The Time Is Fulfilled, Part 2

Well, a little birdie told me that you enjoy fellowshipping, so that's a good thing.

We're a few minutes late, but for a very good reason.

We're not ready to begin part two of our discussion, our second series, today on the Kingdom of God. As I mentioned earlier, the first series was last September. A few months from now we'll begin our third series, and all of you will receive an invitation to that if you are either on the Good News mailing list or if you watch the Beyond Today television program, it will be advertised at that time. You can either register online or we'll send you a postcard so that you are aware of our next seminar. But let's continue on what we have discussing today. Going back again to Mark 1 and verse 14, we're going to focus on the latter part of these verses at this time. It's that Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. That's what we want to focus on. Repent and believe in the gospel. Once again, as we did in part one, we're going to tie in Isaiah 46 and verse 10 with some other scriptures so that we understand beyond any shadow of a doubt that God is completing. He's working on a plan that he has had for millennia. Again, Isaiah the prophet said, speaking directly, for God I make known the end from the beginning. And Jesus himself said in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 34, come inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. So God's purpose, his plan, his concept of a kingdom on this earth.

And just think how unique that is. What do men find as we send rocket ships and the most advanced telescopes in looking in the space? We see many, many more galaxies and planets than we ever anticipated existed before. But do we see life? Do we have an example of any possible life existing in those worlds? We see nothing. So earth is a unique gift specifically given by God and because of his intervention to work out his plan and his purpose from the foundation of the world.

Continuing going back to Isaiah chapter 46, from ancient times what is still to come, I say my purpose will stand and God's purpose regarding the kingdom is prophetic. We saw earlier in part one the timeline of how far back it went when God planned to have a kingdom in the world.

If you look at the Old Testament and you read the major prophets and the minor prophets, you will see that they all yearned for they longed for the kingdom of God to be on earth. And oftentimes Isaiah chapter after chapter after chapter would warn about terrible events that were going to come upon the world but he would always get back to the fact that Jesus Christ would return to the earth and that a new world government, a new kingdom, would be established on the earth.

And then at the end of verse 10 in Isaiah, and I will do all that I please, Jesus said in Luke chapter 12 and verse 32 that it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Why is it the father's good pleasure? Because he's wanted to do this for millennia. He is anticipated for a long, long time bringing people into his family and making them members, adopted sons and daughters of his family. He's longed for that for a long, long time. It is pleasurable to him the thought of that being completed gives God great pleasure.

It says the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel. We'll go to Hebrews chapter 1 beginning in verse 1. God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. And again, if you look at the minor prophets, the major prophets, you examine the Old Testament, you will see that common thread along with the warnings, along with very discouraging news about what will occur shortly in human history.

It was always followed by the good news of an established kingdom of God and this earth. Spoken times pass to the fathers by the prophets. Hasn't these last days spoken to us by his son? And we've looked at a lot of the statements of Jesus Christ today in the gospel so far in this seminar. Whom he has appointed heir of all things. So the father has said to Jesus Christ, I am giving you all authority and power. I am giving you everything to use at your will and your discretion. That's how much the father loves the son.

Whom he has appointed heir of all things through whom he also has made the world. As I said earlier, Jesus Christ, the one who became known as Jesus Christ, was the God of the Old Testament. The one who became Jesus Christ and walked on earth was the one in Genesis chapter 1 who literally day by day created. The world spoke it into existence and it was created. He was the word as it says in the book of John. Luke chapter 16 and verse 16, the law and the prophets were until John.

Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached and everyone is pressing into it. Another translation, a common translation of that verse, is people are seizing it by force. What does that mean? Well, what it means is when you fully grasp how wonderful, how life-changing, how powerful this kingdom is, you want to be part of it.

You're excited about it. You're enthusiastic. What do I have to do to be part of the family of God? What can I do to contribute to preaching the gospel? What part can I play? How can I use my talents and skills and abilities to be part of the church of God and to help preach this gospel so then the end will come?

