Regardless of any setback, either individually or regarding the church, we have to set our minds towards completing the task of finishing the work and continuing to grow in grace and knowledge.
This sermon looks at the tools provided by God to achieve that.
The sermon discusses how to Internalize the nine characterizations of the fruit of the spirit to keep sin out to facilitate being counted worthy of keeping the Passover.
Christ’s admonition to seek the kingdom of God is found in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
In the dialogue leading up to this verse are a lot of examples as to what people focus their lives on. In verses 19-32, Christ focuses on the verse which sums it all up, verse 33, as quoted above.
The analysis deals with where your treasure is; not to serve two masters; and not to worry about the physical things of this life, because if you have your priorities straight, God will supply your physical needs.
If we are to seek first the kingdom, we have to have a clear picture in our mind as to what the kingdom of God is. Even though the definition is broad, it can be narrowed down, in part, to the understanding that God is a Family, consisting of the Father and His Son Jesus Christ who work in harmony to achieve what God wants, while Christ is subject to God the Father, the Most High God.
It also includes our potential to become full-fledged sons and daughters of God; and that God will establish the Government of God on this earth at the return of Jesus Christ; and the world structure will eventually be changed by the implementation of the laws of God, summarized by the Ten Commandments which show us that we demonstrate our love for God by keeping the first four commandments and our love for fellow man by keeping the last six commandments.
Then there are many statutes and judgments which explain the Ten Commandments further and show how to apply them specifically. The sooner mankind keeps these eternal laws, the sooner they can reap the benefits and blessings attached to keeping them.
The kingdom of God involves other aspects as well, but for the context of this editorial, it is being narrowed down to a few.
“Seeking” the kingdom involves doing some analysis and getting our priorities straight and not getting sidetracked by the things of this world like food, clothing and physical aspects which God will provide if we stay the course; and if we remain focused on the admonition to seek the kingdom first in our lives, the rest will follow.
The other aspect of this verse is to seek “His righteousness.” Since the Father and Christ—the Kingdom of God—are one in approach and righteousness, we have the example of Christ that we should follow. Christ’s life was pleasing to God since on more than one occasion, it was stated that Christ was the Father’s beloved Son in whom He was well pleased (compare, for example, Matthew 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mark 1:11; 9:7; Luke 3:22).
Let us look at the admonition in Proverbs 3:1: “My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands.”
So, seeking God’s righteousness involves obeying and keeping His commandments which in this day and age are rejected by man, and yet, they are not that complicated.
The definition of seeking includes, “to attempt to find (something).” For instance, note this example: “They came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds.”
“Seeking” can also mean, “to attempt or desire to obtain or achieve (something).” Examples could be: “The new regime sought his extradition,” or, “Her parents had never sought to interfere with her freedom.”
In addition, “seeking” can be defined as “asking for (something) from someone.” Here is one example: “He sought help from the police.”
Finally, “seeking” can be understood as “seeking someone/something out” and “searching for and finding someone or something,” like in this example, “It’s his job to seek out new customers.”
So, we can see that seeking involves some effort on our part, and we have to be continually seeking the kingdom of God which will be established when Christ returns, and which ultimately is the only hope for mankind, and we need to seek the righteousness of God which involves keeping the commandments. All the other physical things we may wish and desire will be given to us in due time; and at the end, the best gift of all will be eternal life. Let’s never forget the words of Christ in Luke 12:32: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Most companies have a mission statement, and so do members, the church, Satan and God. This sermon examines and expands on them.
Those who claim to love God should look at what Christ said in regard to keeping the commandments. In John 14:15, He clearly states: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
It becomes increasingly difficult to just ignore these words from Christ. We demonstrate our love for Christ and also for God the Father by keeping the commandments which Christ, the God of the Old Testament, spoke to Israel and, by extension, to the entire world. Furthermore, we especially demonstrate our love for God and Christ by keeping the first four of the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments are the four main pillars of how to love God.
One of those pillars is to keep the Sabbath—the time span from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. We read in Exodus 20:8-11:
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
God says, remember the Sabbath day; and overall man has forgotten to keep it while introducing Satan-inspired days such as Sunday, a former pagan day of worshipping the sun.
Furthermore, who changed the day from Saturday to Sunday?
We are quoting excerpts from an article by Christian Educators Academy:
“One of the earliest references to Sunday worship can be found in the writings of Justin Martyr, an early Christian apologist who lived in the second century. In his writings, Justin describes how Christians would gather together on Sunday to read the Scriptures, listen to a sermon, and partake in the Lord’s Supper.
“Over time, Sunday worship became more organized and structured. By the fifth century, Sunday had become the official day of worship for the Christian Church. This was largely due to the influence of the Roman Emperor Constantine, who declared Sunday a day of rest and worship throughout the Roman Empire.”
