Preaching the Gospel to the World

Thank you very much. Very nice. I happen to think that there's one other person at the office that I'll get to work with, and I forgot to mention his name. And if it gets around that I didn't mention his name, I'm going to hear about it. But I get to work with Mitch Moss. So he's another one that I watched grow up and also had a chance to baptize Mitch. So be sure that Mitch knows that I mentioned him and did not forget it. I just know that he'll give it to me if I forget that. With the Kingdom of God seminars coming up, how will you and I handle any new person who may walk through our doors to find out what we have to say?

For these seminars, we are taking a pause, as I said, from a little bit of our normal format without any songs, but we're inviting the public in. We've done that before. It's nothing really new to us. But we should understand what we're doing with these seminars. At its most basic we are saying, and inviting anyone in the public, we're saying, come, learn about the Kingdom of God. Let us share with you the good news of a better world, a better way, and let us tell you the story of God's great love that is the gospel of the Kingdom of God. That is the essence, and we have to keep coming back to that as those of us that will be making presentations. And just in any of our proclamation efforts in today's world, that's what we are wanting to do and should be doing. Some will say, but Mr. McNeely, preaching the gospel is all fine and good. But Mr. McNeely, how can we model the Kingdom of God when we are so imperfect ourselves? We quarrel. We can't get along with ourselves. We split and divide. How can we do this? Interesting question. Fair question. My answer is this. You and I represent the Church of God. Stand tall and stand proud at these meetings with the knowledge that you have. It is a noble calling that God has given to us, and it is a blessing that we have, and let's be proud of what we have. We may not be the perfect examples of it, but God has given us the truth, and He has been very, very gracious and kind to us. To allow us this opportunity. To allow us to even be a part of the Church and to know what we do, and to be as strong as we are. So I say, stand tall and stand proud of our heritage and of the truth of God and God's Spirit. No excuses, no apologies. We move forward. The big question, how will we do? How will we do? How will I do, some of you might be asking?

Someone who comes into our midst, how will you treat them? Some might say, well, I'm not good at talking and representing the Church in that way. I'll go to the restaurant. Or I'll make coffee, and I'll bustle here and bustle there. But you know, we don't want people coming into an empty hall, and we don't want people looking ill at ease. Anyone who comes must be made to feel welcome.

Ideally, and most importantly, when someone comes to these lectures and attends, we want them to meet Jesus Christ in us. That's what we want them to meet. Will they? Will they see Christ-like attitudes? Christ-like service?

You know, Jesus Christ is called the teacher. He's called the mentor. He's also called the head of the Church. There are things that we can learn by looking at the example of Jesus Christ and ourselves about how we should be and will be. We need to learn how to deal with those who would come as a result of the preaching of the Gospel.

And we can do that by looking at the example of Christ in the Scriptures and making sure that we are doing our part on our knees, letting Christ live his life in us, and doing as he did. Jesus Christ, in his own ministry, knew that it was the Father who called people to the Kingdom.

In John 6, let's turn back and notice this.

John 6.

John 6.

Only the Father can call people to the Kingdom. He said in verse 44, Christ said, And Christ also knows that those called will come to him. In verse 45, it says, It says, Back in verse 35, it says, But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of the Father who sent me, and that of all he has given me, I should raise him up at the last day.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Christ intends to raise all who come to life. He is not going to cast away anyone. Christ knew how to relate to the world. He knew how to relate to those that the Father drew to him.

Can we learn from that example? I think we can, and I think we should, as we prepare our minds and our hearts for what the Church is going to get into in the coming months. Let's examine Christ's method of relating to new people that he came into contact with, the people that the Father brought to him. Let's go to John 1.

And let's look at verse 35.

