Royal Rulership - Honor, Character and Responsibility

Thank you, Bridget and Jonathan. It's lovely. Good to be with you here. Happy feast to everyone, and I get an opportunity to do something that most of you don't, and that is take a picture of you from this angle.

And I'll pan it. It's impossible to get a single picture with all of you in it. Don't move. And now I got something to turn into Heidi for the United News. Good to be with you. It's wonderful to come to Italy anywhere God's people are gathered. It's wonderful. And unlike Mr. Caputo said, not everybody knows who I am. I know a lot of people. I've come most of my early years of my church career trying to not let people know who I was. I told Mr. Armstrong I could do my job a lot better if people didn't know who I was. And for those of you who have poor eyesight, I rearranged my name tag so you can actually read it. Some of yours I kept. I don't need a magnifying glass. Kind of. Find out who you are. I certainly appreciate getting to meet and know all of you and work with you and see people that you haven't seen for a few years, many different ones that you've worked with over the decades. I taught at Ambassador College, then Ambassador Bible College, and I told the kids I went to school with some of your parents and I realized, no, I went to school with your grandparents. I taught your parents and now I'm teaching you. And so it's hard to believe in Mr. Alfera. He stopped. He should have said 70. I got 71. I don't know if any of you beat me. You have to be pretty old. You can beat 71 feasts or tabernacles. I know Australia can. He beat me by a couple of years. We were in peril together a long time ago. And his mom, I think, is the oldest living verse in the church that's been to the feast back in Sigler Springs in Oregon. So some really ancient people still with us for the time being. So we hope they're enjoying their feast as well. Many, many years they've done that. I've enjoyed having a varied career and so I often turn to some of the things that I've learned over the years from different people. I've put in my sermons. This one I've actually turned an address I gave at ABC and did the graduation address this year. It retired me, although I'm not sure what retirement means, other than you work with less pay.

And so I turned over my dean of students job to, from ABC, I was dean-dean, so I was able to stutter and give it to someone else, but I was able to give the last graduation address to close it out. Many times I've asked God, why did he call me? As a child, I didn't necessarily think he did call me because everybody had these wonderful stories of finding a plain truth in the trash can or some miraculous thing. And that's all I've known. I had learned Protestantism with my wife, who didn't know anything when we met her, which allowed me to take advantage of her. But it was interesting. And I was just a widow's kid, and I didn't have anything to offer God. I thought, so why would I be called? But I suppose it was no different than what the disciples thought when he picked out the twelve to follow them. They wondered, why were they chosen by Jesus? Why were they taught and comforted by him through so many miracles? And then he died. He had told them in Matthew 16, 21, that the time was coming forth when he's going to show he's going to Jerusalem, and there he's going to suffer many things from the elders, it says, and he'll be killed and raised on the third day. So they heard that, but did they really believe that? Peter, when he said, hey, they're going to kill me. No, no, he's not. I will die with you. I'll protect you. And he was willing to do it his way. He sliced off the servant's ear, and Christ rebuked him for that. But he was going to do it his way, and he was willing to die for it. But did they really believe it? But Christ told them they'd get help. John 13, 14, 15, 16, we read about the Passover service. John 14, 16, he tells them, I'll pray to the Father, and He'll send a comforter to you, someone else to help you, something else to help you, the Spirit of truth.

Jesus knew what truth was, and the apostles and us have a destiny that they didn't really know. But Christ had to die so that the Holy Spirit could come to them, to you, and to me. They would need that comforter more than we did, because they didn't understand a lot of things, even though He was there teaching them, because they decided to go fishing after He died. And yet, they had literally seen Jesus crucified. And even though He said He would be resurrected, He taught them so many things, they didn't know it. We only know Jesus historically, through God's Spirit and the Bible. We didn't see Him die. But when He died, the disciples felt it was all over. What do we do now? Let's go fishing. He actually had to come back in Acts 1 and different places and see, show Himself to Him physically, from arks in His hands and His side with a spearhead, so that they would believe and truly believe.

