The Trunk of the Tree, Part 1

We shall title the sermon today, The Trunk of the Tree, Part 1.

I think I mentioned this one time before, back in 1987, I got a call from the pastor general that I was to come to Pasadena and to be the deputy chancellor, and shortly after, well, actually they called it vice chancellor, and then president. Shortly after I arrived there, I gave a Bible study titled The Last Battleground.

The last battleground will be, of course, over the truth. So, The Trunk of the Tree.

What is the theme of the book you hold in your lap, or is in your briefcase, or on your shelf?

The book, I'm sure, that's in every home of every member of the church of God. The book we say that is so near and dear to our hearts, our very life essence. The theme of the Bible can be expressed in the following ways. The kingdom of God, the family of God, God is bringing sons and daughters to glory in His family. You could pick one of those, say, well, the theme of the Bible is basically the kingdom of God, how we might enter the kingdom of God, or God loved, cared, and concerned for us, that He's bringing sons and daughters to glory in His family. We used to hear quite often about the trunk of the tree. The trunk of the tree will always be under attack, and sometimes I think we tend to forget what the trunk of the tree really is. And the trunk of the tree, for some, they don't think that's very exciting. But it is the most exciting thing that there can possibly be, how that we can transcend this mortal existence and become members of the family of God and on the God plane. So what is meant by the trunk of the tree? The trunk of the tree has to do with the precious truths that are necessary and essential for salvation, that critical threshold of knowledge.

Last weekend, a 1992 graduate of ambassador called me aside visiting from another area, and he said, I have something I want to give you. And he pulled out of his wallet a weathered, somewhat tattered and yellowed index card. He said, you gave us a speech of exhortation of what to hold on to just before we graduated. And I wrote the key points down on this card. He went on to say that he's carried this in his wallet for 20 years, and then from time to time he pulls it out, especially when the going gets rough and he looks at it. He said, I've made copies of this, and I want to give you one. He said, I'm going to pass this on to my children. So, the copy of this, and you can see the yellowed, tattered part here. Most important things in life.

One, to know God. Two, to understand the purpose of human existence, becoming part of the family of God.

Three, to have a relationship with God. Four, to understand that this life is temporary. Five, to keep an eye on the big picture and purpose of life. Six, be willing to leave all in life for the pursuit of eternal life. And seven, to understand that we're to become a new creation. That's the way he copied the notes down that day when we talked about that too, or I talked about that too, the graduates of that year. On the day that the Holy Spirit was sent to dwell in men, and the new covenant church began 31 A.D., what we call the New Testament had not been written.

The day of Pentecost, the day on which the Holy Spirit was sent and the new covenant church began, what we call the New Testament had not been written. There was no Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, no Acts of the Apostles, none of Paul's epistles had been written, none of the general epistles had been written. The book of Revelation had not been revealed and recorded on the day of Pentecost, 31 A.D. They did not know much about many of the prophecies that many people got so glandular over today that deal with the end times. And to a large degree, through the decades, we to some degree have missed the boat because we have been more interested, at least many over prophecy and end times and been on a knowledge trip, more than a conversion trip.

And so it is no wonder that over half the people who've ever been baptized in the past almost hundred years now, going back to Radio Church of God, Worldwide Church of God, to the present day, over half of those have left the church.

So many were concerned with who is the beast, who's the false prophet in this knowledge or that knowledge, and got really bent out of shape if it doesn't fit exactly what they think someone who was inspired to write or say.

Those who were there assembled in Jerusalem at the temple area on the day of Pentecost 31 A.D.

didn't have these prophecies. The most significant prophecies that they were concerned with leading up to that time were those that centered on the coming of the Messiah.

Most of the Jews are not looking for a suffering Messiah who would die for the sins of the world and pay for the sins of the world, even though the Isaiah 53 prophecy is there about one coming and dying for our sins, paying for our iniquities by whose strikes were healed.

And even there, we focus at times more on the physical than on the spiritual.

I mean, you could be healed every time you get sick and miss out on eternal life.

What good is it? What shall the prophet of man have you gained the whole world and lose his life essence and experience the second death from the lake of fire? So they were looking for a great geopolitical leader one that would restore the kingdom of Israel to the glory, the splendor, the influence that it enjoyed during the reigns of David and Solomon.