When people are called and they're passionate and excited about that calling that God has given them, they are pressing into the kingdom of God. They are seizing that opportunity. They are grabbing the golden ring because they know it's life-altering and they know that it's the calling or the commitment that God has always had planned for them in this age. Matthew 3, verse 1, in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. You will find that the same message that Jesus had in his ministry had been given earlier by John the Baptist. John the Baptist talked about repentance. Jesus talked about repentance. John talked about a kingdom. Jesus talked about a kingdom. John talked about baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of our sins as an act of obedience and respect to God. And that's exactly what Jesus Christ taught. When John talked about repentance, repentance is more than just feeling sorry for what we've done. Repentance is more than just feeling a sense of guilt for our mistakes that we've made and the things that we've done that are wrong. Repentance means that we are committed to turn around and go in another direction. If I've been walking this way, this way of life, and it's painful, and I've made mistakes, and I've caused problems for myself and my loved ones, I am tired of doing that. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I want a different lifestyle. I want to change who and what I am. So we turn around and we go the other way, and that way that we go is directed by God's laws, by God's value systems. It's a way of give. It's not a way of selfishness. It's not a way of give. It's not about me and mine and I. It's about caring and serving for others. That is what the word repent means. For the kingdom of heaven is at hand, where this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. And that's certainly what John the Baptist did. He told the people that someone was coming after him who was much greater than he was. Someone who would also talk about repentance. Someone who would talk about the baptism. Someone who would talk about the Holy Spirit. And indeed, that's exactly what Jesus Christ did in his ministry. Again, focusing on that phrase, the kingdom of God is at hand. Let's take a look at that for a few minutes. Again, from Linsky's commentary of the New Testament, here's what it says, and I will quote it. The perfect tense of the verb has the present connotation. It means right now, it means in the present, the kingdom is now near. The idea is not that it is a little way off, but it is so close to the ears of Jesus that they may enter it at this very moment. Now, I have to put this in context. Jesus Christ was the direct representative of God the Father on the earth at that time. He was speaking to a group of people, and he was proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God. For those people at that time, that was their opportunity for salvation. That was their opportunity for eternal life. None other than the Son of God himself was offering them a calling.

So that's what it means in context, that right now, within the ears of those hearers at that time, that they could accept the good news of the kingdom of God, continuing what it says at Linsky's commentary, how they may enter is, therefore, told in the very next words by Jesus.

Repentance, we already discussed what that is, and faith or belief. And when you believe the gospel, it doesn't mean passively that, well, I believe it and that's all I need to do. When you believe in something passionately, you're willing to die for it. It means it becomes part of your life. It becomes part of every fiber of your being. It excites you. It creates passion and zeal in your life for a particular mission. That is what Jesus was talking about when he said, believe in the gospel. So how can one enter the kingdom of God? How can the kingdom of God be at hand? Matthew, chapter 3, in verses 1 and 2, John the Baptist came preaching, saying, repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. And for each generation throughout human history, God chooses to call a few who understand and accept the power of the message of that soon coming kingdom, who say, yes, I volunteer. Yes, I accept my calling. Yes, I want to be part of something bigger than I am. I want to take my life to a whole new dimension of existence. I accept. And that is exactly what Jesus was saying. Mark, chapter 1 and verse 14, Jesus came preaching, saying, the time is fulfilled in the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. So you see again how John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, who, by the way, were related to one another. They were cousins.

How their message was the same. The same message about what it took to become part of that kingdom, beginning in this life when we are called. Participation in the kingdom of God is not a passive activity. This past week, we acknowledged the birthday of Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King said, I have a dream, but it didn't end there. When he said I had a dream, he didn't sit at home and think of happy thoughts. He did something about it. He was passionate about equality. He was enthusiastic. It became part of his life, his mission to his dying breath. And it's the same way about our calling in the kingdom of God. When we understand that God is calling us and God reaches out to us and we hear and we perceive and see and understand, we cannot be passive about that.

We have to become passionate about our mission, about the calling that Jesus Christ gives us.

