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Proclaiming the True Gospel of Jesus Christ

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Proclaiming the True Gospel of Jesus Christ

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Proclaiming the True Gospel of Jesus Christ

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Christ calls the Kingdom a "mystery," the truth of it understood and preached to the world by His true church. What is that true gospel of the Kingdom of God and what did He show that His church must do to preach and proclaim it effectively?

Transcript

Well, if you keep up with God's calendar and pay attention to the moon, and the phases that it goes through every month, you probably know that tomorrow is the first day of the month of Elul, Elul meaning the sixth month. There's a New moon then. So, in the first month, first day of the sixth month means the next New moon that comes around will be on the first day of the seventh month, which means that we will all be together for the Feast of Trumpets, just a month away. And, of course, when the Feast of Trumpets comes around, and as we're looking forward to that time, we know that excitement is always building in the air. It's that time when we look forward to Trumpets and Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles and all that, that means. It's a big time of the year. It's an important time of the year for us.

And that's fitting that it would be so, because when you look in the Bible and you read in the Book of Revelation and you see the time of the return of Jesus Christ drawing near and near, you see the anticipation in heaven grow as well. You read in Revelation 5:11, and 19 of how the angels just praise God, praise Jesus Christ. He's come to earth, He has earned up, or He has paid the price for our sins. He is going to return, and set up His government on Earth is going to bring so many good things for all of mankind. So as you see that praise building, and as we live in the world around us today, and we see the times of Jesus Christ's return drawing ever near, as we watch events, and things happen in the world that just bring us closer and closer to the realization that everything we read in the Bible in Revelation in how the world will be at the time of the return of Christ, we see that anticipation, and we should feel that anticipation as well.

You know, when Jesus Christ came to earth, He brought the message of the kingdom of God. When John the Baptist was preparing the way for the kingdom, for Jesus Christ, he first mentioned the Kingdom of God, and the Jews had no idea really what they were talking about. They thought when the Messiah came, that He would restore the physical kingdom to Israel. There would be a king that would replace the Roman king, and things would go back to the way they were in the Old Testament. They didn't really understand what Christ was saying, but wherever He went, He preached the kingdom of God. And He preached the true kingdom of God, not everyone understood it, but those that He called and opened their minds, they understood the kingdom of God. I want to just take a quick survey through some of the New Testament here to talk about the kingdom of God, and see how it be...was prevalent in Christ's teaching, and then the apostles that followed Him.

If we go back to Matthew 4:17. As we're in Matthew 4, Christ has just emerged from His fast, and the great temptation with Satan, the devil. He's overcome Satan. He is ready to begin His ministry. As you read coming up to verse 17, you see a prophecy that is written there, that He has fulfilled. And I know in our weekly Zoom Bible studies, we've been going through the Book of Isaiah, and these fulfilled messianic prophecies are there. It leads up to what it says in verse 17.

Matthew 4:17 It says, "From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

It's here. It's at hand. Now it's close. They didn't know, as I said, probably what He meant. But as He went through His time on earth, as He, for instance, in the Sermon on the Mount, and He gave that model prayer, part of it was He said, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done." Put that in your prayers, thy kingdom come.

And the Jews at that time probably thought, "Okay, when the Messiah comes, He will bring the kingdom back." They didn't understand today we are still praying, thy kingdom come and all that it means. As you go on through the Book of Matthew, if we go to Chapter 13, He keeps talking about it, and He gives the disciples there some parallels, "The kingdom of heaven is like this. The kingdom of God is like that." I'm not going to take the time to read through those parallels, or those parables. You can do that, and see what they're saying. But He says something interesting in verse 11 of Matthew 13.

Matthew 13:11 “When the disciples come and said, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’ He answers and says, ‘Because it's been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it hasn't been given.’”

The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. What is God teaching? You know, the past couple times I've been here, we've talked about the mystery of the church, and what God is working through the church, how important the church is, and what God is working with you and me. We've talked about the mystery of man hidden from man, why is he even on earth? So many people are asking that question. And Christ says, "From them, it's hidden, to you, it's given. You know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. You know what God is doing." And that should motivate us. That should give us zeal to pray “thy kingdom come” but you should also realize that it puts a responsibility on us, a responsibility that God has opened our minds to this truth. And, you know, as Jesus Christ was about to ascend into heaven after His resurrection, and spending time with the disciples, He commanded the church “you preach the gospel, you preach the gospel to all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.” Let's go to Matthew 24, and actually look at that verse in verse 14.

Matthew 24:14, He says "And this..." Now, look at that word, this. "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come."

