Seminar - The Kingdom of God - Part 2

All right, we are going to begin part two. Part one, we discussed the world as it is, and we saw that it's a very dangerous place.

We all basically live on this globe, and there's a veneer, a thin, cheap veneer of civilization in a world that's very dangerous in a number of areas of the world where something could spark, could ignite, and result in regional or world war. So that was, we could say, the downer of the seminar today. What I'd like to focus on for the next 30 minutes or so is part two, and that is the kingdom that is to come. We're going to begin by looking at Daniel chapter 7 and verse 18. It says, but the saints of the Most High, remember I mentioned how the elect are also considered called in other places the saints, the saints of the Most High, shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. So again, those saints, the elect of God, are called in their lifetimes to prepare to serve within the kingdom of God beside Jesus Christ. And as Zachariah reminding us, they return to earth with Jesus Christ as he sets his feet on the Mount of Olives. So now let's take a look and remind ourselves of something God said through the prophet Isaiah chapter 46 verse 10. This is from the New International Version. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come? And that's what we want to focus on during the second half, is what still is to come.

My purpose will stand and I will do all that I please.

God says so humanity can't stop it. Nations can't stop God. God, again, is in complete control. Everything that happens is because he allows it to happen. And if something should arise, it's against his will. God immediately stops it. So God's plan will prevail. Jesus, when he walked on earth, said in John chapter five and verse 17, he said, My father has been working. My father has a plan. My father is working something great out here in the history of humanity.

He's been working until now and so have I. And of course, Jesus is working out the plan. He needed to become the savior of humanity by shedding his blood, living an innocent life, shedding his blood, becoming the sacrificial lamb of God so that all of those who repented their sins and accept Jesus as their personal savior have an opportunity for salvation, have an opportunity to become the elect that we've been talking about here in the seminar. So God has always had a plan and will continue to have a plan to allow humanity to rule itself before he mercifully intervenes with his kingdom.

But in time, he most certainly will. Revelation, I want to emphasize here, who is the king of that kingdom. Revelation chapter 19 and verse 16, speaking of Jesus Christ, and he has on his robe and on his thigh and name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Again, that is referring to Jesus Christ. He is the king of that kingdom. Acts chapter 28 and verse 30, the very last verses in the book of Acts. Paul puts it all together and he realizes that the gospel of the kingdom of God now must also include the story of who and what Jesus Christ is, because he is now the king of that kingdom.

So Paul said or it says about Paul in Acts chapter 28 and verse 30, Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house. He's under house arrest and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him. So Paul understands a significant role that Jesus Christ plays within the kingdom of God.

Jesus Christ was not a narcissist. He didn't talk about himself all the time. But after he made his sacrifice and was resurrected and went to the Father's right hand side, his disciples understood and appreciated the role that Jesus Christ plays in the kingdom of God to fulfill the gospel. So the kingdom of God is Christ centered. He's the king. He's the one that made it possible. He's the one who shed his blood and became the Lamb of God.

That makes the elect possible to be forgiven. That makes it possible for them to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. His life and death and sacrifice are all what makes the kingdom of God possible. And this is why the New Testament focuses on Jesus. He is our Savior. He is our God, our high priest and our king, the king of the kingdom of God.

A couple of times in Revelation, chapter 20, verse one, how long will the initial stage of the kingdom of God be? Well, actually what God establishes will go on for eternity. But there is a first stage.

And that first stage is a thousand years. Revelation, chapter 20, and we'll dig in this a little more deeply when we talk about Satan in a few minutes. But it says, I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottom of his pit.

And he sees the dragon, that old serpent, who is the devil at Satan and bound him in chain for a thousand years. So it's from that phrase, thousand years that we get the term millennium. According to Merriam Webster's dictionary, millennium, quote, it's the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 during which holiness is to prevail and Christ is to reign on earth. So even a secular dictionary recognizes that fact. So how long will the kingdom of God last?

Well, initially, it takes a thousand years for God to clean up the mess that we have left this world in. But certainly it goes on for eternity. What God establishes goes on forever and ever. Isaiah chapter 24, verses five and six. How many people will be left in this world after the great tribulation and the day of the Lord?