Even the apostles did not understand the gospel of the kingdom of God and what it meant to each and every person.

The apostles witnessed the crucifixion, and Jesus appeared to them at least three times after the resurrection.

They still did not understand much about the kingdom of God.

The very theme of the Bible, one of the major themes, I would say this overriding theme with what it entails of bringing sons and daughters to glory in the kingdom, in the family of God.

The phrase, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God, that phrase, does not appear in the Old Testament.

If you go to 2 Chronicles, let's go there, 2 Chronicles 28, verse 5, the nearest thing to it is this verse, 2 Chronicles 28, verse 5.

2 Chronicles 28, verse 5, must be 1 Chronicles, definitely not 2.

In 1 Chronicles 28, verse 5, 2 And of all my sons, David speaking here, where the Eternal hath given me many sons, he had chosen Solomon, my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Eternal, the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel.

So that's the nearest thing in the Old Testament to the phrase, kingdom of God.

The apostles were not converted during Christ's ministry.

Did you understand that? Did you get it? The apostles were not converted during Christ's ministry.

They were being called out, and they were called out.

And as you recall on the very evening that he was betrayed, and then the mock trial, that they all forsook him. We notice Luke 22, verse 32.

Luke 22, verse 32. I would encourage you to at least write down these scriptures, and change them, and study them, because they are very important.

The trunk of the tree, the trunk of the tree, if you master it, can of course save your life.

In Luke 22, verse 32.

But I have prayed for you, this is Jesus Christ speaking to Peter, but I have prayed for you that your faith shall not fail, and when you are converted, strengthen my brethren.

As we shall see, the apostles really didn't get it until Jesus Christ appeared to them and opened their eyes of understanding after the resurrection. Even just minutes before his ascension, they were still asking, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?

Let's go now to Luke 24, just forward to page 2.

Luke 24, verse 36, and we'll note this.

So on this occasion after the resurrection, Jesus opened their eyes of understanding and explained to them the purpose of his mission, and he commissioned them. Luke's account of this is somewhat, it adds more detail than Matthew's account of it.

They each complement each other. In Luke 24, in verse 36, Luke 24, and verse 36.

And as they spoke, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them.

Now skipping down to verse 41, and while they yet believed not for joy and wondered, he said unto them, Have you hear any food? So here's the resurrected Christ asking, Do you have any food? So I think that tells us that, and some used to talk about during the fee sermons about the millennium, Enjoy a good steak as a spirit bean. Well, it says, Do you have any food?

And the next verse says, And they gave him a piece of a broil fish and of an honeycomb, so fish and honey, And he took it and did eat there before them.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you while I was yet with you, but they had not yet really gotten it. It did not really sink in. They didn't really understand that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms, the tripartite division, as they call it, of the Old Testament, concerning me. The main object of prophecy in the Bible is the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Then open he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures.

See, that's after spending three and a half years with him in his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion, the mock trial before it, and the crucifixion, and then him appearing to them at least three times after his resurrection.

And he said unto them, Thus it is written that thus it behoove Christ to suffer and derives from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name among the nations, beginning in Jerusalem. So here is the commission, Go ye therefore into all the world, make disciples of all nations, teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, as it states in Matthew's account of the commission.

And you are witnesses of these things, and behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, and what is the promise of the Father, that you would be endued with power from on high, wait in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high, the Holy Spirit.

And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them.

And he came to pass while he blessed them. He was parted from them and carried up into heaven, and they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. Note what it says, that beginning with Moses, he spoke to them, opened their eyes of understanding of all the things that were written of him. Back in verse 44.

That all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms concerning me. Perhaps they were converted shortly after this, as they waited for the Holy Spirit to be sent. By converted, I mean go through that initial repentance and really come to understand what the spiritual life is all about, and what the ultimate goal and purpose of God is all about. The first messianic prophecy is found in Genesis 3, verse 15, after Adam and Eve had sinned and were cast out of the garden. Might say, ready to be cast out? In Genesis 3, verse 15, we'll read 14, The Lord God set under the circuit, because you've done this, you're cursed above all cattle, above every beast of the field. Upon your belly shall you go, and thus shall you eat all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between the devil and the woman, and the woman can symbolize a physical woman, or the church. And woman can be used to symbolize the true church or the false church.

