Now that you are in God’s Church...

Good afternoon, brethren.

There are probably certain days you can think back to in life that are particularly memorable. Some of them good, some of them bad. Take a moment to think of a few that stick out. Maybe you remember your first day of elementary school, kindergarten, for instance. Maybe you remember your last day of school, high school or college, saying goodbye to old friends, wondering where they might end up in life. You probably, if you’re old enough, remember where you were when the towers fell on 9/11. Certainly you remember the death of a loved one. Sticks in the mind. The birth of a child. Maybe a car accident or some other tragedy. Sears into the mind.

Maybe your parents were divorced when you were young. Maybe it was an event or an award you won. Whatever it is, there are certain days that just stick out in our minds. And one of them, for many of us, myself included, is our first Sabbath, a very special day. And there was one thing that occurred on my first Sabbath that I’ll very much always remember. It’s been very helpful to me, and it’s still helpful to me. The gentleman who picked me up for services, sitting in the passenger seat of his minivan, and he said, “Don’t expect to find perfect people. Just people seeking to become perfect.”

Profoundly helpful. Still true today. We’re seeking, as God’s people, to become perfect, but we haven’t yet achieved that. Everybody has a first Sabbath, brethren. Everybody has that first memorable Sabbath. Again, this could be your first Sabbath. Could be your thousandth Sabbath. But there are certain things, when we first come into God’s Church, that if we learn and take hold of, will have a tremendous benefit to us as we move forward in our Christian walk.

Today, we’re going to talk about certain lessons that are necessary for new people in God’s way, but are also just as necessary, just as applicable, just as helpful to those who’ve been in God’s way for decades or longer. We could start anywhere, but we’ll start here. The first point is you are here, I am here, we’re here for a great overarching purpose. This isn’t like any other church or organization on earth. We’re here for a very specific purpose. There’s something we’re trying to achieve in living this way of life. There’s something that God wants from us in living this way of life.

Turn to Matthew chapter six. Matthew six. In one sense, this was probably where those words of wisdom that I heard on my first Sabbath were derived. We’ll see here, Matthew six and verse twenty-five. “Therefore I say unto you,” Christ said, “...Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” What we’re participating in, what we’ve been called to transcends the physical, transcends physical needs or pursuits, Christ is explaining.

“Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?” If God can maintain control over the ecosystem, if He can bring balance to the natural world, certainly, He can take care of the pinnacle of His creation, the human being. “Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take you thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say to you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Mankind could weave fabric, could create textiles that were beautiful, the kind that Solomon was arrayed in, but God says, “What you can do with your hands are no match for what I can do in nature, and I keep nature ticking along just fine, so don’t worry about these things.” “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?”

These physical pursuits that are still necessary to consider, still necessary for living a physical life, but we’re called to something greater. “For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, take no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto today is the evil thereof.”

There are people on earth who are seeking to be like God. Christ elsewhere said, “Be you perfect, become you perfect.” We’re seeking God’s righteousness. We’re seeking God’s kingdom. We’re not in his kingdom yet. We don’t have his character yet, but that’s why we’re here. And if we’re new, we need to keep that at the forefront of our mind. And if we’re not new, we need to keep that at the forefront of our mind. Seek you first, whether this is your first Sabbath, your thousandth Sabbath, no matter how long you’ve been in God’s way, this is what we seek first, the kingdom of God and His righteousness, His character, His nature, because we’re seeking to enter His family.

New people have to learn to do it. Old people have to remember to do it and continue to do it. If you’ve recently come into God’s Church, God began to open your mind through the truth. You saw certain things in the Bible. You read the literature. You watched certain broadcasts. Maybe you counseled with a minister for some length of time prior to being invited. And you took the step to come to services. Wonderful. Crucial. Absolutely necessary. But don’t delay the next step, particularly given how short time is. Because, again, we’re here for a purpose.

John chapter three. Mr. Pack just spoke on people still being baptized in God’s Church, still with great opportunity. John chapter three, verse one. “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he can’t see the kingdom of God.”

