[Rick Beam] You know, we've had almost eight full days here very shortly. We've had almost eight full days rehearsing and picturing the Kingdom of God and the world tomorrow. And there's no doubt in our mind, all of us here, and those who are tuned in, that we have been fed a very rich spiritual diet. And we also know that just like was asking one of the prayers the other morning, God has blown on the hurricane. It's not raining out there. Maybe it will later, but that's okay. We have been blessed tremendously with the weather we have.

I might share something with you. The earlier you speak in the Feast, the less likely somebody is going to get your scriptures, your ideas, and all of that, and you feel you're on safe ground. The further into the feast it is, well, check that one off, check that one off, check that one off. I had no worries because all of mine have been used. But God's word is worth repeating. So, there will be some repetition. But I have them in my notes, and to facilitate the flow and the time, probably just read them from my notes rather than turn in the Bible, per se. But you've heard them, so you know they're there in the Bible. In all these years that I've spoken at the feast, this is the first time that I have had the final assignment of the entire feast. So, that's why I just sat back and didn't worry. I knew everything was going to be used.

Now, in baseball parlance, we have had a winning game here. There is no doubt about that. So, I guess that just means that I'm the closer. That's all. Anyway. You know, you get asked the question, I get asked the question, you will get asked the question as well, "What is the Kingdom?" And we know the answers, don't we? And we can give the answers, we can give simple, part answers that are totally accurate and clear black and white as to what the Kingdom is. But I want to probe that further. What is the reality of the Kingdom to you, to you, the reality in practical, down-to-earth, boots-on-the-ground terms? What is it to you?

When you go to a mirror and you look yourself in the mirror, you look yourself dead in the eye and you ask yourself, "What is the Kingdom to me personally? What does it mean to me? How does it translate to me personally? What is its value to me personally? Why is it so precious to me personally? Why do I want to be there?" Why do you want to be there? What is your personal attachment? And I emphasize personal. What are your personal attachments, plural? You know, personal motivation for the Kingdom of God is critical for the spiritual success of being there. It's interesting in that prayer, that prayer outline that Christ gave in Matthew 6, that the first request that we are to make as far as a request of action we want God to take there in Matthew 6:10.

Matthew 6:10 “Your Kingdom come.”

That's the first request of action that we want. We want to see it carried out, Your Kingdom come. Now, if we can't pray from the heart, "Your Kingdom come," then how in the world can we fulfill verse 33.

Matthew 6:33 Which says, "Seek You first," not second, not third, but first, “the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.”

So, here's the title. We like titles. We can kind of hang the information on it. Here's the title, "What is the Kingdom to You Personally?" "What is the Kingdom to You Personally?" Those are seven words, seven very important words. Now, here's a key point, and this is the key point to the sermon. Personal attachment to the Kingdom is key to the spiritual success of being there. I'll repeat it. Personal attachment to the Kingdom is key to the spiritual success of being there. What is the vision in your eyes of the Kingdom? What is the magnitude and the reach of your personal vision? Personal vision is crucial. Now, the Scripture was used in one of the fine messages. Proverbs 29:18. We recognize it, obviously.

Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

That doesn't exclude God's people from that statement. It applies probably most fully to us because we've got so many obstacles that the devil tries to put in the way, society puts in the way, even magnified self sometimes puts in the way. So crucial. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Personal vision, personal meaning, personal attachment is crucial to the success of being there. Vision glues you to the future. Have you ever taken two pieces of wood, glued them together and the glue was so strong that when you tried to separate them, the wood split, you could not break them loose from the glue? That's the kind of vision that we need, glued to it. It's the vision in your eyes.

Like I said, I can look in the mirror and I can say, "Rick, it's the vision in your eyes, talking to myself, flicking myself dead center in the eyes, that will keep me pushing through whatever I have to in order to be there." It's the vision in your eyes that will keep you pushing through whatever you have to push through in order to be there, vision that cuts through all the clutter, all the confusion, all the fog, the smoke, the dust. And, boy, there's plenty of that. You know, at sunset, which is not too far away, at sunset, we will have completed another annual cycle of God's holy days picturing the plan of salvation and the steps and stages it's laid out in. And what beautiful and wonderful steps and stages. Do I hear an echo if I say what a year this has been? And it's not over, by any means, and what yet may be coming.

