Self Examination for the Holy Days

Brethren, we are truly a very blessed people. We're able to understand prophecies concerning the age that we live in and what lies just ahead that give us hope for the future. We understand about the United States and Britain and just who we are in Bible prophecy. We understand about world-ruling empires and a final revival of ten nations over in Europe. We understand about God's kingdom that is going to be set up on the earth. Jesus Christ and the saints are going to reign on the earth for a thousand wonderful years.

We understand God's holy days. What a great blessing that is! I was almost age 19 before I began to understand the holy days, but the holy days have opened up step by step how God is going to accomplish His great plan and purpose all the way from Passover to the last great day, an amazing final day of salvation for those who have never had an opportunity to understand.

The holy days are so close to us now that I'd like to direct this sermon, especially toward the preparation that we should be making for the fall holy days, how we can keep them in spirit and in truth, how we can grow from these holy days and come away from them after the holy days have concluded in October, come away refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to move on forward, walking with God, growing and overcoming in our process of transformation and doing the work that He has chosen us to do.

We want to answer the questions then, how can we prepare for the holy days? What should we be doing? I'm going to answer these questions in a roundabout way. I want to, first of all, ask and answer this question, what is the prophesied end-time condition of the church? You know, you would think that members of the Church of God recognizing the world that we live in, what an evil world it is, and it's getting worse and prophesied to get worse until mankind would be ready to destroy himself.

And Jesus said that the tribulation would be so severe that there would be no flesh left alive, except those days were cut short. You would think, well, members of the Church of God will be zealous. They will be spiritually close to God. They'll be walking with God. But what does the Bible say? Oddly enough, it's quite different. Let's go to Matthew 24 to begin to read some of the prophecies about the spiritual condition of members of the Church. These verses actually then cause us to be very concerned and cause us to think.

Let's go to Matthew 24. We know that in this chapter right away, most of us will recognize this is the Olivet prophecy. Why is it called the Olivet prophecy? Well, because of verse 3, as Jesus said, on the Mount of Olives. So the word Olivet is taken from Olives. It's the sermon that He gave on the Mount of Olives, or the message He gave on the Mount of Olives, the Olivet prophecy. He was asked about the sign of His coming in verse 3 and the end of the age. He answered the question that they asked. He said, take heed that no one deceives you.

He warned of religious deception, false religion. He then warned about wars and rumors of wars in verse 6 and 7. Midway through verse 7, He said there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Brother, what we have seen so far in world troubles, this is just the beginning of sorrows that we will see at the end of this age. Verse 9, then they will deliver you and this would refer to people members of God's church, Christians, they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

God's people have suffered martyrdom down through the ages until more recent times and Jesus foretold here that it will happen yet again at the end of this age. But notice in verse 10 the spiritual condition of the church and then many will be offended and will betray one another. You know Christians don't betray one another, do they? Not strong Christians. Strong Christians are not offended and will not betray one another.

And it goes on to say we'll hate, also hate, one another. So this is a warning to us that this could happen. Could we be offended? Could we betray someone? We should betray nobody, even an enemy. We pray for our enemies. We don't have treachery. It's not our way of life. But could that happen to us? Could we get in that spiritual state or condition where we would be offended and we would betray another and hate also someone?

Well verse 11, Then many prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. The love of many. I think that some translations even say the love of most will grow cold. This is not talking about people in the world. This is talking about those who have had the love of God in their heart, Christians who allow their love to grow cold. But then verse 13, He who endures to the end shall be saved. And it indicates that it's going to take some persistence and determination on our part to be able to endure to the end.

So these verses indicate that the condition for some members of the church is not going to be a strong one. Let's go to 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians, another prophecy about the condition, the spiritual condition of the church at the time of the end. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 1, Now brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him. Now this is what the Feast of Trumpets represents, the second coming of Jesus Christ.

So Paul says concerning the coming of Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter as if from us. It seems some people were even forging letters.

