The Scenery May Change, But the Destination Remains the Same

I'm going to begin my sermon today by giving you both my title and SPS because they are one and the same. So I'll give that to you up front here and as a package together. And that is, the scenery may change, but the destination remains the same. The scenery may change, but the destination remains the same. It's a reality in the life that we've been called to live as the people of God. As I've mentioned before, I moved a lot. Growing up as a boy, my dad was in the Navy, and so that gave us opportunity for relocation after relocation after relocation. And moves were frequent and often as a child.

I was actually born in Key West, Florida. It's about as far away as you can get from here and still be in the lower 48 of the United States. And we lived there for a time, and following that, we moved up higher up the state to Jacksonville, Florida. My mom had come in the church around that time, and now we were within range of a congregation.

We came up to Jacksonville after a period of time as well because my dad was doing training. He was going through certain technical schools. He was an electronics technician officer in the Navy, and they sent him for three to six month assignments for education at certain areas. We packed up from there and we traveled, and we headed out to Vallejo, California for about six months. Then we had time in Charleston, South Carolina.

Spent time in Norfolk, Virginia, and eventually back down to Key West, Florida, where I graduated kindergarten. So we got around a lot. There was a lot of change of scenery as I was growing up. Started kindergarten in Key West, Florida. I was thinking of telling childhood stories, but decided not to.

Maybe one. My favorite activity as a child, although I wouldn't necessarily recommend it today, was I remember I'd get a net and get out there. The waterway ran behind our house and had the seaweed, and I could get out on this little bit of a reef, and I could take that net and drag it through the seaweed and catch all kinds of things.

Caught a seahorse one time. We had it in a tank in the house. Caught other fish. Our neighbors had a tropical fish tank. I used to catch the jellyfish and flip them upside down and let them dry on the rocks in the sun. Horrifying, isn't it? It's the kind of things you would do as a five-year-old, six-year-old boy. I'd like to think maybe I've grown up a little since then, but, you know, it was an interesting life. Different places, different scenery. Eventually, we moved back up to Jacksonville, Florida until around 1986, and then my dad's last duty station was in the Northwest.

We went up to Pacific Beach, up on the Olympic Peninsula, just north of Ocean Shores, there for about a year until his final transfer to Whidbey Island, where he retired. So we bounced around, and as a young man, as I was becoming at that time, I was, I would say, I was 15 when he retired. Maybe not quite a man, but trying to push in that direction. He retired, and now they had to make a decision, where are we going to live for ourselves?

Right? Because all those years, the Navy tells you where you're going to move and live, and now they can make a decision for themselves. My dad took a job for a civilian government contractor, and we moved to Bremerton for a period of time, Bremerton, Washington, and then we decided to go back east.

We had family back there, and my grandparents lived back there. Decided to look for property. We went to Asheville, North Carolina, for about a year, but they never quite found what they were looking for, ultimately ending back up again in the Northwest by Colville, where they live today. So it was back and forth across the country a number of times. After settling in Colville, I decided, after I graduated high school, to go to Ambassador College in Big Sandy, I went for two years, and each summer was, you know, down to Big Sandy for school year, back up to Colville, to work and to be with family, and I was just saying, multiple trips across the country.

Diverse scenery. You know, mountains and deserts, and, you know, trees and forests, and times where we stopped at the Grand Canyon on one trip. Glacier National Park or Yellowstone, and known Old Faithful on another trip. And I have to say that some of the places along the way I appreciated more than others. Pointing my telling you all of this is to verify from my own personal experiences that scenery changes in life is a reality. Again, the scenery may change. You may live in different places, meet different people, but the fact is, in this calling, our destination is the same.

Again, by virtue of traveling across the U.S. so many times we saw much scenery. Some of that was picture-worthy. You know, just beautiful. When you pull over, you take in the scenic overlook. You get out of the car, you take a picture, you walk around because you may never see it again.

Other points of scenery, I would just say, was sleep. Sleep through country. You know, as a kid in the car, I mean, you've heard of fly over country well in the cars, like sleep through country. Wake me up when we get out of the desert, you know.

