Stronger Together!

Well, brethren, this year at the General Conference of Elders, as those meetings wrapped up and Darla and I left and we got on the plane, I said to her, I'm encouraged. I'm encouraged. This year, the meetings, the interactions that we had to me were some of the most encouraging in years. They're always encouraging by my expectation and, frankly, the fulfillment of going through those things. They're always encouraging. But this year, they seemed extra encouraging to me, and I don't think I could necessarily nail that down specifically to one event, but it was the overall package there of the weekend. First off, the presentations that we received this year were inspiring. You know the theme, as it was projected out in the Sermons on the Sabbath Day, the theme for this year's conference was speaking the same thing. It was the title of Rick Shaby's Sermon on the Sabbath, Speaking the Same Thing. In that message, he gave us a glimpse into the importance of speaking the same thing as the Church of God. If I could sum it up in terms of a scripture, I put Romans 15, verse 6. Romans 15, verse 6. So that we may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The glory always goes to God, whatever it is that we do in His service, in His name, in the name of His Son. It's all to the glory of God, and it's not about us, but when we speak the same thing, when we do the same thing together, it does glorify God and the Spirit that He's given us that binds us together. So again, those presentations were inspiring. Secondly, the fellowship and the interactions were inspiring to me as well. They always are. Our ability to get together, then, as ministers and wives. It's a one time of a year shot, right? To come together as people that are sharing in a similar responsibility. It's something that God has given through ordination. The ministry is given to serve the people of God. It's an opportunity for the ministry and their wives to come together and to lift each other up in that process, and to discuss what it is, maybe even that they're going through personally. The highs and the lows, the challenges, how can we encourage each other in the work that God has given us to do together in support of the people of God? So for me, the council, as it comes together, the GCE each year, the General Conference of Elders, is always an encouraging time to uplift and to support one another in a very unique way. We had many opportunities. The fellowship through group meals, most all of our meals were eaten together. We had interactive sessions that took place during the GCE. We actually had a program, an app, where it made the sessions interactive, as in something was presented, a topic, and the ministry could ask questions. And those questions came across to all the ministry on their phones. You can ask questions. And then, as kind of a combination of all of us looking at those, we could bump those up in priority to the questions that everybody wanted answered. And so it was in real time interactive, and it was encouraging to be able to, again, really mingle in that way as well. For four days, again, meals, interactions, and even the unscheduled interactions, where there wasn't structure, but we just had gatherings where we could talk and share things. For me, it was incredibly encouraging this year, and I thank God for that opportunity.

Again, our calling in the ministry is to serve the spiritual needs of the people of God. And as the Apostle Paul said to the Ephesian elders as he was moving through on his way to Jerusalem, eventually to be arrested and sent to Rome, but he gathered together with the elders coming through Ephesus, and he says to the elders there that it's a calling to shepherd the Church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.

That's Acts 20 verse 28. And that's an awesome calling, and it is a very sobering calling as well. When you understand that in terms of serving in this way, this is the Church that God has purchased with the blood of his dear son. And that is the responsibility of the elders to serve well, and when we answer, we answer to God. And again, to sharpen each other in our interactions at the GCE this year was helpful.

The title today is Stronger Together. That's what I've come up with, Stronger Together, and this wasn't the exact theme, but it's what my takeaway from the GCE and all the interactions was this year, Stronger Together. If you think about the ability to do things together and to go to your brother and the strength of relationship that's built in our interactions, it does allow us to fulfill a Matthew 18 directive of going to your brother in times of difficulty and challenge, even among the ministry. And that's why I seek to get there every year personally to grow in the relationships and the interactions.

Because in every good relationship, there's times of challenge.

My wife Darla and I have a good marriage, and there's times, though, just by nature of a relationship, been together almost 30 years, there's challenges you work through. And not necessarily, I wouldn't label a challenge as an argument, I would label the challenge as a challenge, things you overcome together, but it takes a relationship to work together in those ways. And it's no different with the ministry. So I believe it's important that we have this time that's been set apart that we can come together in that very special way.