In Acts 1 verse 4, it says, being assembled together, He commanded them, they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father. Which to me, the Bible says this morning, a good Bible study on the Feast in the New Testament. He told them to wait. To me, that's an endorsement of the Holy Days, very easily. Because if the Holy Days and the Feasts and all were done away, you guys need the Holy Spirit. I just died. Come on. I'm giving it to you. No, you have to wait till Pentecost, till the Feast of Pictures, the firstfruits, pictures of giving the Holy Spirit. It's an endorsement of the Feast. People who try to say you don't have to keep them, don't know what they're talking about. They're trying to use their own judgment to get rid of it. And they, in Acts 1, verse 6, they came together and asked, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? They wanted the kingdom. Everybody wanted the kingdom. They wanted to get rid of the Romans. They wanted the kingdom of their way, their way as man's way. And as we heard last night in the film of Mr. Eliot, it's a whole new way. It's not fixing this way. It's starting the right way. And Christ told them it's not for them to know the times and the seasons, which the Father put in His power. And yet for 2,000 years, we had a lot of people try to predict when it's going to be. And I can tell you all the dates. Once Christ returns, I can go backwards and get them all right. But until then, I don't know. Just live your life as if He's coming tomorrow. I always taught my finance classes, live your physical life like you die of old age, to plan for it, and live your spiritual life like Christ comes tomorrow. Because you have to be ready. And indeed, the Spirit did come on the day of Pentecost. But why did He give the Holy Spirit to us? As part of His plan for you, for me, all of mankind. And in one sense, He was putting His DNA inside of those He calls and gives His Spirit to, the people that God has chosen, much as He chose those on Pentecost, back in 31 A.D. when He gave them the Holy Spirit. And His desire for them, what they could become, was the same as what He desired for you, for me, and for all of us. He wants you to be a king in His kingdom, a ruler, and He's given the Holy Spirit to help you get there.

In the spring of 1985, I was asked a question that I think I can relate to you. The question was, how do I raise my son to be a good king? This is a question that Queen Sura of Thailand asked me when she came to visit America. I was asked to be her escrow for 10 days while she spent her time in California. I had known her for some time. She was asking, and it wasn't a rhetorical question. She really wanted her son to be a good king, and he was going through some difficulties at that time, and she was concerned for him. Under the answer, as do you, the answer is the knowledge of God and His way of life. But the royal family in Thailand are the protectors of the Buddhist faith, and they wouldn't be converted. I met with their majesty several times. I met them in three of their four palaces. We flew in the helicopter with the queen up to one of our projects. I knew their histories, spending time with them. And she was sincere when she asked me that question, and so I answered her this way. I said, you should raise your son the same way you were raised.

I had met the crown prince with their four children. He was the only son that they had. He was born to be a king, and he knew that from birth. He knew he was always going to be the king. The king and queen, however, had not seen that in their future. The Pumipan was actually the second-born son of Rama VII, not the first-born son. And Surikut, although a row of blood, was off of one of the secondary wives, she was a great-granddaughter of Rama V, which was the king and I, if you've seen the play. They never expected to be king and queen. That wasn't in their future at all. King Pumipan of Dhujadeh, Rama IX, which is easier to say, of the Shachri dynasty, was actually born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his father was in university in 1927. And although privileged, as second-born son, he wouldn't become king. Not in his mind. He would live in the wings, much like the spares of England. You always hear the air in the spare. Queen Surikut's story was even further removed from the palace, as far as royalty. She was born August 12, 1932. Both my children were born on August 12. She sent them cards when they were born, which was nice. Her father was a great-grandson, like I said, of Rama V, but he was not in a direct line to the throne, and she had no idea what her future would be. In her childhood, World War II happened. She was a young child. The bombs were dropping in Thailand as the Japanese were taking over. She carried water from the well on the pole with two pails. She watched people die with the bombs. She knew hardship. She understood that. People dying. When the war was over, she was aged 16, she was invited to a royal party in the palace. The Crown Prince was 24 years old. His younger brother was 22, 21, and they were both single. So all the eligible ladies were invited to this party. Being a royal blood, a little surrogate was invited, although 16 years old. Seemed like a Cinderella story for her and would you as well. It was a glorious setting with people coming in luxury cars and beautiful clothing and exquisite jewelry. A young teenage circuit went to her father and she said, Daddy, can I have a new dress for the party at the palace? He said, Serica, we don't have any money for a new dress for you. But please, this is important. The palace is a royal family.