You mean we're still in West Texas? It's been hours. I seem to remember that vividly on trips back and forth to college. I've personally lived on the Atlantic coast, on the Pacific coast, on the northernmost state of the United States, on the southernmost state of the United States as well, and I can attest to the fact that life's scenery often changes. Life isn't a stagnant event.

Again, it's consistently moving, and it's a passage of time that's intertwined with interactions at various places, with various individuals and various circumstances that we encounter along the way. Many of those which teach us valuable lessons on this journey. And again, while the scenery of life may be in a constant state of flux, my point today is to remind us that the destination we've been called to reach does not change, even if the scenery does along the way. But let's enjoy the scenery for what it is. Even if it's not enjoyable scenery, let's understand it for what it is. Let's learn the lessons along the way as we head for the destination.

I first sat down and began writing this message on Wednesday during the presidential inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. And I sat there watching this event unfold, watched the ceremony, considered the significance of it in the day and age in which we live today. And I thought about the fact that we were witnessing right before our eyes a scene change taking place in this country. And moving from one view, one scenery, onto another view. And that we literally see it changing right now as we travel along the path to the kingdom of God.

My intention isn't to be political in my message today, but it is to point out the reality of the circumstances surrounding us in this life and what our focus ought to be, again, on the way, on the journey, always keeping in mind what the destination is. There's lessons we can learn along the way. There's experiences we'll have. You know, there's times when we want to get out and take a picture and enjoy the view. And there's other times we want to just say, you know, wake me up once we're past this point. But these are scenes of life that we walk through on the journey to the kingdom of God. With the ushering in of a new administration in this country, there's already many planned changes on the horizon, some of which were quickly implemented this last week, literally with the stroke of a pen, executive orders that took place right out of the gate. The president himself has declared a number of those executive orders that he intends to sign in the law during his first hundred days of his administration and other things he looks to introduce throughout the course of the next four years. And while it's not my intention to get into specifics necessarily, let's just say that a number of the elements involved do have the potential to impact the church of God directly and the work of the church directly. You know, we could just take one word, tolerance, and that stretches out in any number of ways. And there are times for tolerance, but sin isn't something that we're to be tolerant of, but again, things are being implemented in such a way that perhaps, you know, we don't like what you have to say as a church. We don't want to hear it. We've already seen in recent times that if somebody doesn't like what somebody has to say, even the president of the United States, let's just shut down the media in that way. Let's shut down the ability for a voice to go out, and you can begin to see, even in our own time, how the famine of the word is something that could happen very quickly. So there's things that are in play. Again, it's part of the scenery happening around us, has the potential to impact the church. Things are happening, which has the potential to impact us as a nation as well, in terms of the values and the principles going back to the founding fathers of our nation. And some of these changes are likely as well to stand in direct opposition to the moral and spiritual convictions of the people of God.

Again, we have to be aware of scenery, what we're traveling through, and the scene change on this journey to our destination. President Biden seems poised to be a president of firsts.

You can see that through his cabinet picks. And, you know, he has the first black vice president, a woman, and that's a first. He has a first in a number of different cabinet areas, and honestly, it's not necessarily a bad thing. The United States is where people can come, opportunity is presented, and they can rise to a level where they can enter into public service in a valuable way, whether they're black, whether they're Latino, whether they're white, whether they're male, whether they're female, whatever it is. That can be a very positive thing. But right alongside that, there's also selected the first ever LGBTQ cabinet secretary to serve as the secretary of transportation. This was an individual, if he is confirmed by the Senate, okay, will be, again, the first LGBTQ cabinet secretary. He was a presidential candidate, who has openly promoted himself as a gay presidential candidate. As well, will be the first openly transgender woman. That's the label. It's a man who is a woman, in this sense. The first openly transgender woman will serve as the assistant secretary of health. And so, if the Senate approves these cabinet nominations, this will be a first. And again, it will be a scene change. We're likely to see significant other scene changes as well in the energy sector, the corporate sector, business sector, taxes, immigration. And, you know, I don't talk much about politics and sermons. My point here is not to be partisan, because these aren't partisan comments, actually. To talk to the Republican side of the aisle, they would tell you a scene change is taking place. All right? From where we've been to where we're going. To talk to the Democrat side of the aisle, they would tell you, boldly and proudly, there is a scene change taking place, from where we've been to where we're going. So, I'm not looking to take up one side or the other, but I just want us to recognize what it is that's taking place. Now, to be fair to the journey, the last four years have been a scene change as well. And, personally, I believe some of it, at times, has been good scenery, you know? Pull over, get out, take a picture, enjoy the view.