In the name of the Apostle Paul, and that certainly is stooping to a pretty low level, isn't it? To forge a letter in His name. But do not be troubled as though the day of Christ had come. Some apparently believed that Christ had come already. Jesus said His coming would not be in secret. He said it would be in the open. It would not be off in a desert or some secret place. But notice in verse 3, Let no one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first.

So a falling away of Christians, ones who lose their zeal and their commitment, and maybe leave the faith, or at least they weaken to the point that they are offended and betray and hate others, as we read in Matthew 24. So have we seen some of this to happen in our time? Many of us go back in the church a long time. We go back decades. We remember when the church was large. And I'll read an article in just a moment that we may have gotten up as high as 170,000 people at one time back in the 1980s.

And now it's been reduced way down below that number. So did the great falling away take place after Mr. Armstrong died? And during the latter part of the 1980s and on into the 1990s? We know that in the mid-90s we were told that, don't bother, you don't have to worry about whether or not you keep the Sabbath or the Holy Days, or tithe, or eat clean and unclean meats. None of that matters anymore. And we know that many people went for that. Many, many people started keeping Christmas. Many people even started going to church on Sunday.

One man told me he was very happy. Now he could go to church with his family on Sunday. So we know that many people did that. Was that the great falling away that happened back in the late 1980s and especially in the 1990s? Well, it doesn't say great falling away here, does it? It just says, the falling away will precede the second coming of Jesus Christ. And there's a man of sin to be revealed, the son of perdition, mentioned in the book of Revelation, as the false prophet. Yes, falling away from the truth, becoming offended, betraying others, hating others.

We must not allow any of those things to happen to us, but it is prophesied that it would happen. I think we have seen to some extent whether we've seen the full extent of this even yet. We don't know. We've seen this to a large extent already.

Why would this be? You would think that people at the end of the age who know the times in which we are living would be the most dedicated, the most committed people, people that are striving to walk with God and to do what is pleasing to Him. And yet, what do we find? That there's a falling away, and there are people being offended and betraying and hating. Why is that? Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 3. Could it be that this world has rubbed off on members of the church affecting their zeal and their commitment to where they do leave, they do lose heart, they do become offended.

In 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 1, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. Oh, we're living in those times right now. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, oh, greedy for money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving. The King James translation has without natural affection. I like the King James version because it actually indicates something in the original Greek language.

That this refers to natural love for one's blood relatives. You know, when people are related, blood related, there's a natural affection. When brothers and sisters, cousins, when people are blood related, then there's a natural affection. But here at the end time, without natural affection for even family members. We see that. The New King James says, unloving, verse 3, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

Oh, verse 5, having a form of godliness, but denying its power from such people turn away.

Brethren, could our faith ever become just an outward show? Could it just be skin deep and not all the way to the heart, to the core of our being? Having just a form of godliness. Oh, coming to the church on the Sabbath, going to the Holy Days, but it's not deep inside our hearts and minds. And there's not that total commitment. And loving our lives, not unto the death.

You know, it could happen. And so we must be aware of that. And we must fight our bodies and resist in order to not become a castaway, as the Apostle Paul mentioned. For those who have been in God's church for many years, we often wonder what happened to the zeal. Do we have the same zeal? Do we have the same love and the same closeness?

You know what? I'm convinced that many do. But I'm also convinced that there may be many that do not. And the prophecies of the Bible indicate that there would be many who have lost their zeal and their love and their closeness to God and have lost in their total commitment that they have made to God. What's happened to us? I go back to 1958. In 1958, fresh out of high school, I went to Ambassador College. I found the church to be a family, close, warm, and committed. And the church was not all that large. That fall, at my first Feast of Tabernacles, there were 4,000 people at the only festival site in North America in Big Sandy, Texas. 4,000 people keeping the feast from all over the United States and also Canada.

And I found a committed people, dedicated people. During the 1960s, we saw the Church of God grow. We had churches to be placed in all the major cities across the United States in that one decade.

