Return to God

When God brought ancient Israel into the Promised Land, He told them if they were wicked like the people, they displaced that they would be vomited out of the land. You can go back and read what God said to them, and God implored Israel and Judah to return to Him so that that would not happen. In fact, He sent prophets to them many, many times to warn them of what was going to occur, what was going to happen to them if they did not return to Him. I'm not going to go to Malachi, but in Malachi 3 and verse 7, God says, "...yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances, and have not kept them." And then here Malachi says, "...return to Me, and I will return to you," says the Eternal of Hosts. "...but you said, in what way shall we return?" In what way? God, have we departed from you and left you, and that we should return to you? You know, they did this, and they acted as though they had never departed from God to the first place, right up until the time that they were taken to the captivity. They felt that they had never left God, they had never turned their backs on God, and that there was no need of them returning to God. You know, as we look at the United States and our declining morality, we see it headed like a locomotive toward a great train wreck that's ahead of us. And as we look at prophecy, it is as though we are nearing the end of the tracks in this country, and it's going to be in the near future. That our modern people will experience the unthinkable, and that we're going to go into a captivity like the ancients did long ago. Now, I'm sure all of us would like to escape that, that we don't want to be a part, in fact, of that captivity when it comes upon this nation. And we can, brethren. But what about us, brethren? Has there been any departing from God in your life in any way? You know, what about us, brethren? Do we need to return to God? To return to God? You know, we could have the same attitude that ancient Israel and Judah had, and we could say to God, Well, God, in what way shall we return to you? How should we return to you? When we know in our hearts, brethren, what we need to be doing as God's people, we can say that. In what way, God, do we need to return to you? No, maybe we aren't as dedicated to God as we once were. You know, you probably know, in fact, your case and your situation, although I will say sometimes we don't. Because sometimes we don't know how pitiful we can be from a spiritual perspective. So sometimes we can know that, but we know certainly that God knows our circumstance. He knows whether or not we need to return to Him with more dedication in our lives than we've had of recent days. Let's go to Revelation 2, verse 1 here. Here, as you know, is one of the messages given to the seven churches that were on a mail route in Asia. Notice here in verse 1, it says, "...to the angels of the church of Ephesus." Ephesus writes, "...these things, says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks or lampstands." He said, I know your works and your labor and your patience, that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they're apostles and are not, and have found them liars. And you have persevered and have patience and have labored for my namesake and have not become weary. Nevertheless, he says, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

And then he says, remember there from where you have fallen, repent, and do the first works, or else it will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. And so here, these churches, the first of this one, the Ephesus, these, of course, as we know, depict eras within the church that we've understood for a long time. But also, they show characteristics of Christians, brethren, of all Christians through the ages here. But we notice here, God is saying to the Ephesus era, He's saying to them, and He's saying to us today, brethren, return to Me. Return to Me with the same kind of zeal, the same kind of dedication that you once had, He's saying here. And so this applies to us today. And by the way, this message isn't about those who have fallen away. This message here is not about people that have left the church and are gone out in the world, but it is given to those who were losing the zeal that they once had. And apparently, during the Apostolic Era, they were so very zealous. We read about it in the book of Acts, don't we? All the things that the apostles did and the brethren did, but apparently, over time, it faded. It faded to the point where God felt compelled to say here to the Ephesus church, you know, that they needed to regain their first love. They needed to return to Him. In other words, with the former dedication that they have, because God was displeased. He was displeased. And He was saying to them, look, you better be on guard because I'm going to come and I'm going to remove your kale stick. That's how displeased God was. So we must not think that somehow, when we lack zealousness, oh, God is not all that concerned about it. Indeed, He is, brethren. Indeed, He is. You know, has our zeal, brethren, at all faded? You know, has our dedication faded? Do we lack that zeal? Have we left the agape love that God gave to us when we first had that love, that first love for the truth of God, began to fade in us? You know, agape love is basically a love for God. That's what it is. And when we're first called, don't we have a love for God? I mean, we repent. We tell God we're sorry for the problems and the mistakes that we've made in our lives. And that agape love makes us want to obey God and to have that dedication. And I'll tell you, the people that I've known through the years, when they repent, they will go through hell and high water to obey God. I knew people, you know, and have known people have driven a couple of hundred miles just to go to church. Every Sabbath, not just one Sabbath or once a month, but every Sabbath, you know, they would be there and they would be dedicated to that. And over time, of course, that agape love can fade from us. Well, brethren, what comes to mind when you think about first learning the truth of God for you?

