I can remember, it was only done one time back in the seventies, I was in north Louisiana in a pastorate and the then director of Church Administration wrote out in our bulletin, something like that that we got, and he said this, it was like an advertisement — "There's an opening for a pastor in Jacksonville, Florida. If you would like this pastorate, you can apply to (himself)." He said, it had a very nice and friendly church, you will like this church. It was on the coast and of course you had beaches, a lot of golf courses and the weather was just gorgeous most of the year, unlike other northern parts of the United States. He said, "If you would be interested, please contact me." Well I read that, now you don't know what I'm going to say! You thought that I was going to apply didn't you? No, I wrote him a letter, now I never received a reply back, I said this: "Why did you say that? Why didn't you say, this is a church that needs work, only those who want to work should apply, this will require a pastor who will have to sacrifice some things and you're going to have to give a lot, but in the end we are certain that the rewards will be worth it."

Now I don't know who he eventually got, but you're going to get what you advertise for. As I said, I never got my answer back from him and I wasn't intending to go and I said, what in the world are we doing here? That was going on in my mind; I was a little bit disturbed, I remember it, I'm not making it up, the town was Jacksonville, Florida, not a bad place, most people would love to live there.

There's something in this I want to talk about today that has to do with several of the themes we've been putting together for the past few weeks and I'm glad you're here again today because I want to put them together and in a certain form, to help us to understand what it is that we should expect and what is it that Christ would do, what kind of an ad would Christ write for us if He was inviting disciples? I think you know immediately, as we've been quoting some of these scriptures here in the past few weeks, just how it would run. He said, If you want to be My disciple, don't think that I've come to send peace on earth etc. etc...you have to be able to count the cost. Are you willing to bear your cross? Now that's a very interesting advertisement, if He would have run that one, how many people do you think would have applied? Not very many! Now He did get twelve in the end, He got it.

Now you know we live in a time in which it seems like the whole mantra of let's say a people's, their life is — let's see how much fun we can have, let's see how much pleasure we can get, let's avoid the hard, the difficult, let's see if we can get the best life, the easiest life where some few people will choose a hard life and they are very very few and they will choose the hard life. One of those people who do this are people who are in the Special Forces, you know what I'm talking about — here are people who have to be trained, they have to be trained intensely to where it hurts, to where they will give you every chance to give up and to quit and they will put you in a position to where you think you want to give up. But you see, that's the only way they're going to stay alive when they go to where they're going.

You ought to read some of these books; I've read them, its fascinating reading. I have not been there; I have not come close to being where some of these people are, very few people have, but they've chosen this, knowing what it was, knowing what it would be and knowing that after their training, their intense painful excruciating training, they would be sent to do things nobody else could do, that's where they were. Now I do like to read stories about this, I like to try to understand what they went through, I like to try to understand what happened and I try to make the application the best that I can. Now these are people who have been taught to endure a lot, they've been taught to persevere, they've been taught never ever to give up and they don't, to a man they don't.

Now Jesus Christ knew it would be hard, He knew before He gave up His privilege that He had prior to this human existence, that it was going to be hard, it would be so hard and that there would be the real possibility that He could succumb to the hardships that faced Him, the hardships of coming to this earth, living as a man, being subject to pain, and in this case, lots of pain, He would die, He would die a death that no man would wish on his worst enemy, the death of crucifixion, the death that when you went through that excruciating pain you would eventually fight for every last breath and you would hold on to it so preciously until you could breathe no more, He knew that's what He would have to do. It was all prophesied beforehand, we normally talk about this during the time of the Passover to help us to appreciate what He did for us.

Now let me just say here, that's not expected of you and me, but it is expected that we understand it and we should appreciate it. Now He wants us to understand this because we will be forever responsive to Him, we will be forever subjective to Him, willingly so because we understand what He went through. If any of you could say, well I've suffered more than Christ, and I've known some few people who have said Christ couldn't even begin to understand what I'm going through — well that person doesn't know what Christ went through. But if we did, we could always say, well I suffered as much as Christ. I don't think so! Christ had to go through all of it, He had to experience all of it and He did go through all of it and that has won us to Him forever, that has put something in our hearts and minds, how could we, why would we disobey Him? Why would we forsake Him, why would we ever rebel against Him? He had shown this kind of love toward us through this kind of hardship, here is a person that we could admire and follow forever, we would never forsake Him in that way. It's a very powerful thing when we understand what was really behind it, but He knew it was hard and He chose that. Isaiah 53:3 says:

Isa. 53:3 — He is despised and rejected by men...now He didn't look forward — I appreciate what Mr. Huffmans had to say about the scribing, the attitude of people toward Him. He somehow knew that He would not have the respect...a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him...if we were there, we would throw in with the crowd and not stand by Him, as His own disciples did at that one particular time...He was despised and we did not esteem Him.

It's all too easy for us then to simply go along with a dominant or powerful feeling of the group or the crowd isn't it? It takes a very strong person to stand up and say "I'm not going along with this, I won't be a part of it, I won't feel this way and if it means that I'm going to be disadvantaged as a result, I'm going to suffer for it, well so be it, I will not go along with this." Few people could do that, His own disciples couldn't, in the end they did, they could but it took a lot for them to do that. But He would be familiar with grief and suffering, He would see it, He would live among it, He would feel the pain of others, He would not retreat from a situation where there was suffering, He knew it personally and in some cases, intimately. He saw evil, He lived amongst evil, He grieved within Himself over what He saw other people go through, He was so grieved at some of the terrible penalties and consequences and pain and sicknesses that they had. Then in the end He faced it Himself didn't He? Not that He was sick, don't mean to imply that, but He did have to face pain and suffering. He had to live with the sure knowledge of what would happen, but you never heard Him complain, even though He knew what was going to happen, He described it to His disciples for their sake, He tried to help them prepare for what they were going to see Him suffer. He didn't say it because He was just venting — do we do that? He didn't say it to them because He wanted sympathy, He wasn't saying this because He was really anxious about the whole thing, worried about, wondering what was going to happen, He didn't do it that way. The closest He ever got to saying anything to His own disciples, when He was trying to help them to see what they would experience is in Luke 12:49-53, it's very interesting what He said here, what He meant, what He intended, He wasn't immune to facing the reality of it, I mean it's not something He blocked out of His mind saying, I don't want to think about it! How many of us have done that? I don't want to think about it — why do we do that? We can't handle it, we can't handle those kind of thoughts, the idea sometimes of some terrible thing that's happening, so we don't want to think about it.

Luke 12:49-53 — He said — "I came to send fire on the earth and how I wish it were already kindled! Or the sooner it gets here, the sooner it's going to be over. But I have a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed I am until it is accomplished. Do you suppose I came to bring peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on, five in one house will be divided; three against two, two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

He's kind of spinning this out a bit, the way He's explaining this, I really want you to get this fellows, how it's going to be. Now you see, in one sense, to what extent they knew this before they signed on with him, I don't know, but at least as they go along, He is telling them, and He is giving them a chance to opt out anytime they want to, they can opt out, as when the people, the crowds left Him in John 6 when He made the statements, "You have to eat My flesh and drink My blood" and they were offended at that and they left. And He turned to His disciples and He said to then, "Would you like to go too?" They had a chance to opt out, sure, and Peter said...and you've got to hand it him, he said, "No, you've got the words of eternal life, here's where I'm staying." He didn't quite know what it would mean, he didn't know what he would have to experience but he said, nope, I'm sticking! But He says here, don't think you'll have peace if you stay with me.