We are stronger as a body when we do things together. Whether it's speaking the same thing together or doing the same work together. Jesus Christ said, go and preach a gospel and prepare people for the kingdom of God.

That is the work we all do together.

And whether it's lifting one another up in prayer, whether it is encouraging each other in difficult times, the outcome, brethren, is always stronger when we learn to do it well. And we learn to do it together.

And so again, that's my sermon, that's my takeaway, is stronger together.

Let's begin in Ephesians chapter 4 today.

Ephesians chapter 4, I'm not necessarily going to plow up any new ground. We've been here before, but this is what we must always embrace and understand in our relationship with God and each other. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11, the Apostle Paul, all through his writings, hammered this point home, stronger together through the grace of God in Christ. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11 says, Welcome to the unity of the faith and to the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. You know, the unity of the faith is only something that we can achieve together by God's Spirit guiding and directing us. It's based on the truth of God's Word, but he said you've been given the ministry, not just as one or two persons, but the collective whole of what God has provided to bring us together in service to the glory of God, that we would all learn to be servants. And come to that unity of the faith, verse 14, that we shall no longer be children, tossed to and fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. It's to glue us together again so that we aren't blown about and scattered and caught up in turbulence. Verse 15 says, What you notice here is that growth comes through togetherness. And that's a very important principle. We don't ever want to let it escape us. Let me read verse 16 again, because growth comes through togetherness. That's what it's saying. From whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does it share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. And so we each have a responsibility to do our share. Because we're here to lift each other up and to strengthen each other and to supply to somebody else what God has given you to supply that perhaps they don't have for themselves. They're going to rely on you as you rely on them as we all rely on God for what it is that He supplies. But we all have our share to do and our common calling and our share to do in getting a work done, the work God has called us to, to His glory. And so again, brethren, in this relationship, I need what you have to offer. I may be your pastor. I may be a minister of Jesus Christ. But I'm not complete apart from you. Because this is a body and I need what you have to offer, your gifts and your strengths. And frankly, the talent that God has given you and the gifts through His Spirit, He gave it to you to offer it to me. And He's called me to receive it and to offer to you what I have.

And He's called each of us and bound us together that we may receive from one another to the glory of God and to the strength and the unity of the body that which each has to contribute. And so this is a very, very high calling that He's brought us to each and every one of us individually. We're not called to live our lives, it's just say, you and me God and nobody else. It is you and me God, but it is you and me and God and the body He's called us to and the Son that He's given and this relationship that creates growth in togetherness. It is what God has designed by His own hand. 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 12. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 12, for as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. You will notice if you do a study all throughout the Scripture that God the Father and Jesus Christ are about taking multiples and making them one. Okay? Many members, one body, bound together by God's Spirit, many are made one.

Just consider that a husband and wife are two individuals, two distinctive personalities, two individuals that God has said, if you're going to be joined in the unity of marriage, I've called two to be one in this relationship. Ephesians 5, 31, and many other Scriptures express that fact. Jesus Christ also stated in John chapter 10 verse 30, I am my Father, one. The fact that they are of the same mind, the same desires for us of unity, the same purpose, the same vision, what they do, they do in unison, and they are bound together as one by the Spirit of God.

The Spirit that is in God is in Jesus Christ and is in us as well. And that's not some sort of weird Trinitarian concept or Benetarian, or if we conclude ourselves in it, some 144,000 entity. What is this? It is one by the Spirit of God. Many members, one body, bound together by the Spirit of God. Ephesians 4 verse 14 and 15 states that Jesus Christ has made both the Gentile and the Israelite one in Him.

You remember as you approached the temple in Jerusalem? Maybe you didn't. Somebody did. We read about that. You came up to that temple. What was built on the outside? I want to say not by God's design, but by the design of those who were there at the time. You had the court of the Gentiles. You didn't pass this specific place and approach God's presence, you know, on penalty of death.

And, well, the Israelite men could go farther than that, but if you were circumcised, you were God's own. If you were not, you just stay out here. But the point is, in Jesus Christ, that middle wall of separation has been torn down, and you are one whether Jew or Greek, whether bond or free, in Him.

