Times of Refreshing Coming Soon

Well, good afternoon, everyone! It is a beautiful, beautiful holy day. Warm, about 82 degrees out there, not bad. Just warm, festive greetings to everyone, and I hope that your feast is off to a wonderful beginning. My wife and I are so happy to be with you here. We've known so many over the years. We've served in congregations from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and and beyond. We have met here. We're just so happy to be keeping the feast together with you.

As you know, about a year ago, after over 50 years of serving God's people, the honor of serving His people, we did retire. We're living in Macon, Georgia now. We have our four children and 13 grandchildren. We never thought it would come to that just over 50 years ago, but we're closer to them, and it's a good place for us to be at this point in the latter years of our life. I still have opportunities to serve in the church. Mr. Ken Martin, the pastor in Macon, has me to fill in for him every now and then, which I'm very happy to do, but I don't have the same pressure as before, so I'm enjoying retirement. I guess the time had come. We're very happy to be with you here at the feast, be with you all, y'all, as we say down here. And I appreciate the opportunity of giving the sermon this afternoon. It is an honor and a privilege. They say that a sermon benefits people in different ways. Some people rise, uplifted, and encouraged after the sermon, while others wake up refreshed. So that's a win-win.

It's also said that a good sermon is one that is able to comfort the afflicted and also afflict the comfortable. So my purpose is to comfort you this afternoon, but if anyone is too comfortable, I hope I can afflict you a little bit.

Brethren, this may be the most important feast of tabernacles that we have observed up to this point. We are living in perilous times, and we need to discern the signs of the times. The Apostle Paul put it this way, it is high time to wake, awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. This feast of tabernacles, I hope we will examine ourselves and ask ourselves if we have the sense of urgency that we need for the times that we are living into.

I want you to just think for a moment of all that has happened since the last feast of tabernacles.

Deadly terrorism striking in Paris, in Nice, in Brussels, San Bernardino, Orlando, Istanbul, Turkey Airport, the Dallas Police attack. We can go on and on with just the locations given to you. You identify quickly with the acts of terrorism in those areas. Terrorism is striking soft spots more and more. Where might the next soft spot be? There are many of them in the world.

And so this world has become a much more dangerous place just since the last feast of tabernacles. In addition to terrorism, we have the heart-rending stories that we see coming out of Syria, women and children and others. I believe, isn't it, 400,000 people have died in the unrest in Syria in the last few years, and millions and millions of people have become refugees. Of course, there's also much bloodshed in Iraq, Afghanistan, destructive floods and droughts and fires. Again, so much has happened just in one year since the last feast of tabernacles.

Today, our minds are bombarded with gory images of bloodshed, mass murders, pain and suffering. We see it on our TV screens as we sit in watching TV from our living room chairs. There is such a thing as disaster fatigue. You can look it up online. Disaster fatigue. I believe I saw over 600,000 results. It means a constant stress and anxiety, emotional exhaustion, a pervasive negative attitude. It's also called, and maybe this might be one step further than disaster fatigue, compassion fatigue. This is where even the most sympathetic people turn away.

There's a gradual lessening of compassion, a certain feeling of hopelessness.

One other disaster fatigue is called donor, D-O-N-O-R, donor fatigue, a sense that these bad events are never ending. They're uncontrollable. They're overwhelming. And so people stop giving of their time and their money and their goods. They feel there's no point in helping or giving.

We humans can take only so much disaster, and we become conditioned. There's no doubt that we in this room have seen so much disaster that we may be suffering from a degree or two of disaster fatigue ourselves. And we certainly need comfort and relief. We need hope. A question that will keep running through this sermon will be, where is God? Is He aware of all of this that is going on? Is He concerned? Does He see all the pain and the suffering and death in our world?

And this question, what has God been doing these 6,000 years? Is the answer to that question real clear to you? What has God been doing these 6,000 years? And what is He doing now, today, right now? What is God doing? We'll get to the answer to these questions as we go along.