This year has been a game-changer. Life is not going to go back to normal. It won't matter in terms of whether it's Senator Biden, Vice President Biden, or if it's President Trump who is inaugurated as the next President in January 20 in terms of troubles, in terms of national trials. I'm just saying it's going to go on... We seem to be in a time zone, a prophetic edge where things are going, one way or the other, to worsen with more and more national trials. Anyhow, life, as we have known it, is not going to go back to normal. We're in the midst of a national trial right now. We know it, and there's...we're going to be coming. And what will the 2021 cycle of God's holy days be set in the midst of? Be exercising what is within your power to make the coming Kingdom more and more meaningful to you on a deeply, deeply personal level. Attach, glue yourself to it as fully as you can.

What is it to me personally? What is my vision? And I know really that this is a shared vision. The Kingdom of God is Jesus Christ ruling this world, this planet. We know the Scripture, we celebrated it on trumpets and down here too. Revelation 11:15, very familiar with it.

Revelation 7:15 "The seventh angel sounded. There were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord," referencing the Father and of His Christ whom He is sending back, "and He, Christ, shall reign forever and ever."

The very one who died for us, who sacrificed Himself for us, who watched His red blood flow out of His body, the one whose awesome power is backed by full responsible love taking charge, my savior is here. The one who died for me is here. There's some words, you would find them in Zechariah 8:3. There are words that I'm sure Christ cannot wait, cannot wait to speak. And, of course, when the Father tells Him to ride, to go and He comes back, there will come a point where He will say it as current event, current tense.

Zechariah 8:3 Here's the phrase you will find there. “I am returned to Zion.”  What wonderful words. “I am returned to Zion, and I will dwell in Jerusalem and it will be called a city of truth.”

And, of course, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, city of peace. And He returns in power and glory to truly take charge.

Zechariah 14:9 It says, "And the Lord shall be king over all of the earth, all the earth. In that day, shall there be one Lord, and His name one."

Now, if I were to go back to that prayer outline of Matthew 6:10, I quoted, "Your Kingdom come." Your Kingdom come happens when Jesus is sent back and He takes charge. And what follows in verse 10, the statement that follows in verse 10, is Your will be done in earth. I want you to think about the sequence there. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

In heaven today, there are not things happening that displease God. In heaven today, right now, and yesterday, and tomorrow, the way we count time, everything that has happened in heaven is happening in heaven with God is wonderful, glorious, peaceful, harmonious. God can look anywhere He wants in heaven right now and smile about it. His will is being done in heaven. The things He sees puts a smile on His face. That's not true of earth. Your Kingdom come because that's when Your will will be done in earth as it is in heaven. If God is in charge of every single thing that happens on this planet right now, then why is Satan called the God of this world, and why is God sending Jesus Christ back to take charge? It's only when God's Kingdom is here that things will be done on this earth as God wants them, in a way that He can smile upon.

Rick Warren, some of you recognize the name, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California, the author of "The Purpose Driven Life," I saw him in an interview, and I watched him and I listened to his words. And in this interview with these ladies, he said, "Look." He says, "If I get drunk, get in my vehicle, and get out there and kill somebody, that's not God's will. That's my will. That's not what God wants me to do. That's not His will. That's my will." And I think to myself, trillions and trillions of things happen all the time on this planet that God doesn't like to see. Well, bring Your Kingdom that Your will may be done on earth and the things that happen put a smile on your face. The Kingdom is David, David ruling over Israel. You know, in the Scriptures in Ezekiel, the first one is Ezekiel 34.

Ezekiel 34:23 Ezekiel is quoting God. "And I will set up one shepherd over them. He shall feed them, even my servant, David, he shall feed them and He shall be their shepherd."

And it's talking about when God puts the house of Israel, the 10 tribes, and the house of Judah, the two with Levi, puts them back together, the analogy of the two sticks and brought back together, unified after Christ returns, and then the resurrected David ruling over them. And God goes on to say in verse 24 of that chapter 34 of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 34:24 "And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant, David, a prince among them. I, the Lord, will be their God."