So this subject of entering the kingdom of God, of seeking first the kingdom of God, is squarely in discussion here. How do you do that? How do we do that? Christ is explaining this to Nicodemus. “Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can’t enter into the kingdom of God.”

We were in a sack of water, amniotic fluid, when we were born of water, however many years ago it was for each of us. But we also have to be born of the Spirit. “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can’t enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Now, none of us is Spirit yet. We may have God’s Spirit inside of us, or God’s Spirit may be working with us, if we’re not yet baptized. But the goal is to be born a second time, to be born again into that kingdom of God.

“Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again. The wind blows where lists, and you hear the sound thereof, but can’t not tell where it comes from, and where it goes. So is everyone that’s born of the Spirit.” That’s our goal. That’s your goal if you’re new in God’s Church. It’s a universal goal. But in order to achieve that goal, there’s something that we have to do in this life. That if you’re coming into God’s Church now, here at the end, should be at the forefront of our mind. We don’t want to make the decision willy-nilly. We don’t want to take the decision lightly. But we should be focused, considering it, thinking about it, counseling about it if we need to.

Obviously, when we take that step, we do counsel about it. But if you’ve got questions, ask your minister. Our goal is to be born again, but before we can be born, we must repent and be begotten, conceived. Acts chapter two. Acts two and verse twenty-two. “You men of Israel, hear these words, Peter said on Pentecost, “...Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know.” They were there. They witnessed it. They were without excuse.

“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” Sinful humans necessitated a Savior. We may not have been then and there and been accomplices in the same way these men were, but our sins resulted in the need for the death of our Savior. Our sins, your sins, my sins necessitated Christ’s death.

“Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaks concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope. Because you will not leave my soul in hell, neither will you suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” He died, but he was sinless, and he was raised as our high priest, as a mediator, continuing to help us even after his death, working with the Father, who’s over the entire plan, of course, on our behalf.

“You’ve made known to me the ways of life. You shall make me full of joy with you countenance. Men and brethren, let me speak freely unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on the throne,” a direct descendant of David, “...He seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus has God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear.”

The subject was receiving the Holy Spirit. The subject was recognizing that we need to repent. The subject was recognizing that we needed a Savior. This was the first thing Peter preached to the masses there on Pentecost. “For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he said unto himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit you on my right hand until I make your foes your footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made the same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles...”

A question that is on the mind of all new people in God’s Church, that should be on the mind of all new people in God’s Church, when they realize they need a Savior, when they realize they need to enter the kingdom of God. And that question is, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” It’s wonderful to come and hear God’s truth on the Sabbath, but what are we going to do about it? That’s what those men wanted to know. That’s what we need to know.

That’s what I wanted to know on my first Sabbath, and every other baptized person, maybe not my first Sabbath, but what I wanted to know early on and what every other person who ultimately becomes baptized wants to know. What am I to do with this precious knowledge that God has given me? And Peter says, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” You’ll be begotten with the Holy Spirit, he said. And with that begettal, you can go on to be born into the kingdom of God, the ultimate goal of being here.

So if we’re new in God’s Church, brethren, time is short. Focus on entering the kingdom of God, but recognize that in order to enter the kingdom of God, repentance, baptism, and receipt of the Holy Spirit is crucial. And if we’ve been in God’s way a long time, however long, continual receipt of the Holy Spirit is essential. We’re renewed day by day. We should ask God for more of His Spirit day by day. After all, that’s His righteousness, His nature. We use that to do works that are pleasing to God, to live in accordance with His will. Without that Holy Spirit, we can’t live as God wants us to. We can’t ultimately become His children.

Second great lesson to latch on to if you’re new in God’s Church or you’ve been in God’s way for a long time, build the bonds of fellowship. Crucial, crucial. Build the bonds of fellowship. Those who’ve been in God’s way for any length of time know that, ultimately, the brethren... you become closer to the brethren than your flesh and blood family. You’re unified in purpose. We have the same goal. We’re pursuing that same kingdom. We’re living the same way of life.

