The Trumpets of Triumph

Well, good afternoon, brethren. Welcome again to the Festival of Trumpets, and a special thanks to special music today. It was very beautiful. It's rare that you see two men singing together in a duet like that. It was very beautiful. Thank you for your contribution to the Feast of Trumpets in the year 2012.

Well, I have a message for all of you this afternoon, and I'm going to begin with a question. And the question is this. When you ponder, when you think about the Feast of Trumpets, what do you think about?

Do you think about Trumpet blast that signal future plagues as outlined in the book of Revelation? Because that truly and surely is going to happen. We heard about some of that from Mr. Deamer in the sermonette. Do you ponder about woes and tragedy and terror, the effects of war that are going to come upon the earth? Because those things, indeed, are going to happen.

Do you think about the sound of a piercing alarm? War, terror, fear? Well, it's absolutely true that Trumpets are going to be used in all of these future events because prophecy is sure.

And there's going to come a time at the end of human history when history, indeed, will record that due to a lack of the knowledge of God, there came a time, as outlined in the book of Revelation beginning in chapter 7, when a scroll appeared that had seven seals.

And only one being was worthy enough to open that scroll. That was the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. And he opened those seals.

And when he came to the seventh seal, it was composed of seven trumpets.

And the first trumpet brought in injury upon the earth and hail and fire and blood, and indeed, one-third of all the trees and the grass will be destroyed. That's what human history will record.

Then there was another trumpet blast, and it will show that one-third of all the living creatures in the sea will die.

A third trumpet blast, one-third of the fresh water supply on earth will be polluted. It will be undrinkable.

Another trumpet blast, light, will be reduced that reaches the earth from the sun and the moon and the stars by one-third, so it will be darker.

Another trumpet blast begins what's called a series of woes, and this begins literal plagues on men, probably caused as the result of world war, perhaps radiation.

And it will begin when a European superpower rises in chance of dominating the world.

And there will be a sixth trumpet blast, and it will be a second woe, and it will be a massive counterattack against this European superpower by an Eastern nation, or a new conglomeration of Eastern nations with up to 200 million warriors, and one-half of human life will be annihilated.

And then there will be a seventh trumpet blast, which is known as also the third woe, and it has comprised itself of seven angels preparing for seven last plagues.

And indeed, all these things will happen, and they're all part of what a trumpet represents, a call to war, and that's absolutely true.

So I'm going to refocus the original question that I asked today, and I'm going to rephrase it a little bit.

I'm going to ask the question in another way. What does God tell us that He wants us, His people, His church, to focus on, to ponder about on the Feast of Trumpets?

Well, today I'd like to answer this question from the Word of God because it will help us to have the correct view of how we, the church, should look upon the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets, because it certainly is different than what the world will look upon the Feast of Trumpets.

It's different than what their history will record, and we need to know why it is so different and so precious for us. Let's begin by going to Leviticus chapter 23. I think it's always good to review the original instruction that God gave to Israel, Leviticus chapter 23, and we'll pick it up in verse 23.

But before I get there, I'd like to remind you that it says in verse 2, God says, as He tells Moses, He says, These are the feasts of the Lord. He says, These are my feasts. So they're important to God.

Brother, we didn't invent these feasts. We didn't create these feasts in the 1930s just to be different, just to make ourselves stand out from everyone else.

These feasts are not some invention of man. These feasts go back thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years, and it was none other than God Himself who said, These are my feasts.

And that's why we joyfully celebrate them. And by the time we get down to verse 23 that zeroes in on this day, it says, That's the very day that we're celebrating now.

And that's why we're celebrating today. It's a time to have a holy convention. Meet together with people who believe like you do, and have a convention that day.

Again, verse 25, You shall do no customary work on it. Don't do your regular jobs, your regular duties, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.

And of course, that was made complete by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I want to focus in on this phrase here. You'll notice here in verse 24 it said, According to the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, here's what it says about that verse.

Here rendered a memorial of blowing of trumpets properly signifies a memorial of triumph or shouting for joy.

So Israel was instructed to perceive the blowing of the trumpets as something to remember regarding your triumph. Now in their case, it was leaving Egypt as slaves and entering the Promised Land.

For us, it's far more important, far more beautiful, far more spiritual.