I would put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed.

It shall bruise your head, and Jesus Christ is going to put Satan away.

A powerful angel might do it, as it talks about the angel coming down in Revelation 20 and binding Satan and putting him in the bottomless pit for a thousand years.

It shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

And Satan inspired the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, thinking that if I can kill him, and of course that's a great part of the plan of salvation, the redemption that buys us back from sin and death. But if I can kill him, maybe I will thwart the plan of God and break prophecy.

Another great messianic prophecy is found in Deuteronomy 18.

What we're showing here is that the object of prophecy throughout the Old Testament, and we're just going to look at two or three places here, but the object is about Jesus Christ.

And Jesus Christ's main mission was to build the church, to die for the sins of the world, to give us the keys of the kingdom so that we could enter into that kingdom.

In Deuteronomy 18 and verse 15, The Eternal your God will raise up unto you a prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren like unto me, unto him shall you hearken, or listen.

And that, of course, is a messianic prophecy, speaking of Jesus Christ.

Now you look at Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah 53.

We oftentimes read these verses here, or some of them, on the night of Passover.

In Isaiah 53, the whole chapter is taken up with the suffering Messiah.

In Isaiah 53 verse 4, The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his strikes we are healed.

We can be made whole in every sense of the word, spiritually and physically.

Now we go to Acts chapter 3. In Acts chapter 3, and we believe that Luke wrote the book of Acts, the beloved physician who traveled with Paul and Barnumas some of the time, in Acts chapter 3, we see a little bit of a summary of the messianic prophecies.

And it mentions one of the prophecies that we've just read, Deuteronomy 18 and 15.

There are men who have set themselves up as leaders, so-called of various S-E-C-T-S sects of the Church of God, who claim that they fulfill certain prophetic offices.

And they've written their names in the Bible where God has not written.

I would be afraid to do that. I would be very afraid to do that if I had any respect and honor for God. If you really understand who He is.

In Acts 3.17, and now, brethren, I want you to know that through ignorance you did it, talking about that they had crucified Him.

As did also your rulers, Peter speaking, but those things which God before had showed by the mouth of all His prophets that Christ would suffer. We read one such account, a couple of verses there in Isaiah, that He should suffer. He is so fulfilled. Now, all those messianic prophecies repent you therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, the restitution, the restoration of all things, and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.

You know, Paul wrote to Timothy and said that from a child you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are sufficient to make you wise unto salvation. That's 2 Timothy 3.15.16.17, along in there.

He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heaven must receive, of course Jesus Christ spent three and a half years preaching and teaching about the Kingdom of God, whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began, for Moses, and here is quoting Deuteronomy 18.15, from Moses truly said unto the fathers of prophets shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you and it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people yes and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after as many as have spoken of likewise foretold of these days so they were in essence without excuse because there were many scriptures there and many teachings now let's note his Luke's account of Jesus's ascension in Acts.