So participation in the kingdom of God is not a passive activity. In the book of Colossians, Paul wrote, he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son. You see, before God calls us, we are slaves to sin. I mentioned in part one how in ancient Israel, when they left Egypt, that Egypt was symbolic of sin. Pharaoh was symbolic of Satan himself. And before we are called and we understand what God wants us to do, and before we repent and we receive God's Holy Spirit, my friends, we are in the domain of darkness. We are slaves to Satan the devil. We are slaves to our passions, our bad habits, our temptations, our perversions. And what we need is we need to be transferred from that into the freedom, into the liberty that Jesus Christ offers us through the power of God's Holy Spirit. And when that occurs, we are transferred from being slaves to sin into the process of beginning to prepare for the kingdom of God. It's a marvelous transformation that takes place in our lives.

And in essence, we become new citizens. We become citizens of a different world. Paul wrote in the book of Philippians, chapter 3 and verse 20, we are citizens of heaven. Notice he doesn't say in heaven, we are citizens of heaven and we eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. You see, the kingdom of God isn't in heaven. Jesus is bringing citizenship and the kingdom of God with him to this earth. It says to come from heaven, he will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule. So when the kingdom of God is established and it eventually encompasses the entire earth, it's not a kingdom for just part of the world. It's not a kingdom for just one slice of the earth. It eventually will encompass the entire world. Jesus Christ will rule all things in heaven and on earth at that time. And we have an opportunity to be changed from our weak mortal bodies into glorious bodies like Jesus Christ has as full citizens of that kingdom.

John chapter 18 and verse 36, what Pilate didn't understand is that with the power and majesty that Jesus had, all he would have had to do is at a very thought the Roman Empire would have collapsed at the twinkling of an eye. All of Rome's greatness and all of its armies would have been instantly demolished because he was tangling with the Son of God. But if Jesus had done that, that would not have fulfilled God's purpose. Jesus had to die and he had to shed his blood so that you and I could have a Savior and be reconciled once again to the Father. So because of that, Jesus told Pilate that, look, my kingdom isn't of this world. My kingdom is of another place. It is not from here. And of course, we know that Jesus Christ, after he ascended to heaven, has been preparing a mansion. He's been preparing offices and positions of responsibility for his people and that he is bringing that citizenship and bringing that kingdom with him in what is known as his second coming to earth, the return of Jesus Christ. In John chapter 17 and verse 15, Jesus said on the eve of his death, he said, I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Like Jesus, we too have to long for the kingdom of God. Oh, yes, we're still in this world, aren't we? We're physical. We suffer pain. We suffer trials and temptation. Some of us lose our jobs. Sometimes we have bad things happen. We have auto accidents. We have health problems. We certainly have to live in this world. But the hope that Jesus Christ gave us is that we are not of the world. Our citizenship and what we look forward to is citizenship of the kingdom of God that again will be returning to earth with Jesus Christ at his second coming. So our citizenship is registered in heaven. It's in a book. And that book in the book of Revelation itself says it is called the book of life. And when we receive God's Spirit and we take that calling seriously that he gives us, our names are written in the book of life. And at that time we become citizens of the kingdom of heaven and long for the time when Jesus Christ comes back to earth. So we wait for that kingdom to come when Christ returns. But we don't twiddle our thumbs while we wait. We don't become passive and just think happy thoughts. In the meantime, we use our lives in a productive way. We can now experience the foretaste of God's kingdom by living according to God's laws, by changing who and what we are, by developing the fruits of the Holy Spirit and rejecting the works of the flesh. And becoming more Christ-like. By doing those things, we begin to have a foretaste and an understanding of what the kingdom of God will be like. And many of us also go to another one of God's annual holy days. We know of as the Feast of Tabernacles that occurs every fall. And that Feast of Tabernacles is symbolic and reminds us every year of that soon-coming kingdom of God in the 1,000-year millennium reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. So we can begin to experience that now, even in this lifetime, while we wait for our full citizenship. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 15. Now, this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We're just physical. These are tents that we have. They're aging. They're going to fail. We can't enter, inherit that kingdom, just being mere physical beings. God wants us to live forever. He wants us to be spiritual. He wants us to have bodies that are incorruptible, not bodies that age and decay.