Again, the next day John stood with two of his disciples, and looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. These two disciples of John, who had been following his teaching, turned and they began to follow Jesus. Jesus then turned when they began to, and seeing them following said to them, What do you seek? And they said, Rabbi, which is the same translated teacher, where are you staying? It was a very simple question. What do you seek? In other words, what do you want? He didn't start with his agenda, but he sought to start with their agenda, where they were. What is it that you're looking for? He began there, and he gradually led them to himself. You know, too often we forget that people are not where we are after so many years in the church. People who don't understand or live as we do. Now, we certainly know they may not be keeping the Sabbath or the Holy Days and see that. But the religious world is a mixed situation. In so many ways, there are people who are religious. There are people who are, let's say, spiritual, in that their spirituality may transcend institutional formal religion and incorporate whole other philosophies that their root aren't even Christian. But they consider themselves spiritual. And too often, we may at times think that we try to talk to people from where we are, and we're talking over their head. This is a constant challenge when you sit down to write an article that goes into the good news, or when we want to do a Beyond Today program, we have to certainly make sure we don't get into our own church speak, or in-speak of the phrases that we talk about that we know what we're saying, but nobody else does. And we also have to assume and recognize that there are some topics that people just don't even know about today. We don't really, in the program, in the television program, get into certain aspects of prophecy, because in 30 minutes you can't begin to do it justice with an audience that has no concept of some of the terms and names you're even talking about. And so it's a waste of time at that level in talking. You have to meet people where they are and speak to them of religion or the Bible in terms that are simple in some ways, but that meet people where they are. All the other in-speak that we use in the religious knowledge we have, in some cases, is light years from a person who's non-religious. I recognize that that doesn't apply to every person who darkens the door of a church today, because there are sincere people who do know their Bible and who study their Bible, and they do know it. So you've got to mix it back wherever you turn. Christ's example is the one that everyone really should follow in terms of understanding where people are, whether it's from a religious point of view or where they are in life. And when you find that out, then you can begin to talk to them, perhaps in terms that help and bring them along in an understanding.

In John 2, there's another example that we see as to how Christ approached a people in a situation. There's a lesson to learn here that goes beyond the miracle of turning water into wine. This is the story of the marriage at Cana, where Christ was attending with his mother. We know the story, but let's quickly look at it, beginning in verse 3.

They were at a wedding in the Cana, a Galilee, which was not too far from where Jesus grew up. And they ran out of wine, and his mother said to him, they have no wine. And Jesus turned to her, and he said, Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. We'll kind of pass over the whys and the wherefores of that statement. But his mother said, whatever he says to you, do it, as you turn to the servants.

There were six water pots of stone, according to the purification of the Jews, with 20 or 30 gallons apiece. Christ said, fill the teapots with water. They filled them. And he said to them, draw it out now and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it. When the master had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from, the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said, Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine. And when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You've kept the good wine until now. Now, here was a situation that could have been a major embarrassment. Any man who puts on a wedding for his children knows it, or should know at least, that you better have enough food, enough drink to satisfy everyone there. In this particular case, it was a mistake of not having enough. Or maybe people drank more than they thought or what everybody ran out of wine. This would be a social disaster, humiliating for the host. One time we were at my father-in-law's house on the 4th of July. A lot of church members came over to cook hamburgers and hot dogs. And he ran out of gas on the gas grill, just as getting ready to, you know, about halfway through the cooking stage of it. And you talk about him, my father-in-law, about the only time I've ever seen him embarrassed.

He's always a confident guy, and he didn't know what to do. He ran out of propane gas, and it was on the 4th of July. No place was open to get a refill. And he was humiliated. Well, we quickly improvised and we saved the occasion there, but it could be humiliating for the host. What did Jesus do? He met where the person's needs were. In one sense, yes, this was a miracle to show his Messiahship and all. But, you know, it was also just a simple act of graciousness. By him doing what he did, he saved the man from humiliation. Quietly, tactfully, and he just met the need of the present moment with discretion. That's integrity.

That is personal integrity that Christ had in abundance. But it's a lesson for us. If you can spare someone embarrassment, do it. Don't pile on. Or don't take advantage and try to gain any praise yourself. He just met the need, and he saved the man some embarrassment. Other things were accomplished, but that's the beauty of acting in the moment in integrity. God takes care of the rest of it. And this is what Jesus did here at this particular occasion with this host who had a need and the needs were taken care of. Let's look at John 3.