I think that would be the one decade where the Church grew more in number of churches and in members than any other single decade. The 70s also may be the second one. To know, Mr. Armstrong began his ministry way back in the 1930s, around 1933. He had been angered into Bible study in 1926, and that fall in winter, he proved that God does exist.

He proved that the Bible is the Word of God. And he also proved the Sabbath, and God's commandments and laws. And he and his wife proved the Holy Days. And they were in Oregon at that time, the Willamette Valley, Eugene, Oregon, and Portland, Oregon, and those areas. And he and his wife began to observe the Holy Days.

They began to fellowship with the Church of God Seventh Day, but they did not want to keep the Holy Days. So Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong kept the Holy Days alone, all by themselves. And as I remember, I've heard him tell this many times, it was for about several years.

It seems like seven years they observed the Feast alone. They did not know what the Holy Days meant. They didn't understand the plan of salvation. They couldn't just easily pick up a booklet like, We Have God's Holy Day Plan and explain the meaning, step by step, of the Holy Days Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, right on through to the Fall Holy Days, and the Last Great Day, an amazing final day of salvation.

They didn't understand the meaning of the Holy Days. They just knew that God said, Keep them. How about you? Would you observe the Holy Days if you didn't even know what they meant? Now, they may have understood Passover. That probably is how understanding the plan of salvation began. They began to say, Well, Passover represents the sacrifice of Christ, obviously. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, then we should begin to put out sin, obey God's laws. And then Pentecost also... And so one by one, they began to understand the plan of salvation. After about seven years, others began to join with them in keeping the Holy Days.

And it was about 14 years before they fully understood the seven steps of salvation, pictured by the seven annual Holy Days. But the church was small. During the 1940s, they met for the Feast of Tabernacles in Oregon. Later, they went to...I believe that was in the early 50s. Late 40s and early 50s, they went to Sigler Springs in Northern California. But there were only around maybe 100 people at the most. By the time they began to observe the Feast in Big Sandy, Texas, they were just around the early 1950s, then there were just 100 or 200, or just a very small group, just a few hundreds of people.

And like I mentioned, in 1958, my first Feast, there were 4,000 people. The next year, there were 6,000 people. In 1961, there was a second festival site in Squall Valley, California. And in 1963, it was the first year at Jekyll Island, Georgia. Any of you there in 1963? I know my wife and her family were there. So we had additional festival sites that were added after that. So the church grew and grew and grew during the 1960s and the 1970s.

And there was a zeal. We often wondered if we didn't lose a little bit of that family closeness, though, as we got larger. Congregations got 200, 300, 500 or more people, and we had to struggle with that many, with a larger number of people coming. We had to struggle to stay close as a family.

Then we all know that in the mid-1980s, 1986, in January, Mr. Armstrong died. And the one that succeeded him promised to follow in his footsteps, but actually did not and began to go in a different direction before too long.

And many wondered for, as the years went by, the latter part of that decade, what was going on, and even in the early part of the next decade, the 1990s. By the mid-1990s, it became very evident what was going on, when it was said that you did not have to keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days tithed, and you can eat unclaimed meats if you wanted to.

And when I stood up and said something to support the Sabbath and the Holy Days, that's when I had a decision to make, with a visit the very next week, that I could no longer teach that way. And so I resigned because of keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days. But what is...we look back at all these things that have happened. You identify, you came in somewhere along the way. You identify with the church and what has happened. You've seen different organizations to form. And here we are. How do you understand where we are now? Here we are, a relatively small group of people.

I mean, compared to 170,000 at one time. Here we have, in the United States, somewhere around 12,000 or 13,000. I'm not sure exactly what it would be worldwide. But we're relatively small. We have other organizations that have formed along the way, as we know. How are we to understand the situation that we're in? We have a situation where obviously many have been offended. There have been betrayals. And there has been hatred. Yes, among Christians or those in the churches of God. How do we understand what has happened to us? We know that even recently, a couple of years ago, what happened. How are we to understand all of this?