It was the Catholic Church which replaced the Sabbath with Sunday, and it was Constantine who enforced the worship on Sunday. But no institution and no man had or has ecclesiastical authority or an edict from God to make that change. The Sabbath was instituted by God and given to man.
Notice this statement in Luke 6:5: “And He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’”
Of course, He was and is the Lord of the Sabbath since He made it, following the direction of God the Father. If you are Lord of the Sabbath, you have power over it to declare when and how to keep it. No one has the authority to change it to another day, be it Sunday, Friday (which is kept by Muslims) or any day of the week (as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and, for example, Grace Communion International [GCI] believe).
Notice what else Christ said about the Sabbath in Mark 2:27-28: “And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’”
God made the Sabbath during the seven days of recreation of the surface of the earth which had been destroyed by catastrophes. It had become void and empty. God created man and made the Sabbath for man, not for angels or animals. Christ is also emphasizing again that He is LORD of the Sabbath, and we are subject to keeping it, not forgetting it or replacing it with another day.
What else does the fourth commandment say? It commands us to “keep” the Sabbath day “holy.” The Sabbath is holy because God put His presence in it. The Sabbath is holy time. Members and affiliates of the Church of the Eternal God keep it holy by assembling together in worship services to God, while those who have no congregation nearby listen to services which are broadcast live on the Internet, participate in song services and are able to use the chatline to communicate with others. Those who are unable to listen to services can listen to recorded sermons posted on the Internet.
Let us note further instructions of the fourth commandment: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work.” We are to do our customary work during six days of the week, but not on the seventh day, constituting the designated holy time by God.
The Sabbath has been called the test commandment as it can test our willingness to obey God rather than man. The Sabbath may conflict with the type of employment we may have so we have basically four choices:
At times, a person can declare he or she wants to obey God’s commandment regarding the Sabbath; at other times, a person actually has to prove it regardless of the consequences.
Carrying on, we read next: “In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.”
We are to refrain from work involving how we make our income, and from non-essential work, including by those we are responsible for and under our care. That would include not mowing our lawn on the Sabbath and not having our gardener do it for us on that day; it would include not working on our house or having someone else do it for us. It would also include not using our animals for farm work or our machinery to make our physical labor easier, like lawnmowers, tractors and other work-saving machinery. They are to “rest” also.
We continue to read: “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
God is reiterating that the Sabbath was instituted during the week of re-creation [note that God “made” the heavens and the earth in six days, by referring to pages 21-22 of our free booklet, “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man!”]. He also emphasizes that we are to keep it, as it was and is blessed by God. He hallowed it, making it holy time. So what it boils down to is that we can come up with all kinds of excuses and apply human reasoning and justification for NOT keeping the Sabbath, but all of it is totally unacceptable to God.
We prove our love for God by keeping the Sabbath. We prove our love for Satan, the current god and ruler of this earth, by keeping Sunday or any other designated day of the week. Satan has deceived the whole world, so many do not know that we must keep the Sabbath. They are not judged yet—their judgment comes later when they understand the Truth. But God’s people DO know, and they must NEVER deviate from observing the Sabbath and keeping it holy.
So, what is special and unique regarding the Sabbath which cannot be claimed by worshiping any other day? It is sanctified by God, set aside for a holy purpose. It has His approval and it points to the one and true God of creation.
Please notice Exodus 31:16-17: “Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'”
As an aside and in passing, Exodus 31 actually speaks about the “Sabbaths”—the weekly Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths or Holy Days. Both are to be kept. But in this Q&A, we are concentrating on the weekly Sabbath.
Members of the Church of God, who have been properly baptized and received the Holy Spirit, are spiritual Israelites. They must obey God by keeping the Sabbath (compare Acts 5:32), as physical Israel is commanded to do.
Notice, the Sabbath is a sign—a badge, as it were, that we belong to God, and that God is our God, and the Sabbath points to the one and only true God who should be obeyed by true Christians who are set aside by God’s Spirit in them. It is a sign forever, not just for a few weeks, and no one has the authority to change the day, even though we read in Daniel 7:25 that the “little horn” (the Catholic Church) “shall intend to change times and law”; that is, the law about holy time.
The Sabbath is a special and unique day of rest and refreshing, so let us ensure we take advantage of this wonderful blessing from God.
Lead Writer: Rene Messier (Canada)
When God intervenes in our lives, it is not always the opening of the Red Sea before us but mostly in small areas and at times totally unaware by us, at least at first.