As I said earlier, it won't be pretty. Here's what the prophet tells us. The earth is defiled by its people. They have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. If people must bear their guilt, therefore, earth's inhabitants are burned up. A strong allusion to the effects of radiation from thermonuclear war, by the way. The inhabitants are burned up and very few are left. Isaiah also says the earth is laid waste.

Now, the frame when he says laid waste doesn't mean that it's totally depopulated. It means the earth through the culmination of the day of the Lord and proceeding at the great tribulation is devastated, that much of the earth is wiped out. And as Isaiah says here, there are just few people left. So as a result of the great tribulation and the day of the Lord, few people are left alive to enter into that new kingdom.

Presently, the earth's population is eight billion people. But even if 500 million survive, in contrast to eight billion, that's a few people. It's a relative term. But obviously, there's going to be a tremendous decline from the peak in which the human race is at before the great tribulation and the day of the Lord occur.

So what's going to make it different? I'm often asked that question by people. So how is the kingdom of God going to work when everything else failed? I mean, Babylon collapsed. China's had kingdoms rise and collapse. Rome collapsed. Ancient Egypt collapsed. Every nation, ultimately in time, the United States will collapse. Every other nation has on earth.

So what's going to make this kingdom so special? How is it going to survive when everything else that man has ever done has failed? Excellent question. There are four dynamic changes that will occur in the kingdom of God to ensure that it will go on for eternity. The first is that God's spirit is given to everyone. That's unique because throughout history, since the time of Adam and Eve, until now, God gives his Holy Spirit to a few particularly called out ones who received it.

It's referred to as the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it's not poured out in an abundance to many people. But at that time, let's read what Joel tells us. Joel, chapter two and verse twenty eight. And it shall come to pass. Remember that code phraseology of the end times? This is one of the phrases. It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh throughout the earth.

Doesn't matter your ethnicity, your skin color. Doesn't matter. God is going to make his spirit available to everyone. And that's a game changer. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams. Your young men shall see visions. And also on my men servants and my maid servants, I will pour out my spirit. Pour. Not dribble, not drip, drip, drip. Pour out my spirit in those days. So universal change in human desires and attitudes and mindsets are generated by receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit without the Holy Spirit.

We basically are selfish, carnal, self-absorbed beings. And the Holy Spirit is a game changer. And the prophet reminds us that God is going to make his spirit available at that time to anyone who seeks his spirit. So that's the first thing. God's spirit is given to all. And again, that's a very big number. Two, Satan's influence has been removed. Satan is called the prince of the power of the air. For most human beings, don't realize that the day we're born, we're connected to Satan's Wi-Fi network. That network radiates and emanates from the spiritual world and influences us and causes things like discouragement, depression, negativity.

Because, again, Satan is a spirit. He emanates this entire world. Psychologists say regarding our self-talk, regarding that constant dialogue, that internal dialogue we have going on in our heads, that 80 percent of it is negative. Why such a high percentage of it is negative? Because Satan is the God of this world. And he emanates those attitudes, those moods, that negativity that encircles our world from one end of it to the other. But there's coming a time when he's going to be removed and he will no longer be able to influence people with the negativity that he radiates from the spirit world. Revelation 20, verse 2, speaking of an angel, laid hold on the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

He cast him into a bottomless pit. So Satan is put into a spiritual prison. He is confined there where he is no longer able to influence people. He's no longer able to provide that negative spiritual signal that makes people restless, that makes people angry, that prods them to be bitter, that causes disappointment, that causes depression and discouragement.

All of that will be removed from influencing the human race in the kingdom of God. And he cast him into the bottomless pit. He shut him up and set a seal on him that he should deceive the nations no more. And I had an interesting conversation with someone between the break and she was commenting to me about the negative influence on the media. And that's absolutely true. There is one major agenda going on on Earth. That major agenda is promoted by Satan the devil and he influences our media, makes it slanted. Much of our media today is a lie. We used to have true journalists.

Now we just have opinion people who are on TV, on cable television, spouting their opinions off all evening. The idea and understanding of what true journalism was, unfortunately, has been forgotten. So Satan influences our media. He influences our governments, the attitudes that go on.

Individuals like Putin and the premier of China and other people on Earth are obviously, like all human beings, influenced by that negativity of Satan. And he works on individuals. They begin to think they're bulletproof. They begin to think they can do no wrong. They begin to think they're smarter than everyone else. And that's when serious problems occur, when world leaders begin to think that way. And that is exactly what has happened. So he is put in that prison for a thousand years and then he is released for a short time after a while.