I'd like for us to first of all consider what worsening world events that we have seen in the last year. That should strike a sense of urgency in us, and I want to draw closer to God in our lives. I want us to consider what it means and where this is leading in the time ahead. Jesus spoke about these times that we are living in, in the Olivet prophecy. Given just days before His death, I believe about 3 days before His death, Jesus gave the Olivet prophecy, which we read in Matthew 24. He said there would be wars and rumors of wars. There would be famines and pestilences and earthquakes. He said all these things are the beginning of sorrows. He went on to say there would be a time of trouble, a time of distress like no other, ever before it or after it. And He said unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. As Jesus spoke about the age, He looked ahead almost 2,000 years to our time, the time when mankind would be heading rapidly toward self-annihilation. And since the last feast of tabernacles, the pace has accelerated greatly. But Jesus said these days will be shortened. There's the good news. Yes, God is aware. He is concerned. And unknown to the world, He has been preparing to rescue mankind from annihilation. And He will put an end to mankind's great folly.

The good news is that Jesus will come just in the nick of time to save mankind from destroying Himself and this beautiful planet. Brethren, even though the world is going to get darker in the days ahead, Jesus said these are the beginning of sorrows. That's all we have seen thus far.

The days will get darker. We can be full of hope and comfort as we keep the Feast of Tabernacles. The message we proclaim, the United Church of God, is a message of good news. It is the gospel. The very word gospel means good news. And Jesus Christ is going to return. He's going to show mankind the way to peace, happiness, joy, and prosperity, and eternal life. This Feast of Tabernacles is a foretaste of that wonderful time. Feast of Tabernacles is the most joyous festival of the year for us. I think we'd all say this is the one that is the most joyous. Eight days. These are special days. We look forward to them. We plan well ahead for them.

It's wonderful. These days were also the most joyous days back in ancient Israel. I'd like to quote from the book, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services by Alfred Edersheim, pages 212-15. Excerpts.

It is important that there would now be a harvest feast of thankfulness and gladness unto the Lord. The harvest Thanksgiving of the Feast of Tabernacles reminded Israel of their dwelling in booths in the wilderness. While it pointed to the final harvest, this is interesting, it pointed to the final harvest when Israel's mission should be completed and all nations gathered unto the Lord. That's what we understand and know. Thus, a sanctified nation could keep a holy feast of harvest joy unto the Lord just as it will be in that day, Zachariah 14, verse 20, when the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles shall be really fulfilled. That is a classic, classic quote from this book. It pictures the wonderful Kingdom of God reigning on the earth, and we're here to get a foretaste of that time that is just ahead. These seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the one thousand years when Jesus Christ will reign on this earth.

I'll tell you what, we have some wonderful things to look forward to. Let's begin to look forward to those things. We're going to read some wonderful verses today. Let's begin in Acts chapter 3 and verse 19. Acts chapter 3 and verse 19. Wonderful verses about what this Feast pictures.

Acts chapter 3 and verse 19, Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be bludded out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Wonderful refreshing. Times of wonderful refreshing just ahead, and that he may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven and heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. This Feast pictures these times of refreshing, these times of restoration that are just ahead. And that's what I've given as a title for the sermon this afternoon, Times of Refreshing Coming Soon. Times of Refreshing Coming Soon. The Scriptures state that Jesus Christ will come with healing in His wings, that living waters will proceed out from His throne, that earth, land, water, and air will be healed, will be purified, pollution will be cleaned up, desolate ruins will be rebuilt, and evil satanic civilization will come to an end and be replaced by a godly civilization.

And we're here at the Feast of Tabernacles to get a foretaste of that. That's going to help us to overcome that disaster fatigue that we spoke about earlier. We're here to get a foretaste of a golden age just ahead of peace and safety and security and prosperity and productivity, happiness and joy, and spiritual salvation for all nations. What a wonderful time we're celebrating here at the Feast of Tabernacles. This afternoon we're going to go to the Holy Prophets who have spoken these things since the world began. We're going to go to the Holy Prophets and read these encouraging prophecies. Let these ancient prophecies and words lift your spirit. Let them soothe your soul and fill you with hope for the future and counteract the powerful images of disaster fatigue.

