What is the Right Motive to be in God's Church and Endure?

Well, thank you again, Mr. Housen. Happy Sabbath, brethren! Mr. Graham was supposed to speak to you this Sabbath, but unfortunately he's still under the weather. So if he has an opportunity to hear this, we want him to know that we miss him and to hope he's feeling better very soon.

So why are we here this afternoon on Saturday afternoon? Why are we here? Now, our distractors might say that we're here because we are not all there. And they may have a point. During the past 43 years, I've witnessed many motives and reasons why people attend God's church all across the board. I've found from experience and I've found from observation that only one particular motive or reason really lasts a lifetime. The Scriptures teach us that we have to endure to the end. That's what Jesus said in Matthew 10 and verse 3. And I've observed that if a person develops one special primary motive built on the right foundation, that they never seem to lose sight of their calling or their purpose in life. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7 and verses 13 and 14, he said, Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction. And to draw an analogy of that, people can be attracted to, people can come into the church for the wrong reasons, for the wrong motives. And in time, those are bubbled to the surface, those become exposed, and unfortunately they can lead to many to stop the path, the journey of discipleship that they agreed to when they were baptized and they started their Christian walk. Jesus said that because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it. So there's one powerful, inspiring motive that lasts a lifetime.

And if that is our motive, that's wonderful. But if our primary motive to be part of God's church is a lesser motive, then that can cause problems. And I'd like to discuss the right kind of motive to be in God's church today. But before I do that, I think it's important for us to briefly talk about what I call the weaker motives. Now, these in themselves are not bad. These in themselves often are a blessing or a byproduct, the benefit of being part of God's church. But if they are our primary motive, if they are the main reason that we are attracted to God's way of life, if it's the main reason why we keep the Sabbath, why we worship with people of like mind, then that can cause long-term, eventually that can cause problems in our lives.

So again, I'd like to take a look at some of these motives. Here's motive number one. And again, remember that these aren't necessarily bad. The question is, should these be our primary major motive? Will they endure? Will they help us to endure into the end? So number one. Number one is what I call the save my skin motive. The save my skin motive. Many people have been drawn to the church in an effort to save themselves from the great tribulation. Eventually they go to Matthew 24 or they read the prophecies and they say, wow, there are some terrible times coming ahead. And brethren, indeed, there are some terrible times coming ahead.

Let's go to Matthew chapter 24 and read about the prophecy of the end time. Matthew chapter 24 beginning in verse 3. Jesus said now, as he sat in amount of all of the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us, when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming? So the disciples asked this question and the end of the age. Jesus said to them, take heed that no man no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying I, that is Jesus, am the Christ and will deceive many.

So he says be very careful of religious deception. Number six, and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars see that you are not troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet for nation shall rise against nation. So what we would call in our 21st century small nations will rise up and have war with one another like Syria having a civil war or Iraq 20-30 years ago maybe more of having a war against Iran.