Other times, it has not been the greatest of scenery, either. This last year, especially as the coronavirus has set in, the scene has changed again in our country. I can't recall in my lifetime, I'm 46 years old, I can't recall every time where the day-to-day life in this nation has changed so radically by any event that has taken place. And yet, it's been a scene change this last year.

And, if we're to be honest with it, I would say that the Church is not immune to the scene changes that take place around us in the world. And that's what this last year has shown me. As a church, as the people of God, we're not immune to what it is that happens in the world. It impacts us, either directly or indirectly, but it still impacts us.

The scenery of this day has the potential to distract us from the destination.

You know, have you ever driven along somewhere and come to such a beautiful spot and stop and you think, this is actually better than where I'm going? Wouldn't mind just staying right here.

Scenery could distract us from where it is that we're going. It has the potential, as well, to divide us if we allow it. But I would also say that the scenery has the potential to bind us together as the people of God and to direct our focus more on God fully where it belongs.

What are we thinking about? What are we considering in our life? Indeed, the scenery around us and the events taking place around us have the potential to direct us to God more fully, and that's where our attention belongs. Today, I'd like to look at some scriptures that we find planted throughout the middle of some rather dramatic scene changes that have taken place in the people of God historically, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Because, you see, we're not alone in this experience. As long as the people of God have lived on the earth, they have walked through scene changes on their way to where it is that God was taking them.

Question, brethren, what must our collective focus be as we travel through these territories on our way to the kingdom of God? Because we will pass through them, we must pass through them. The next four years is going to look quite different than the last four years, and yet we are on this trail heading somewhere, but this is the world in which we live. I found myself going to Hebrews 11 more and more in recent times. Fathers of faith are listed here. They had a focus. They had a destination, and they knew where it was as well that they had come from. Let's go to Hebrews 11 and verse 8 to begin. Hebrews 11 and verse 8, these people kept their eyes on the destination no matter what was happening around them. Hebrews 11 and verse 8 says, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance.

And he says, and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

And I'm sure Abraham saw a lot of scenery between here and there.

Met a number of people, considered a number of things along the way. Do I keep continue to pass on, or do I allow that to be a distraction? Verse 9, By faith he dwelt in the land of promise, as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

And so the point is, walking through the scene changes has always been a reality for the people of God right from the beginning. And the scenery may change. Abraham was in his homeland with his country with his family, and God said, you go here. The scenery may change, but the destination remains the same. And it's the destination that is the intended end, not the scenery along the way.

Because again, we can become distracted. We can pull over, get out of the car, take in the scenic overlook, and suddenly think, well, this is a better place. But that's not the intended destination where God is taking us. It is. And as far as the scenery is concerned, we are just passing through.

Verse 37 of Hebrews 11, says, They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being killed, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth, all kinds of diverse scenery. All these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having promised something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. So the scenery was always changing around them, but their focus was on the destination that was not to change. And the point is, they will realize it as we will realize it, the people of God together. There are certain things that we can learn from taking in the scenery. Sometimes we're encouraged by it. You know, have you ever gone hiking in the mountains or somewhere? It was just, it was breathtaking, it was encouraging, it was healing to your soul just to take in the view. Sometimes we're challenged by the scenery, right? It's a great mountain up before us that we must scale. Sometimes we're discouraged even by the scenery, but whatever the case is, if the scenery causes us to abandon our journey along the way, the point is we've lost perspective because the scenery is not the destination, the destination the God has set before us is. Additionally, brethren, the scenery ought to be an indicator of where we are along the way. And I think we should take a moment to wrap our mind around this. The scenery should tell us where we are along the way to the destination. What's the scenery look like? What does it mean? What are its implications and impact? How are we to respond? Luke chapter 12. Jesus Christ gives us an example of the importance of understanding just where it is we are. What is taking place around us and the fact that if you're not paying attention, you can miss some really important things. Luke chapter 12 and verse 54.