It was a little test after the thousand years to see how well things have been gone. But we're not going to focus on that in our discussion today. I want to emphasize when you remove Satan's constant direct influence, you have a people who are capable of fully developing the fruit of the spirit. People can live in full happiness. Human beings can live the rich potential that God originally intended for all of us. Even if you have God's Holy Spirit in this world, it's a constant battle because of that Wi-Fi network, that negativity that emanates from the spirit world, that negativity will be removed in the world tomorrow in the kingdom of God.

The third is the universal establishment of God's law. Right now, every nation has its own law. Many of them contradict one another. Many of them are not there to serve people. They're there to serve the totalitarian government or the wish or wills of a particular government. But all of those laws are going to be swept away. And there's going to be one primary value system. Hebrews, Chapter 8, verses 10 through 13. For this is the covenant that I will make in the House of Israel after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts.

So God's law will be put within people's minds. That's through receiving the Holy Spirit. And it will also write them on their hearts. So they'll believe in those laws. They will accept those laws willingly and joyfully continuing. And I will be their God and they will be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor and none his brother saying, no, the Lord, no one walk around and say, do you know Jesus?

Do you know the Lord? No one will say that. He says, for all will know me. The knowledge of God and his law will be universal, will be understood and ultimately in time accepted by everyone from the least to them to the greatest of them, for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. In other words, I'll forgive them.

And their sins and their lawless deeds, I will remember no more. So in that kingdom, sweeping away all human laws, human value systems, in place of it, every belief system, civil law and program to help people to grow and become more and better will be centered on God's value system of love for God and love for our neighbor. Again, there won't be laws intended to manipulate the will of some government, some secular, worldly government to control people. It will be a law that allows people to love God and love their neighbor. And people won't do things to simply be compliant. There are a lot of things that I don't do simply because I don't want to end up in jail. Right? Fear makes me be compliant.

But in that kingdom, people, because they have God's Spirit, because the negativity of Satan has been removed from the world, people will love God's law. They won't keep God's law because they have to. They will love God's law because they want to. That's attitude motivation. The most powerful motivation there is in the world. They will love and respect God's law. And then, number four, a big change compared to the governments of this world will be godly rulership and government.

Unlike the totalitarian governments that occur in our world today, and even some democracies where elections are rigged and where all kinds of things go wrong and power brokers pull the levers of political power in many republics and democracies on earth, the kingdom of God is the purest form of government because it emanates from God the Father down through the King Jesus Christ and working along Him are His saints, His elect. It says in Revelation, Chapter 20 and verse four, but the rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years were finished. That's known as the Great White Throne Judgment, and that's a massive resurrection that occurs after the thousand years are completed.

This is the first resurrection. That sentence actually relates to verse four, which we don't have room on the slide to put down on. Blessed and holy is He who has part in that first resurrection. That first resurrection is when Jesus Christ returns to earth and all of the saints throughout the last two thousand years who followed Jesus Christ in their lifetimes and died await a resurrection.

And when He returns, they will come out of the earth and meet Him in the air. Their bodies will be transformed into a spiritual essence, spiritual bodies, if I can use that term. That is the very first resurrection. They will return to earth with Jesus Christ. Over such the second death has no power because their spirit continuing. Over such the second has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him for the thousand years, the millennium that we spoke about a few minutes ago. Again, God's elect, His saints, were tested and trained in this lifetime for godly leadership.

They weren't tested and trained to be selfish clods, to be manipulative of other people. They were trained to have the humility of Jesus Christ and through a lifetime to learn to develop the traits of qualities of Jesus Christ, including humility and mercy and patience and compassion and the importance of teaching. All of those wonderful qualities that Jesus Christ had when He walked on this earth. This means that nothing in your life, when you are the elect or you are one of the saints, nothing in your life is wasted after that period of time. When you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, you live in the light of eternity.

When you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, you have a little bit of God's presence, His virtual mind within you, within your mind, connecting with your mind. And from that moment on, you live in the light of eternity. Everything that happens to you is for a purpose.