So nation will rise up against nation and kingdom meaning something much larger a regional area of the world and kingdom against kingdom and indeed a bible prophecy says we will have another world war before the return of Jesus Christ and there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places all these are the beginning of sorrow so in other words there's even more to come obviously these are terrifying events described by Christ as the signs right before his second coming it's easy to read these verses and that's natural to be very concerned and say I don't want to go through those things let's drop down now to verse 14 and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to the nations and then the end will come therefore when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place whoever reads let him understand I want to stop right there and give you the context of what Jesus is just about to say he's speaking to people in Jerusalem he's talking about the fact that at the end time before he returns that an army will come and it'll encompass Jerusalem and that a religious superpower will establish the temple once again if it isn't already established and will proclaim to represent God from that temple in Jerusalem so in context what he's warning is believers to be prepared to flee when Jerusalem is taken over by these foreign armies so he says in verse 16 then let those who are in Judea notice the context flee to the mountains let him who's on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house and let him who's in the field not go back to get his clothes when it's time to flee if you happen to be in Judea in that time and you get the word that it's time to go so you're not overcome by these armies you don't become a victim you don't become you know something between a hammer and an anvil it's time to go you better go verse 19 and will woad with him who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days because those are activities that slow you down from fleeing aren't they and pray that your flight may not be in winter because wintertime is more difficult to travel to flee or on the Sabbath which I always find it interesting that when Jesus Christ returns he expects that there are actually believers who are still keeping the Sabbath day and if you look at modern Israel today even though it is a secular nation much of Israel is closed down on even the modern nation of Israel is closed down on the Sabbath verse 21 for then there will be great tribulation such has not been since the beginning of the world until now no nor ever shall be and unless those days were shortened no flesh would be saved but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened so we see here that yes there's a time of great tribulation that's going to occur in this planet before Jesus Christ returns to stop humankind from destroying itself on this earth now please understand that though this is a motive to be part of God's church that in reality it's a weak motive to follow God it is a very weak motive to make a commitment to God most people cannot be motivated for a long period of time through fear and that's a fear motivation the problem with fear is a motivation is that you grow immune to it over time you have expectations that something's going to happen by a certain time by a certain date by a certain plan and as time goes on and that doesn't happen by that event or time or date you become discouraged you become disillusioned as time goes by you become disappointed as your expectations are not met and the problem with fear is that someone has to be over you constantly making you fearful you have to receive a steady diet of fear to be motivated by fear so that's the problem with that it also opens you up to being manipulated in time your motivation to be free from manipulation becomes greater than your fear and if we're honest about this if we're really fair and honest about this motive it's really a selfish motive it's a motive about us physically if there's one thing that religion in God's way of life is all about if there's one thing that highlights it it's eternity it's not protecting ourselves physically somewhere even if you protect yourself physically somewhere i can assure you you will still grow old and you will still acquire the chronic diseases that come with growing old we are not in this to extend our physical lives we are not in this calling to be physically comfortable or to be protected we're in this for eternity we're in this for spiritual eternal life for something far noble than physical perfection or protection and yes indeed that can be a motive but it's not a motive it's not a primary motive that will endure and that will last so that was the first motive and in over my 43 years i've seen particularly in the 70s a lot of people attracted to God's way of life for that very reason the second motive is the exclusivist motive the exclusivist motive some people have been drawn to the church because they want to be part of an exclusive club to rule the world someday they want to feel special they want to feel superior others seek knowledge and the truth however they define the truth because it allows them to feel superior it's also for this motive unfortunately that many have improperly desired the office of the ministry sadly this motive tends to pull people into a constant need to judge others and what it does is it creates a gulf and your whole world is defined between us and them and then everyone who isn't exactly like them is judged as inferior or unconverted or of the world or evil and eventually even the church doesn't meet that person's individual standards so knowing things is good and it's exciting to learn truth and it's exciting to be part of something bigger in ourselves it's exciting to be part of God's calling but we have to realize that the truth that we have and the calling that we have is because of the grace and a gift from God not because we're superior or better than anyone else as Paul said in first Corinthians 13 he said and though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I could move mountains but if I have not love I am nothing I think it's