Christ will be here, obviously, from Jerusalem and He puts David a prince among them, over them, over Israel. "I, the Lord, has spoken it." Well, you could pursue that just a little bit further by going to chapter 37, that's the second resurrection chapter.

Ezekiel 37:24 It says this. "And David, my servant, shall be king over them, and they all shall have one shepherd."

As a young man, as my brother, Gary, mentioned the other day, this is our 60th feast. And we sat in services for the very first time in July 1961 in Memphis, Tennessee. I was 10.5 years old and he...let's say 10 and he was 8. And so, you know, we go back a long ways, but that also means we're held very accountable too for the knowledge and understanding we've been given. And it's a great blessing as long as you stay responsible with it. Anyhow, as a young boy, and, of course, our grandfather on our mother's side, along with all of the... I'm smiling because I just thought of something, and I'll mention it in a minute. But on my mother's side, basically, the whole family was involved in the church because our grandfather in the early '40s was listening to Mr. Herbert Armstrong.

Now, my brother, Gary, mentioned the other day, I think that he wasn't going to pick on our first cousin that's sitting back there. And I'm not either. I'm just going to mention this. She's here. But it's a wonderful thing to have family in the church, and we know that. Our youngest brother is back there on the back wall. And if any of you folks ever worry about Gary and me getting out of hand any, our brother back there keeps us in line, so you don't have to worry.

But as a kid growing up, King David was my prime hero. Even as a young boy, King David had a tremendous impact and influence on me. He was a hero to me, and he still is a hero. Of course, I've added more heroes. But King David still is. And to think about the day coming when I will be able to live and serve and rule with him as well as Christ and others forever and ever, that is a wonderful thing to me to look forward to. It's one of the attachments. The Kingdom is the apostles ruling over the 12 tribes of Israel. And it's interesting in the Bible, when you just simply look and take it for what it says, what it reveals. Here, the 12 apostles are going to be under David ruling the 12 tribes. Christ told them in Matthew 19.

Matthew 19:27 "Then answered Peter, said to him, behold, or look."

You know, it's like, "Lord, we have forsaken all. Look at what we've given up. We've forsaken all and we followed you. What's in it for us? What shall we have, therefore?" Now, it's a natural question. And he's not converted yet. And Christ didn't chide him, but He let him in on something. He gave him some vision.

Matthew 19:28 “Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you that you which have followed me in the regeneration, when the son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, you also shall set up upon 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.’”

Gave him some vision. Paralleling with that in Luke 22.

Luke 22:29-30 It says this, "And I appoint to you a Kingdom, as my Father has appointed to me, that you may eat and drink at my table and my Kingdom and sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel."

Well, let's just take it on down another layer as far as the vision. The Kingdom is rulership given to the saints. I love these three verses in Daniel, Daniel 7. Daniel 7, they're verses 18, 22, and 27.

Daniel 7:18 "But the saints of the most high shall take the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom forever, even forever and ever."

And then that's mentioned again in verse 22.

Daniel 7:22 "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 saints possessed. You know, verse 18 in the King James uses possess. Verse 22 says, possessed. That's ownership. That's ownership.

Daniel 7:27 "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 dominion shall serve and obey Him."

We are co-inheritors with Jesus Christ as Romans 8:17 points out. And when Pilate said to Jesus what he did, you know, when he was inquiring and quizzing Him, and we know that account in John 18, Jesus answered in John 18:36, this statement.

John 18:36 He said, "My Kingdom is not of this world, this age."

Mine isn't either. It's that simple. I'm a co-inheritor. My Kingdom isn't either. And with every passing year, the crookedness and the perverseness of the generation around me grows worse and worse and further and further from God. The Kingdom is Moses and Elijah ruling with Christ. It's an interesting account recorded in the gospels beginning in Matthew 16:28.

Matthew 16:28 Where Jesus said to them there, He says, "Truly, I say to you," to the disciples, "there be some standing here." Now, the some happened to be John, James, and Peter that He's referencing. "There be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the son of man coming in His Kingdom."

And so, it goes right on into chapter 17 and picking it up in verse 1.