So he says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. He says, Behold, I tell you a mystery. And here's what that mystery is. He's talking about the second coming of Jesus Christ in context with this scripture. We shall not all sleep.

Not everyone will simply be dead awaiting the resurrection, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. You see, in context where Paul was saying, he thought Jesus Christ was going to come in his lifetime. That's what he longed for. That's what he hoped for. And he said, We shall not all sleep. He said, Some of us will be alive. We will be the final generation that lives and is alive at the time when Jesus Christ comes back to earth. He says, But when that happens, that we are going to be changed. We're no longer going to be physical human beings. We are going to become spiritual and that will occur suddenly. It'll occur at the twinkling, like flipping your eyelid. That's how fast that we will be changed from our mortal bodies that are corruptible into spiritual bodies that are incorruptible. People who have died in the faith over the centuries when they come, when they're resurrected from the dead, they will be raised incorruptible because they will have been changed. They will no longer be physical. They will be spiritual. They will be dynamic. They will be incorruptible. Verse 53, For this corruption must put on incorruption, and this mortal flesh that we have now must put on immortality.

So to become a full citizen of that kingdom, we have to be changed from mortal to immortal. And that occurs at the return of Jesus Christ at the last trump.

So the gospel of the kingdom of God is an invitation to become part of God's ruling family at the return of Jesus Christ. God, for millennia, has desired to have and grow and expand his family. And he's calling people to be part of that family. It's an invitation now, in this lifetime, to train and prepare to assist Jesus Christ as priests and leaders and teachers of that coming kingdom. Ultimately, there's going to be a time when billions of people will be resurrected after the thousand years who never knew God. Billions of people lived their lifetimes and never even heard the name of Jesus Christ in their lifetimes. They lived and died in small villages throughout Africa and Asia and even parts of Europe and North and South America. Never heard a Christian word in their entire lifetimes and they died. Are they condemned?

Well, of course not. God is a fair and a gracious and a merciful God. He will give them their opportunity for salvation. That will occur at a time that we know is the great white throne judgment. But, as that kingdom is established, there is going to be a need for hundreds of thousands of people who were called in their lifetimes and grew and changed and prepared themselves and developed their talents and learned to walk the walk of Jesus Christ in their lifetimes. And those are the ones who will serve as priests and leaders and teachers in that wonderful kingdom. That is to come. Revelation chapter 1 and verse 6. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead. You see, He was just the first of many. All of those who throughout the last 2,000 years have died in the faith, who in their generation accepted their calling and received God's Holy Spirit and expired because they were physical human beings and died, are in the ground awaiting a resurrection. But they will be resurrected because Jesus Christ was simply the firstborn from the dead. There will be many, many, many born again to be part of God's family, to enter His family as immortal spiritual beings for all eternity. The firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, He has made us, us, a kingdom of priests to His God and Father. That is very encouraging and succinctly mentions what our potential is and what our calling is all about. Again in the book of Revelation chapter 5 and verse 9. And they sang a new song, speaking to Jesus Christ, you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you were slaughtered and by your blood you've ransomed for God's saints from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God and they will reign on earth. So my friends, that is our ultimate calling. That is the potential that God offers us if we are willing to repent and passionately believe and live the gospel in our lives. Who may be part of that kingdom?

Well, a few of it were called at that time, at the time of the ministry of Jesus Christ. In Paul's day, Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. So he introduces the knowledge that it is a calling. This only makes sense to us if we're called. If someone is not called, all the words that come out of my mouth, everything that they may read in a booklet or here on a TV program, it just doesn't make sense to them. It doesn't have any meaning to them. But in every generation, God calls out a few who understand and perceive their potential and perceive what God is calling them to do. Paul understood that. He also said to Timothy in writing in his epistle, God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose. How many times have we seen that phrase today about God's purpose for mankind? According to his own purpose and his grace, his favor upon us, his mercy upon us, which was given us in Christ Jesus again before the world began. A phrase that we've seen in other scriptures throughout this seminar today. So in the lifetime of Jesus Christ, a few were called to it during his lifetime and the lifetime of the disciples. A few had been called to it in every generation. It says, for the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are far off as many as the Lord our God will call. You see, it can also be generational. I was very fortunate God called me at age 17. Looking at me, you realize that would have been maybe two to three years ago.