I've already read from the Gospels. In Acts 1, it's quite similar to what we read in Luke 24. In Acts chapter 1, Acts chapter 1 verse 4, and being assembled together with them commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father which was ascending in the Holy Spirit which said he you have heard of me I've told you about that so you know about it you're going to send the Holy Spirit for John truly baptized with water but you should be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence when they therefore were come together they asked of him saying Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel they still didn't really get it it wasn't it's a spiritual kingdom do we really get it we'll read the verse later but i'll quote it now first Corinthians 15 50 flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God as Christ told Nicodemus I say unto you you must be born again and that probably needs to be part two of the tropical tree about born again and he said unto them it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own power but you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come unto you and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and into the uttermost part of the earth and when he had spoken these things while they beheld he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel which also said you men of Galilee why stand you gazing up into heaven the same Jesus which is taken up from you in heaven shall come in light manner and you have seen him as you have seen him go into heaven then returned they unto Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives which is from Jerusalem about a Sabbath's day journey as you stand on the temple mount and look over there to the east and see the Mount of Olives so they asked Jesus would you will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this time so their understanding of the kingdom of God seemed to be still somewhat vague the first kingdom promise is given in Exodus 19 let's go to Exodus 19 Exodus 19 here Israel had come to Mount Sinai in the third month the month of the sacred calendar the month in which Pentecost falls and according to Jewish tradition they received the law the 10 commandments on the day of Pentecost in Exodus 19 verse 5 now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for the earth is mine and you shall be unto me a kingdom a kingdom a kingdom of priests and and holy nation so here's the first place that the church is referred to as a holy nation and looking at this in the past i have tended to overlook this back here in Exodus 19 verse 5 and a holy nation these are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel but the Israelites didn't understand that the kingdom of God that was to come is a spiritual kingdom they also misunderstood the promise that was made to David concerning the kingdom of God look at 2 Chronicles 13 verse 5 2 Chronicles 13 verse 5 i will let the bible basically speak for itself here because some people would get probably bent out of shape but if you want to get bent out of shape get it bent out of shape at the bible in 2 Chronicles 13 verse 5 ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever even to him and to his sons by covenant assault they misunderstood exactly what that meant they thought that it meant that a physical descendant of David would eventually come and restore the kingdom unto Israel the Jews are still looking for such a messiah a great geopolitical leader yes a spiritual leader as well but to come and restore the kingdom to Israel see Zionism is somewhat a type of this and what Zionism is about is restoring the kingdom of Israel God has given us this land it is our land and not only that they plan to rule the earth as well now we go to acts and we'll see what the bible says in acts chapter 2 verse 25 the day of Pentecost Peter speaking his great inspired sermon in acts 2 verse 25 for David speaks concerning him this him is Jesus Christ David speaks concerning him just as I'm sure that an sermon that I gave here not all that long ago we have heard it from different sources many times with regard and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed that is not speaking of physical things is speaking of spiritual things as Paul tells us in Galatians 3 verse 15 that in Christ I guess we should read that first since I brought it up don't have it my notes look at Galatians 3 15 quickly and come back here to acts 2 in in action I'm sorry in Galatians 3 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come on the nations through Jesus Christ we covered this in our bible study on hosiah that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith it is not through genetic endowment it is not through physical inheritance in the sense of having to be of the DNA of the ancestry of Abraham physically brethren I speak after the manner of men that it be but though it be a man's covenant yet if it be confirmed no man disannals or add thereto now to Abraham and his seed where the promise is made he said not into seeds as of many but as of one and to your seed which is Christ so it is through Christ that all the nations of the earth will be blessed and you look at the last couple of verses there of Galatians verse 26 for you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus it is not because that I am a physical descendant of Abraham maybe I am I hope I am but if I'm not I'm no better than somebody who is a descendant of ham or japeth I'm not God is not a respecter of persons that's what Peter came to realize in Acts 10 do you know that the Jews really didn't get that all nations were going to be in the Israel of God and in the kingdom of God until Peter was given this vision in Acts chapter 10 they didn't get it even after the day of Pentecost until that happened for you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ there is either June or Greek there's neither bond or free there's neither male or female for you are all one in Christ Jesus and if you be Christ then are you Abraham seed and heirs according to the promise now back to acts two brethren let the Bible speak to you the word of God the pure unfiltered word of God and let us be cleansed by the washing of the water of the word as it says in Ephesians chapter 5 that we not cleaned any kind of