I'm going to go first of all to the earliest prophecy chronologically. Where would that be? Maybe back in the time of Isaiah. He lived about 700 to 800 B.C. Maybe Jeremiah. He was around 600 B.C. Ezekiel. 600 to 550 B.C. No, we're going to go long before that. We're going to go way back even before the Flood. So turn to the book of Jude. Oddly enough, in the New Testament, Jude verse 14, we read the most ancient prophecy about these times of refreshing.

A little book of Jude right before Revelation. And verse 14, Jude was a prophet, rather Enoch, I should say, was a prophet, which Jude wrote about. Jude verse 14, now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men, saying, and what was Jude's message? You know, it's very similar to the message we proclaim today. But behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints. Verse 15, Jude was proclaiming a message in the same direction. And when Jesus Christ returns with ten thousands of his saints, He is going to execute judgment. He's going to deal with the ungodly. In fact, He's going to do away with ungodliness and replace it with godliness. This actually is talking about times of refreshing. It's talking about times of restoration here in the book of Jude. And Jude foretold this before the great Flood. This goes back about five thousand years. This is a long time ago. And chronologically, I think this would be the earliest prophecy about the times of restoration that will take place at the Second Coming of Christ. So Jesus Christ and the saints then, ten thousands of the saints, are going to bring godliness to the world in times of refreshing and restoration. It's not going to be an easy task, but Jesus Christ is going to set up a world government. Many people realize that that is the only solution to man's problems, is to have an effective world government. And then at the same time, they all would say, well, the United Nations is not really effective in being able to enforce upon mankind that proper conduct and way of life we need to have in order to have peace and security and prosperity for everyone. Only God can build a world government, and He actually has been preparing a world government for six thousand years. That is what God has been very busy doing, and He's very busy doing it even this very day.

It's coming soon. Let's read a little bit about that world government in Isaiah chapter 9.

It's going to be a wonderful government. Government like mankind has never seen.

Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder.

Yes, upon the shoulder of Jesus Christ. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice. From that time forward, even forever. And will this happen? The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Jesus Christ will return. He will set up that perfect government, and the results are going to be wonderful.

Just think, in the millennium, that time, there will be no political parties. How much time and money is wasted on elections? But there won't be any waste of time and money to win election to office. No more bruising campaigns, and we've never seen a more bruising one than this year.

Biting, negative advertising. I read on the internet that we don't know exactly how much money is going to be spent on the election process this year, but the total election process is estimated to be somewhere between $5 billion and $10 billion. That's how much money will be spent.

And, you know, $10 billion dollars would build 100,000 homes, costing $100,000 for people. You could build a modest home for that. And we could house a lot of people. We could do a lot of things with $10 billion dollars. Our politicians don't really have the answer. That's really wasted money, in a way. They say this year that all the politicians are promising, and promising, and promising, and they keep on promising, right? You may have heard that. But they're not able to deliver the goods, are they? They're not really able to deliver what they promise. They may be sincere, but they're not able to really deliver what they promise to deliver. But Jesus Christ is going to be the head of a perfect world government. He will be king over all the earth. He will be able to deliver the goods. He's not going to govern alone. I won't turn to those verses, but refer to them in Revelation 5 and verse 10, that we are being prepared to be a king and priest and reign on the earth. Read it. Revelation 5 and verse 10. In Revelation 20, verses 4 through 6, those in the first resurrection are going to reign as priests with Christ for a thousand years. So what has God been doing these six thousand years? We'll keep visiting this question as we go along. He's been calling and training 10,000s of saints to reign with Jesus Christ at His Second Coming. Brethren, I wish we could realize more deeply. I really do. I wish I could myself. More deeply, our calling. We are preparing to reign with Jesus Christ. He will return with 10,000s of His saints who have just met Him up in the air. And these saints have been prepared during this time to be kings and priests. And you and I are called to be one of those saints. And God is preparing us to be one of them.

