Sugar High or Sugar Crash?

[Gary Antion] Okay, that high? Is that hiding me? I'll tell you what I'll do. Good afternoon, everyone. Nice to see you here. And welcome to all of you coming back from the Feast or here from the Feast. Certainly, I've recognized some faces that were here before. And I really appreciate you being here and all of you out in cyberspace, all of you out on the webcast listening in. Welcome to the United Church of God this Sabbath afternoon. It's nice to be with you. I don't know if we can prove that down a little bit. Is that still going to be all right, sound-wise? Maybe that could drop a little bit. Yeah, yeah, that's better. Better, much better, much better. 

So we've just concluded the awesome Feast of Tabernacles. And, by the way, thank you for that special music. The harmony was beautiful, and the couple was, they sang like they know each other. They're recently married, and really nice to have them, both of them graduates of Ambassador Bible College right here in Cincinnati. We've just concluded an awesome Feast and Eighth Day in God's plan that He has for the whole world. And we are now returned, or if you're on your way somewhere else, returning from what I hope was an awesome and wonderful Feast of Tabernacles. Now we must go back to our routines with no Holy Days, illustrating God's plan for the next five and a half months. We were told at our Feast, I'm sure it's yours too, because if you look up the Scriptures that talk about rejoicing at Feasts, only two of them really emphasize rejoicing, and really only one emphasizes it.

That's the Feast of Tabernacles. Pentecost, Feast of Weeks, says we could read in there where it tells us to rejoice. But if you look at the Feast of Tabernacles, it tells you “rejoice”. So you've come to the Feast to learn to fear God and to rejoice, not only you, but with your family too. It's a highlight, it's a wonderful time that we experience. My first Feast was same as Mr. Keller's, by the way, who's here. He and I graduated the same year, 1963. We both entered college in 1959. So it's nice to have him here. He's an elder. The Dayton Church was a pastor for many years before retiring, and we're glad to have him stop in. It's nice to see a fellow classmate. We were in speech class together. Some of the speech class is not always the labs, but the main speech class we were.

So he'll give me a critique after I'm done, I'm sure. As we return on a sugar high, but if we're not careful, it's like coming off a sugar high and going to a sugar crash. Now people use those terms, however, they're not exactly correct. We do get a high when we eat sugar or do something exciting. That's true. But that comes from doses of dopamine and opioids being chemicals released in our brains. It's not that we have too much sugar in our system. Most of our systems, after we eat something or experience something, for after a little while, return to normal. So we're not too high necessarily unless you as a person have diabetes or some other problem with sugar, then maybe that could be a factor. But they use that expression to be on a sugar high means you really are having a good time. To be a sugar crash is mean you're down and depressed. So when we have a letdown, that sugar crash, we feel depressed or listless or energy deprived. However, our bodies are not flooded with or denied sugar at this time. It is the pleasure or the lack thereof that we feel.

And coming back from the Feast, it's easy to feel that. Now, personally, I don't need a holy day for me to be positive about life, but maybe you do. The holy days are wonderful. They illustrate the plan of God, which I've been doing for 66 years. Mr. Keller and I both have done it for 66 years, Feast of Tabernacles. Probably Passover of 65 maybe, but anyway, we both have been through that. And that doesn't mean we don't enjoy it or appreciate it. But I don't want you to be depressed or discouraged because you're no longer able to go out and buy a nicer meal or have some enjoyable place to stay or some enjoyable place to go or just a wonderful fellowship which we experienced here in Cincinnati. We had a wonderful group of people serving each other. A lot of elderly, a lot of senior citizens. In fact, the whole church came to the senior citizen meeting, not quite. We did have a few teens sitting here in the front row. We had a few teens here, but they were few and far between, but they were wonderful to have at the Feast of Tabernacles. 

I have an antidote for this dilemma of having a sugar crash. I don't want you to crash. I don't want you to be depressed for the next five months or five and a half until you have a Holy Day. I don't want you to feel that. So what is that dilemma? What is that antidote that we can have for our dilemma? Because we do need to be on a high, maybe not as high as at the Feast of Tabernacles, but we do need to be on a high all year long. And you know where you can find that? We need to live our Christian lives as those who see brightness, who see light, who have a hope, and know that they have a glorious future.