Matthew 17:1-4 "And after six days, Jesus takes Peter and James, and John, his brother, and brings them up into a high mountain apart," verse 2, "And was transfigured before them, and His face did shine as the sun and His raiment was white as the light. And behold, there appeared to them, Moses and Elijah talking with Him. Then answered Peter," the bold one... I added that, but anyway. "Then answered Peter and said to Jesus, Lord, it's good for us to be here. If you will, let us make here three tabernacles."

He got the connection about the future, the feast of Tabernacles, the future, the Kingdom of God, the resurrection of the saints, the inheritance of the saints.

Matthew 7:5-9 And He says, “One for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah. And while He has spoke, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, ‘This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. You hear Him.’ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and they were so afraid. And Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Arise, don't be afraid.’ And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man except Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them saying, ‘Tell the vision.’”

There's some people that go out on a limb and say, "Well, Moses and Elijah were resurrected to be there with Christ." No. It's a vision. And again, to give them vision and attachment.

Matthew 7:9 But it says, "Tell the vision to no man until the son of man be risen again from the dead."

Now, have you ever asked yourself why Moses and Elijah? Christ lets them have a vision of Him transfigured in power and glory in the Kingdom when the Father sends it back to set it up. Why is it Moses and Elijah? Because Moses and Elijah represent government and education, government and education. Because government and education are the two mainstay roles and responsibilities in the Kingdom. Government, administration, and education are the two mainstay roles and responsibilities in the Kingdom. And what are we identified with, you and I? Revelation 5:10 is one of the places it tells us.

Revelation 5:10 That that's what we're identified with, “And has made us into our guide, kings, those are rulers, governing, administrating, and priests, educators, and we shall reign on the earth.”

How many times have you wanted to make a difference in what you saw around you? How many times have we wanted the power to be able to make a difference and simply did not have that power yet? Yet in the time coming, Isaiah 30:20-21, we're, again, familiar with it.

Isaiah 30:20 "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction.”

Because Jacob's troubles are coming. The great tribulation is out there somewhere. That's in God's hands on the timing, but it's out there, that'll come first. But, you know, it's going to come. Christ is going to return, Kingdom's going to be set up, the saints are going to be resurrected.

Isaiah 30:21“Yet, shall not your teachers be removed into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers, and your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk you in it when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.’”

Never again, ever, never again ever will the planet be allowed to get in the condition it is today. I look forward to having the power to make people be happy. I look forward to having a hand in peace and happiness, and joy, and all of that. And the Kingdom is no more war. I sometimes wonder if we realize just how that will so change the world. If you study world history, geopolitics, it has been said, and this is a geopolitical statement of man's history, that man's history can be summed up as this.

Number one, preparing for war. Somebody's always preparing for war. Number two, somebody's in war. And number three, somebody is recovering from war. And yet, there is a book that I have that's titled, "War Is Not Over When It's Over." And that's very true. But just think about it. And again, the beauty of Micah 4:3-4, just the beauty of these statements in

Micah 4:3-4 "And He shall judge among many people and rebuke strong nations afar off, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war, neither shall they learn war anymore. But they shall sit every man under his vine, under his fig tree, and none, none shall make them afraid."

No more war widows, no more war orphans. The Arizona was mentioned in the message this morning, Pearl Harbor National Memorial, the USS Arizona Memorial. There's a platform, a floating platform, above it. And those who go there can go onto that platform above it. And when you're on that floating platform above it, you're to remain quiet, you're to remain silent, not to talk. And on a bright, clear day with clear water, you can see the kill, the hull of the Arizona down below. I know a man who can go to that memorial, he can walk on the platform, he can look down at the ship, and in that ship is his father. He never met his father. He's a war or orphan. But even before he was born, because his mother was pregnant with him at the time that his father was killed, he's never had the opportunity, never had the opportunity to meet his father, not in this age and in this life.