It's part of God's personal development plan for your life. And even the mistakes you've made are part of a purpose. The negative things that happen to you are part of a purpose because they make us spiritually mature. We learn compassion by the things that we experience and do wrong. We learn to have mercy on others as we hope that God and others will have mercy on us for our mistakes and the things that we've done that are wrong. So the process of living, of lifetime, a lifetime after you receive the Holy Spirit, is to prepare us to be part of this godly rulership and government in the kingdom of God.

All of those negative things that we experience in this lifetime make us spiritually mature, wiser, more forgiving of others, and more compassionate. And again, if we're allowing that Holy Spirit to do its job within us. Isaiah 2, verse 3, many peoples will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.

So beginning in Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ is centered, where He comes down to earth, God's law and God's teachings will radiate throughout all the earth, ultimately encompass all the nations of the earth. And notice, because of these changes that I've been talking about, many people will say, I want to know more about God. I mean, we live in a world today where statistics show that no one cares about God anymore.

Church attendance is down and virtually all denominations. It's a secular anti-God world. No one wants to know about God anymore. Or should I say, a small minority of people want to really know about God anymore. That's probably a better way to phrase it. But at this time, many people from all over the globe will say, hey, let us go to Zion and learn more about this God and more about His laws and His ways.

He will judge between the nations and settle disputes of many peoples. God won't let anything get out of control. They will beat their swords in the plowshares and their spears in the pruning hooks. So instead of casting metal to make tanks and to make artillery, guns to kill people, metal will be cast so that we can reap crops, so that we can bring peace to the world and make life easier for people rather than trying to destroy them and kill them through violence.

So God is going to bring in a kingdom that totally resets the world order. The nature of people will be changed. They'll want to know about God. God's spirit will change them and they'll be enthusiastic to want to learn more about God. Again, in complete contrast to the world that we live in today. So I'd like to spend a few minutes talking about how the entire world will be transformed, how everything will be remade new in God's kingdom.

Because God is a creator. And one of the things He's going to do is He's going to heal the earth from all sin and human dysfunction. So let's talk about, according to the prophets, we're just going to let the prophets speak and find out more about this transformation of the earth that will take place. Isaiah, chapter 51, verse 3, For the Lord will comfort Zion. There will be a lot of sorrow as you enter into the kingdom of God. Anyone who's lived through the great tribulation in the day of the Lord, the few people that are left will have seen incredible tragedy and terror.

And they will need to be loved and comforted by the leaders in the new kingdom. He will comfort all her waste places. God's even going to change the environment. Right now, we have a massive areas of the earth that are just desert. You can't grow anything in desert, but those deserts are going to be transformed. They're going to be well watered. They're all going to become gardens like the original Garden of Eden that God intended to have all over the earth, but was stopped suddenly because Adam and Eve decided, like spoiled children, to disobey and disrespect their father and to do things their own way.

Well, God is going to go back and He's going to recreate the earth and He's going to take those waste places, these wilderness areas, and recreate them into garden-like settings where people can live and abundant crops can be grown. He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the Garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in it. No more discouragement, no more despair, no more frustration by human beings living in such a negative world, being afraid to go out of their homes unless they get beat up, shopping, or fearful that people will break into their homes at night.

All of that will be gone. Joy and gladness will be part of the culture of that kingdom worldwide. It will be found in it. Thanksgiving! Thank you, God, for transforming this world. Thank you for my neighbor, whom I love and whom I spend time with and deeply respect and care for. Thank you for the blessings. Thank you for transforming this earth from what it was into the new world that exists now. And the voice of melody. Instead of people being filled with discouragement and despondency, they'll have a melody in their heart.

It'll be like they want to sing. They're so joyful and happy. Let's take a look at continuing transformation of the earth. Isaiah 35, verse 1, the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. Instead of being barren and a waste that you can't do anything with, it's going to be totally and completely transformed. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom like a rose. Verse 2, yes, there will be an abundance of flowers. And again, singing and joy.

All of the mental issues that people struggle with today, they'll be healed of those mental issues and challenges. People will have the opportunity to reach their richest and full potential. We'll talk about healing in just a few minutes. The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon. There the Lord will display His glory, the splendor of our God. The parched ground will become a pool.

Springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Right now we have arid areas of the earth where there's little water. There will be water flowing everywhere, pure, clean water for people to drink and water so that these areas of the earth right now that are desert like an arid can be transformed to become garden-like.