So what is that antidote? How may we partake of it? The cure is in our Bibles, and it's in one main verse. Matthew 6 and verse 33. You see, I don't have to stop seeking God's Kingdom. I don't have to stop thinking about God's Kingdom. I don't have to stop rejoicing that God's Kingdom is coming to a world that needs it pretty badly. But you can keep a high through the year if you employ the instruction, the two doses of this antidote that are given in Matthew 6 and verse 33. 

So let's take a look at it, because this is the title of the sermon, Sugar High or Sugar Crash? You don't have to have a sugar crash. 

Matthew 6:33 Jesus Christ said, “Seek, but seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” 

Two things. Seek first the Kingdom of God and not my righteousness, His righteousness. And that's what we have to really pay attention to, those two doses. So we'll look at the first dose initially, and that is to pray and earnestly desire His Kingdom. And we can do this pretty easily. All we have to do is look at the world all over and say, this needs to change. This needs to be better and it will be. We need to be absolutely tuned into that. We need to remind ourselves, why do we have to stop talking about the Kingdom of God because we're not at the Feast? Is there anything in the scriptures that you're not allowed to talk about? You're not allowed to talk about the Kingdom of God because this isn't the thousand year period being pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. Do you have to stop talking about it? No. Do you have to stop dreaming about it? No. Do you have to stop thinking about it? No. Talk with your families about it. Think about it. Read about it. Pray about it.

When I read my scriptures and you read in your scriptures, they're Gods, my version of it. What we read is what? That we need to as individuals live and walk this way. We also know the difference between good and bad, right and wrong, evil and goodness, don't we? We need to look. And that's not to judge people. Most of the peoples of this world are already going down a path, many from which they will not return. They've already bought and paid for whatever they're going. But you haven't. You haven't. You stepped out. There's one time to be rebellious. I'm rebellious when it comes to not following the way of the world. We've turned to God and not the world. 

So the first dose is to pray and earnestly desire His Kingdom. In contrast to this world, how to do this.

Matthew 6:9-10 “Jesus Christ said this, ‘In this manner, therefore pray.’” Here's the famous model prayer that Jesus gave. He said, He didn't say this is what to pray. He says, this is how to pray. This is the manner, “Our Father in heaven. Hallowed be your name.” 

Praise and honor God. We had a lot of beautiful music, special music sung at the Feast. We had a lot of good performers, a lot of good small choir, but it was effective. Here in Cincinnati, we had about 300 at the high attending. And it was a really enjoyable Feast. You got to meet people, walk up, say hello, visit with them, and so on. I've been to large Feasts like 15,000. And there you're just one little dot in this whole group. Can you meet all 15,000? No. I met about 4,000 my first year because I was a student from Ambassador College as a freshman. They needed help in passing out the trays and also helping people with little kids, which there were a lot of. Needed help in carrying their trays to the sitting area, Big Sandy, Texas.

They fed everybody who attended the Feast, and there was only one site, Big Sandy, Texas. I stood there, and you know the blessing of serving that? I got to meet everybody at the Feast because nearly everybody went down there to eat because it was put on by the Big Sandy people who had a kitchen and a smaller house, the Redwood building, and people met down there for lunch, and then they went back up to the Tabernacle building. I met about 4,000 or 5,000, I think it was 5,000 that first year, maybe 10. It grew 5,000 more the next year. I had a chance to help all these people, get to meet them, say hello, and carry their trays to the table. It helps the next group, help the next one. It was really wonderful, and they're God's people. We can praise God, be thankful, and be grateful.

“Hallowed be your name,” he said. “Your Kingdom come.” 

Do we pray for God's Kingdom to come to this earth? It is the only solution for the whole world. The world's not going to change because change for the good because there's some great leader. You can't change for the good, the whole world. Nations can have good kings. David was a good king. He was not perfect, but he was a good king. I would have been glad to live in Israel under David.