That’s not to say we should grow distant from our earthly family. They just don’t understand the things that we do yet. They will. We’ll teach them. And that closeness will exist between us and them too at that point. But right now, we’re building the bonds of fellowship with the brethren, with others in the Church of God. Fellowship helps us to grow. Hebrews chapter ten. We saw this on the last Sabbath, but let’s look at it again. Hebrews chapter ten, verse nineteen.

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he he’s consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, let’s draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water,” those baptismal waters, “...Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.”

When we’re spending time with other brethren. I understand some brethren are distant, but we have technology, thankfully. When we’re spending time with like-minded people, we have conversations that help us along in that pursuit of the kingdom. We have opportunities to witness others doing good things for other people, and it stimulates and provokes us. “You know what, I want to serve in that way,” or, “You know what, maybe I can help this person or that person.”

It’s not rocket science. There are other ways to be provoked. Just by example, a gentleman and I live on either side of a lady who needs help with snow removal, and he has a penchant for beating me to the punch. And I’m a little bit provoked when that happens. It makes me want to get out there before him, or at least at the same time as him. Sometimes our examples are the best way to provoke others.

It’s not necessarily going up to someone and saying, “You know what, I’ve seen a lot of issues with you. Maybe we could go to lunch and talk about them have some nice fellowship.” It’s tact, diplomacy. There are times where somebody does need to be told something difficult. It’s usually the job of the minister, but there are rare instances where somebody’s way out of line and you say something. It’s love. It’s part of fellowshipping in a certain sense.

Proverbs twenty-seven. Proverbs twenty-seven, verse seventeen. “Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” If we’re around our friends in the Church, we can sharpen one another. If you’ve ever sharpened a knife or a chisel or an axe, any other cutting implement, maybe a lawnmower blade, sharpened all those. You might use... if it’s a knife, you might use a thousand grit stone. Or maybe you use a file, a fine file on certain tools. Maybe if the blade is really rough, you’d use a coarse file. Or if something really needs work, you might use an angle grinder or a bench grinder.

But if you’ve done any of that sort of work, you can very easily destroy a blade. You can very easily destroy an edge by applying too much heat, by being careless. But if you carefully sharpen and just take off what needs to be taken off, no more, you can walk away with a new edge, a new tool. If we’re too rough with people, we won’t sharpen them, we could damage them. Balance in all things. There’s a time to be a file and there’s a time to be an angle grinder. Different way to look at that verse. Think of sharpening one another through conversation, service, edification, tact. It’s not just iron on iron, bam, bam, clanging swords or anything like that. Hopefully I’ve added to your perspective on that verse.

Ephesians chapter four. I guess a thousand grit stone isn’t exactly iron, but you can, of course, sharpen metal with metal. You understand the point. Ephesians chapter four, verse one. “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.” We don’t want to be overbearing. We want to forebear in love. We want to be gentle with others.

“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Endeavoring means to use speed or make effort. We should be careful in the way we communicate with others and treat others. We’re the household of God. We’re all on the same journey. We can build one another up, bolster one another’s reward, bolster one another’s chances at entering the kingdom. Or if we’re careless, we can tear one another down. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling, One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

So clear. It’s where when people assert that the body could be divided, it doesn’t matter where you turn. It’s easy to find proof to the contrary. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Fellowship, crucial. Whether it’s your first Sabbath, our first Sabbath, or our hundredth Sabbath, or anywhere in between or above.

Next thing we like to stress, we don’t necessarily mention this. Some of these don’t get mentioned when we invite people. They’ll come to see them. They come to see them just as we did and do. One thing that we look for, that we’re very careful to look for, almost above anything else, is teachability. Teachability. Is this person capable, willing to be taught? Capable of or willing to be taught. Because if they’re not, they’re not going to learn the things of God. They’re not going to be able to pursue the kingdom of God. They’re not going to listen to how to become God. And they’ll fail. This is a life of learning.