What is this gospel? You can tune into a number of other churches, and they'll tell you what they think the gospel is. They'll talk about a gospel about this, and a gospel about that, but we know what the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of God is. Jesus Christ will return to this earth, Satan will be bound. He will establish his government that will rule the earth at that time, and all nations, as it says in Isaiah 2-4, will flow to Jerusalem. They will be looking for that teaching. The world needs that hope. The world needs that gospel of the kingdom. You and I have it, you and I believe it, you and I know it. It's a mystery to the world when they read the kingdom of heaven, and they try to come up with every other way they can explain the kingdom of heaven, but they just don't know, but you and I know, and there's that responsibility.

You, church of God, you go out and preach this gospel. And Mark 16:15 specifically says, "Preach the gospel to every creature." To every creature, that gospel. They may not understand it. They didn't understand it when Jesus Christ said it, but we still preach it. It's quite a responsibility. You know, I know of no other church except the true church of God that is preaching that gospel to the world. No other church. And I'm not talking about an organization here, I'm talking about the true church of God. No other church has that gospel, knows that gospel, and is responsible for preaching that gospel exactly the way Jesus Christ preached it that the true church of God has, and the true disciples of God who keep all of His commitments, who have the testimony of Christ, who are in training to become those kings and priests that God talks about in Revelation 1. Those who are becoming the first fruits of that next creation, or that next phase, and age of mankind when Christ returns and establishes His kingdom. Only you and me, only the church of God, the true church of God.

And so as you see the apostles after Jesus Christ has been resurrected, we'll go to the Book of Acts and look at a few things to see that indeed that's what the apostles in the early New Testament church taught. They taught many things. They taught about Jesus. They taught about Him being the Messiah. They taught the kingdom of God as well.

Acts 1:3 It's speaking of Christ here. And it says in verse 3, "He presented himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during 40 days."

And what did He speak of? He spoke of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. He gave them many instructions. Now that they knew what their mission was, and what they were going to be, He talked of many things, but He wanted them to know what the kingdom of God was. The same things that you and I should rehearse regularly, keep in the front of our minds the blessings, and the opportunities, and the calling that God has given us to preach His gospel, to do all the things that are associated with that, because if we're preaching it, we better be living the kingdom. You and I have the opportunity to enjoy the blessings, and the benefits of living God's way of life now. The same thing that, if we are true to the end, and follow God to the end, that we'll be teaching others. The time is for us now to learn it, apply it, make sure it's part of our lives, so that we can teach it in the coming millennial time.

So Christ spoke to the disciples about the things concerning the kingdom of God. If we forward to Acts 8 after Stephen was stoned for preaching to the Sanhedrin, we find the disciples were dispersed from Jerusalem because of a persecution that occurred. And in Chapter 8, the Deacon Phillip has moved on to Samaria. Samaria was not held in high repute by the Jews as you know, but as he's there, we find him preaching the kingdom of God.

Acts 8:5-6 "Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes, with one accord, heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing, and seeing the miracles, which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud, voice came out of many who were possessed, and there was great joy."

He was there preaching Jesus Christ. I'm sorry, verse 12 is where I wanted to go this time. I want to come back to verse 6 later.

Acts 8:12 "But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized."

Many say the gospel of the kingdom is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The apostle spoke the kingdom, or that Jesus Christ, He was the Messiah. They spoke of the kingdom of God, and Jesus Christ. Today, most of the world will tell you, or most of the world that we live in, and areas that we live in will tell you they know that Jesus Christ is the Savior, but you have to preach the kingdom of God, church of God, not the same thing that other churches are teaching in a slightly different way.

In Acts 14:21-22 Paul is preaching and he says, "When they had preached the gospel to that city, where he was and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,” Those are the churches of Galatia. “Strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying, 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'"

Words that we read today, and know that while our lives may have been comparatively peaceful and easy now, there will be trials, there will be tribulations. We must through many trials and tribulations enter the kingdom of God. Disciples back then, the people being called into the church back then, were taught that. They had in their minds the focus, the kingdom of God, that's the goal. That's where we're going. That's what God has called us to. It's at the forefront of our minds just as God the Father who wants everyone. His will is that everyone would repent, and be part of that kingdom. That that's at the forefront of His mind as well. I'll give you Acts 19:8, but I'm going to bypass that, there's another place that talks about the kingdom of God. But let's go back to the very last Chapter of Acts in Acts 28. Acts 28, and the last two verses. As the Book of Acts closed, Paul is in a very light imprisonment in Rome. He was there for two years, and they had learned that Paul was an honest man, that they could trust him. So they didn't have a close watch over him and have him in jail, in prison with guards watching over him. But as he was there says in verse 30.

Acts 28:30-31 It says, "Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and he received all who came to him." What was he preaching during that time, even while he was under confinement, or watched by the Roman government? “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things which concerned the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence.”

