mankind, but see, that wasn't the right time for the installation of the kingdom of God to occur. See, I think it's fabulous to see that He was explaining about His role in the kingdom of God, and yet He was also saying, well, you know, there's more things that have to happen, and of course shortly after this, He's going to die.

He's going to be put to death, and the disciples are going to wonder what you know, what should we do? And of course, then they're reminded that, well, you know, we've been told what to do. We need to preach the good news of the kingdom of God. We need to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God that Jesus has given to us.

You also find other statements here in John 18, I think, as a very good statement. Maybe we should back up in John chapter 3, because Jesus also said, and here this was at a time when Nicodemus had come to Him, and he had a question about being born again. He didn't understand what that was.

He didn't understand how that could occur. But in chapter 3 of John, in verse 3, Jesus answered and said, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. You cannot see the kingdom of God unless you were born again. And again, of course, Nicodemus didn't understand what he was talking about. Nicodemus asked him, well, how can this be?

And Jesus answered again in verse 5, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. And so here he was describing a process. He was describing an action that someone would need to take in order to enter or to see. And in other words, in verse 5, he talks about entering the kingdom of God. And so it wasn't something you could immediately do.

It was something that you could do looking into the future. You could do that looking into the time when that kingdom would be installed.

And of course, that's going to be installed here on this earth in the future. We might also look here in 1 Corinthians 15.

Because here in 1 Corinthians 15, of course, a chapter that deals with the resurrections. 1 Corinthians 15.

Well, I'm not finding it. But it's got to be here somewhere.

Well, who can find it first? It talks about flesh and blood not inheriting or not entering the kingdom of God. 50. Okay. I've got 30 written down here, and I thought, well, that doesn't say that in verse 30, and I'm not seeing it somewhere else. Okay. Verse 50. Now, this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, just as corruption does not inherit incorruption.

And behold, I'm telling you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. And so, here he, of course, is talking about the resurrection. He's talking about a time. You know, when will you be entering the kingdom of God? Well, you know, you don't do that as a flesh and blood individual.

But whenever you are changed, whenever that transition comes, well, then you will be a full-fledged member of the kingdom of God. You will be a part of the divine family of God. And, of course, in Matthew 6, verse 33, he tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

See, if we're going to seek something, if we're going to seek it, then it's something that we are yet to attain. We are yet to achieve that transition described in 1 Corinthians 15. That's going to occur at the end of our life, or at the time of our resurrection, or if we're alive, then that transition will occur whenever Jesus returns. And so, you know, Jesus had a great deal to say, and, of course, he inspired Paul in 1 Corinthians to say, about how the kingdom of God will be introduced and how it is that it will be brought to the earth. But, again, I bring up the question about why we are doing our kingdom of God seminars. You know, people today believe that the gospel solely is about Jesus Christ. Many people mis-assume that whenever they think of information regarding the gospel, that it's just about Jesus Christ, and that's all. And yet, very clearly, Jesus, whenever you see what it is that He says, what He talked about, what He preached, the gospel is not only about Jesus, it is about Jesus, and we can go through verses that will show that, but even more so, it is about not only the King of the Kingdom, who is Jesus Christ, but about the kingdom of God, and about it being established on earth, and about it existing then forever, you know, for it to go on forever.

Whenever, as I mentioned, you can look this up and you can find a great deal of misunderstanding. You find a great deal of confusion about the whole idea of the kingdom of God. And yet, I ask, well, why is it that you are not confused about it? Why is it that I'm not confused about it?

Why is it that it seems so unbelievably common to me and to you?

Well, it's because all of us, you know, we've been living our lives, some of us, most of us, for 20, 30, 40, 50 years, with an understanding of the kingdom of God, with an understanding that the kingdom is coming, with an understanding that Jesus will intervene with that kingdom, and He will be installed as the King of the Kingdom, and that everyone needs to seek that kingdom. It also happens that we observe throughout the year after year after year holy days of God. Holy days that picture the plan that God is working out. And, you know, all of us have observed the Feast of Tabernacles every year for a number of years, and that entire festival, as we go to that festival, what are we celebrating? Well, we're celebrating, you know, what it's going to be like when Christ returns, what it's going to be like when He sets up the kingdom on earth. In many ways, we take the kingdom of God for granted.

We do that. We know that's what it's about.

And yet, unfortunately, many people misunderstand the gospel and limit it to only information about Jesus, which again is not wrong, and I'm clearly not against that. I love that. I'm thankful for that.

And I believe that that sets the tone for anyone's life to be Christian.