Jesus said, then he said to those, the multitude, whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say a shower is coming, and so it is. You know, it's a scene change, right? The weather's changing, and you can see it coming, you can predict what is going to happen. Verse 55, and when you see the south wind blow, you say, there will be hot weather, and there is. Hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

What time is Jesus Christ talking about? He was talking about then and now, the time in which he was living, right? He was the Messiah sent by God. He had told them that he was there, and he came to his own, didn't he? And his own did not receive him. They didn't recognize him for who he was, the Son of God. And Jesus is saying there, how is it you can predict the weather, but you can't even discern this time? Because you're the Jews, you're the people of God, you're the Jewish leadership, and you ought to know what God is doing, and you can't even see it. And it's a warning for all of us, brethren, to acknowledge the time in which we live, to note the times and the seasons, to understand what they mean and what it is that God is doing.

Abraham's descendants, the people of Israel, they were physically the heirs of the promises of God.

Right? He had set before them a promise as well. He had guaranteed them a promised land to those that remained faithful to the end. There was a journey God would take them on, and there was a time that they were trapped in a foreign land. They were under the rule of an oppressive ruler. Pharaoh in Egypt had them under his thumb, but then the scene changed, didn't it?

God brought Israel out of Egypt by strength of power, might of hand, and they rejoiced in that, brought them out. They were heading to their land, and what a victory it would be.

But he was also showing Israel a scenic route, and was bringing them by a certain way to fulfill his purpose for them. In Exodus chapter 14, Israel has come by way of the Red Sea. It's now another scene change. Exodus chapter 14, here they were rejoicing. They were celebrating. It was jubilation as they walked out of Egypt with a high hand. But now Pharaoh's gone out in hot pursuit of them, trapping them against the sea. And this is a uh-oh moment, right? Scene change.

Something's happened. How would they respond? Exodus chapter 14 and verse 10 says, And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, so that they were very afraid. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Well, that could be a good thing, right? To cry out to God, depending how you're crying out to him, what you're expressing. Verse 11, Then they said to Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.

This is a wrong way to respond to a scene change, by the way. To look back, to plead to go back, to say, God, it was better back there. Why did you even bring us out here if we're going to die along the way? Why bring us up into this scene? Again, brethren, we can never allow the scenery to cause us to stumble, to lose our focus, and to take our eyes off the destination. If it is where God is taking us, that is where we will end up if we put our faith and trust in him. Israel's trouble was they looked at scenery around them. They were afraid. They were discouraged. They were in despair. Scene changes are a normal part of the journey. And as we're going to see, God can use them for a tool for our spiritual benefit. Every scene God can use is a tool for our benefit. But the question is, how will we respond? Verse 13, Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians, whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. It's the same for us today. No matter what scene we're walking through, the Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. Do we believe that, brethren? Do we trust in that, no matter what the scene change may be that we're walking through? The salvation of the Lord will always be accomplished in the lives of those who look to him in faith, no matter what's happening around them. But perhaps there's actually scenery that points us to God more fully than other scenery. And perhaps it's the scenery that is not of our choice that would point us to God more directly than the scenery we would prefer to see. We know the story regarding Israel. God opened the sea before them. They walked across on dry ground. Pharaoh pursued, his armies pursued, and God brought the waters back in on them. They died in the midst of the sea. God's people were liberated, and they could continue forward onto the promised land. The fight was God's, and they simply needed to look to him in faith and keep moving forward to the destination. It wasn't the only scene change that Israel saw on the way to the promised land. What else did they see? They saw the desert on foot.

When I go to Nigeria and Ghana, I get to fly over the desert, you know, the Sahara Desert in North Africa. I can look down this massive expanse of sand and wilderness. They got to see the desert on foot. They got to see the bitter waters of Mara. They got to hunger and thirst along the way, but they saw those changes of scenery, brethren, for an important reason.

You know, we wouldn't choose the desert. We wouldn't choose bitter waters and desperately thirsty, but God allowed those things. He brought them to those things for a very important reason. Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 1 begin to see some of God's reasoning behind this.