He wasn't worried about what people would say. He wasn't worried that the Roman authorities might come, and lock him up in prison, and throw away the key. He was preaching boldly the kingdom of God, and the things that Christ taught them. The very same commission that God gives you and me, preach the kingdom of God, and teach them to observe all things I have commanded you. That's the commission of the church. You know, as we approach the Feast of Tabernacles, which pictures the coming kingdom of God, and Jesus Christ's millennial reign on earth. As we think about the Feast of Tabernacles, the kingdom of God should be on our minds. Yes, there's anticipation, we've prepared for a while to attend the feast, and to be there. You see, anticipation of the kingdom is at forefront in our mind. We're going there to picture what it is that God had wanted us to do, and what He wants us to think and feel and learn during that time. How do we preach the gospel of the kingdom? What do we do? Did Christ tell us, maybe some of the things that must accompany the preaching of the gospel?

I got a little ahead of myself when I read Acts 8:6, and you see that when Philip was there in Samaria, I mean, he was preaching the kingdom of God, he had these miracles that God gave him the power to do, heal the sick, cast out demons. And you read through the Bible that these signs which accompanied them...in Mark 16, it'll talk about that. We even sing a song, a hymn in one of our songs, by those signs which accompanied them. Well, let's go back again to the Book of Matthew, because in Matthew 10, Jesus Christ after He's been preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, as He's been out and about with the people of Judea, as He's been healing the sick and casting out demons, as He's been modeling the way of life, and the faith that is available to all of us, He sends out 12 disciples, the 12 disciples, and tells them to do the same thing. They've been watching Him, they've been working with Him every day, they've been observing Him, and they've seen Him work and they've come to believe He is the son of God. And in Matthew 10, beginning in verse 5, He gives them instructions. He's like, "Okay, you've been being trained for a while. You've seen how I operate. You've seen the things I say. You see the faith, the trust that I have in God. Now, this is going to be your commission. You go out and do these things." And He tells them that in verse 5.

Matthew 10:5 It says, "These 12, Jesus sent out and commanded them saying, 'Don't go into the way of the Gentiles, and don't enter a city of the Samaritans.'" He's pretty specific on where He wants them to go. "But go rather," He says, "To the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

So He gives them a very specific command. Later on, we're going to read about the 70 who went out after these 12, and He gives them a specific command as well, one that just says, "Don't even talk to anyone of the way. Just go straight to it. Keep your focus on what you're going. Just go, and do what I tell you to do." You know, when God calls us, He tells us what He wants us to do. It takes us a lifetime to get to the point where we are obeying God more fully every day, month, year. We learn something more about what we need to be doing to be more fully obeying God, and becoming the people that He wants as we earnestly, diligently, completely learn to live by every word of God, but here there's this obedience. He tells them, He could have just said, "Hey, go over to the lost sheep of Israel." But he gives them specific commands.

One of the things, if we're going to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, we must live the way that God wants us to in obedience to His commands. It's very important. Strict obedience, learning every year of our lives to become more and more the way He wants us to. Understanding more of all those things that He says in the Bible. You know, when Christ said, live by every word of God, He wasn't just using a phrase that was just to catchphrases, He really lived by every word of God, and that's what our mission is. And as God leads us through His Holy Spirit, we'll learn more about the false witnesses, and the things that are hidden in our lives even now that we need to be willing to yield, and give up so that He can work with us, and so we can become the people that He wants us to become.

So as He goes through there, I'm going to point out seven different things that Jesus Christ gave to these people. One of them is obedience. Don't go the way of the Samaritans, or don't go by the way the Gentiles, don't enter the city of the Samaritans, just go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So He watched, how would they do that? In verse 7, He says.

Matthew 10:7  "As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

There it is, right there at the forefront. When you go out, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, preach that. Heal the sick, so He tells them what to do, preach that gospel. The same thing He tells us before He ascends into heaven, He gives that commission to His church. And verse 8, He says.

Matthew 10:8 "This is what you're going to do. These are the things that are going to company that gospel that you are preaching. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

Now, the apostles that He sent out, the disciples, much different than us today, they were able to heal the sick, cast out demons, and do all those things. They had tremendous faith. To be preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, we must have that faith in Him. We must believe it. It must drive us. They saw Jesus Christ. They saw Jesus Christ healing, everyone that was brought to Him, it says in Matthew 8. That was just part of His ministry. So they knew, they believed, He has the power to heal. God has the power to heal.

