The Time Is Fulfilled, Part 1

Great God in heaven, we thank you so much for the blessings that you've given us. We thank you for the blessings of this country. We have the freedom to celebrate your word, Father, and to learn more about you and your kingdom. We ask for a blessing on your seminars around the world and that you be with each and every seminar. We thank you for protecting us and bringing us here safely today. We ask that your spirit be here among us so that we can learn more about you and learn more of your way of life, Father.

We ask these things in Jesus Christ's holy and righteous name. Amen. Just a couple of incidentals I'd like to mention real quick before I announce the presenter. Emergency exits, the door that you came in over here. On my right, your left. And on my left, the restrooms are down the hall and also another emergency exit. Our presenter today has 30 years of experience in God's ministry and he has his own business in leadership development. He's an author and also a college educator. I'd like to present our pastor, Greg Thomas.

We are glad to have all of you with us and we hope that you will find our information and our presentation here to be very helpful to all of you. If you didn't have an opportunity to attend our September seminar, I just wanted to give a recap on a few of the things that we did cover in September. This is the second of a series. If you would like to hear the audio of the September seminar, you can find it on our local church website, cleveland.ucg.org.

But on our previous seminar, we began our discussion by defining what the kingdom of God is. The kingdom of God is a literal, physical kingdom that will be established on this earth at the return of Jesus Christ. And it will institute the government and the values and the laws of God. And much like the parable of the woman mentioned in the Gospels, the parable of the woman who put a little bit of leaven into her loaf, and soon it became all leavened, in the same way the kingdom of God will start very small in Jerusalem like a mustard seed, but eventually it will encompass the entire earth.

So the first time we talked about that wonderful kingdom that we all look forward to known as the kingdom of God. We also discussed why the kingdom of God is needed now. It's needed now because of the sad state that mankind finds himself and herself in.

We have a world in which there is rampant disease. We have a world in which there are unhappy lives. A world which is on the verge of war. So many nations have nuclear weapons. We literally have billions of people in this world that live in subject, object poverty, that they survive in less than one dollar a day. So we have a world with a lot of problems and our technologies and our science are not going to be able to solve the problems that mankind has. Mankind's problems are a problem of the heart. Mankind does not have a relationship with its creator.

And that's why those problems exist. And the only way that can be solved is by the return of Jesus Christ and that literal establishment of the kingdom of God. Today we're going to be focusing on a scripture, Mark 1, chapter 1, the Gospel of Mark verses 14 and 15. And we're going to focus. We're going to zero in on these scriptures today. Mark 1, verses 14 and 15, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God. Now I'm sure most of you are aware the fact that Gospel is a Saxon word, which just means the good news of the kingdom of God. The message of the kingdom of God is inspiring, it's positive, it's uplifting, it's motivational.

It's not bad news. It is good news, news in which mankind should be excited about. And that is the message that Jesus Christ preached. The Gospel of the kingdom of God and saying that time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. We're going to be looking at that statement in a little more detail.

Repent and believe the Gospel. And we'll also cover that last part in more detail in just a little bit. The first thing that we're going to do here is that we will take a look at this phrase, the time is fulfilled. This is obviously a statement of Jesus Christ to the audience that he was speaking to at this time.

What was at hand? What is God's purpose and God's plan? Well, it is revealed by God in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 46 and verse 10. Here's what the prophet wrote about God's promises. It's in the first person as if God is speaking. I make known the end from the beginning. God says, I have a plan for mankind and this plan has been going on before man was ever created. From the very beginning of time, I have had a plan and a purpose and it shall be fulfilled.

We find in the book of Revelation that Jesus said, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first letter and the last letter of the Greek alphabet. So God understands the beginning from the end and he understands that he has a plan and a will and a purpose that absolutely will be fulfilled.

I make known the end from the beginning from ancient times. What is still to come, that's prophetic, I say, my purpose will stand. Oh yes, mankind, we may create our own religions and our own governments and we may think that we can provide salvation by technologies or sciences. We can maybe extend human life another five, ten years, but God says none of that means anything because it is my plan, my purpose for mankind that will finally be fulfilled, that will be at hand.