This is the visit by Nicodemus.

Verse 1, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night, and he said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these things that you do unless God is with him.

Jesus answered, and he said to him, Most assuredly I say to you that unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said, How can a man be born when he is old and enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. He goes on to explain that. Nicodemus had a certain understanding here, but he was a rabbi that recognized Jesus as a teacher come from God. A teacher, maybe not necessarily THE teacher, but he came by night. The Jews were expecting the kingdom of God to be set up, and this man Nicodemus wondered that maybe this was the one to do it. So he came with an inquiry. Jesus explained to him exactly what he was looking for at that moment and how to participate in the kingdom of God. He said, You must be born again, or you must be born from above, of water and the spirit. He's basically saying that just being a physical Israel-like, a descendant of Abraham, was not enough. The man's question involved spiritual understanding and direction. So Christ approached him on that level. This was not a matter of food and drink. This was a matter of a little bit deeper spiritual instruction, and he did meet him there. This was a little bit deeper, and quite still, frankly, is one that's still deep today to get into this subject of born again, or being born from above, and what Christ was really saying here. But he met that man's spiritual need at that particular point in time and gave him the answer that he needed. Look at John 4 as we continue on here. Beginning in verse 7, this is a woman at the well in Samaria. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. This is as Jesus and his disciples were coming through the area of Samaria, north of Jerusalem. And Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. He was sitting by this well, and this woman approached, and the disciples had gone away into the city to buy food, so he was by himself.

The woman of Samaria said to him, How is it that you being a Jew ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? Where Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. They were a different class of people looked upon as inferior by the Jews. Plus, she was a woman, which is another category into itself in the ancient world. But Jesus just struck up a conversation with her.

He answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. And the woman said, Sir, you have nothing to draw with. And the well is deep. Where then do you get that living water? Are you greater than her father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock? Jesus answered and said, Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. And the woman said, Sir, give me of this water that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw. Then he went off into another question and issue with her regarding her husband and her current marital situation. And she had been married multiple times before. And when he revealed that knowledge to her, she said in verse 19, I perceive that you are a prophet, Sir. And he went on to give her some additional instruction.

But look at what the story can tell us at one level. Here was a woman who was after water, and she was surprised that a Jew would talk to her. She was Samaritan, and she was a woman. And she, in a sense, started to verbally spar with him about where to worship God and all.

And Christ avoided getting into that issue. He wasn't interested in talking about some other issue there. He rose above it, and he offered her water that ensured that she would never thirst again. He talked about something far more valuable than just a petty issue of where and how they worship God. He carefully led her from where she was, focused just on getting the daily water from a deep well to an understanding of God as the giver of eternal life. And he perceived that she was able to hear that and to receive that, that much of it at this particular point in time, as he saw where she was coming from. So again, he saw where she was, and then he led her by just a very everyday example. In the world of this type of situation where someone has to go and draw water from a well, and they can't turn on the tap and get pure, clean, cool, running water.

Water becomes a very valuable commodity in parts of the developing world where they still have to do that today. It's far different than what you and I can imagine. We have gallons of water at our disposal, fresh, sanitary, hot, cold, whatever we want. Filtered, unfiltered, bottled, a little bit of lime, orange, whatever, put all of that into it.