The parched ground will become a pool and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Let's continue here. This is from the New Living Translation, Isaiah 41. I will open up rivers for them. On the high plateaus I will give them fountains of water. Again, an abundance of clean, pure water.

Fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the desert with pools of water. And who is doing this? Who makes this possible? It was all part of God's plan. Isaiah 41 and 20. I am doing this, God tells the prophet. So all who see this miracle will understand what it means that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it. So God intervened and Jesus tries to return to earth with his saints and that process of transformation begins in a very profound and beautiful way.

In this world that we live in today there's people who are hungry. We read earlier about what was it, over 800 million people go to bed hungry every night. Do you remember that statistic? We read in part 1. In contrast to that Amos tells us, the prophet, chapter 9 and verse 13, Behold, the days are coming.

Another catchphrase for the kingdom of God says the Lord when the plowman shall overtake the reaper. There will be so much food grown that it slows down people reaping the crops. And the person who's got to plant the crops next year gets behind him and says, hey, can you speed it up a little bit? Hey, I'm doing the best I can, but there's so much food. It just takes time to gather all of this food together. And he's told by the plowman, get a move on.

I got to get next year's crops in. That's a beautiful metaphor for how much food will be available. No more will anyone ever go to bed hungry at night. That will absolutely come to an end. And the treader of grapes he who sows seed, the mountains shall drip with sweet wine because the mountains are filled with water. And grapes are abundant and growing and thriving in this beautiful environment and producing lots of grapes. And when you produce lots of grapes, you get lots of sweet wine. So again, a very beautiful picture, a metaphor of the kingdom of God healing from disease.

What we pay in health care today is phenomenal in our nation. We have so many of us that are sick. I've had leukemia. My wife has had breast cancer. I know a number of you are struggling with cancers and heart issues and various problems. But in that kingdom that we can look forward to, everyone is going to be healed. There will be no disease or illness. Let's see what the prophet tells us. Isaiah 35, verse 5, When he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind.

Someone who was blind will be healed and be able to see again. Unplug the ears of the deaf. Someone who's totally deaf and can't hear will have their hearing restored. The lame will leap like a deer. Someone who couldn't get out had mobility issues, can't get out of a chair. At that time, will be able to leap like a five-year-old with joy and enthusiasm and raw energy because youthfulness has been restored and they've been healed of chronic age-related diseases.

Springs will gush forth and the wilderness and streams will water the wasteland, again emphasizing the abundance of water and food that are available in this world where there is no longer disease. There's no longer physical illness, mental illness.

The kingdom of God is a time of peace and plenty and complete healing for people. Micah 4 and verse 3. It'll be a time of peace and security. We read earlier about the amount of violence that goes on throughout the world. We saw an example in the Oscars last week of violence that occurs in our society. I have friends that are terrified to go downtown and shopping because they're afraid of violence, they're afraid they'll be mugged, or they're afraid to drive through their very own neighborhood where they live because they feel like their lives are threatened.

That'll all go away. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of complete security for everyone. He shall judge between many peoples and rebuke strong nations afar off. If the nation's getting a little bit out of hand, God will at that time intervene, calm things down, straighten out any problems before they become big problems. They shall beat their swords into plowshares. Again, metal will be cast for valuable reasons to benefit mankind rather than to mutilate and kill mankind.

And their spears into pruning hooks. The nation shall lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. You know, children that are born in this world are not born to hate. Yesterday, my eighth granddaughter was born. She did not come out of the womb hating anyone.

We teach children to hate. Our culture, our schools, every part of our media teaches people to hate. Hate someone because their skin color is different. Hate someone because of their ethnicity. Hate someone because they're a different gender than they are. Hate. Hate. That's all we have in our world today. At that time, beginning in our school systems and our culture and what children are taught because of the value system of God's law, no one will learn to hate. People will not learn war, violence, getting my way, taking something from someone else that doesn't belong to me.

That will no longer be part of the culture of the kingdom of God. Micah 4 and verse 4, but everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree and no one shall make them afraid. No one will be able to come and intimidate you and make you afraid to shop, make you afraid to go out in your neighborhood, make you afraid to live.

That's all going to be in the past. No one shall make them afraid for the mouth of the Lord of Host has spoken. When God says it's going to happen, it's going to happen because that's part of God's plan.