And I will do all that I please, God says, spoken through the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus himself said in John 5 and verse 17, he said, my father has been working until now and so have I. From the beginning of time, God has been marching forward, continuing a plan to expand his family. You see, God is a good God. He is a gracious God. He wants to give away the honor and the glory that he has by expanding his family, by having more members of his family, beginning with Jesus Christ, his son, his firstborn. And they had been working towards ultimately fulfilling that plan for thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years. And when the ministry of Jesus Christ began, and he said the kingdom of God is now at hand, the time is fulfilled. Jesus was saying, now that my ministry is begun, something very important and different is happening for the human race. Let's zero in on this Greek word. The Greek word is karios, and in English it is translated as the word time. First of all, it does not convey time in the sense of a watch hand. The word doesn't convey time like me looking in the wall and saying it is now 118 in the afternoon. It does not convey time that way. Rather, it's a fixed moment in time, is the inference from that Greek word, like a slice of time, a period of time in human history in which there is a beginning and in which there is an end. And it's seasonal. It's as if a season occurs, and we know what happens in a season. You plant something, you see those seeds come out of the ground, and they grow, and eventually you have a harvest, and that is the conclusion of the season. So in the sense of time when Jesus said, the time is fulfilled, he was saying a beginning of a new season, a slice of time, is beginning right now as the result of my ministry. That's what Jesus Christ was saying. So it's seasonal, as if something planted begins to grow and heads towards a harvest time.

Let's zero in on this Greek word even a little more detail. Again, it is a season. It's a brief period of time that is marked in some special way, implying that the season is now filled full and continues to remain so for the entire period of time of that season. Here's what Lensky's commentary of the New Testament says. And again, it's referring to the beginning of the ministry of our Savior Jesus Christ. He says, quote, the thought is that time has now fully arrived for the spread of the messianic gospel. So Jesus was saying, many people talked about the kingdom of God before me, the prophets, John the Baptist, but Jesus said, now that I am here and I'm beginning my ministry, the time is fulfilled. The good news, the announcement of that kingdom can begin to all generations. So again, this Greek word, we're going to look at another one, the Greek word fulfilled, which is the Greek word plu. It means fulfillment in a sense that something is complete. So when he says this time, this seasonal period is fulfilled, he means within the seasonal period, it is a complete message. It is a complete slice of time. It is setting the stage for God's gift to humanity. What is God's gift to humanity? Well, God, at one time, he created a garden. It was a very beautiful garden. It was called Eden, and he put a man and a woman in that garden, and they rejected that gift that God had. They sinned. They were disobedient to their creator. And ever since that time, as they represented all of humankind, mankind has sinned. Each generation has sinned, has rejected its creator, rejected its God, and the end result has been all the pain and suffering and unhappiness that we have in our world today. But when Jesus Christ came to begin his ministry, first of all, he was a Savior. He made it possible through his shed blood for us to be once again reconciled to the Father and to build that relationship that had been broken with the sin of Adam and Eve. And then, of course, his gift was that once again, God desires to restore that garden to all the earth. And we call it the kingdom of God. And it will not just be in a little piece of land called Eden at that time. The kingdom of God beginning in Jerusalem will encompass the entire world. So it's the message that Jesus preached, the good news of that kingdom, and the Messiah himself, the fact that Jesus Christ indeed was a Savior. This word fulfilled means that the time was ripe to begin planting and harvesting human souls. Beginning with the ministry of Jesus Christ, the time was ripe in each generation for those few chosen ones whom God would call to say, yes, I accept that calling. Yes, I want to be part of that kingdom. Yes, I want to grow and change and develop character so that I can serve and teach and be a part of that kingdom to help all of mankind. So in each generation, beginning with the ministry of Jesus Christ, that fulfillment would occur. Isaiah, let's go back to chapter 46 and verse 10. I make known the end from the beginning. From ancient times, what is still to come, I say, my purpose, God says, His will, His plan will stand, and I will do all that I please. So what is His purpose that He had come to fulfill? What is the purpose that Jesus Christ had come to fulfill? What plan to fruition?