So as they went out, they felt that. They knew it, they knew it could happen. And here's Jesus Christ himself saying, "You go out and do these things." It took faith on their part. It took faith on their part. One day there will be signs, I believe, that accompany the gospel. It'll happen when the church of God has the faith that God wants us to have. You know, it's not an unknown quote that Jesus Christ said, "When He returns, will He find faith on earth?" Will He find faith on earth? One of the things we have to do, if we're going to effectively preach the gospel, is we have to have faith. We have to develop that faith, and look for the opportunities to develop that faith because God gives us the opportunities to develop it. Sometimes we just pass right by them. So faith accompanies it. Works accompany the preaching of the gospel comes from faith. And in verse 9 and 10, He says something else.

Matthew 10:9-10 He says, "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs, for a worker is worthy of his food."

Now, why did He have to say that? What's wrong with packing your bag? What's wrong with going to the bank, and getting the money so you could do the work? Why does He specifically say, "Don't you worry about any of that. In fact, I don't want you to take any of it." They had a work to do. They were leaving home. They were going out to the various cities of the Gentiles. What was He saying? Trust me. Don't worry about those things. I can provide everything you need. So don't pack an extra suitcase, don't go run to the ATM, don't do those things, don't make your concern about money. Keep your focus on what I've told you to do, and what I've commanded you to do. I will provide the rest.

You know, that trust is so hard to come. I think all of us trust God to some level, but we live in a society, and we've been raised in a society where we trust so many other things as well. You know, one by one, as the world goes on, and gets ever closer to the return of Christ, we're going to see all those things that we trust in, all those gods and idols that are out there that we don't recognize as idols, one by one, they're going to fade away. One by one, God will execute judgment on those, and we will be to the point where we have no one to trust, but God. It's a process, it's a good process. No one in the entire universe better to trust than God. But as Christ sends the disciples out to preach the gospel, just focus on that, go where I tell you to go, preach what I tell you to preach, have faith in me, have trust in me, don't worry about these other things. That's a goal. And God will see what we need to have. He will provide whatever we need to get the job done. If we go on in verse 11, He talks about in the last part of verse 10 there.

Matthew 10:10-11 "A worker is worthy of his food."

So what He's saying there, and He follows it up in verse 11 there, "When you go into a town, inquire about who is worthy." Who should I stay with? A worker is worthy of his food. And so He's showing that, you may stay in people's houses, they will feed you, they will provide for you, you're not going to go hungry, you're not going to fast for all this time that you're away, there will be people that provide for you, and that's okay. That's their part in the preaching of the gospel. Everyone has a part in the preaching of the gospel. As they provide for you, and as you eat their food, don't feel guilty about it. A worker is worthy of his food. You know, it's interesting when He talks about worthy. Later on, in the same chapter down in verse 37 and 38, He talks about who's worthy. Now, as those disciples went out, they were inquiring about who believed perhaps that Jesus Christ was Messiah. And some they were going into visit, were going to receive them, were going to see, and others were going to reject them. Just like today, some people receive the gospel when they hear it, and others don't want any part of it. They don't want to hear it at all. But down in verse 37 and 38, written for us here.

Matthew 10:37 "He who loves father or mother more than me," Christ says, "Isn't worthy of me."

Interesting. Of course, we don't... He who loves father or mother more. Of course, we know the first commandment is, love the Lord God with all your heart. He is, there is no other God besides Him. "And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Verse 38.

Matthew 10:38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me."

So we kind of see what worthy is for you and me, where we're headed and what we are about. But if we go back to chapter 10 and press in what Christ's instructions for His disciples that He's sending out to do, we read about that. I'm back in verse 11, now chapter 10.

Matthew 10:11-13 "Whatever city or town you enter, inquire in it who is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it." Go there in peace. Be friendly. Don't come with a hammer and say, "You better listen to this message, you know, dah, dah, dah. Greet it. Be friendly. Come in peace." He says. "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it."

Now, this is another one, as Mr. Porter was talking about, you go back into some of the Hebrew to understand some of the things that...in the Old Testament, the Greek and the new, and it'll talk about how the Jews, when they would say something about, "Let peace be upon you." It would be more like, let my blessings be upon you, may happiness be upon you, may joy be upon you, but that is all part of peace, right? Let my peace be upon you. May you be settled, may you be established, may your life be good. "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it." Your presence there, and what you are teaching will be a blessing to them. It will settle them. They will listen. They will participate. They will enjoy you being there.

Matthew 10:13 "If it's not worthy, let your peace return to you."

Well, if they don't receive you, if they say, "We don't want to believe that. We don't want to believe that, we don't want to hear that, and whatever," then leave. Leave. It's okay, but understand, your peace will leave with you. They will be unsettled. Establishment, settlement, joy only comes from knowing and accepting the will of God as He calls, and as we repent, believe, baptized, receive the Holy Spirit. I don't think any of us if we think back before we were baptized, we never knew what joy was, and peace was until we were baptized, until we had God's Holy Spirit. It's what settles us, and keeps us focused, and keeps us calm, even through the rough times of life when we are continually looking forward to God's kingdom, and doing His will. So in verse 13, He says, "It's okay." You know.