But when you have to go to a well to draw it, it becomes a very valuable thing. I well remember going to my grandfather's house and drawing water from a well. I'm glad I had that experience. My kids never did. But to have drawn water from a well, you understand somewhat that. Now, I don't even begin to understand having to do that for every aspect of my needs on a daily basis. But that's where she was, and Christ saw that. But he also saw that he could take her a little step further, and he pointed her to the wellspring of spiritual knowledge that was available to her if she opened her heart and her mind to understand that. So he carefully brought her along. Just watching how Christ worked with people, related to people, is very, very instructive. In chapter 5, there is the example of a healing here at the pool of Bethesda that we see. Beginning in verse 2, A certain man was there who had an infirmity 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be made well? The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. But when I am coming, another steps in. Jesus said, Rise, take up your bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked, and that day was the Sabbath day. And so again, here we see him meeting a human need precisely at the point of the greatest need. He asked this man who had been paralyzed for 38 years, Do you want to be made well? They seem redundant, but it shows that Christ was going to meet the man's need. He did. He rose to his feet, his wasted body, was made whole again. In this example, you see Christ moved by compassion, and he initiated the contact to meet this man's physical need. He didn't bypass it. He didn't let it drop. And he healed the man. This is the pattern that Jesus followed. Again, with what we have covered, look and see how he worked. He didn't humiliate the man at Cana. He told Nicodemus how to be born again. He gave him spiritual knowledge. And he didn't let this paralyzed man pass without providing a healing. Nor did he just tell him about the water. He did something. And the ability that he had, his mind wasn't focused in the same way as it was with a woman at Samaria, or with Nicodemus, or even at the marriage supper. He helped the man get up and walk. When he did that, it got him into trouble. You'll read on here from verse 9 in John chapter 5 that the Jews got very upset with him because he had done something on the Sabbath day.

Interesting situation. It led to some persecution. When you look through the rest of the story, the man answered the one who'd been healed in verse 11. And he said, And it goes on to tell the rest of the story about this particular man. But you see the criticism and the division in this particular case that got him in trouble with the Jews. Interesting. Just a little bit of an aside there that the Pharisees were, in this case, were always picky about the Sabbath. They couldn't see beyond the fact that here's someone who they knew had been paralyzed, and now he was healed, and they chose to criticize Christ on something about the Sabbath. Those who get a little bit picky on matters such as that tend to be the most hypocritical. When Jesus had done nothing wrong, he had not abrogated and done away with the Sabbath by telling this man to get up and walk on the Sabbath. He had done good in this case where he was able to do that. But those who were Pharisaical and legalistic chose to make an issue out of it, rather than looking at exactly what had been done and drawing a right spiritual conclusion from that. The same problem can happen today, and often does, when people get a bit Pharisaical, legalistic, regarding any point of God's law, and especially on the Sabbath. The great danger of Sabbath-keepers, brethren, especially, and anyone who really is intent on keeping all of the law of God, not just the Sabbath, is legalism, acting and thinking too much like a Pharisee, and often leads to a great deal of hypocrisy.

Christ's action didn't change the Sabbath, didn't do away with the Sabbath in any way.

It enhanced the Sabbath, and it provided a benefit and a healing here for this man. Now, all other questions one might ask about that and application today aside, just look at what Jesus did and learn from that in this particular case. But doing and working with people, going out and reaching out to people, dealing with them. I mean, had the same Jews watched him talk to this woman at the Welland Samaria, they would have criticized him for talking to a woman and a Gentile woman. They would have had a problem with that, because he was dealing with unclean people spiritually. Peter ran into that later on in the book of Acts. They accused him of dining with Gentiles, and they had to sort through that then at that particular time. Jesus cut through it all in his ministry. But he would have been accused all along the way for any of these actions, and yet he was teaching, and he just did that, and he was demonstrating the Kingdom of God as he was living it and working with people. On chapter 6, there's another example of Christ feeding 5,000 people and the multitudes here. As he was up in Galilee in verse 1, there was a great multitude following him, because they saw his signs which he performed on those who were diseased. And he went up on the mountain, and he sat with his disciples. And it was near to the Passover in the spring, verse 4 tells us, Jesus lifted up his eyes and seeing a great multitude coming toward him. He said to Philip, where shall we buy bread that these may eat? But this he said to test him for himself knew what he would do. Philip answered, we only have 200 denarii worth of money, and that much bought in bread is not even sufficient for every one of them to have just a little morsel of bread. So one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's son, said to him, there's a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many? Jesus said, make the people set down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men set down in number, about 5,000. Christ took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those setting down, and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they were filled, he said, gather up the fragments that remained so that nothing is lost.