I want us to read a verse in the Bible. I want to read an article from United News that helped us to understand better. Let's go to Daniel 12. Daniel 12. And beginning in verse 4. Daniel 12. You, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. Certainly we see that, don't we? All around us. People running to and fro as never before. And knowledge, there's been a knowledge explosion.

I, Daniel, looked and there stood two others on the riverbank, apparently two angels of God, on the riverbank. Verse 6, one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river. Some have speculated could this be Christ, the Lord of the Old Testament. How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be? That's the question that is going to be addressed here. How long before the fulfillment of these wonders? I heard the man clothed in linen, for seven now. I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand, and his left hand to heaven, held up both of his hands, and swore by him that lives forever, that it shall be a time, that's a year, times, that's two years, and half a time, that's a total of three and a half years.

Many other prophecies show that the Great Tribulation is going to be three and one half years. It includes the Day of the Lord, the last year. But I want you to notice the last part of verse 7 that maybe helps us to understand what has happened to the church. When the power of the Holy People has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

That then begins to open our minds up to what has been happening. When the power of the Holy People has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. That's when you come to the fulfillment of these wonders mentioned in verse 6. I want to read at this time from an article that came out, and it's published, it's probably sitting on your coffee table at home or nightstand. The United News current issue of the United News newspaper for the members of the United Church of God is August 2012.

It's on the front page. It's on the lower left-hand side of the page. The title of the article is From the Council of Elders. It's up to you. We're going to see what's up to us as we read through this article. It's from our Council of Elders.

Bob Robert Berant, a member of the Council of Elders, wrote this article. Let me read it. The subtitle says, As the end time approaches in God's people divide more and more, what suffers? Who's to blame? And what must we do to overcome this problem? That's where it is truly up to us. Let me read just a bit from this. He brings out that God's church has done wonders from the very beginning in the early New Testament church. Wonderful miracles and a message preached. But yet, during the lifetime of God's chosen apostles, seeds of destruction, weakness, and folly were already growing, even as the apostles did their work.

Paul and Peter both strongly wrote to encourage the brethren to hold fast to God's ideals. Paul wept over some who had become enemies of the cross of Christ. Paul and Peter saw the seeds of self-destruction in every church, it seems. 2 Peter 2, verses 1-3. It seems we humans are not good on passing down the hard lessons of life to the next generation. That's true in our own families, it's also true in the church. He brings out the example of King David, who learned some very hard lessons, but did he pass them on?

No. Solomon made his mistakes and fell so far. He brings out, Rehoboam, David's grandson, guaranteed the end of Israel. He would not listen to the advice of the older counselors, but the younger ones. And so the ten tribes departed from the house of David. God revealed a little of what would befall his people, the saints to Daniel. Daniel was told that it was not for him to understand, but he did see enough to know that just before the end time, the power of God's people would be completely shattered.

And then all these things shall be finished. Daniel 12, and these verses we just read. The attacks of Satan will intensify before and during the Great Tribulation, including the final attack against the two witnesses. The power spoken of can include the ability of the church to preach and be organized. So what's going to be shattered? It can certainly include the ability of the church to preach the gospel and be organized.

Could it be possible that the shattering of the power of the holy people is caused from within? Are the divisions we've seen in the last decades fragmenting the body of Christ? Each fragment is weaker than the whole. Could it be that following in the footsteps of so many before us, we are our own greatest enemies? There was a great American statesman who once proclaimed that the United States was safe from foreign invasion.