fable but that we know what the Bible says in Acts chapter 2 verse 25 for David speaks concerning him Jesus Christ I foresaw this is a quote through verse 28 from the Psalms I foresaw the Lord always David was a king and he was a prophet I foresaw the Lord always before my face for he is on my right hand that I should not be moved therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad moreover also my flesh will rest and hope because you will not leave my life essence in Hades so this is a messianic prophecy about Jesus Christ and it's written third person the subject the one that is referring to is Jesus Christ so Peter says look here this is what David wrote about the Messiah and then he comes back with verse 29 men and brethren let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his grave is with us and to this day therefore being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins the fruit of David's loins you shall never want for a man to sit on my throne or on the throne of David out of his loins according to the flesh and Jesus Christ was from the house of David fulfilling that scripture he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne he's seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ that his life essence was not left in the grave neither his flesh did see corruption this Jesus of God raised up whereof were all witnesses therefore being by the right hand of God exalted having received to the father the promise of the Holy Spirit he is shed forth that which you now see and hear for David is not ascended into the heavens but he said himself the Lord said unto my Lord sit you on my right hand in other words in this case the Yave is referring to the father the father said unto my Adonai sit you on my right hand until I make your enemies your foot seal and so Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the father he is out the seat of David and sits on as well the throne of David in the spiritual kingdom rather than this is what the Bible says you cannot prove different isaiah also prophesied that Jesus Christ as the seed of David would sit on the throne of David let's go to Isaiah chapter 9 in Isaiah chapter 9 in Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 7 well as some don't want me to do this but i'm going to read verse 6 Isaiah chapter 9 9 6 for unto us a child is born unto us the son is given hallelujah chorus and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor the mighty god the everlasting father the prince of peace of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever the zeal of the lord of hosts will perform it daniel prophesied of the establishment of the kingdom of god on the earth let's go to daniel now chapter 2 and daniel chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar has given this vision of the four kingdoms could not interpret the dream and eventually they brought daniel and god showed him the interpretation thereof we're not so much interested in the four kingdoms right now as we are the great kingdom the kingdom of god and that's verse 44 daniel 2 verse 44 and in the days of these kings the kings that were mixed together with iron and mirey clay in the days of these kings shall the god of heaven set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed and the kingdom shall be left to other shall not be left to other people but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever the kingdom of god so here's a prophecy of this kingdom of god that is to come now we go to chapter 7 daniel chapter 7 and another vision that daniel has concerning the second coming which most people overlook in daniel chapter 7 verse 13 i saw in the night visions and behold one like the son of man come with the clouds of heaven and he came to the ancient of days the father and they brought him near before him and there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people nations and languages shall serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away in his kingdom which shall not be destroyed we're reading here just the parts about the kingdom of god the the part of the gentile kingdom is mixed in with this verse 18 but the saints of the most high shall take the kingdom and i hope that we are among those but the saints of the most high shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever even forever and ever verse 21 i beheld in the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them until the ancient of days came and judgment was given to the saints of the most high and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom in verse 26 and the judgment shall sit and they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it until the end and the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey him hitherto is the end of the matter as for me daniel my cogitations much trouble me my countenance changed in me but i kept the matter in my heart so once again the kingdom of god is a spiritual kingdom it has not yet come but it is coming the kingdom is a coming now we go to first carinthians 15 and we read it very clearly about this kingdom and as i said earlier the jews didn't get it they were looking for a descendant of david to come and sit on the throne of david and to restore the kingdom and they're still looking for that messianic figure to this day in first carinthians 15 verse 50 now say brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god neither does corruption inherit incorruption look at verse 47 the first man is of the earth earthy the second man is the lord from heaven and as is the earthy such are they also that are earthy and as he is the heavenly such are they also that are heavenly and as we have borne the image of the earthy we shall bear the image of the heavenly we're going to be made spiritual beings verse 44 it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body there is a natural body there is a spiritual body we shall be raised as glorious radiate spirit beings in the kingdom of god so i really wonder at times and i ask myself this is so awesome this is so mind-boggling do we really understand the fact that the kingdom of god is a spiritual kingdom jesus opened the door to the coming kingdom of god we jet we're in the midst of our let's go to mark chapter one verses 14 and 15 in the midst of our kingdom