Well, that's an interesting question, and we're going to take a look at a little historical timeline. From the moment we see that God's will is revealed before there was even one human being created in the world, all the way in the significant events up to the ministry of Jesus Christ, when that time is at hand and when the fulfillment began. We're going to take a look at a little timeline here, and we begin from the scripture in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 34. Jesus said, Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. So the very great God that we worship, that we know is our loving Father, had a plan long before the first human being was ever created, long before there was any life on this little planet hanging out here in the universe that we call earth. He had a plan, and that plan was to have a family. And he knew in advance that they would sin. He knew in advance, as we'll see in the book of Revelation later, that Jesus Christ himself was slain from the foundation of the world. The fact that Adam and Eve sinned did not shock God.

It was not an unexpected event for God. But he knew that if he created this physical world, and if he put physical people on it, that through the process of life they would be able to develop character. By making mistakes, by sinning and repenting of their sins, by growing and changing, they could create character within themselves so that they could be part of the family of God, so that they could serve one another and serve mankind in his kingdom for all eternity. So it was from the very foundation of the world that God looked forward to a time when he would establish a kingdom, a government, on this entire earth. Now through the process of time, after the earth was created, God created a man and a woman, Adam and Eve. And unfortunately, they sinned. They rebelled against their creator. He gave them very simple instructions to test them, and sadly they failed the test. They instead yielded to the serpent, which was symbolic of Satan the devil, and mankind has been yielding to Satan ever since. And here's what God in a prophecy said to that serpent that was in the garden, again, that represents Satan the devil. He said, I will put enmity, I will put bitter hatred, he said to the serpent, between your seed and her seed.

He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. That was a prophecy about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, which would be necessary before a kingdom could be established on the earth. He was saying that he shall bruise your head. This seed of Eve's will someday come and crush you and will make it so that you are no longer able to influence people like you did here in this garden. He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel. And sure enough, what do you find through the process of crucifixion? You find that one of the ways that they crucified individuals was to drive a spike or a nail through one's heels into the wood as they were crucified. So this was a prophecy from God that there would be animosity, bitter hatred between Jesus Christ, who is obviously the Son of God, and the dark evil forces of this world, Satan the devil. And though Jesus Christ would experience crucifixion and would die for three days and three nights, he yet would be resurrected as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But in time, he would bruise the head of Satan the devil and take over authority and reign throughout the kingdom of God.

Next, we go into a period of time in which God called a man named Abraham. Abraham chose to be obedient. Abraham listened to God's commands and instructions, and God said, you know what, Abraham, because of your obedience, in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. And that occurred in two ways. First of all, Abraham's physical descendants happened to be individuals who created civilizations and governments and wealth and opportunities that we still enjoy today. But even far more important than that, from the lineage of Abraham would eventually come Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

And if you look in the Gospels and you look at the genealogy of Jesus Christ, it certainly goes back to Abraham. So because of his obedience, all families of the earth would be blessed both physically and more important spiritually because of Jesus Christ who would come to the earth. Then, after a period of time, the Israelites went into captivity. They went into slavery. And what happened? God, in his great mercy, he brought them out of slavery. Egypt was representative of a land of sin.

And just like they came out of Egypt, you and I need to come out of the land of sin. We need to come out of spiritual Egypt. And God gave them a leader, and the leader's name was Moses. But Moses told his people, he was a physical man, he was growing old, he knew he wouldn't live forever. He told his people that someone who would come after him, that they should look towards and look forward to. Speaking of Jesus Christ again, he said, God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst.

So within the nation of Israel, yet someone would come who would not only be a prophet of God, but would literally be the son of God, a savior, and who would begin to announce the restoration of that garden paradise that had been lost at Eden. And then, over a period of time, Jesus Christ came to the earth and began his ministry. And he said that time is fulfilled. The time that was looked forward to from the foundation of the world spoken of in Matthew chapter 25, that continued as God's prophecy to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, that continued through Abraham's obedience, that continued through the life and the work and the efforts of Moses.

It all looked forward to a time when the time was fulfilled and the beginning of that proclamation message of that kingdom could begin by the ministry of Jesus Christ. And Paul himself said to the church of Galatia, he said, but when the fullness of time had come, when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

So Paul is telling this congregation here that when the fullness of time came and Jesus Christ began his ministry, we would have an opportunity to become the adopted sons of God. We would literally be able to become brothers of Jesus Christ and be adopted into the family of God, not in a physical way like we are today. This is a physical tent that is meant to die, that is meant to be used for a certain period of time for God's purpose, and then our life ceases.