No more war orphans, no more mothers desperately daily beseeching God, "Dear Lord, keep my son safe. Please bring my son home to me." You know, think about a mother. Grows that life inside of her, carries it, goes through morning sickness, evening sickness, maybe all-day sickness, gives birth to that precious little bundle of flesh and blood, nourishes it, nurtures it, goes through sleep deprivation, maybe childhood diseases, sicknesses, colic, whatever, goes through all that you go through as a mother to, let's say, age 18, and then your precious son, who, to a mother, even if he's six-foot-six and towers over you, he's still your precious kid. I won't say little. And you don't know if you're ever going to see him again. And so, you pray, "Dear Lord, please bring him home."

I have a great aunt, a great aunt, of course, been dead many years now, Aunt Minnie. She had five sons in the war, World War II, at one time. Every one of them came home, all five. Mother Sullivan had five sons, Joe, Frank, Al, Matt, George, all five Sullivan brothers were World War II sailors serving together on the light cruiser, USS Juneau, who were all killed in action on its sinking around November 14th, 1942. Can you imagine the day that she had delivered to her, probably very personally, someone who came up her drive down her road in a military uniform, "Ma'am, Mrs. Sullivan, I'm sorry to inform you, your five sons are no more, they're dead?"

"Saving Private Ryan" back in 1998, the movie, Tom Hanks starring in it, it was a mission behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan and get him safely out of the war. His three brothers had been killed in combat and the military was trying to spare, the President and all was trying to spare a broken-hearted mother, the loss of her fourth and last son. That movie, my understanding is that that movie was inspired basically by the Sullivan Brothers. And how many other mothers like her?

What a time when you can grow a new life in your womb, give birth, raise it knowing you're going to be able to see that child at 8, 18, 28, 38, 58, 68, and have children, and you're going to have grandchildren from that child and great-grands, and you never have to worry about war because war is historic, it's only in the history books, no such thing as current events. The Kingdom is no more wild, tearing, rendering animals, no more constant prey and predator.

Look at the nature of life out there in the wild. It's prey and predator, isn't it? This summer, one quiet, late summer night, I was sitting on my front porch and just listening to the peaceful sounds of the insects and the trees, and, all of a sudden, the stillness was split by the shrieks and the screams of an animal in the woods there at the edge of my yard being rendered and torn. You know, I think about the wolf shall dwell with the lamb. Wow.

Isaiah 11:6 “The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf, and the young lion, the fattening together, and a little child shall lead them.

You know, the Kingdom is God's peace planted on this planet as reflected by the animal kingdom. The cow and the bear feeding together, their young ones shall lie down together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox. What's so hard about that? God's God? He just changed the digestive tract. I'm not totally sure what Nebuchadnezzar ate for seven years, but I kind of figure it might have been straw and grass. Anyway, not too hard for God.

Isaiah 11:8-9 "And the nursing child shall play on the hull of the asp, and the weaning child shall put his hand on the adder's den." Totally safe. "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

The older I get in this age, the more I treasure peace, peace, the more precious it is to me. The Kingdom is a Garden of Eden, a planetary paradise. Isaiah 35, again, we flow through the beauty of what's going to be beginning in verse 1.

Isaiah 35:1-2 "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them. The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy in singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God."

Isaiah 35:6-7 "For in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert." And then verse 7, "And the parched ground, the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water and the habitation of jackals where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes."

The Kingdom is a garden of unprecedented prosperity. And I love the way it's expressed through the Prophet Amos. And we find this in Amos 9:13.

 Amos 9:13 “Behold the days come, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper” because the harvest is going to be so big, so heavy, so rich, “and the treader of grapes, him that draws forth and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.”

Many of you, I'm sure, have seen the picture. It became a classic of a drought-stricken area. The land is just parched, burned, scorched, and there sits a little child, emaciated, starving, dying. And right over to the side is a vulture just waiting. A classic picture, I forget which year it was published, but so true, sadly, to this age and to so much of this world, and the Kingdom itself, such a time of peace and beauty, prosperity and plenty, magnified. And something else that's personal attachment and attachments and visionary. The Kingdom is full involvement. No one left out. Full involvement. No one left out.