Why are scene changes necessary? Why are they sometimes helpful, even if the people walking through them at the time wouldn't necessarily call them helpful? Well, God has a plan and a purpose he's working out. Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 1 says, every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful to observe that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. Verse 2, and you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years into wilderness. Notice to humble you, to test you, and to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. You know, why wasn't the road to the promised land paved with gold? Why wasn't it just not, you know, a nice little downhill slope from Egypt, all the way into the promised land? Why the stress? Why the trauma at times? Why the difficulties and the obstacles and the challenges along the way? Well, the answer is, brethren, there are actually things that God wants his people to learn as they face certain circumstances.

Will they look to him in faith? Will they trust him to bring them through and open the sea because it's beyond their power to do anything about it? That's what faith comes down to, what we trust God to do, because, you see, we can not do it of our own. God wanted his people to face circumstances that challenge them for their own good, and he wanted them to learn valuable lessons along the way as well. And when scene changes, come along, brethren, it is an opportunity for a new set of lessons to be learned by the people of God. It's easy to point to the world, right, and say, boy, this world has some lessons to learn. And if you go down that path, it's going to be tough, and that is true. But let's be careful not to just make it all outwardly focused. Let's take and turn that finger around and say, what it is, is it that I have to learn, or that we have to learn as a church of God walking through these things? I believe God has lessons for us as well. Verse 3 says, so he humbled you, he allowed you to hunger, and he fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he may make you to know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You know, God was there the whole time, bringing him through every circumstance the whole time. They simply needed to look to him in trust in the provision that he provided. But there were lessons they had to learn. There were experiences that had to be experienced. And again, it wasn't just some fun that God was having with them. It was for their own good, because they were going to take the land of promise, and they had to be prepared. God was bringing them up. He was teaching them lessons along the way. Could it be, brethren, that many of the scenery changes that we experience on our way to the kingdom of God are for the very same reason as well. To help us to understand and remember that man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, the plenty of this nation, maybe sometimes we think that's all we need to live by.

That bread alone. The abundance. The prosperity.

People have traveled from Africa to the United States. I remember one individual who came to the home office at the time we were there for some classes that were taking place, and the wife looked around and essentially said, how do you people pray for the kingdom of God when you live in the promised land? You know, compared to where they had come from. This is the promised land. It's the land of plenty. And yet, it comes with its own challenges and difficulties as well. Our focus on God could be shaken loose easily in the promised land. But God gives us what we need to walk through these things. Verse 5, still Deuteronomy 8, verse 5, you should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. Go to the book of Hebrews, you shall know that. Go to the book of Hebrews, you find the exact same thing, who is the son that the God does not chase, and he chastens those whom he loves. Verse 6, therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in his ways, and fear him. Again, it can be easy to point our finger at the world and say they have some pretty big lessons to learn. Look at where they're heading. And it's true. And we've been called as a church to preach a gospel message of warning, of repentance, of a kingdom that's yet to come. But again, in the process, brethren, let not our focus during these times be simply outward, but let us consider the lessons that God would have us learn walking through as the church, this wilderness as well. Indeed, believe there are things that we too can learn along the way. I believe that God will allow the downhill slide of this world, especially at the end of the age, to play a major role in the testing and the purifying of the saints.

To know what's in our heart. Do we put Him first, truly? Do we trust Him, really? And how far does that go? Because lawlessness will bound the love of many will grow cold. That's what Jesus Christ said, isn't it? The love of many will grow cold, but He didn't say the love of all will grow cold.

So there's going to be those who walk through the fire, come out the other side with the dross removed.

But in order for that challenge to take place, there must be a scene change.

Right? There must be things that we walk through as the people of God to be purified in His service before we step into the Kingdom of God.

Verse 7 says, For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains, and springs that flow out of the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey.

Beautiful place. Verse 9, a land in which you will eat the bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. Again, sounds an awful lot like the land, the blessed place we live today, doesn't it?