Solomon came afterwards. I'd have been glad for all the investments I could have made when Solomon was out there bringing in. But Solomon's life was not good, nor did he lead people to serve God. Pray for God's Kingdom to come that his will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Look at Philippians chapter 3, verses 13 and 14. We need to have a desire for God's Kingdom. We need to express to God our desire for that Kingdom. Brethren, I do not count myself…

Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind…” 

How easy it is to dwell on that which is wrong, how easy it is to dwell on and speak on and converse on things that are wrong. I had a chart of all the type of feelings we can have. There are a lot of them. I had two charts, in fact, when I was a counselor. There are more negative feelings naturally in you than there are positive. More. It's easier to be negative. If you join a conversation or people talking about something good happened to someone, and they're talking about it and you listen and say, okay, when people are talking about something bad that somebody did, oh, they did that? Oh, how did they do that? When did they do that? Why did they do that? We tune into the negative a lot easier than we do to the positive. 

He said, “Forget those things that are behind. Reaching forward.” That's that forward looking. I'm looking for God's Kingdom to come. “Reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” 

And at my age, I'm looking forward to God's Kingdom. And I don't think God's Kingdom depends on my age or my living to it. But I'm closer. Closer to the day when I will be resurrected, hopefully, if I stay faithful, to be in God's Kingdom. Those of us who are gray haired and older, we are closer than some of you who are young and vibrant. But still seek God's Kingdom, not because, oh, time's running out. I better do it. Deathbed repentance. I'm not going to do that. If I didn't repent at baptism in 1959, December 16th, if I didn't repent then, I'm not a new man. And Christ died for me in vain.

So I hope I'm a new man talking to you. Sure, the old man follows me and tries to bring me down. Absolutely. But the new man is stronger. Seek the reaching forward to those things which are ahead. 

Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the goal for the prize.” 

New King James, I don't like, says, upward call. Well, God's not calling me to go up to heaven. God's calling me to be in his Kingdom. And if you say His Kingdom is coming down from there, fine. But old King James puts it, high calling of God. The Greek could indicate upward, more upward call. But God's not calling us to go to heaven, but he is calling us to be in His Kingdom. Press toward that goal. And the prize, who knows what your prize is going to be? I don't know, 10 cities, 5 cities, 1 city, no cities, pillar. What are you going to be? I don't know. Maybe you'll just be a pillar, helping to support the temple. Practice keeping your hands up.

Okay, brethren, practice your exercises. Is that what you're going to be? You're going to be strong like a pillar. God doesn't need pillars to hold up his temple, or else he didn't make it very well. And what God makes, he makes well. So have that desire, pray about it. Also, as part of that seeking God's Kingdom, is read about it. Read about God's Kingdom.

Someone will say, well, I'm using that scripture. I hope you don't use it. Hey, you can use the same scripture. I don't have a, what, ownership of that particular scripture. I don't have a corner on the market. You can read them. I'm going to give you a few. I used to do this when I was first baptized, because it tells us, seek first the Kingdom of God. It also tells us, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Part of my prayer, I would look at the scriptures. I would turn on my knees, and I would read one of the scriptures. And I would pray to God about how wonderful it will be when that comes about.

You don't have to quit reading the scriptures about the millennium, about the beautiful time when God brings His Kingdom here. You don't. I don't. We don't. So take a look at some. I'll give you a few. Micah 4, verses 1 to 4. By the way, I am used to little kids walking around when I'm speaking. When I was in one of the churches in Canada, and I won't say which, I was speaking, and I saw, I see my audience, I saw these two little twin boys, I think barely out of diapers. Could barely walk, but they could walk pretty fast when they decided. I saw each one go on one side and the other, so they ended up over there. And I'm speaking up here.

I'm speaking. I see them coming up to the front. They're closing in on me. It's a pincer movement. They're flanking me. And finally, one of my ushers in the church ran up. And then they ran, they went, I'll catch you right over here. And the parents were so, I was such a good speaker. They were so wrapped with what I gave. That they didn't even notice they're two, they're twin boys walking out and coming all the way down to the front. Finally, they corralled them. We put them in a cage. No, we didn't. But they corralled them. Okay. And that was okay. I kept on speaking, but I was watching what's happening. Make sure they didn't attack me.