Again, multiples made one by God's design. And finally, Hebrews 2, verse 11 says, He who sanctifies, okay, that's God, right, and those who are being sanctified are all of one. And it goes on to say, therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren. So it's by the Spirit of God that we are made one. Many individuals brought together as one in unity, as the people of God.

So that's what we're reading about here from the Apostle Paul, that we're made as a body together. We're called to be a body together, bound by the unity of the faith, by the Spirit of God, and we are stronger together. Carry on in verse 15, still in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 15, if the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?

And if the ear should say, because I'm not an eye, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? You know, they all do different things, but each is necessary. Verse 16, if the ear should say, because I'm not an eye, I'm not of the body, is it not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were the hearing, where would be the smelling? Or in my case, I was thinking the other day, what would it be like to just walk around as one big nose? I've been accused of being an over-smeller and an over-taster.

Okay? I don't know. It's been that way all my life. I smell things that most other people don't smell, and broccoli tastes like dirt. Okay? I'm sorry. If you cover it with enough cheese, I can get it down. If I hadn't lived my life as a nose, you know, they say if you're blind and you can't hear, your other senses are heightened.

Okay, that's something that God designed, but would he not desire for me to be more than just led by my nose? By our sight, by our hearing. But that's what each member supplies to the body, to the whole, for an overall function that's unified and effective when it's complete. Verse 18, but now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as he's pleased. If they were all one member, where would the body be?

Again, you're not much of a body. If all you are is a nose out there, smelling every smell, there is the smell. You know, that's a part. I smell trouble. Right? Okay, that's a part. But it's a part, not the whole.

Verse 20, but now indeed there are many members and yet one body. So again, brethren, we have been called with a responsibility, each and every one of us, to do our part. God has placed us in the body as it pleases him, and we're to use whatever he has given us as a strength in his calling and by his spirit to lift up the entire body. That takes a relationship, doesn't it?

And that takes effort. It takes getting to know each other. I mean, how else does a body function seamlessly, other than through a perfect, unified relationship? And that's what we've been called to as the people of God. Older people, you need what the younger people have to offer the body of Christ. I'm not going to put any age definitions on that. You can decide that in your own mind. You're an older person if you're not a younger person. And you're a younger person if you're not an older person. But older people, we need what the younger people have to offer to the body of Jesus Christ. We need their strength, their zeal, their enthusiasm. We need their insights. Frankly, the majority of the young people in the Church of God are educated far beyond most of us other older people in the Church of God. I went so far in my education, and my children have gone so far in their education. I even see what they learn up to a certain point of education compared to what I learned up to that same point. It's even so much farther if you're equating. They live in this world. They have to evaluate what they're going to take in of the education of the world and how they're going to apply that.

But let me just say this. We have an incredible resource in our young people in the Church of God to learn from and to grow from and to tap. Get to know them. Develop a relationship with them. Find out what makes them tick and what it is, again, that they have to offer in terms of the strength and contribution to the body. On the flip side of that as well, then younger people get to know the older people. Understand what the older people have to offer to your benefit as well. You need their strength, their experience, their years of wisdom, and maybe even their patience. Hopefully older people learn some of that along the way, but we have things to contribute as well. So younger people get to know them. Develop that relationship. See what it is that they have to offer to you. On Monday morning at the GCE, we had an interactive session for one hour titled, Engaging Our Young Adults. And it was really good because the ministry had an opportunity to interact with a panel of four young adults that were up on stage. One of them was our own Ben Emheiser from Spokane. So I'll say, thank you, Ben. It takes guts to get up on a stage in front of hundreds of ministers and their wives and field questions where the questions are like, you know, what makes you tick, young people? What keeps you engaged in the church? What do you see as the value you have to offer to the church and the value of the church to you?