Even the nature of animals will be changed. So human nature will be changed as people receive the spirit of God and embrace God's law. Even the nature of animals will change. As Isaiah writes in chapter 11, verse 6, the wolf shall also dwell with the lamb. Right now it would be lamb chops for the wolf. But even the nature of animals is going to be tamed and changed. The leopard will lie down with the young goat.

Right now the leopard would dine on the young goat. Yum, yummy! And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together and a little child shall leave them. So here's this little child playing with a wolf and a lamb and a leopard and a goat, not having any fear because there is nothing to fear from these former wild animals who are now cooperative and tame and can be wonderful pets.

How would you like to have a pet leopard? I'm sure many of you would. The universal knowledge of God. Getting back to the fact that God's law will be made available to everyone. Isaiah. Isaiah 11.9. They shall not hurt nor destroy. Remember I said it will be of time security. In my holy mountain for the earth shall be full. Not partway, not a little bit, not half the earth, not one nation. The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. So it's going to be everywhere and be universal.

Thank you for pointing that out to me. All right. So putting together what we've talked about today, where does it all begin? If these prophets, the prophecies you read, are inspiring to you and encouraging to you, I want to encourage you at your own level to begin to have a deep and personal relationship with God.

And it all begins by doing two things. Two very same things that were part of the core of the message that Jesus Christ preached when he walked into this earth. Mark 1.14. Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Gospel is just another word for good news. It's a shortened way to say the good news. The message that Jesus preached was positive and encouraging, just like how I hope you found the second part of our seminar to be today. And here's what he said. The time is fulfilled.

The kingdom of God is at hand. If you were inspired by what the prophets tell us, the kingdom of God and that belief and understanding is within your reach, as Jesus would say, at hand. Here's the key. Repent and believe the gospel. So what is repentance? Repentance is when we get to the point in our life where we say, I am tired of the rat race.

I'm tired of being manipulated by my culture. I'm tired of being used by the media, by the workplace. I want to follow God's way of life. I reject the world. I reject my previous behavior and the way that I've acted in my lifetime.

And I now want to walk in a different way. I want to turn around and walk towards God instead of what I've been doing my whole life walking and avoiding. Walking away from and avoiding God. So repentance means change your heart. I want to live a new life. As Paul would say, I want to be a new creature in Christ. Living a life of purpose, of mission, and accepting the calling of being one of the elect and saints of Jesus Christ and spend the rest of my physical life preparing to serve in the Kingdom of God and to serve under Jesus Christ for all eternity.

So that's what repentance is. And then Jesus said, believe this, the good news, the power of this message that we've talked about today, because if you believe it, if you believe what the prophets said, it gives you hope. And you realize that the things that you suffer in this lifetime are not in vain. And the terrible things going on in the world, you're not anxious, you're not fearful, because you know God has everything in control under His mighty arm and that we can be protected if we are His children and call upon Him.

So Jesus said, repent, turn around, go in another direction towards God and believe the encouraging news about what God has planned for the future, for your future. So there are one of two paths that I suggest that you go in. The first path, as we conclude, come very close to concluding the second part of our seminar today, is what I call a fundamental personal growth program. So here's what I suggest you do. You know, if you're on Zoom, if you've stayed on Zoom this long, if you're here today, you responded to a message about obviously God and the prophets and the Bible.

Good for you. Thank you for coming today. So I encourage you to at least do these things. Continue on your journey of discovery about God. You do that by developing a daily habit of prayer. Connect with God in some way. Take time out every day to pray and connect with Him. Learn about His will and His Word through Bible study. Ask God for guidance and intervention in your life. If you're struggling with an issue, pray about it. If you need God to intervene and something that's frightening you or something that's hard and complex, ask your great merciful God to intervene on your behalf. Build a personal relationship with God. Make Him a priority in His life.

One of the problems we have in our world today is everyone's so busy. We have so many distractions. It's easy to allow busyness to take us away from focusing on the things that we should in life. There are too many shiny objects that take our attention away from things that truly matter. So I want to encourage you to make God a priority in your life and supplement your Bible study with The Beyond Today magazine, which I believe most of you probably get.

The Beyond Today TV and other booklets. We have a rack out there with a lot of our booklets. Feel free to take what you'd like at the end of the program today after you have some refreshments and fellowship for a while. But this is what I recommend as at least the fundamental personal growth program. Continue on your journey. Don't let your relationship with deepening and learning about God stop with what you heard today. And if you're already doing that and you say to yourself, I'm ready for the next level, that's good.