I want you to think back. What was it like when you first learned about the truth of God? You know, didn't you have a love for God that you were motivated, you were so motivated, and you wanted to be involved in the work of God? You know, that you wanted to be a part of the work of God. Again, I've known of people that traveled, you know, out to Pasadena so that they could be a part of the work of God in some way.

I've known people that camped out so that they could go to college, you know, an ambassador college and get an education out there of God's way of life and people that have quit jobs and gone to work for the church. You know, they've quit good-paying jobs, by the way, to come into the church and work. And oftentimes, those wages were not all that good. You know, I've talked to many people that did that through the years, brethren. But that agape love, brethren, that was there caused us to be people that wanted to be involved in the work of God because it was the love that we had for God and we wanted to be a part of what He was doing here upon the earth because it impacted us.

Let's go to the book of Haggai. The book of Haggai over here, in chapter 1, you know the story about how Judah had gone into captivity and after 70 years they had returned from captivity. But when they returned, they didn't have all that much zeal for doing much of anything even after that. But Haggai chapter 1, in verse 1, it says, Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai, the prophet, saying, Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses? And this temple to lie in ruins? You know, here, of course, the work of God was to rebuild the wall, was to rebuild the temple that was there in Jerusalem. That was the work of God upon the face of the earth at that particular time. The work of God that is being done by us today, brethren, is to preach the gospel to the world. But here God is saying through Haggai to the people at that time, to Judah, You know, you have time, in other words, to build your houses. You have time to take care of your particular desires and aspirations.

Well, what about the temple? What about the temple? God felt that, of course, that was the priority, the temple. Now, what was the priority was doing the work of God at that time. And in verse 5, notice here, it says, Now therefore thus says the eternal of hosts, consider your ways. Think about your ways, the way you are, what you do in your life. And, of course, we as God's people need to think about our ways.

And what are we doing? Well, today, you know, this isn't just a story that is an ancient story, brethren, that has no application to us. The reason it's here is so that we can read this as we're doing right now. Here, notice what God says, consider your ways. You have so much and bring in little. You eat but do not have enough. You drink but you are not filled with drink. You clothe yourselves but no one is warm.

And he earns wages to put it into a bag with holes. And thus says the eternal of hosts, consider your ways. So, brethren, think about this. You know, they were the mental fog after returning from captivity, and they weren't very focused. Sometimes, brethren, we can be caught up in this topsy-turvy world that we live in out here, and we can have our minds in a fog, too, as to what really is important. And, brethren, what is important is the work of God. That is what is important. And, you know, what we need to do, again, is what they needed to do then, is be focused in the right direction.

You know, God wasn't blessing them because of their attitude. And, brethren, maybe God doesn't bless us because of our attitudes. You know, we have a work to do. We're sowing a lot of seeds out there. And, you know, I know when the Word of God goes out that it does not come back empty to God.

I know that there's a great work that's being done, brethren. And the harvest is going to be great. But, brethren, maybe God is looking at us and asking us to consider our ways. To consider our ways, like, you know, in that ancient time with Judah. How involved are we now in the work of God? How much do you pray for it?

How much do you support it? You know, does God expect us to remain enthusiastic for His work throughout the years of our long conversion? Maybe you've been around for 40 years or 50 years. You better believe it. You better believe it all the way to the very end of your life. God wants us to be enthusiastic for the work of God.

You know, I know Herbert Armstrong was. I mean, he was enthusiastic, wasn't he? Where would we be today, brethren, if Mr. Armstrong, when he was 60 years old, thought he was too tired to go forward? Where would we be today? Well, we wouldn't have had 30-some-odd years of his experience those in those last years of his life.