Can't you sell some land? Can you have some money? Her father said, Serica, if we sold land, the only people that could buy it were the people that were corrupt and they would drive the people that have served us and our family for years off the land and they would starve. He said, Honor, Character, Responsibility are more important than a new dress. Well, Daddy, can I at least have some new shoes? Shoes are important to young ladies. And he said, Serica, Honor, Character, Responsibility are more important than a new dress. Well, Father, can I at least have taxi money to go to the palace? Honor, Character, Responsibility are more important than a taxi.

Her father knew something that we know from God's word. It's not about things. It's about people. It's about Honor, Character, Responsibility, Exemplified, and Service. Little Serica went to that party in her school uniform, in her tennis shoes, on a bus.

Most people wouldn't do that. She went.

Most royals who know their future position get spoiled.

It's sad to see that some of them feel exempt from the laws of the land. Very often they exploit their positions. They left treasures in their cells, in their wards now. Those long in the church will remember the phrase that was often said, Give versus Get. God gives, man mostly take, especially with power. When you don't think you'll be a king, you seem to do best humanly. This was the case with the king, queen of Thailand. Humility without expectation of power. Christ said he could call down legions of angels to protect him. He was talking to Peter.

But he didn't. It wasn't God's will. And he didn't use his power for his own will. He didn't exempt himself from any of God's laws or God's will, as many royals do. You've learned from Scripture and from God's inspiration through the Holy Spirit how to have honor, character, and responsibility and respect for God's authority. Not your own. Do we fail? At times, yes. We all do. Even Moses, the meekest man on earth. He lost it momentarily. I'm sure I'd have lost it more times than him with the Israelites. Do I have to bring water from this rock? Do I? You used the wrong pronoun. It's God that did it, not him. And he didn't go into the Promised Land.

But he was the meekest man on earth, and certainly he will see him in the millennium. When we're all resurrected, figuratively, I've struck the rock. Even once, as too many times, I've seen other people strike the rock, and I've learned from those. Thankfully, the bad examples I've witnessed have helped me to avoid some of the things that could have happened. I pray that you don't strike the rock. Take matters into your own hand. But you will, because we're human. We all make mistake. God grants repentance. Thankfully, he shows mercy to us as we try to change when we repent. To qualify for what this feast is in reality, you must be willing to give your life. Pressure gives our sins. God does. We have to forgive each other. Yes, we have different wills and different strengths and weaknesses. Do we forgive? Sometimes it's a hard thing to do, but we have to. You may not have to give your life literally, as some have in the past, but you must be willing and dedicated to the things of God. Learning God's way of life. Why? You must live and practice, giving and serving. You have the opportunity to do that here and now. The feast, when you go home all throughout your life, you have to unsolpishly surrender your will to God's will.

Your mind has to be Christ's mind. That's what it takes to be a king with our Savior, the King of Kings. So how did the second-born prince, who never expected to be a king, and a young lady who went to the royal party in her school uniform, in her school dress, on a bus, in their tennis shoes, become the king and queen of Thailand? Well, the war was over, and Thailand wanted to send an ambassador to Europe to represent them, kind of like the other nations of the world did. And so they decided to send someone to Europe. It was a constitutional monarchy. The king really didn't have power, but the government appointed a political appointee, and this man was known to be corrupt by the British. And so they said, you can send this man to be the ambassador to Europe, but he can't be the ambassador of Britain. We will not accept him. He's too corrupt. And so they asked the British, who would you accept? And they chose Nakhatra, Mongkal, Dushandabri, none other than Queen Surakit's father, someone who had character, honor, and responsibility. So the entire family moved to Europe, and young Surakit continued her high school education in Europe. This young second-born prince, Pumipon, had gone to Europe to get an education. The war had ended and severely damaged his country, and he knew he had to help rebuild it, so he took classes to be able to go back and serve his people to help build his country. He wanted studies that would help his people, but he wouldn't be king. In effect, he was practicing what Surakit's father had taught her, honor, character, and responsibility, through service. And that's what important. So he began his studies in Europe to be able to help his country. While in school, his father, King Rama VII, abdicated, and so his older brother was going to become King Rama VIII. And Pumipon continued his studies. During a school break, Surakit's father decided to take the family skiing. So they went to Switzerland. And it just so happened that Pumipon was going skiing at the same time, and he ran into this beautiful young Thai lady, and he fell in love with her. And he asked her to marry him. The same girl, I'm sure he noticed for what she was wearing before, but not for her beauty some time before at the party. All of a sudden, he saw a lady of character and beauty, and he asked her to be his wife.