I was in Penticton for a lung function test at the hospital and afterwards, I went to Walmart to pick up a few things. As I entered the store, I thought, “I don’t need a basket with the wheels on them since I will only have a few items which I can carry in my arms,” thinking that the coffee I was intending to buy would not be on sale and I would just get a couple of jars, which would be easy to carry with the other few small items I needed. To my complete surprise the coffee was on sale—a savings of over two dollars a jar, so I quickly went and got a rolling basket and put quite a few jars of regular and also decaf coffee in the basket. I also picked up four other items, and as I was walking down the aisle, I thought, “I will not l be able to carry all this so I will have to purchase a bag with handles which are around two dollars to carry the goods to the van.”
As I turned on the passage way to the checkout, there was an employee with a shopping cart full of small boxes. I immediately asked if I could have one to carry my goods in, which she allowed. At the self-checkout I was surprised that the width of the box was a perfect fit for six jars of coffee, and it was about 4 inches high and everything fit inside and it was easy to carry. When I got to the van, I thanked God for assisting me in getting a box for the goods and how perfectly the jars of coffee fit and even though I had not asked for His help, He provided for my needs and saved me two dollars.
God knows our every need and is aware of our thoughts and nothing is hidden from Him. If He numbers the hairs of our heads, as Matthew 10:30 says, then He is aware of us in an intimate way, and I thanked Him for that.
Zechariah 4:10 tells us not to despise small things. The indication is to rejoice in them; especially, when He is intervening in those small areas of our lives.
I told the following story before, but it is worth repeating because of the lessons learned from God intervening for us in small areas.
My son-in-law had been looking at houses in the area in the summer, and I wanted to look at a house myself, so I got on my scooter and went searching. I knew the general area but could not find the house. I thought to myself, “I need a map of Summerland.” Needing to go to the bank, I headed for town. The bank is at the corner of two streets so it offers six or more options as to where to park. As I approached it, I saw a spot alongside the bank, close to the front door. I pulled into the spot, pulled the scooter onto the kickstand and looked down to the ground. To my complete surprise, there was a map of Summerland, undamaged and in good shape. My immediate thought was, “Nice touch, Father.”
God supplied my needs without me asking.
The lesson in all this is that we are going into another calendar year very shortly. We will face various trials and tests and there will be times when we need intervention. It’s really comforting to know that as God’s children, He cares for us, watches over us and at times fulfills our needs before we even ask.
Matthew 6:8 tells us: “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”
We must never lose sight of this important fact because as a loving Father, He is looking after us, and also our needs, and even more. It says in Luke 12:32: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
What more could we ask for?
This message will look at biblical examples of the choices people made, and at the outcome of those choices. Some were good choices with a good outcome, while others were not so good.
Any investor planning an investment, whether in stocks, bonds or precious metals, has to analyze the risks involved. Some risks are high but produce big results; low risks usually produce lesser results as far as returns are concerned, so investors look at the potential Return On Investment or what kind of profit they can expect from their investment and how much risk they are prepared to take, and also, how much they are prepared to lose financially which in some cases may be all of their investment.
These are factors involved in investing in the markets. If one doesn’t want to incur any potential losses, then one should stay out of the market and keep their money in what the banks have to offer for term investments, with minimum losses, if any.
When we were called by God, He had to evaluate the risk involved in regard to our remaining faithful to the end. It was not an easy choice in some ways because of the human factor—the sometimes unpredictable reaction to certain events. Christ was frustrated at times, dealing with Israel, and He was prepared to start all over again through Moses, had not Moses talked Him out of it.
That same evaluation had to be done when creating angels since as free moral agents, they could rebel against Him, so in a sense, there was a risk involved in the process, and history shows that indeed thirty percent of the angels did rebel under the influence and leadership of Satan—an unredeemable, corrupt and evil being.
We were predestined before the creation of the world to be called at this time which is a great privilege since we can become part of the first resurrection, but the success of this calling is in our hands, in that we have to follow through to the end in order to stand before Christ at His coming. The investment by God is a portion of Himself in the form of His Holy Spirit in us and also the Spirit of Christ, so they are invested in us and want the correct outcome at the end of this process.
They are there to help us along the way, but we have to walk the path of this life, following the footsteps and perfect example of Jesus Christ. We are not going to be carried automatically into the Kingdom.
If we fail, we can never blame God but must only blame ourselves.
God has not left us without tools for the success of this task, and that is that we must draw close to God using prayer, bible study, fasting and meditation as the means to achieve our goal of being in God’s Kingdom as God beings and being subject to God the Father, as Christ was and is.
God and Christ are on our side and in a way cheering us on, and the holy angels want us to succeed also, so let’s ensure we do not let God down.
Our golden crown and white garments await us.
We are to be encouraged to keep our shoulder to the wheel and keep going forward in our responsibility to support the work of preaching the gospel to the world as a witness and warning the world of the troublesome times ahead.