It's fun to be deluded sometimes. God called me at age 17 and I married a very wonderful woman. And we've been able to share our faith passionately with our children. All three of our daughters have embraced the faith and been baptized and realized the great potential that they have. Now our grandchildren are able to enjoy and participate in the kingdom of God by seeing the example of their parents and their grandparents. So it says there in Acts chapter 2, the promise is to you and to your children. It's a generational blessing if we understand and accept the calling that God gives us and to all who are far off as many as the Lord our God will call. John chapter 6 in verse 65, I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father.

Again, it is a calling and God decides who he's going to call during each age. He has an appointed order in which he is going to call individuals. It is his desire that no one is lost. But he also has a plan and that plan includes calling people at specific periods of time.

And if God is calling us, we perceive the message, we hear it, it registers, we listen, it prompts us to want to do something about it. If we are not being called, it is all just gibberish. It is all just a bunch of words and a bunch of sentences all thrown together and it has very little meaning or impact on our lives. John chapter 665, I've said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father.

So the Father gets to do that calling. That is according to his will. Matthew chapter 13 and verse 10, a few were called now as a few have been called in every generation throughout history since the ministry of Jesus Christ. His disciples came and asked him, why do you use parables when you talk to the people? And he replied, you, he's talking to his disciples. You were permitted to understand the secrets of the kingdom of God, but others are not. You see, God gets to make that choice on what order at one time he's going to call us.

Verse 12, to those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given and they will have abundance of knowledge. They just can't get enough. They just can't wait for the next booklet to arrive. They just can't wait to call the minister and ask him another question or come to church and talk to their brethren and ask three or four questions of things that crossed their minds this week.

But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. They'll be distracted by the cares of this world. Something important will come up, like they'll find on the internet that there's a picture of shnookie without makeup. So something important will happen in their lives. And they'll be distracted by the message and once again get sucked into the anxieties and the mindless cares of this world, which frankly mean nothing. In the sense of eternity, they mean absolutely nothing. So if you are called to it now, Matthew 13 and verse 15, for the hearts of these people are hardened and their ears cannot hear and they have closed their eyes so their eyes cannot see and their eyes cannot hear and their hearts cannot understand and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.

You see, there are some who it's just not their time. God doesn't want to condemn anyone, but it is not their time. They cannot perceive and understand. Their hard heart will not allow them to grasp the excitement and the passion and the power behind their calling, which is offered by God at their period of time. He said, but blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear.

Throughout history, even after Christ returns to the earth, at that time many people will find that it is their time, that it is their order. Throughout the kingdom of God, as generations are born to the physical people who are left in the world, eventually their time will come when God will call them in their lifetimes.

I mentioned earlier that after the thousand years will be a massive resurrection, and for those who never understood, in many cases never even heard the name of Jesus Christ in their lifetimes, let alone understood He was a Savior, will have at that time in their order the opportunity for salvation and to learn the ways of God. John 12, verse 32, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

And Jesus Christ, as He descends to this earth, as His second coming, that will be a time when all nations will begin to look towards Him as He arrives and He establishes the kingdom of God. Eventually all nations will be drawn to Jerusalem, will be drawn to worship the King of Kings, Jesus Christ Himself.

1 Timothy, chapter 2, verses 3 and 4, this is good, Paul wrote, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Again, it isn't God's desire that any be lost. Now, sadly, I must tell you, in all fairness through other scriptures, that some will be lost. Some just refuse adamantly to obey God. They are stubborn, they are self-willed, they will not and absolutely have not acknowledged that there is a God and they will not live by His values, His laws, and His statutes.