I’d never reveal anything personal or confidential from any of these conversations when working with individuals who are interested in attending God’s Church. But relatively recently, I was on the phone with a gentleman, nice gentleman, intelligent, sharp. But he wanted to explain to me that the United States is Ephraim and Britain is Manasseh. And I very quickly realized it didn’t matter what kind of evidence I brought to the table. He believed that.

And I had to explain to him you realize this is a unified organization. You can’t say that kind of thing at services. You obviously believe that to the point where you want to teach me and are unwilling to hear my side of the equation. So I don’t think you’d be happy here, nor would we be happy if you were here. And we agreed to disagree and moved on. Something as fundamental and easy to explain, in one sense inconsequential, very consequential.

But in one sense, in the grand scheme of things, inconsequential, the name that a certain tribe bears in terms of modern identity. If someone fixates on that, what is the next thing they’ll disagree with? I have high hopes for this gentleman. We just agreed to disagree. He’s obviously not being called right now. He may feel he is, but from our perspective, he’s not being called. He was not teachable, and therefore I could not, in good conscience, invite him to services.

Proverbs twenty-six. We were just in twenty-seven. Let’s go back to twenty-six. It’s a symptom of a much larger problem. If God is revealing a truth to a person like that, then I guess he isn’t working through his government. Truth doesn’t enter the Church through two apostles who spoke in unison on that matter. You understand. Proverbs twenty-six and verse twelve. “See you a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.” If someone won’t heed correction, won’t yield to new facts and knowledge, God says it’s a very slippery slope. There’s more hope for a fool than of him.

I’m not speaking of that gentleman. It was just an anecdote that helped illustrate the point. This is just broader here. Proverbs twenty-six, twelve. We can’t be wise in our own conceit, or we can’t receive the knowledge of God, that transformative knowledge of God, that will allow us to seek first the kingdom and his righteousness. Matthew [Mark] chapter ten. Matthew [Mark] ten. We heard about this recently, but it bears repeating here. Matthew [Mark] ten. There’s a certain attitude that we must have when approaching the things of God.

“And they brought him,” verse thirteen, “...young children to that he should touch them, and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.” I mean, these men were... you look back at some of the things they did, and they went on to great things, but could you imagine a little child wanting to run up and greet somebody, and they were forbidden from doing so? “No, no, you stay back. This man is too important for you to talk to.”

I mean, you just wonder how it went down. The disciples rebuked the parents. How dare you bring these children to Christ? I don’t know what it would have looked like, but we can have fun. “But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said to them, Suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” Children believe. Children get excited. Children don’t have hidden motives in their own agenda.

“And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” We have to have the attitude of a child, but we have to grow. Back to Proverbs here. The attitude of a child, but the mental acumen of an adult. Proverbs chapter nine, verse nine. “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser. Teach a just man, and he’ll increase in learning.” Teachability is key. Whether we’re new or we’ve been here a long time. If we’ve been here a long time, presumably we’re wise to a certain degree. If we receive instruction, we’ll be yet wiser. If we’re just, if we’re living God’s way, we’ll increase in learning. Pretty simple.

Chapter twelve. There are some people who love knowledge, who want to learn the things of God, and there are others who want to cling to their old ideas and are inflexible. “Whoso loves instruction loves knowledge, but he that hates reproof is brutish.” If someone can be clearly shown “You might want to reconsider this.” Or, “You’re simply wrong. Here’s why.”

Whatever degree of reproof that’s necessary, they’re unwilling to hear that God says they’re brutish. They’re like an animal. Animals are in certain respects intelligent, but by and large they’re dumb. They’re stubborn. They’re brutish. We’re receiving the kingdom as children. We’re receiving this knowledge with the attitude of a child, but we don’t remain children.