You know, that is not a disputed issue.

But see, there's more about the kingdom, more about what Christ is going to do when He comes back, more about how the kingdom needs to be in our hearts and in our minds, how we're working toward that, how we're preparing for that. That's really what we're doing right now.

We're preparing for that kingdom. In Mark 1, sometimes people misunderstand what it says here in Mark. Mark 1, it says, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Now, if you only used that particular verse to say the gospel is about what? Well, what it says is, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It doesn't say the gospel about Jesus Christ, although it is about Jesus. It is about who He was. It is about the fact that He was the Son of God.

It is about the fact that He is the Savior of mankind, and every one of us need Him as our Savior. But see, this is simply the beginning of the good news of Jesus. The good news that He presented.

The good news that He preached. The good news that He gave to His disciples to preach, and that He gave to Paul to preach, as we'll see here in these other verses throughout the remainder of the sermon.

Down in verse 14, it says, after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

So this is directly what Mark writes about, what it was that Jesus preached.

What it was that He taught. He did make very clear statements that He was sent from God, and that He was sent as the Savior of the world.

He made those statements, and clearly we read that in other parts of the Bible.

But when we talk about the gospel that Jesus taught, the gospel that He stated, it says in verse 14, He came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying that time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.

See now, as you know, if you've been following the formatting for our Kingdom of God seminars, you know that's a central verse that we are using as a pattern.

Where we're talking about the time being fulfilled, you know, the time that we live in today is a closer time than ever before to the return of Jesus and the establishment of this Kingdom. The Kingdom is at hand.

He was pointing out that, as I go through the work that I am to do, the work that I have of living my life, completing that life, giving my life as a sacrifice for sin, and being resurrected, and then inspiring the beginning of the church, the church will be commissioned to teach and preach about the Kingdom of God.

That was the directive. That was the Kingdom that was to be proclaimed.

And so everyone, as this verse 15 points out, everyone needs to repent.

All of us here today, everybody else needs to repent. Everybody needs to come to acknowledge the sin that is in their life.

So we need to repent and we need to believe in the what? In the Gospel. Believe in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. We need to believe in the answers, the good news in the answers, that Jesus stated and that God is going to make available to everyone as we get to that particular time. So, you know, that is, in a sense, the setting that we have and the reason why we are going through, you know, some of the efforts that we are to try to reach out to others and to try to preach about a kingdom that most people do not know.

You know, they do not know about a kingdom that is going to be brought to this earth and yet this is exactly what Jesus proclaimed in Mark or Matthew chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9, you see, again, you can go to many, many verses that would point out how it is that Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

But it says in verse 35 of Matthew chapter 9, Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

Preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing every sickness, every disease among the people, and when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered and like sheep having no shepherd. See, as Jesus looked at people who He came in contact with, He saw them void of spiritual understanding. He saw them in need of understanding about the kingdom of God and that's what He was proclaiming, that's what He was teaching, and He went ahead to say in verse 37, He said this to His disciples, He says, the harvest truly is plenteous. Truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into His harvest. See, that's a part of our job today as we participate in the kingdom of God seminars, that we pray that God will turn the hearts and minds of people, that He will cause that people will want to know something about the kingdom of God.

Now see, we would like for them to know about the United Church of God.

We would like for that, but see, that's not the most critical issue. We want them to know about the kingdom of God. We want them to know what God's purpose is for human existence.

And of course, we are able to provide that. We're able to provide that information. We're able to show them in the pages of the Word of God, as Mr. Byer was mentioning, that we want to focus on what God says, on what His Word tells us. And of course, this is a big part of what we find that Jesus proclaimed in Acts after Jesus had died, and actually after His resurrection. You see Luke writing in the first part of the book of Acts, Acts chapter 1.

He points out what it was that Jesus not only did, but what He told His disciples to do. In verse 1, the former account I made with theophilus of all of Jesus began to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandment to the disciples or the apostles whom He had chosen.

To whom in verse 3, He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during 40 days.

And so what did He teach about? What did He preach about? What was He talking to His disciples about, even after His death?

This is even before the coming of the Holy Spirit, before the church initially began on the day of Pentecost. It says, He came and He spoke with those apostles being seen by them for 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

See, why is it that people have such misunderstanding about the kingdom of God? It doesn't seem like it should be so misunderstood. It seems like it ought to be something everybody would want to find out about.

But you don't find a lot of people trying to find out about the kingdom of God. If we go on down to, let's see, the book of Galatians here. You find another statement that is telling, because the kingdom of God was not the church today, as some people would teach. Actually, many different churches teach that, I think.