And so, brethren, we have to be enthusiastic right until they put us in the box. You know, we have to be as enthusiastic, certainly, as our physical bodies and minds will allow us to be. I was really taken aback that Jerry Martin was listening to a sermon tape right up until the time she died.

What an example! I mean, I'm not sure I could do that, by the way. I was amazed when I heard that from the Malecian, you know, that she was that kind of a woman, though. I probably shouldn't be surprised at the kind of person that she was because she lived it and set such a good example. You ever wonder, brethren, what kept the Apostle Paul so motivated in his life? I mean, he had more trials and more problems than any of us ever thought to have in our lives, but he kept motivated.

You know, he was like this energizer bunny, wasn't he? If you read the things that he went through, and he just kept going and going and going and never gave up with that enthusiasm he had for the work of God. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 9 over here, and we see what the Bible says and records for us. Paul writing here to the first-century church in 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 16.

It says, Paul can phase, it says, If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of. For necessity is laid upon me. Yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. You know, that's the difference, brethren, right there between you and me and Paul. Right there. This one verse, to make a whole sermon out of this, he said, necessity was laid on him.

You're probably thinking, well, yeah, Paul, you know, he was called to be an apostle. Necessity was laid on him. He was like, her arm's strong. He was called for the reason of preaching the gospel. So necessity was laid upon him, but not me. Oh, I beg to differ. God laid the necessity on you as he laid it on the apostle Paul.

And he says, woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. Woe to me. And he says, for if I do this willingly, I have a reward. But if against my will, I've been entrusted with a stewardship. Brethren, when you were called, you were entrusted with a stewardship. God gave it to you. And God expects you to fulfill that. So Paul had a part of the work that was given to him, just as we do, brethren, whether we like it or not. You can do it willingly. If you do it willingly, you're going to receive a reward. If you don't, then obviously otherwise could happen to us. You know, Paul felt his eternal life, brethren, was at stake if he did not do his part.

Do you feel that way, brethren, about your life? Do you really feel that way? In your heart of hearts, if I don't do my part, my eternal life is at stake here. And, you know, we, I think, need to have that same mentality. And that's what kept Paul motivated, brethren. He had this attitude of, woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. And, you know, it's important for us to realize, brethren, that we have been called and given the important job of helping with doing the work today. Mr. Armstrong stated numerous times there are two reasons we've been called. Number one, to train to be teachers. Number two, to help to get the work done. So we all have a part. We all have a part, brethren, in this, and we should be enthusiastic as long as we are alive because we have a part into it. You know, when Paul was called, he felt something should be given back, that he had part to given back to God. And, brethren, when we're called, we have that desire initially. But somehow it fades, somehow, in our lives. But we need to get it back. We need to realize that we have a responsibility, brethren. You know, if you realize that you have a part in this, you have a stake in this, what we're doing, preaching the gospel, we realize that we don't stand on the fringes. We don't want to be in the court of the Gentiles. You know, we want to be in the temple. We want to be in the temple right in the heart of the work of God, the inner circle, you know, of what is going on in preaching the gospel of the world and doing the work of God. So, brethren, is there any necessity placed on you that where you have to pitch in and help the work by whatever means that it is needed? You know, if we want to have the attitude of a Paul, we're going to have to have that particular attitude. Let's go to chapter 12 now. Over to chapter 12 in verse 24. Chapter 12 in verse 24. Here it's talking about the necessity of every part in the body of Jesus Christ. Here in chapter 12 in verse 24 through 26 it says, Now we are the body of Christ and members individually. And so we are all important, brethren, to the body. You know, my legs didn't decide to take a walk this morning without me, you know, and leave me in bed. You know, my arm did not decide to do something without me today. We all seem to move around intact as a body. And I think that's nice, isn't it, when it's that way, you know, then you can... the whole body can go the same place, you know, at the same time. Well, that means, again, we're all a part of the work, brethren. We all have a part in the work, our part in the work of God. And again, remember, brethren, your love of God's way and His work when you were first converted. And return to that, brethren. Return to that.