But they're too little. You know, those same boys are in the church now. And they're older. One's married. One's not yet. And they'll listen to my, when I do a webcast to Canada, they ask me to do a webcast to Canada or Zoom. I sit at my home and do it for Canadians. Sometimes I do about, I think, four or five a year. And they're on the webcast. They’ll say, “Hi Mr. Antion! So you're not cornering me now. You can't get to me where I am.” 

Anyway, read some scriptures. Micah 4 is a great one. Micah 4, 1 to 4. Let's look at it. And I don't have any dibs on this particular one. Anybody can use it. Micah 4, 1 to 4. But think of a time of peace, a time when people are going to be instructed in a godly way, when there will be justice for all. And I'm always reminded of Isaiah 59 that tells us, truth is fallen in the streets. There's no justice.

No, people, they're not even sane. You allow people to break a law and you make it as a judge. You say, that's okay. To break that law, I declare it is. That judge ought to be taken out and removed from office. Why? You're supposed to uphold the rules. But here we read, there's going to be justice for all. 

Micah 4:1 “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house,” when is the latter days at the end time? We all think it's when we're coming to our end. And it isn't that way.

We could all wish I could be changed instead of having to die. But whatever God wants, right, it's going to happen in the latter days. 

Micah 4:1“That the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains.” God's Kingdom is going to be the top kingdom in the world. “Shall be established on the top of the mountain, shall be exalted above the hills of the smaller nations. And people will, peoples will flow to it.” 

I look for a time when people will be anxious to learn God's way. What does someone say? If you tell the truth, you better hide. I think it was a saying, I don't know, it was an Arabic saying, or if you tell the truth, you better have one foot in the stirrup. In other words, ready to swing that other leg over the horse and get out of town. The nations are going to flow to it. 

Micah 4:1“Many nations,” not just one or two, not just a few people, some in distinct country, “many nations shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.” 

Let's go seek God. Now, you're almost ashamed, I'm not ashamed, but I used to be. I don't want to tell people I'm a Christian, I don’t want to tell people I'm a minister. They'll get uncomfortable, let them get uncomfortable. I won't be using all this fancy terminology, but if they want to get uncomfortable because I'm a minister, so be it. We used to duck it real easily. 

Micah 4:2 He said, “Come, let's go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.” 

Why the God of Jacob? Because we'll see, you read some of the scriptures, Christ is coming back to be king over Israel, and he'll be king over all the world. But you know what, he's going to start with Israel again because Israel didn't do the job they were asked to do. So God's going to start with Israel. I gave a sermon many years ago at the Feast in Taino, and it all begins with Israel, and it really does. Why does he say in Zechariah 8:23, I think it is, that they shall come from all the nations and they'll grab ahold of the skirt of him that is a Jew. I didn't wear my skirt today, so that's why I had this. Well, I didn't want my legs to be seen, so I have this on. But they'll grab ahold of the skirt of him who is a Jew and say, teach us because we've heard God is with you. You are the people of God now. That's not all I can add there. You know, Paul baptized lots of Gentiles, worked with lots of Gentiles. He was the apostle to the Gentiles. Everybody is going to have a chance to know, learn the truth, practice the truth, and be converted and come into God's Kingdom. Everyone. But he starts out with Israel. He wanted them to be an example. Show the world how this can be done, like he wants us to be, a light to the world. We don't have the same impact. There are so few of us who are Christians in this world, so few who are practicing Christians, not nominal Christians, practicing Christians.

Micah 4:2 “To the house of the God of Jacob, he will teach us of his ways.” See, we're going to learn the way God would have it done. “For out of Zion, the law shall go forth.” 

God's law, which is a standard of right and wrong, which helps you understand which way to go, which helps you understand what the standard of righteousness is. How you achieve that righteousness is another matter. But it's the standard of righteousness. 

Micah 4:2-3 “He will teach us his ways. We will walk in his paths. The law will go out of Zion. The word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge between many peoples and rebuke strong nations far off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.” 

Nobody is going to saber rattle. Nobody is going to say, wait a minute now, we've got a bigger nuclear bomb than you do. Sorry, no more bombs, no more missiles. No more war. No more rifles. No more tanks. No more weapons that can shoot through when I was going to school. And I took ROTC for one year. They told about the rifle that they had, that you could shoot 500 yards, go through a small tree and kill the person on the other side. That's how much firepower that had. And of course they're more powerful now. So no more war, no more weapons. No, nation should not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war any more. I took one year of ROTC. Instead of physical ed, I took ROTC.