They teach that, well, the kingdom of God is just the church today, and we're certainly not providing all the answers to human problems today, I can tell you. We're not giving people the solutions that they need, except telling them that the kingdom is yet to come. The kingdom is yet to occur, and yet, during our lifetimes, during the time when we are living, here in Galatians chapter 5, you see a description that talks about the kingdom of God, but it talks about what we need to move away from.

It's told us that we can't enter the kingdom of God as flesh and blood. It's told us that we can inherit the kingdom of God. This is a statement that mentions this in verse 19. It says, works of the flesh are adultery and fornication and uncleanness and lasciviousness and idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contention, jealousy, outburst of wrath, selfish ambition, dissensions, divisions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, rebbling, and the like. So here it describes a wide range of bad outcomes, a wide range of bad actions and attitudes, and they call them the works of the flesh.

And of course, these are all areas that we, during our physical lifetime, as we know that we're seeking the kingdom of God, as we know that we are not going to enter the kingdom of God until we're no longer flesh and blood. But it tells us all of these works of the flesh in verse 21, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I've told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

See, again, something yet to happen, something yet to occur. And of course, we are in the process of getting rid of these things and these attitudes and actions that we see as being wrong, as we see as being sinful. And yet it does point out inheriting the kingdom of God is what is yet to occur. It's yet to happen. And then people ought to seek that far more than they are.

I'd like to also go here in the latter part of the book of Acts because the Apostle Paul went about doing the work that he was commissioned to do to the Gentile world. That was his commission. That was the direction that he was to go. And you find throughout the pages that we read about here in the work of the New Testament Church, and in particular Paul, because he seems to be highlighted here in the book of Acts. Luke was a good friend of his.

He traveled with him a good amount of time, and he wrote a lot about what it was that the Apostle Paul was doing. But here in the latter part, the very last part of the account that we have, maybe we could look at Acts chapter 20. It's not quite to the end. But Acts chapter 20, you see in account, whenever Paul was gathering together with the Ephesians, he was working with them, he was teaching them and preaching to them, and he was talking to the elders.

Acts chapter 20, he tells them he's going to be leaving. He's going to be gone. And he says, verse 24, None of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear or myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I receive from the Lord to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. So here he refers to a little bit differently the gospel of what? Well, he talks about the gospel that involves Jesus Christ, a gospel that involves an understanding of grace, as Mr. Hudson went over last week as we were covering last week here in this service.

And indeed, in verse 25, he says, Now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching, the kingdom of God will see my face no more. Therefore I testify you this day I am innocent of the blood of all men.

For I have, in verse 27, not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. See, he had taught not only the Ephesian brethren, but the ministry there about the kingdom of God, about the grace of God, about the gospel that they needed to embrace, and about the whole counsel of God, the whole plan that God was working out. That was what Paul was telling them. He says, I've given you that information, and what it is, is about the kingdom that Jesus will bring whenever He comes to this earth.

And then the last chapter, here in chapter 28, you again see a little more verification about what it is that Paul was teaching, what it is he was preaching. And you see that he ties these two things together. The gospel is not simply about Jesus. It's about Him as the king of the kingdom, but it is about the kingdom of God.

Here in verse 22, I desire to hear from you, or we desire to hear from you what you think. And so Paul is being called before the leaders, and he is being asked to say what he says. He says, concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere. And so, you know, they pointed out that, well, the church at that time was viewed in a very dim light.

They were not accepted. But in verse 23, when they had appointed Him a day, many came to Him at His lodging, to whom He explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets from morning until evening. Again, this is what Paul's commission was. That was what his direction was to do. It was certainly to preach the kingdom of God, but also to preach about the king of that kingdom, Jesus Christ. And in the last few verses here of chapter 28, you see, in a sense, kind of a conclusion to what Paul's role and what his life would be.

He is still kind of in captivity here in Rome. He says in verse 28, Therefore, let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it. When he said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among them. And Paul continued to dwell for two whole years in his own rented house, and he received all who came to him, verse 31, preaching the kingdom of God.

This is what he preached. This is what he taught the Jews and the Gentiles, and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him. In a sense, that's kind of a summary statement of what the gospel is about. It's about two different ideas, one of which involves clearly an understanding of the king, the one who Pilate talked to and asked him if he was the king of a kingdom, and he said, yes, I am.