of god seminars and talking about the kingdom of god and trying to wake up the people of this world to the fact the great overriding theme the kingdom of god the family of god and that the apex of that is that human flesh can inherit the kingdom of god and can be on the same plane of existence as we shall see clearly as god and christ we are inheritors of god and join heirs with jesus christ and of all the things that satan hates he hates this and when the split came in the church back in 95 when united church of god began and various splinters and scores of them had gone out the very thing that they began to attack and they began to attack it in the late 80s was the doctrine concerning what we shall be in resurrection and trying to couch it and cover it in terms of god is a trinity and more about that later in mark 114 now after the john was put in prison jesus came into gallantly preaching the gospel of the kingdom of god the good news of the kingdom of god and saying the time is fulfilled they had waited centuries yet even millennia to really be taught about the kingdom the time is fulfilled now is the time and the kingdom of god is at hand the time has come in which we're going to give you the keys of the kingdom and how you might enter into the kingdom there's a sense of urgency within this message repent you and believe the gospel now look at this scripture luke 16 verse 16 and this is in conjunction with what we read earlier about the apostles not really getting it with regard to what the kingdom of god was all about and thinking that it was more of a geopolitical kind of kingdom with israel being the apex of the nations the number one kingdom on the face of the earth in john 16 i mean luke 16 verse 16 look at this the law and the prophets were until john so that form of the worship of god with regard to the temple service as described especially in the book of lividicus and other places in the pinnateuch that was basically the worship of the day in the various sacrifice and offers and offerings that were associated with the old covenant and approaching unto god the law and the prophets were until john since that time the kingdom of god is preached and every man presses into it jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to the apostles back in matthew 16 remember the verse we read of luke 22 32 that where jesus told peter says you know when you're a converted peter then i pray for you you go out and strengthen the brethren so sometime in in and around pinnacost in which the holy spirit was sent they finally grasped that they being the apostles and disciples 120 were gathered there on pinnacost and they began to grasp it and understand about the kingdom of god in matthew 16 13 when jesus came in the coast of sesseria philippi he asked his disciples saying whom do men say that i the son of man am and they said some say that you are john the baptist some elijah others jeremiah are one of the prophets he said unto them but whom say you that i am what do you say that's what they say what do you say and simon peter answered and said you're the christ the son of the living god jesus answered and said to them blessed are you simon bargeono for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you remember we talked about in the kingdom of god seminars how that there are four main systems that have tried to answer the great questions of life false religion philosophy and science the only true way for it to be answered is through the truth and reveal knowledge flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you but my father who is in heaven and i say unto you that you are peter petros little rock if on this rock petra big rock i will build my church and the gates of the grave shall not prevail against it i don't care what the devil does or i don't care how many seducers and false teachers come along there are going to be some people that remain faithful and cling to the trunk of the tree and they will know and know that they know and they will be willing to give their lives for this truth no matter what the consequences are i know that i'm ashamed of myself in certain situations in my history in the church of god where i could have stood much stronger in different places it could have made a difference but as god as my helper those days are over i'm at that point in life where you know if i die i die and maybe i can live on social security till i die six hundred dollars a month that's what i got but any of them and i will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever you shall buy in earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever you shall lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven the keys of the kingdom the keys have the key unlocks the lock so you can open the door it's about how you can enter into the kingdom of god in revelation chapter three if you really want to know what the key of david is i'll show you right here in the message to the churches note this carefully because this is background to what i'm about to read in the message the message is to the seven churches the message is the introduction to the message presents to you gives you a characteristic of christ you get it the message is introduced by giving you a characteristic of christ for example well let's look at this and in revelation two verse one unto the angel the angelos a n g g e l o s of the church of ephesus write these things says he see here are characteristics of christ he that holds the seven stars in his right hand described in chapter one who walks amidst the seven golden candlesticks he has characteristics of christ then we come down to verse six unto the angel of church in smirner right these things says the first and the last which was dead that's christ and is now alive so each message is preceded by a characteristic revealing you more about what christ is like now we come to revelation three and verse seven and to the angel of the church in philadelphia right these things says he that is holy he that is true he that hath the key of david and christ gave that key of david the key to the kingdom to the apostles who then passed it on and now it's given to us the keys to the key of the keys to the kingdom given to him the key of david he that opens and no man shuts and shuts and no man opens so you see it