We marched and wore a uniform that somebody wore in World War II or whatever. They'd been killed, a few holes here and there, but I've got to forget about that, and shoes that had been worn by somebody before. And we learned how to do this, how to do that. I would have been a second lieutenant, and I would not have been here today. More second lieutenants die in war than sergeants or privates, because they have all this theoretical training but no practical. Come on men! You would have a squad of nine. You're dead. So our job is trying to keep the second lieutenants alive. But we learned. We also learned that you have to hate the enemy, or you can't shoot them. People go to war if they were shooting at these targets with bullseyes, and then they get on the battlefield. They see a person. It's hard to pull the trigger on a person. Pull the trigger on a bullseye is not the same. I'll always remember one man I met when my wife was waiting, or I was waiting to get an MRI.

No, my wife was. I was sitting there waiting for him, and he was waiting for his wife. He was about my age, and he had something on it, and identified him as a veteran. So I said, so did you serve in a war? Yes. I was 18 years old, and I was sitting in one of these landing boats, getting ready for the invasion in Normandy. And here we were. I was an 18-year-old boy from Ohio, and I was wondering what on earth am I doing here? And all these other men around him. And they knew as soon as they got out, as soon as the gates opened, or the gate opened in the ship, went down in the water that they would have to run on and find a place to hide, because there would be German machine gunners up on the hill, mowing them down.

And he said, I saw so many of my friends, my buddies, my brothers, shot up and dead. How he made it through, he doesn't know. That's war. And they had to teach us to hate so you can kill. That won't be anymore. I look forward to that wonderful time. 

Micah 4:4 He said, everybody “But everyone will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid.” None, “For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it.” 

God says, and you can take that to the bank. That's absolutely going to happen. Read some of these scriptures, talk to God about them. Talk to your children about them. Talk to your family about them. Now you see that spire over there, see that symbol? That's not going to be there anymore. God will take it down. See that idol? No longer going to be there. See that false religion? No longer going to be. God will not have it. 

Daniel 2:44 Let's look at this one. Another one you could read. “And in the days of these kings...” and you could find all your own, I'm just giving you samples. “In the days of these kings of heaven, will the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom.” This is whistling a lot, so I'm sorry. “Which shall never be destroyed. And the Kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. For as much as you saw the stone was cut out of the mountains without hand, that it broke in pieces, the iron, the bronze, the clay.” You saw that happen, once you see all that fake place, he said. “Silver and gold. The great God has made known to the kings, talking to Nebuchadnezzar, what will come to pass after this.” Listen what he says at the end of verse 44. “The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” 

God says there's going to be a Kingdom, and it's going to break in pieces and consume all these other kingdoms. Now I take it that God loves different personalities, or he wouldn't have made so many of us different. A converted Italian is just as good as a converted Syrian. But will God make me quit liking Mala or Gebi or Shishkebab? Will we all eat all Jewish food or English food or whatever food that's tasteless, maybe? Will he allow you to have your Italian food? Will he allow with all the tomato sauces and the garlic in there? Will he allow that? Oh, we're going to have that by Kingdom. Of course he's going to allow that. Does it matter what color you are or what ethnicity? Or does it matter what your heart is like, what your mind is like? That's what it matters. 

So in Daniel 2:44, a beautiful verse. Isaiah 35, I won't read it, I'll just talk about it briefly. There'll be positive changes made by God in His Kingdom. The desert's going to blossom as the rose. It'll blossom abundantly, verse 2. It's Isaiah 35:1-5, it's been read many times. There'll be joy in singing.

And you know what? There's going to be also in that Kingdom everlasting joy. God wants us to rejoice. He wants you to be happy. I could think about all kinds of negative things that happened to me, have happened to me, will happen to me. I choose not to dwell on them because God has given me hope. You don't have to dwell on them either. I don't let the blues get me down. Do I get discouraged sometimes? Sure. Do I feel down sometimes? Sure. But how much time do I spend down there? Not a lot. Because when I'm down there, I'm not very productive as a person in life. And you've got it right up here with the Spirit of God that gives you a Spirit of a sound mind. Remember that? 