My wife sitting back there has a sister. Her sister had five kids. Her sister lost two of them. Her sister lost their only boy, Robbie, when he was 9 years old to cystic fibrosis. They couldn't do for those with cystic fibrosis back in those years that they can do now. And then later, she was...came along later, the girl that died, but she died at age 13, Amy Ruth, of cystic fibrosis. I didn't get to know Robbie. He died before I was part of the family. But I did get to know… They never had the chance to be fully involved. And with Amy Ruth, I remember Bob, her dad, carrying her many times on his shoulders because she was just too weak to motivate on her own, and to keep her involved as much.

And how many others like them, Carl Joseph, some of you might recognize the name, most of you probably wouldn't. But when I was living in Tallahassee, Florida, there was a fine young man. He was born with one leg. He played football, he played linebacker for a time, and went quite aways up for a time. He was very, very agile. And it's amazing to even think about a man... I mean, he was just simply born with one leg. And they said when he would play, it was like being on a pogo stick. The way he moved, obviously, he didn't have two legs. But I read the stories about him and the accounts and I saw what he could do, and I thought, "What could he do with two legs?"

Now, let me put... Let me say something. Anyone who's been physically handicapped, and we have many in this world, it's amazing what they can do, what a testimony to God's built-in ability in them to be trained and exercised, and all of that. That's tremendous. But I don't know anybody like Carl Joseph. I don't know anybody if God said, "You can have two legs instead of one. You can have two hands instead of one," I don't know anybody, anybody who wouldn't say, "Thank You, God. I'll take You up on that."

You know, I've seen this past year, the Shriners who do a fantastic job for families with kids and all. I've seen this Shriners advertisement where they're using these little kids to advertise, some in wheelchairs, some without a leg. It's heart-wrenching. And the kids are so bright and cheerful, and they do it for the purpose that...for one thing, it shows what Shriners, they're doing, but another thing, it pulls at your heartstrings.

And I understand why they're doing it, and I, in no way, resent that. And I think, "Wow, when the time comes that that little kid there that's only got one leg will have two, that little kid there who can't get out of a wheelchair, he won't be in a wheelchair, that little kid there..." And you can go down the line. A time of full involvement, the handicap healed, a time of supreme health and happiness, a time of wholesomeness and healing.

Isaiah 35:5-6 It says this, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened. The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame leap as a heart like a deer.”

They can't contain themselves. I can remember when I was a kid, and of course, I have all my memories and all, but I can remember just as a kid running and jumping and moving just for the joy of it. And can you imagine someone who was lame and now they've got strong muscles and legs, and they're not lame and they're just filled with so much excitement and energy, they can't contain themselves? "And the tongue of the dumb sing.” The Kingdom is resurrection to eternal life.

1 Corinthians 15:52-54 “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall 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 shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory."

Think about it. The Kingdom for you and I is resurrection to a whole new composition of living and being unbelievable, unimaginable energies and capacities unending forever beyond death ever again, forever beyond pain and suffering. All of that becomes history in the rear-view mirror. I've been sliced and diced, I've had stitches, I've had broken bones, I've had steel driven through my body. And, you know, I'm looking forward to the day that I'll be indestructible because I found out, my brothers can attest to it growing up, that I found out very quickly and had it confirmed a number of times I wasn't indestructible, including getting knocked out one time and having to be brought home in the fifth grade all blood covered to mom. We had a tough, tough mother. Tough lady. Anyway, all that becoming history. The Kingdom is reunion with loved ones.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the..." as was emphasized in the message this morning, “the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

My mother, our mother, my brothers, me, our mother lies in the grave, dead in Christ, our father lies beside her in the grave, dead in Christ. Mom died in May of 1997. Dad followed that year in December 1997. The way God counts time on my birthday. 1997, lost both of them. I will tell you folks something. I don't mind confessing that I have learned so much since they both died in 1997. And if I'm alive, on my feet when Christ returns, Mom and Dad will precede me to meet the returning Christ, and I'll be looking up at their hills as I rise. And I'll be so glad when I can get up alongside of them once we stop there where Christ is, and I can start apologizing to Mom and Dad.