This feast of tabernacles, then, let us determine to grow and prepare further to help Jesus Christ convict the ungodly and turn ungodliness from the world and bring times of refreshing and restoration, determined to be among those 10,000s of saints who will be with Christ. Well, Jesus and the saints will bring times of restoration. I'd like to give you seven refreshing things. These are major refreshing things. I think we could have probably dozens, hundreds of things that we could bring out. But I'd like to give you seven wonderful things which are pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles and things which Jesus Christ and the saints will bring to the earth. Number one, Jesus Christ and the saints will bring world peace at last.

This feast pictures a time when there is going to be real peace. Let's turn to Isaiah chapter 2 and read verses 2 through 4. And we read about this time of peace that is coming. Jesus Christ and the saints are going to bring it to the earth. Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 2. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. It's going to be a wonderful time. The laws that go out will be the Ten Commandments and other statutes and laws of God. In verse 4, He shall judge between the nations and shall rebuke many people. And there will be correction then as needed. They shall meet their swords in the plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. You know, there is a sculpture of this, a sword that is being beaten into a plowshare. We actually have a picture of it on the festival brochure. I'm very interested to see that. A sword that is being beaten by a big, strong, muscular man into a plowshare.

Did you know that the sculpture in front is located in front of the United Nations building in New York City? The United Nations building was designed by a Brazilian architect and completed in 1952, about seven years after World War II had ended. The United Nations building occupies about 17 to 18 acres in Manhattan, New York City. The complex there is under the sole administration of the United Nations, not the U.S. government. We have no control over that 17 or 18 acres. But there is a building where the meetings are held, the big Convention Center building, where there is a sculpture. I've been able to see that. Maybe a good number of you have seen that as well. You know, this sculpture disappointed our nation is not the one, but it was donated by the Soviet Union in 1959, about seven years after the building there. And it was sculpted by a Soviet Union citizen by the name of Eugenie Vuketich. It was to represent the human wish to end all wars by converting weapons of death into people and productive tools. And so that sculpture is there, but the United Nations has never been able to really do that. I think it is tried, but it just doesn't have the ability. Human beings don't have the ability to enforce all that needs to be enforced. It's been unable to accomplish.

But during this feast, try to imagine a world when at last there will be no war.

No war, no bloodshed, anywhere. A whole year goes by. Not even one, no murder. Not one. A decade goes by. Not one murder. A century goes by. No bloodshed, not one murder. A thousand years go by.

Can we imagine that? There's going to be real safety and security. There's going to be a world without armies, without navies and air forces, no military academies where people learn the science of destroying others before they get destroyed. Jesus Christ and the saints are going to make America safe again, and they're going to make all the other nations of the earth safe as well. And at last, the world is going to experience world peace, and it's going to be refreshing. Times are refreshing. The second thing Jesus Christ and the saints will restore will be proper racial and international relationships.

Proper racial and international relationships. Nations and races must learn how to respect and relate to one another, how to cooperate with one another. God will restore the greatness to Israel and make Israel great, something much greater than ancient Israel ever was or had. Many prophecies show that modern-day Israel, and we know that that's America and Britain and some of the other tribes in northwestern Europe, will be in a state of national captivity at the end of this age.

And God will gather a humble and repentant people back to the land of Palestine and bless them. And Israel will then be a model nation for other nations. You know, America then, as one of the tribes of Israel, will be great again. As far as make America great again, it will be great, but in a much different way envisioned by our presidential candidate.

I'd like to read just a quote from the last chapter of our booklet, The U.S., United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. I hope you all have read that. You have a copy of it. If not, please do get one. And the last chapter of this booklet has the title From Punishment to Destiny.

It's a very wonderful chapter, and it fits right into the Feast of Tabernacles, especially the part where Israel is restored and goes on to national greatness under Jesus Christ and the saints. Well, let me read just a quote. When the Israelites turn to God in repentance and obedience, God will again shower physical blessings on them. Finally, Israel will at last be the world's model nation.

Exemplifying the blessings and way of life, other nations will strive to emulate. The glory of the restored Israel will shine greater than Israel's golden age under Solomon or any other nation or kingdom the world has ever seen. So Israel will be the model nation that God intended, and other nations will see how they are blessed and how they prosper, also the way of life, and they will learn.