So there will be some who will be condemned. And Jesus warned the Pharisees and the Sadducees of His own day as He lived. He warned many of them that they were very close to eternal damnation in their lives. They were very close to being lost because they were rejecting who and what He was. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15 and verse 22, In Christ all shall be made alive, but each one in his own worder.

Again, that plan that I talked about earlier that God has for all mankind. So are you being called now? You know, that's a question that only you can answer yourself in your own heart and in your own mind. John chapter 6 and verse 44, Jesus said, no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him. It's the Father that makes this message make sense, that makes this message important to you, that creates excitement in you, that helps you to begin to understand your potential and the vision of your life and the purpose that God has for you.

The Father who sent Me draws Him and I will raise Him up at the last day. That person will receive eternal life. That person will be in the family of God when they die and they're resurrected from the dead. Matthew chapter 12 and verse 14, For many are called, but few are chosen. One biblical commentary I read said that Jesus was referring to a common practice of the Romans at that time.

The way the Romans would raise a militia in a city is they would tell all the males of that city to muster, to show up, and then the Romans would walk around and say, you and you and you and you and the rest of you can go home. So it was with that example that all the citizens were familiar with, used by the Roman army to raise a militia, that He said, many are called, but few are chosen.

Only you can decide for yourself and understand if this message today has meaning to you and if you are one of the chosen. Let me ask the question, how should you respond to God's calling if you believe that you are being called by God? 2 Corinthians chapter 6 beginning in verse 1 and 2. We plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. Don't take your calling lightly. The grace of God is a powerful thing when God looks down on you and says, I am offering you something special. I'm offering you favor.

I'm offering you my spirit, a piece of me inside of you to guide and direct your life. I'm offering you eternity. I'm offering you an eternal existence of fulfillment and joy and purpose that goes so far beyond this physical life that we cannot even describe it in human terms. God says, that is what I am offering you. Don't take that in vain. Verse 2 for He says, in an acceptable time I have heard you. In the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation for some of you. Now is your day of salvation.

1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 12. Walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. So again, it's a calling. It's something that we either understand and has rich meaning to us or it's something that we are unwilling to make that kind of commitment to.

Isaiah chapter 55 and verse 6. The prophet wrote, Seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near. When you sense that God is calling you, don't put off taking the next step. And when I say taking the next step, I mean learning more about God, perhaps participating and starting to attend church or reading more booklets. If you're not ready for that, read more booklets, go through a correspondence course, learn more about God, because I have to tell you that you have to call upon him while he's near. Otherwise, the distractions of this life will pull you back away from God. You have to do something about it. You have to make that commitment because the cares of this world will pull us away from God. Luke chapter 6 and verse 46. So why do you keep calling me Lord, Lord, and you don't do what I say? I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It's like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. You see, Jesus is saying that when we listen to that gospel message, when we follow it, when we respond to it, we create a destiny. That foundation of our spiritual life becomes Jesus Christ, and it's unshakable. Even the greatest trials of life cannot shake you off that foundation. Even martyrdom could not shake you off of that sure and solid foundation. That's what it's like when you hear that message and you listen to it and you follow it. In contrast, someone who hears the message and doesn't listen to it and doesn't follow it usually builds their lives around themselves, around some sense of security. And then when their 401ks become 201ks, they say, uh-oh. Then when their government collapses through financial problems, they say, uh-oh. Then when there's a massive depression in the nation, they say, uh-oh. So you see, there is no security in this world. The only security, the only sure foundation we have is that of Jesus Christ.

Romans chapter 10 and verse 14. How then shall they call on Him and who they have not believed?

This is Paul talking about the importance of having a ministry, the importance of a church to provide that message of preaching the gospel to the world. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? You see, there has to be organization. I cannot just sit at home and think that I'm part of the Church of God.