a very important principle for us to understand to keep ourselves centered to keep ourselves balanced turn with me to Luke chapter 18 and verse 9 because unfortunately the exclusivist motive is frankly a very selfish motive and it doesn't last and here's ultimately what it degenerates into and Jesus gave a very clear example from Luke as he mentions here in Luke is recorded by Luke in chapter 18 of where the exclusivist motive ultimately ends up and it's not good Luke chapter 18 and verse 9 also he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous that's a nice way of saying they were very self-righteous and here's the byproduct you know you ever heard the phrase two sides of the same coin one side is that they trusted in their own righteousness the other side is and despised others because it goes hand in hand when you think you're superior you definitely ultimately will also despise others who are not like you first ten two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself god i thank you that i'm not like other men you see it's us and them god and god i'm beginning to have doubts about you even that's ultimately what happens so it's it's us and them is the mindset of the self-righteous i'm glad that i'm not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this tax collector i'm glad i'm not like he is i fast twice a week and i get tides of all that i possess so it's all about what i'm doing at verse 14 and the tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raises he was so humbled and humiliated he couldn't even look god in the eyes he wouldn't even look up towards heaven and he beat his chest saying god be merciful to me a sinner i tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted very powerful words by our savior brethren we're here by god's grace and not because we are superior to anyone god elected us by his mercy to be called now simply by his mercy others will receive their calling at another time he loves everyone he intends to call everyone at their appointed time we have been given the truth of god as a gift not as a reason to exalt ourselves or feel superior or act superior to others so that's the second motive the exclusivist motive the third motive is the lonely hearts club band the lonely hearts club band some people have been drawn to the church for a very good reason they've been drawn to the church because they're lonely and they're looking for some friends and you know what god's people are very kind and they're usually giving and they make really good friends and this is what god desires and this is the way god's people should be in the way god's church should be as i stated earlier this may be a good valid reason to be connected to god's church but if it's the major reason the primary motive for us being here then we may not remain faithful to our calling and our father to the end why you might ask because eventually you will be offended given enough time you will meet someone or you may offend someone and cause an offense a hurt feeling and if our primary motive was to be loved and to love and we run into a situation where we really offend someone or we are deeply offended by someone then that little pedestal will be kicked out from under us and we will struggle and we will become bitter and we will become angry and a lot of people have left the church over the years because they have been offended luke chapter 17 verse one if you'll turn there with me as i say it's a wonderful thing to come to the god's church and have a whole new family a whole new spiritual family when you join the church of god you now have spiritual grandmas and grandpas you have spiritual brothers and sisters if you're older you have spiritual grandchildren to love our family explodes it expands many times over and that is truly a wonderful thing but if that is our primary motive it just will not endure luke chapter 17 verse one he said to his disciples it is impossible that no offenses should come in other words jesus said you can guarantee that offenses will always be around but woe to him through whom they come it would be rather it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea then that he should offend one of these little ones and what he means by little ones especially as someone who's new in the faith and delicate and tender and still learning god's way of life they're not a grizzled veteran who's already been through the mill and already been offended a hundred times and learned to deal with it they're tender they're still new in the faith take heed to yourselves if your brother sins against you rebuke him in other words say you really hurt my feelings by doing that by saying that you really hurt me and that's fine that's what exactly what you should do and if he repents the person responds and says i'm sorry i made a jerk of myself i shouldn't have said that i shouldn't have done that i apologize i repent and forgive him and it should be a done deal it should be forgotten why because that's how we want god to respond to us when we repent that's why and if he sins against you seven times a day and seven times a day returns you saying i repent you shall forgive him why because if we do something stupid seven times today and we go to god seven times we want him to forgive us each time don't we you bet we do god's children are not perfect and eventually we offend one another because we're different because we come from different backgrounds we think differently and eventually you will be offended these offenses need to be resolved quickly or they fester that's the one thing that jesus is teaching here another reason that friendship should not be the primary motive we're here is because close friends may lead the church sometimes they do but they may pick up a strange or a new doctrine that may strain your relationship and again if that's your primary reason for being here that may shake your whole foundation it may shake your face or they may move away to another area we must be careful not to have only a very small circle friends we need to have a large circle of friends in the church within our own congregation and other congregations keep that circle big don't