Therefore they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. And those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, this is truly the prophet who has come into the world. Alright, here is one of his examples of feeding a multitude of people in a miraculous fashion, with the help of a little boy who had some fish and some bread that they were able to gather up.

Thousands of people on a hillside, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, had a definite need, and his disciples wanted to kind of send them off to the local fast food vendors in the villages, and they knew that wasn't going to work. He had an opportunity here. He insisted that they and the disciples meet the need with the small amount that they had.

Christ prayed, the bread and the fish were broken, and thousands ate their fill. They didn't have much. You and I don't have much, other than the truth of God. And we're kind of a small group ourselves. And we dare to say we have the knowledge of the kingdom of God, but yet we want to make that available. And we're willing to meet people where they are, and to provide for the spiritual hunger of people and truly, truly do hunger for something substantial and a message of hope. I wish I could share with you at times all the different comments and articles and responses that do come in from people. We get all kinds of responses to the publications to be on today, and they're answered in due course. But some of the needs that people have that they ask us about are truly heart-rending. Even the critical questions that we get betray a need for hope and for truth, to clear up guilt, to clear up misperceptions and misunderstandings that people have.

All of it speaks to the spiritual hunger that people have to understand God's purpose, God's plan, and to understand the truth. And we do what we can, and we provide that. We have very little, but we pray over that, and we ask God to bless it.

And the more we pray over the little that we have, I'm convinced God will bless it to be multiplied in its value, in its reach, and in its effectiveness. We should not and cannot afford to underestimate the value of prayer and taking what we have and placing it before God and saying, God, this is what we have. Whether it's your talents, your little bit, your little small offering, your ability, your enthusiasm, your support, your wisdom, all of ours collectively together. If we bundle it up, put it out in a few baskets, and then pray over it, as we should and do, and we're learning to do that. I've told you at times how we, quite frankly, the Church of God is learning to pray. It's a shame to have to say that, but the council, the administration, the Church is learning to pray to God and to act like a church. And, you know, we always have, I guess, but where God's brought us through some circumstances to bring us to recognize just how small and inadequate we are, to know that we have to rely on Him. And, you know, I'm walking into an opportunity at the Home Office. It's a responsibility that's greater than anything I've ever had and have been asked to be a part of. But it's an opportunity, and I look forward to it, just because of the spiritual journey and spiritual work that it involves. But I do know, and I can tell you, brethren, that we pray over those small loaves of bread that we have and ask God to bless it and to multiply it in His way. And we're a work of faith. We have to be. We always have been. You know, sometimes you look back at your life over a number of years. You know, I'm kind of speaking a little bit wistfully these days. I turned 60 on Thursday. Okay? Never, you know, the big 6-0. 30 was okay. 40 was okay. I didn't even blink an eye at 50. I don't know about the 60 thing yet, but we'll get through it. The family's taking me out for dinner tomorrow. We're having a big family portrait made and buying me dinner. And I'm starting to feel like the patriarch of the family. I've got to sit in the middle of the portrait here. In my office, I have this family picture I inherited when my mother died. It was my dad's family taken just before World War II when all the—he and his four brothers went off to World War II. My grandfather got every—he must have scraped together every penny they had out of every flower jar in the shack they lived in. And they all got dressed up in their finest and went and trotted downtown and sat in front of a professional portrait artist, a picture taker, and had a group shot made of everybody. And I've always looked at that when I was a kid, and I inherited that from my mom, and I got a setting in my desk or in my office. My dad and all of it, you know, 12 kids and grandma and grandpa right there in the front row. I've looked at that all my life. Now, after tomorrow, I'll have one to put up there with me right there in the front with everybody else. And I'm beginning, oh, boy, am I ready for all of this. But you get to a certain point and you realize, you start looking back, and you realize, you get certain, look at your life, look at certain points, and what you've come through. And you've gone through life changes. You've gone through death and sickness and divorce and issues and struggle and trial in your lives.