2 Timothy 1:6-7 No fear. “Not a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, of a sound mind.” 

God gives us sound-mindedness. You don't have to let the negative dominate your life. You don't. You've got the strength of mind with God's Spirit to not allow it. So again, positive changes in that Kingdom. He says, strengthen the weak hands. Make firm the feeble knees. I have feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, be strong. Don't fear. That's verse 4. He'll come and save you. God is going to come to the rescue. Then the eyes of the blind will be open. How joyful. I would hate to lose my eyesight. I learn a lot by observing.

If I can see, you show me how something's done, I'll learn much better and much more quickly and much more thoroughly than if I just read a manual on it. I'm visual. I like to see it. I would hate to lose my eyesight. I have two hearing aids because my older age, and actually I flew back and forth from Big Sandy, Texas to Los Angeles ten times to complete my master's degree so I could teach accretatively at Ambassador College. I was in the midst of it. They transferred me to Big Sandy. I flew every week. On a little puddle jumper that was so noisy, you could just hear it grinding all the way from Longview, Texas or Tyler, Texas to Dallas, Texas. Then I would get on a big jumbo jet and go to fly out to Los Angeles.

Same thing repeated. Twenty times. Ten times up. Ten times back. My hearing started to deteriorate. I didn't get earplugs until a little bit later. Didn't help much. I know what it's like not to hear. If I don't have my hearing aids in, my wife will say something to me in a normal voice.

I'll say, honey, I will not hear you. But with hearing aids in, I hear great. He said, the deaf shall be unstopped. The lame shall leap like a deer. The tongue of the dumb shall sing. God is going to heal people. One more I'll give you on this. 

Isaiah 25:6-9 I love this verse. This section of verses. “And in this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all people a Feast of choice pieces.” A Feast of, notice this, “For all people,” not just for Israelites, for all. “A Feast of choice pieces. A Feast of wines on the leaves. A fat things full of marrow.” The fat is what people, the things that are plentiful. “Full of marrow, of well refined wines on the leaves.” 

Not just normal wine that somebody makes. I've had people give me wine. It's our homemade wine. One man gave me something. It was in a jug. It looked like it was a rosé, I think. It was given to Toronto. And we had a little apartment in Toronto that the office in Vancouver rented for us because we lived in Buffalo. But there were more people in Toronto, so I spent more time in Toronto than I did in Buffalo.

But my home was in Buffalo. So we stayed up there. We stayed in this little apartment. Well, somebody gave it to me on, I don't know, Bible study night. Oh, thank you so much. I left it in there. And the heat of that apartment, I walked in one day and I saw this trail of pink coming from underneath the sink all the way, where the angle was, all the way to the door. And I opened it up and I found two parts of that jug broken and it exploded.

And all the drama. So again, this is not going to be something that you do. And I'm not knocking. If you like homemade wine that you made that might taste like vinegar, but nonetheless, you think it's good. Good for you. I've tasted some of it. You know what it's become? My medicinal.

If I get a cut, I could put a little bit of wine on there. That's what I use it for sometimes. So don't give me any. Unless you, and some people were really good. They were experts at it, but other people weren't. They just, and it tasted like they weren't experts. Okay. So wine on the leaves, well refined. So he's going to give that. 

Isaiah 25:7 “He will destroy it on this mountain.” This is the part. Verse seven, Isaiah 25. “The surface of the covering cast over all people and the veil that is spread over all nations.” 

What is God going to destroy? Deception. 

Revelation 12:9 Tells us God that Satan, the devil is the master of deception. “He deceived the whole world.” Me too. When I was younger. Thank God I saw the difference. A lot of people who don't. “And he will swallow up death forever. The Lord will wipe away tears from off all faces. The rebuke of his people.” 

Take away. There are other scriptures you can read. Beautiful ones. Ezekiel 36Jeremiah 30:7-9. All of those. And Philippians 4:6-9. He tells us this as we look at this world, as we see it and compare what's going on in it with one's wonderful Kingdom to come. And we pray about that Kingdom. We read about that Kingdom and we talk about that Kingdom. 