Now let me just say this, it's not wrong to have pain and distress, it says this — it's how you handle it, you can lose control, you can go into an emotional tailspin of some kind of description, or you can temper your thoughts and your feelings, you can keep them in line with God's law or you can go into emotional tirades of vengeance, of hate, of accusation which then leads to despair and discouragement and sometimes even depression. Now look, what He's saying here, He says, look, all these things are going to happen. Of course you can be pained over it, you can be troubled over it. You know the contrast of Christ, whenever He was crucified and one of the criminals was crucified with Him is quite startling. The gracious statements that came out of the mouth of Jesus was so profound — the one statement that stands out, of course there were a number of statements, seven of them if I recall. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." And the centurion then who was in charge of the crucifixion or the execution of the three was standing there and he heard, he just kept hearing what Jesus was saying and the centurion in charge of the execution exclaimed when he heard this, "This is truly the Son of God." What would he see before, what would he see from the other one? Not the one who obviously had understood why he was there and understood why Christ was there, but the other one, the third one, I mean he was ridiculing, he was cursing, you know as they tend to do when they're being put to death at a time like this, they would curse the people who were doing it, they would spit on them, they would do all kinds of hateful things, just do something to them, that's the kind of reaction. Jesus had a totally different reaction when He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." And the centurion saw that and was so moved by it, he said, This has got to be the Son of God. Nobody can have this kind of self control, nobody can have this kind of temperament, nobody can endure this kind of hardness. John 12:27, it's quite interesting here.

John 12:27-29 — "Now My soul is troubled...of course you're going to be troubled over things...well what shall I say...that's kind of what He's saying, the way we would say it...Father, save Me from this hour, but for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." This wasn't about Him (Christ), glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven, 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.'" Therefore the people who stood by heard it and said that it thundered. Others said, "An angel had spoken to Him."

V. 30 — And Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake."

No, it didn't, one would think, it's something that Jesus would certainly be buoyed up by and encouraged by, I'm sure He was. But He says, this is actually for you. You know He didn't complain, He was self-controlled, He carried this out to the end, saying to the Father, My soul is troubled, but what of it, this is why I'm here. He got on with the job, He had to give His life for the life of all the others and us too for that matter, that's the way Jesus was, that's the way He lived and in the end, that's the way He died. He never allowed Himself much luxury, He couldn't afford to, He couldn't afford to get in that frame of mind because He knew what He had to experience.

How did it get to be this way? Let's cover a couple of points here. Hebrews 4:15. How so? What do we mean that Jesus then was a person who was very self-disciplined and He was in control, He was in control of His life.

Heb. 4:15 — For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

You see, He was tempted, He would have to have been tempted in all things but He did so without sin, He had to face things that you and I face and face them to the full extent, because He never succumbed to them. At any point if you succumb prior to the fullness of the temptation and you give into it, you haven't faced the whole thing, we should think about that. People say, well, He doesn't know because He never succumbed — anyone who succumbs prior to the fullness of the temptation has not persevered, they have given in, Jesus didn't, so He does know — that's the point, He does know, He's been there, He's went through the whole thing — we can't say, Well He hasn't been tempted, He hasn't been tried in the same way I have been, don't ever say that. Hebrews 5:7.

Heb. 5:7-8 — Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplication with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, was heard because of His godly fear. Now Jesus did that, vehement cries and tears. Though He was a Son, He learned obedience by the things He suffered.

You know, we do too, we're not exempt from that, you do learn obedience by the things you suffer and let us not think that somehow, we're exempt from this, that I learn obedience simply by showing up. Oh you have to show up, support and do that, I learn obedience simply by being in it. That helps, but you don't really learn obedience, you learn obedience by the things you suffer.

Now here's what we're coming to — there are disciplines that we have to follow if we're going to make it. That's kind of taking off from the idea of a disciple, there are disciplines and the bible speaks of those disciplines. One is prayer, that's what we just covered by the way, one is prayer, there is the discipline of prayer and it ought to be a discipline to us, not something we can forgo, not something we can exchange and say, well maybe there's something better on television, maybe I'll just skip it today because I have too many other things to do. No, it's a part of the discipline that we have to follow, there are choices we have to make, we can't get caught up in the enticements and the entertainment of this world, or we say, I will forgo some of that to pray, to seek God, to study out His word, I'll do that which is most important. And let me tell you something, if you follow that one discipline, we haven't gone much beyond that, but I'm going to tell you about several other disciplines today that will make a huge difference. Now I think that's the point that I've kind of been making for about the past three or four sermons since the Feast, that's prayer, we don't ever leave that do we? It is a discipline, it's basic, it's foundational and you can't forgo it — don't! Don't think you can do without it, it's a discipline.

I remember reading about this boy who had cerebral palsy, I read it about 30 years ago in quite a famous book in the US, it's down here too, he finished up his book with this particular story. Cerebral palsy is one of those problems from birth that can be helped with great effort, only with great effort and they did eventually find a doctor who said, Look, there is something you can do but not many people are willing to do it because it's hard, you don't realize how hard it is, but I want you to understand something, that there can be improvement. So this doctor outlined a program for him and he said, Here's what you're going to have to do with him. And they did this as a baby and as a child, when they finally figured out this is what his problem was. So his father hired a trainer and began to work with him and work with him as a small child, got him up, helping him to sit up, helping him then to walk and then to run and then eventually play sports. He was reasonable with sports even though his palsy was quite acute, he had to teach the child to keep moving, to keep fighting, to make his muscles in his legs and his arms and back work, to continue to work without the help of the instruction that would come from his brain. It had to be done through other parts of the nervous system and that's serious, but you could bypass that but it would take enormous amounts of work and it would come back again if you didn't continue to do it. But the work was painful, it was almost never ending, it went on for hours a day until the muscles and the nerves overcame the non support that should have come from the brain that was damaged at birth. As he got older the young lad knew, as a teenager he knew that he didn't have the luxury of not working his body, he didn't have that luxury, because if he did, the disease would come back, all he had to do was not go to the gym and the pain and the exercise for two days and you would see the disease begin to encroach on his body and begin to take its toll if he did that, the disease would come back. So he had to keep it at bay, he had to pay the price, he had to keep doing that, he had to do that for his whole life and when his friends, the other boys he went to school with and he played sports with would just want to stop everything and hang out and enjoy life, he knew he had to say goodbye and he had to make the trip to the gym. He had to do that.

Now you see, the Laodiceans can come out of this if they want to, now this is what we've been talking about, they really can because Christ wouldn't tell them to do something they couldn't do. He says, "I counsel you to buy of Me gold tried in the fire." They can do the hard thing, they really can, it can be their choice, it was Christ's choice to come to this earth. You see now, if we don't make these kinds of choices all along, you won't make the right choice when you need to make that choice. A lot of people opted for the easy way out and they always will, it's a part of human nature, to take the easy way out. They found the way to excuse themselves from obeying God in a world when everything was against them and the first time somebody came along and began to tell them they didn't have to obey God, it was all too convenient to believe, so they went that way, indeed they did and they still rationalize, you don't understand. There's going to come a time where the story is going to be told as to where you are.

Acts 14:21. I didn't finish that, I should have finished, there's another additional point I should make on that and that's this: There is a reason why people make those kinds of decisions by the way, it's not a mystery, it's not something that's unknown, you can simply follow the trail, it's there, the clues would have been there all along and when it came time for somebody to come along and say, You really don't have to do all of this, you really don't have to obey God, there's a reason why they opted for it. Now you think about that one.

Acts 14:21 — They had preached the gospel in that city, they made many disciples and they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch...

V. 22 — ...strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."

Now I know we like to argue with this, but these are the facts of the matter, we too through much tribulation, are going to enter the kingdom of God. He said this is the way God set it up, you have to go through tribulations, there are going to be trials, we don't want to hurt you, that's not the point, don't want to see you suffer, He doesn't want to punish you, that's not what He's doing at all. But He said, if you're going to last, if you're going to hang in there, if you're going to stand the trial, if you're going to be able to be in the kingdom of God and stay in the kingdom of God, this is the only way you're going to get in it. There are no exceptions to this, there are tribulations. I don't know what form they are, in the case of people here, they were persecuted externally, that seemed to be the hallmark of that early Church, they were just persecuted all the time, not something they chose for themselves, not something they sought, it just simply happened to them. Laodiceans he said, if you're going to make it, you're going to have to choose a way, you're going to choose this, you're going to have to choose the hard way, you're going to have to get down to doing what you're suppose to do because you can do this and he's advising them to do it, otherwise there will be chastisement, but you have an opportunity to exercise yourself in this kind of discipline to start with.