But he said it's a memorial of triumph or shouting for joy.

Let's find out a little bit more about the trumpets now. Let's go to Numbers, chapter 10, beginning in verse 1. Of course, we know that many times the trumpets were made of animal horns called shofars, usually a ram's horn.

Here's one that happened to be on the top of the podium a little earlier. It's very well embellished. It's very beautiful.

So that was one type of trumpet that was used.

But there was a special pair of trumpets that God also instructed to be made.

Numbers, chapter 10, beginning in verse 1, and let's read about these.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Make two silver trumpets for yourself. You shall make them of hammered work. You shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps.

And here were the instructions.

When you blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

When you blow only one rather than both of them, then the leaders, the heads, the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you.

When you sound the advance, meaning when you have a longer trumpet blast, one is either staccato or one that is long. You may remember, if you're as old as I am in the 1950s, watching black and white television growing up as a child, it was filled with westerns.

Westerns everywhere. And what was the usual bugle cavalry call when they were going into charge? Wasn't it?

Right? That was an advanced bugle call. It wasn't just one toot that was used to assemble the congregation or two that were used to assemble the leaders, but it was the sound of the advance. And it says here, when you sound the advance, the camps that lie in the east shall begin their journey. When you sound the advance, the second time, then the camps that lie in the south side shall begin their journey. They shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. And when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but not sound the advance. So it's not a long sound, it's a short sound. The sons of Aaron the priest shall blow the trumpets, and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. So they were instructed to make these two silver trumpets.

These trumpets were rather remarkable in that they were about 18 inches long, which really isn't very long by today's standards. And you can actually see what they were like if you've ever been to Rome, and I've had the opportunity to attend the feast in Italy, and I've been to Rome and saw the Ark of Titus, which commemorates the victory of Titus when Jerusalem fell in 70 AD. And when you see the Ark of Titus, you see the joyful conquerors carrying the table of showbread, and one of the candlesticks, and the two silver trumpets.

But you see, if you don't look closely, they actually look longer than they literally were, because if you look very closely, you will see that those trumpets are coupled to a pole that was used to carry the trumpets. So they were only about 18 inches long, and they were made from a single sheet of silver.

And it is believed that they primarily made one sound. So this gives us a little indication of what these trumpets were like, these very special trumpets. Now, when you consider the time that they lived in, this was an effective way to gather everyone together to hear a message. Right about now, my granddaughters are probably saying to themselves, well, grandpa, why didn't Moses just simply send a text message to everyone and tell them to meet in front of the tabernacle?

But they were using the best technology that they had at the time, because a trumpet was loud and it would get your attention. And by changing the sequence of that sound, it could provide different messages. As I mentioned, there were different uses of the trumpet in ancient Israel. One was to proclaim war, and Mr. Diemer spoke upon that, and the other was for celebration. Let's find out about those beginning in verse 9. When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.

So that's one use of these trumpets. And in verse 10, Also in the day of gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the offerings of your peace offerings, the sacrifices of your peace offerings, and they shall be a memorial for you before your God, for I am the Lord your God. The translation of God's word for today says that it will be a reminder for you in God's presence.

So I want you to notice that the trumpets were to be specifically blown during times of celebration on the holy days. They were also to begin the beginning of months. You have to remember that that was their way of understanding what part of the year they were in. They couldn't pull out a pocket calendar. This was a pretty ancient community. It was easy to lose track at time. So for that reason, they celebrated the beginning of each month, and that celebration included the blast or the blowing of a trumpet.

The trumpets were first and foremost a representation of God's presence and power and joyfulness. But what do the trumpets actually represent? Why did God choose a wind instrument, say, rather than a stringed instrument? What's so special about a trumpet? What does a trumpet itself represent about God? Let's take a few minutes to discover that and find out. Let's begin by going back to Exodus 10, an event that they certainly would have been very familiar with, preparing to leave Egypt, trying to get through slavery. Pharaoh was stubborn. Pharaoh wouldn't let them go, and a series of plagues came upon Egypt. In Exodus 10, verse 12, it says, Then the Lord God said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, for the locust that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land and all that the hail has left.

Of course, hail had been a previous plague. Verse 13, So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locust, and the locust went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt.