But he also said in this statement that Paul uses as a summary, preaching the gospel or preaching the kingdom of God, preaching what the gospel is. It's about the kingdom of God, and then more so about Jesus Christ. So I hope in going over this that we can understand that the gospel involves more than just simply about Jesus. It involves His kingdom. It involves what He's going to do to solve the problems of humanity. It involves each of us embracing.

See, we're told to seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness of God. We're told that we want to pursue that. We want to, and we're going to be doing that when you back up to chapter 14 here in Acts. You see that Paul was telling the people who were coming into the church in Lystra and in Iconium and in Antioch, he was telling them that they're going to need to live their lives.

They're going to have to endure. They're going to have to persevere. They're going to have to suffer until they ultimately enter the kingdom of God. And here in verse 21 of chapter 14, he said when they had preached the gospel to that city, being Derby, because that's where Paul and Barnabas had gone, when they preached the gospel to Derby and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra in Iconium and Antioch.

And so they went back where they actually had been threatened and had been said they would be killed there. But they went back strengthening the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying, we must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. See, we're going to be going through suffering. We're going to be going through tribulation in order our Christian life will be of that type until we ultimately are allowed to enter the kingdom of God when a transition comes.

So, you know, this is talking of a time that is clearly yet in the future beyond the suffering and tribulations of this life. It's talking of a time that, you know, that we're looking forward to. It is our hope. It is clearly described here in Matthew 24 as we conclude here regarding this gospel of the kingdom. In Matthew 24, you've got an account that Jesus gave. And, of course, you know, you read through the other accounts, and these are what Jesus said or what He told His disciples.

These are what He told those at the very beginning of the book of Acts. This is what Paul preached and taught and what He said and what He gave to the Gentile world.

Now, these are all descriptions of how it is that the kingdom of God is such a part of the gospel that we are preaching. And yet here you find Jesus' direct statements about what it will be like right before He intervenes. Right before He comes back in verse 3, He says, tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. See, here in Matthew 24 and in Mark 13 and in Luke 21, you've got different accounts, similar accounts, that all in a sense kind of give the same information. But here you see Jesus stating what the different factors would be, what would be happening in the world.

And He said in verse 12, because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will wax cold or will grow cold. And of course, we should read this as an encouragement but also as a warning. We should read this as, you know, we don't want to allow anything to diminish our desire to pursue or to seek the kingdom of God. We don't want to have anything get in the way. And as this points out, you know, because of lawlessness abounding, the love of many will wax cold or grow cold, but He that endures to the end will be saved. We have a process to go through here where we're going to be desiring, where we're going to be requesting, where we're going to be asking that Jesus Christ will transform our hearts and minds to take on the mind of God, to take on the attitudes, the attributes, the outlook, the perception that we see described as the divine nature. So that divine nature is described in numerous places here in the New Testament. It is what we are seeking. It is what we are desiring to achieve. Not that we can work that up, but that we can request that from God and that we are growing. And, of course, verse 12 and 13 are telling us to continue to endure and to continue to not allow anything to diminish our love for God. But He says in verse 14 in this Gospel, this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness unto all nations, and then the end will come. See, this statement is one that all of us are familiar with. We could probably quote Matthew 24.14 without thinking about it. It's been the focus of the Church of God for the last 70 or 80 years. It is a primary understanding of what the role of the Church is, and yet it clearly directs that the Gospel that we are going to be preaching will be a Gospel about the kingdom. A Gospel about the kingdom that is going to come when Christ intervenes and sets that kingdom up here on this earth. So our message today, as we have our seminars, is about that kingdom. It's about how that we are preparing to be a part of that kingdom, how that we wish to be transformed. We wish to no longer be flesh and blood, but to be inheriting the kingdom that Christ holds out before us. And of course, our message talks about the king of the kingdom, but it also talks about how that kingdom will be installed on the earth. And that's not a belief that many people have. Many people do not comprehend that aspect of the Gospel. They may understand certain things about Jesus, but they don't understand about what He's going to do. And so ultimately, you know, the king that Pilate talked to, the king that Pilate interacted with and kind of jabbed at him, are you really a king? The king of the kingdom of God is going to establish that kingdom and then install servant leadership over the entire world. See, that's a phrase that we use here in the church. It's one that we are trying to understand and grow in because it's clearly the example that Jesus gave. When He was washing the feet of the disciples, He was serving them and that's what He said. He says, I'm here as your servant. And that's the type of attitude, that's the type of kingly attitude and outlook that all of us want to acquire. And so please, you know, keep that in mind as we look into our seminars here in the next few weeks and we can all look forward to the time when that servant leadership, that government from God, will be installed on the earth and Christ will rule and reign from Jerusalem.