What happened shortly after that? God knows how he works things out.

No, the world doesn't see us for what we're going to be. They didn't see themselves for what they were going to be. But it was something special. Revelation 19.7 shows that God is preparing his bride. He's preparing you spiritually to be his son's bride. He chose you. He found favor. Says, Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and the wife has made herself ready. Made herself ready. Now we do as much as we can. We know God helps us in that. You are to make yourself ready to be his bride when he returns. And you only do that through the Holy Spirit, which was given to you at baptism and grown throughout your life as you practice his way. When we upon became engaged to Sirikut and they continued their studies, but after two years, his older brother, King Ramah VIII, died unexpectedly. Now they said it was a disease, but most of the government's fourth things that they want you to believe wasn't true. It was actually murder for fighting the corruption in the country. And so all of a sudden, Prince Mui Pong and his fiancé returned to Thailand. He was crowned king, and she became queen. Some of the youngest royalty in history, as far as king and queen. Honor, character, and responsibility would be the hallmark of their 70-year reign. He was crowned just before Queen Elizabeth. He was the longest living king, as long as he was alive until Queen Elizabeth. He died, and Queen Elizabeth became the longest one. He didn't fight the corruption right away.

When God called you, I'm sure you had other plans. Things you wanted to do. No thoughts of royalty, not planning to be a king or queen. He called you to be more than that, and he called you to be more than that. When he saw in you a child of God, someone who could be with his son, royal, he saw your future, a person who must fight any internal corruption and show honor, character, and responsibility.

King and Queen threw themselves into helping the people, the hill tribes and the various ones, instead of fighting the government. He didn't want to have the fate of his brother. In the palace, they had an 18-old golf course, and he said, I don't need a golf course. And one by one, when we visited the palace the first time, he only had one hole left in the putting green. Everything had turned into projects. It grew rice in some of the water holes. He had cows brought in from Denmark, and the Thais don't generally drink much milk, so he made powdered milk into pills and gave it to the schools for the children to have calcium.

And every one of his 18 holes became a project for the country. They have kept the promise that their coronation they said we will reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Thai people. We have to reign with righteousness for the benefit of all mankind, with our older brother, Jesus Christ. That's a short form of honor, character, and responsibility. Again, they reigned for 70 years, 126 days, the longest in Thai history. People recognized the value of character, the value of honor. The Thais loved their king and queen.

They visited any restaurants that were Thai or any place around the world, and you just saw a picture of them up on the wall. And they respected them. But, like you, the spiritual body of Jesus Christ, his church, they were preparing by not knowing what they were going to be.

But they had people around them that taught them how to be king and queen in reality, character, and responsibility. I hope that we, as we teach you and you teach your children, you teach honor, character, and responsibility in the service that you give through your lives in your preparation for your future. Turn to 1 Thessalonians 4.6. We'll see when this happens, because we know our destiny, and we know when it's going to happen.

It's to become kings and priests at Christ's return, not for 70 years, like the king of Thailand, but for eternity. Verse 16, we've probably read this at Trumpets, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. That will be the ones who preceded us, and some of us who may die before that time. Then we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.

And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Paul thought it was coming in his lifetime. Shri Armstrong thought it was coming in his lifetime. I'm sure so many for 2,000 years thought it was coming in their lifetime. The apostles, John, they thought he'd be alive at Christ's return. We're to comfort one another with those words that says, this is your reality, if you accept.

Turn to 1 Corinthians 16. We see when that will happen as well, not at Pentecost, when we're given the Holy Spirit, pictured by the feast, trumpets, or the Passover. The Feast of Trumpets and our resurrection, atonement, when we know that Satan is put away. We begin our rule with Jesus Christ, the true King of Kings, with this feast here. We start the millennium. Verse 52, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, and a twinkling of an eye, and a twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, the trumpet shall sound, the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The change we heard last night in the film. How does the world see you? Well, 1 Corinthians 1, 26 makes it pretty clear how the world sees us. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, says very clearly, you see your calling, brethren, not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble or called. I don't know of any royalty that came into the church. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty, the base things of the world, things which are despised as God-chosen, things which are not to bring to not things that are, that no flesh should glory.