America, Britain, and other tribes of Israel then will be great as a converted nation. Let's turn to Isaiah chapter 10. We get... no, let's see. Chapter 19. Let's make that chapter 19. Isaiah chapter 19 and verse 23. We see three of the great nations in the millennium here. Israel will be leading the way as God's model nation. Isaiah 19 and verse 23. And that day there shall be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.

Here are great nations. They've been great in history. They're going to be great leading nations in the millennium as well. Verse 24. And that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of Host shall bless, saying, blessed be Egypt to my people.

So Egypt will be a converted nation. And Assyria the work of my hands, and they'll be a converted nation. And Israel my inheritance, my model nation. So it's going to be a wonderful time when the nations truly do begin to cooperate and work together. But what about race relations? You know, think about it. Why should race be such a delicate subject as it is? Of course, it's the big reason it has a historical background in our country, and there's no way we can change that historical background, and we need to be very sensitive and realize the historical background and its impact.

In a way, the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge, and we do suffer from the sins and mistakes of the fathers regarding race in our country. Race is the most sensitive topic probably that I could mention here today. I could talk about, I could tell you at the beginning of the sermon, I'm going to talk about politics. We get most people on board. All right, I'm going to talk about sex. We get just about everybody. Maybe a few people, not yet. But talk about, I'm going to talk about race today.

Everybody's ears will perk up. What is he going to say? Even ones on the back row would wake up.

But you know, why should race be so sensitive? It shouldn't be. It should not be at all. God made different racial features. Scriptures reveal the origin of the different nations and races. Genesis chapter 10 gives that knowledge. The sons of Noah and their wives brought on the ark, they brought the race, they're the ones that gave birth to the races that we read about there in Genesis chapter 10. All the different races and nations are mentioned. The three sons of Noah. But what will it be like when all mankind learns to appreciate our racial and national variety? It's going to be wonderful. Jesus Christ and the saints are going to restore harmonious, racial, and international relations. It's going to be times of refreshing. Number three, Jesus Christ and the saints will restore godly marriages and families. The Feast of Tabernacles pictures a time of refreshing restoration of godly marriages and families. Can we imagine it?

It will be a time when there will be no sexual immorality of any type. No sexual immorality.

No premarital sex. Every bride and every groom will be a virgin at the time of marriage. Imagine when there will be no divorce. A whole year goes by, not one divorce. Ten years, not one divorce. A hundred years, a thousand years, no divorce. People will wait until they're ready for marriage. They will be taught proper things regarding dating and selection of a mate in the proper time to marry, and then they will marry for a lifetime. There will be no divorce. Jesus Christ and the saints will teach marriage is, as far as its definition, marriage is between one man and one woman. And you know, think of this. People in the millennium will take history, right? And they will study our age where men married men, and that became legal, and women married women, and they're going to shake their head in disbelief.

Just think about that. They'll be taught history and they'll learn how things went so far in the wrong direction. Jesus Christ and the saints will teach and enforce then the fifth and the seventh commandments that protect marriage and family. No adultery. Honor your father and mother.

They will teach that there is a family structure. What will it be like when husbands do love their wives as Christ loves the church, and when wives do submit to their husbands as the church does to Christ, and when children are obedient? Jesus Christ and the saints will diligently teach and enforce the seventh and the fifth commandments. And what will that be like? Only strong family units in every community, in every nation, all around the world. It's going to be wonderful. It's going to be times of refreshing. Number four, Jesus Christ and the saints will restore an abundant food supply plenty of food for everyone. It's important that there be plenty of food. And as we go along here, we will see why it's so important. Can we imagine a world without hunger where no one, no one, goes to bed hungry at night? Do you know that millions and millions of fellow humans are hungry right now? Many are aching out of living. They work hard for the next meal, scrambling for food and to survive. I did a research online on world hunger. There's a lot there. 11 percent of the world population is hungry. That comes down to one out of nine. So every ninth person here, you would be the hungry one. One out of nine. That's 800 million people who are undernourished daily. 60 percent of the world's hungry are women. 165 million children under the age of five are stunted. Their growth is stunted due to chronic malnutrition. And about three million children under the age of five die of undernutrition every year. In fact, every 10 seconds, a child dies of hunger-related diseases close to 9,000 every day.