Now, what causes us, brethren, to lose that love and that zeal for God's way? Well, it's like with ancient Judah, they began to focus on their own lives so much that they neglected God and what God had given them to do. Let's go to Revelation. Revelation. You know, we could know these problems would have come to us from the time we were converted if we had been alert to study the Scriptures, because the Bible warns us of these things, of having that initial flush of enthusiasm and then waning in that dedication. In Revelation 2 and verse 14 over here, Revelation 2 and verse 14, here He's talking to the church at Pergamos.

And verse 14, He says, I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. And it says, And it says, And then He said, So God, again, is going to react in dealing with this kind of an approach of losing enthusiasm, of losing desire to go forward and to do the work and to be distracted by these things. Like some in Pergamos were like Balaam, had the doctrine of Balaam. Remember, Balaam's problems were, there were a number of problems that Balaam had, but one of them is he liked to get as close to sin as he could.

Basically, if God told him something, he would get as close to breaking it as he could, actually violating, you might say, in the letter of the law, what God had commanded him to do. And through that means, remember, Balaam actually was instructed by Balaam as to how he could thwart the work of God by leading Israel to sin.

Remember the Moabite women and all of that that Israel turned to there. And so not only did Balaam not help get the work done, but he thwarted the work of God. He thwarted the work of God. Well, brethren, we can be the same way, you know, as God's people. You know, we don't disobey what God instructs us to do, but we get as close to it as you can, and it forts the work of God so that the work of God doesn't have its full impact. But, you know, if all of us are trying to get as close to what God says as he instructs, then the church gets stronger. If we're getting as close as we can, you know, to be on the edge of, well, maybe you're obeying and maybe you're not, the church gets weaker, and the work of God is thwarted in our lives. Let's make sure, again, that we're not a part of that. But Balaam was a type who would get, again, as close to sin as he could without directly disobeying God. Now, how about it? And then, you can hear about these Nicolaitans. Smith's Bible dictionary says this, that the doctrine of the Nicolaitans was similar.

Despite the early Church's Acts 15 decree of abstaining from meats offered to idols, practicing fornication, not practicing fornication, these Gentiles didn't restrain themselves from involvement in the ways of the world. And this mother, the effect of God's Holy Spirit in their lives and caused them to become more distant from God. And so, this is what they did. They got, again, as close to the world as they could.

And, you know, I've seen this before in the Church through the years. And you may have, as well, seen people that just, again, they weren't of the world, but they got as close to it as humanly possible. And, unfortunately, sometimes misled people to begin to think in a worldly fashion.

And pretty soon, people are doing things that are in violation to the laws of God. So, we need to, again, be careful, because that's what happens. We come into the Church, we have this sudden rush of enthusiasm. For God's way of life, over a period of time, we began to, again, get closer and closer to the world, closer and closer to those things. And, as a result, the enthusiasm begins to ebb out of us.

And we don't have that same enthusiasm that we have. You know, it is possible, brethren, to be in the Church and not exactly be a part of the Church. I've had sometimes people that have asked me, well, is so-and-so a part of your Church? And sometimes I have to pause to think about it. Because, you know, I don't want to lie to somebody about something like that. So, again, we can be in the Church and not exactly a part of the Church.

Hopefully, when somebody asks whether you're in the Church, you can say, absolutely, 1000%. You know, we can be people who aren't against the work of God, but we might also not exactly be supporting the work of God.

In other words, we're not really against it, but there again, we're not doing anything to support it either. And, of course, when people have that kind of an attitude and that kind of approach, you can see why, again, pretty soon the enthusiasm is disappearing. It dissipates. We smother the impact of the Holy Spirit that God is all enthused at the very beginning, the right way, for the work of God. So, brethren, we must allow ourselves to slip into these kind of attitudes, because what happens is we slowly grow cold, like the old frog in the kettle that you heat up after a while, his goose is cooked, as another saying says.

Hebrews 2. Let's go to Hebrews 2. You know, people die, brethren, spiritually, not overnight, but it happens gradually. It's like a gradual thing. It's like nations don't die overnight. It's a gradual thing. Look what's happening in this country now. Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2 and verse 1. Here Paul says, Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things that we've heard, lest we drift away. For if the words spoken through angels prove steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience receive the just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard him?