We can't glory because we were born royalty. We didn't see any of that. Verse 30, But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. According as is written, he that glories, let him glory in the Lord. We can't do it ourselves. We have to know that. The world will not see you as kings and queens and priests, but I do. Because God does. He sees what you're going to be. My first command at age 21, three days after graduating college, Mr.

Armstrong said, Aaron, treat everyone that gets on this plane as a king or queen, because they are future kings and queens. Treat them that way.

Because that's what they will be. Revelation 1.6. I see you as kings and queens. I know that that's what your destiny is. I know that's what God wants for you. And Christ revealed that to John. Revelation 1.5 and 6. From Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness. He sees it all. The first begotten of the dead. First means there's many. It doesn't say the only begotten. Prince of the kings of the earth, under him that loved us, washed us from our sins with his own blood, has made us kings and priests unto God and to his Father, and to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. That's repeated in Revelation 5.10. Made us kings and priests to God. That we reign on earth a thousand years. Because Christ qualified, God called you to be a ruler in his kingdom with his Son. A job like no other. At a time like no other. At a time of true peace and prosperity that the world has not seen, the millennium and beyond. We can't earn the title of king. It's a gift. It's going to give us great opportunity. And God expects you to prepare, much like the king in Thailand, for preparing themselves without even knowing it, through teaching of honor, character and responsibility. We have to overcome. It's obvious in the messages to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 to him that overcomes, will I grant this or that or whatever. We have to. We don't earn it. It's not about works. But you prove your love of God by keeping his law. It doesn't earn you anything. We're saved by grace. But what makes him apply that grace to you and give you eternal life?

It's how you live. How you treat others. It's since baptism and probably well before, God began working with you in preparation for your future. I didn't know that when I was a kid. That's all I knew as a church. My wife was doing things and asking questions long before she even knew anything about the truth. I think God was working with her at that time. But I suggest this honor, character and responsibility in practicing what you have been taught. In doing that, Acts 13, it shows us about the heart. David. David had some difficulties. But in verse 22 of Acts 13, it said, when he had removed him, that was Saul, who was first king. He raised up David to be their king, to whom he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, which shall fulfill my will. Where is your heart? Is it going to fulfill God's will? David wasn't Jesus. He said and did things wrong, but his heart was right. Where's your heart? It's about the mind. We're told in Philippians 2.5, to let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus. Is your mind becoming more like Christ? When you see things and do things, do you do what He would do? Be careful of your thoughts. Thoughts are the hardest thing we have to control. No question. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your character. And your character becomes your destiny. Watch what you say. Numbers 12.2 shows us about humility. God tells us of Moses, that he was the meekest man above all the men on the face of the earth. Humility. Not pride.

Isaiah 66.2, who does God look to? Memory scripture for most. But he says to this mammal, I look, even to him that is poor, kind of a contrite spirit and trembles at my word. Can God say that about me? He say it about you. I pray He can. And then it comes down to the two great commandments. Love God, and love your neighbor. Ask yourself.

Not easy. Often those who are human, when they realize they're going to have power, change. They begin taking instead of giving, serving, and changing to being served. Often arrogant, often above the law. But not you. Jesus was not above His Father's law, law that He delivered on the mountain. You must see yourself as a servant, King, to service Jesus' sieve, to give as Jesus gave, to obey as Jesus obeyed. Moses and David both made mistakes, some big ones. But repentance clears those mistakes.

And God forgives, and we have to forgive too. We all make mistakes. We say things and do things. Forgiveness is a gift. It's a gift to yourself, actually, because it clears your heart. The other person may not even know. The King and Queen of Thailand kept their character. It's why I respected them, more than so many others that I met. In the 1970s, we started our first project in Thailand. It was the village of Angkang, far up in the northern corner of Thailand on the Burmese border. The King wanted to stop the drug trade that had gone through Thailand.

And we offered to help him set up portable buildings to teach the people how to grow vegetables instead of the poppy seed. So the King went up to that village. That time, there was no roads to it. It was actually the poorest village in the whole, probably all of Thailand, certainly in that region. And the King chose it specifically for that reason.

He said, if I can do it there, others will see it and copy it, just as they can see how you live and hopefully copy that. So he went up and talked to the village chief. The village itself was in the trail of the drug group. And the drug lords would come through and they'd take the young men in the village to be soldiers, and they'd take some of the young women to be prostitutes.