What Paul is talking about here is our adoption of sons to allow us to become spiritual beings and live forever within the family of God as his adopted sons and daughters, as his children. Why did Jesus Christ come to the earth? There are actually four reasons why Jesus Christ came to earth. He had a purpose, and it was a fourfold purpose. First of all, it was to be our Savior. And my, we needed a Savior.

Because of the action of Adam and Eve, sin entered mankind, and all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us have violated God's royal law, and we need a Savior. We needed someone who could redeem us and once again make us right with God to heal that breach that had been created through sin, and that was Jesus Christ. We know in the Old Testament that to represent something Christ would do, every year they had a Passover lamb, and they would shed the blood of that lamb, which represented and pictured the fact that someone would have to shed his blood to make it possible for there to be reconciliation between God and mankind.

And sure enough, it was Jesus Christ. John chapter 1 and verse 29, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Jesus Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of that Passover lamb.

He shed his blood and made it possible for us to have a meaningful relationship with our Father. Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8, The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, again referring to what Jesus Christ would do. So the first of the four purposes he came to earth is to be our Savior. The second reason is to destroy the works of the devil.

Now this is a process. This is something that is meant to occur over a period of time. When Jesus first came to earth, of course, he was crucified through the influence of Satan the devil, but he was resurrected from the dead. But because of his ministry, there were a few handful who accepted their calling, who repented of their sins, who were given the Holy Spirit of God. And in a small way, again like that grain of mustard seed, their lives began to destroy the works of the devil.

And that's a continuing process, and it will continue until Jesus Christ literally returns to the earth, fights a climatic war, a battle against the nations that oppose him upon his return, and eliminates all evil, all wickedness from the earth. And then we can say that it is truly fulfilled that he has destroyed the works of the devil. First John chapter 3 and verse 8, for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Once we are called and we receive God's Spirit and we understand the calling that we have, every time we overcome a sin, we participate in destroying the works of the devil. Every time that there's a temptation and we deny that temptation, we participate in destroying the works of the devil. Every time we choose to do right and reject what is wrong, we participate in destroying the works of the devil. And this process again will continue until Jesus Christ returns to earth, until Satan is bound, that is pictured on one of the annual holy days called the Day of Atonement, in which Satan literally is bound so that he can no longer affect mankind.

And at that time there will be a fulfillment of destroying the works of the devil. Let's take a look at the third reason Jesus Christ came. He came to become a high priest. Now the wonderful thing about Jesus Christ is how giving and loving he was. Just think of someone who was God. He actually was the God that we know of in the Old Testament. The God Jehovah, the God that Moses spoke to in Abraham, was the very one who later became known as Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to reveal the Father who was unknown to mankind until he came to earth to begin his ministry.

But I want you to picture what he did. He had all majesty, all honor, all glory as God. And he willingly, because he loved mankind, gave that up and was born as a human being and was willing to suffer shame and humiliation and physical pain like we do so that he could empathize with us, so that he could understand how we feel and the struggles that we have.

And that's why he is such a wonderful high priest. As it says in the book of Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 17, for this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way. He was born physical. He grew up. He had a childhood like we did. He grew up to become a mature adult. He experienced pain. He was beaten terribly before his crucifixion. He knew what it was like to be shamed and humiliated.

He was spit upon. He had a crown of thorns slammed on his head that drew blood. He was mocked. So he understood what it's like to be a human being. And because he did that, he makes a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Because he was willing to do that, he is able to go to the Father and say, I know, Father, I know what it's like to be physical.

I know why so and so is praying and asking you to relieve them of this trial, of this burden. Please intervene and hear their prayer. I am asking you as their high priest to intervene and heal them of this disease or heal them of this affliction or this trial that they're going through. He makes a wonderful high priest because he can understand the way that we are. And then there's their fourth reason why Jesus came to earth, and that was to establish his church. He had a mission. And when he said, the kingdom of God is at hand and that all was becoming fulfilled, he understood that there needed to be followers after him, after he ascended to heaven, there needed to be followers who would continue to carry on that mission generation after generation.

And he said in Matthew 16 and verse 18, I will build my church and the power of death will not be able to defeat it. And certainly the Church of God has existed throughout the ages. What is the Church of God? Is the Church of God an organizational name? Well, no. The Church of God that Jesus was talking about is a spiritual body. It is everyone whom he is called, whom he is given his Holy Spirit to. That is his church. And certainly many people who are called and received his Holy Spirit organize under various corporate names so that together they can pool their resources and they can be organized and do a work and preach the gospel and do the things that they need to do.