And you're still faithful. Look back and recognize that, indeed, you really are walking by faith. It's not just been a slogan or a tagline or something that you nice phrase you heard in a sermon or you wrote down in your spiral notepad. It's what you've lived. You all have lived years of faith, and you've walked by faith.

And that's what's happened. Somebody recently said to me, what's all this been about? Forty, fifty, sixty years of this Church of God experience. What's this been all about with all the issues and everything? Well, I'll tell you what it's been about. It's been about faith. It's about walking with God in faith, learning to not trust in ourselves, learning not to follow a man, learning to recognize that even when you've got a little bit and you don't know how you're going to get through the next week or get through the next moment or face the next person, that God will do it for you.

If we yield ourselves to Him, no matter how little we have, if we lay it out there and say, God, you take it, you work with it, here's this little boy. He had five fishes. You think some of the older people were thinking, what's he doing?

Five fishes. Probably seen some of the disciples who were supposed to have been spiritual, who was a charismatic figure, Christ. They're probably thinking, oh no, five fishes. What's this kid think? We have thousands of people. What's going on here? And they learned as much as anybody else, faith. They were taught by a little boy, and Jesus Christ. And some people learned a few things that day. They were drawn to Christ. Christ met their need.

Christ is the one who can meet every human need. His method of evangelizing is simply this. What we've walked through in these examples here today shows us that Christ reached people where they were. He touched them at the point of their need, and He gave them a glimpse of His love and His way of life. That He cared, that He had compassion. And He had the ability to do it in ways that I don't and you don't.

I cannot say to a paralyzed person, rise up and walk, oh I can. And if I don't, maybe I don't have the faith to do it. But I've prayed, and you have prayed, and God's will is done. But we do have the ability to reach out in that way and impact people's lives. What Jesus Christ did, and just look, it really is reduced to this. He walked into a village. He walked into a group of people. And He fed them. He healed their disease. Sometimes it was a disease of the body, and sometimes it was a disease of the mind.

Sometimes He healed those who had been paralyzed for years. Sometimes He cast out a demon. Sometimes He raised them from the dead. And sometimes it was just His teaching that gave them hope and gave them encouragement. So He healed them in many different ways. But He fed them. He touched them at the point of their need. And so He fed them. He healed them.

And He taught them the kingdom of God. He did those three things. That's what He did when He walked into a place. And He met them at their need. Now, how does that translate to us? Well, we have the knowledge of the truth, and it's a very precious commodity. And we can make that available. And as God calls people, and He begins and He works with them as anyone at any time, on September 10th or October 31st or March 2nd or whatever the Sabbath might be, they walk into the door and it's a new person.

You and I have the opportunity to say hello and to welcome them and to introduce ourselves and to make them feel welcome to the Church of God. If they're only there for one day, two weeks, or if they never come again, at least it will be a positive experience because they will see in some way, through you, the example of Jesus Christ. Because what you do in your prayers, what you do is you give your tithes and offerings, as you give your support in whatever way by being here, by not running to the bathroom or staying in the corner when somebody new walks in, but by engaging people.

And if it's nothing more than saying hello and shaking their hand, you're doing something that's Christ-like. If you ignore them, or we don't have time because we're too busy or we have someone, our best friend to talk to or whatever, we're missing an opportunity. And that goes across the spectrum of opportunity in working with people. We have what we have, and we need to be very proud of what we have and who we are.

No apologies, no excuses. How have the events of recent months changed you? Is it for the good or for the worse? This world is changing around us. Even the church has changed. We were talking about this the other day, and a thought came to my mind. Now, look at the economy, look at our world here in the United States of America and how rapidly things have changed.

Those of you that are retirees from General Motors and companies that are 30 in and 30 out and you had a whole lifetime of a pension, those days are gone. People's retirements have been altered in recent years in the last few days. Maybe the stock market will come back up and all will be fine, but it creates fear, creates change.