They were very severe. Previously, there had been no such locust as they, nor shall there be such after them. Verse 15, For they covered the face of the earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and haste, and said, I have sinned against the Lord your God against you. Verse 17, Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only.

So he went out from Pharaoh, he entreated the Lord, and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took the locust away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

So here we see that God caused a strong wind to blow away the locust into the Red Sea. The strong wind represented God's presence and his power. The wind was a representation of God's omnipresence. He's everywhere. Everywhere in the universe, everywhere in the world, everywhere among his chosen people. Let's now go to Exodus chapter 14 and see another example of this. Exodus chapter 14, beginning in verse 15. Most of us are very familiar with this story. Israel is trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea. It says, And the Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. Such a beautiful, universal principle for all of us to take with us every day of our lives.

Stop living in the past. Stop looking backward. You drive forward not by looking in the rearview mirror, but by gazing forward in the direction that you are heading. So he says to them, Tell the children of Israel to go forward, but lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And indeed I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I have gained honor for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. Verse 19, In the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So now there is a great barrier stopping the Egyptians from attacking Israel as they prepare to cross the Red Sea.

God tells Moses, what I am about to do will show the Egyptians my presence and my power. Verse 20, So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, that is, the pillar of cloud. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light to the other. So the pillar of cloud in the Egyptian side was cloudy and dark, and on the other side of the pillar of cloud was brightness and light. So that one could not come near the other all that night, then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So it was by this strong east wind that occurred all night long that God showed his omnipresence, his complete presence to the Israelites, as they walked on dry land in the middle of a riverbed. Think about that. As they walked on dry, not muddy land, not damp land, dry land in the middle of a riverbed with ten to twenty foot walls of water blocked on each side of them as they walked through the sea. What an incredible sight that must have been. Exodus 15 and verse 1. Let's see the song that they sing, the praise God, and their reflection of this event. It says, Then the children of Israel sang a song to the Lord and spoke, saying, I will sing to the Lord who has triumphed gloriously. Remember, one of the meanings of those silver trumpets was for triumph, a memorial of triumph. Remember, the original command in Leviticus 23 that we read was a joyful triumph, a triumph of joy. It says, The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my Father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war, and we certainly know that from the meaning of the trumpets. The Lord is his name, Pharaoh's chariots and his army. He is cast into the sea. He has chosen captains. His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them, and they sank to the bottom like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power. Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces. Verse 7, And in the greatness of your excellence you have overthrown those who rose against you. You went forth. You sent forth your wrath. It consumed them like stubble.

Now, let's take a look at verse 8. And with the blast of your nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright like a heap. The depths congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoiled.

My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword. My hand shall destroy them. But in verse 10 it says, You blew with your wind. The sea covered them, and they sank like lead in mighty waters. So again, God blew a strong wind, and His presence, His omnipotence, His power made a statement to His people. We won't turn there, but of course we know in Genesis 2 and verse 7, talking about the creation of Adam, it says, The Lord God formed man of the dust to the ground, and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living being. The Hebrew word for breathe is nah-fok, which means to blow hard. So what did God do to Adam? It says that He blew hard into his nostrils, and this lump of clay became living, a living being. In Psalm 51 and verse 10, another scripture we won't turn to for the sake of time, but it's David's famous repentance after his adultery with Bathsheba. And he said, Lord, create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me. He said, Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

And the Hebrew word for praise for Holy Spirit is kodesh-ruach, and it literally means sacred wind. So David said, please, whatever you do, Lord, don't take your sacred wind, your Holy Spirit, from me.

It's interesting when you think about it that even the Holy Spirit itself is represented as God's omnipresence and God's power. So thinking about what we read earlier in Numbers 10, what did the trumpets represent? Well, first notice that the trumpets were to be blown only by the priest because they represented the heavenly host who are chosen to do God's will.

And when you go to the book of Revelation, you will typically find that it is an angel who blows the trumpet. It is an angel who is performing the will of God and revealing his omnipresence and his power. The trumpets, where instruments were forced wind, was blown to create a sound. They represented to the people when those trumpets were blown that God was present among his people, that he was there at the times of the feasts and the celebrations. And he was joyfully among his people during those times. Let's see what Asaph said about the use of the trumpet. Psalm 81 and verse 1, if you'll turn there with me. Psalm 81 and verse 1. The psalmist was inspired to write, Sing aloud to God our strength, make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob, raise his song, and strike the timbrough, the pleasant harp with the lute. Blow the trumpet at the time of the new moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. I'm going to read this from the translation of God's word. It says, Sing joyfully to God our strength, shout happily to the God of Jacob. Begin a psalm and strike the tambourine, play lyres and harps with their pleasant music. Blow the ram's horn on the day of the new moon, on the day of the full moon, on our festival days. For this is a law for Israel, a legal decision from the God of Jacob.