You know one of the fruits of the spirit is self-control and self discipline —

Galatians 5:22-23 where it lists all the fruits of the spirit. The old King James I believe speaks of self control. V. 23, just coming down to the last ones here:

Gal. 5:23 — gentleness, self-control...the last one! Against such there is no law.

The word is egkrateia — I'm not sure how you say it in the Greek, I don't guess it matters, which simply means "strength" it has reference to power or ascendancy which we have over various evil passions, as the commentaries put it, or tendencies to sin, evil passions of all kinds. It denotes the self rule which man has over the evil propensities of his nature. It is a fruit of God's spirit when God moves us through His spirit to discipline ourselves, I mean God does that, that is a fruit of the spirit, self discipline is a fruit of the spirit and as I think I've been trying to make the point, we live in an age where there is too much seeking of pleasure, seeking of leisure, seeking the easy life. We even call ourselves here, when we've gotten a bit more prosperous in our nation here of Australia, the lifestyle country, we even go for that!

And what happened to the people, the hard work, the people who sacrificed? You know this is why nations lose what they have, it's because they have opted for the easy life. You have a few people who are out there on the front line who will fight for their country, who will be a part of the military for instance and put their lives on the line, and who will go to the extent of being trained so highly that they will do extraordinary things because they've been trained to do so and the ordinary person can't do them unless he is prepared to pay the price to do it, and a few people do this. You've got a few of them in Afghanistan today who are out doing these kinds of things, but it's too bad the politicians won't choose to fight a war. I would hate to be serving under a commander and a chief who doesn't want to win. Now that's just my opinion because it's happened in too many wars recently. They're not interested in winning so our good men die for nothing. Now there are people who are prepared to do that, they take the hard way and it is the hard way.

We do tend to let ourselves get away with too much, if we can bring it back to ourselves. Someone once said about the mood that they were in, when they were having a pity party that went on for I don't know how many months, feeling sorry for themselves, questioning God about everything that was happening to them and they went on like that until they finally saw what it really was like and they had to get out of it and they did, but they saw the frame of mind that they were in, they were simply letting themselves get away with all kinds of things, rolling around in their heads and it was affecting them, affecting their relationships, affecting their marriage, affecting, if it was a parent, the parenthood, it was affecting a lot of things and we do tend to let ourselves get away with too much. We like to pamper ourselves with the kind of thinking that we aren't really at fault, we're not really that bad, the other person was really bad here and we get into all of that.

You know, let me tell you something, look, Jesus said this, there are different ways in which we take so many luxuries and we allow ourselves certain things. Jesus said that whoever looks after a woman and lusts after her in his heart has already committed adultery — guys, some people just allow themselves too much, some people just allow themselves to linger a bit too long, you don't allow yourself that, there is such a thing as self-discipline and that's what he's talking about here or we've got to simply make up for whatever other thing we're dealing with, suffering, because this happened to us or that happened to us, I mean we find some other cheap counterfeit way of dealing with it through alcohol or drugs or something like that. We can't handle it.

Well when I get a bit stroppy and I was going to join the military, I know what my father was thinking. He says, I think of busting into the military would do the boy good! Now God had different...I was almost there...in fact I wanted to go, bit of an adventure, however God had some different ideas and I came to understand a whole lot more about the truth and what was going on and I made a different decision and I had to fight a different kind of warfare but the same difference, I couldn't let myself get away with things. Let's say, I didn't do it, but I want to tell you something, it's going to take some discipline to reign in wayward thoughts, it's going to take some discipline to get a hold of certain feelings. Now that's the hard part and these are some of the disciplines that we have to understand about it all, that we just can't simply let our feelings go, wherever they go sometimes, they just get out of control, we say outlandish things, outrageous things and wow, we look back on them and where did that come from? We allow too much. Now self-discipline then kind of puts it back on us doesn't it, to where we start to get the control over ourselves. Now let's notice in II Corinthians 10:3.

II Cor. 10:3 — For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

Now I don't fight physical battles, though that is an indication of how a person might learn to endure and I think it's always good for young people to get involved in some kind of a program where they can be trained, physically, I really do, and to learn how to be trained and to push themselves beyond anything that they ever — so that they can make the team, that they can be on it and they can have that kind of accomplishment, it gives them a great deal of confidence. Now I think that's important, they can transfer that over later but our war is not according to the flesh, lets put it that way, we don't have to fight that kind of a battle necessarily.

V. 4 — For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal...or human or fleshly... but mighty...they are mighty...in God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

So whatever rolls around in our heads sometimes that causes us to act emotionally and say things we shouldn't say and fly off here and fly off there and take extreme positions sometimes, God says, you're in a war man, get over yourself! Oh I just can't do it...do you know what God says? Yes you can!

V. 5 — Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ...now you don't mean every thought? Well now, that's what he says here, these are military terms, into captivity...and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Ok, someway, somehow, I'm going to deal with this and you go to the inth degree to make sure you don't do it again; you punish all disobedience within yourself. That's the fun about judging other people, it's not saying, you're categorizing, you're judging, looking down upon other people, that's not what it's talking about here, it's about what you do with yourself, that's what it's talking about.

So there is the discipline of self control and of mind and emotional control the bible talks about. Now let's notice in I Cor. 9:24...the book of I Corinthians and II Corinthians is very interesting, I love it, because Paul lets them know what he was prepared to go through because of what Christ did for him and for what Christ had called him for. Whatever you want me to go through, that's it, I'll go through whatever. That's how he thought and that's how he felt and he was sincere.

I Cor. 9:24 — Do you not know that those who run a race all run but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things...

That is, he's self controlled, complete control in all things. You know the fastest runner in the world — now I'm going to just have to assume he's being drug tested on a very regular basis, I just assume that OK? Now let's say all things are right there, I'll tell you something about this guy, he says, I'm going to do better next year than I did last year. How does he know that? He's in charge of himself, he's in charge of his body, he's in charge of his mind, especially his mind because when you get up there it's up here (pointing to head) and all of the people who have been to the very top level of their sport will tell you it's here, that's where the discipline has to be, you've got to get your thinking right here, get your thoughts right, you've got to be in charge. Nothing comes along and throws you, you're in charge. That's self control...temperate in all things.

V. 25 — Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty, thus I fight, not as one who beats the air...you know, people who have been properly trained, they know what to do, they know how to do it, they know the way, the methods and so on, they've worked this out and when they work hard it has a direction to it and it pays off, that's what he says, I'm not just beating the air here, I know exactly where I'm going, I know how this is going to pay off, I know what it's going to get. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty, thus I fight, not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified.

So I'm not going to let myself get away with a lot of things. Now he's not against fun and recreation, nobodies against that, nobody is saying you've got to be a pretty dull boy, nobody's saying you can't have time out to recover, you've got to have time out to recover! But I'm talking about an overall frame of mind here in which you're prepared to do, not just the right thing but the hard thing because it pays off. 2 Timothy 2:1, I'm always impressed by what Paul told Timothy.

2 Tim. 2:1 — You therefore, my son...and he mentored him...be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, in the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Endure hardship, like a soldier does. Did you ever hear the stories some of these soldiers do, I mean they go till they drop, they teach them that. But he told Timothy, Timothy, I've got a nice church area for you, beautiful Mediterranean weather, nice folks, you'll never have any problems out of them and there you go, you can just be the pastor and everybody will like you and you can just get paid from what's being collected there at the time and everything will be just fine Timothy. That's not what he told him — he said, I want you to endure hardness as a good soldier, he said I want to show you how to behave in the Church of the Living God, he said I want you to preach the word, I want you to fulfill your calling and I want you to do the work of an evangelist. He says, I like it here, as an ordinary preacher. What a nice life. And sometimes that's what we do, we just teach our pastors to do just that. Well, depends on whether we're going to buy it or not. He said endure hardness as a good soldier, there are some disciplines and he kind of went through a few of them here and you can sort of read for yourself but lets notice in II Timothy 2:15, just down a few more verses. It's all in here if you read it from that point of view; you may be surprised what you see in that regard. He was challenging Timothy, he wasn't telling him how he could take it easy in life, he said, this is the ticket into the kingdom of God, here's what you've got to show people, here's what they have to understand, the only way to do it, you've got to live that way. He says:

II Tim. 2:15 — Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. It says in the Old King James it implies that this is to study to present yourself approved to God, tying it in with the idea that you have to know how to rightly divide the word of truth. Do not allow yourself the luxury of getting into profane and idle babblings. I took a little liberty with that verse, but that's basically what he's saying...for they will increase to more and more ungodliness.