has to do with opening jesus christ came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of god and he gave the keys to the kingdom to the apostles who passed it on to believers and through the centuries there have been in this continuous line of believers who have been willing to give their lives for the truth of god i know your works behold i've set before you an open door no man can shut it for you have a little strength that word strength in the greek is dunamis means supernatural power and have kept my word and have not denied my name those two things have kept my word being faithful to the word of god not to a myth not to a legend not to a fable not to tradition but to the word of god and faithful to the word of god and have kept my name but dear in jesus christ ministry very few responded to his call for repentance he came to his own and his own received him not and jesus told them that he was going to take the kingdom from them we should go read this matthew 2142 2 very important because this shows you that it was not a physical kingdom of the israel lights that he was going to restore so that restoration of israel that is going on at the present time is seems to be necessary for the fulfillment of prophecy but the ultimate fulfillment of the restoration of israel cannot take place until they look upon him whom they pierced as in zachariah 12 verse 10 in matthew chapter 20 what did i say 22 i think so in matthew 21 in verse 42 matthew 21 verse 42 saying what what think you of christ whose son is he they said unto him the son of david we've already talked about that and he said unto them and see that when they talk about the son of david they were thinking about the physical messiah to come and restore the kingdom he said unto them how then does david in spirit call him lord saying the lord said unto my lord sit you on my right hand till i make your enemies your foots to for david himself then call i'm sorry if david then called him lord how is he his son and no man was able to enter him from that point now i'll read 21 where i want to be in verse 43 therefore say unto you the kingdom of god notice therefore i say unto you the kingdom of god shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof and whosoever shall fall on this stone see jesus christ became a block of stumbling and a stone of offense and if you fall on that stone in the wrong way and deny him instead of it being a savior it will break you but on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder and when the chief priests and the Pharisees had heard his parables they perceived that he spoke of them but when they sought to lay hands on him they feared the multitude because they took him for a prophet now back to verse 43 put this in the back of your mind the kingdom of god shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof you know on the day of pentecost peter gave the short formula he preached basically what christ had preached after he preached the sermon they said to peter men and brethren what shall we do let's turn there acts two again in acts chapter 2 verse 37 after peter preached his sermon on the day of pentecost when the holy spirit was sent 31 ad acts 237 now when they heard this they were pricked in their hearts and said unto peter into the rest of the apostles men and brethren what shall we do then peter said unto them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ for your mission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit see that is the great gift that bridges the gap between mortality and immortality that is what will get you into the kingdom of god in short the key to the kingdom repent exercise faith in the sacrifice of christ for your mission of sins that are passed be baptized receive the laying out of hands and the holy spirit for the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off they did not get this phrase to all that are afar off that all that are afar off refers to the gentiles to the nations even so many as the lord or god shall call and with many other words did he testify and exhort saying save yourselves from this undivore generation then they that gladly receive the word were baptized and the day the same day there were added unto them about three thousand life essences souls and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers now we go to first peter chapter two remember that what jesus said i'm going to take the kingdom from you and i'm going to give it to the to a nation that will bring forth the fruits thereof well this is what peter writes about and peter also in this explains part of what hosea prophesied of which we have covered in the bible studies as well in first peter chapter two verse five you also as living stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood remember ecstas 19 five and six if you'll obey my voice and do what i say then you shall be a kingdom of priests of course israel failed and god gave them a bill of divorce you as living stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god by jesus christ wherefore also it is contained in the scripture behold i lay in zion a chief cornerstone and this cornerstone of course is christ and is at the head it is not down in the corner of the foundation as you might suspect i lay in zion a chief cornerstone elect precious and he that believes on him shall not be confounded under you therefore which believe he is precious but under them which be disobedient the stone which the builders disallowed the same is made the head of the corner jesus christ is the head of the church and a stone of stumbling a rock of offense even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed but you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood remember ecstas 19 five six and holy nation says you shall be a kingdom of priests and an holy nation the fulfillment of that see the church of god as we have heard in the past is the kingdom of god in embryo don't let that slip understand it you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation a purchased people that you should show forth the praises of him that has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light now verses 10 and 11 explain what hosea says his prophecy prophecy that israel had become low ruhama not having obtained mercy and low ama not my people