They were very direct questions, and I appreciated the answers that were offered because they gave us insight into those things. You know, what connects you to the church as a young adult and what keeps you invested in the church? How can the church add value to you and how can you add value to the church? It was a good conversation. And you know, the number one answer that I noticed, this is from my perspective that came out of that, was relationships. Relationships are important to our young adults. Relationship with God, first and foremost, and relationship with the people of God. And not just, hi, my name is such and such, no, an interactive relationship that lifts one another up again as we've been discussing today. Those things are important to young people in the church, and on the flip side of that, what I took away, what could drive young people out of the church of God? Relationships. Relationships that are broken and dysfunctional and are not godly and don't see the value that the young people have to offer to the church. And you know, it's interesting as I sat considering those things because I thought, are we really all that different? Older, younger generation aren't relationships and the value of relationships in the church are those things so important to us. We need them to lift us up, to carry us. We need what each other have to offer by God's gift and blessing. And again, relationships are so important. Relationships are togetherness. And so, godly relationships are what we've been called to. That's what we've been reading about in terms of the body. Godly relationships bound by His Spirit. And they remind us, brethren, that we are stronger together. You know, none of my fingers are very strong on their own. You could break any of one of them very easily, but lace them together. They're stronger together. Consider the binding that God provides in the body through His Spirit. We are stronger together. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 19.

Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 19. Again, the Apostle Paul. He has filled his writings to the churches. This went to this church. That went to that church. That went to that church. I'm sure they shared the concepts with each other, but he said, I want all of you to know the importance of the bond we share as the church of God.

Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 19.

The context here, if you back up, just a number of verses. Again, he's talking about the separation between Israelite and non-Israelite.

That breach that has been done away in Jesus Christ. You are fellow citizens and saints, members of the household of God. Verse 20. Having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted.

See that next word? My Bible, it says, together.

Now that underlined in my Bible.

The whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

And so you'll notice again, brethren, that growth comes through togetherness.

That's what God has designed.

That's why our unity and our coming together as the people of God is so important.

In whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

In whom you are also being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

And so as the house of God, we are all building blocks, being laid side by side, being mortared together by the power of God's Holy Spirit, bound together.

God's Spirit is an unbreakable bond, unless we break the bond.

And as we're stacked together and built together, there's a strength.

There's a placing of each stone where God knows they belong.

And how they'll interlock with the stone next to it to make this a structure that is strong.

Sometimes I like to watch online videos of building demolitions.

Bigger the better, you know? They stick these explosive charges around buildings and just bring these huge structures down.

I also kind of like to watch them bring down silos and cement block silos, probably because I have one on my own property that's ancient.

I've looked at that and I thought, you know, it's kind of crumbling.

How much would it take for that thing to come down?

I'll watch YouTube videos where they're out there chipping away at some block, and then usually it ends with the guy running for his life as the silo comes down.

But what are you doing? You're taking out support for the structure.

How many blocks can I chip out here before the whole structure will crumble? And as it crumbles, it just, you know, it all comes apart.

So the point is, each block is important. Each piece is essential.

And the mortar that binds us together is God's Holy Spirit, and it's the relationships that we build with one another.

That's the unity of the body and the interaction that we have.

And if you go in and just start knocking out strategic blocks here and there, you're going to weaken the structure. And the risk is real.

Maintaining the cohesion of God's spiritual temple is so important, brethren.

And it comes down to maintaining our relationships in the body.

That's why we have potlucks and snacks after church and interactions of whatever activities we can have.

You might not say, oh, you know, if we're out on the boat during something fun together or at the park, that it's a doctrinal study. No, it's doctrinal application, right?

We're learning how to, as Dale gave us in the sermonette, how do we apply what we read and how do we live it?

All these activities grow us in togetherness.

I was thinking about this concept as well during Monday morning international reports. At the GCE every year, they picked four or five international areas to give a report to the whole GCE about their region, the people in their region, the work in their region.

I've done that myself a couple of times over the years. And what really struck me is we're all in this together.

Whether it was a report from, you know, the UK or Australia or South Africa, it could be East or West Africa. We had a really interesting one from the Philippines. I mean, all around the world, the point is we're saying the same thing.

We're doing the same work. And you realize we are in this together.

So it's not like, you know, we have the corner in the market in the United States because we have more money than everybody else.