Oh yes, it's always fun isn't it? Always easy to kind of ease back, pull back a little bit. There are disciplines and here's one — the discipline of the Word of God, to study it, to search it, to see what it says and to believe it and to begin to put it into practice in your life, that's a discipline, so that's two — prayer, the kind of prayer that Christ prayed and the kind of study that we have here. Philippines 2:3, let's conclude with this, unless I can think of another scripture between now and then!

Phil. 2:3 — Now let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let's read this from the point of view of a discipline. When people give themselves the luxury that they're in this thing for selfish ambition, he says you can't have that, or conceit or you think you're better and you know more or whatever...but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

V. 4 — Let each of you look out not only for his own interest but the interest of others.

This is a discipline, how you look after others, how you're concerned about others, that is a discipline. The works that God gives us to do is a discipline, it's a part of the things that we do. Now this is in contrast of course with the emphasis that is placed in so many churches today of accepting Christ as your Savior and you're saved and that kind of thing. I'm not saying people don't get into some of these disciplines, I think they do. Some very genuine sincere people will do that but all too often it's not put that way. Now if you had a person walk in here today and I said, OK, so this is about being in the kingdom of God, let me tell you what it's going to take and you start telling them what it's going to take and describe it — well this is not what I heard down the street, what I heard down the street was — and I really enjoyed myself there, we got into emotion and we got into a lot of singing and we got into a lot of this and that and how blessed we're going to be if we do this and we get a double portion here and we get this and we get that and we have all of this and it's so wonderful and I'd rather go there. OK, we're talking about getting into the kingdom of God, that's what we're talking about.

Now we do need to be a little tougher on ourselves with respect to some of these basic disciplines. Let's go back to it — Laodiceans live in a time where it's easy, where they have everything given to them, they don't think they need anything, they don't realize they're poor, they're blind, they're wretched and miserable, they need gold tried in the fire, they need the raiment of righteousness and he says, you do this, go on, let's see it happen, so everybody has to make up his mind as to whether they're going to follow this, they're going to follow the disciplines, make the right choices and just get a little tougher on themselves. First of all with what goes on up here (mind) — that's where it's at, you don't let yourself get away with all kinds of things, we've been too used to that and nothing is going to change unless we really get a hold of what goes on up here in our heads and start bringing everything into captivity and we're in charge, not just any kind of thought that comes along or emotion or feeling or whatever, but we just get a hold of this thing and say, look, I'm bringing this into captivity here and I'm not going to be tossed back and forth and thrown around by all kind of feelings and emotions that kind of come along, I'm just not going to do it, I'm going to get a hold of this and do it with God's help and so you start to exercise these other disciplines, prayer and bible study so you can discipline what goes on in your head and you discipline that, these are disciplines. Then if we're going to be a true disciple, then we've got to live that kind of a life that He wants us to be and He never promised an easy life and I just don't read those kinds of advertisements about the kingdom of God that I paid you at the beginning an easy life and a particular church pastor. Well I think you get the point of how I feel about things. I really hope I could convey that to you. Thank you very much for coming today and I'll be here next week, Lord willing, we'll see you then.

Well, if you keep up with God's calendar and pay attention to the moon, and the phases that it goes through every month, you probably know that tomorrow is the first day of the month of Elul, Elul meaning the sixth month. There's a New moon then. So, in the first month, first day of the sixth month means the next New moon that comes around will be on the first day of the seventh month, which means that we will all be together for the Feast of Trumpets, just a month away. And, of course, when the Feast of Trumpets comes around, and as we're looking forward to that time, we know that excitement is always building in the air. It's that time when we look forward to Trumpets and Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles and all that, that means. It's a big time of the year. It's an important time of the year for us.

And that's fitting that it would be so, because when you look in the Bible and you read in the Book of Revelation and you see the time of the return of Jesus Christ drawing near and near, you see the anticipation in heaven grow as well. You read in Revelation 5:11, and 19 of how the angels just praise God, praise Jesus Christ. He's come to earth, He has earned up, or He has paid the price for our sins. He is going to return, and set up His government on Earth is going to bring so many good things for all of mankind. So as you see that praise building, and as we live in the world around us today, and we see the times of Jesus Christ's return drawing ever near, as we watch events, and things happen in the world that just bring us closer and closer to the realization that everything we read in the Bible in Revelation in how the world will be at the time of the return of Christ, we see that anticipation, and we should feel that anticipation as well.

You know, when Jesus Christ came to earth, He brought the message of the kingdom of God. When John the Baptist was preparing the way for the kingdom, for Jesus Christ, he first mentioned the Kingdom of God, and the Jews had no idea really what they were talking about. They thought when the Messiah came, that He would restore the physical kingdom to Israel. There would be a king that would replace the Roman king, and things would go back to the way they were in the Old Testament. They didn't really understand what Christ was saying, but wherever He went, He preached the kingdom of God. And He preached the true kingdom of God, not everyone understood it, but those that He called and opened their minds, they understood the kingdom of God. I want to just take a quick survey through some of the New Testament here to talk about the kingdom of God, and see how it be...was prevalent in Christ's teaching, and then the apostles that followed Him.

If we go back to Matthew 4:17. As we're in Matthew 4, Christ has just emerged from His fast, and the great temptation with Satan, the devil. He's overcome Satan. He is ready to begin His ministry. As you read coming up to verse 17, you see a prophecy that is written there, that He has fulfilled. And I know in our weekly Zoom Bible studies, we've been going through the Book of Isaiah, and these fulfilled messianic prophecies are there. It leads up to what it says in verse 17.

Matthew 4:17 It says, "From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

It's here. It's at hand. Now it's close. They didn't know, as I said, probably what He meant. But as He went through His time on earth, as He, for instance, in the Sermon on the Mount, and He gave that model prayer, part of it was He said, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done." Put that in your prayers, thy kingdom come.

And the Jews at that time probably thought, "Okay, when the Messiah comes, He will bring the kingdom back." They didn't understand today we are still praying, thy kingdom come and all that it means. As you go on through the Book of Matthew, if we go to Chapter 13, He keeps talking about it, and He gives the disciples there some parallels, "The kingdom of heaven is like this. The kingdom of God is like that." I'm not going to take the time to read through those parallels, or those parables. You can do that, and see what they're saying. But He says something interesting in verse 11 of Matthew 13.

Matthew 13:11 “When the disciples come and said, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’ He answers and says, ‘Because it's been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it hasn't been given.’”

The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. What is God teaching? You know, the past couple times I've been here, we've talked about the mystery of the church, and what God is working through the church, how important the church is, and what God is working with you and me. We've talked about the mystery of man hidden from man, why is he even on earth? So many people are asking that question. And Christ says, "From them, it's hidden, to you, it's given. You know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. You know what God is doing." And that should motivate us. That should give us zeal to pray “thy kingdom come” but you should also realize that it puts a responsibility on us, a responsibility that God has opened our minds to this truth. And, you know, as Jesus Christ was about to ascend into heaven after His resurrection, and spending time with the disciples, He commanded the church “you preach the gospel, you preach the gospel to all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.” Let's go to Matthew 24, and actually look at that verse in verse 14.

Matthew 24:14, He says "And this..." Now, look at that word, this. "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come."