And so, in other words, it drifts away from us. I think, what does it say in the King James? I don't have the King James in front of me, but it says, slip away, doesn't it? There. In other words, it slips out like running... say, sometimes you can have a tank that has a little leak in it, and it begins to leak out. And pretty soon, the water's gone. It's all gone.

Sometimes, brethren, that can happen to us, and our vessel can be emptied over time. The enthusiasm begins to wane. So, brethren, how can we, as God's people, return to God? How can we return to Him?

Brethren, it is a matter, brethren, of channeling your mind and energy into progress of the work. That's what it is. Really yearning for the work of God to be done so the fullness of the Gospel can be completed. This is why we're to pray earnestly every day. Jesus Christ said, pray, thy kingdom come every day.

Did you pray that today, brethren? Thy kingdom come? Did you pray that this morning or last night when you did your prayers? Did you pray about that today? Thy kingdom come?

I hope also that you prayed that God would provide His bread for you today. Today, not physical bread, but spiritual bread for you today. You know, Mr. Armstrong said, one's own spiritual development and growth will be in direct proportion to how much one's heart is in God's work. Now, think about that, brethren, because it, I think, is so true. One's own spiritual development will be in direct proportion to how much one's heart is in God's work. You've got your heart in the work of God, brethren. You're going to be growing by leaps and bounds. You're going to be increasing. The more we dedicate ourselves to God, brethren, we're going to grow spiritually. Test it out, brethren. Check it out. Prove it to yourself, because that is absolutely true. The more you put yourself out to do the work of God, to involve yourselves in the work of God, the more you are going to grow spiritually speaking in your life. So, brethren, how do we return to God? Well, brethren, place your treasure in the work. Place your treasure in the work of God that's being done.

Jesus said, where your treasure is, that's where your heart's going to be also. You know, what is it that we cherish and we treasure in life? What is the most important thing to you and your life? Well, I would think your life, the fact that you're alive. No man ever hated his own flesh. You know, we like our bodies, don't we? We enjoy being able to breathe and to eat and to enjoy the physical accoutrements of life. We like our lives. We also cherish our families, don't we? We cherish our lives. We cherish our husbands and our children, our grandchildren.

And we cherish the things that mean a lot to us and that is the people that are in our lives, our friends. We cherish those. And so that's a treasure, in other words, in your life, right? It's a treasure for you. And then, by the way, our children are God's heritage, not just our heritage, but God's heritage. So they belong to God and God cherishes them too. So that's a treasure.

Another treasure is basically our possessions, the things that we have. You know, sometimes a person can be very impoverished and yet have a few things and they cherish those. You know, it is amazing. I used to work in a situation where I saw homeless people a lot and you'd occasionally see somebody pushing this shopping cart around with all their stuff in the shopping cart. I'll tell you what, if you ever see somebody like that, go and try to take something out of that shopping cart sometime and see what happens to you. I mean, they will defend that shopping cart with all of their might because it's what they treasure. Everything that's in there is what they treasure. I don't care if they're sleeping on the streets or they're sleeping, you know, behind some building somewhere, you know, or in an open field.

Those things, those things that you and I would throw out in a heartbeat would be treasures to them. So, brethren, we treasure those possessions. We treasure our money that we have. But realize this, that God says this, if we see the big picture, He said, all the gold and all the silver is mine. All belongs to God anyway.

And brethren, what do we have that we don't... God didn't give to us? Your body, who gave that to you? God gave that to you. Your children, who gave that to you? It's God who gave that to you. Anything that we have is given to us by God. So, your treasure is God's treasure, too, isn't it?

But let's go over here to Matthew 6, Matthew 6.

Matthew 6, in verse 19.

Here, Jesus Christ again says, I know that I've read this to you for the last two status. I've talked to you about these things. So, don't lay these things up upon the earth. It's nice to have a nice home. It's nice to have a nice car, nice clothes.