And if defeat was to be her destiny, it would have to come from without her own borders. Not from within her own borders. That was Abraham Lincoln. That seems to be what we are witnessing as the divisions result in more and more fragments of the church. Each group seems to be working at odds with the others. Each little fragment that leaves becomes less able to preach the gospel strongly. And power certainly is lost. Is that part of the shattering scattering that is foreseen? But God did promise Daniel that some would be purified and that the wise would understand. If you go on down to read here in verse 10, it says, just that. Many will be purified, made white, and refined. Mr. Barent, again a member of our Council of Elders, says, My membership in God's church began about 50 years ago when I began attending the worldwide Church of God. During the first 25 years up until 1987, that church had problems but was mostly unified, very dynamic in preaching the gospel, spreading the word of truth around the world and existing in a positive frame of mind.

There were about 170,000 people actually attending services and the circulation of its publications numbered in the millions, with an income of over $500 million a year when adjusted for today's dollar. The seeds of self-destruction existed but were not watered often. In the last 25 years, I have observed the church change to the point that the former association no longer exists.

And the fragments left over that still strive to preserve the truth have a combined attendance of no more than 40,000 people. In almost every case, the splits, divisions, and troubles came from within. Many ministers and members alike seem to have lost the powerful desire to be united and at peace. In Paul's words, one body, one spirit, one hope, Lord, faith, baptism, and God, and a measure of grace are words that do not fit what we see today. There are more than 300 splinter groups. I didn't know that, did you? There are more than 300 splinter groups that believe they make up part or all of the body of Christ. There's no logical way that we can reason that all of them are the body of Christ when one group considers the other's enemies or antagonists.

And how about this statement? One can only imagine where we would be today if the ministry and members who are entrusted with the truth could have remained together in one organization. How many saints would there be? What impact would the church have on the population of the world? Brethren, this is a good analysis of what has happened to the church. But guess what? It fits right into prophecies we read at the beginning. Many would be offended that many would betray and hate one another and that there would be a loss of commitment and love. The love of many would grow cold. It fits right in, doesn't it, to what the Bible prophecies indicate.

The last paragraph of this article says, God's direction and will is for the church to be strengthened. God will not shatter the power of the church. It has to come from Satan or from within ourselves. Converted people are expected to examine themselves often to be sure they are pleasing to God.

I'd like to encourage all of us before the Holy Days and during the Holy Days this year to examine ourselves often. Converted people are expected to examine themselves often. Examine your heart, examine your commitment, examine your love, examine whether you could weaken and be less zealous and committed and could even betray and hate someone else.

Examine them just where you are in God's sight. Converted people are expected to examine themselves often to be sure they are pleasing to God. They are to know they are children of God. Their destiny is to be like Him. They are to realize that not loving your brother in Christ is an attitude that originates from Satan. They are to struggle for one another and love one another.

When you're surrounded by people we love and who love us in return, and when we have a great God-given purpose for living, there ought to be no room for seeds of self-destruction. I tell you, in our hearts and minds let there be no seed, not one little vestige of self-destruction, nothing that would harm the Church of God from within.

The last sentence here, if we are witnessing the shattering of the power of the Church, as Daniel wrote, let it come from without, not from within. Something to think about, isn't it? Maybe this is a pretty good analysis of what has happened to us and where we are now. And it certainly does make us think. I'd like for us to think before the fall Holy Days and examine ourselves. A good analysis. How about what would happen to us if we do lose our commitment and we no longer have the same zeal?

We no longer have the same love. We no longer have the same closeness to God. What would happen to us? Would we still make it into the Kingdom? Not without some major changes. Let's go to Revelation chapter 3. Revelation chapter 3. We believe, as pointed out in our book on Revelation Unveiled, that there is something to church eras. That these seven churches portray eras of the church, the first one in the Apostolic Age and the last one coming on down to our time today.

We believe there's something to that. In Revelation chapter 3 and beginning in verse 14, we have an instruction to the final church in Laodicea. What do we find about this church that then certainly seems to have an application to our age today? Verse 15, I know your works, that you're neither cold nor hot. Here's a people that are not committed. They're not for and they're not against. They're not cold or hot.