And he said, if we do what you want, they'll kill us. We can't do this. We stop growing. We'll starve. We'll be killed by the drug lords. The King said, I'll teach you how to grow other food. I'll buy it from you so you can survive.

And he said, I'll teach you. And he agreed to protect them from the drug lords. And indeed, he did. He sent a small army to defend them. We set up the buildings. We taught them to grow vegetables. The Chief agreed because the King had showed him pictures of what the drugs do, pictures of addicts and things and the life they led. The Chief was willing to do it, even if it meant dying, but the King said, no, I will protect you. I'll teach you. I'll help you. Indeed, he defended them, and they learned agriculture.

The project was a success. You are a project of God. God will defend you. He will teach you. He will help you succeed. That's why He gave you the Holy Spirit. In 1984, Mr. Armstrong was going to visit the Queen. And the Queen asked her husband what she should do with Mr. Armstrong, and the King said, well, why don't you show him and Kong that some 10 years later, from the start of the project, the Queen said, well, he's 90 years old.

That's really rough territory out there, and it was. And the King said, he's 90. He can say no. Well, he didn't say no. He said yes. And so we took the Gulf Stream jet up to Chiang Mai, and then we got in the Queen's helicopter and flew in the helicopter and landed on top of a hill. We got into a jeep on the top of the hill and went down this really narrow, narrow road that was on the side of a cliff, actually.

And my wife was in my lap because she thought we were going to fall off. Armstrong, that was his blind side, so he didn't know, or he'd have been in my lap as well. But we got to the bottom and didn't die.

And we sat there and watched the Queen working with the people. They had pinned notes on the shirts of the people. And the notes were in English because she didn't want anybody reading it and embarrassing them with what might be written on that. She could read it. She sat there in a chair with them, working with them on her hands and knees, talking with them.

She was showing respect and kindness to the very poorest people in the country. When I saw that, I actually thought of Christ reaching down to work with the little children and the puzzle, no, don't get away, he's important. She saw them as important, and she treated them that way with respect, these weakest of the ties. These are not the wise and the mighty. These are not the rich.

It was lunchtime. We went to some tables and they passed out some lunch baskets and they're all elegantly designed. The napkins were swans and Mr. Armstrong couldn't tell the food from the decorations. The queen actually reached over and helped him, which shocked everybody, because they generally don't do that, other people do. My wife needed to go to the restroom and wash her hands, so she asked one of the ladies in the waiting for where it was and they had kind of a tradition style, a little more than an outhouse, but not really super nice. And so she started walking toward it, 50 yards away. The queen saw Michelle begin to walk there. She jumped up and ran ahead of her and stopped her before she went in the building. She said, wait here. And she went in and she cleaned the restroom before she'd let Michelle go in. It was a queen doing that for her. She said, wait here. And then she handed Michelle some wipes before she went in. Said, use these because of the water. Even as a queen, some 30 years into her reign, when everyone else served her, she still practiced honor, character, and responsibility in serving others. Sometimes our best lessons come from others. We learn from others. I've learned from everyone I've ever met. Things right, things wrong. In Hong Kong, here was a queen cleaning the restroom for my wife. She didn't send someone else. She did it herself. She did it herself. When I think of this, I understand humility from someone who doesn't have God's Spirit, but has learned some of these lessons. I understand that what Jesus Christ, who literally was full of God's Holy Spirit, did in washing the feet of the disciples. He didn't have to do this, but he wanted to give us and anyone who reads his book an example. He was God in the flesh. A few days away from being God in spirit, again, with the Father. And his last physical act, before being taken and crucified, was not about himself. It was about honor, character, and responsibility, carrying out his Father's will and the plan that they set up plenty ago.

You must do this as well. I hope that as you continue your life, you never quit washing feet.

I've seen many people who wash feet. Some of them wash feet really, really, really hard so they can get to a position where they never have to wash feet again.

That selfish service does not honor, character, and responsibility. And it's sad. It's still service. But it's the wrong motive. Selfless service comes from the Holy Spirit and the desire to help.