allow that circle to become small and exclude people out of it so that's the third reason the lonely hearts club band and again like the other motives it's not necessarily bad to a degree but it certainly cannot be our primary motive to be part of the church number four is the i'm stuck like glue and my guy motive i'm stuck like glue on my guy that comes from a song i think in the 50s it's human to follow individuals who have leadership qualities many years ago a decade or so ago when i received my master's degree in leadership there's an entire class on the psychology of the way the human mind is wired to want to follow leaders look at human history look at all of the the political leaders the military leaders look at how nations evolved into having kings and the whole nation would follow that one king as a leader would go out to war and armies of that one king we are wired that way as a people to follow individuals who have leadership qualities and this is again true of the political world it's true of religious leaders we are wired to have the need for a hero the problem with this instinct is that people have a tendency to blindly follow men it's okay to have a hero but it needs to be the right hero first chinaes chapter two and verse 16 if you'll turn there with me first chinaes chapter two and verse 16 let's find out who that hero is Paul writing to a congregation court that had a lot of issues he's going to bring out just a few of them here we oftentimes go to chapter five and of course we know about his comment regarding the spring holy days this was another issue that the Corinthian congregation was struggling with he says for who has known the mind of the lord that he may instruct him but we have the mind of christ and i brethren could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal as babes in christ i fed you with milk and not with solid food for until now you are not able to receive it and even now you are still not able you are still carnal wow i guess he he gave him both barrels and that one up click click boom boom and he's going to explain what he means for where there are envy strife and divisions among you are you not carnal and behaving like mere men for when one says i am of paul paul's my guy i like the way paul writes in long extended paragraphs that i find hard to understand yeah that's what i like paul's my man another says i'm of apollos he's glib apollos has charisma great dental care when he smiles you can see that one tooth sparkle in the light apollos my man so one son's apoll another says i'm apollos he says aren't you carnal your whole foundation of your faith is built on following a man an individual he says who then is paul and who is apollos but ministers that actually the original greek word means servants who they are they are servants through whom you believed as the lord gave to each one i planted apollos watered but god gave the increase he says you want a hero your hero should be god who gives the increase verse seven so then neither is he who plants anything that's not a compliment about a minister is it that's what paul says referring to himself referring to apollos he says so then neither is he who plants anything nor he who waters but god gives the increase so you want a hero you want something to follow someone to follow he says don't make it men make it god brethren ministers are servants they're tools that god uses the work the fields for god's harvest every minister has strengths and every minister has weaknesses i've known enough ministers from my own past to know that sometimes those weaknesses can destroy them if they are not taken care of we should never put ministers on a pedestal and put them ahead of what god desires if a minister any minister and he says ever says anything that is contrary to what is in here this is right he is wrong no matter who he is what is the right balance what the proper balance is what paul stated in first timothy chapter 5 and verse 17 he said let the elders who rule be counted worthy of double honor especially those who labor in the word and doctrine so we certainly should honor the ministry we should honor the elders but we should never put them on a pedestal we should never follow them we should never idolize them and to the degree that we do follow their example we should only do it as they reflect the example of jesus christ we've just looked at some motives and reasons that should never be the major primary reason we are part of god's church i'm sure there are others but those were four that came to my mind if there are any major or primary reasons like these that we attend god's church that we're part of god's church that is not a spiritually healthy position to be in frankly they can become very selfish reasons and i understand that because in my early calling in the god's church i had as a primary motive one of the very four things that i just mentioned to all of you and somewhere along the line i had to build the right foundation i had to stop the course i was on i had to examine my heart and my motives and i had to get right with god and make sure that i had the right motive and the right foundation so what is the major reason that we should come here on saturday afternoons what is the major reason that we should keep the sabbath what is a major reason the major reason that we should be part of god's church let's go to first corinthians we're already there chapter three and verse ten and we'll allow paul to answer that question we'll discuss something that lasts that lasts for an eternity if we allow it to become our major reason and motive for being here paul writes according to the grace of god which was given to me as a wise master builder i have laid the foundation and another builds on it so you know how buildings are built everything rest oh the whole weight of the building is on that foundation whether you call them footers or whatever you have to dig the earth you have to put something very deep and solid in the earth oftentimes poured concrete sometimes steel pillars or posts and everything that is built in that building rests all that weight on that foundation and this is what paul is saying he