Ephesians chapter four. Ephesians chapter four, verse eight. We were in Ephesians earlier. We left off at seven, but we’ll pick back up in eight here. “Wherefore he says, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it but that he first also descend into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some, apostles,” we have one in the Church today, “...and some, prophets, and some, evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers.”

Now all those offices involve teaching. The ministry is there for teaching. That’s part of why we have to be teachable. We have to hear what God’s government says. Why? “...for the perfecting of the saints.” God is using those men to teach us certain things so that we can become perfect. It’s not this authoritarian superstructure that’s just there to be overbearing or burdensome.

No, God placed this amazing mechanism in his Church, these offices of the ministry in his Church for the perfecting of the saints, “...for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children,” yes, maintaining the attitude of a child, but no more children in understanding, “...tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”

You see sleight of men there? You think of sleight of hand, a magic trick, where if you’re like me, I’ll see a magic trick, and I can’t figure out necessarily what’s going on. But I know it’s a trick. It’s amazing. This card will appear over here, or something will seemingly change color before my eyes, and I know it’s physically not possible. So I understand sleight of hand is being employed. This person is a magician. Well, there are spiritual magicians, too, who use crafty arguments, and, “Oh, what about this,” and plausibility, as we just recently heard. Sleight of hand. Fraudsters.

“By the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

That could have been in the bonds of fellowship section just as easily. But there are teachers here to teach the teachable. God’s word is a teacher to teach us the teachable, so that we can become like Him and enter His kingdom. We won’t go over there, but recall the account of Saul. When he was little in his own eyes, when he was childlike, he could be used. He was willing to listen. But he became old, rebellious, stubborn, thinking he knew better than Samuel, deciding to do things his own way as opposed to the way of God, as opposed to what he was instructed to do. He knew better than God’s Church at the time. And the consequences were devastating.

Teachability goes hand in hand with malleability. Jeremiah eighteen. We’ve seen Jeremiah eighteen recently, but let’s look at the context a little bit. Jeremiah eighteen. Jeremiah eighteen and verse one. “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.”

If you’ve ever watched a potter, there’s this spinning wheel. Historically, it was powered by foot. Now they might be electric, but you’ve got this spinning wheel in this mass of clay that then a skilled potter will maybe dip his hand in some water, add water to it, make it more malleable, and as it turns, it forms a beautiful shape, a vase. “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter, so he made it again another vessel, and it seemed good to the potter to make it.” If there’s an imperfection, you can just use the clay and make something else.

“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter?” If I see something wrong, do I not have the power to, just as a potter would, create a new pot? I have the power to transform and reshape you. Now, he’s shaping us. We’re vessels in this life. This is speaking of greater Israel, but we’re each handcrafted in this life. “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I speak...” And then this is what we read recently, verse seven.

But think about that. We’re clay in God’s hands. I haven’t worked much with clay. I’ve made some clay pots in school and whatnot, but essentially, you’re working with something that if it’s not malleable, it’s useless. I’ve worked with a fair bit of cement and mortar. And with mortar, for instance, while it’s moist, you can work with it. You can mold it. But at a point, it dries. And if your creation isn’t done before it dries, it becomes useless. You have to throw it away.

Its use lies in its flexibility, in its malleability, in the ability for the maker, the creator in that case of that project, to be able to work with it. If it stiffens up and wants to do its own thing, so to speak, it’s an analogy, it has to be thrown away. God wants us teachable so that he can mold us, so that he can create us in his image. We’re not just made in the physical image of God. He wants to make us in his spiritual image as well.

Another thing that’s crucial to focus on when you first come into God’s Church, when we first come into God’s Church... I made a mistake on this one, and it was tough. Finances. We heard a very comprehensive sermon on finances recently, so I won’t belabor the point. But we are of tithing. We understand tithing when we come in. But sometimes we don’t focus necessarily on second tithe. And I learned the hard way deeper into my first year of attending. I was actually in a splinter, not in the Church, but in a splinter, in one of the scattered organizations that certainly has people of God in it, that certainly keeps certain of God’s doctrines, keeps the Holy Days, keeps the law.