What is this gospel? You can tune into a number of other churches, and they'll tell you what they think the gospel is. They'll talk about a gospel about this, and a gospel about that, but we know what the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of God is. Jesus Christ will return to this earth, Satan will be bound. He will establish his government that will rule the earth at that time, and all nations, as it says in Isaiah 2-4, will flow to Jerusalem. They will be looking for that teaching. The world needs that hope. The world needs that gospel of the kingdom. You and I have it, you and I believe it, you and I know it. It's a mystery to the world when they read the kingdom of heaven, and they try to come up with every other way they can explain the kingdom of heaven, but they just don't know, but you and I know, and there's that responsibility.

You, church of God, you go out and preach this gospel. And Mark 16:15 specifically says, "Preach the gospel to every creature." To every creature, that gospel. They may not understand it. They didn't understand it when Jesus Christ said it, but we still preach it. It's quite a responsibility. You know, I know of no other church except the true church of God that is preaching that gospel to the world. No other church. And I'm not talking about an organization here, I'm talking about the true church of God. No other church has that gospel, knows that gospel, and is responsible for preaching that gospel exactly the way Jesus Christ preached it that the true church of God has, and the true disciples of God who keep all of His commitments, who have the testimony of Christ, who are in training to become those kings and priests that God talks about in Revelation 1. Those who are becoming the first fruits of that next creation, or that next phase, and age of mankind when Christ returns and establishes His kingdom. Only you and me, only the church of God, the true church of God.

And so as you see the apostles after Jesus Christ has been resurrected, we'll go to the Book of Acts and look at a few things to see that indeed that's what the apostles in the early New Testament church taught. They taught many things. They taught about Jesus. They taught about Him being the Messiah. They taught the kingdom of God as well.

Acts 1:3 It's speaking of Christ here. And it says in verse 3, "He presented himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during 40 days."

And what did He speak of? He spoke of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. He gave them many instructions. Now that they knew what their mission was, and what they were going to be, He talked of many things, but He wanted them to know what the kingdom of God was. The same things that you and I should rehearse regularly, keep in the front of our minds the blessings, and the opportunities, and the calling that God has given us to preach His gospel, to do all the things that are associated with that, because if we're preaching it, we better be living the kingdom. You and I have the opportunity to enjoy the blessings, and the benefits of living God's way of life now. The same thing that, if we are true to the end, and follow God to the end, that we'll be teaching others. The time is for us now to learn it, apply it, make sure it's part of our lives, so that we can teach it in the coming millennial time.

So Christ spoke to the disciples about the things concerning the kingdom of God. If we forward to Acts 8 after Stephen was stoned for preaching to the Sanhedrin, we find the disciples were dispersed from Jerusalem because of a persecution that occurred. And in Chapter 8, the Deacon Phillip has moved on to Samaria. Samaria was not held in high repute by the Jews as you know, but as he's there, we find him preaching the kingdom of God.

Acts 8:5-6 "Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes, with one accord, heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing, and seeing the miracles, which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud, voice came out of many who were possessed, and there was great joy."

He was there preaching Jesus Christ. I'm sorry, verse 12 is where I wanted to go this time. I want to come back to verse 6 later.

Acts 8:12 "But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized."

Many say the gospel of the kingdom is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The apostle spoke the kingdom, or that Jesus Christ, He was the Messiah. They spoke of the kingdom of God, and Jesus Christ. Today, most of the world will tell you, or most of the world that we live in, and areas that we live in will tell you they know that Jesus Christ is the Savior, but you have to preach the kingdom of God, church of God, not the same thing that other churches are teaching in a slightly different way.

In Acts 14:21-22 Paul is preaching and he says, "When they had preached the gospel to that city, where he was and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,” Those are the churches of Galatia. “Strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying, 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'"

Words that we read today, and know that while our lives may have been comparatively peaceful and easy now, there will be trials, there will be tribulations. We must through many trials and tribulations enter the kingdom of God. Disciples back then, the people being called into the church back then, were taught that. They had in their minds the focus, the kingdom of God, that's the goal. That's where we're going. That's what God has called us to. It's at the forefront of our minds just as God the Father who wants everyone. His will is that everyone would repent, and be part of that kingdom. That that's at the forefront of His mind as well. I'll give you Acts 19:8, but I'm going to bypass that, there's another place that talks about the kingdom of God. But let's go back to the very last Chapter of Acts in Acts 28. Acts 28, and the last two verses. As the Book of Acts closed, Paul is in a very light imprisonment in Rome. He was there for two years, and they had learned that Paul was an honest man, that they could trust him. So they didn't have a close watch over him and have him in jail, in prison with guards watching over him. But as he was there says in verse 30.

Acts 28:30-31 It says, "Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and he received all who came to him." What was he preaching during that time, even while he was under confinement, or watched by the Roman government? “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things which concerned the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence.”

He wasn't worried about what people would say. He wasn't worried that the Roman authorities might come, and lock him up in prison, and throw away the key. He was preaching boldly the kingdom of God, and the things that Christ taught them. The very same commission that God gives you and me, preach the kingdom of God, and teach them to observe all things I have commanded you. That's the commission of the church. You know, as we approach the Feast of Tabernacles, which pictures the coming kingdom of God, and Jesus Christ's millennial reign on earth. As we think about the Feast of Tabernacles, the kingdom of God should be on our minds. Yes, there's anticipation, we've prepared for a while to attend the feast, and to be there. You see, anticipation of the kingdom is at forefront in our mind. We're going there to picture what it is that God had wanted us to do, and what He wants us to think and feel and learn during that time. How do we preach the gospel of the kingdom? What do we do? Did Christ tell us, maybe some of the things that must accompany the preaching of the gospel?

I got a little ahead of myself when I read Acts 8:6, and you see that when Philip was there in Samaria, I mean, he was preaching the kingdom of God, he had these miracles that God gave him the power to do, heal the sick, cast out demons. And you read through the Bible that these signs which accompanied them...in Mark 16, it'll talk about that. We even sing a song, a hymn in one of our songs, by those signs which accompanied them. Well, let's go back again to the Book of Matthew, because in Matthew 10, Jesus Christ after He's been preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, as He's been out and about with the people of Judea, as He's been healing the sick and casting out demons, as He's been modeling the way of life, and the faith that is available to all of us, He sends out 12 disciples, the 12 disciples, and tells them to do the same thing. They've been watching Him, they've been working with Him every day, they've been observing Him, and they've seen Him work and they've come to believe He is the son of God. And in Matthew 10, beginning in verse 5, He gives them instructions. He's like, "Okay, you've been being trained for a while. You've seen how I operate. You've seen the things I say. You see the faith, the trust that I have in God. Now, this is going to be your commission. You go out and do these things." And He tells them that in verse 5.

Matthew 10:5 It says, "These 12, Jesus sent out and commanded them saying, 'Don't go into the way of the Gentiles, and don't enter a city of the Samaritans.'" He's pretty specific on where He wants them to go. "But go rather," He says, "To the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

So He gives them a very specific command. Later on, we're going to read about the 70 who went out after these 12, and He gives them a specific command as well, one that just says, "Don't even talk to anyone of the way. Just go straight to it. Keep your focus on what you're going. Just go, and do what I tell you to do." You know, when God calls us, He tells us what He wants us to do. It takes us a lifetime to get to the point where we are obeying God more fully every day, month, year. We learn something more about what we need to be doing to be more fully obeying God, and becoming the people that He wants as we earnestly, diligently, completely learn to live by every word of God, but here there's this obedience. He tells them, He could have just said, "Hey, go over to the lost sheep of Israel." But he gives them specific commands.

One of the things, if we're going to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, we must live the way that God wants us to in obedience to His commands. It's very important. Strict obedience, learning every year of our lives to become more and more the way He wants us to. Understanding more of all those things that He says in the Bible. You know, when Christ said, live by every word of God, He wasn't just using a phrase that was just to catchphrases, He really lived by every word of God, and that's what our mission is. And as God leads us through His Holy Spirit, we'll learn more about the false witnesses, and the things that are hidden in our lives even now that we need to be willing to yield, and give up so that He can work with us, and so we can become the people that He wants us to become.

So as He goes through there, I'm going to point out seven different things that Jesus Christ gave to these people. One of them is obedience. Don't go the way of the Samaritans, or don't go by the way the Gentiles, don't enter the city of the Samaritans, just go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So He watched, how would they do that? In verse 7, He says.