They're on the fence. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, here's how God looks at that. I will spew you out of my mouth. Brethren, God wants commitment. He wants a love that will not grow cold. He wants a love that cannot be offended and will not betray and will not hate. He wants a love that will endure until the end.

Otherwise, He will spew us out of His mouth. Furthermore, and does this apply possibly to some Christians at the end of this age? Let's make sure that it does not apply to us. Verse 17, because you say, Look at this smug and self-righteous attitude. I'm rich. I've become wealthy and have need of nothing. This is talking spiritually. I'm okay spiritually. Here's a person, a Christian, that feels good about himself. I have need of nothing. Brethren, the truth is we need God constantly. The truth is we need to walk with Him. We need His Spirit. We need to cry out, Abba, Father, give me more of Your Spirit.

Help me to walk more closely with You. The truth is that we are spiritual poppers in great need. Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit. So that's what we always want to strive to be, in great need of our relationship with God. But here are Christians who feel, I'm rich. I'm wealthy. I have need of nothing. And do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

He's talking spiritually. You're in wretched spiritual condition. You're blind. You're naked. You don't have on the garment of holiness and righteousness the holy righteous character of Almighty God. And so, what should... If anyone has fallen into this type of spiritual condition, what should he do? Verse 18, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich. Yes, that gold represents the holy righteous character of God.

Is this a reference to even the great tribulation? And buying this character in trial and tribulation of that very difficult time. Gold refined in the fire that you may be rich. And white garments, that represents the holy righteous character of God. That you may be clothed. That the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed. Wouldn't it be a shame to come up short?

To come up naked? To come up spiritually? Not having on the holy and righteous garment of obedience to God's laws and commandments. And anoint your eyes with eyesave that you may see. Not really focused on God's kingdom. God's kingdom then is blurry. Not in clear focus to Christians in this spiritual condition. This is talking about the church of God. We believe it to be talking about a condition at the end of this age. It's a warning, isn't it? In verse 19, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, therefore be zealous and repent.

I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and dine with him and he with me. And to him that overcomes, he will sit with me in my throne. So, brethren, I believe these holy days are coming up. When we consider all these prophecies, and also the article that I read, I believe that the holy days coming up are very, very important.

I believe it is urgent that we examine ourselves at the Fall Festival season. You know the good news? The good news is, as we read in Daniel 12, in verse 10, that many will be purified and made white. Many will endure. Many will have the commitment that sees them through right to the end. Not everybody is going to get into this poor spiritual condition of these Christians described in the Church of Laodicea. Not everybody is. It's good news to know. It's also good news to realize that God's Church is going to prevail and that Jesus Christ has promised to be with the Church, even to the end.

But we must take it seriously the times that we are living in. We must take it seriously. And we must examine ourselves as we approach the Fall Holy Days and as we observe the Fall Holy Days this year. As the United News article stated, converted people are expected to examine themselves often, not just at Passover, often, to be sure they are pleasing to God. I encourage all of us to fall upon our knees often before the Fall Holy Days arrive. And maybe with fasting to fall upon our knees and ask God to help us as we examine ourselves and examine our own hearts.

We know what's happened in the Church. We know we did not agree with everything that people have done. Yet we hate no one and we would betray no one. And we only wish that in the end and look forward to the time that indeed God will work it out and bring it all together. We know we can't work it out, but we know that He can. So I encourage a sense of urgency as we approach the Fall Holy Days. Maybe it's the same urgency that is brought out in the book of Joel. Let's turn to the book of Joel 2. Joel 2, verse 12.

Now there comes a time that we need to be more urgent. I believe now is that time. We're getting closer to the end of this age. It seems to me that even from our home office and our leadership, we're getting more of that sense of urgency that we need to have. In Joel 2, verse 12, Now therefore says the Lord, Turn to me with all your heart.