but now through jesus christ which in times past were not a people but are now the people of god lo ami which had not obtained mercy ruhama but now have obtained mercy dearly beloved i beseech you as strangers and pilgrims that stained from fleshly lust which wore against the soul having her conduct honest among the nations that whereas they speak against you as evildoers that they may by your good works which they shall be whole glorify you or glorify god in the day of visitation and so much of what we have done is for the future and what we will do of setting example for those that will come after the church of god is a kingdom of kings and priests it says in revelation 510 every one of us should be able to quote this and is made unto us he has made us kings and priests under our god in christ and we shall rain on the earth well let's turn there and let's read it revelation five revelation five in verse 10 you should be able to see now the thread of the messianic prophecies about the kingdom of god and what our destiny really is have made unto us our god and have made us unto our god kings and priests and we shall rain on the earth jesus christ came and revealed the father he preached the kingdom of god he revealed the keys to the kingdom he died for our sins so we might be reconciled to the father through faith in his sacrifice making it possible for us to receive the holy spirit of begettle the earnest of the spirit the major step toward entering the kingdom of god so brethren we've covered much of the background here today to the trunk of the tree the trunk of the tree and the individual sense centers on knowing that god exists understanding the answers to the great questions of life god exists that god is spirit those who worship him must worship him and spirit in truth that he is our father and our creator his purpose is to bring sons and daughters to glory in his family that we are created in the image of god made of the dust of the earth for the purpose of being sons and daughters in the kingdom of god you see this precious truth the trinity shuts you out and those who talk about some kind of ethereal going to heaven and you're born again now in the kingdom of god is already here you cannot enter into the kingdom of god except through resurrection and birth as per jesus christ did these great truths main things that herbert armstrong restored in the church of god some people talked about prophecy and a lot was written and said about prophecy back in 1982 somewhere along in there i was academic dean here we were fighting for certification from the state after the college reopened we received an invitation to liberty university and they were dedicating of going having a ceremony of going from a college to university and of course jerry fallwell was there and senator warner from the state of virginia and several other dignitaries that made speeches and it just happened that after this was over and the some of them marched out the faculty and some of the guests and caps and gown and that kind of regalia that we walked down the hall and we looked up and we were staring jerry fallwell right in the face face to face we came and we introduced ourselves and he said immediately oh herbert armstrong he's done great work in prophecy so as noted for that but the essential truths the trunk of the tree the nature of god and christ there is the trinity doctrine is a doctrine of so-called orthodoxy orthodoxy means of the same opinion it is a false doctrine that tries to make the holy spirit into a person and it tries to make god and christ somehow one just manifesting themselves in the way that they the situation calls for its particular time so the truth about the nature of god and christ the purpose of the human existence the why were you born booklet the spiritual law of god is eternal a grand overview and understanding of god's plan of salvation as revealed through the holy days that we are born into the family of god at the resurrection and that we are destined to go from the humankind to the godkind resurrected beings and we will be on the same plane of existence as god and christ the answers to these great questions and understanding of this the very trunk of the tree we were created humans but our destiny is to be on the same plane with god and christ look at Romans chapter 8 verse 17 you ought to read Romans 8 17 at least once a week i haven't so memorized it and worn out the pages here i think i've got it indelibly stamped in my mind Romans 8 verse 17 the spirit i'm sorry Romans 8 17 and of children then heirs heirs of god and heir inherits we inherit that same plane of existence and join heirs with christ see christ is the firstborn among many brethren if so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together look at verse 11 11 but if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up christ from the dead shall also quicken or make alive your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwells in you the same spirit that is in god is in christ is in us and we're all joined together brethren don't ever let anyone subvert you with regard to this truth i suspect that perhaps the final battleground will be over this truth we are criticized already mightily by the churches of this world and the so-called theologians of this world because of this doctrine that is that we're destined to be heirs of god and join heirs of christ spirit beings in the kingdom of god the family of god they're going to unleash everything that they possibly can i'm sure there will be some who profess to be in the church of god who will come forth with something different maybe over the years but i'm just telling you that i hope that we'll all be willing to give our lives for this the trunk of the tree god created us because he's love and he ordained this great plan of salvation he wants to share his very being with all of us and so brethren i hope that we will all remain faithful to this and i know that attacks will come and you know it is written that in the bible that it says and you shall be hated of all nations from a namesake so brethren we have gotten a little start here on the trunk of the trees some of the main things that we need to understand his background and then we will continue along these lines our next Sabbath i hope you have a great week