I'm already doing that. I'm ready to go farther, then I have some recommendations for you, too. Begin to worship God on His Sabbath day. It's one of the Ten Commandments. It's one of the things in the Kingdom of God that will be available to everyone all over the earth. It's to worship God on the seventh day as part of His Ten Commandments. So you can begin to do that. Worship and fellowship with others of like mind.

You'll find some very wonderful people here who are kind and caring and loving and are interested in your struggles and interested in encouraging you and helping you. Hear the Word of God live each week. Either come here or you're welcome to connect with us on Zoom. By the way, the same Zoom connection that we had in our invitation letter is the same Zoom connection. You can come and listen to our Sabbath services every Saturday beginning at 1230.

So you can hear the Word of God either live by coming to this building or connecting with us on Zoom. Share your life and your joys and sorrows with others who has time as they get to know you, will grow to love you, and will be your support system. We'll be there to encourage you and help you. So that's one of the benefits of connecting with a church and beginning to keep the Sabbath with other peoples of like mind. Learn about important biblical topics.

If you begin to attend the church, you will regularly hear these kinds of messages spoken about mercy, baptism, obedience, the importance of faith, forgiveness, and grace. And many, many other biblical topics are covered in our sermons and in our messages each and every week. So again, if you're ready for an advanced program, if you're doing the things we covered in the previous slide, this is what I would recommend for you.

Finally, a little bit more information for us. I'll make this quick. I don't want to sound like a used church salesman, but there's a little more information about us. Again, the same Zoom link that was in the invitation letter is the same link in which you can connect to our Sabbath services. But instead of starting at one, like a seminar did today, it starts our services start at 1230, each and every Saturday, except for a few times of the year when we were all gathered at the Feast of Tabernacles.

If you want to hear our previous messages because we record them and we put them on YouTube every week, we have years worth of our messages on there. You're welcome to go back and listen to a particular topic that interests you. All you need to do is go to YouTube and type in the search UCG Cleveland and you hit that button and we're right at the top.

We'll come right up. So, again, you can hear previous sermons and sermonettes and that's updated every week as we continue to add those messages. Our building address here, this is for those of you on Zoom, because those who are already here got here one way or another. Our building address is 12981 Grafton Road. That's Route 57 here in Grafton, Ohio. And there's my email, Greg underscore Thomas at UCG.org.

Well, I want to thank all of you for your diligence, for your attention, for coming all the way out here. And those of you who connected on Zoom to connect today so that we could present to you an exciting message about the kingdom of God when it arrives on this earth.

Again, thank you for joining us today. We are going to conclude with a musical performance. Now, Mr. Graham, I've known him for over 40 years, not quite 50 like Mr. Blakey, but still, Mr. Graham, I've known a long, long time. He is an accomplished musician. He's written religious hymns that are in the church hymnals of many different church organizations. That's how popular his material is. He's going to play for us, crown him with many crowns.

George Elvie and arranged by Lloyd Larson. So we're going to have this musical performance. Then I will come back up, have a closing prayer. And I hope those of you who are here will stay for some fine food and fellowship, and we will conclude the seminar today. But before that, Mr. Graham.

Our wonderful God and Father, we thank you so much for those who have either come out here today or those visitors who have connected with us on Zoom. And we pray that you would grant them a very special blessing for having done so to hear more of the encouraging good news of the coming Kingdom of God.

Father, we leave everyone in your hands because we know that you hold our lives in your hands, that you have a plan, and that all of us in one way or another are part of that plan. We just pray that those whom you are calling will have an ear to hear. We ask you, Father, to grant your protection upon all of your people, to put your ministering angels upon us, to protect us in a very dangerous world from disease and from violence and from all the things that occur in this land. We ask for your protection upon those. We pray, Father, for your love and safety. We ask you to continue to open the minds of your children, to work with your children, and we thank you for being our great and loving and merciful God. So we praise you, we give you thanks, we are so thankful for those who have joined us today, and once again we ask for your blessing to be upon them to open their hearts and minds to your word. And we ask this in the name and by the authority of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. Well, again, thank you, everyone. If you go through that hallway into what we call the social hall, you will find food and refreshments. And again, thanks for coming today. God bless you, and we hope to see you again soon.