No, we're in this together and we share. And we contribute our strength as a nation to the work and the people that are taking place in other nations around the world.

And we're bound by God's Spirit. And we're all in this together.

We're doing the same thing. We're speaking the same words with one voice. We're encouraging one another.

And through that, God will do a work to His glory. Again, it's always to the glory of God by the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians chapter 3. Let's go there next.

1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 5 says, Who then is Paul and who is Apollos but ministers through whom you believed as the Lord gave to each one? You know, there's actually a little contention going on in the church of, well, I follow this guy and I follow that guy. And Paul says, okay, just hang on a minute. Reality check here. He says, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. He says, understand what I do, I do is in God's service, but it's not all about me.

He's like, I planted, Apollos came along after me, he watered, but even none of us brought about the ultimate outcome. It is God who gives the increase because it is God who blesses the effort. We all have to do our part, but we do it together. Paul said, I did my part, but it wasn't the complete package. And Apollos did his part, it wasn't the complete package, but we are on the same team and God gave the increase and he blessed the effort.

Verse 7, so then neither is he who plants, is anything, or he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one.

Again, there's that concept. Multiples brought together as one. We're doing the same thing. And each one will receive his own reward according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, you are God's building. You are what he is building up. And this is the work that God is doing, ultimately. But again, we each have a part to play, and it's never about any one of us specifically. If we ever think it's about me, or you think it's about you, Paul says, get a reality check. I'm just a piece on this puzzle. It is God who puts us together, and it's God who gives the increase, but we still contribute to what it is that God has given us to offer.

And it is to the benefit of all. So if stronger together is our goal, and I do like to think that's been my goal for some time. I mean, that's what I dwell upon and think about quite often. But if stronger together is our goal, then we're going to be examining ourselves, and we're going to be asking ourselves, how can I contribute? What is it that I can offer to the benefit of others? Look around. What are the needs? You know, is there a weakness that you see? Not by... I don't know, what can I say?

Is there a weakness that you see that is not by a lack of integrity, but simply just a weakness? Is it something you are strong with? Well, lend yourself to that. Right? Strengthen the hands that hang down in the feeble knees, that what is lame may be able to walk upright and glorify God. We come into this together, and we work together as the solution. Let's get a few more scriptures here that show the strength that comes through relationships. Again, that's what we're talking about.

Strength that comes through godly relationships. Proverbs chapter 27, verse 17. Proverbs 27, verse 17. And again, I'm tying this back into various seminars that we had during the GCE and kind of what my takeaway is. There's just so much value in all this opportunity we're given to work together. Proverbs chapter 27 and verse 17, it says, As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

There's an interesting characteristic about iron, and that is, as you take that and you rub it together against another piece, iron shapes, and it molds. And by rubbing a couple pieces of iron together, you can build up friction. We tend to think of friction as negative, but friction can be positive as well, if it's molding and shaping and sharpening, right, to a positive end.

And the Bible tells us we need to be iron sharpening iron. And so in a similar way, we can help each other improve and be sharpened through our interactions, through rubbing up against one another in a positive way. Actually, maybe even a little friction in a positive way. Okay, this isn't strife and contention. This is actually honing and building up. At the score of the scripture, it's emphasizing the importance of quality relationships, isn't it? Iron sharpening iron.

You're very hard-pressed to do that on just a casual passing relationship. Or, you know, a Facebook friend that you've never met face-to-face or done much more, say, than click-like on a post. Those things are nice. We like connections. Those are good. But we're talking a meaningful and a deep relationship that comes about for this to be accomplished. It's the emphasizing of those things that we then take our ability to help someone else to grow. And it's a principle that often cuts both ways.

You know, I don't come to church just from the perspective of, how can I sharpen everybody else today? You know, I do hope that I do. By God's grace and mercy, I hope there's something I do that sharpens somebody else. But I come here to be sharpened as well, because you have what I need. And God has created it that way. The Life Application Study Bible for this verse has an interesting commentary I want to share with you.