Matthew 10:7  "As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

There it is, right there at the forefront. When you go out, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, preach that. Heal the sick, so He tells them what to do, preach that gospel. The same thing He tells us before He ascends into heaven, He gives that commission to His church. And verse 8, He says.

Matthew 10:8 "This is what you're going to do. These are the things that are going to company that gospel that you are preaching. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

Now, the apostles that He sent out, the disciples, much different than us today, they were able to heal the sick, cast out demons, and do all those things. They had tremendous faith. To be preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, we must have that faith in Him. We must believe it. It must drive us. They saw Jesus Christ. They saw Jesus Christ healing, everyone that was brought to Him, it says in Matthew 8. That was just part of His ministry. So they knew, they believed, He has the power to heal. God has the power to heal.

So as they went out, they felt that. They knew it, they knew it could happen. And here's Jesus Christ himself saying, "You go out and do these things." It took faith on their part. It took faith on their part. One day there will be signs, I believe, that accompany the gospel. It'll happen when the church of God has the faith that God wants us to have. You know, it's not an unknown quote that Jesus Christ said, "When He returns, will He find faith on earth?" Will He find faith on earth? One of the things we have to do, if we're going to effectively preach the gospel, is we have to have faith. We have to develop that faith, and look for the opportunities to develop that faith because God gives us the opportunities to develop it. Sometimes we just pass right by them. So faith accompanies it. Works accompany the preaching of the gospel comes from faith. And in verse 9 and 10, He says something else.

Matthew 10:9-10 He says, "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs, for a worker is worthy of his food."

Now, why did He have to say that? What's wrong with packing your bag? What's wrong with going to the bank, and getting the money so you could do the work? Why does He specifically say, "Don't you worry about any of that. In fact, I don't want you to take any of it." They had a work to do. They were leaving home. They were going out to the various cities of the Gentiles. What was He saying? Trust me. Don't worry about those things. I can provide everything you need. So don't pack an extra suitcase, don't go run to the ATM, don't do those things, don't make your concern about money. Keep your focus on what I've told you to do, and what I've commanded you to do. I will provide the rest.

You know, that trust is so hard to come. I think all of us trust God to some level, but we live in a society, and we've been raised in a society where we trust so many other things as well. You know, one by one, as the world goes on, and gets ever closer to the return of Christ, we're going to see all those things that we trust in, all those gods and idols that are out there that we don't recognize as idols, one by one, they're going to fade away. One by one, God will execute judgment on those, and we will be to the point where we have no one to trust, but God. It's a process, it's a good process. No one in the entire universe better to trust than God. But as Christ sends the disciples out to preach the gospel, just focus on that, go where I tell you to go, preach what I tell you to preach, have faith in me, have trust in me, don't worry about these other things. That's a goal. And God will see what we need to have. He will provide whatever we need to get the job done. If we go on in verse 11, He talks about in the last part of verse 10 there.

Matthew 10:10-11 "A worker is worthy of his food."

So what He's saying there, and He follows it up in verse 11 there, "When you go into a town, inquire about who is worthy." Who should I stay with? A worker is worthy of his food. And so He's showing that, you may stay in people's houses, they will feed you, they will provide for you, you're not going to go hungry, you're not going to fast for all this time that you're away, there will be people that provide for you, and that's okay. That's their part in the preaching of the gospel. Everyone has a part in the preaching of the gospel. As they provide for you, and as you eat their food, don't feel guilty about it. A worker is worthy of his food. You know, it's interesting when He talks about worthy. Later on, in the same chapter down in verse 37 and 38, He talks about who's worthy. Now, as those disciples went out, they were inquiring about who believed perhaps that Jesus Christ was Messiah. And some they were going into visit, were going to receive them, were going to see, and others were going to reject them. Just like today, some people receive the gospel when they hear it, and others don't want any part of it. They don't want to hear it at all. But down in verse 37 and 38, written for us here.

Matthew 10:37 "He who loves father or mother more than me," Christ says, "Isn't worthy of me."

Interesting. Of course, we don't... He who loves father or mother more. Of course, we know the first commandment is, love the Lord God with all your heart. He is, there is no other God besides Him. "And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Verse 38.

Matthew 10:38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me."

So we kind of see what worthy is for you and me, where we're headed and what we are about. But if we go back to chapter 10 and press in what Christ's instructions for His disciples that He's sending out to do, we read about that. I'm back in verse 11, now chapter 10.

Matthew 10:11-13 "Whatever city or town you enter, inquire in it who is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it." Go there in peace. Be friendly. Don't come with a hammer and say, "You better listen to this message, you know, dah, dah, dah. Greet it. Be friendly. Come in peace." He says. "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it."

Now, this is another one, as Mr. Porter was talking about, you go back into some of the Hebrew to understand some of the things that...in the Old Testament, the Greek and the new, and it'll talk about how the Jews, when they would say something about, "Let peace be upon you." It would be more like, let my blessings be upon you, may happiness be upon you, may joy be upon you, but that is all part of peace, right? Let my peace be upon you. May you be settled, may you be established, may your life be good. "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it." Your presence there, and what you are teaching will be a blessing to them. It will settle them. They will listen. They will participate. They will enjoy you being there.

Matthew 10:13 "If it's not worthy, let your peace return to you."

Well, if they don't receive you, if they say, "We don't want to believe that. We don't want to believe that, we don't want to hear that, and whatever," then leave. Leave. It's okay, but understand, your peace will leave with you. They will be unsettled. Establishment, settlement, joy only comes from knowing and accepting the will of God as He calls, and as we repent, believe, baptized, receive the Holy Spirit. I don't think any of us if we think back before we were baptized, we never knew what joy was, and peace was until we were baptized, until we had God's Holy Spirit. It's what settles us, and keeps us focused, and keeps us calm, even through the rough times of life when we are continually looking forward to God's kingdom, and doing His will. So in verse 13, He says, "It's okay." You know.

Matthew 10:14 He says the same thing, "Whoever will not receive you, or hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet."

Don't feel guilty. You know, one of the hardest things for me when I became a pastor is that people wouldn't listen, or didn't listen, or didn't get it. And I found myself often thinking, "Are there words I could have said differently? Could I have approached it differently?" And I had many sleepless night over that. And I would try to contact people again, and almost always they wouldn't call back, or they didn't reply. I came to realize they just don't want it. Some people just don't want it. They've got a line in the sand, and they'll believe, but when you hit a certain point, they're not going to believe anymore. And they make the decision, I'm not going any further.

It hurts, it's disappointing, but it happens. It happens. And so Christ gives them these points here that we've been talking about. In verse 16 then.

Matthew 10:16 He says, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves."

You go out as sheep. Understand in the world there are people that want to tear you apart. When they hear what you have to say, they're going to want to tear you apart just like they did Jesus Christ. They tolerated Him for a while, but they didn't like what He had to say, and they began to mock Him, plot against Him, eventually kill Him. But they hated Him. He was their Messiah. But they didn't do that. Christ said, "If they did it to me, they'll do it to you." But you go out as sheep, and understand you're in the midst of wolves, be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Know the ways of the world, know who and understand the way they operate, but don't you do the same thing. You be wise and know what's going on, but you be harmless as doves. You preach the gospel, you live the way of life God wants you to live, and do the things that He wants you to do.

So in those verses, Christ lays out, He lays out some points that we can consider as we go out and preach the gospel to the world. You know, in Matthew 11, as you follow through the chronology here of Matthew, as Christ sends those disciples out in Matthew 10, it's interesting in Matthew 11 that some disciples of John the Baptist come to visit Christ, and he's in prison at that time. And they have an interesting question for Christ, and He has a very telling response.

Matthew 11:1-5 "It came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His 12 disciples, that He parted from there to teach and to preach in their cities. And when John heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, 'Are you the coming one, or do we look for another?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'You go and tell John the things which you hear and see, the words I preach and the things I do, the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.'"