did here when he founded the corinthian congregation and others came through it and others built on it but he was the founder he says but let each one take heed how he builds on it for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid which is jesus christ that's the only foundation that works he says now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold silver precious stones those are good by the way or wood hay and straw those are very flammable i might add each one's work will become clear for the day will declare it because it will be revealed by fire imagine building something with straw and then a fire comes through it's gone just fender that's what happens he says if you build on a foundation with only straw or hay wood might last a little bit longer but as you know if you've ever had a fireplace of your own wood burns in contrast to gold which actually becomes more refined as it's heated more and more or silver or precious stones they're not susceptible to flame it takes an incredible amount of heat in order for those precious metals to be affected in any way the one and only foundation that endures is that which is anchored in jesus christ if a person's original foundation is built on knowing things a quest a thirst for knowledge or following personalities or church names or judging everyone or mastering prophecy that is a weak and a defective foundation of faith the only right cornerstone is jesus christ and what does that mean that means jesus christ and looking at his life looking at his example learning his teachings developing the attitude and mind of christ learning to become a new creature to grow from where we're at which is carnal to that of being a new creature in christ and we do that by studying his life by studying his morals and his philosophies not just in the old testament but as the god of the old not just the new testament but also as the god of the old testament and we make that philosophy and understanding and the example that he had in the things that he taught in the gospels we make that the foundation of our life if anyone doesn't start out with a right foundation anything built on top of it is defective and faulty and that's important for us to understand so what is the key to the right kind of foundation well the key to the right kind of foundation is a life that's dedicated to develop the mind of christ through following his ultimate example and you know what his ultimate example was it was pure service pure service let's go to philippians chapter two and verse one and see what i mean allow paul to define it here in philippians chapter two and verse one why is there so much emphasis in the new testament on growth on disciplining ourselves on learning a deeper morality on using god's spirit to change ourselves from carnal to something that's more godly why all of that emphasis is because god wants to prepare us for service paul in chapter two and verse one let's see the ultimate example here therefore if there's any consolation in christ any comfort of love if any fellowship of the spirit if any affection or mercy fulfill my joy by being like-minded now whose mind should we be like well he's going to tell us obviously jesus christ and have the same love whose love should we emulate well obviously the love of jesus christ be of one accord of one mind whose one mind should we conform to obviously jesus christ first three let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit but in lowy lowyness of mind let each esteem others better than himself that's an act of service right there let each one of you look out not only for his own interest but for the interests of his interest but for the interests of others what is that we call that serving someone we call that an attitude of service let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus who being in the form of god did not consider it robbery to be equal with god i know that's kind of cryptic in the new king james what it means is that when it came time for jesus to give up divinity and come to earth and walk of a man walk as a man he didn't grasp on to divinity i'm not letting go i'm not going down there i'm not going to give this up he says no he didn't think he was being robbed because he voluntarily gave up his divinity with god he was already god and came down to earth and walked as a man verse seven but made himself of no reputation so you go from god to no reputation having the form of a bond servant if you look up in the dictionary a bond servant is someone who serves without any benefit you know jesus christ had nothing to gain by doing this he was already god nothing personally to gain by coming down to earth living a perfect life and shedding his blood as the lamb of god he did it out of pure service because he wanted to give us an opportunity he wanted to give people who had no hope hope and a future that's why jesus christ did it taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in the appearance of a man he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross not might add a very painful unpleasant form of death that he experienced verse nine therefore god has also highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name that the name of jesus that at the name of jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father so brethren why does paul emphasize that we develop the mind of christ because jesus christ had a singer single major motive to come to earth and what was that motive to be a servant he had nothing to gain by emptying himself of his divinity to come here as a mere man to put on flesh he was already god he did it for the sake of others who had no hope paul wanted the church of his day to have a foundation that is grounded on the teachings and the example and the faith of the son of god i hope that's our foundation i hope that's the major primary motive that we are here he also wanted the building on top to be on top of the foundation to be one of service and a desire to help humanity and that's why we should build in our lives gold and silver and precious stones of character of a desire precious things to be part of god's family we are the jewel in god's