That's what we need to do. Turn to God with all our heart. With fasting. A day of fasting between now and the Feast of Trumpets would not hurt any of us, especially if we've not fasted recently. Turn to me with all your heart. With fasting. With weeping. And mourning. Surrender hard. That's what God wants. And not your garments. Return to the Lord your God.

He is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger and of great kindness. And he relents from doing harm. God holds back. I'm amazed at God's goodness. He doesn't come down and just instantly punt correct. Sometimes he lets things go a little way.

He hopes we will grab hold ourselves and just do what is right. But he ultimately, if we don't, will nudge us, just like any loving parent to get back in line. Let's go to the book of James, chapter 4. Here's also some good verses on what we need to do. Yes, as we heard in the sermonette, that spirit that dwells in us certainly is not walking naturally, according to the laws of God. In James, chapter 4 and verse 5, do you think that the Scripture says in vain, the spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?

But he gives more grace, verse 6. Therefore he says, God resists the proud. We need to humble ourselves to walk with God. He gives because God gives grace to the humble. He gives favor. He gives strength and help. In verse 7, therefore submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Yes, God will. If we get down on our knees often, if he increases the amount of time that we've been spending in prayer, hopefully everyone is praying on his knees.

Every day it would be good to pray more than once. David prayed three times. Evening, morning, and noon, he said, he would bow down. And Daniel, even when it was against the law to worship any other God, he still got down, and his windows were still open toward Jerusalem. And he prayed three times a day. He was thrown into the lions' den, but God watched out for him. So yes, we need to then get down and just draw close to God.

And then he promises he will draw close to us. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Today we are so preoccupied, there's so much coming at us. We need to purify, and we need to just focus clearly on God's kingdom and his righteousness. Lament and mourn, it goes on the say, and weep, let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. So here before the fall Holy Days, I encourage all of us to do some soul-searching.

Let's examine ourselves, do some self-examination. One very good way to examine ourselves is to look at the kind of life that we are living. We have an excellent letter from the chairman of the Council of Elders, Melvin Rhodes. It is dated August 20th. I forwarded this letter to everyone just over a week ago when it came out. It's a two-page letter from Mr. Rhodes.

It's about preparing for the marriage supper and also how we can be ready for that marriage supper. He brings out in this article about midway through the first page that we live in that time Daniel spoke about in chapter 12 that we read. Many will run to and fro. He says, it's only in recent decades that people have been able to travel extensively. A development that has led to us all feeling exhausted as we rush around trying to fit in way too much. Now, I'm sure that there's no one here that really identifies with that, right? Running around exhausted, trying to fit in more things than can possibly be done.

We all are fighting that battle today. This is the age we live in. And the result, he says, we neglect the spiritual priorities that are essential if we are to focus on what is most important. God's kingdom gets pushed aside. We're so busy with all these other things going on. He brings out too that knowledge is increasing, this knowledge explosion. And it's like Timothy, or Paul wrote, Timothy, people are ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Truth is that God's way is a little bit slower paced. It allows more time for prayer and study and reflection than most of us are doing.

Mr. Rhodes goes on to say that reminds us... No, I'm sorry. He says it's impossible to keep up with all. Many try reading books, papers, and magazines, and surfing the Internet, watching television, all at the expense of our seeking the kingdom of God and making ourselves ready.

So how can we make ourselves ready? He then quotes the verse from Revelation 18 about the church has made herself ready and is granted to be a raid and fine linen, clean and bright, and the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. You know what? That gets right down to our way of life, the righteous acts of the saints. And as he goes on to develop this further, he shows we're to walk just as Jesus walked. We're to keep the commandments of God, and he brings out then that it actually comes down to the great commandment, the two great commandments in Matthew 22.

And that is, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And then the second one is, you shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two commandments, hang all the law and the prophets.

So what are the righteous acts of the saints? It's loving God with all of our heart and mind and soul and being. It's having a close personal relationship with God. Three times in the Scriptures, that relationship is described as Abba Father. Abba is the Aramaic for Father. So Abba Father just means Father, Father.