What it is God has provided? That was their destination, the promised land, but the scenery along the way was meant to prepare them to take possession of it. You can just lead them straight out of Egypt, straight into the land. There were things they had to learn along the way. Verse 10 says, When ye have eaten and are full, and ye bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you, beware that ye do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, statutes which I command you today. Lest when ye have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, and when your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. It's true the good scenery can cause us as much trouble as the difficult scenery along the way.

Maybe sometimes even more. And why would that be? Well, because you can actually come to the place you forget about God as He is the one who gave it to you in the first place. You can become complacent in the good times. You can begin to look at your own skill, your own wisdom, your own might, your own political platform or plan, whatever it might be, as the source of the blessing, rather than looking to God. And brethren, it's a dangerous dangerous position to be in.

I want to give you a rhetorical question to consider. It's something I've been pondering for a while now, and we could talk about it afterwards if you like, but just just consider this question. Could the current administration, and I'm talking presidential administration, okay, of the United States, could the current administration actually serve as more of a wake-up call to the church of God than the last? Think about that. Could the...what is God doing? You know, what He's doing, He's doing in the world, but He's purifying a people. And I simply wonder, could the current administration actually serve as more of a wake-up call to the church of God than the last?

You know, which environment do you think caused the children of Israel to cry out to God the most? Was it the brick pits of Egypt, or was it the grain field of the promised land?

God said, be careful when you're in this land of abundance and you have beautiful houses and all that you need, you can forget Me. But did not Israel cry out to God from the brick pits? And God said, you know, their cry has come to My ear, and Moses, I'm going to send you to deliver My people. It was a scene change. Their cry came to His ear. When was another major scene change for Israel? They were displaced from the promised land because their cry, their prayer, their relationship with God did not reach His ear. And so again, it's interesting to consider. I do believe the end-time virgins need to wake up, and the question is, what will it take to shake us out of our complacency? Is it something that maybe we agree with the majority of? Or is it something that perhaps takes the world in another direction? And we know the importance of crying out to God for His deliverance and for His kingdom today. I think it's important to consider. Verse 14, when your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, He brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness in which there were fiery servants and scorpions, a thirsty land where there was no water, who brought water for you out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you, again, important lesson, and that He might test you to do you good in the end. That's what it's all about, brethren. That's what these same changes were all about for Israel. Humble them to test them to do them good in the end. And yet, these are things they would not have signed up for. They wouldn't have voted to go through the desert that way and to hit that bitter spring that way, or to face the things that they faced. But ultimately, it was to do them good in the end. And a number did fail, but Joshua and Caleb did not. They were faithful, and they looked to God, and He brought them in, because they had been purified. And they had looked to Him in faith.

Verse 17, still in Deuteronomy 8, verse 17, then you say in your heart, My power and My might, might of My hand, have gained Me this wealth. And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant, which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be that if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day, that you shall surely perish, as the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. Again, a time of prosperity that lulled the people into a complacency, that they didn't cry out to Him in the same way as they did from bondage, and persecution, and oppression. We all have choices as to how we will respond to the scene changes that come our way on the way of the kingdom of God, but they are real nonetheless.

Now briefly, the New Testament Church as well also faced a number of scene changes during its infancy. Acts chapter 2 shows a wonderful scene surrounding the day of Pentecost. We turn to this every year on that holy day. Acts chapter 2 and verse 38, what's the lay of the land? What's the scene? I would have loved to pull over, get out of the car at that overlook, take a picture.

Right? What a beautiful scene. Acts chapter 2 and verse 38, Peter said to them, Repent. Let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.

You shall receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and your children, and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. And with many other words, he testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation.

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Verse 43, Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, they had all things in common. They sold their possessions and their goods, and divided them all as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord, in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. What a beautiful beginning to the New Testament church. What incredible scenery.

To see what God was doing, you know, the gospel was going out powerfully, repentance was happening, the church was exploding, peace and harmony in their midst. But notice the scene change just a few short chapters later, Acts 7. Acts chapter 7 in verse 57.