Matthew 10:14 He says the same thing, "Whoever will not receive you, or hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet."

Don't feel guilty. You know, one of the hardest things for me when I became a pastor is that people wouldn't listen, or didn't listen, or didn't get it. And I found myself often thinking, "Are there words I could have said differently? Could I have approached it differently?" And I had many sleepless night over that. And I would try to contact people again, and almost always they wouldn't call back, or they didn't reply. I came to realize they just don't want it. Some people just don't want it. They've got a line in the sand, and they'll believe, but when you hit a certain point, they're not going to believe anymore. And they make the decision, I'm not going any further.

It hurts, it's disappointing, but it happens. It happens. And so Christ gives them these points here that we've been talking about. In verse 16 then.

Matthew 10:16 He says, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves."

You go out as sheep. Understand in the world there are people that want to tear you apart. When they hear what you have to say, they're going to want to tear you apart just like they did Jesus Christ. They tolerated Him for a while, but they didn't like what He had to say, and they began to mock Him, plot against Him, eventually kill Him. But they hated Him. He was their Messiah. But they didn't do that. Christ said, "If they did it to me, they'll do it to you." But you go out as sheep, and understand you're in the midst of wolves, be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Know the ways of the world, know who and understand the way they operate, but don't you do the same thing. You be wise and know what's going on, but you be harmless as doves. You preach the gospel, you live the way of life God wants you to live, and do the things that He wants you to do.

So in those verses, Christ lays out, He lays out some points that we can consider as we go out and preach the gospel to the world. You know, in Matthew 11, as you follow through the chronology here of Matthew, as Christ sends those disciples out in Matthew 10, it's interesting in Matthew 11 that some disciples of John the Baptist come to visit Christ, and he's in prison at that time. And they have an interesting question for Christ, and He has a very telling response.

Matthew 11:1-5 "It came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His 12 disciples, that He parted from there to teach and to preach in their cities. And when John heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, 'Are you the coming one, or do we look for another?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'You go and tell John the things which you hear and see, the words I preach and the things I do, the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.'"

"John, what do you think? What do the works show you? 'The kingdom of Heaven is near. What I'm doing is what the kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom of God will be like.'" We read it in Isaiah when we read those chapters, "The blind will see, the lame will leap, the deaf will hear, the world will be renewed and become what God always intended it to be, just like mankind then held back because of sin. But in that kingdom of God, the thing that we picture as we go to the Feast of Tabernacles, it will become what God wanted it to become always. "John, or disciples of John, go back and tell him that. He'll know that I am the one to come. I am the one who was there."

Matthew 11:6 He says, "And blessed is he who is not offended because of me.”

Who will listen to me, who won't get mad and run away at what I say, but will understand the works, the message, they go together. Jesus Christ preached the gospel, Jesus Christ had many other things that He did as well to show that He was the Messiah. Let's go back or let's go forward to Luke 10. Luke 10, and here we saw Jesus Christ send out 12. Those 12 have come back. They're the 12 apostles. But then in Chapter 10 of Luke, we read about 70, or as the original manuscripts may indicate, 72 others that He sent out with pretty much the same commands. It was the apostles' responsibility to go out and do that, and they had their opportunity to go out and do what Jesus Christ said to do. But then 70 others He sends out as well. And He prefaces it by saying, "You know, the fields are white with harvest."

Luke 10:2 "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

And so He sends out these 70. It had to be more than 12. Everyone has a part in proclaiming the gospel of God. That's what He has called us all to do. In different ways as we read through, I'm not going to take the time to read through Chapter 10, you will see that He gives them the same instructions that He gave the first 12 that went out, the very same things.

A little bit differently, but there's the obedience. In verse 4, well, He talks about trust, carrying neither moneybag. “Go your way. I send you out as lambs among wolves," etc. Interesting in verse 7, when He says, "When you come to a house that receives you..." The last sentence of that verse 7 says, "Don't go from house to house. Stay there." That's an interesting thing, and, you know, as we look at the world around us today and the church around us today, God's church, some go from house to house.

They don't get settled in one place, they go from house to house. God says, "When you find that gospel, stay. Stay and let me develop you in that mystery of the church." Going from house to house does not develop in the way that God intended for us. And so He goes through all that in verse 11. He even says, "When someone rejects you, when they don't want to hear that gospel anymore..." He says, you know, to say this.