Hunger is the number one cause of death in the world.

And that's horrible to think about in preparing this sermon. I was so sad when I did this research that tears of sorrow came to my eyes and my heart. God didn't intend it to be this way.

There was an abundance in the Garden of Eden. There could be an abundance today, even. The Feast of Tabernacles pictures a time when there's going to be plenty of food for everyone. No one will be hungry under the government of Jesus Christ and the saints. Let's go to Amos chapter 9 and verse 13. It describes it so graphically here. Amos, the book of Amos, in the Minor Prophets, chapter 9 and verse 13. Isn't this graphic? Isn't this beautiful? Brother, this is what we are called to help make happen with Jesus Christ and under His leadership. We're going to help make this happen as kings and priests. That's our calling in Amos chapter 9 and verse 13. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes, him who sows seed, the mountain shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills will flow with it. It's going to be a time of great plenty, great agricultural plenty. It's going to be absolutely wonderful.

The plowman shall overtake the reaper. Let's put it into modern agricultural language. We'll have to see whether it goes this way or the old-fashioned way. A picture of John Deere tractor with a plow behind it. It's ready to plow the ground, and lo and behold, the international harvester is still up ahead, reaping the previous crop. Will that be the way it will be in the millennium? We don't really know. It may be a horse-drawn plow overtaking a horse-drawn harvest wagon, just like in old times. But one thing we know for sure, there's going to be plenty of food for everyone. No more emaciated bodies of men and women and children. One thing that's going to help a great deal is going to be ideal climate conditions, ideal weather and climate, rain in due season. Let's go to Isaiah chapter 30. You see, the holy prophets did write about these times of refreshing. They wrote so much I can't begin to bring it all out. We're just going to scratch the surface today. But in Isaiah chapter 30 and beginning in verse 23, then He will give the rain for your seed with which you sow the ground and bread of the increase of the earth. It shall be fat and plenteous. In that day your cattle will feed in large pastures. Likewise, the oxen and young donkeys that work the ground will eat cured fodder, which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan. So on every high hill, on every high mountain that is, in every high hill, rivers and streams of waters. So it's going to be a wonderful time, and there's going to be very abundant and productive crops. Imagine no more destructive hurricanes like we have today, or tornadoes, floods. You feel so bad. Doesn't your heart go out to the people in Louisiana just two or three months ago, suffered all the severe flooding in North Carolina? And I guess they're probably still some of those areas underwater, but imagine no more floods, no more droughts, no more wildfires. So, brethren, as we enjoy this feast and we enjoy good festive meals, then realize there are people that go to bed hungry every night, and your heart goes out. We can't change the world. We'd love to. We have to wait until God's time, but as we feast, let's remember those who hunger and say a prayer for times of refreshing when there will be abundant food for everyone. Number five, that Jesus Christ and the saints will restore radiant good health. The Feast of Tabernacles pictures a world without sickness and disease. Do you know that in the United States today, more than one out of every six dollars of our GMP is for health care, 17 percent for health care. It's more than twice the average of other developed countries. We spend an average per person annually of nine thousand and eighty six dollars.

That's a lot of money for health care. That's a lot of pain and suffering when you think about it. The holy prophets foretold the restoration of good health, a time when sickness and disease will become a thing of the past. Let's read that here in Isaiah chapter 35. Isaiah chapter 35 and verse 3. Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful hearted, Be strong, do not fear. Verse 5, Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the eyes of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. So there's going to be healing of those who are blind and dumb and lame. It's going to be a wonderful time. Imagine there will be no more need for hospitals, giant complexes today that they have become. No more need. Now there may be doctors and physicians, but they will teach obedience to the laws of good health and maintaining our health. Can we imagine a world without disease? We're here to celebrate that time. Try hard to imagine it. No more dread diseases like we have today. No more cancer. Cancer will be a thing of the past. Heart disease, crippling arthritis, birth defects, blindness and death, and it's going to be wonderful. It's going to be refreshing.