But Jesus said that there would always throughout history be those believers whom he had given his Spirit to, whom had repented of their sins, and who were living their lives under the commission of preaching the gospel to the world. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 23, Paul said that the church is his body. It is made full and complete by Christ who fills all things everywhere with himself. So Christ's presence is within his church.

Whether his church is a small group of believers in Africa or Asia, it doesn't matter what their skin colors are, it doesn't matter what language they speak, if they have his Spirit, if they have been called and have received his Holy Spirit, he is there and he is complete with them. I'd like to focus on the two missions of the church and the reason that he established his church.

And it's actually on our church seal. Number one is prepare a people. It was God's intention from the very beginning that throughout the generations he would call a select few from each generation. He would open their hearts and minds. They would accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and they would be baptized as they have repented of their sins. They would receive what we call the laying on of hands, which is the Holy Spirit given to them. And for the rest of their physical lives, they would prepare themselves to serve in that kingdom.

And they would work hard to overcome their weaknesses and sins. And they would learn to care and serve for others. They would grow in character. They would try to develop the fruits of God's Holy Spirit spoken of in Paul to the church in Galatia. They would change their lives and try to emulate the life of Jesus Christ with commitment, with zeal, with dedication. They would prepare themselves and they would be part of a church. It would help them to grow and prepare themselves to serve in that soon-coming kingdom. When the kingdom of God is established on the earth, it is going to need hundreds of thousands of leaders and priests and teachers and people with various skills and talents who developed themselves, who prepared themselves in their lifetime after they were called and converted so that they could serve and be part of that glorious kingdom.

So the first of the two reasons is to prepare a people. The second, certainly, is to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. That is an ongoing commitment that his church has had for many years. And we have the blessings of modern technology. We have the blessings of being able to have a TV program, to have printed magazines and booklets, that have a very interactive web presence. So we do what we are able to do with the resources that God has given us to preach the good news and to talk about this kingdom to as many people as we possibly can.

And because of our modern technologies, we're going to be able to do that in a greater way than ever before. So the time has come. Again, Paul wrote in the book of Galatians chapter 4, verse 4, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son. So when the time had come, the time had been fulfilled, that Jesus spoke about there in the verses in Mark that we saw earlier.

He sent forth his Son and Jesus Christ began his ministry on the earth. His ministry was continued by the original disciples after Jesus ascended to heaven. For thousands of years, that ministry has continued through his church. It has continued through those whom God has given his Spirit to, and who have a zeal and a commission and a passion about the kingdom of God and preaching about that exciting kingdom. Isaiah was inspired to write in a prophecy in chapter 9 and verse 2, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. And again, that's referring to Jesus Christ and the message that he had. He lived a righteous life. He was a perfect example for us to follow. He was a great light to the world, just at the time when the world needed it.

Why did all of this happen in 30 AD? Have you ever asked yourself that question? What was it that God had planned about human history that made it possible in 30 AD during the ministry of Jesus Christ for him to be able to preach a message and for that message to be able to spread throughout the world in one lifetime? The Apostle Paul took that message of Jesus Christ and went throughout the Roman world preaching about that kingdom. What was it that occurred during that time?