We don't have to go too far to read how this world has changed. The security of large companies, always being there and providing a job, a retirement, is a thing of the past. We all know that. It's interesting, but even with what has happened within the Church of God over a number of years, not just the most recent time, that too has impacted people's sense of spiritual security. The question you and I have to ask is, is it impacted for the good or for the bad?

Do we feel less secure or has it driven us to Christ? Has it driven us to our knees in reliance on Him and in humility? Or has it created doubt, confusion, and caused us to question God, doctrine, who we are, what this is? Or as some have said to me, you know, I've heard the comment made, you know, what's all this been about for 40 years?

What have I been a part of for all these years? What's this all about? Sincere question, it certainly needs to be worked with where they are, but how has it impacted you? You see, sometimes I think, I know it's all of God, that's not my concern. But I think God is telling us that, you know, our trust better be in Him and in Christ and in that rock rather than another person.

Or even at times a minister, and even when the church itself gets rocked, because the church is going to get rocked some more. It's going to get rocked some more. You see, you just saw here, we read in the scriptures, where Christ did good and He got persecuted. We can do all the good in the world. Do everything right and get persecuted.

As I said a couple of weeks ago, I do hope for the day when we will be persecuted for righteousness sake and persecuted for preaching the Gospel and have to deal with that. And if we are yielded to God, He will help us. The world is changing and people are just as... Their foundations have been shaken in society, just as our foundations can be shaken at times spiritually, whether it's in a collective trial or even just a personal trial. God expects us to come to Him for the help to come through it. And He will meet us where we are and He will bring us to a conclusion, to the help that we need.

What we have as an opportunity, just in this particular area of reaching beyond ourselves, is very, very important. To reach out to people in our prayers as they come through the door and to help them understand the knowledge that God has given to us, that will help us move forward with a positive example as well. You know, Christ, in John 17, He prayed for those that were to come. John 17, verse 20, He said, He said, Christ's prayer at this point in His final night was for those who would believe in Me through their word. He's talking about those who would be called by the preaching of the Gospel. And He prayed for them. And He's always brought those individuals, and He will to this day. But we have to have the courage and the confidence to go out and to reach out as we can and then watch for God's blessing and His guidance on that. And by doing so, we can banish a great deal of fear that has gripped us and has held us back from wanting, from the ability to preach the Gospel and to go to the world in a right way with the knowledge that we have. We have had a fear to do that. And if we approach this properly, we can break through that. I'm confident of that.

And that fear has led to a lot of the other complications and problems that we have. Christ never intended that His disciples be fearful of preaching the Gospel.

It is in that preaching of the Gospel that we at times have our own salvation in terms of not the eternal salvation, but the salvation of cohesion and unity and purpose and mission that gives us the ability to work together and to go forward.

Christ wants to see that. And as we do that, it will glorify God and in that, God will be able to do His work. Let's turn to 1 Peter 2. And verse 9, Peter writes, In verse 9, he's really quoting from what God said of the Israelites in Exodus 19, that they were to be made a holy priesthood and a holy nation in the covenant that He was making with them. That's the essence of our involvement and placement within the Kingdom of God. God was going to make a kingdom of priests, as He said then. And this is what Peter is bringing into this context. Who once were not a people, but are now the people of God.

In verse 11, He said, As we learn from the example and the teaching of Christ and how He met people, met their needs, interacted with them, brought them along, we then have that opportunity and can learn and reach out to people in the same way.

And as we do, we glorify God. Because as people see us in that positive light, and to the degree we model that example of Christ, they see Christ in us. And Christ continues His work of relating to people who need the gospel and helping them to understand the values and the principles and the hope of that eternal Kingdom.

That's what this is all about.

Let's be praying about it. Let's be asking God's blessing.

And ask for more than just numbers, brethren. Ask for God to help us all to model Christ's example in us.

And thereby reach out to people and meet their needs.