But don't put everything you've got into physical things, is what Christ is saying. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, whether neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And so, where your treasure is, that's where your heart is. And brethren, if your treasure is in the church, in the work of God, that's where your heart is going to be. You know, don't lay up treasures out in the world, because the world is going to perish. But Christ is saying, mount up, mount up these treasures in heaven, where nothing can destroy these, and that they'll be around forevermore.

And so, brethren, we need to again put our treasure in the work of God. Now, I've told people for years, brethren, that the work of God is your best investment. It's the best investment you can make in all of this life. The work of God is the best investment. And brethren, when we're making the investment in the church, that's when our enthusiasm begins to increase for the work of God. Our love for God begins to increase as well, because we have something at stake. We have something in the church that we placed there. You know, how much faith, brethren, do you have that the work of God is the best investment that you can make?

All else, again, is going to fall. All else is going to come to nothing. You know, how much faith do you have in that? Well, Paul had that faith. He believed that. No, not that he was impoverished in his life, brethren, but he believed that. He put everything in it, didn't he? Put everything in the church, everything into the work of God. You know, Jesus Christ believed that. He put everything into us, brethren. He put his life on the line. He put everything on the line for us. And, you know, there have been many, many patriarchs and patriarchs through the ages, brethren, who put it all on the line. You know, believed it was the best investment that they could make. And there have been many, brethren, of our own that we have known in recent years who have done the same thing. And many of them are asleep now. Many of them are waiting in the grave. And they put their investment in the church, in the work of God. You know, that was the best thing that they could do. Because when Christ returns, obviously, they will have a reward that will last forevermore. Let's go to John 4. John 4. John 4. Again, I pointed this out a number of times, but, you know, maybe repetition is one of those things that we need. Because we need to have it emphasized and emphasized and emphasized so that we get the point about what Christ was saying. John 4. And down in verse 31. John 4 and verse 31 here.

He banished His work. That was His meat, His food. When Moses was doing the work of God, he went up into the mountains, brethren, and he came back. And he hadn't apparently eaten for 40 days and 40 nights. He came back down out of the mountain, brethren, and His face shone, such that the people could not even look upon His face. But, brethren, if we are doing the work of God, God will help us to endure. And Christ was doing the work of God and finishing the work of God, and so He didn't, at that time, sometimes He didn't even eat. Again, not that we as physical beings are going to be able to get by for 40 days or 80 days or whatever it might be in the Scriptures.

But sometimes we should have this kind of attitude. Well, I can eat later. Somebody recently said to me that when somebody asked them if they were going to do certain things, and they said, well, I can always do that at another time. Anyway, I lost my train of thought what I was trying to tell you here.

Well, it'll come to me. It might take too long, so let's move on here.

In verse 35, He says, So, in other words, He was saying, look, the work is out there to be done.

Another place, we won't go to it, but Jesus said, the Blessed is that servant whom His Master, when He comes, will find so doing. I would like to have Christ find me doing the work when He returns.

I have no desire to die in the pulpit, brethren, particularly today.

Hopefully it's not too late, but maybe I've already died in the pulpit here, if you get what I'm saying. Which some of you don't.

But I would like to die with my boots on. Let's put it that way. Or my sandals, or my tennis shoes, or whatever shoes I have on when I'm doing the work of God.

I hope, brethren, all of us have that desire. We put the treasure in the work. It's the best investment, brethren, that we can make. Brethren, we need to, as Mr. Willis was talking about, pray for the work that's being done.

I think it is exciting, isn't it? The 160 locations around the world are going to be having Kingdom of God seminars on September 10th and September 17th.

That is a unique event in the Church. I don't think we've ever done that, even in the old worldwide days. We used to do the public lectures, but never like this.

So who knows how God will bless that? We pray He will, in every sense of the word. Brethren, we need to pray for the work of God. I find, brethren, when I'm praying for the work of God, and I pray for people specifically in the work as it's going on, that my enthusiasm level gets elevated.

It's just the way it is. So, brethren, pray for the work of God.

Paul, by the way, told the Corinthians, brethren, that he appreciated them because they were helping together.

You know, with what Paul was doing, and Timothy and some of the others through prayer, that was their part of the help that they could give for the work that Paul was doing.