Luke 10:11 "The very dust of your city, which clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you. You've come close to it, you've heard about it, you've seen things about it."

Now, you and I encounter a lot of people in our lives. We go to work, we live in neighborhoods, we have friends and various associations, and we have opportunities. I don't mean to be forthright with people, but people will ask, "What do you believe?" Sometimes you get into religious discussions, and as you talk about what you believe, or about salvation, and they have questions about, well, you know, salvation. Again, the church of God understands what salvation is. God wants it for all of mankind. Not just a few that have been born since the time of Jesus Christ, or only those who have heard the name, Jesus Christ. All will hear whether they were born in...you know, right after Adam and Eve until the time that Christ returns. All will have the opportunity.

I dare say no other church is preaching that. It shows the love and concern of God. His plan is perfect. Only God's church, true church understands that plan, and we can prove it, and you should be able to prove it from the words of the Bible. You have to believe the Bible is truth, you have to believe that every word in it is absolutely the Word of God. We live by it, we teach it, we preach it, we proclaim it. And there's a slight difference between preach and proclaim. You have an opportunity.

So for people who may even say, "I don't want to hear it. That sounds antiquated. Going to the Feast of Tabernacles, that sounds antiquated. Only the Jews, only the Jews. God never intended the Seventh Day Sabbath, or anyone except that nation of Israel coming out of Egypt." Well, you can tell them differently if they reject it. "You know what? The kingdom of God has come near them." When you say those words, when you tell them what you believe, and they have the opportunity to ask more questions or just fly it out, reject it. That's what happened back in the time of Christ. And when He says, "You know, go into the city, if they reject it, tell them the kingdom of God has come near you, you remember that."

Now, again, as I pastored for the last 10 years, I was always heartened and actually surprised when people would come forth and you could tell they were going to progress toward baptism. Almost always, they had something about the Church of God and truth in their past from way back whenever. Maybe they had an uncle who went to the church, maybe they remembered a plain truth magazine from way back in church history from decades ago being there, and they picked it up, and read it, and they always remembered it. The kingdom of God came near them, and later it blossomed into something that they wanted to know about.

We have that opportunity. Those conversations we have and those things that we encounter in life stick in people's minds. God can bring back every memory and every encounter we've ever had in our life. It's all up here. Well, Matthew, or in Luke 10, you can see where Christ would talk about the cities that the gospel was preached in that rejected Him, and back in Matthew 10, He even talked about the cities that He went to. Of all people, Jesus Christ came and worked works in Capernaum in those places. And He said, "You wouldn't listen, you wouldn't pay attention to me, you rejected me. Woe to you. Woe to you that you didn't listen."

And so it's too bad that people, not all at this time, but that's the way God has the plan of salvation. You and I are blessed to have the truth, and to have our minds opened. One day everyone will have their minds opened. Well, there's a preaching, a preaching of the gospel, but not everyone stands behind a pulpit and preaches the gospel. But every one of us has the opportunity to proclaim the gospel. We're all called to do that. We turn back to the Book of Philippians. Paul finds himself... Well, you know Paul, he was stoned, and he was in prison, and he was beaten so many times, but he makes an interesting statement to the Philippians as he's incarcerated in Rome in that light prison sentence.

Philippians 1:12 He says, "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. The things that happened to me actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.”

“I was put in prison. They saw how I handled it. They heard what I said. They saw how I behaved and what I believed, and it turned out for an opportunity for Christ to be proclaimed to them just by the fact that I was there.”

Philippians 1:13 “It's become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my change are in Christ, and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains."

Oh, Paul spoke to them, they wanted to hear Paul speak, but it became to them by my change, these things that happened to me, these occurrences that I find myself involved in.

Philippians 1:14 “Most of the brethren have become confident by my change, and now they are much more bold to speak the Word without fear.”

They see what God put me through, and now that's created a zeal in them. Now they speak the Word, the kingdom of God more boldly. Now they are not afraid to do it when they see the works that Paul did, what he went through. Isn't that an interesting thing? It wasn't the words in this case, it was by the fact that he was imprisoned. And as they saw those things happen, even to them, to the palace guard, to the brethren, the gospel was proclaimed, not preached with words, but preached by the actions.

Philippians 1:15-17 He says, "Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, some from goodwill. The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains, but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.”

Appointed for the defense of the gospel. I stand for it. No matter what comes my way, I stand for the gospel of Christ, and there won't be anything between that would cause me to deter from it. In 1 Corinthians 11, I can go back to the first holy time of the year, you know, we read the Bible, and we see the pattern of God. You know, in 2 Corinthians 1, it tells us that God comforts us so that we can comfort others. God teaches us that we can teach others. God does to us, He expects us to pass that on to someone else. And we see the pattern, and here at 1 Corinthians 11, Paul is writing to the Corinthians church. They're having some issues over Passover, how to properly observe it. And as he goes through the various ordinance of it, down in verse 26, he makes this statement after he talks about the bread and wine.