But it was months before I realized I should be saving any sort of second tithe for the Feast. And I arrived at my first Feast of Tabernacles with I think it was $600. And thankfully, my dad was gracious enough to drive me from Virginia up to Pennsylvania. But I had, again, $600 to stay for the duration of the Feast. And I was insistent on trying to do this with my own money. Very important to me. It’s my first Feast of Tabernacles. Wonderful experience. I can’t wait to see some of those people after we’re back together, some of the most wonderful people I’ve met. They’re just not holding fast to certain things and confused on certain things. I love them dearly.

But I couldn’t stay on site. I had to find the cheapest motel possible, down the road from the lodgings where all the other brethren stayed. I ate at the same little restaurant every day. Just cheapest food I could find. There were occasions where I splurged. And my dad did help me in certain regards. I’d like to say I was able to stretch that $600 across the entire Feast. He’s a good dad.

But it certainly wasn’t the experience I could have had had I saved second tithe at the same rate that I was giving first tithe. Very important to consider that. Because, brethren, if you have not been to the Feast of Tabernacles yet... Now we don’t plan to get there in our current configuration. We’ll keep the Feast, but we’ll be keeping it under very different circumstances. But if you’ve never been to the Feast, you can think you understand it.

You can look forward to it. You can talk to other brethren about it. But until you’ve been there, you do not realize how special it is. You can’t believe it until you experience it. But part of making it special is God says, “I love you so much that I’m going to give you a tenth of your income to go and enjoy this special Feast that I’ve given to you.” But it requires saving on our part. I won’t belabor the point, but be sure we’re saving second tithe.

Another thing we tell people, and we don’t need to spend a lot of time on this, is you are coming into God’s Church at an amazing time, at a time when we’re understanding things we’ve never understood before. We’re in the midst of a long series, and you’re going to feel a little overwhelmed if you try to catch up, so to speak. Just start where you are. Ask questions as you need to, but don’t try to pick up with part one of a six-hundred-and-eighteen-part series. You’re going to be overwhelmed. Focus on what you’re hearing prophetically, but also focus on the basics.

First Corinthians chapter thirteen. Nobody understands the things we do. Only in this Church are we learning the plan of prophecy that God has for all mankind. Only in this Church. You didn’t hear it in the world before you came into this Church. You don’t hear it in the splinters before you come into this Church. You didn’t even hear it in worldwide. Because God is doing something unique right here at the end as he prepares a special group of people to help others.

First Corinthians thirteen and verse one. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity,” love, “...I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.” We don’t have to have a perfect understanding of prophecy to move forward.

Don’t get discouraged. That’s the only point of this section. Be grateful for what we’re learning. Be inspired by what we’re learning. Do your best to understand what we’re learning, but don’t get discouraged if we don’t understand it perfectly. Even those who have been here from day one, myself included, I don’t have a perfect understanding of prophecy. And that’s not just my opinion. Verse twelve. “For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abides faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Continue to build your knowledge base, but don’t feel like you can cram six hundred and eighteen multi-hour sermons into your head at the very last moment. You will get overwhelmed. You will get sidetracked. Focus, for instance, on being baptized and relish the knowledge you receive, the prophetic knowledge you receive. Ask questions about the prophetic knowledge you receive. But don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a firm grasp on the entire sum of prophetic knowledge after having just come into God’s Church. I hope that relaxes you in a certain sense.

Next thing I’d encourage you to consider would have helped me. Another story to tell on myself. Lean on your minister. Lean on your minister. He’s there to help you. He’s there to guide you. He’s there to help you navigate difficult waters. Kind of a left turn here, but turn to Exodus thirty-five. I read this early on when I was called. Exodus thirty-five, verse one. “And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord has commanded, that you should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whosoever does work therein should be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.”