Number six, Jesus Christ and the saints will restore prosperity and quality of life to everyone.

Those these pictures of time when there will not be poverty like we have in the world today. Today, so many people live in substandard living conditions. Millions and millions of people live in slums. Eighty percent of the world population lives on less than ten dollars a day. Eighty percent. Nearly half over three billion people live on less than two dollars and fifty cents a day.

And the poor spend sixty to eighty percent of their income on food. In the USA, here we spend less than ten percent. One billion children, one billion of the world's children, are living in poverty. A United Nations organization says that 22,000 people die, or children that is die each day due to poverty. What about water? The poor lack clean water. 750 million people on the earth lack clean drinking water, and nearly one-third of Africa lacks clean drinking water. My wife and I have been able to be over in Zambia and Malawi and Zimbabwe, some of the poorest countries on the earth for three festivals in the last several years. Many of those people live in poverty. They rejoice at the feast. They have food. They really delight in the abundance of food. Some of them live in remote areas. Some of our brethren have no electricity. They have no nearby water. Some of them walk five miles or so to get their water and bring it back to their homes. They have no cars. There's no parking problem there. They have no cars. They are subsistence farmers. Their life is harsh. You can even see it written on their faces, the faces of our brethren. These people are living a pretty hard life. But you know what? When you talk to them and they start smiling, you've got the biggest smiles, and their children are the happiest children that you could ever see. But they're just the poor of the earth. They're rich in faith. In many ways, their life is much simpler than ours, so sometimes you wonder, who do you feel bad for? Anyway, we know that poverty is not bliss, and it is not going to be a thing of under the reign of Christ and the saints. Times of refreshing are coming, and it's going to be a time when all nations are going to enjoy plenty. Israel and the Gentiles will be blessed with abundance. Let's read that in Isaiah 61, verses 1 through about 4. Isaiah chapter 61, and beginning in verse 1.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings, good news. That word is the same as the gospel. To preach the gospel, then, to the poor, He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty. God is going to give beauty instead of poverty, ashes, dust. He's going to give beauty. To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the Spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. In verse 4, they shall rebuild the old ruins. They shall raise up the former desolations. They shall repair the ruined cities and desolations of many generations. And Ezekiel brings out that these waste places are going to be restored and beautified so that they look like the Garden of Eden. We're going to have the Garden of Eden all over the earth. Isn't that going to be wonderful? During this feast, let's imagine vast construction projects, restoring and rebuilding the old ruins, repairing ruined cities. Imagine zero unemployment. Everybody has worked plenty of work to do. Imagine during this feast when even the terrain of the earth apparently is going to be altered. We read that in Isaiah chapter 40, the first few verses. And here in Isaiah chapter 35, the deserts are going to blossom like the rose, it says. So deserts are going to also become a thing of the past. So can we imagine no more Sahara Desert, no more outback Australia, Mongolia. Some of the areas of the earth are so desolate, the western part of the U.S., many, many square miles. Imagine rain. Imagine lakes that do not exist now. Imagine streams that develop flowing down to the ocean, while the geography books will have to be rewritten, and the earth is going to become productive all over. Beautiful farms, streams, lakes, forests. So during this feast, imagine a time when there is going to be prosperity and there's going to be a quality of life that will reach levels never before attained in human history. There's going to be singing and dancing, Jeremiah brings out, Jeremiah 31, verses 4 and 12 through 14. The arts are going to flourish. There will be no doubt painting, recreation, sports, total literacy. No one will be illiterate. Everyone will be well educated.

There's going to be times of refreshing. Number seven, Jesus Christ and the Saints will restore true worship, true worship of the true God. Can we imagine no more Sunday worship, no more Christmas, no more Easter, no more immortal soul teaching? Jesus Christ and the Saints will restore the truth and true worship all over the earth. Can you imagine all nations keeping the Ten Commandments? Can you imagine all nations keeping the Sabbath, every Sabbath? Well, let's turn to Isaiah just a few pages over for me here, Isaiah 66 and verse 23.