1 Corinthians 11:26 He says, "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.”

As often as you participate in the Passover, you proclaim His death till He comes. Not the words that they spoke, but by the actions that they took. Just by being there, just by taking the bread, taking the feet, washing each other's feet, you proclaim His death till He comes. Now some would say, "What's the big deal about...?" I don't mean in the church, I mean outside the church. "You know, the Passover. You know, what's the big deal about washing feet?" Very few people do that. Some say, "Take the bread and wine every week. We know all those stories, we know what the Bible says. Do it on Passover, do it the way Jesus Christ showed the example, and do it because when you do it, you proclaim His death till He comes."

You know, sometimes, and...well, I shouldn't say sometimes. The physical things we do that God commands us to do, we're proclaiming what we believe, not in so much words, but in the actions that we do. When we wash each other's feet, when we take the bread, when we take the wine, we're not out preaching to each other, "Do this and do that." We do it, but we proclaim. We have this public declaration, if you will, of what we believe and what we do. We go into the days of unleavened bread, what do we do? We clean our homes of leavened. We throw out the bread, we go to work and we don't eat, you know, hamburgers with bread. We eat matzos, and people ask questions, "What are you eating those things for?" Or whatever it might be. We take days off in the fall with our kids to go to the Feast of Tabernacles, and some school systems just say, "Why didn't you just do it during the summer? Why'd you have to wait until the fall?" Well, there's your opportunity, because this is when God said to do it. When we do God's will and we do the physical things that attend to it, we are proclaiming His will. We are proclaiming the gospel.

So we do those things and we do them exactly the way that God said to do it. It's important to do it the way God said to do it, not putting all the emphasis on the physical, because the emphasis is on the spiritual, but the physical helps us to understand the spiritual meaning of all these things we do. Never forget that. If physical Israel did those physical things, it meant nothing to them. We do them, but God through His spirit, we understand that we understand what He's doing. We do those in concerts with the spiritual information that is spiritual awakening education that God is giving us and development.

So let me talk for a little bit, because here we are a month away from the Feast of Trumpets, a month away from the Feast of Trumpets, six weeks away from the Feast of Tabernacles. And so when we look at the Feast of Tabernacles, it teaches, or it is about the kingdom of God, the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. We have the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, and, of course, we have the eighth day or the last great day, whatever you choose to call it, that we're there. And God gives some specific instructions about how to keep that feast. You know many of them.

I could turn to many verses. You can turn to Deuteronomy 14, you can turn to Deuteronomy 12, you see where God says, "You know, I want you to prepare this tithe to go where I want you to go every year. Think about it all year when you're doing it." What does that teach us? It teaches us, you keep the kingdom of God in mind. What you're being prepared all through your life is for the kingdom of God. And so when every time you get your paycheck, and you put away your festival tithe, you should be thinking, "I'm doing this because I'm going to the Feast of Tabernacles, which pictures the kingdom of God. That's what I am here for, that's what I am going there for."

God built that in. Church didn't build it in, God built it in. The church teaches that it's a very valid and a very key principle in keeping the feast. We prepare for the kingdom of God all our lives, we prepare for the feast all year. It's on our mind. God says, "Go to the place and use that tithe, and use it there in the place where I place my name." Today the church, you know, follows God's lead. We have places all over the world that God has placed His name for the Feast of Tabernacles to be kept. What do we do? Why did God say, "Go to the Feast of Tabernacles, and stay there for the whole seven days and the eighth day"? Why did He say that?

Couldn't we just put a tent in our backyard like some do and say, "That's it. I'm out of my house"? No, but He says, "Go. Go to the place that I said." Again, what's the spiritual lesson in that, as we prepare to go, as we make our plans and reservations at this hotel and airlines, or making sure our car is ready? What are we doing? What are we doing? What are we thinking? God says, "Go to where I tell you to go." Where are we going? We're going to the kingdom of God. This journey that you and I are on, this road that God has us on to take us to His kingdom, we go where He said to go. There is a part of obedience.

Now, I will say that, you know, sometimes sickness, or other things can keep us from going to the feast. I understand that. But if we're able to go, and haven't made excuses for ourself, the clear command of God is you go and you keep the feast in the place that I have placed my name. The kingdom is where we're going, go where God says to go, right? He says, "Keep it there for seven days." Read Leviticus 23, you see that the feast begins on the 15th day of the seventh month. We know the days begin at sunset, and so the Feast of Tabernacles begins at sunset on the 15th day of the seventh month.