Philippians 4:6-9 “Be anxious for nothing.” Philippians four verses six to nine. “But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known unto God. Then he goes on to say, “In the peace of God which surpasses all understanding shall guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ Jesus.” He tells us in verse eight what things to think about. So when you start thinking negatively think of Philippians four verse eight. And we are told, “Whatever things are true. Whatever things are noble. Whatever things are just. Whatever things are pure. Whatever things are lovely. Whatever things are of good report. If there is any virtue. And if there is anything praiseworthy. Meditate on these things.”

Don't meditate on what I did wrong yesterday. I made a mistake. I'm a mistake. You're not a mistake. Humans make mistakes but humans aren't mistakes. They're fearfully and wonderfully made. God made you so. Don't say you're a mistake. That people dwell on their mistakes so much they think they are a mistake. And if you dwell on the negative you'll be negative. Think on the good things. That's what he tells us meditate on these things. That's dose number one. Seek the Kingdom. Pray for the Kingdom. Read about the Kingdom. Number two. Is seek his righteousness. Notice his righteousness. I don't want my righteousness. You know why I don't want it? Because Isaiah 64:6 we read. All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. And I won't elaborate on filthy rags. You can look it up. And see what it is. It's filthier than filthy. Okay.

All I can accomplish. All on my own. So I have to be careful. Oh to be sure. The Apostle Paul said I better be careful. I've got to keep myself in check. Lest after I've preached to others I become a castaway. I don't want God to reject me because I'm so busy doing the work. And there have been people who do the work so much. They forget their family. And then their example is not good. For people to follow. Don't do that. I didn't have children for five years. But I watched plenty of children. Who were neglected. Not not willingly. Because the person thought he was doing God's will.

But I saw how they were treated. And I was told how they were treated. One girl told me her dad was a minister. In between services he was preparing a second with the good of the next church. His but his wife was driving the car and the two girls were told. Sit in the back seat and don't say a word. And this girl said she saw plenty of sights. Her neck got a little bit sore looking back and forth. She couldn't speak. Out of respect for her dad.

You know that people saw that. And that little girl I had the opportunity to see and say hello to. And she was in the area where I was as a young person. And I just stopped to say hello. She was trying to swim. And I said you know all you're doing is splashing the water and kicking your legs. I said do it this way. And I'm standing outside the pool. I wasn't in the pool. And I'm not a great swimmer but I knew a little bit about swimming. So I said do it this way. You got to pull the water. And you want to flutter kick your feet. Practice that. And I walked away because I was going to a luncheon. You know what she wrote me and said. You told me that. I practiced all day long.

I've never taken a swimming lesson in my life. And yet I have been on swimming teams. Because you took the time. To help me. See why wasn't her dad taking the time to help her. He was doing God's work in his mind. Part of God's work is taking care of our families too. See it's not one or the other it's both. So don't have your own righteousness. They're filthy rags. Matthew 5:20. This is a beautiful scripture. I love it. 

Matthew 5:20 “Our righteousness in us must be of God and from God.” And notice this. The only way you can actually do what Jesus Christ said. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. You will by no means enter the Kingdom of heaven.”

To be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees. How do I do that. God righteousness. Relying on God to help you. Too many times we do it ourselves. We have all these foolproof ways to take care of our families. Make sure I do this. You want to be careful. That it's not your righteousness. It's God's righteousness in you. By faith and belief. The only way you can be righteous. You can't. By yourself. But God can make you righteous. Philippians 3:4-9 He said I have confidence in the flesh. Notice what he says in this section. The other was 6 to 9 that I had before. 

Philippians 3:4-9 “For though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has confidence in the flesh. I do more. I more so. Circumcised the eighth day.” Here's a righteous man. Of the stock of Israel. Can't beat that. “The tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew of the Hebrews. Concerning the law of Pharisee. Concerning zeal. Persecuting the church. Concerning righteousness. Which is of the law. Blameless.”

Paul said you can't fault me. You can't fault me in looking at the law.

You can't fault me. I'm doing exactly what the law. At least as the Pharisees understood it. Told them to be. “But what things he said were gained to me. These I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed. Yes indeed I count all loss. For the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And I count them as rubbish.” 