It says, quote, there is a mental sharpness that comes from being around good people. And a meeting of the minds can help people see their ideas with new clarity, to refine them and to shape them into brilliant insights. It says, this requires discussion partners who can challenge each other and stimulate thought. People who focus on the idea without involving their egos in the discussion. You need to be careful about self and pride and ego in the discussion, but we do have to have discussion.

People who know how to attack the thought and not the thinker. It says, two friends who bring their ideas together can help each other become sharper.

Again, that takes time. That takes trust. That takes, I would say, even a willingness to become vulnerable at some level with one another. But it is a sharing together that strengthens the people of God if we allow the process to work.

Ecclesiastes chapter 4 and verse 9 gives us another emphasis on the strength of positive relationships. Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse 9 says, two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. Again, this isn't a calling to be a loner. Or it's not a calling to just say, well, you and me God and no one else. It is you and me God. And we answer ultimately to God. But part of what we answer to is what we've done with what He has given us. And what He has given us is each other. Okay, and this is you and me and God in this relationship. Again, two are better than one. They have a good reward for their labor. Verse 10, for if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help them up. I used to look at the Scripture actually kind of differently than I do now because I thought, well, it meant, if two people are walking along and one person falls down, then somebody else can help them up. And I won't deny that's part of the emphasis of this, but it's not exactly what it says. It says, for if they fall, one will help lift up his companion. So it could be one, or it could be both. You could be heading down a mountain trail through the woods and a crevasse open up, and both of you fall. Maybe one gives the other a boost up, and then the other reaches down and pulls the other up. But the point is, there's a synergy that can be accomplished together so much more than what you can do on your own, and frankly, life-saving in certain circumstances. Verse 11, again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one be warm alone? And the emphasis is, both are benefited through that relationship. Verse 12, though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him, and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken. God created us for relationships, and that is indeed the point. But not just any relationship, positive relationships that strengthen, that edify, that sharpen, that at times confront when necessary, pulling one from the fire, again, in love, is what God has given us. And it's never intended to just be you and me, Lord. Because when we're together, we're stronger, we're encouraged, we're edified, and it is to the glory of God.

Again, brethren, as I mentioned in the announcements, I'll just kind of pull it in for the context of the sermon, and those who may listen later. I sent out the prayer requests earlier this week for Tone, Kimbo, in Nigeria, and she's the wife of Dari. Again, many of you have met, and they're our leadership structure in Nigeria. The church meets in their house in Lagos.

They literally built a church hall in their house about the size of this room, where 60 to 70 people each Sabbath meet, and they are the glue that holds the country together. They are dad and mom to that congregation. And Tone is ill, and I sent out the prayer request here this last week. And once her medical condition became known, the outpouring of love and concern was incredible. You know, literally, right away, my phone blew up with phone calls and emails and texts from people saying, What can we do?

How can we help them? How can we support them and what it is that they're going through? And, you know, it's just, I would say, incredible. God hasn't called us to be alone, and indeed, none of us would want to be alone in that circumstance. Dari and I have communicated nearly hourly for the last three days, and I just keep telling him, Remember, you're not alone. And God's people are praying for you all. I put my address as the address to send cards to because the mail system in Nigeria, you know, most of them probably wouldn't get through, so they're coming to my PO Box, and I told Arla, We've got to get over there daily now because it fills up.

And there's cards of encouragement and love and support, and I'm trying to open them without reading them, but what I'm doing is I'm taking digital, you know, I'm taking pictures of them and I'm sending them.

I sent a batch this morning to Dari and Tone. He could, on the Sabbath there, read to her cards of encouragement. And I said, When I come, or, you know, when I have a good collection, I'll package these up and ship them to you. But eventually the hope is they'll be in India for her medical treatment, but they can follow her.

But these are encouraging. Brethren, we are stronger together by God's grace and design. And we can thank God for that. It gives us what we need to carry on. We've had in our own region, you know, Carrie Lippincott and her circumstance, and how the brethren have just gelled around her and even most specifically in her area. That's what God created us for, right? When one member suffers, all the members suffer.