Do you feel that way toward God? Do you have that kind of personal relationship? You can. If you don't, then get busy working on it. God wants to have that kind of relationship.

Is there any Father that doesn't want a close relationship with His Son? Not any decent Father. Every decent human Father wants a close, warm relationship with His children. That's the kind of relationship that God wants. The Abba Father, God doesn't hold us off at arm's length. He doesn't hold us off at a distance. He's personal and He wants our relationship to be close. Many times when we pray, we can use those very words. Abba Father, Father, Father, and thank Him and make your request to be known.

So how are we doing in that relationship? The righteous acts of the saints is how we're getting ready to be the bride of Christ. The righteous acts of the saints. Of course, that relationship, love God with all your heart and mind, includes prayer. It includes Bible study. It includes meditation and reflection. It includes fasting. It includes just living and walking with God. Strive into walk with God and do what is pleasing to Him all the time. And what about love your neighbor as yourself?

That means we'd never, never betray someone. They can betray us. We will not betray them. We would never hate anyone. They can hate us. They can do evil things. They can say evil things. They can say false things. But we still love them. So, and we would do anything for them. And we certainly strive to show that to, in all those occasions that come up, to show love toward others, our fellow man.

Whether in the church, in our neighborhood, on the job, wherever it may be. It's not just driving on the highway. And somebody needs to come into the flow of traffic. We let them in. It's just the way we treat other people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets, and the righteous acts of the saints come right down to that. When you think about it, the whole message of the Bible, that's what it's exhorting us to do.

What's the Bible telling us to do? Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and being, and love your neighbor as yourself. Do to others as you would have them do to you. That's the whole message of the Bible. That's what... And that comes down then to the righteous acts of the saints. And this is what is preparing us to be the bride of Christ. And that puts us simple, doesn't it? Mr. Rhodes even gets to that. It really is that simple. We are instructed to live our lives according to the two great commandments, love to word God, which includes obedience to His commandments, and love to word others.

Living according to the two great commandments is the righteous acts of the saints. If we want to be in that wedding supper, we need to change our priorities to ensure that we are not preoccupied with the cares of this world, but rather focused on living in accordance with the two great commandments. And he says, have a wonderful, uplifting, and truly edifying feast of Trumpets' Day of Atonement and feast of Tabernacles. So, as we approach the Fall Holy Days, we have a lot to think about, don't we? I hope we'll think about these things. I hope we will be an instrument for unity, an instrument for peace.

The last sentence of the article in the United News, again, if we are witnessing the shattering of the power of the church, as Daniel wrote, let it come from without and not from within. Don't let it come from you. Do everything you can that helps to build and edify and unite. Do not let that shattering come from you. And considering the biblical prophecies and warnings about the spiritual condition of the church that we read, that is very sobering, let's do some self-examination then. Let's examine ourselves. As this article also exhorted us, converted people are expected to examine themselves often to be sure if they are pleasing to God. Let's take seriously the letter that Mr. Rhodes wrote about the righteous acts of the saints and how we're not to get so busy running around that we don't really have time to seek God's kingdom. And we really are not focusing on those righteous acts. Love to word God with all of our heart and love to word neighbor as we should. Brethren, we are very blessed, aren't we? We're a blessed people. To understand the times that we live in, to understand God's holy days and what they represent. Tremendous, wonderful plan of salvation. So as we keep the fall holy days, I hope and I pray and may we, the United Church of God, members of the United Church of God, be committed to our high calling and be zealous in doing the work God has called us to do. May we, collectively and individually, be close to God, our Father, in a warm Abba Father relationship. And also close to one another, as beloved brethren. May we have teachable hearts of little children, humble, broken, contrite. May we come away from these holy days truly refreshed in spirit, renewed in zeal, and rejuvenated in heart. May we, together, rejoice with thanksgiving and joy in our hearts as we appear before God to keep a feast to Him.