So once again, what is associated on these joyful days, these festival celebrations throughout Israel, what is associated with them is the use of the trumpet.

Now Jewish tradition associates this verse actually with the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles, but the joyful blowing of trumpets was true in the celebration of all God's festivals as originally commanded.

And again, like Numbers 10, there was always an association with joy, celebration, good food, great fellowship, and the sound of the trumpet.

Now when we look throughout Israel's history, we don't find a lot of very good examples of them keeping the Holy Days.

As a matter of fact, we find one other example of them keeping the festival of trumpets in the Old Testament.

And let's take a look at that example right now and see what the people were told.

Nehemiah chapter 8. We're going to go to chapter 8, beginning in verse 1.

A little bit of background. Fascinating historical account. The time of Ezra and Nehemiah.

When after the captives had been taken from the land, Judah had been destroyed.

After a number of decades, some of the captives were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and to reestablish the worship of God according to Jewish custom.

And here's what occurred there. Nehemiah chapter 8, beginning in verse 1.

It says, Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the water gate.

And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel.

So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and women in Hall, who could hear the understanding, with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.

That's the festival of Trump. It's this very day that we are celebrating right here.

Verse 3, Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the water gate, from morning until midday, before the men and women and all those who could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

We need to realize that this was a very emotional event.

Most of the people listening to this had never heard the words of Moses from the book of the law.

They had been slaves in a foreign land. They couldn't freely express their worship.

They could not freely and openly worship God. And most of them were totally uneducated to what the words of Moses were.

In verse 9, Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra, the priest and scribe and the Levites, who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn nor weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

They must have been pricked to the heart. All of these things that we haven't been doing. All of these wonderful promises that God gave our ancestors of blessing and we blew it.

They must have been profoundly sad to hear the teachings of Moses and all of those truths that had been forgotten and abandoned.

Verse 10, And they said to them, this is to those who were weeping, as they just broke out in tears as they were hearing the words of the law, And he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared.

For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

So the Levites quieted all the people. You could just imagine the whimpering and the crying that was going on in the crowd as they had heard the law of Moses.

It says, saying, Be still, for the day is holy. Do not be grieved.

And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and rejoice greatly because they understood the words that were declared to them.

The words that are being declared to us is that Jesus Christ, your Savior, has made you a precious jewel within the family of God.

And on this very festival of trumpets, the day that this portends, Jesus Christ will return to this earth, and all of you, all his church, his bride, who has made herself ready.

Will be translated from physical to immortality, and will be glorified, and will join him as he returns to earth, and forever be part of the family of God.

So like them, we too should rejoice greatly because we understand the words, we understand God's word, and the promises, and the encouraging words that it has for all of us.

Again, we see the example of how we as God's church, and we as God's people, should think about the Feast of Trumpets.

Much like the final generation that will be alive at the return of Jesus Christ, these people at this time witnessed great destruction and loss, and they could look around Jerusalem, and it was all still evident. One time there was something mighty and great, and now it was nothing but rubble. And when they returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city, that's exactly what they saw.

But what they were told to focus on, what they were told to emphasize, were not the tragic events that led up to that time, but to celebrate God's Holy Day, to celebrate the meaning, and the richness, and the promises that God gives to His chosen people, and to celebrate with joy and good food, and sharing what we have with others.

So with this background in mind, let's take a look at a few New Testament scriptures, and hopefully we can finish filling in the theme of the sermon today. First, we'll go to a scripture that was read a couple of times today, 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 9. If you'll turn there with me, 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 9. Paul wrote to the congregation, But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another, and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia, but I urge you brethren that you increase more and more. And you know, that's a good message for us today. Many of us are doing a lot, but we can do more. Many of us are serving in different ways the body of Christ, but we can do more. That was Paul's prayer, that you increase more and more, and that you also aspire to leave a quiet life, to mind your own business, to work with your own hands as we commanded you, and that you walk properly towards those who are on the outside, meaning being the right kind of example to them, not being a hypocrite, not telling them that they should be doing something, and then us doing that, that we should walk properly towards those who are on the outside, and that you may lack nothing. He said, but I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow. He says, the message that I have for you is not about sorrow. It's not about grief. It's not about crying. It's not about pain.