Brethren, the Council needs our prayers. All the ministers need our prayers.

We need your help, brethren, through prayer. Just like Paul needed the help of the people in the first century of the Church.

Those of us going to Zambia need your prayers to help the people there.

Mr. Kubik has instructed me about a number of things that he wants me to do in Zambia besides teaching of the classes that are there.

Pray that we are able to accomplish all those things that we needed to accomplish over there.

I'm hoping I can send you an update about what happens over there, if I can get an email back to you here.

Maybe some pictures also of the area over there and what is going on.

But again, we need to be praying for the work of God.

We need to pray for those, particularly, that have heavy responsibility. Let's go to Galatians 6.

As ministers, we don't ask for the loads that are put upon us and responsibilities.

But we willingly take those loads that God has given.

But certainly would appreciate, again, the prayers to help to bear them.

But in Galatians 6 and verse 2 here, notice it says, Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

It talks about, brethren, if a man is overtaken in trespassing, you are able, are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of the generalists, considering yourselves, lest you also be tempted.

But bear one another's burdens.

So, brethren, let's pray for those who have a heavy burden, a heavy responsibility, you know, in the work of God.

And when we're praying for the work of God, we become thrilled to see the positive changes, the impact of our prayers.

I don't know if you're like that, but sometimes I'll pray about something and then I'll go look and see what happens.

You know, sometimes people don't know what you're praying for them, and they'll come and tell you, and they don't even know what they're doing.

You know, they have no idea that they're coming and reporting, and it's God that is doing that.

It's God that is leading them to do that.

But when you see that, it makes you more enthused to pray, doesn't it? To pray for people.

Well, brethren, when we see that with the work, it also happens as well. I love these Scriptures over here in Isaiah 55.

Isaiah 55 and down in verse 10.

Here in Isaiah 55, the prophet Isaiah says, So, brethren, never think that when you send up a person, you'll be a very good man.

So, brethren, never think that when you send up a person, We're going to have a prayer to God, and you pray that it doesn't have an impact. When you're praying for the work of God, then when we go out and sow the seeds, never think when that seed is sown that it's not going to have any impact. Never think, by the way, if you go to a lecture and there's one person that shows up, well, boy, that was a failure, wasn't it? No, it wasn't, because we're always sowing seeds. I think the last lecture we did in Oakland, I think we had one person that came to that lecture, and maybe some of you remember who that was, but he was baptized and became a part of the church, and that was Jose Estepe. Jose is up in camp right now, so he won't hear this, but we just never know the impact of what we do. So again, remember that we need to pray for the work of God. Pray for more co-workers. That's what we need right now, brethren. There are some people that are never going to be a part of the church. We recognize that fact. They're supporters of the church. At one time, the co-workers in the church made up 20% of the donations that were given in the old worldwide days. So pray about that, brethren, that God will increase the co-workers. Pray about the local church also. One thing we need to do is pray for the local churches that don't have the men to serve them. We're stretched thin, as I mentioned to you here locally. We're stretched thin where we're serving. I think it was about nine congregations that we're serving right now. Today, by the way, I'm the only elder in Oakland and San Jose. Others are just dispersed abroad. The only person who would be here, obviously, would be Doug Bossard, who's sick. And Mr. Warren was sick today as well. So remember to pray for him. But today, I think Mr. Spears is up in Sacramento, Tim Peberts in Stockton, Fred Crows in Southern California.

So, down in Eagle Rock, I think, and who else is gone? I'm trying to think of the names of everybody. But again, pray. We're stretched thin. Some church areas, I'll just let you know, that there are some church areas that were hit so bad. We lost so many people that in order to survive, and we're going to help to make it, other churches have to be able to serve them.

And so that is what we're committed to do, to make sure that the church goes forward and increases, and it's starting to bear fruit. We're seeing that happen in Stockton, where the church there is beginning to pick up a little bit and grow. They've had, I think, one Sabbath, they had 23 over there, which is a breakthrough for them. And I think the other day, they had like 18 or so. So the church is starting to increase, and well, let's just keep praying about it, brethren. But brethren, when we return to God, you know, things begin to happen, and we see it begin to happen to the church because all of us began to pray for the work and the progress of the work, and we put our hearts into the work.