Well, it happened to be during a time in history that we call Pax Romana, which means Roman peace. Pax Romana is a historical phrase for a rare, about a 200-year period of Roman history. It was a time when Rome controlled two million square miles of territory as part of the Roman Empire. It was a time in which there was peace within the Roman Empire. It was a time of great road building. It was a time that Roman law was administered throughout the then-known civilized world of the Roman Empire. It was rare because usually Rome had one form of revolution or a republic being replaced by a Caesar over and over again, but this was a unique 207-year period of time in history known as Pax Romana. And interesting enough, in the center of that 200-year period is 30 AD, is about the time that Jesus Christ, first of all, was born in the earth, grew up to adulthood, and began his ministry and lived his life during this time of Pax Romana. During this time when the Romans had built roads so that missionaries could go throughout the Roman Empire. So that is one of the things that God worked out to the advantage of being able to preach the Gospel. The second was the Greek language. During this period of time, Greek had become the unofficial, acceptable language throughout the Roman Empire. Yes, certainly different areas of the Empire spoke their own native tongue as their first language, but virtually anyone with any amount of education learned Greek as a second language. The New Testament is written in Greek. It's written in a form of Greek called a coin. The Old Testament scriptures were translated from the original Hebrew to Greek, known as the Septuagint, because Greek was such a predominantly recognized language at this time in history. So it was the Greek language that gave someone who the ability to know it to travel throughout the Roman Empire and to talk to just about anyone and carry on a conversation with them. That had not occurred until this time in history. And then there was the implementation of the Jewish synagogues that made it possible for the kingdom of God to be preached to the Roman Empire for this slice of time that I've been talking about to begin at that time. Why were the synagogues so important? Well, when the nation, the kingdom of Judah, went into captivity, the temple was destroyed. And the Jews in the captivity wanted to maintain their knowledge of God. So they created something called the synagogue. And the synagogue was a meeting room, very much like what we have today. And the Jewish believers would come together on the Sabbath day, and they would open the scrolls of what we call the Old Testament, and they would read the Bible to the listeners on the Sabbath day. And then they would fellowship, and they would talk about God. And that only began after their captivity. It was a result of the Jews wanting to maintain their knowledge of God no matter where they were in the world. So in all the major metropolitan areas of the Roman Empire, in all of the major cities where Jews had migrated, there was a synagogue. So Paul, being the clever man that he was, and also being a Roman citizen, who because he was a Roman citizen, could travel freely in all of these roads that had been created due to Pax Romana, as he marched into a city, he didn't have the advantage of looking up in the white pages and finding out people with Jewish names to talk to about the kingdom of God. He could not go on Google and type in Jewish people in Corinth and see how many results he had.

He knew that he would have a ready audience if he talked to people who believed in the one true God, who understood the heritage of Moses, and who understood the prophecies referring to the Messiah.

So what did Paul do? What gave him an advantage when he went into a strange city that he had never been in before? He asked one simple question. Where are the synagogues?

And when he found out where the synagogues were, he knew he could go in there, participate in a worship service, and begin to preach the good news of the coming kingdom of God.

So that was a very positive confluence of three different events in history that made it possible for Jesus Christ to be born at the right time, the nurture, the growth, and the blossoming of the powerful message of the kingdom of God. Matthew 24, verse 14, And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. I'd like to focus on the last part of that scripture.

The end cannot come until this kingdom that we're talking about today is witnessed to all the world. That is one reason why Jesus Christ is not returned to earth yet. It is his statement, his promise, that I will return. I will come and save mankind from himself when the good news of this kingdom has been passionately preached to all the nations of this world in their own native languages, in their own national identities, so that they can understand the power behind this message. And that's why we are so committed and so zealous about this kingdom that we talk about, why we look forward to it with such zeal and enthusiasm, because we know that we must continue to do it. And we must finish our mission, the commission that Jesus Christ gave us, and then the end time events will complete and Jesus Christ will return to this world. Paul wrote to 2 Timothy, God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling. You see, to understand and to become passionate and excited about the kingdom of God is a holy calling. According to his own purpose, we saw that earlier, that God has a plan. It doesn't matter what mankind's plan is. It doesn't matter what my plan is. It doesn't really matter what your plan is.

God, it says, according to his own purpose and grace, that's his favor. God's grace is God's favor, his pardon, his mercy towards us, even though we don't deserve it. His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. So again, before there was a world, before there was human life, God already had a plan and a purpose to grow, to expand his family.

And he would use a physical world and physical life as processes to make that possible.

Well, we're going to have a short break, 15-minute break, and then we're going to come back for part two of our seminar today. But I have a very special treat for you before we have our 15-minute break. We have a special musical presentation. We have a song today written and performed by Mark Graham. Mark and Taya are a wonderful couple that I've known for well over 30 years. Mark is an internationally recognized composer of religious music. He not only has written his own hymnal, but his hymns are included in many hymnals of various church organizations. We're very pleased to have Mark as part of our congregation here in Greater Cleveland, and he's going to be performing one thing I'd want them to know. And then after, we'll have about a 15-minute break, and we'll come back for part two of our kingdom of God seminar.