But I'll tell you something, every time I lose a loved one to death, it attaches me more to the Kingdom, it attaches me more to the future. The Kingdom is reunion with the rest of our loved ones. You heard about that this morning. The rest of our loved ones. See, Dad, Dad was the only one from his family that God called in this age, or at least to date, to this date. And other than the family thinking Dad had gone off his rocker, you know, and things smoothed out over time, but he was the only one.

His brothers, Uncle Lawford, Uncle Laban, Uncle Leonard, his sisters, I could go down the names, Mama Beam, Papa Beam, I could go to first cousins on that side of the family, there's a whole pass, there's a whole clan on that side, I love them. I'm not on the same page with them. I can't talk with them on the same page. I can relate with them just on some human levels and all. And I grew up with some of them and I love them.

And I look forward, I want to be there because the eighth day, that last great day of salvation, the eighth day is Mama Beam's day, it's Papa Beam's day, it's Uncle Leonard's day. He died at 26 in a real bad car wreck. It's their day. It's the day for salvation for all of those others where we reunite with loved ones in the first resurrection that are in Christ now, but then a thousand years later, we, you know, get to have reunion with our other loved ones. And to me, that is so valuable.

The Kingdom, it's a new heavens and a new earth of permanence. And when you get to that point and the plan of salvation has been finished, God, the Father Himself, coming here to be with us. It's heavenly Jerusalem brought here, the throne of the Father brought here, eternalized earth. The day will come when Earth will no longer be made of matter. But it won't disappear. What we call Earth that's made of matter now will be permanentized, or permanelized, or however you want to say it, but eternalized Earth becoming the center point of all God's operations because wherever God, the Father is, that is the center, that's the headquarters, and therefore, Earth becoming the headquarters of all God's doing and the center of the universe. And John was giving this vision, and it's our vision. What I'm saying is it was shared with us, and it's part of what we latch onto.

Revelation 21:1-3 "And I saw a new heaven and a new Earth for the first heaven and the first Earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold the tabernacle or dwelling of God, God the Father, is with men and He will dwell with them and they shall be His people. And God Himself, the Father," it's referencing, "shall be with them and be their God."

Now, I think we also realize, don't we, that the Kingdom is a chronology of progression? And what I mean by that is what I will express by reading in 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 24. There is a chronology, there is a progression. The millennium is rolling and Christ is ruling.

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 "Then comes the end when He, Christ, shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when He, Christ, shall have put down all rule and all authority and power for He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet, and the last enemy that should be destroyed is death, for He has put all things...for He, the Father, has put all things under His, Christ's, feet. But when He, the Father says all things are put under Him under Christ, it is manifest or obvious that He, the Father, is accepted or the exception, which did put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, Christ, then shall the son also Himself be subject to Him, that is the Father, that put all things under Him that God may be all in all.

And He delivers up the Kingdom at that time. The Kingdom is the time when we are beyond all sin. We're beyond all sin, we're beyond all sorrow, we're beyond all pain and suffering forever. That's what verse 4 is about when it says…

Revelation 21:4 “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there should be no more death.”

You ever stop to think that as long as there is matter and mortality, there's death? See, this is speaking of when the plan of salvation is completely and totally completed. And there are no human beings anymore, there are spirit beings, there are those who have attained to the Kingdom, there are those who are now sons and daughters of God's spirit composed, and as was mentioned in the message this morning, those who have chosen not to have that because it will be by their choice, chosen not to, they simply are extinct. They don't exist anymore.

Revelation 21:4 But it says, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There should be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away."

All of that becomes historic, only a part of history. What a time. As was said the other day in a message, this too shall pass. The Kingdom is a time of newness and wonder and peace and purpose and happiness forever without end.

Revelation 21:5 "And He that set upon the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, write, for these words are true and faithful."

Final scripture. I have always loved this scripture.

Isaiah 9:7 "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 this. Of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end.”

What is the Kingdom to me personally? All of this and more. Some things, brethren, will grab us. Some things will grab us and pull us in more than others. Magnify and emphasize that which makes it personal, personal, personal, personal to you. This is what we're being offered to share in, to have a part in. This is what each of us is being offered to have a part in. I can look myself in the eye, in the mirror, and say, I can look each of you in the eye and say, "Be there." The good news is, with the Kingdom of God, meaning enough to us personally, we will be.