We begin to have our minds directed to God's church and God's work. You know, when it becomes a joy to us, we come each week, we want to hear what's happened, what's occurred. We want to keep up with what's going on, and hearing the good news. Go ahead in this world and be preached to the world at large to hear this exciting news about the coming Kingdom of God.

You know, it's interesting that many people were converted in Jerusalem at the beginning of the early New Testament church. And there was this spirit of attitude, of selflessness and sacrifice for the whole. And there was a thrill for the work of God. You remember how they came together and they had all things in common at set. People donated to take care of people that were there in Jerusalem at the very beginning of the church of God.

And they ate with one another, they went from house to house and probably had potlucks much like we do. And it must have been an exciting time in Jerusalem at that time. And no doubt, brethren, in the future when we begin to increase and we see the fruit of that seed that has been planted out there, it begins to walk through the door, brethren.

I think that we're going to see such an enthusiasm within the church of God that it's going to blow our minds in the future. But, brethren, it's important for us to again to have that desire to do the work of God, to return to God as God's people, return to that first love that you have, have that willingness to sacrifice. No, you'll see, as you saw at the very beginning, when God called you, that God will bless you every step of the way.

He'll make whatever you need to do possible if you step forward and you do it. You know, if you put your heart into doing it. Let's go to Malachi 3. Let's do read now over here what it says. Again, we must not have the attitude, well, that was for them at that time. No, it's for us, brethren. It's for us today, right now, lest we let things slip, lest we drift away. Malachi 3, in verse 7 here, it says, It says, That's the message, brethren, today, for us. Return to God. And I will return to you, says the eternal host. But you said, in what way shall we return?

You know, we can be coy with God that way, too, can't we? In what way, God, do you want me to return? I've never departed from you. Well, that was the attitude of Judah. I never left you. Well, brethren, I think all of us, no matter who we are, in some way need to return to God. Brethren, that's you and that's me. That's all of us.

He said, return to me, but you said, in what way shall we return? And Israel got coy with God, and they said, in what way should we return to you? Then God says, okay, you want to know where you need to return to me? Let me tell you. Let me tell you. You see, if we get coy with God, God may say to us, you want to know how you need to return? You want me to tell you that?

You want to hear that from me? God could say to us. You see what He's saying here to them right at that time? And then God says, okay, you want to hear? Let me tell you. Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me, but you say, in what way have we robbed you? God says, in tithes and offerings, you are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation.

And He said, bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try me now in this, says the eternal host, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. Try me, God says. Return to me, and you will see I will bless you. You won't be diminished one width, but I'll bless you. I'll rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the fields, says the eternal host.

And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the eternal host. In other words, God, brethren, wants us, you, me. Return to Him with our whole heart. And all of us, brethren, to some degree or another, need to do that, to come back up to 100%, to come back up to be, brethren, the kind of people that we should be.

Frankly, we should be better people now that God has taught us a lot more than we were when we were first called. And, brethren, consider this what God goes on to say to Judah and to Israel and to us today. In verse 16, it says, Then those who feared the Eternal spoke to one another, the King James says, spoke often to one another, and the Eternal listened and heard them. So a book of reminements was written before him, for those who fear the Eternal and who meditate on his name.

And they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them my jewels, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him. And so this is what God says to us, brethren, if we return to Him. I would think, brethren, we want to be those jewels, don't we? We want to be those jewels that God spares from the trouble and the trials that are going to come in the future. God told Israel, He told Judah, return to Me. And they said, in what way?

And they went into captivity. Brethren, hopefully our answer to God, when He says return to Him, will be, yes, sir. Yes, sir. And so, brethren, when our hearts return to the work of God and the way of God, we will return to God, and God will return to us. And when we do, brethren, God will not only abundantly bless the work of God that He's doing and accomplishing, but He will abundantly bless you both now, in this time, and the time of His, and that blessing, brethren, will be forevermore.

So, brethren, return to God. I'll see you when we get back.