The act is good, but the motive may not be. It may not be honor, character, and responsibility. Jesus condemns those who put on a display of righteousness. You can fool people with that for some time. I've seen it in the church, but sometimes it takes 10, 20, 30 years before it comes out. And you find out why they served. Get ahead. Service was good, but it was the wrong motive. Will you display service and humility? You must. That's what you're here for. Came from a pond died in 2016. Sad day for Thailand. Queen Surik had died last year, 2025. Most homes and businesses still display their pictures in their restaurants and their places. Their son King Rama the 10th is now king. When I met him as Crown Prince, he was a pilot in the Air Force. He asked me to fly around the country in an F-14. Phantom. So I know him, and he's done fairly well. He's done better than he could have at the time, being older, thankfully.

But he doesn't have the same honor, character, responsibility that his parents did. He's trying, but he doesn't understand it because he knew he was going to be a king, and he was spoiled his whole life, pretty much.

We have to learn to be like our king, Jesus Christ.

You spend time learning the word of God to be able to be a good king. That's why we study the book. The feast gives you a full dose of what the millennium's about, what you're working towards so you can help do that. When I teach at ABC, or preach in church, or talk to people, I try to reach the heart. Why? Because I'm trying to raise each of us to be a good king, be what God wants us to be, to continue their education. We're like those poor Ankhong villagers. The weak of the world didn't know what our position was supposed to be, but God saw us differently. But we have to learn to give unselfish service to God, to your family, to your community, your church, eventually all humanity.

On the last day of Queen's Circus visit in California, as we toured and drove around, she said something equally unusual to me.

She said, I'm tired. It is so hard. No matter how much we try, we just can't solve Thailand's problems. There's just too many against us. She finished by saying this. When I die, I just want to be like an angel sitting on a cloud, away from all these problems. But my husband, the king, he wants to come back as a being that can really have the power to make a difference. That's what you and I are offered. The power to make a difference, to help. He wants what you and I have been called to do, to have the power to change people. He gave this Holy Spirit on Pentecost so that they could learn and grow the job that he had mined for them. True reality begins for us from the trumpet sounds. We become spirit beings, and we start to make a difference. Our works of service show our heart, show our mind, and show our character, and our love for God. The honor, character, and responsibility you will have exhibited in this life.

Do we work with the Holy Spirit and think like our king? Some people may stumble onto some values. There are some physical wisdom out there. I've learned a lot from different people that have learned physical things. But God wants kings. Not those who are mighty, but those who are humble, those who use the Spirit to help others and to serve, those who develop a love of God and love for people, all people, no matter how weak or poor. Knowledge alone of the plan doesn't do anything. A lot of people have learned mechanically the plan. I had a basic knowledge of the plan. By the time I was 10, I could probably answer most of the questions that I could be asked. I mean, I had Bible every day of my life, but that would do nothing. If you've been on the church for any way at the time, you have a lot of knowledge. But I like 1 Corinthians 13 because it shows what really is true, what's really important, love. I like Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 too, and he says, though I have the gift of prophecy, I understand all mysteries, all knowledge, and I have all faith that I could move mountains and not have love. I'm nothing. Knowledge is nothing. If you don't practice it, if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and give my body to be burned and have not love, it profits me nothing because love suffers long, is kind, and is not. It doesn't bond itself, it's not puffed up, doesn't behave unseemly, seeks not her own, but is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails. With charity, you know how to forgive, and forgiveness is what we need to give each other. Your motives must be pure. The actions that you take because of the knowledge is what counts. It reflects God's love, and your motives for doing it must be pure, not to make a name for yourself, but to show honor to God, to build righteous character, to be responsible with true humility so God knew you were here. How many difference does anybody else know? As long as God knows. Matthew 25, of course, we know who gets it, not the high and mighty. Matthew 25, a crisis talking to people, says, I was hungry, you gave me meat, I was thirsty, you gave me drink, and stranger, you took me in, naked, you fed me. And they didn't do that to them. They wondered, I do it to you. But their muscle memory, their spiritual muscle memory, was to take care of people and help people no matter what, and no matter who. And Christ said, if you did it to the least, you've done it to me.

And we shouldn't see people ask the least, but we know that people have needs, and we should help those needs as much as we can, and to be like Him. And of course, the other side of that coin, if you didn't do it to those, then you didn't do it to me. And you don't want to be on that side. It must be a way of life, a spiritual muscle memory. Do you miss opportunities to serve? I hope not. To qualify to become king, you have to have the heart, you have to have the mind, and you have to have the humility of Jesus Christ.