crown and those jewels include what we read here and gold and silver and precious stones we are a major investment to god we'll see about the reason for that in just a minute isaiah chapter 30 and verse 19 if you'll turn there with me as i said a little earlier the new testament emphasizes personal growth spiritual maturity sanctification again that's the process of being made holy by the gift of the holy spirit it emphasizes these things because god wants to use us for service ultimately when we use the phrase mind of christ it can mean a lot of things it can be a pretty broad meaning but ultimately what it means is to be willing to serve as christ served to having a servant's heart and mind like jesus christ has a servant's heart and mind isaiah chapter 30 a time that will occur after the second coming of christ and after the great tribulation it says for the people shall dwell in zion in jerusalem you shall weep no more he will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry when he hears it he will answer you and though the lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction yes israel yes juda the great tribulation in the day of the lord you got something spanked quite hard and you got the point god punished god punishes those whom he loves he punished his people i want you to see what it says here it says yet your teachers will not be moved to a corner anymore but your eyes will see your teachers the physical people who survive into god's kingdom they're going to need teachers they're going to need people who love them what they don't need is a hologram flashing on a wall what they don't need are ghosts something that terrifies them what they do need are people who were human beings who had been there and done that people who struggled with their own carnality people who can relate to them people they can relate to to teach them to love them to care for them it says but your eyes will see your teachers it will just be some strange voice coming out of somewhere you know like the movie the ten commandments you may remember as uh as each one in a fireball was coming down in the stone in the sisalb the mill will be that deep bass voice thou shall have no other gods before me those aren't the kind of voices that people will hear it says your ears shall hear a voice behind you saying this is the way walk in it this is the decision you need to make this is the right way to a life that's going to give you happiness and fulfillment and all the things that you desire whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left there'll be your coaches they'll be there to help you to care for you to love you the father understands that he needs a spiritual family who were once human themselves and struggled with being carnaled themselves these spiritual teachers in god's kingdom can then relate and have empathy on those who live beyond the horrors of the great tribulation that's us brother that's the reason we have been called now in this lifetime let's go to chapter 40 just 10 chapters away isaiah chapter 40 verse 1 it says comfort yes comfort my people says your god who's going to do the comforting of god's physical people the remnant that are left on this earth speak comfort to jerusalem and cry out to her that her warfare is ended that her iniquity is pardoned for she has received from the lord's hand double for all her sins the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness prepare the way for the lord make straight in the desert a highway for our god every valley shall be exalted and every mountain shall be brought low the crooked places shall be made straight and in a rough place is smooth the glory of the lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the lord has spoken that beautiful prophecy that will be part of that we will be sharing in that comforting in that caring verse 11 he will feed his flock like a shepherd he will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and gently leave those who are with young that's part of the role that we will play a caring god a loving god who wants to build a new world once humanity wants to be happy wants to restore that garden that was lost that garden paradise that was lost in eden and he wants to restore it upon the whole world brethren god is establishing a nation with a new constitution there will be no more unsolvable social problems i can't even imagine waking up tomorrow as the mayor of cleveland or the governor of ohio or the president of the united states where do you even begin with the kind of social problems we have in this country today there'll be no more diseases like old age and cancer diabetes heart disease that shortens and ruins people's lives one of the guarantees of god's constitution is that everyone will have the right to live a peaceful and fulfilling life not a life of fear or a life of want or a life of hunger god is not a vengeful being who wants to make people feel conscious pain or shame for their past sins he wants to punish he wants people to get the point and he wants to move on he wants them to move on he wants good things for people jesus must have had that in mind when he went one sabbath day he walked into a synagogue in nazareth and during the synagogue service there was a portion called the public reading and jesus was given the scroll to the prophet isaiah and he opened it up and here's what he said we will read the original here in isaiah chapter 61 and verse 4 if you'll turn there with me we'll see where what jesus read and where he stopped and why isaiah chapter 61 verse 1 here's what jesus read from those scrolls and that sabbath day in the synagogue in nazareth the spirit of the lord is upon me because the lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor that's exactly what he did his gospel message was encouraging and he also fed many people he fed thousands and thousands of people when he preached he has sent me to heal the broken-hearted people who have no hope he gave them hope people who needed forgiveness of sin he offered forgiveness to proclaim liberty to the captives because this is a world that is captive to sin and satan is the modern pharaoh of this world he's