Same church, same place, same people, change of scenery. Acts chapter 7 verse 57. This is the end of Stephen's testimony before the council. And in verse 57 it says, and when they cried out with a loud voice, this is the Jewish leadership now, the council, they stopped their ears and they ran at him with one accord. You know, we had a one accord in the other verse, right? They continued daily with one accord. We're talking about the church. Now this is the leadership coming against the church with one accord. Dramatic scene change, verse 58. And they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling out on God, saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord do not charge them with this sin.

And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Chapter 8 verse 1. Now Saul was consenting to his death.

And at that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem, so that they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.

As for Saul, he wreaked havoc, made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women committing them to prison.

Rather than peaceful and open relationship preaching the gospel, joy and harmony in the city of Jerusalem, persecution is now the scene that befell the church. They were scattered. They were hunted. They were killed. And yet what we find is that God used that scenery to accomplish his great purpose in them as well. Verse 4 says, therefore those who were scattered went everywhere, preaching the Word. These are the people of God, and where the people of God go, the Word of God goes with them. And they were scattered everywhere, preaching the Word. Verse 5, Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded a thing spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city, great rejoicing. The Word of God had come there. But what brought it there, what precipitated that, again, verse 4, those who were scattered went everywhere, preaching the Word.

God allowed the persecution of the church to be an occasion for furthering in the gospel message outside of Jerusalem. Again, a scene change from peace to persecution. Yet God's purpose was accomplished, and His people were learning certain lessons along the way as well.

It may have been disrupted for a time, but again, brethren, through all of this, the point is that destination does not change. And that church continued to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness through it all. Brethren, as we observe the scene rolling out before us today under the direction of the 46th President of the United States, I encourage us all to be mindful of what our position as the Church of God must be. We must be a people who speak the truth in love.

As Mr. Wills mentioned, there's so much fake news, false news out there. It reminds me of the time of Christ where He's before Pilate, and Pilate says, well, what is truth? That's the world we live in today. What is truth? Well, God's Word is truth. People of God ought not be confused. What is truth? And it is what we must speak in love. We must be a people as well who preach a message of repentance and reconciliation to God and to fellow man. We must be people who stand up and demonstrate God's way in action. This is the way. Walk in it. And we set the example by our words and our actions.

We'll have to be a people who let our light shine before men so they may see our good works, glorify our Father who's in heaven. The glory always goes to God. We must be a people who are always ready to give a defense to anyone who asks us the reason of the hope that's in us, and not just any defense. It's with, what, meekness and godly fear. Frankly, that's something, brethren, that can become missing in our modern social media age. Let's keep that in mind, how we give our defense with meekness and with godly fear. We ought to be a people who don't compromise our core values and convictions no matter what the scene may look like around us.

And finally, we must be a people who praise for our newly elected president just as we prayed for the last one. It is what God's Word gives us to do. Let's conclude in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 1. 1 Timothy 2 verse 1. I think maybe the Apostle Paul knew a little something about persecution, oppression from the authorities, freedom of religion being revoked. What did he still tell the people of God to do? 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 1. Therefore, I exhort first, first of all, I exhort, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. Verse 3. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Brethren, I encourage us all to pray for our president, to pray for our country, encourage us all to pray for one another as the church of God, that as we walk through not just the next four years, but the entire journey to the kingdom of God, whatever scenery may come, that we pray for one another, that we may be purified as God desires, all right, that we may be those who He desires to inherit His kingdom. And let us pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. I voted on my knees, and I prayed for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. And my greatest expectation in faith is it was, and that the world has some things to learn, and so does the church of God through this process.

So let us pray God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and do this knowing the time.

And we have to know the time and the season and the scenery around us and what it means, what its implications are. Do this knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation, our destination, is nearer than when we first believed. The night as far spent, the day is at hand. Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Again, the instructions in Paul's day, they apply to our day as well, Romans 13, verse 11 and 12. Brethren, on this journey to the kingdom of God, the scenery may be ever-changing around us, but the destination that God has set before us remains the same. Let us learn the lessons that He would have us learn along the way through every stage of the journey. There are lessons that are intended to do us good in the end, as the people of God, as those who seek and stand to inherit the promise. They are there to do us good in the end. And above all, let us never take our eyes off of God Himself who goes before us and will lead us. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. Therefore, brethren, do not be discouraged and never be afraid.