Well, there it is, I thought. Can’t start a fire on the Sabbath. Big deal. You’d be killed, it says. You’d be put to death if you start a fire on the Sabbath. So one of the worst experiences early in my calling unfolded. I could have read, for instance, in How to Make the Sabbath a Delight. I could have read. This was speaking of industrial fires, metallurgical fires, or trash fires, whatever it might be. These were industrial fires. I could have looked into that rather than just scratch my head. “That’s funny. People have heated their homes with wood for thousands of years. Would God really expect you to be cold on the Sabbath if you didn’t have, for instance, central heat in the 1700s?”

No, no. It’s pretty clear. You kindle a fire on the Sabbath day and you’ll be killed. So there was one particular evening that still, to this day, I regret how it went down. I was Friday night. The Sabbath was here. And my dad had just had surgery, and he had stitches in his leg or something like that, and he was laying by the fire, with a blanket over him, getting warm, recovering. And he said, “Son, please can you put another log on the fire?” And the logs weren’t even inside. They were outside. I had to tell him, “Dad, I can’t kindle a fire on the Sabbath. This is the Sabbath. I can show you there in Exodus thirty-five. If you’d like to see, I can’t do that.”

And he explained to me what any logical person would. You’re just getting warm. It’s no problem. He had a better understanding of that than I did. I said, “No, I’m not going to do it.” And it built to the point where, my dad, he ripped the blanket off of him, he was in his underwear, walked out into the snow barefoot with stitches in him, grabbed wood, came back in, threw it into the fire, and lay back down and covered himself up. And I can tell you things were testy for a while after that. I did not invite any good favor on this newfound religious experience. Not good. But I could have stayed out of hot water if I had just thought, “You know what? Let me look into this further. Let me look into this further.”

Lean on the ministers, brethren. Lean on the literature. If something just doesn’t seem to add up, ask about it. Learn about it. We don’t know certain things. I didn’t know certain things, as clearly evidenced there and through 100 other stories that I could tell you. And that bleeds into the next point. We’re short of time here, but the next point very much intersects with that last one. Be careful with family, brethren. Be careful. They might bear along with you. They might entertain hearing about the kingdom of God. They might entertain hearing about the Sabbath day and clean and unclean meats. You’re very excited. The tendency is to talk, and they might seem like they’re engaged in listening.

But another story comes to mind. I will remember, like it was yesterday, walking into the kitchen and overhearing my brother talking to my dad, attempting to turn him against me. He said, “Dad, do you realize he thinks he’s going to become God and rule the universe? You do realize that, right?” And it was at that point that I realized I had cast some pearls before swine. I’m not calling my brother swine. But God says these truths are for us, brethren. He’s working with us. Our family will soon understand those kinds of things. They’ll soon have the opportunity to enter God’s family, but for right now, those kinds of things are inflammatory.

You think of Joseph with his brethren. Let me tell you about this dream I have where you all worship me. It didn’t go over well, and it doesn’t go over well with us either. Even if our family is being gracious, generous about it, you’ve got to be discreet. I’m not saying we have to be completely tight-lipped. But Christ said in Matthew chapter seven, maybe we ought to turn over there, chapter seven. The first sermon that I ever gave was on casting pearls before swine.

Matthew chapter seven, verse six, “Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you.” God isn’t calling our family members swine or dogs. It’s an analogy. A pig can’t appreciate a pearl. “If God isn’t opening someone’s mind, knowledge of something as life-changing and extraordinary as the Sabbath to us, wow, it’s been the seventh day this whole time, and we look back on God as our creator. This is amazing. Get to go to services among other people. They don’t have that same perception, not because they’re at fault, but just because it hasn’t been given to them.

They don’t have that pearl of great price that we do. And we can actually hurt them if we try to force it down their throat and hurt ourselves. Pigs are very dangerous. Again, not calling our family pigs. When they hunt with pigs in the South, they will sometimes outfit the dogs in Kevlar jackets because these wild boars are so dangerous, just unbelievably dangerous animals, wild, unpredictable, vicious. Being called is very, very rare. It’s not our job to convert our coworkers, our acquaintances.