He said all he did on his own. By himself. Rubbish. Try to do it on your own. You'll never make it. You might feel righteous. But it's God's righteousness. And please remember this. Christianity is easy. To externalize. You could look like a Christian. You could act like a Christian. You could appear as a Christian. You could even talk like a Christian. You could dress like a Christian. You could walk like a Christian. To a point.

But whether you're a Christian or not starts here. In the heart. And in the mind. And if it's not there. From the Spirit of God. Giving you that strength to be there. You can act external. I believe many Ambassador College students externalize Christianity. They knew what not to say. They knew what to say. They knew how to say it. They knew how to dress. They knew how to walk. They knew what to eat. They knew what they thought. And I was shocked. When it was told us that you could do it. Eat anything you want. That those laws are done away. I had been Dean of Students. I was a counselor now. At Big Sandy, Texas. And I was shocked. That very night. A group of them were going to go out for pizza. The ones who did not internalize God's way. You know what they did? Pepperoni pizza on all of it. Some of the students were offended. That they would do this. And so we had a discussion. What do you do? I said, here's what I would say. Paul said this. If eating meat offends my brother, I will not eat it as long as I live. That's my answer. The ones who ate. Because they say, well, if it's okay to do it now, then you don't let me. Then you're causing offense too. No. He didn't say if you don't eat it. He said, if you eat it. And we had a brief discussion. I was no longer the Dean of Students. But I was a counselor. And I said, this is what it means. You and I have been given a great job. He said, notice in verse 9. 

Philippians 3:9 He said, “That I may be that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Not having my own righteousness. Which is from the law only. Not from God's Spirit being in him. “But that which is through faith in Christ. The righteousness which is from God by faith.” All the changing and growing that we can do in God depends on God's Spirit in us and God's righteousness. Now how can that be done?

Romans 10:3-4 I'm not going to read it. We just put that in your notes. He said, they went seeking to establish their own righteousness. But they have not submitted to the righteousness of God. There is a difference. There is a difference. One is done out of a heart that's already converted. The other one is done out of us. It's not your righteousness. It's God's righteousness in you. What is one of God's very names? Jeremiah 23:6. One of God's very names connected with the tetragrammaton which is Yahweh or Jehovah. Jehovah to Sidkenu. Do you know what that means? God our righteousness. It's one of the main names by which God is known. How can you be righteous? How can you walk in the paths of righteousness? Because God will give you strength and help if you want it. Still have to do, someone quoted during the Feast, we have to believe it if we have to do as if it all depends on us. We have to believe as if it all depends on God. You still have to put forth the effort. Oh no, you can't sit in your hand back and say God, give me righteousness. You've got to do something too. But it's not you alone.

Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed,” he loved the Philippian church. “Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Notice. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do his good pleasure.” 

I have to want that. He gives us greater willpower and greater due power. If you want it, you can make your own righteousness that's yours, filthy rags, or you could grow in the righteousness of God. Paul's statement in Philippians 4:13 sums it up. 

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 

So brethren, in times of darkness coming upon us, not only physically, but spiritually too, that sugar crash, it's easier to stay, be negative, to be depressed, to be discouraged, and let that dwell and not see the positive or the hopeful. But if we determine to seek God's Kingdom and his righteousness, we will defeat any sugar crash and the blues and will remain in a high in our desire for God's wonderful Kingdom to come. And while we're doing that.

2 Peter 1:4-11 “We can be giving diligence to add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” He said, the Apostle Peter said this, “For if these things are yours and abound, you'll neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Verse 10, here's your guarantee. “But God righteousness, seeking the Kingdom, therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.” 

I call this section when I taught it, God's eternal life insurance plan for you. You can't buy it. You can only believe it. You can't buy it. It's there. And you don't have to do these three P's, by the way, price, price, price. You've probably seen that ad. Therefore, brethren, be more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. You'll never stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

So that's how we will avoid a sugar crash. Seek. Seek God's Kingdom. Pray for God's Kingdom. Talk about God's Kingdom. Desire God's Kingdom. And add his righteousness in. And you will remain on a high throughout these next, quote, months, unquote, after the wonderful Feast we've all just experienced.