He says, verse 14, for if we believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. And we'll see how He will bring them in this next verse.

Remember the symbology of the fact that only the priest could blow those silver trumpets.

With the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then those who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

So those who have died in the faith will be resurrected from their graves, and they will meet Jesus Christ in the air and connect with Him as He's descending to earth. And then those who are still alive in the faith will be instantaneously translated from mortal to immortal, and will also rise and meet the descending Christ in the air, and will return to earth with Jesus Christ to establish that kingdom that we long for, that we talk about so long.

So what does Paul say? He says in verse 18, comfort one another with these words. So what's the message for the faithful regarding the Feast of Trumpets, that seventh trumpet? That message is one of comfort. It's one of joy. It's one of anticipating a change of our physical existence into an entirely new plane of existence that we call spirit. That's the symbolism for the Church of God. Let's go now to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 50, in essence almost a parallel scripture to what Paul said in 1 Thessalonians with a few additions. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 50. Paul said to the church in Corinth, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible is put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory? For the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So what is the message for the Church of God on that seventh trumpet? What is the message that's given for us when that trumpet sounds? That we shall be changed. We will be incorruptible. We will be immortal. We will be victorious. We will be giving thanks to God that the fulfillment of His promises for us to become members of His family have been achieved. That God has kept His promises, and He is rewarding those who were called and faithful to their calling. I want you to notice this scripture and how it parallels what we read just a few minutes ago in 1 Thessalonians 4. Paul again here states that the last trumpet, that seventh sounded in Revelation 11, that dead in Christ are raised, and those who are still alive are literally changed in immortality. Paul states that this is a time to be thankful that God will give us the victory over death. That's so very important for us to appreciate and comprehend and understand. Let's now go to Revelation 11 and verse 14, which is actually the last scripture that I have for you this afternoon. Revelation 11 and verse 14. And it says here that the second woe was passed. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

And worshiped God. Verse 17 saying, we give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty. Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 57? He said, But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The 24 elders basically say the same thing. We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was and who is to come, because you have taken your great power and reigned, and the nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants, the prophets, and the saints. And those who fear your name small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth. So what do these incredible beings in heaven, these 24 elders, do when that seventh angel blows that trumpet? In thankfulness, in joy, in appreciation, they fall to their faces and give thanks to God. I think we've seen today, and I hope that we've seen, that the trumpet can have two messages.

One is a very tragic message. It's a message of war. It's the sound of war. And sadly, this world is going to go through some incredibly horrific events, some terrible tragedies that's going to cause much devastation of the beloved earth, our ecosystem, our environment, and many people who live on it. And that's the reality, and that's biblical prophecy, and someday that will be history. But for the Church of God, the trumpet also had another use. And the trumpet was used for celebration. It was used for joyfully acknowledging the presence of God among the people.

And it was blown over the sacrifices. It was blown on the holy days. It was blown on the new moons. It was associated with something new, something beautiful starting. And it acknowledged the presence and the power of God with His people. Well, brethren, for us, the trumpet, indeed, is a celebration that we look forward to of a time of joy and a time of worship, because it looks forward to a time when we will literally be changed at the return of Jesus Christ from mortal to immortal, when we will join Jesus Christ as part of the family of God, and when our existence, our sense of wonder, will be magnified in a way that human words can't express. And all of that will take place the very day when Jesus Christ begins to return to this earth, and when those in Christ leave this earth to meet Him and join Him and return to establish the kingdom of God. May God give us that day quickly. May all of us be committed to God's way of life. May every one of us value that crown that's been given to us. May every one of us remain faithful to the calling that God has given us, and not look backward, not to try to relive the past, because we can't change any of that, but we can look forward, and we can believe in God's promises because His promises for us are sure. And those promises include each and every one of you. Have a happy Feast of Trumpets.