the prince of the power of the air jesus came to proclaim a way for them to be free from the bondage of sin that is to accept him as the ultimate lamb of god and the opening of the prison to those who were bound and so many in this world are bound to the chains of sin and the lifestyle of sin to proclaim the acceptable year of the lord that means to proclaim through goodwill that god is bringing these things that jesus just mentioned and then in that synagogue jesus stopped at that point he didn't finish isaiah 61 it's because the rest of the fulfillment was intended for his second coming you and i are going to read that right now we'll continue to pick it up the next part finishing that verse is and the day of vengeance of our god that's what we call the great tribulation that's what we call the defense of the day of the lord the day of vengeance of our god preceding the literal return of jesus christ and that has come that must come because this world can learn no other way and justice demands that there be vengeance and retribution on a race of people who have sinned mightily against his creator for thousands of years but it doesn't last notice what it says to comfort all who mourn to console those who mourn in zion to give them beauty for ashes the oil of joy instead of mourning or for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that they may be called trees of righteousness the planting of the lord that he may be glorified that they may rebuild the old ruins that they shall raise up the former desolations that they shall repair the ruined cities the desolations of many generations and who will be involved in the latter half of this prophecy who will be doing the comforting who will be participating the rebuilding in the encouraging you will and i will because that is the calling of service that god has given to us that's why we were called now in this lifetime brethren we've been called to help christ do these wonderful things in the coming restoration of god's garden on this earth this is the right motive to be a part of god's church because it's service focused to give back to others what we have been given in essence to use a phrase that we use in our modern world today we pay it forward we give it back the truth the knowledge the fulfillment the joy the understanding that god has given to us we share with others our final scripture revelation chapter one and verse one if you'll turn there with me revelation chapter one verse one the apostle john was inspired to write as he begins this prophecy the revelation of jesus christ which god gave to show his servants things that must shortly take place and he has signified it by his angel to his servant john who bore witness to the word of god and to the testimony of jesus christ to all things that he saw blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things that are written in it for the time is near verse four john to the seven churches which are in asia and remember the entire book is to those seven churches not just chapter three john to the seven churches which are in asia grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne and from jesus christ the faithful witness the first born from the dead the ruler over the kings of the earth to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood he has made us kings and priests to his god and father so you see part of that process of service is so that we can be kings and priests and teachers and coaches and be part of god's plan to restore his kingdom to this world behold he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him even they who pierced him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him even so amen says john in his opening remarks to this prophecy god is going to do many wonderful things in the world tomorrow and he wants to do them through you god knows that he needs leaders there at that time in that world who were formerly human and who can understand and relate to humanity beings who had been there beings who suffered loneliness and sadness and poor health and personal trials and tragedy yet at the same time who persevered in becoming more like god who never let those trials and those stumbling blocks stop them from finishing the work that god began in them people who never gave up hope of a better world the hope of past generations rest only on christ return in god's mercy the promises of the resurrection and it also rests upon a small group of people who prepared themselves to be the leaders and teachers in the world tomorrow people who lived through times of tough problems indeed felt the problems experienced to the problems yet never stopped using god's spirit to change their lives to master their own thoughts become more like the mind of christ since the creation of adam billions of people have looked up into the stars and wondered why they're here they've lived lives without hope and looked up and said what is this life all about and we're being trained so that we can give them that answer someday when they're resurrected you and i are being trained every sabbath every bible study every prayer we make every fellowship activity we are receiving our doctorate in christian living in god's way of life every sabbath service we come here to learn about the mind the teachings the morals and the greatness of god we are being taught today so that we can help others to be learners and disciples tomorrow and it begins with our commitment today so one the one major motive for being a part of god's church should be that we realize that we are the father's and jesus christ's greatest investment we're more precious to them than anything they ever created because we mean so much to them we mean so much as a significant part of their future plan god not only wants us to be part of his family but he also needs those who are willing to submit to him and to serve him and others for all eternity are we up to the challenge are we up to having the right motive to endure and to the end i hope we are and i hope that we never forget that when god looks down upon you when he looks down upon me that what he sees are the precious jewels in his crown have a wonderful sabbath day