And this is wonderful to think about. Everyone's going to be keeping the Sabbath each week as it comes along. Isaiah 66 and verse 23, it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord.

All nations are going to come to worship. You know what that means is there will be congregations then in every community and every town and village and city. Maybe some cities have quite a number of areas where they will be meeting. Well, the Sabbath is very important in the worship of God, and everyone then is going to be keeping God's Sabbath week by week. The Feast of Tabernacles, they will also be observing. I won't turn to that. We've turned to it so many times, but Zechariah 14, verses 16 to 19, all nations will come to keep the Feast of Tabernacles and to worship the great King, Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ and the saints will teach and enforce upon all nations the keeping of the Holy Days. People will travel, just as we do, to Jerusalem to worship the great King, Jesus Christ. What will it be like when everyone all over the earth keeps the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath, and also keep the Holy Days? It's going to be wonderful.

Isaiah 11, that was cited in the short film by one of the children, the earth is going to be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Mr. Herbert Armstrong liked to tell the story about when they were making a transatlantic voyage and his son Dick Armstrong was still living. He was later killed in an auto accident in 1958, but that was before then. They were going across the Atlantic, maybe halfway across, and he missed his son Dick Armstrong, so he went looking for him and found him at a rail of the ship and looking out at the water. So Mr. Armstrong came up beside him and a moment of time went by and Dick Armstrong said, you know, Dad, when the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, it's going to be full of God's knowledge, isn't it? And I imagine that's a good thought to have, a good meditation when you're out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It's going to be a wonderful time. The earth is going to be full of the knowledge of God. And let's turn to Isaiah chapter 12. Everyone is going to be able then to know the purpose and the meaning of life. Everyone is going to understand the way to eternal life, and it's just put so graphically here. Let's read it in Isaiah chapter 12 in verse 1. And that day you will say, O Lord, I will praise you, though you were angry with me, your anger is turned away, and you comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid, and for you, the Lord, is my strength and my song, and has become my salvation. And look at verse 3, how graphic this is. Therefore, with joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And all over the earth, all humans are going to be drawing water from the wells of salvation, just as really we are today. We're drawing water at this present time, but they will be drawing water. They will understand the meaning and purpose of their lives. God will pour out His Spirit upon them. He will give them a new heart of flesh that is capable of repentance and having the laws of God written, and He will give mankind a new spirit, His Holy Spirit. Yes, God and the Saints will restore true worship, and it's going to be refreshing.

So in summary, the times of refreshing. Isn't it wonderful? World peace, warm, racial, and international relations, happy, godly marriages and family life, abundant food supply, radiant good health, prosperity for everyone, everyone keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days, drawing water from the wells of salvation. Brother, we're here to get a foretaste of this golden age, pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. Today we've read just a few of these prophecies by the holy prophets of old. During the Feast, why not read more of them? Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the minor prophets. It's okay to keep up with news events in the world, but what about reading even more of the news headlines of the world that is coming?

You'll find them in these prophetic books. Finally, in the sermon, let's never forget two things. We brought this up throughout the sermon. What is God doing today? What has God been doing for 6,000 years? He's not been idle. He's been training 10,000s of saints to help Jesus Christ bring what we've been speaking about, the times of refreshing and times of restoration.

This very moment, God our Father and Jesus Christ are very busy choosing, calling, transforming, preparing a people to reign with Jesus Christ. He's working with you, the one that's newly baptized here, starting out as a babe. God is working with that one, ones who have been in the church for 50 years, very much spiritual maturity. God's still working with you. So He is preparing us whatever stage of spiritual development we may be. He's very much aware. He's a personal God.

He's a personal God. He knows exactly what you need to help you to grow more. And so He is preparing us to be among those 10,000s of saints who are going to bring times of refreshing to a weary and dying world. What will you take home from this sermon? If nothing else, I hope that it will be a much deeper realization that you are called to be among 10,000s of the saints who meet Jesus Christ in the air at His return and help bring to the earth wonderful times of refreshing.