Strive to live peaceably with all men, and sometimes that involves just letting your light shine, letting our light shine, not trying to be Apollos in the lunchroom, whatever form that might take. If someone has a question, they’ll ask. “Be ready always to give an answer for the hope that lies within you,” Peter said. One of my favorite stories in the Church is a man, he’ll know who he is, and probably those in his congregation will know who he is. One of my favorite stories is there’s a man who was cutting grass for a lady, and she eventually asked him about what he believes. I don’t know how that transpired. And now she’s a baptized member of God’s Church.

His example led to being asked about what he believes, and somebody else came into God’s way. I don’t know how specifically that conversation went, but I can guarantee you it didn’t start with, “Well, let me tell you about the kingdom of God. You have five minutes.” No. There was some natural evolution of events that led this woman to ask this man what he believes, and he was ready to give an answer, and there’s another person in God’s Church.

Same thing with me. I asked someone a question. It wasn’t the Internet or anything like that. I asked someone a question, and their knowledge of the Scriptures and their kindness and friendliness was used by God to bring me here. If we had more time, I’d go into how we counsel people that the devil will try to pull you out of this organization. This is the most exclusive group on earth, not because we’re more important than anyone in a certain sense, but because of what God is going to use us to do, because of what God is training us to do. And the devil hates the fact that you and I are going to enter the God family.

The devil hates the fact that you and I are going to be taught or going to teach others God’s way. “Satan walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” Peter said. We have to allow that to happen. It won’t happen involuntarily. Just be very careful. We all have to be very careful, no matter how long we’ve been in the Church. The devil can use those who are closest to us, who we love, as leverage to take us out of God’s way.

It’s a very real phenomenon. People still regularly fall prey to the devil in that respect. The devil wants you to listen to his agents, whether they be on the internet or whether they be children of disobedience at work who want to tell you how Christianity really, really is. Don’t listen to that cult. Listen to me. Deceivers abound, brethren. Deceivers abound. We can’t get caught up in the world. We can’t get caught up in victim mentality. “Oh, I have this trial or that trial. I need more money. I need to work on the Sabbath.”

The devil will come at you, will come at me with every conceivable angle. He’s had 6,000 years of deceiving mankind to hone his craft, and he’s smarter than you or I, far smarter than you or I. We have to lean on what God says in his word. We have to draw close to God. We have to, and this is the final point, get and stay close to God. James chapter four. No matter what, no matter what the devil throws at us, no matter what life circumstances yield, our defense, our sure path to that kingdom, to being born again is to get and stay close to God.

James chapter four and verse seven, “Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” We understand that there are five tools of Christian growth, prayer, Bible study, meditation, fasting when necessary, and exercising the Spirit. If we don’t yet have the Spirit, it’s working with us. Ask God for it to work more strongly in us. If we already have it, ask for it.

We read Luke eleven recently in a sermon where Christ explained that if a hungry child asks his father for bread, he’s not going to give him a scorpion, or if he asks him for an egg, he’s not going to give him a serpent. I can’t remember exactly how it’s phrased there, but the point stands true. Then Christ explains, “Well, if you ask your Father for the Holy Spirit, how much more willing is He to give that to you than food that a hungry child would receive from his father?”

“Draw close to God, and He’ll draw close to you,” James said. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness is drawing closer to God.” The very pursuit of our goal is what will protect us. The right focus on God and His way, the right focus on employing these tools as we come into God’s Church are the same focuses and tools that will keep us alive for decades in God’s way. They’re the same tactics and tools that will allow us to move from being begotten children of God to born children of God.

Brethren, if you’re new to God’s Church, take hold of these lessons. Cling to them. They’re by no means exhaustive, but they’re a pretty good list to cling to. Cling to them. And if we’ve been a long time in God’s way, never let go of them. Soon that pursuit of the kingdom of God will materialize into reality, but in the meantime, we are flesh and blood. Let’s take hold of and use these lessons.