"John, what do you think? What do the works show you? 'The kingdom of Heaven is near. What I'm doing is what the kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom of God will be like.'" We read it in Isaiah when we read those chapters, "The blind will see, the lame will leap, the deaf will hear, the world will be renewed and become what God always intended it to be, just like mankind then held back because of sin. But in that kingdom of God, the thing that we picture as we go to the Feast of Tabernacles, it will become what God wanted it to become always. "John, or disciples of John, go back and tell him that. He'll know that I am the one to come. I am the one who was there."

Matthew 11:6 He says, "And blessed is he who is not offended because of me.”

Who will listen to me, who won't get mad and run away at what I say, but will understand the works, the message, they go together. Jesus Christ preached the gospel, Jesus Christ had many other things that He did as well to show that He was the Messiah. Let's go back or let's go forward to Luke 10. Luke 10, and here we saw Jesus Christ send out 12. Those 12 have come back. They're the 12 apostles. But then in Chapter 10 of Luke, we read about 70, or as the original manuscripts may indicate, 72 others that He sent out with pretty much the same commands. It was the apostles' responsibility to go out and do that, and they had their opportunity to go out and do what Jesus Christ said to do. But then 70 others He sends out as well. And He prefaces it by saying, "You know, the fields are white with harvest."

Luke 10:2 "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

And so He sends out these 70. It had to be more than 12. Everyone has a part in proclaiming the gospel of God. That's what He has called us all to do. In different ways as we read through, I'm not going to take the time to read through Chapter 10, you will see that He gives them the same instructions that He gave the first 12 that went out, the very same things.

A little bit differently, but there's the obedience. In verse 4, well, He talks about trust, carrying neither moneybag. “Go your way. I send you out as lambs among wolves," etc. Interesting in verse 7, when He says, "When you come to a house that receives you..." The last sentence of that verse 7 says, "Don't go from house to house. Stay there." That's an interesting thing, and, you know, as we look at the world around us today and the church around us today, God's church, some go from house to house.

They don't get settled in one place, they go from house to house. God says, "When you find that gospel, stay. Stay and let me develop you in that mystery of the church." Going from house to house does not develop in the way that God intended for us. And so He goes through all that in verse 11. He even says, "When someone rejects you, when they don't want to hear that gospel anymore..." He says, you know, to say this.

Luke 10:11 "The very dust of your city, which clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you. You've come close to it, you've heard about it, you've seen things about it."

Now, you and I encounter a lot of people in our lives. We go to work, we live in neighborhoods, we have friends and various associations, and we have opportunities. I don't mean to be forthright with people, but people will ask, "What do you believe?" Sometimes you get into religious discussions, and as you talk about what you believe, or about salvation, and they have questions about, well, you know, salvation. Again, the church of God understands what salvation is. God wants it for all of mankind. Not just a few that have been born since the time of Jesus Christ, or only those who have heard the name, Jesus Christ. All will hear whether they were born in...you know, right after Adam and Eve until the time that Christ returns. All will have the opportunity.

I dare say no other church is preaching that. It shows the love and concern of God. His plan is perfect. Only God's church, true church understands that plan, and we can prove it, and you should be able to prove it from the words of the Bible. You have to believe the Bible is truth, you have to believe that every word in it is absolutely the Word of God. We live by it, we teach it, we preach it, we proclaim it. And there's a slight difference between preach and proclaim. You have an opportunity.

So for people who may even say, "I don't want to hear it. That sounds antiquated. Going to the Feast of Tabernacles, that sounds antiquated. Only the Jews, only the Jews. God never intended the Seventh Day Sabbath, or anyone except that nation of Israel coming out of Egypt." Well, you can tell them differently if they reject it. "You know what? The kingdom of God has come near them." When you say those words, when you tell them what you believe, and they have the opportunity to ask more questions or just fly it out, reject it. That's what happened back in the time of Christ. And when He says, "You know, go into the city, if they reject it, tell them the kingdom of God has come near you, you remember that."

Now, again, as I pastored for the last 10 years, I was always heartened and actually surprised when people would come forth and you could tell they were going to progress toward baptism. Almost always, they had something about the Church of God and truth in their past from way back whenever. Maybe they had an uncle who went to the church, maybe they remembered a plain truth magazine from way back in church history from decades ago being there, and they picked it up, and read it, and they always remembered it. The kingdom of God came near them, and later it blossomed into something that they wanted to know about.

We have that opportunity. Those conversations we have and those things that we encounter in life stick in people's minds. God can bring back every memory and every encounter we've ever had in our life. It's all up here. Well, Matthew, or in Luke 10, you can see where Christ would talk about the cities that the gospel was preached in that rejected Him, and back in Matthew 10, He even talked about the cities that He went to. Of all people, Jesus Christ came and worked works in Capernaum in those places. And He said, "You wouldn't listen, you wouldn't pay attention to me, you rejected me. Woe to you. Woe to you that you didn't listen."

And so it's too bad that people, not all at this time, but that's the way God has the plan of salvation. You and I are blessed to have the truth, and to have our minds opened. One day everyone will have their minds opened. Well, there's a preaching, a preaching of the gospel, but not everyone stands behind a pulpit and preaches the gospel. But every one of us has the opportunity to proclaim the gospel. We're all called to do that. We turn back to the Book of Philippians. Paul finds himself... Well, you know Paul, he was stoned, and he was in prison, and he was beaten so many times, but he makes an interesting statement to the Philippians as he's incarcerated in Rome in that light prison sentence.

Philippians 1:12 He says, "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. The things that happened to me actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.”

“I was put in prison. They saw how I handled it. They heard what I said. They saw how I behaved and what I believed, and it turned out for an opportunity for Christ to be proclaimed to them just by the fact that I was there.”

Philippians 1:13 “It's become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my change are in Christ, and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains."

Oh, Paul spoke to them, they wanted to hear Paul speak, but it became to them by my change, these things that happened to me, these occurrences that I find myself involved in.

Philippians 1:14 “Most of the brethren have become confident by my change, and now they are much more bold to speak the Word without fear.”

They see what God put me through, and now that's created a zeal in them. Now they speak the Word, the kingdom of God more boldly. Now they are not afraid to do it when they see the works that Paul did, what he went through. Isn't that an interesting thing? It wasn't the words in this case, it was by the fact that he was imprisoned. And as they saw those things happen, even to them, to the palace guard, to the brethren, the gospel was proclaimed, not preached with words, but preached by the actions.

Philippians 1:15-17 He says, "Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, some from goodwill. The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains, but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.”

Appointed for the defense of the gospel. I stand for it. No matter what comes my way, I stand for the gospel of Christ, and there won't be anything between that would cause me to deter from it. In 1 Corinthians 11, I can go back to the first holy time of the year, you know, we read the Bible, and we see the pattern of God. You know, in 2 Corinthians 1, it tells us that God comforts us so that we can comfort others. God teaches us that we can teach others. God does to us, He expects us to pass that on to someone else. And we see the pattern, and here at 1 Corinthians 11, Paul is writing to the Corinthians church. They're having some issues over Passover, how to properly observe it. And as he goes through the various ordinance of it, down in verse 26, he makes this statement after he talks about the bread and wine.

1 Corinthians 11:26 He says, "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.”

As often as you participate in the Passover, you proclaim His death till He comes. Not the words that they spoke, but by the actions that they took. Just by being there, just by taking the bread, taking the feet, washing each other's feet, you proclaim His death till He comes. Now some would say, "What's the big deal about...?" I don't mean in the church, I mean outside the church. "You know, the Passover. You know, what's the big deal about washing feet?" Very few people do that. Some say, "Take the bread and wine every week. We know all those stories, we know what the Bible says. Do it on Passover, do it the way Jesus Christ showed the example, and do it because when you do it, you proclaim His death till He comes."