And when one member is honored, we all rejoice, right? We all celebrate together. But it is what God has designed bound by His Spirit so that we know in the deepest, darkest hole in our life, we are not alone. That God is there, and His people are there as well. I want to conclude with one more presentation we had Sunday during the GCE meetings. We had a couple seminars that were presented on the topic of the Hebrew calendar that we use in the Church of God. And a calendar is important as well, brethren, and I might ask us why.

You know, why would a calendar be important? Well, it's important because it brings us together at the same time for God's appointed assemblies and seasons. And it's not my intention to offer a calendar presentation such as was offered. But I do want to say this. The United Church of God has been receiving and studying various calendar papers since its inception in 1995. If you go back in the history when United first started, they said, okay, we're examining everything that we do. We're carrying forward with the faith once delivered, but we're examining and saying, yes, we confirm this is what we're doing in the United Church of God.

So they opened it up and said, if you've done research, if you have calendar papers that you've written, they invited them to be sent in. And they were sent in to the Council and to the Doctrine Committee that reviewed those up front at the start of the United Church of God. And once that research was wrapped up, then a study paper was written and posted on the website about the Hebrew calendar, why we keep it as we do in the Church of God. But over the years, that has remained open as well to receive those paper works. They've been reviewed. They've been sent back with answers as well from the Council as to why we do what we do.

And they've considered what has been written, though, in this process. So the Church has just wrapped up another multi-year study of the calendar matter, and it included re-examining the Hebrew calendar and what we keep and why we do what we do here. And the Church's position is this.

The Hebrew calendar that we've used historically, the same one that Mr. Armstrong agreed was correct and was handed down from the Jews. It's the same calendar we will continue to use and endorse in the United Church of God. And my point is this. When we're keeping the same calendar agreed upon by the Church, we are here together at the same time, worshiping God according to His appointed feast days. And the challenge is outside of the Hebrew calendar, and I will admit there are many questions over the years and legitimate questions that need to be asked and answered about the Hebrew calendar.

But when you step outside of the Hebrew calendar, there are many different opinions and interpretations on what a biblically-based calendar ought to look like. And to the degree that you're depending on your own interpretation on a number of matters, the result becomes a few over here and a few over there, and not all together, an assembly at God's appointed feast days. And so for me, I know the calendar that we keep by its fruits.

Okay, there has to be a technical understanding and a reason doctrinally why we do what we do, but the Bible also says by their fruits you will know them. And I've studied into both sides of the issue at a certain level, and what I'll just say is for me, the calendar we use is the calendar that brings us together in unity at the time in which we come to keep God's appointed assemblies.

And so if you're interested in understanding why we accept the calendar that we do in the United Church of God, you can go to ucg.org. These papers have been revised now, and they've been updated coming out of the most recent doctrinal studies. And there's two papers that are posted on the website. One is the Hebrew Calendar Summary, and it's a summary statement. It's 10 pages long that you can go through and see what is the foundation for why we keep the calendar that we do. Or if you're really ambitious and you really like a deep dive, you can also go to ucg.org. Again, this would be under Member Resources and Study Papers, and you can study as well the Hebrew Calendar Appendices, which is 121 pages long. Start with a summary, and you'll get a good overview there. But I'll just say, again, togetherness is about what God has called us to do, and it is what it is that our goal would be as the church to be together on His assemblies and at His appointed feasts.

Brethren, it has always been God's intent that the members of the church come together to strengthen one another through spiritual fellowship. It was true at the establishment of the New Testament church. And how much more today upon whom the end of the ages have come, how much more do we need to sharpen each other at every opportunity through our assembly? I want to conclude in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 23 today. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 23 says, Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Again, considering each other is a relationship. It's knowing each other, knowing the needs, knowing the strength.

Look around and consider. What do you have to offer? Disturb one another up to love and good works.

Verse 25, again, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, But exhort one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.

Brethren, whatever we've been called to do as a church, we're stronger when we do it together. Whether we are speaking the same thing together, or whether we are doing the same work together, or whether we are assembling together to worship our God in heaven on his throne, the outcome of what we do will always be stronger when we do it well and when we do it together.