Now, when the children of Israel were all traveling from wherever they were coming to Jerusalem, it was a big deal for them. There was a lot that they had to do, and a lot more that they had to prepare than you and me. It wasn't a matter of buying an airplane ticket and hopping on a plane, they had a lot of things going on. They had a lot of tithes to bring with them if they were bringing the actual things. God said, "If it's too much, turn it into money and take it to the place." But they had a lot of things to do. But you know what? When they were there, they were there in Jerusalem by the time the sun set on the seventh month. That's when the feast begins. It wasn't a time to be finishing up your journey on the evening of the 15th. It begins on the 15th.

And so as we make our plans for the feast, you know, maybe we need to build in... Well, I'll take away that word maybe for right now. We need to plan in. Where does God want us to be at sunset on the 15th day of the seventh month as it begins? That's part of the obedience, right, that God has put in the motion that He gave us disciples, the 12, and then the 70, do this and do that every feast site. I won't say every feast site. Most every feast site has an opening night service. As having coordinated feast sites for several times over the last years, it's always been kind of a surprise and a disappointment to me to see how few people are at opening night services.

I think, where on the 15th day of the seventh month as the Feast of Tabernacles begins, what better place to be than right with God's people as the feast begins? It's an important thing. God is pleased when He sees us doing His will, when we're obeying what He wants us to obey and following things the way that He said to do it. Israelites were there for all seven days and an eighth day, right through the end of the time. So as we plan to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, you know, some may think it's okay to be there on just the first day and the eighth day. That isn't what the Bible indicates.

And if you go back and you look in the Book of Numbers, and you see what the Israelites or ancient Israel was doing when they were in Jerusalem during those days that they were there, there were, I forget, somewhere like 190 animals that God specifically commanded to be sacrificed during that Feast of Tabernacles, 190. And that was just during the Feast of Tabernacles. That means they were there, and doing God's will. They had Him at the forefront of His mind every single day of that feast, because those animal sacrifices were supposed to make them think of Him.

You think they were engaged for maybe a little more than an hour or two in the morning as they were there at the Feast of Tabernacles for what God shows is a picture of His kingdom to come? They were doing all those things. So every feast site you go to has services every single day. I would encourage you, think about it, go to services every single day. Are you there to please God, or to do the other things that surround it? As we prepare and spiritually prepare and think about the feast, think about the kingdom of God, think about what we're picturing. Keeping the feast and the way God wants it kept will be the way that God is pleased with us, and sees what's in our hearts, what is in our hearts concerning the kingdom of God.

Let me turn to a verse back here in Exodus 34. You know, the people of Israel, like us, they could come up with excuses, "Can't do this because, or can't do that because..." In Exodus 34:22. I've always kept this in mind as we go to the feast, and I ask God watch over our places wherever we've lived, and I know He will. In Exodus 34:22, He tells Israel, and remember, when He says these things, there's promises He keeps to us today,

Exodus 34:22-23 "You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. Three times in the year, all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before you, and I will enlarge your borders.” I will bless you when you obey me. “Neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the eternal your God three times in the year."

Don't you worry about that. Don't you worry about that. God can watch over those. You go in faith, and you do the things that God said, and He will watch over and provide whatever we need, and the protection over whatever we need. We can trust God. We're here to know God, we're here to understand God, we're here to obey God, we're here to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, to become more like Jesus Christ more and more as each year passes. If we keep and we really believe that Christ is coming again, as we watch the world around us and see what's going on, and we can see those signs, those buds on the trees, it should motivate us more and more like Christ, closer and closer to Him.

And when we do that, when we do that, and we trust God and have faith in God, and do those things that He wants us to do, trusting in Him implicitly, it'll be the same reaction that those 70 came back from in Luke 10. After they went out and did things exactly the way Christ commissioned them to do. They went out in faith, they believed Him, and they took Him at His Word.

Luke 10:17 It says, "The 70 returned with joy." Wow, with joy. Kind of an unusual journey, kind of an unusual thing that God would have them do, but they returned with joy saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.”

Man, everything you told us that would happen, it really did happen. We did it exactly the way you said, and now our joy is unbounding. And Christ gives this interesting statement, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” They overcame their own doubts, fears, thoughts, and they simply believed me, and did my will." And then He says in verse 19 that He gives him authority. But in verse 20, He says something that we should take the heart to as we follow God in all we do and as we preach the gospel, but know that all of us proclaim the gospel, and have those traits that we need to develop of faith and trust and complete yieldedness to God.

Luke 10:20 "Nevertheless," He said, "Don't rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you. Rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

Let's go from here and do the things that our names are written in the Book of Life.