You know, sometimes, and...well, I shouldn't say sometimes. The physical things we do that God commands us to do, we're proclaiming what we believe, not in so much words, but in the actions that we do. When we wash each other's feet, when we take the bread, when we take the wine, we're not out preaching to each other, "Do this and do that." We do it, but we proclaim. We have this public declaration, if you will, of what we believe and what we do. We go into the days of unleavened bread, what do we do? We clean our homes of leavened. We throw out the bread, we go to work and we don't eat, you know, hamburgers with bread. We eat matzos, and people ask questions, "What are you eating those things for?" Or whatever it might be. We take days off in the fall with our kids to go to the Feast of Tabernacles, and some school systems just say, "Why didn't you just do it during the summer? Why'd you have to wait until the fall?" Well, there's your opportunity, because this is when God said to do it. When we do God's will and we do the physical things that attend to it, we are proclaiming His will. We are proclaiming the gospel.

So we do those things and we do them exactly the way that God said to do it. It's important to do it the way God said to do it, not putting all the emphasis on the physical, because the emphasis is on the spiritual, but the physical helps us to understand the spiritual meaning of all these things we do. Never forget that. If physical Israel did those physical things, it meant nothing to them. We do them, but God through His spirit, we understand that we understand what He's doing. We do those in concerts with the spiritual information that is spiritual awakening education that God is giving us and development.

So let me talk for a little bit, because here we are a month away from the Feast of Trumpets, a month away from the Feast of Trumpets, six weeks away from the Feast of Tabernacles. And so when we look at the Feast of Tabernacles, it teaches, or it is about the kingdom of God, the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. We have the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, and, of course, we have the eighth day or the last great day, whatever you choose to call it, that we're there. And God gives some specific instructions about how to keep that feast. You know many of them.

I could turn to many verses. You can turn to Deuteronomy 14, you can turn to Deuteronomy 12, you see where God says, "You know, I want you to prepare this tithe to go where I want you to go every year. Think about it all year when you're doing it." What does that teach us? It teaches us, you keep the kingdom of God in mind. What you're being prepared all through your life is for the kingdom of God. And so when every time you get your paycheck, and you put away your festival tithe, you should be thinking, "I'm doing this because I'm going to the Feast of Tabernacles, which pictures the kingdom of God. That's what I am here for, that's what I am going there for."

God built that in. Church didn't build it in, God built it in. The church teaches that it's a very valid and a very key principle in keeping the feast. We prepare for the kingdom of God all our lives, we prepare for the feast all year. It's on our mind. God says, "Go to the place and use that tithe, and use it there in the place where I place my name." Today the church, you know, follows God's lead. We have places all over the world that God has placed His name for the Feast of Tabernacles to be kept. What do we do? Why did God say, "Go to the Feast of Tabernacles, and stay there for the whole seven days and the eighth day"? Why did He say that?

Couldn't we just put a tent in our backyard like some do and say, "That's it. I'm out of my house"? No, but He says, "Go. Go to the place that I said." Again, what's the spiritual lesson in that, as we prepare to go, as we make our plans and reservations at this hotel and airlines, or making sure our car is ready? What are we doing? What are we doing? What are we thinking? God says, "Go to where I tell you to go." Where are we going? We're going to the kingdom of God. This journey that you and I are on, this road that God has us on to take us to His kingdom, we go where He said to go. There is a part of obedience.

Now, I will say that, you know, sometimes sickness, or other things can keep us from going to the feast. I understand that. But if we're able to go, and haven't made excuses for ourself, the clear command of God is you go and you keep the feast in the place that I have placed my name. The kingdom is where we're going, go where God says to go, right? He says, "Keep it there for seven days." Read Leviticus 23, you see that the feast begins on the 15th day of the seventh month. We know the days begin at sunset, and so the Feast of Tabernacles begins at sunset on the 15th day of the seventh month.

Now, when the children of Israel were all traveling from wherever they were coming to Jerusalem, it was a big deal for them. There was a lot that they had to do, and a lot more that they had to prepare than you and me. It wasn't a matter of buying an airplane ticket and hopping on a plane, they had a lot of things going on. They had a lot of tithes to bring with them if they were bringing the actual things. God said, "If it's too much, turn it into money and take it to the place." But they had a lot of things to do. But you know what? When they were there, they were there in Jerusalem by the time the sun set on the seventh month. That's when the feast begins. It wasn't a time to be finishing up your journey on the evening of the 15th. It begins on the 15th.

And so as we make our plans for the feast, you know, maybe we need to build in... Well, I'll take away that word maybe for right now. We need to plan in. Where does God want us to be at sunset on the 15th day of the seventh month as it begins? That's part of the obedience, right, that God has put in the motion that He gave us disciples, the 12, and then the 70, do this and do that every feast site. I won't say every feast site. Most every feast site has an opening night service. As having coordinated feast sites for several times over the last years, it's always been kind of a surprise and a disappointment to me to see how few people are at opening night services.

I think, where on the 15th day of the seventh month as the Feast of Tabernacles begins, what better place to be than right with God's people as the feast begins? It's an important thing. God is pleased when He sees us doing His will, when we're obeying what He wants us to obey and following things the way that He said to do it. Israelites were there for all seven days and an eighth day, right through the end of the time. So as we plan to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, you know, some may think it's okay to be there on just the first day and the eighth day. That isn't what the Bible indicates.

And if you go back and you look in the Book of Numbers, and you see what the Israelites or ancient Israel was doing when they were in Jerusalem during those days that they were there, there were, I forget, somewhere like 190 animals that God specifically commanded to be sacrificed during that Feast of Tabernacles, 190. And that was just during the Feast of Tabernacles. That means they were there, and doing God's will. They had Him at the forefront of His mind every single day of that feast, because those animal sacrifices were supposed to make them think of Him.

You think they were engaged for maybe a little more than an hour or two in the morning as they were there at the Feast of Tabernacles for what God shows is a picture of His kingdom to come? They were doing all those things. So every feast site you go to has services every single day. I would encourage you, think about it, go to services every single day. Are you there to please God, or to do the other things that surround it? As we prepare and spiritually prepare and think about the feast, think about the kingdom of God, think about what we're picturing. Keeping the feast and the way God wants it kept will be the way that God is pleased with us, and sees what's in our hearts, what is in our hearts concerning the kingdom of God.

Let me turn to a verse back here in Exodus 34. You know, the people of Israel, like us, they could come up with excuses, "Can't do this because, or can't do that because..." In Exodus 34:22. I've always kept this in mind as we go to the feast, and I ask God watch over our places wherever we've lived, and I know He will. In Exodus 34:22, He tells Israel, and remember, when He says these things, there's promises He keeps to us today,

Exodus 34:22-23 "You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. Three times in the year, all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before you, and I will enlarge your borders.” I will bless you when you obey me. “Neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the eternal your God three times in the year."

Don't you worry about that. Don't you worry about that. God can watch over those. You go in faith, and you do the things that God said, and He will watch over and provide whatever we need, and the protection over whatever we need. We can trust God. We're here to know God, we're here to understand God, we're here to obey God, we're here to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, to become more like Jesus Christ more and more as each year passes. If we keep and we really believe that Christ is coming again, as we watch the world around us and see what's going on, and we can see those signs, those buds on the trees, it should motivate us more and more like Christ, closer and closer to Him.

And when we do that, when we do that, and we trust God and have faith in God, and do those things that He wants us to do, trusting in Him implicitly, it'll be the same reaction that those 70 came back from in Luke 10. After they went out and did things exactly the way Christ commissioned them to do. They went out in faith, they believed Him, and they took Him at His Word.

Luke 10:17 It says, "The 70 returned with joy." Wow, with joy. Kind of an unusual journey, kind of an unusual thing that God would have them do, but they returned with joy saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.”

Man, everything you told us that would happen, it really did happen. We did it exactly the way you said, and now our joy is unbounding. And Christ gives this interesting statement, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” They overcame their own doubts, fears, thoughts, and they simply believed me, and did my will." And then He says in verse 19 that He gives him authority. But in verse 20, He says something that we should take the heart to as we follow God in all we do and as we preach the gospel, but know that all of us proclaim the gospel, and have those traits that we need to develop of faith and trust and complete yieldedness to God.

Luke 10:20 "Nevertheless," He said, "Don't rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you. Rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

Let's go from here and do the things that our names are written in the Book of Life.