It's hard sometimes. It's difficult. But we must reflect on our character and responsibility. Why did God love Moses? Why was David a man after God's own heart? Why did God hear Daniel? Why did He respond to Peter's Prayer of silver and gold to have my none rise up in the water? Because it wasn't about the self.

Practice humility and service now, and you'll sow millions in the future. You'll share your story, your Ankhon village story, wherever you live, Italy, France, Germany, Australia, America, wherever. You'll have a story people will want to hear. It'll encourage them to attain what God has given you. Not service for your glory. Again, I've seen selfish service. It works in this world. Some people are fooled, but God is not fooled. Spiritually, you may be in your school uniform. Maybe all you have is spiritual tennis shoes, and all you're riding in is a spiritual bus. But God invited you to the party. Out of billions of people, He invited you. When Christ returns, you and I will be kings. Not because of us, though we do our ministry part, but because of Him, through Him. Through Him, with the Holy Spirit, He's given you that opportunity to have honor, to build character, and to prove you showed responsibility to His will. When you were called into God's Church, you were an individual searching for your place, and you began a journey. You became a part of a spiritual body, a team, and you've been taught knowledge and given opportunities for service. I can't make you honorable. I can't give you character. I can't make you responsible. No one can. You have to do that. I ask you to take on the spiritual opportunities that will come to you, that you see them, that you never fear to take those opportunities. That God will be with you. He knows what He's doing. Most of my jobs, I have no idea what I was doing. When I was 21, I was setting up meetings with world leaders. I had no idea what I was doing. But I knew God did. You trust Him, and that's what it's about, because God will be with you. Don't fear. For you, it will be honor, honoring God and your fellow man. For you, it's building character, knowing what's right and wrong, and doing the right choice. For you, it's about taking responsibility to practice what you've learned, not just for now, but for the rest of your life. Your fellow royals. You should consider it a great honor to follow God's way of life, because He called you. He wants you. It's hard going against the grain in Satan's world. We know that. It's not easy, the road that we take. That is why God gave you His Spirit. That is your royal blood. You have spiritual DNA. Your human spirit, combined with His Spirit, like a mother and father, is permanent in egg. You have His DNA. Use it. Grow.

I'm proud to be among those who get to teach and will gladly serve alongside anyone. Any of you, any of those in God's Church, from historically, from the past, from the present, whatever position God knows I qualify for, I don't know what that'll be. Neither do you. He does. He'd not have had it for you, that's why He called you.

I was past these truths for my mentor. I pass them to you, and you must pass them to others, especially your children. God made no mistake in calling you to that greater cause, that we know that this feast represents a time and opportunity. You've been taught to surrender to God. You're not here with a rural scepter, but you have a scepter of sorts. You read it every day. It tells you what to do, how to rule. And you do it to harden yourself spiritually for strength and further service. You do it to live up to the image of your older brother, mine, Jesus Christ. You do it to be like He was, like our Father in Heaven, to rule as Christ did. How? We read in Isaiah 9.7, of the increase of His government, there'll be no end. You're part of that no end in helping. Upon the throne of David and upon His kingdom, to establish it with justice and righteousness from henceforth forever. Righteousness and justice, that's what it's about. Do you think you can't? Well, I can't do that. Well, David did. David, like 2 Samuel 8.15, where it says, Jesus' judgment and justice unto all the people. Judgment. You know God's law. This is the penalty. Justice. You know God's law. You repent and your heart's right. Justice is to be forgiven. When David committed his sins, the law said he should die. And he said, I'll die. And God said, no, I forgive that. You've changed your heart. You're repented. Justice is that balance that God gives that we have to have as well. Despite his sins, he learned a rule. So can you. So can I. I hope you're never afraid of what you might suffer for standing up for God. It's all part of your test, part of your destiny. Do you really want it? I challenge you to rise to the glory and majesty that God wants you to have. Don't wait. Start now. Start serving. Use God's Spirit to face those challenges in life with honor, character, and responsibility. So physical king and queen can learn it. How much more can we, God's Holy Spirit, be ready to serve? We're not yet kings, but you're royals in training. Let's treat each other at this face and beyond as the royalty that you will be the way God sees you. May it be written of you as members of the spiritual body, that you lived with honor, that you built character, and that you carried their responsibility and service to all the lives of the people you met. And for this, God made you kings and queens and priests in his kingdom.