I have to participate in something that makes it possible, that organizes and funnels resources and people and talents and finances together to create magazines that can go out to people, that pays for and produces a television broadcast that goes out and calls people to God's way of life, that free of charge creates and prints booklets that help people to deal with problems or habits or situation in their lifetimes and draws them closer to God. You see, that is being active. That is so important. And we have to be a part of that. If we don't support that, then there is no church, there is no preacher, and the message doesn't get out to anyone.

And when that happens, we have failed in our commission and in our calling. That's how important it is. Verse 15, and how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things. And that's the message of the kingdom in a nutshell. Glad tidings of the good things that are to come through God's kingdom. Romans chapter 10 and verse 16. But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. That's why it's important for us to study the Word of God, to prove all things, to be solid in our understanding of Scriptures, and to believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior, that He came to earth to fulfill a purpose that went back long before the foundation of the world, and that we have been called to be part of that plan.

Romans chapter 10 and verse 8. The Word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. That is the Word of faith which we preach, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God is raised and from the dead, you will be saved. And again, that word belief doesn't mean like believing in Santa Claus. It's not just some sanctimonious belief, well, okay, yeah, that makes sense. All right. When it says believe, it means to live it, to walk it, to have a passion about it in your life so that it has meaning to you, so that it's life-changing and alters who and what you are. Believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, that you do have a Savior, and you will be saved because you will be motivated to change who you are, and you will become part of something that's much bigger and much greater than you are alone. You will become part of the family of God. Revelation chapter 1 and verse 3. Blessed is He who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near. This could very well be your opportunity that God is using to call you to make the most of your physical lifetime, to change your life and become part of the great work of God. I hope that you have the ears that will hear, and the hearts that can perceive and have understanding, and that you will be inspired and motivated to respond to the message that you heard today, that wonderful message of the kingdom of God. I'd like to thank all of you for being with us today. A few things before we have another special musical performance. First of all, I encourage you, when we're done today, to stay and enjoy some snacks. We have some great finger foods. We hope you will stay in fellowship and perhaps meet some new friends while you're here. We invite you to visit our literature table. We have ushers who are willing to write down any booklets that you would like to have mailed to your home. No cost or obligation. I promise you I will not follow up with a phone call. I will not bother you. My business cards are virtually on every table. I would be delighted to talk with you, but I will not hassle you. So you can feel confident that you are ordering literature today that will be sent to you free of charge, and you will not be bothered. We hope that that literature, that you will be able to respond to it, that it will change your life, and that it will help you to make a decision that God may be calling you at this age. And just also to let you know if you're interested that you were invited to come and worship with us on any given Sabbath. We meet right here at this facility every week at 12 noon. If you missed the first series today, or if you missed our again, if you missed the Kingdom of God seminar in September, you will be able to find a copy of it on our local website cleveland.ucg.org. There are audios already of the first Kingdom of God seminar in September, and the one that we're doing today will be up there probably later this week. So you're welcome to go back and listen to the seminar again.

And I would like to thank you for all you've done in participating and coming out on a snowy day like this and attending our seminar. For our special musical presentation of a very dear friend of mine whom I have known for 35 years. I think he was only probably three years old when I first met him.

You'll laugh again when you see him.

He is a dear friend of mine. Art is a member of a Cleveland singing group known as The Hesitations.

And we are also pleased to have Art as a member of our congregation. Again, I've known him for many, many years. He is going to be singing In Christ Alone performed by Art Blakey. And afterwards, I will ask Tim Swope to come up and close the seminar with prayer. If you bow your heads, please.

Loving Father, thank you for bringing us here today and for providing everything, Father, that you have. We thank you that you've given us so much inspiration, so much guidance, so much help through the power that you've given your ministry to teach us and to show us the right way. We do pray that you would strengthen all of us to do our very best to serve and submit. We pray again that you would be blessing your work so we could reach out to the whole world and grant this gift that we've been given. Please strengthen us then the remainder of this week, the remainder of this day. Help us in everything we do to reflect Jesus Christ. And now, thank you.

Thank you very much for the tremendous gifts that you give. We pray now your blessing on all of us to help us to be the best sons of God we can be. And we do thank you in the name and through the authority of Jesus Christ. Amen.